Pope Francis arrives in Iraq on historic visit to rally Christians despite pandemic

Pope Francis arrived in Baghdad on Friday to kick off the first-ever papal visit to Iraq and marking his first international trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Francis' plane touched down at Baghdad's airport just before 2pm local time (10pm AEDT).

The 84-year-old will urge the country's dwindling number of Christians to stay put and help rebuild the country after years of war and persecution, brushing aside coronavirus and security concerns. 

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Kiwi still missing on Norwegian island

Man accused of the killing spree in Norway was deeply influenced by a small group of American bloggers and writers who have warned for years about the threat from Islam, lacing his 1,500-page manifesto with quotations from them, as well as copying multiple passages from the tract of the Unabomber.

In the document he posted online, Anders Behring Breivik, who is accused of bombing government buildings and killing scores of young people at a Labor Party camp, showed that he had closely followed the acrimonious American debate over Islam.

His manifesto, which denounced Norwegian politicians as failing to defend the country from Islamic influence, quoted Robert Spencer, who operates the Jihad Watch Web site, 64 times, and cited other Western writers who shared his view that Muslim immigrants pose a grave danger to Western culture.

More broadly, the mass killings in Norway, with their echo of the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City by an antigovernment militant, have focused new attention around the world on the subculture of anti-Muslim bloggers and right-wing activists and renewed a debate over the focus of counterterrorism efforts.

A dual New Zealand/Norwegian national was thought to be on the island at the time of the attack.

It has been 48 hours since Anders Behring Breivik opened fire, killing 86 of the 700 youth staying at the camp.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said this morning that there had been no update on the Kiwi's whereabouts since Saturday night.

A MFAT spokesperson said she didn't have any information on how many people were still missing on the island and whether any more bodies had been found.

The New Zealand embassy in The Hague, which was accredited to Norway, was in direct contact with the New Zealander's next of kin in Norway.

The Norwegian authorities were still working to locate all those thought to be on the island at the time of the attack.

MFAT would not disclose the person's sex or age. The girl's relatives in New Zealand had been informed she was believed to be on the island.

Norway,Friday shooting trial start

Calling himself a crusader against a tide of Islam in a rambling 1,500-page online manifesto, the 32-year-old mass murderer wants the opportunity to explain actions he deemed "atrocious, but necessary".

Lawyer Geir Lippestad said his client had admitted to Friday's shootings at a Labor youth camp and a bomb that killed seven people in Oslo's government district, but that he denies any criminal guilt.

"He has been politically active and found out himself that he did not succeed with usual political tools and so resorted to violence," Lippestad told TV2 news.

"I await a medical assessment of him," he said.

That Breivik deliberately surrendered to police when finally confronted on the tiny island of Utoeya after cold bloodily gunning down 86 youngsters underlines his desire to grab a public platform to deliver his radical thoughts.

In other instances of gunmen going on killing sprees the perpetrators often commit suicide when the police arrive or actively provoke officers to shoot them dead.

It was not clear how long Breivik will have to talk in court since the hearing will be about custody and he will not be required to enter a guilty or innocent plea.

Friday's shooting spree lasted for around 90 minutes before Breivik surrendered to police, who immediately arrested him. Police said on Sunday that Breivik had ammunition left over.

"Breivik is being held at Oslo's police headquarters," Al Jazeera's Harry Smith, reporting from Norway's capital, said. "On Monday, he will be transferred across town for an appearance at the city's criminal court."

"His lawyer has said on that occasion [Breivik] will explain fully what he's done, and more importantly, why he did it."

Witnesses described scenes of horror among the more than 500 people attending the youth camp. Some who tried to swim to safety were even shot in the water.

The chief surgeon at a hospital treating victims of Norway's camp massacre says the killer used special bullets designed to disintegrate inside the body and cause maximum internal damage.

