Pope Warns Mobsters: Hell Awaits

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Photo Credit: AP / Andrew MedichiniPope Francis has a warning for Italy’s mobsters: They will go to hell if they don’t repent and renounce their “blood-stained money and blood-stained power.”

The pontiff on Friday delivered his most forceful denunciation yet of organized crime. The occasion was a prayer vigil at a Roman church for relatives of innocents killed by the mafia, during which the names of 842 victims were read aloud as a somber Francis looked on.

After voicing his solidarity with the family members, Francis said he couldn’t leave the service without speaking to those not present: the “protagonists” of mafia violence.

Addressing these absentee mafiosi, Francis was unsparing:

“This life that you live now won’t give you pleasure. It won’t give you joy or happiness,” he said. “Blood-stained money, blood-stained power, you can’t bring it with you to your next life. Repent. There’s still time to not end up in hell, which is what awaits you if you continue on this path.”

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Kerry: ‘I Don’t Know Anybody Who Says You Ought to Go to War over Crimea’ (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP / Riccardo De LucaBy Melanie Hunter.

In an interview Wednesday with a local Washington, D.C., affiliate, Secretary of State John Kerry said he doesn’t know anyone who wants the U.S. to go to war with Russia over Crimea, an autonomous republic in the southern region of Ukraine before Russia’s military intervention.

“I don’t know anybody in America who has suggested to go to war over Crimea. Do you want to go to war over Crimea? I don’t know anybody who says you ought to go to war over Crimea, so therefore, your options are economic and diplomatic and isolation,” Kerry said.

As CNSNews.com previously reported, despite repeated warnings by the Obama administration not to interfere in Ukraine’s soverneignty, Russia intervened militarily in the region. On March 2, the U.S. acknowledged that Russia was in control of Crimea. On March 16, Crimea voters approved a referendum to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.

On March 17, the White House announced it had imposed travel bans and froze the assets of seven senior Russian and four Ukrainian officials. Putin was not sanctioned though, because it would be “highly unusual and rather extraordinary” for the U.S. to sanction a head of a state of another country, a senior administration official said.

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Photo Credit: Washington Examiner Congressional leaders sanctioned by Vladimir Putin celebrate on Twitter

By Charlie Spiering.

U.S. lawmakers celebrated Thursday on Twitter after the Russian government announced sanctions against nine White House officials and members of Congress.

“If standing up for #democracy & sovereignty in #Ukraine means I’m #SanctionedByPutin, I’ll take it,” Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., tweeted shortly after the announcement from the Russian government.

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UN Blasts Iran for Persecution of Christians, Other Religious Minorities

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Photo Credit: APThe election last year of self-professed moderate President Hassan Rouhani has not brought Iran’s Christians any relief, according to a new United Nations report which finds the Islamic Republic’s Bible believers more persecuted than ever.

The detailed report finds Iran has continued to imprison Christians for their faith and designated house churches and evangelical Christians as “threats to national security.” At least 49 Christians were among 307 religious minorities being held in Iranian jails as of January 2014, noted the UN, which also blasted the regime for its hostility to Jews, Baha’is, Zoroastrians and Dervish Muslims, the UN report stated.

“These are indicators that President Rouhani has no influence over hard-liners, who remain fully in charge of the judiciary and security apparatus, government entities that are responsible for the most severe abuses against religious minorities,” Dwight Bashir, deputy director for policy at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, told FoxNews.com.

Among the Christians held in Iranian prisons is American citizen and Christian pastor Saeed Abedini, who is serving an eight-year prison term for alleged crimes related to his faith. President Obama has called for Abedini’s release, even as his administration has negotiated a disarmament deal with Iran.

“This report is as an important reminder about the true nature of the Iranian regime,” Sen. Mark Kirk, (R-III), told FoxNews.com. “We can’t pretend we are negotiating with Western moderates – we are negotiating with Islamic radicals who persecute Christians, Baha’is, other religious and ethnic minorities and women, while denying all of its citizens basic human rights — including the freedom of speech and assembly.”

