KIRKCALDY; St Marks Coptic Orthodox Church, 264 Links Street; The 20th anniversary of the consecration of the church; Father MARK AZIZ photo; WALTER NEILSON
THE congregation of a Kirkcaldy church will be celebrating this weekend as the church reaches an important historical milestone.
The 20th anniversary of the consecration of St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Links Street will be marked with a Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning followed by a celebratory reception.
CAIRO (Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer met Egypt's ruling generals in Cairo Saturday and discussed the case of U.S. pro-democracy activists charged in an investigation that has strained ties between Cairo and Washington.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was the first senior U.S. official to visit Cairo since the charges were brought against 43 foreign and Egyptian activists following a probe into civil society groups.
Egypt's post-revolutionary authorities have set it on a collision course with Washington, its erstwhile ally, by deciding to charge 44 NGO workers including 19 Americans with illegal activities.
The security situation in Egypt was high on the agenda of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the scheduled talks in Sofia with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov Photo: AFP/GETTY
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has blasted the use of a controversial movie portraying American Muslims as extremists to help train New York police officers.
The mayor said police chiefs used ‘terrible judgment’ in screening The Third Jihad to nearly 1,500 recruits.
‘As soon as they found out about it, they stopped it,’ added Mr. Bloomberg.
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Image: In the video, the White House is shown with a black flag flying overhead and the words Islam Will Dominate
The movie – which was played during counter-terrorism training seminars – features scenes of Christians being shot in the head, car bombs exploding and a doctored picture of a black Islamic flag is shown flying over the White House.
Egypt Releases 27 Copts Falsely Detained in Maspero Massacre
By Mary Abdelmassih
(AINA) -- The Cairo Criminal Court decided this week to accept the appeal and release, pending investigations, the remaining 27 Coptic detainees arrested in connection with the events of Maspero Massacre on October 9, where 27 Copts were killed and 329 injured (AINA 10-10-2011).
This decision was hailed by the church and the various Coptic rights groups. Besides welcoming the decision of the civilian court as a just verdict considering that the detainees were all innocent, it showed, according to various Coptic organizations, the injustice of the military prosecution's investigations. A view shared among all Copts is that releasing the detainees is not enough, those responsible for the killings should be brought to justice.
Taking a moral stand: Prime Minister David Cameron said it was time to teach right from wrong
David Cameron last night called on the Archbishop of Canterbury to lead a return to the ‘moral code’ of the Bible.
In a highly personal speech about faith, the Prime Minister accused Dr Rowan Williams of failing to speak ‘to the whole nation’ when he criticised Government austerity policies and expressed sympathy with the summer rioters.
Protesters clashed with Egypt's security forces in central Cairo on Sunday after the humiliating police beating of a veiled woman in Tahrir Square triggered widespread outrage in the country's pro-democracy movement.
Egypt's security forces attack a woman in Tahrir Square Photo: REUTERS
At least ten people have been killed in three days of violence as Egypt's generals launched a clumsy and often brutal attempt to end weeks of protests against their rule.
Amid the fresh bloodshed and chaos that turned the centre of the city once more into a familiar scene of mayhem and anger, one incident, captured on film, stoked tensions more than any other.
Footage, widely broadcast on the internet, showed helmeted officers charging towards a veiled woman among the protesters in Tahrir Square earlier in the weekend. Dragging her along the ground, they beat her with their clubs and aimed kick after kick at her limp body.
Amid New Clashes in Cairo, Civilian Advisory Council Suspends Its Work
Ahmed Ali/Associated Press
Egyptian soldiers beat a protester wearing a veil in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Friday. The graffiti depicts members of the military ruling council and says “Killer.” More Photos »
Egyptian protesters threw rocks and firebombs at military police near Tahrir Square on Friday. More Photos »
The advisory council’s decision followed a renewed outbreak of violence both in the center of Cairo on Friday and at vote-counting centers around the country the previous night. Election monitors said the violence threatened to undermine the credibility of Egypt’s first parliamentary election since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak 10 months ago.
There was a remarkable debate in the House of Lords on Friday, which I don't think was widely reported. But it showed that Christians are coming together in a new way to try to influence foreign policy.
John Patten said: "We are facing religious cleansing in parts of the Middle East and may be entering what might be thought of as an Arab winter for Christians, Jews and other minority groups alike on a scale that we have not hitherto seen."
He suggested that the American government would never tolerate a government which persecuted homosexuals the way that Christians are persecuted across the Middle East: "We must persuade our rulers to treat religious freedoms as being just as basic as other, much vaunted human rights."
Cambridge University Dons Told Don't Shake Hands With Muslim Or Disabled Students
Huffington Post UK
Cambridge University Told Dons Not To Shake Hands With Muslim Or Disabled Students
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Cambridge University has warned its dons not to shake hands with Muslims or students with disabilities for fear of offending them.
The top university has cautioned its academics not to proffer their hand automatically in case the gesture causes an upset. A directive has also gone to admissions tutors which explains that some people are "culturally sensitive" to the traditional British style of greeting.
Question for written answer E-009701/2011to the CommissionRule 117
Mario Borghezio (EFD)
Subject:EU action to defend religious freedom of Coptic Christians
Across the world, Coptic Christians are protesting ever more loudly against the killings which continue to take place in Egypt and which over recent days have claimed dozens of lives.
