Images of 2013 Easter Celebration Around The World

 

A young boy wears a mask of the devil prior to the burning of a giant 5-meter tall devil-like figure representing Judas in the atrium of the Santa Rosa Xochiac church, in Mexico City, Sunday, March 31, 2013

A giant 5-meter tall figure representing Judas burns in the atrium of the Santa Rosa Xochiac church, in Mexico City, Sunday, March 31, 2013

People walk along the boardwalk early Easter morning, Sunday, March 31, 2013, as they arrive for a sunrise service inside the Music Pier building in Ocean City, N.J.

Iraqi worshipers attend the Easter Sunday service at the Virgin Mary Chaldean Christian church (Church of Our Lady of Sacred Heart) in the Karrada district of central Baghdad on March 31,

A Christian woman holds a candle at the Anointing Stone during the Sunday Easter mass inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally believed to be the site of the crucifixion of Christ, in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 31, 2013.

Indonesian Christians carry a giant Easter egg with messages from people for Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after an Easter service outside the presidential palace in Jakarta on March 31, 2013

Eggs and bunnies decorate the exterior of Jakarta Cathedral while Christian devotees arrive for an Easter Sunday mass on March 31, 2013. 

Pope Francis kisses a baby after celebrating his first Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 31, 2013

 

 

 

 

The great gift of Easter is hope - Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God, in his ultimate triumph, and in his goodness and love, which nothing can shake.- Basil C. Hume

US boy survived on sugar after mum died!

A malnourished boy found in an apartment with the body of his mother, who had been dead for days, had resorted to eating from a bag of sugar and weighed only 11 kilograms, police say.

The four-year-old's first request after being examined, police in New Jersey say, was a juice and a grilled cheese sandwich.

His mother, identified on Wednesday as 38-year-old Kiana Workman, was discovered dead on Tuesday on the floor of her bedroom after building maintenance workers reported a foul odour. Because the chain lock was on the boy couldn't get out.

Officer Joseph Sauer said the boy was naked but coherent and not crying when police kicked in the door.

"The only way to describe the little boy was it was like a scene from World War II, from a concentration camp, he was that skinny. I mean, you could see all his bones," Sauer told The Associated Press.

The boy was not strong enough to open the refrigerator and he couldn't tell police how long he had been eating from a bag of sugar.

The boy could not say how long his mother had been dead.

Police said he put lotion on his mother, leaving behind handprints, in an attempt to help her.

Police initially estimated she had been dead for five days before the discovery, but Zieser said on Wednesday it may have been two to three.

Nobody had talked to her for about a week.

Autopsy results were pending but police did not suspect foul play.

Officer Sylvia Dimenna, who travelled in the ambulance with the boy and stayed with him at the hospital, said he was very bright and articulate but tired.

"He said he missed his mommy," she said.

The boy, now in state custody, remained in a hospital where he was being treated for malnourishment and dehydration.

At his age, he should weigh 18 kilograms or more, police said, so it's possible he was improperly cared for before his mother's death.

Police said they were getting calls from around the world from people offering to adopt the child or donate money or toys.

It would be up to the state's child welfare agency to determine where he was placed.

UN gives DR Congo one week to act on rapes

THE United Nations has given Democratic Republic of Congo a final one week deadline to take action against two army battalions accused of carrying out at least 126 rapes.

UN peacekeeping chief Herve Lasous delivered the ultimatum at a meeting with DR Congo Foreign Minister Raymond Tshibanda on Wednesday at the UN headquarters, diplomats say.

 

The meeting was held as the UN security council prepares to vote on Thursday on a resolution setting up an intervention brigade to help the army combat rebel groups in eastern DR Congo.

"The Congo government has been told that the army's actions cannot be accepted and there will be serious repercussions," said one UN diplomat.

UN officials confirmed that Ladsous discussed the rapes with the minister on Wednesday, but gave no details of the ultimatum.

The UN threatened in two letters sent to the government in February to stop working with the army battalions involved unless action was taken over the rapes.