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Russia Warns West it May Change Stance On Iran, in Retaliation Over Sanctions

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Photo Credit: Fox NewsBy Fox News.

Russia reportedly is prepared to change its stand on Iran nuclear talks in a high-stakes gamble to counter expanded sanctions by the United States and the European Union over Crimea.

After the Obama administration on Monday hit 11 Russian and Ukrainian officials with sanctions — a move criticized by Republican lawmakers as too timid — Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted Wednesday by the Interfax news agency as saying the country may have to alter its position on the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

The statement is the most serious threat of retaliation by Moscow since the disputed Crimea region voted to join Russia over the weekend, and Vladimir Putin’s government moved to annex the peninsula.

NATO and U.S. leaders say they’re prepared to do more.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that the administration is looking to expand the sanctions further. “If you look at the executive orders, they provide a great deal of flexibility and an expansive range potential designations for sanctions including Russian government officials, the arms sector of Russia, and individuals who, while not holding positions within the Russian government, have influence over or provide material support to senior Russian government officials,” he said.

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Russian forces seize two Ukrainian bases in Crimea

By Aleksandar Vasovic and Maria Kiselyova.

The United States warned Moscow it was on a “dark path” to isolation on Wednesday as Russian troops seized two Ukrainian naval bases, including a headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol where they raised their flag.

The dramatic seizure came as Russia and the West dug in for a long confrontation over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, with the United States and Europe groping for ways to increase pressure on a defiant Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“As long as Russia continues on this dark path, they will face increasing political and economic isolation,” said U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, referring to reports of armed attacks against Ukrainian military personnel in Crimea.

Biden was in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, as part of a quick trip to reassure Baltic allies worried about what an emboldened Russia might mean for their nations. Lithuania, along with Estonia and Latvia, are NATO members.

“There is an attempt, using brutal force, to redraw borders of the European states and to destroy the postwar architecture of Europe,” Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said.

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Watchdog Raises Concerns US Money Paying Afghan ‘Ghost Workers’

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Photo Credit: APA watchdog is raising concerns that some of the money the U.S. is spending to pay the salaries of police officers in Afghanistan may be going to non-existent “ghost workers.”

John F. Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan Reconstruction, wrote in a letter last month to U.S. military officials in Afghanistan that the possibility of “ghost workers” was raised several times during his most recent trip to the country, and during discussions with European Union officials.

Sopko said he wants to get to the bottom of the rumors, and noted he has been encouraged by discussions with officials in Afghanistan to address the concerns.

However, Sopko said more action must be taken to determine how exactly American money is flowing through the Afghan banking system and into the salaries of their police force.

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On the Rise: Powerful Figures Sexually Abusing Young Boys Trained to Dance in Female Clothes

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Photo Credit: AP / Rahmat GulThe State Department in its 2013 human rights report on Afghanistan said the sexual abuse of boys, or bacha baazi, is on the rise in the region, with the practice becoming common in Kabul.

“The practice of ‘bacha baazi’ (dancing boys) – which involved powerful or wealthy local figures and businessmen sexually abusing young boys who were trained to dance in female clothes – was on the rise,” the State Department said in its human rights report.

The report noted an increase in rapes during the year, with most victims being children. In fact, sexual abuse of children reached an all-time high, according to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).

“Although pornography is a crime, child pornography is not specifically prohibited by law. Exploiting a child for sexual purposes, as was done with bacha baazi, also was widespread but not specified as a crime under the law,” the State Department noted in its report.

“Although the practice was believed to be more widespread in conservative rural areas, at least one media report alleged that it had become common in Kabul. Media reports also alleged that local authorities, including the police, were involved in the practice, but the government took few steps to discourage the abuse of boys or to prosecute or punish those involved,” the human rights report said.

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Putin Vows to Bring Glory Back to Russia

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Photo Credit: firdaus omar / Creative Commons Putin says U.S. guided by ‘the rule of the gun’ in foreign policy

By Reuters.