And ballistics experts say so-called dum-dum bullets also are lighter in weight, can be fired with greater accuracy over varying distances and are commonly are used by air marshals and hunters of small animals.

Sveinung Sponheim, the acting police commissioner, said that all the dead had now been removed from the island and "taken to the coroner's morgue where the autopsies will be carried out".

During weekend interrogation, Breivik told police that his attacks were "cruel" but "necessary".

While he "admitted responsibility", police said, his lawyer Geir Lippestad said he was not accepting "criminal responsibility", and that his client felt he had done "nothing reprehensible".

The attacks have caused outrage in Norway amid calls for the reinstatement of the death penalty, given the maximum prison sentence the perpetrator can face is 21 years' imprisonment.

Police have not ruled out the involvement of a second gunman, and on Sunday they detained several people in a swoop on an Oslo property thought to be connected to the attacks. They were released shortly afterwards and no explosives were found.

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Norway shooter to appear in court Monday

The man blamed for Friday's twin terror attacks in Norway is due to make his first appearance in court.

Anders Behring Breivik, 32, admits carrying out a massacre on an island youth camp and a bombing in the capital Oslo in which at least 93 people died.

Norwegian police prosecutor Viola Bjelland, who spoke to the BBC from the Oslo police station where Anders Breivik is detained, said he had been co-operative during questioning.

Breivik's lawyer, Geir Lippestad, said his client has confessed to both attacks but has denied criminal responsibility. Lippestad said his client wants the proceedings to be open when he appears in court "because he wants to explain himself."

CTV's Omar Sachedina, reporting from Norway, said Sunday night Breivik is expected to plead not guilty despite admitting to his involvement in the attacks. If convicted, he could spend up to 21 years in jail. Norway does not execute convicted criminals, and its justice system does not have a life sentence, Sachedina said.

Meanwhile, doctors on Sunday said the shooter may have used special bullets that explode inside the body during the shooting rampage at an island retreat.

The chief surgeon treating many of the shooting victims said it is his belief that the shooter used bullets that explode inside victims and cause massive internal injuries.

Dr. Colin Poole of Ringriket Hospital in Honefoss, northwest of Oslo, said surgeons who have treated a total of 16 victims have failed to recover bullets.

"These bullets more or less exploded inside the body," Poole told The Associated Press. "It's caused us all kinds of extra problems in dealing with the wounds they cause, with very strange trajectories."

The bullets are lighter and can be fired over longer distances with better accuracy, according to ballistics experts quoted by AP. Hunters of smaller animals, as well as air marshals, most commonly use the bullets.

Police have not released the identities of any of the victims. Investigators, however, did reveal on Sunday that one of the first victims in the island shooting was an off-duty police officer who was hired by the camp directors to provide private security.

Police also said there are still people unaccounted for at both the shooting site and the government building that was bombed. Officials were at both sites Sunday searching for more victims.

Investigators said the massacre could have been far worse, as the shooter still had "a considerable amount" of ammunition for both guns he was carrying when he surrendered.

Both police and Lippestad revealed Sunday that Breivik had published a 1,500-page manifesto online that decries Muslim immigration to Europe. He also said "indigenous Europeans" who have accepted Muslims into society would be punished for the "treasonous acts."

"He wanted a change in society and, from his perspective, he needed to force through a revolution," Lippestad told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. "He wished to attack society and the structure of society."

Police said they are analyzing the document, and continue to investigate the theory that, despite Breivik's claims he acted alone, a second shooter was involved in the attack on the island.

On a busy day for investigators, police also carried out raids in what appeared to be a residential neighbourhood in eastern Oslo on Sunday.

Police spokesperson Henning Holtaas said police did not find any weapons or explosives, and did not make any arrests.

As investigators continued probing the tragedy, mourners packed Oslo Cathedral to honour its victims.

Norway's King Harald V and Queen Sonja, as well as Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, joined the mourners, many of whom spilled out into the streets and solemnly stood under a steady rain.