The UN says at least 126 women were raped in the town of Minova around November 20 as the army retreated from an assault by the M23 rebel movement on the regional capital of Goma.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague (C) and Angelina Jolie talk to refugees in Democratic Republic of Congo on March 25, 2013. They were in the country in a bid to encourage world powers to do more to tackle rape and sexual assault in war zones.

The DR Congo army is heavily reliant on UN equipment and military support in its efforts to control the armed groups that hold sway in resource-rich eastern DR Congo.

The notoriously feeble DR Congo army has been much criticised for its brutality against civilians and corruption. UN officials said it "melted away" during the M23 advance last year.

The UN said in December that its investigators had evidence of at least 126 rapes, and that two soldiers had been arrested for rape and seven for looting around Minova.

But rights groups say no officer has been arrested, and none of the charges have been followed up.

Several dead in attack on Kenya casino!

Several people including a policeman were shot dead in gun battles in the early hours Thursday when a gang attacked a Kenyan coastal casino, police said.

"Six of the attackers were shot dead but they also killed one of our police officers," regional police chief Aggrey Adoli told AFP.

Adoli said that a large gang - who he said were members of a coastal separatist group, the Mombasa Republic Council (MRC)- had attacked a casino in Malindi, a popular Indian Ocean tourist resort.

"There was a raid by MRC attackers at Malindi casino earlier this morning at 2.00 am by a gang of about 100," Adoli said, adding that four policemen had been at the casino when the raid took place.

"There was a fierce shoot-out outside the casino, because they wanted to try to get in but they were repulsed," Adoli said. Officers had arrested four people, he added.

"We have a contingent of police officers looking for the attackers, we suspect they are hiding in forests around Malindi."

Malindi, some 95 kilometres north of Kenya's main port city of Mombasa, is home to several top end international tourist resorts.

 

Tourism is a key part of Kenya's economy, and the coastal region is expected to be especially busy over the upcoming Easter weekend

Madiba readmitted!

FORMER South African president Nelson Mandela has been readmitted to hospital with a recurrent lung infection, according to an official statement from the president's office. It urges people to pray for the anti-apartheid hero.

The 94-year-old was hospitalised "due to the recurrence of his lung infection" just before midnight on Wednesday, President Jacob Zuma's office said in a statement.

It is the second time this month that the Nobel peace laureate has spent the night in hospital and follows a nearly three-week stay in December for the lung infection and for surgery to extract gallstones.

Earlier this month, he spent a night in hospital for a "scheduled medical checkup".

"Doctors are attending to him, ensuring that he has the best possible expert medical treatment and comfort," said the presidency.

Zuma wished "Madiba", as South Africa's first black president is fondly known at home, a quick recovery.

"We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts," he said.

"We have full confidence in the medical team and know that they will do everything possible to ensure recovery."

NeN Revered at home and abroad, Mandela has grown increasingly frail away from the public eye with several recent health scares.

His December admission was the Nobel Peace Prize winner's longest hospital stay since he walked free from 27 years of apartheid jail in 1990.

In early 2012, he was admitted for a minor exploratory procedure to investigate persistent abdominal pain.

His lungs have also been a longstanding source of health problems.

In 2011, he was hospitalised for two nights for an unnamed acute respiratory infection.

Mandela was diagnosed with early stage tuberculosis in 1988 while imprisoned during apartheid.

In February, Zuma said he had found Mandela "comfortable and relaxed" and watching television after paying him a visit at his Johannesburg home.

"He had the brightest smile," said Zuma.

Earlier this month, friend and renowned human rights lawyer George Bizos, who defended Mandela during his 1960s treason trial, said Mandela was aware of currents political events but had memory lapses.

"Unfortunately he sometimes forgets that one or two of them had passed on and has a blank face when you tell him that Walter Sisulu and some others are no longer with us," Bizos told radio's Eyewitness News.

Sisulu, the former leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) who was Mandela's political mentor, died nearly a decade ago.

At the beginning of last month, two of his granddaughters released a picture of a smiling Mandela sitting with his youngest great-grandson in an armchair.

