The world in brief

Saturday, February 8, 2014

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“All over Bangui, entire Muslim neighborhoods are being destroyed and emptied.”

Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch, on the situation in Central African Republic, where thousands of Muslims are fleeing attacks by Christians who are angry over

earlier violence perpetrated by a Muslim rebel group Article, this page

Hijack attempt thwarted by crafty pilot

ANKARA, Turkey - A Ukrainian man tried to hijack a Turkey-bound flight to Sochi, Russia, as the Winter Olympics were kicking off there Friday, but the pilot tricked him and landed in Istanbul instead, where he was detained after a four hour standoff on a plane full of passengers, an official said.

A Turkish F-16 fighter was scrambled as soon as the pilot on the Pegasus Airlines flight from Kharkiv, Ukraine, with 110 passengers aboard signaled there was a hijacking attempt, according to NTV television. The jet escorted the plane safely to its original destination at Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul.

Officials credited the pilot and crew for convincing the 45-year-old-man, who claimed he had a bomb, that they were following his wishes.

Huseyin Avni Mutlu, Istanbul’s governor, said the suspected hijacker was arrested after a standoff during which a negotiator persuaded him to first allow women and children to be evacuated and later agreed to let all other passengers off the plane as well. No bomb was found, Mutlu said.

The man’s motive was unclear, but Mutlu said he had “requests concerning his own country” and wanted to relay a “message concerning sporting activities in Sochi.” Mutlu said there was no immediate indication that the man was a member of any terror organization, and Mutlu did not give his name.

Vatican counters U.N. sex-abuse report

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican struck back Friday at a United Nations human-rights committee that issued a scathing report on sex abuse by priests, accusing it of straying beyond its mandate and discrediting the U.N. as a whole by adopting the “prejudiced” positions of anti-Catholic advocacy groups.

The Vatican said the U.N. committee had ignored both the Holy See’s unique status and its efforts to address the abuse crisis in recent years, noting it had provided this information to the committee in writing and person. It blasted what it called the “absolutely anomalous” publicity the committee gave its report and promised a full response at a later date.

The Geneva-based committee Wednesday accused the Vatican of systematically placing its own interests over those of victims by enabling priests to rape and molest tens of thousands of children through its policies and code of silence.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, accused the committee of giving more credence to the positions of groups “prejudiced against the Catholic Church and the Holy See” than the Vatican itself.

Russian aide: Didn’t leak U.S. envoy’s call

MOSCOW - A Russian government aide who was among the first to post a video online containing a bugged phone call between two U.S. diplomats denied Friday that he or the government played a role in leaking the recording.

Dmitry Loskutov said he was surfing a social-networking website Thursday when he came across the video, in which the top U.S. diplomat for Europe, Victoria Nuland, disparages the European Union.

Loskutov, an aide to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, said his decision to repost the video had no connection to his work for the Russian government.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Thursday that Loskutov’s post pointed to Moscow’s possible involvement.

Nuland has been active in U.S. efforts to resolve a crisis in Ukraine, where anti-government protesters have been camped out in downtown Kiev for almost three months after President Viktor Yanukovych announced he was shelving an association deal with the EU in favor of closer ties with Russia.

Nuland said she would not comment on the video except to say that it was “pretty impressive tradecraft,” echoing a State Department phrase that suggested Russia’s involvement.

Russians arrest 14 at gay-rights protests

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - Russian police Friday arrested several gay-rights activists protesting in St. Petersburg and Moscow on the opening day of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

In Moscow, police quickly detained 10 activists who waved rainbow flags on Red Square and attempted to sing a Russian anthem.

On St. Petersburg’s Vasilyevsky Island, four activists were detained Friday after unfurling a banner quoting the Olympic Charter’s ban on any form of discrimination.

Police in the two cities refused any immediate comment.

A Russian law banning gay “propaganda” from reaching minors has drawn international criticism and calls for a boycott of the Sochi Games. Russian law also bans any unsanctioned protests, and violators may face fines or prison sentences.

Front Section, Pages 6 on 02/08/2014