"Many of us knew someone who died," Stoltenberg told mourners. "It's a national tragedy."

The service, which had a "sorrow and hope" theme, left both the king and queen in tears while mourners held each other and wept in the streets long after it was over.

After the service, the royal couple surveyed the damage at the bombing site, and visited victims at Ringriket Hospital.

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Norway attacks: suspect Anders Behring Breivik

Blond-haired 32-year-old appears to have set up accounts on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter just a few days ago.

Although police have not officially named Breivik as the suspect, Norwegian media identified him as the gunman. Police say the suspect is talking to police and was keen to "explain himself".

Eyewitness reports from the island of Utoya, where the shootings took place, have also described a tall, blond haired, blue-eyed Norwegian man dressed as a police officer.

On the Facebook page attributed to him, Breivik describes himself as a Christian and a conservative. It listed his interests as hunting, body building and freemasonry. His profile also listed him as single. The page has since been taken down.

Police chief Svinung Sponheim said that internet posting by Breivik suggested he has "some political traits directed toward the right, and anti-Muslim views.

He is believed to have grown up in Oslo and studied at the Oslo School of Management, which offers degrees and postgraduate courses.

Government business records show him as the sole director of Breivik Geofarm, a company Norwegian media is describing as a farming sole proprietorship.

The company was set up to cultivate vegetables, melons, roots and tubers, Norway's TV2 says, and speculation in local media is rife that through such a link he may have had access to fertiliser, an ingredient used in bomb-making.

The Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang quoted a friend as saying that the suspect turned to right-wing extremism when in his late 20s. The paper also said that he participated in online forums expressing strong nationalistic views.

A Twitter account attributed to the suspect has also emerged but it only has one post, which is a quote from philosopher John Stuart Mill: "One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests.

Two charged for whipping Muslim convert in bed

Police allege Mr Martinez, 31, was held face down on his bed and lashed 40 times with an electrical cord by four men as punishment for going to the pub.

It was claimed his attackers - one of whom appeared in court yesterday - worshipped at the Omar Mosque at Auburn, where Mr Martinez has been attending for prayers.

One of the men, Tolga Cifci, 20, appeared in Burwood Local Court yesterday charged over the attack.

As a second man was arrested yesterday morning, Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said religious sharia law had no place in Australia.

The court heard Mr Martinez was whipped for 30 minutes after the men broke into his townhouse at Silverwater, in Sydney's west, at 1am on Sunday.

Cifci was arrested after a computer hard drive belonging to Mr Martinez and electrical cord thought to have been used in the attack was allegedly found during a police raid at the Auburn house where the accused lives with his parents.

He has been charged with aggravated break and enter and committing a serious indictable offence.

The second man, 43, surrendered himself at Auburn Police Station yesterday. He was charged with aggravated break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence, detaining a person in company with intent to obtain advantage, and two counts of stealing from a dwelling.

The man has been refused bail and will appear in Burwood Local Court today.

Magistrate Tim Keddy told the court the charges against Mr Cifci were "extremely serious and violent" and "if convicted it is highly likely he will be sentenced to a term of imprisonment".

He ordered Mr Cifci to remain at home unless accompanied by either of his parents and is to report to Auburn Police Station daily.

Mr Cifci was also told to surrender his passport and not to visit any airports or other points of departure from Australia.

Police prosecutor George Lolis told the court Mr Cifci's actions were a "misconstruction and particularised usage of religious law" used to justify his part in the attack on Mr Martinez.

Mr Cifci's solicitor Tunc Ozen told the court the accused was "a person of prior good character" but acknowledged his actions would create controversy due to his alleged links to sharia and the Muslim faith. Mr Cifci will reappear in court on September 14.

Harold Camping: Judgment Day Did Actually Happen Saturday

As crestfallen followers of a California preacher who foresaw the world's end strained to find meaning in their lives, Harold Camping revised his apocalyptic prophecy Monday, saying he was off by five months and the Earth actually will be obliterated on Oct. 21.