It was taken to show his recovery after his December hospitalisation, they said while promoting their new reality show, Being Mandela.

Mandela stepped down after one term as president after taking power after 1994 polls that dealt the final death blow to decades of white minority rule.

He is adored in South Africa where he is seen as the symbol of the divided country's peaceful shift into democracy.

He has not appeared in public since South Africa's Football World Cup final in 2010, six years after retiring.

Rumours of his failing health or even death flare up periodically, forcing the government to issue assurances that all is well
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Judge in Sarkozy probe sent bullet in mail

THE judge who charged former president Nicolas Sarkozy with taking financial advantage of France's richest woman has received a bullet and a death threat in the post, say lawyers.

Jean-Michel Gentil, the most prominent of three judges investigating the case, received the threatening letter together with blank cartridges on Wednesday, the magistrate's union SM said in a statement.

One of Gentil's colleagues said the letter, which arrived at the judge's Bordeaux offices, contained threats against other magistrates. Police had been called.

The SM denounced what it called "insulting statements" made by some of Sarkozy's political allies, which it said were designed to undermine the judiciary.

It noted too that Sarkozy's own lawyer, Thierry Herzog, had questioned Gentil's impartiality.

The SM said a number of its members were targeted in the letter.

Sarkozy's lawyers are attempting to overturn last week's decision by three magistrates to charge him in a case that threatens to destroy his hopes of a political comeback.

He has repeatedly denied claims he accepted cash-stuffed envelopes from the world's richest woman Liliane Bettencourt to fund his successful 2007 campaign.

Medical experts say the mental faculties of the L'Oreal heiress began to deteriorate in 2006.

Sarkozy's lawyer questioned Gentil's impartiality in an interview with newspaper Journal du Dimanche.

Gentil last June put his name to a column signed by dozens of legal professionals in the leading newspaper Le Monde, accusing Sarkozy and his predecessor Jacques Chirac of "wishing to protect the corrupt", he pointed out.

Herzog said that five days after the column, Gentil ordered police to search Sarkozy's home, office and his secretary's house.

A number of Sarkozy's political supporters have denounced the judge.

On Monday, Sarkozy used his Facebook page to insist he had not taken advantage of Bettencourt.

Sarkozy had, in recent weeks, hinted that he was considering a return to the frontline of French politics.

Last week's decision by the judges to put him under formal investigation dealt a blow to those hopes.

Sarkozy could face up to three years in jail, a fine of 375,000 euros ($A462,221.13), and a five-year ban from public office if convicted.

Obama shows off some serious skill!

He can run the most powerful nation in the free world and bounce a soccer ball off his head. U.S.




 President Barack Obama showed off some serious skills when he hosted a ceremony honoring players and coaches from Stanley Cup winners, the L.A. Kings, and Major League Soccer champs, the Los Angeles Galaxy. 

Kim Kardashian Wears Three Different Maternity Outfits in One Day:

Kima kardashian had a full day of interviews in NYC on Tuesday, March 26 to promote her new film Temptation, which meant a lot of wardrobe changes for the pregnant star.

Kardashian changed up her look three times on Tuesday.

The 32 year old expectant mom started her day by styling a Valentino top, Ferragamo skirt and Christian Louboutin heels to Good Morning America.

She then changed into a Lanvin dress, Christian Louboutin heels and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry to chat with Michael Strahan and and guest co-host Kristin Chenoweth on Live with Kelly and Michael. "How cute is Kristin Chenoweth!?" Kardashian tweeted after the show. 

Finally, Kardashian wrapped up her work day by changing into a sexy brown leather dress from her boyfriend's collection, a black leather jacket and Gucci heels.

Mexican vigilantes seize town, arrest police

Hundreds of armed vigilantes have taken control of a town on a major highway in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero, arresting local police officers and searching homes after a vigilante leader was killed. Several opened fire on a car of Mexican tourists headed to the beach for Easter week.

