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GENOCIDE

Hacker attacks Vatican site after ‘genocide’ claim

A Turkish hacker attacked the Vatican website after Pope Francis described the mass killings of Armenians by the Turks as 'genocide', according to US news reports.

Published: 15 April 2015 13:08 CEST
Hacker attacks Vatican site after 'genocide' claim
Screengrab: Vatican.va

Vatican.va was attacked on Monday evening, the website The Hill reported.

The hacker, calling himself THTHerakles, claimed credit for the attack on Twitter.

 

 

Pope Francis sparked fury from Turkey on Sunday after he used the word "genocide" to describe the killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman empire.

Turkey then summoned the Vatican's ambassador in Ankara and recalled the Turkish envoy to the Holy See in a show of protest.

The European Parliament is due to vote on Wednesday on a "motion for resolution on the commemoration of the centennial of the Armenian genocide".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Turkey would ignore any decision by the parliament qualifying the 1915 killings of Armenians in World War I as genocide, saying such recognition would go "in one ear and out from the other".

The vote takes place against the backdrop of growing tensions over the characterization of the tragedy ahead of the 100th anniversary of the massacres this month.

"Whatever decision the European Union Parliament makes today would go in one ear and out from the other because it is not possible for Turkey to accept such a sin or crime," Erdogan told reporters at Ankara airport before leaving for Kazakhstan on Wednesday.

The US on Tuesday called for a "full, frank" acknowledgement of the mass killings while shying away from calling it a "genocide."

"I don't know right now what sort of decision they will make…but I barely understand why we, as the nation, as well as print and visual media, stand in defence," Erdogan said.

"I personally don't bother about a defence because we don't carry a stain or a shadow like genocide," he said.

Armenia and Armenians in the diaspora say 1.5 million of their forefathers were killed by Ottoman forces in a targeted campaign to eradicate the Armenian people from Anatolia in what is now eastern Turkey.

Turkey takes a sharply different view, saying hundreds of thousands of both Turks and Armenians lost their lives as Ottoman forces battled the Russian Empire for control of eastern Anatolia during World War I.

Erdogan said Turkey was home to some 100,000 Armenian citizens, who were working in the country, some illegally.

"We could have deported them but we did not. We're still hosting them in our country. It is not possible to understand such a stance against a country which displays hospitality."

Turkey is also still home to a small Turkish-Armenian community, mostly based in Istanbul, who number around 60,000.

Armenians around the world will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the tragedy on April 24th, the same day as Turkey is planning major commemorations of the World War I battle of Gallipoli.

HEALTH

Pope calls for a quicker vaccine rollout in Italy’s Easter Sunday message

Pope Francis proclaimed vaccines an "essential tool" in ending the pandemic in his Easter Sunday address and urged their swift rollout to the world's poorest countries.

Published: 4 April 2021 13:51 CEST
Pope calls for a quicker vaccine rollout in Italy's Easter Sunday message
Pope Francis delivers his Urbi et Orbi Blessing, after celebrating Easter Mass on April 04, 2021 at St. Peter's Basilica in The Vatican during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / POOL / AFP)

On the holiest holiday for the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics and the second under the shadow of the coronavirus crisis, the Pope focused his message on the world’s most vulnerable – the sick, migrants, people facing economic hardship, and those living in war zones like Syria, Yemen and Libya.

“The pandemic is still spreading, while the social and economic crisis remains severe, especially for the poor,” the 84-year-old Argentine said, speaking to a congregation of only around 100 people inside the vast St. Peter’s Basilica.

“Vaccines are an essential tool in this fight,” he said, calling on the international community to overcome delays in distributing vaccines, “especially in the poorest countries”.

READ ALSO: Children lead the way in Italy’s reduced Good Friday service

Francis, who has focused on the plight of vulnerable groups since becoming pope in 2013, had already warned rich nations against vaccine hoarding in an address to the UN General Assembly in September.

The pope said it was “scandalous” that armed conflicts around the world had not ceased. He called for an end to the war in Syria, “where millions of people are presently living in inhumane conditions”, and in Yemen “whose situation has met with a deafening and scandalous silence”.

A deserted St. Peter’s Square in The Vatican, after the Pope’s Easter Mass and Urbi et Orbi blessing during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)

He also expressed his closeness to Myanmar’s youth – “committed to supporting democracy” – called for dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, and urged an end to violence in Africa, citing Nigeria, the Sahel, Northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region and Cabo Delgado in Mozambique.

“There are still too many wars and too much violence in the world,” Francis said, adding that April 4th marked an awareness day against landmines, “insidious and horrible devices”.

An Easter message in Lockdown before a key month in Italy

The Pope’s Easter “Urbi et Orbi” (To the city and the world) message in the Vatican came as 60 million Italians spent the Easter holiday under lockdown.

The whole of Italy, the first country in Europe to have been hit by the coronavirus, has been declared a high-risk “red zone” from Saturday through Monday, with restrictions on movement and restaurants closed along with non-essential retail.

READ ALSO: Covid-19: What can you do this Easter in lockdown Italy?

Despite the gloom, there have been hopeful signs that vaccinations are gaining pace in Italy, while infection rates dipped in late March – although emergency rooms remain under enormous strain.

April is set to be a crucial month for Italy’s vaccine rollout, with authorities hoping to administer 300,000 doses per day within two weeks, according to the country’s coronavirus commissioner, General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo.

Three regions, including that of Veneto, which includes Venice, are also preparing to slightly loosen their anti-coronavirus rules from Tuesday onwards, passing from the most restrictive “red” zone to “orange”.

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