Camping, who predicted that 200 million Christians would be taken to heaven Saturday before global cataclysm struck the planet, said he felt so terrible when his doomsday message did not come true that he left home and took refuge in a motel with his wife. His independent ministry, Family Radio International, spent millions -- some of it from donations made by followers -- on more than 5,000 billboards and 20 RVs plastered with the Judgment Day message.

Follower Jeff Hopkins also spent a good deal of his own retirement savings on gas money to power his car so people would see its ominous lighted sign showcasing Camping's May 21 warning. As the appointed day drew nearer, Hopkins started making the 100-mile round trip from Long Island to New York City twice a day, spending at least $15 on gas each trip.

Camping did admit to at least one mistake: that he'd been reading the Bible with a factual mindset, rather than a spiritual one, which is why he'd misinterpreted Saturday's events.

"On May 21, this last weekend, this is where the spiritual aspect of it really comes through," said Camping. "God again brought judgment on the world. We didn't see any difference but God brought Judgment Day to bear upon the whole world. The whole world is under Judgment Day and it will continue right up until Oct. 21, 2011 and by that time the whole world will be destroyed."

So, in other words, even though Harold Camping was wrong, he was actually still right. You just don't know it, because you aren't Harold Camping.

Christian movement preparing for End of Days

Joseph, Faith and Grace Haddad appear like any other American teenagers - except for the fact their parents Robert and Abby believe the world is about to end.

Two years ago their father Robert and mother Abby gave up their regular jobs to preach for the Family Radio church at the centre of the May 21 Judgment Day campaign.

In a last ditch effort to spread the word before the Armageddon that they believe will happen today at 6pm local time wherever you live, Robert and Abby took their children to a New York street fair.

Jerry Jenkins, co-author with Tim LaHaye of the 'Left Behind' series of apocalyptic novels that have sold millions of copies worldwide, is among those who has a problem with the prediction.

'As a believer, I'm already a kook compared to most people, so for someone to choose a date and get everyone excited about a certain time, my problem is it makes us look worse,' said Jenkins, 61.

But the very industry in which Jenkins' books are aimed and sold are part of the problem according to Barbara Rossing, professor of the New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

She describes a huge apocalyptic 'prophecy industry' that includes video games, board games and books, and says: 'It is very appealing to people.'

Indeed, according to its tax returns Family Radio, a non-profit organisation, has raised more than $100m over the last seven years. It owns 66 radio stations worldwide and a recent spike in activity has seen it lavish millions on its international billboard advertising campaign.

When asked what the church was going to do with the money when the world ended, Camping told Contra Costa Times; 'When Judgment Day comes, if someone is a billionaire, how will they take their money with them?

'If we have any money left, and we will because we have to pay bills up to the very end... it will all be destroyed because the world will be in a day of judgment.

'The money is not important at all. It's a vehicle to spread the judgment and a vehicle of the Lord.'

But as the true believers prepare for what they hope will be their last day on earth, many atheists are having fun with the anticlimax they anticipate.

In Tacoma, Washington, atheists have organized a party for Saturday night under the banner 'countdown to backpedaling', on the assumption that Camping and Family Radio will change their story if Judgment Day does not come.

At least 100 people are expected at the party, said Sam Mulvey, 33, an organizer of the event and the producer of a weekly atheist radio show in Tacoma.

'If the world still exists the next day, Family Radio is going to have to say something and most of the time they backpedal, and that's what we're counting down to,' he said.

Other atheists have taken a more practical approach to the 'rapture' by turning the 'prophecy industry' on itself to make money.

In New Hampshire, Bart Centre started his company Eternal Earth-bound Pets in 2009.

He offers rapture believers an insurance plan for those pets that won't join them in heaven: 10-year pet care contracts, with Centre and his network of fellow non-believers taking responsibility for the animals after the Rapture.