In contrast, the European institutions are almost completely silent on the subject. Does the Commission not intend to take concrete and decisive steps to remind the Egyptian Government of its duty to protect the Coptic Christian minority, prevent any acts of violence from being perpetrated against its members and ensure that they are able fully to exercise their right to religious freedom?
Secret Video Shows Egyptian Police, Security Staging Attack on Copts
By Mary Abdelmassih
(AINA) -- Millions of people world-wide have seen videos of Egyptian Army trucks chasing and crushing Christian protesters under their wheels during the events of the Maspero Massacre on October 9, which claimed the lives of 27 and injured 329 Christians (AINA 10-10-2011).
The ruling military council has denied that military forces used live ammunition against the Maspero protesters, or that personnel intentionally used armored vehicles to run over civilians. After blaming the Copts for using firearms, they later changed their story and put the blame on "unidentified" civilians who infiltrated the demonstrations, targeting both the peaceful protesters and the military police to cause a rift between the military council and the people. In all of its statements the military has cleared the army of any wrong-doings.
Secret Video Shows Egyptian Police, Security Staging Attack on Copts
By Mary Abdelmassih
(AINA) -- Millions of people world-wide have seen videos of Egyptian Army trucks chasing and crushing Christian protesters under their wheels during the events of the Maspero Massacre on October 9, which claimed the lives of 27 and injured 329 Christians (AINA 10-10-2011).
The ruling military council has denied that military forces used live ammunition against the Maspero protesters, or that personnel intentionally used armored vehicles to run over civilians. After blaming the Copts for using firearms, they later changed their story and put the blame on "unidentified" civilians who infiltrated the demonstrations, targeting both the peaceful protesters and the military police to cause a rift between the military council and the people. In all of its statements the military has cleared the army of any wrong-doings.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Protesters pressed their demand for an end to army rule in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday and some clashed briefly with police nearby, rejecting the military's choice of prime minister just two days before a parliamentary vote.
Hundreds of demonstrators camped through the night and one group marched to the nearby parliament building early in the morning to protest against the army's appointment of Kamal Ganzouri, a premier under Hosni Mubarak, to form a cabinet.
Egyptian protesters march with a huge flag during a rally at Tahrir Square in Cairo November 25, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah
By Marwa Awad and Tom Perry
CAIRO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Egyptians demanding an end to military rule packed Cairo's Tahrir square on Friday in the biggest turnout of a week of protests and violence that has killed 41 people.
The military rulers named a veteran former prime minister to head a new civilian cabinet, but that did little to appease the demonstrators who poured scorn on a name from the past.
Egypt Protests: Death Toll Rises As Clashes Between Police, Protesters Continue
Associated Press
Associated Press
CAIRO -- An American film maker has told a colleague by phone that she was arrested by Egyptian police while documenting clashes in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
Jehane Nojaim's producer Karim Amer says she was detained and her camera was confiscated.
Tahrir Square crowds vow 'fight to death' for end of military rule
Egypt's ruling junta has slowly transformed from heroes of uprising to the focus of its wrath
Tahrir Square on Sunday night as riot police and troops failed to disperse crowds demanding Egypt’s ruling generals hand over power. Photograph: Mohamed El-Ghany/Reuters
Amid the gloom, the smoke and the deafening chants of thousands around them, the middle-aged couple looked like they had been photoshopped on to the scene. He was wearing a smart jacket, she a dress and a headscarf. They both walked silently forwards across the debris, hand in hand and staring straight ahead. Each was carrying a rock.
Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Agincourt and Liberal Critic for Multiculturalism
It was with great dismay that I learned that Coptic Christian mourners in Egypt were attacked as they marched to Tahir Square to mark the forty day anniversary of the Maspero attack which left at least 26 people dead and hundreds injured.My thoughts and prayers are with those who were injured and I wish them a speedy recovery.
The right to practice one’s religion in peace is a basic human right. The Egyptian authorities must seek out those who perpetrated the Maspero attack and yesterday’s attack on the mourners; bring them to justice and ensure that they bear the full weight of the law.
Egypt has refused to allow Dutch MP Raymond de Roon to enter the country.
Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders said the new regime is "just as barbaric” as the previous one.
The parliamentary foreign affairs commission has decided to cancel the entire visit. It says it up to the Dutch parliament to decide who is in the delegation.
Freedom Party MP De Roon believes he was refused a visa because “Egypt did not like my characterising the expulsion of 95,000 Christians since March 2011 as ethnic cleansing.”
“It would have been better if Egypt had said: come along and we’ll show you there is no ethnic cleansing” he added.
Netherlands helps pay for Egyptian election 'witnesses'
The Netherlands has promised the US Carter Centre 300,000 euros to send people to Egypt to watch over the upcoming elections in November. Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal spoke with his Egyptian counterpart Mohammed Kamel Amr in Cairo on Wednesday.
Cairo says it has no difficulty with what they insist on calling 'witnesses' rather than 'observers'. “They will be given free access to polling centres,” Minister Rosenthal said, as will the press. He says he has no problem with the terminology as he is satisfied with the conditions under which foreign election watchers will be able to operate. The Carter Centre was set up in 1982 and regularly sends observers to monitor elections all over the world.
