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Pope orders action on sex abuse

Posted: 16 May 2011 10:40 AM PDT



Pope Benedict has told bishops around the world to promptly report all suspected cases of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests to local police in new guidelines he has issued.

Set out in a letter, the guidelines are the latest effort to eradicate child sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. It incorporates sweeping revisions made last year to the Church's laws on sexual abuse. But victims' groups are critical of the move, saying it does not go far enough. The letter is intended to help every diocese draw up its own guidelines, based on a global approach, but in line with local criminal law. These must be sent to the Vatican for review within a year. "Sex abuse of minors is not just a canonical delict [crime], but also a crime prosecuted by civil law", the letter said, stressing that local civil law "should always be followed". The new guidelines say bishops should seek to protect minors and help victims of paedophile priests find assistance and reconciliation. "The responsibility for dealing with crimes of sexual abuse of minors by clerics belongs in the first place to the diocesan bishop," the letter says. "The guidelines... seek to protect minors and to help victims in finding assistance and reconciliation," the letter says, adding that it was up to bishops to notify the authorities regarding a suspected paedophile priest. The clergy should be "helped to recognise the potential signs of abuse" and those suspected of paedophilia should be suspended "until the accusation is clarified". Bishops are urged to be more careful in choosing candidates for the priesthood and weed out early those who are or could become sex abusers. The revisions made last year to the Church's laws on sexual abuse doubled a statute of limitations for disciplinary action against priests and extended the use of fast-track procedures to defrock them. 'No tolerance' But victims' groups, who have deplored the Vatican's secrecy over sex crimes, have condemned the guidelines. "As an absolute minimum, there should be a global no-tolerance policy," said the US victims' group Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). "Fundamentally, the reason that Church officials ignore, conceal and mishandle sex crimes is because they can." The new Vatican guidelines come 20 years after widespread reports of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests in many countries first came to the notice of Church authorities, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome. Hitherto, the Vatican has often appeared to be more interested in protecting priests from false accusations, rather than in punishing them, our correspondent says. Now the accent is increasingly upon prompt and full communication to the proper local civil authorities of suspected crimes of sexual abuse of minors. Pope Benedict orders action on sex abuse The letter is the Pope's latest effort to eradicate child sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on 15 May 2011 Catholic Church Abuse Scandal Panorama: What did the Pope know? Belgian Church faces sordid past Priesthood 'tarnished' Vatican ends 'wall of silence'

Bomb warning received in London

Posted: 16 May 2011 10:35 AM PDT


A bomb threat for London has been issued by Irish dissidents in the first coded warning outside Northern Ireland in 10 years, officials say.

Streets around the Mall were closed for five hours on Monday morning amid a major security alert. Whitehall officials said the call with the coded warning came from a number in the Irish Republic on Sunday evening. The threat level for Northern Ireland-related terrorism, which stands at severe, has not been changed. The warning comes ahead of the Queen's historic visit to the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday, amid a massive security operation. Vigilance urged The Metropolitan Police said the threat was not specific regarding location or time. A Scotland Yard spokesman said in a statement: "All officers have been advised to be highly vigilant to ensure the safety of London." The public were urged to go about their normal business but to look out for "unusual activity or behaviour". Earlier on Monday, The Mall and Carlton House Terrace were closed after a security alert was sparked by a break-in at Carlton Gardens. The break-in is thought to have taken place at 2 Carlton Gardens, which houses the Institute for Government think tank. That is adjacent to the foreign secretary's residence, where William Hague is believed to have been at the time. 'Within the know' Pictures from the scene showed a van of search dogs, and the Met's underwater and confined spaces search team. Roads around Northumberland Avenue were also closed while a bag was destroyed in a controlled explosion. The roads have now re-opened. BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said that the call with the coded bomb threat "was not directly related to the break-in near the foreign secretary's house in Carlton Gardens or the abandoned suitcase near Trafalgar Square, but both were taken very seriously in the light of the bomb threat." BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said the level of security in the Republic of Ireland would make it difficult for dissidents to disrupt the Queen's trip there. "There was always a concern that timed with the visit there was the possibility of something happening in Northern Ireland, or perhaps in Britain," he said. 'Real, serious threat' The former security minister, Lord West, said that if a coded message was being used, then it would have come from someone "within the know, within the circle". He added: "We know very well that this very, very tiny number of dissidents who can cause mayhem way beyond the scale of the numbers there, are absolutely set on trying to revert to the bloodshed, mayhem and bloody massacres of the past." A Home Office spokesman said the UK faced a "real and serious threat from terrorism". "The threat level to Great Britain from Northern Irish- related terrorism remains at substantial, which means that an attack is a strong possibility. "There is a continuing need for vigilance and the public should report any suspicious activity to the police." Bomb warning received in London Streets around the Mall were shut for five hours on Monday morning Police man a cordon on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace Related Stories Timeline of dissident activity Will NI dissident threat ever go away?