The fee - payable in advance, of course - was originally $110, but has risen to $135 since Camping's prediction. He has 258 clients.

But for some people the rapture is no laughing matter. In Harrison, New Jersey, reformed raver John Ramsey, 25, has given up his job to spread the word with his wife, Marcia Paladines.

Marcia, featured in the video below, is pregnant. Her due date is May 27.

'God is in control. I have prayed for mercy on my baby,' a crying Paladines told The Huffington Post.

'But I don't know what's going to happen. If I'm here May 21, then I will suffer the consequences of the wrath of God. I know like anybody else I'll deserve it because none of us are perfect.'

An independent California preacher who predicts Judgment Day will arrive Saturday has amassed a global following. He believes it will likely start as it become 6 p.m. in the world's various time zones.

Eighty-nine-year-old Harold Camping has built a nonprofit ministry based around his apocalyptic prophesy.

The retired engineer will be awaiting Jesus Christ's return for the second time. Camping says his earlier apocalyptic prediction in 1994 didn't come true because of a mathematical error.

Skeptics are throwing Rapture-themed parties to celebrate what hosts expect will be the failure of Camping's prophesy.

End times prediction

2011 end times prediction is a prediction made by Christian radio host Harold Camping that the Rapture (in Christian belief, the taking up into heaven of God's elect people) will take place on May 21, 2011 and that the end of the world as we know it will take place five months later on October 21, 2011, These predictions were made by Camping, president of the Family Radio Christian network, who claims the Bible as his source and says May 21 will be the date of the Rapture and the day of judgment "beyond the shadow of a doubt. His followers claim that around 200 million people (approximately 3% of the world's population) will be raptured.

Camping's predictions have not been embraced by most other Christian groups; some have explicitly rejected them. Christianity Today reports that Camping's teachings have "drawn a flurry of attacks, including sermons, a January seminar in New York that drew 70 pastors, and a Web site (www.familyradioiswrong.com).

Criticism

James Kreuger, author of the book Secrets of the Apocalypse - Revealed, has stated that while he believes the rapture is coming, Camping is incorrectly attempting to nail down a date. "For all his learning, Camping makes a classic beginner's mistake when he sets a date for Christ's return," writes Kreuger. " Jesus himself said in Matthew 24:36, 'Of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my father only.

Theology professor Matthew L. Skinner, writing at the Huffington Post, noted the "long history of failed speculation" about the End Times and cautioned that end-of-the-world talk can lead Christians to social passivity instead of "working for the world's redemption.

Controversy

Camping's rapture prediction, along with some of his other teachings and beliefs, have sparked some controversy in the Christian world. His critics often quote Bible verses (such as Matthew 24:36) which they claim imply the date of the end will never be known by anyone. However, Camping and his followers respond that this principle only applied to the "church age" or "pre-tribulation period" and does not apply to the present day, using other verses (such as 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5:5) in their rebuttal.

Camping asserts that before the End comes, believers should "flee the church," resigning from any church they belong to; however, this assertion has been controversial.

In Camping's 1992 self-published book 1994? he proclaimed that the End Times would come on September 4, 1994. When the Rapture failed to occur on the appointed day, Camping said he had made a mathematical error.

Promotion

In 2010, Marie Exley of Colorado Springs made news by purchasing advertising space in her locality, promoting the alleged Rapture date on a number of park benches. Since then, 'Judgment Day' billboards have been erected at locations across the world. Some people have adorned their vehicles with the information.

On October 27, 2010, Family Radio launched "Project Caravan". Five RVs arrayed with reflector lettering that declare that Judgment Day begins on May 21, 2011 were sent out from their headquarters in Oakland, California, to Seattle, Washington. Upon arrival, teams are sent out to distribute tracts. The caravan has made stops in Oregon, California, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Florida, Utah, Maryland, and other states, as well as Canada.

Reasoning

I know it's absolutely true, because the Bible is always absolutely true.