Members of the area's self-described "community police" say more than 1,500 members of the force were stopping traffic Wednesday at improvised checkpoints in the town of Tierra Colorado, which sits on the highway connecting Mexico City to Acapulco. They arrested 12 police and the former director of public security in the town after a leader of the state's vigilante movement was slain on Monday.

A tourist heading to the beach with relatives was slightly wounded Tuesday after they refused to stop at a roadblock and vigilantes fired shots at their car, officials said.

The vigilantes accuse the ex-security director of participating in the killing of vigilante leader Guadalupe Quinones Carbajal, 28, on behalf of local organized crime groups and dumping his body in a nearby town on Monday. They reported seizing several high-powered rifles from his car, and vigilantes were seen toting a number of sophisticated assault rifles on Wednesday, although it was not clear if all had been taken from the ex-security director's car.

"We have besieged the municipality, because here criminals operate with impunity in broad daylight, in view of municipal authorities. We have detained the director of public security because he is involved with criminals and he knows who killed our commander," said Bruno Placido Valerio, a spokesman for the vigilante group.

Placido said vigilantes had searched a number of homes in the town and seized drugs from some. They turned over the ex-security director and police officers to state prosecutors, who agreed to investigate their alleged ties to organized crime.

The growing movement of "self-defense" vigilante groups has seen masked townspeople throw up checkpoints in several parts of southern and western Mexico, stopping passing motorists to search for weapons or people whose names are on hand-written lists of "suspects" wanted for crimes like theft and extortion.

The vigilantes have opened fire before on motorists who refused to stop, slightly wounding a pair of tourists from Mexico City visiting a local beach in early February.

The groups say they are fighting violence, kidnappings and extortions carried out by drug cartels, but concerns have surfaced that the vigilantes may be violating the law, the human rights of people they detain, or even cooperating with criminals in some cases.

Sensitive over their lack of ability to enforce public safety in rural areas, official have largely tolerated vigilante groups.

PAT HOUSTON Cops Called for SUICIDE SCARE

Whitney Houston's sister-in-law Pat Houston was moments from taking her own life ... or several family members thought when they called 911 -- only to discover it was a huge misunderstanding. 

TMZ has learned cops and paramedics rushed to Pat's home in Alpharetta, GA today -- after receiving calls from people close to her who thought Pat had tried to commit suicide.

Here's what happened ... hours earlier Pat had posted on her Facebook page, "Sometimes you just feel like giving up on life and its many challenges. And for the first time in my life…I’m tired…and I want to finally rest. I love you guys."

Sources tell us several family members saw the post and were immediately concerned ... they began calling and texting Pat but got no answer. Then they went to her house, found her passed out in bed next to a pill bottle ... and decided to call 911. 

We're told as soon as cops arrived, Pat woke up and explained she had simply taken pain medication for her back, turned off her phone and then gone to sleep -- unaware so many people were trying to contact her.

We're told Pat informed everyone ... she was never suicidal, the Facebook post was a result of stress.

Law enforcement tells us, Pat was taken to the hospital -- as a preventative measure -- and released a short time later.

Fearing Sexual Attack, British Tourist Jumps Out Of Hotel Room In India!

A British woman, traveling in India, jumped out of the third-floor window of her hotel room in Agra, the site of the Taj Mahal, one of India's most cherished tourist attractions.

The woman reportedly told the Police she feared a sexual attack, after the hotel's owner tried to force his way into her room, by offering her a massage. Police Authority said the woman was not badly hurt, although she suffered some injuries to her legs.

The Police arrested the hotel owner in connection with the incident, but no charges have been filed.

According to the woman, the hotel owner persistently knocked on her door, and even tried to unlock the door, after she refused his offer of a free massage, an allegation the owner denied. The Police said he told them he knocked on the woman's door only because she had asked to be woken up at 4 a.m.

"Our consular team has spoken to this lady and also to the local police", a spokesman for the British High Commission in New Delhi said, adding the High Commission, was offering her consular assistance.

This incident came after a Swiss tourist was gang-raped, in central India. Six men have been arrested in that attack.

