Pope to nuns: Pick up the phone when I call
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has made another one of his cold calls to wish a group of nuns in a Spanish convent happy New Year. Only he got their answering machine, instead.
“What are the nuns doing that they can’t answer the phone?” Francis asked in the message he left, the recording of which was obtained by Spain’s El Mundo newspaper and broadcast on Italian media Saturday.
“This is Pope Francis. I wanted to offer you greetings for the end of the year. Maybe I’ll try to call again later. May God bless you,” he said.
Francis has made a habit out of calling people out of the blue, often checking in with ordinary folks who have written him about their hardships. He places the calls himself, as evidenced by the message.
Delayed S. Sudan peace talks to begin today
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Peace talks between warring parties in South Sudan scheduled to be held in Ethiopia were delayed Saturday because the sides haven’t yet agreed on an agenda, officials said.
Late Saturday, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom said the two sides agreed to begin talks today. Two areas the talks will focus on include ending hostilities and the release of political prisoners.
The slow start to peace talks is a worrying sign for South Sudan, which has seen spiraling, ethnic-based violence the last three weeks.
President Salva Kiir accuses the former vice president, Riek Machar, of an attempted coup. Machar denies the accusation, but forces loyal to him now control two state capitals, including the town of Bor, about 70 miles north of the country capital, Juba.
Egyptian death toll in clashes rises to 17
CAIRO – The death toll from the latest clashes between Islamist protesters and security forces in Egypt has risen to 17, a security official said Saturday, less than two weeks ahead of a key referendum on an amended constitution.
Meanwhile, 13 of the country’s most prominent human rights groups issued a report condemning the authorities’ human-rights violations and recent arrests of political activists.
In what were the deadliest street battles in months, Cairo and other heavily populated residential areas on Friday witnessed hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members and their supporters throw firebombs and rocks at security forces, who responded with water cannons and tear gas.
Iraq city falls fully into hands of al-Qaida group
BAGHDAD – The head of police in Iraq’s Anbar province says the city center of Fallujah has fallen completely into the hands of fighters from the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State in Iraq and Levant.
Hadi Razeij, head of the Anbar police force, said on the Arabic-language broadcaster al-Arabiya: “The walls of the city are in the hands of the police force, but the people of Fallujah are the prisoners of ISIL.”
Fallujah, along with nearby provincial capital Ramadi, were strongholds of Sunni insurgents during the U.S.-led war. Al-Qaida militants largely took them over earlier this week.
Associated Press