— Harold Camping, president, Family Radio

The majority of arguments, or biblical "proofs", in favor of the May 21st end time have come from Camping. A civil engineer by training, Camping states he has attempted to work out mathematically-based prophecies in the Bible for decades. In an interview with SFGate he explained "...I was an engineer, I was very interested in the numbers. I'd wonder, 'Why did God put this number in, or that number in?' It was not a question of unbelief, it was a question of, 'There must be a reason for it.

A commonly cited argument in favor of the May 21st date is:

According to Camping, the number five equals "atonement", the number ten equals "completeness", and the number seventeen equals "heaven".

Christ is said to have hung on the cross on April 1, 33 AD. The time between April 1, 33 AD and April 1, 2011 is 1,978 years.

If 1,978 is multiplied by 365.2422 days (the number of days in a solar year, not to be confused with the lunar year), the result is 722,449.

The time between April 1 and May 21 is 51 days.

51 added to 722,449 is 722,500.

(5 x 10 x 17)2 or (atonement x completeness x heaven)2 also equals 722,500.

Thus, Camping concludes that 5 x 10 x 17 is telling us a "story from the time Christ made payment for our sins until we're completely saved.

Publications

Camping's writings that detail the timing of the end include:

Book

1994? (1992 - predicts the End Times for September 4, 1994)

Time Has An End (2005 - discusses Camping's belief that 2011 is in all likelihood the end of the world)

Booklet

We Are Almost There! (2008 - contains all the information on how May 21, 2011 was arrived at)

Tracts

The End of the World is Almost Here! Holy God Will Bring Judgment on May 21, 2011 (2009)

God Gives Another Infallible Proof That Assures the Rapture Will Occur May 21, 2011 (2009)

No Man Knows the Day or the Hour? (2009)

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Vigil Planned to Support Australian Bishop Fired by Vatican

(Australia Twitter)-Supporters of an outspoken Australian bishop dismissed by Pope Benedict for his views on the ordination of women and married men are to stage a vigil to protest against his treatment. A Vatican statement Monday said that Bishop William Morris had been "removed from pastoral care".

William Morris has been forced by the Pope to retire early because of a letter in 2006 to his parish in which he discussed whether falling numbers of Catholic priests could be offset by the ordination of women and ministers from other churches.

His stance was considered by the church’s hierarchy to be rebellious and after an investigation the Vatican has removed him as bishop of the Queensland diocese of Toowoomba, 130 kilometers west of the state capital, Brisbane.

Bishop Morris said he was not advocating the change but pointing to local, national and international debate on the issues.

Last night Brisbane Archbishop John Bathersby paid tribute to Bishop Morris and his care of the Toowoomba Diocese.

Former Catholic priest Peter Kennedy was forced to quit the church in Brisbane because of the same issue two years ago.

He says the Vatican wields absolute power over its Bishops.

Bishop Brian has diligently served as one of my auxillary bishops since 2002 and is a former General Secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference,” Archbishop Bathersby said.

“I am only too happy to assist Bishop Morris and Bishop Finnigan in this time of change for the Diocese of Toowoomba and its priests and people.

For many, the news brought tears and anger and the after-mass social gatherings common each weekend took on a different feel.

Realising little could be done to reverse the decision of Rome to seek a new bishop for the diocese, parishioners looked for ways to at least express support for their bishop of 18 years.

Yesterday, the Anglican Bishop of the Western Region in Queensland, Rob Nolan, said the forced retirement was unjust.

Supporters of Bishop Morris scheduled a candlelit vigil Tuesday to show their disappointment with the Vatican's decision to dismiss him. Parishioners will then march through the streets of Toowoomba to the city’s cathedral, where Bishop Morris has served for 18 years.

The Catholic Church in Australia is administered by the Vatican in Rome. Australia is a majority Christian country. It is estimated there are more than 5 million Australian Catholics - about a quarter of the population.