IMF chief denied bail on sex charges

Posted: 16 May 2011 10:32 AM PDT



A court in New York has remanded IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in custody on charges of sexual assault.

The judge said Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, is a flight risk. He was arrested on Saturday after boarding a plane, and accused of trying to rape a hotel maid. Mr Strauss-Kahn, who had been seen as a contender in France's 2012 presidential election, denies the allegations His lawyer expressed disappointment at bail being denied, but said his client would be exonerated. "This battle has just begun," defence lawyer Benjamin Brafman told the court. The charges relate to an alleged assault at the Times Square Sofitel hotel in New York. Mr Strauss-Kahn was detained on board an Air France flight at New York's John F Kennedy airport minutes before take-off. The IMF chief, 62, underwent medical examinations on Sunday. Police were looking for scratches or any other evidence of his alleged assault on the chambermaid earlier in the day. He was later charged with a "criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment and attempted rape". Police say the 32-year-old maid who made the allegations has formally identified him in a line-up. Until he was arrested, Mr Strauss-Kahn was considered a favourite to become the Socialist candidate for the French presidency next year. Opinion polls gave him a good chance of defeating President Nicolas Sarkozy. Socialist party president Martine Aubry described his arrest as a "thunderbolt" but called for Mr Strauss-Kahn to be presumed innocent. Mr Strauss-Kahn's wife, French TV personality Anne Sinclair, has also protested his innocence. Meanwhile, another allegation against Mr Strauss-Kahn has emerged. A French writer says she may file a complaint for an alleged sexual assault in 2002. Tristane Banon, 31, says Mr Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her when she went to interview him for a book she was writing. "We're planning to make a complaint," Ms Banon's lawyer told AFP news agency. Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have so far not responded to the allegation. The European Union says the scandal should not affect bail- outs for eurozone countries. The IMF has played a central role in organising rescue packages for the troubled economies of Portugal and Greece, and Mr Strauss-Kahn had been due to attend an EU finance ministers' meeting in Brussels to discuss the bail-outs. The BBC's Chris Morris in Brussels says he has gained the trust of countries in Europe which are giving financial assistance, and those which are receiving it. Strauss-Kahn arrest: Judge denies bail on sex charges Mr Strauss-Kahn denies the allegations against him Dominique Strauss-Kahn in court on 16/05/11 Related Stories French politics turns upside down IMF grapples with Strauss-Kahn arrest IMF chief stuns media in Europe He intends to vigorously defend these charges and he denies any wrongdoing" Benjamin Brafman Dominique Strauss-Kahn's lawyer Does IMF boss have immunity? Profile: IMF and World Bank More on This Story

Egyptian police fire tear gas, live ammunition at pro- Palestinian rally outside Israel Embassy

Posted: 16 May 2011 10:27 AM PDT


Demonstrators burn an Israeli flag near the Israeli embassy in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, May 15, 2011. Israeli troops clashed with Arab protesters Sunday along three hostile borders, including the frontier with Syria, leaving several people dead and dozens wounded in an unprecedented wave of demonstrations marking the Palestinian "nakba," or "catastrophe", day of mourning for their defeat at Israel' s hands in 1948.

Kerry: Pak-US alliance at ‘ Critical Moment’

Posted: 16 May 2011 10:20 AM PDT


Islamabad—Senator John Kerry after visiting Kabul met with Pakistan Army Chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at the GHQ, Rawalpindi. The two are reported to have discussed vital issues relating to terrorism in the wake of Abbottabad. John Kerry' s current visit is being considered highly important, in terms of timing of his visit and his key position as being Chairman, US Senate' s Foreign Relations Committee. The US senator would also call on President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani.

Saudi diplomat shot dead in Pakistan

Posted: 16 May 2011 10:18 AM PDT


ISLAMABAD: A Saudi Arabian diplomat was shot and killed by unidentified attackers in Karachi on Monday, just five days after explosives devices were lobbed at the Saudi consulate in the southern Pakistani port city. The Saudi diplomat, identified in media reports as Hasan M M Al- Kahtani, was attacked by four gunmen riding two motorcycles while he was driving to work. The attack occurred a short distance from the Bahrain consulate. The Saudi Embassy in Islamabad confirmed that the victim was a diplomat. Police officials said the gunmen intercepted the car and fired over a dozen bullets at the victim. He was declared dead on arrival at the Jinnah Hospital. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. On May 11, two men riding a motorcycle lobbed two low intensity explosive devices at the Saudi consulate in Karachi though no one was injured in the attack. Saudi officials said the blasts caused minor damage to buildings within the consulate compound. The attacks came in the wake of the May 2 raid by US special forces in the garrison city of Abbottabad that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Saudi assistant foreign minister Prince Khaled bin Saud had urged Pakistani authorities to ensure the protection of the kingdom's diplomatic missions in the country.
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