These reports of violence, comes amid heightened concern about sexual assaults in India, which followed the fatal gang-rape of a young woman on a moving bus in New Delhi in December, 2013. The incident sparked public protests, demanding the government do a better job at protecting women.

In response, the government passed a law to increase prison-terms for rape offenders, and provide for the death penalty in cases of rape that results in death, or left the victim in a coma. The law also made: voyeurism, stalking, acid attacks, and the trafficking of women, punishable under Criminal Law.

Boy, 4, Found Emaciated Along With Dead Mother In Union Apartment

 Authorities made a heartbreaking discovery in a Union Township apartment Tuesday morning.

As WCBS 880′s Alex Silverman reported, a neighbor smelled a foul odor coming from one of the garden apartments in the Mill Run apartment complex

Building maintenance crews checked it out and inside found a woman dead from what police said appeared to be natural causes. Her 4-year-old son was also inside and had not eaten in five or six days, according to police.

“He made a statement to the officer that ‘there’s plenty of food in the refrigerator but I couldn’t open the door.’ So that’s kind of sad that nobody checked on him, no family members,” Union Township police director Dan Zieser told Silverman. ”It’s sad, very sad.”

“The child was very emaciated. Apparently, he’s been in the apartment for like five or six days with no food,” Zieser said.

One neighbor told 1010 WINS’ Al Jones that he doesn’t understand why the young boy didn’t make any noise or try to get help when his mother died.

“This is a very quiet family. I dunno because, he’s 4-year-old the boy, I dunno why he didn’t knock the door,” he said.

Township Police said if the little boy cried for help, no one heard him. There are also indications he tried to tend to his mother after her death.

Zieser said that the little boy rubbed some type of lotion on his mother. His little handprints were visible on her body, police said.

The little boy was taken to the hospital, where he is in stable condition, Silverman reported. A Union Township police office is watching over the boy while he’s being treated at Newark University Hospital, CBS 2′s Tony Aiello reported.

Foul play is not expected and police said the door was chained from the inside.

Neighbors said the mother was in her 20s. She and the little boy had been living with her mother, who had recently moved to a nursing home.

“Very sorry for this boy and this lady — very, very sorry.  For this boy, that’s a tragedy,” Maria Dochinsaa told Aiello.

The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the official cause of death.

Two men on trial for alleged plot to kill, behead singer Joss Stone!

Two men plotted to kidnap and behead singer Joss Stone — because of her royal connections, a court was told Monday.

Kevin Liverpool, 35, and Junior Bradshaw, 32, were allegedly stopped near the singer’s home with a Samurai sword plus hammers and a knife.

Macabre notes were found, said prosecutors, threatening to “decapitate” the star, 25 — dubbed “she-devil in the flesh”.

Others read “Jocelyn RIP”, “find river to dump her”, “look for jewellery box”, and anti-royal messages such as the Queen’s “system” was “taking the p***”.

Stone — who has sung at several royal charity gigs and was a guest at Will and Kate’s wedding — was at home when the pair were arrested in June 2011.

“The documents appear to express disapproval of the Royal family and the Queen. Joss Stone associates with members of the Royal family — her concerts have been attended by members of it and she was invited to the Royal wedding," said prosecutor Simon Morgan. 

"The defendants didn’t like that and made remarks about the Queen. Hence she becomes a target. The documents express their hatred of her. With this arsenal of weapons it is obvious they were intent upon serious violence. The intended target is Joss Stone — their intention was to rob and kill her.”

Describing notes about decapitation, Morgan said the Samurai sword was “a very handy weapon for that purpose.”.

Liverpool and Bradshaw began plotting their kidnap of Grammy-winner Joss in January 2011.

North Carolina wife reportedly buys billboard to embarrass alleged cheating husband

A billboard in Greensboro, N.C., claims to be from a scorned woman who apparently caught her husband with another woman.

The red billboard has been slowing down traffic on Battleground Avenue and reads, "Michael,
GPS Tracker – $250, Nikon Camera with zoom lens – $1600, Catching my lying husband and buying this billboard with our investment account, – Priceless.  – Jennifer."