…”Our Western partners headed by the United States prefer not to be guided by international law in their practical policies, but by the rule of the gun,” he told a joint session of parliament.

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Photo Credit: Reuters Putin Recognizes Crimea Independence, Claims Peninsula as Russian Territory

By Mary Chastain.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the decree that officially acknowledged Crimea’s independence and claimed the peninsula as Russia territory.

“Taking into consideration the will of Crimea’s people on the nationwide referendum, which took place on March 16, 2014, to recognize the Republic of Crimea, where Sevastopol city has a special status, as a sovereign and independent state,” reads the official decree.

“An absolute majority of both Crimeans and Russians support reunification of Crimea with the Russian Federation. Today, based on results of the referendum conducted in Crimea (on March 16) and based on the will of people, I will introduce a law to the Federal Council of the Russian Federation on accepting two subjects to the Russian Federation, the Crimea and city of Sevastopol, and also to ratify the approved agreement to on joining by Crimea the Russian Federation. I have no doubt that you will support it.”

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Defense Minister Says U.S. Will Not Lead; ‘Israel Can Only Rely on Itself’

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Photo Credit: White HouseIn a wide-ranging discussion reported in the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, Israel’s plain-speaking defence minister Moshe Ya’alon said Monday that Tehran has the upper hand in nuclear negotiations, and dismissed the idea of Israeli dependence on the United States to lead an action against Iran’s nuclear program, saying that Israel can only rely on itself.

“We had thought the ones who should lead the campaign against Iran [would be] the United States,” said Ya’alon, speaking during an event at Tel Aviv University. “But at some stage the United States entered into negotiations with them, and unhappily, when it comes to negotiating at a Persian bazaar, the Iranians were better.”

If Israel had ever expected the United States to take out Iran’s nuclear weapons capability, that is not about to happen, Ya’alon said: “Therefore, on this matter, we have to behave as though we have nobody to look out for us but ourselves.”

Ya’alon issued a sharp critique of Washington’s attitude toward Iran, suggesting President Barack Obama would prefer to delay any confrontation until it could be passed on to his successor. “People know that Iran cheats,” Ya’alon said. “But comfortable Westerners prefer to put off confrontation – if possible, to next year, or the next president. But in the end, it will blow up.”

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North Korean Born in a Prison Camp: ‘My Favorite Word is Freedom’ (+video)

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Photo Credit: Screenshot: UNA North Korean who was born in a camp for political prisoners and saw family members executed appealed to the international community this week to “relieve my North Korean brothers and sisters,” saying hundreds of thousands of political prisoners in his country were waiting for their deaths.

Addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, 31 year-old Shin Dong-Hyuk said his parents were political prisoners and he became a political prisoner too from the moment of his birth.

Aged 14, he and his father were forced to watch his mother and brother’s public execution, he said. “I couldn’t cry at that moment. I never learned how to cry …”

Shin was born in 1982 in Kwan-li-so (political penal labor camp) no. 14 in Kaechon, north of Pyongyang. His account of life in the camp, and his perilous escape in 2005 were told in a 2012 biography by journalist Blaine Harden, Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey From North Korea to Freedom in the West.

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Commander of Terrorist Group Pleads Guilty to Taking US Citizens Hostage

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Photo Credit: U.S. AIR FORCEA commander of a Colombian terrorist organization pleaded guilty Tuesday to hostage-taking charges involving three U.S. citizens.

Alexander Beltran Herrera, 37, a commander of the FARC terrorist organization, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to the 2003 hostage-taking of U.S. citizens Marc D. Gonsalves, Thomas R. Howes, and Keith Stansell.

The three men were abducted along with Thomas Janis, a United States citizen, and Sgt. Luis Alcides Cruz, a Colombian citizen, after their single-engine aircraft made a crash landing in the Colombian jungle, according to a press release by the U.S. Justice Department.

The release said that FARC members killed Janis and Cruz at the spot where the aircraft crashed. The FARC members told the three others that they were going to hold them as hostages while they made demands of the Colombian government.

FARC’s official name, translated into English, is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

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