Outdoor Signage, the company that owns the billboard, just recently erected it leaving many questioning if it's a marketing ploy.

Someone from the company told the station, "We cannot comment on the billboard content right now. We have asked the sponsor for a statement based on your inquiry."

The billboard also makes a note to Michael's apparent mistress Jessica. "Tell Jessica you’re moving in!"

Vote: What is the hottest Hollywood sex scene ever?

Hollywood sex scenes are about to become a thing of the past.

Studio bosses are ordering stars to cover up and stay out of the sack - because celluloid romps no longer sell.

Film expert Vincent Bruzzese told the Sunday Times this weekend: "Sex scenes used to be written to spice up a trailer. But all that does today is get a film an adult-only rating and lose a younger audience.

"Today such scenes are written out by producers even before they are shot," Bruzzese said. "They ask: do we really need the sex? Can we fill the space with dazzling special effects instead and keep the family rating."

Before we bid farewell to onscreen sex for good - let's celebrate the very best knee-trembling cinematic clinches.

Take a look at our shortlist below and tell us which is the hottest sex scene in Hollywood history.

Go to The Sun to vote. Warning: Some scenes are NSFW.
 

Bieber Investigated For Battery After Fight With Neighbor!

According to TMZ news, Justin Bieber’s temper may have gotten him into trouble again. The pop superstar is reportedly being investigated for battery allegation.


The report states that a neighbor accused Bieber of battery, the Police responded by heading over to his home in California to investigate the matter further.

Spokesperson of Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department, Steve Whitmore said authorities were called to the scene in Calabasas just after 9 a.m, Tuesday.

it's unclear who called authorities and whether there exists previous complaints about problems between Justin and neighbors. Whitmore stated no arrest was made and the situation remains under investigation. 

Sources said Bieber got into an agurment with the neighbor regarding the neighbor’s complaints that Bieber’s house was noisy and packed with partiers while the singer was touring in Europe. Also that despite the neighbor’s claims, Bieber did not have physical contact with him. The singer’s security team reportedly escorted the neighbor off of Bieber’s property.

A representative of Beiber did not immediately return a request for comment from the Associated Press.

Earlier this month, Bieber was caught on camera cursing at a paparazzo and trying to hit him as his security held him back.

Back in January, a former bodyguard for The Biebs sued the pop superstar, claiming he was repeatedly struck by the singer during an October confrontation.

Bieber posted on his verified Twitter account on Tuesday but made no mention of the alleged altercation with his neighbor. He, instead, announced his plans to tour Germany and Russia in the coming months.

UTEP being evacuated due to possible bomb threat

The University of Texas at El Paso is being evacuated because of a bomb threat.

Details are not available but a text sent to students and faculty said: "The university has a bomb threat please evacuate the university campus." The message was sent about 2 p.m.

University police officials issued the following recommendations:

Move toward the nearest exit in a building.

Leave all belongings behind.

Assist co-workers/students in need.

Report to your manager/supervisor once in a safe place.

Await for further instruction before leaving a safe area.

Chris Lechuga, a campus spokesman, said, "There is a threat and we are asking everybody to evacuate."

He would not say what the threat was. The campus will be closed for the rest of the day.

A student said police were swarming the school. Commuters found heavy congestion in the area.

"It was a little scary," said Karla Acevedo, 19, a freshman at the school. "We were in class, they were explaining the homework when everybody started looking at their phones and the teacher said we have to evacuate. We left, like running, we were all scared."

Acevedo, who is from Juárez and was in an English class, added, "Really, I thought I had left Juárez behind. People come here because

of its tranquility."

Juárez had been considered one of the most violent cities in the Americas because of a drug war in which several thousand have been killed.

Students Cynthia Renteria and Carolina Monsivais, both doctoral students in borderland history, said they went back to check on the professors before evacuating.

"I was a little shocked and a little surprised to see the initial text," Monsivais said.

Renteria said she saw her friends expression change and became worried.

"We got up and went to check on our professors" Renteria said.

The two were in the Student Union preparing to go to class and called the student reaction calm.