Pope Carries Cross at Good Friday Procession

By Sabina Castelfranco Rome 06 April 2007

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For the second year, Pope Benedict led the traditional Way of the Cross procession in Rome's ancient Coliseum. Thousands took part in the solemn ceremony. For VOA, Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome.

Pope Benedict XVI holds the wooden cross next to a torch, during the Via Crucis torchlight procession on Good Friday in front of the Colosseum in Rome, 6 Apr 2007

Pope Benedict carried the cross at the start and the end of the Way of the Cross procession at the Coliseum in Rome. The procession at the ancient Roman amphitheater is a tradition on Good Friday that commemorates the suffering of Jesus before his crucifixion.

Speaking at the start of the procession, Pope Benedict said that recalling the steps of Jesus in the last hours of his earthly life would be a voyage in pain, in solitude, in cruelty, in evil and in death, but also a journey in faith, hope and in love.

A large crowd of faithful carrying candles turned out for the event, including many of the pilgrims who come to the Italian capital for Holy Week. They watched as the cross was carried for 14 stations.

Pope Benedict said the sepulcher of the last stop would not remain sealed forever. After the evening, in the dawn of Easter, the light of joy will rise, and silence will be replaced by the word of life, and death will be replaced by the resurrection.

Earlier in the afternoon, Benedict presided over the Passion of the Lord service in St. Peter's Basilica, which lasted more than two hours.

The papal household's official preacher read out a lengthy homily in which he made several references to the role of women and said they should not try to erase the differences between genders.

The preacher said that women, in order to assert their dignity, have at times felt the need to take on male attitudes or to minimize the differences between sexes. The papal preacher said that there is reason to hope that humanity will finally enter an era of the woman: an era of heart and compassion.

On Saturday evening Pope Benedict will celebrate an Easter vigil mass and on Sunday he will deliver his "Urbi et Orbi" - to the city and the world - blessing and message.

Freed British Sailors Tell of Ordeal in Iran Detention

By Sonja Pace London 06 April 2007

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A day after returning home from nearly two weeks' captivity in Iran, some of the 15 British sailors and marines spoke openly about their ordeal - of being kept in isolation, blindfolded, hearing guns cocked behind their heads, being threatened with prison sentences and used for propaganda. VOA's Sonja Pace reports from London.

British sailors answer reporters' questions during press conference in London, 06 Apr 2007

After a day of family reunions, some of the navy crew captured by Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces faced the microphones and TV cameras back in Britain to tell their story.

"Good afternoon, my name is Captain Chris Air, Royal Marines. Myself and the gentleman on my left, Lt. Felix Carman are now going to read our statement," he said.

And the story Captain Air, Lt. Carman and the others told varied greatly from the photos shown on Iranian television over the past two weeks - of the sailors smiling, chatting, playing chess and seemingly apologetic for allegedly having strayed into Iranian territorial waters.

"We were blindfolded, stripped of all our kit [equipment] and led to a room, where I declared myself as the officer in charge, and was introduced to their local commander," he recalled.

Lt. Carmen described events immediately after the crew and their two small boats were surrounded by Iranian forces and taken to a local base. The treatment, he said got worse once they were transferred to Tehran.

"We were blindfolded, our hands were bound. We were forced up against a wall. Throughout our ordeal, we faced constant psychological pressure," he said. "Later, we were stripped and dressed in pajamas. The next few nights were spent in stone cells, all of us were kept in isolation. We were interrogated most nights, and presented with two options - if we admitted we'd strayed [into Iranian waters], we'd be back in a plane to the U.K. pretty soon. If we didn't we faced up to seven years in prison."

Carman said a general consensus emerged that they would talk, and, to some extent, go along with their captors, without revealing any operational details.

Iranian state-run Al-Alam television image of detained British sailors, 30 Mar. 2007

He said, toward the end of their detention, they were allowed some time together - in front of the Iranian media.

The one woman in the group, Faye Turney, was separated from the rest of the crew from the start, and told the others had all been released. She was the first captive shown on Iranian television. She did not take part in Friday's news conference.

The crew's capture March 23 sparked a diplomatic standoff and high-level discussions between London and Tehran. Iran maintains the British sailors were in Iranian waters when detained, British authorities insist the crew was in Iraqi waters.

British PM Tony Blair delivers a speech outside No. 10 Downing Street in central London, 05 Apr 2007

In the end, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was giving a "gift" to the British people, when he announced the sailors' release on Wednesday, indicating Iran succeeded in sending its warning. And, in London Prime Minister Tony Blair said Britain had prevailed though a mix of dialogue and diplomatic pressure, a strategy he said the international community should continue to use with Iran when discussing other issues, such as the situation in Iraq or Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Experts Warn Climate Change Could Hit World's Poor the Hardest

By Teri Schultz Brussels 06 April 2007

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It took a contentious all-night session to bridge gaps between scientists and policy-makers, but participants at a U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change conference in Brussels emerged with a document that warns of dire consequences from global warming. Teri Schultz has the details for VOA from Brussels.

The climate change panel's final report doesn't require governments to pass any laws, spend any money or take any action to combat global warming… but what scientists in the working group consider great progress is that now, the some 130 governments who approved the document agree, global warming is happening on every continent.

Martin Parry, left, presents report on climate change at EU Charlemagne building in Brussels, 06 Apr 2007

One of the co-authors of the International Panel on Climate Change report, Martin Parry, says this is a significant milestone.

"That's an important conclusion really because for the first time, we're not arm-waving 'This might happen.' It's what we call empirical information on the ground - we can measure it," he said.

And what scientists have concluded is that the situation is worse than previously thought. Glaciers are melting, desert land is increasing and the world's temperature is gradually rising - most of which the IPCC panel attributes to carbon-dioxide emissions caused by humans - all of which can increase human suffering.

Poor populations, already fragile, will be the worst-affected, Martin Parry warns, especially in the areas of food supply and health.

"Any amount of warming is going to decrease yields and that is exactly what we don't want," he said. "We've got 500 million hungry people in the world today, according to the FAO, and those numbers are likely to increase as a result of climate change."

According to the report, rising temperatures also threaten up to 30 percent of the species around the world with an increased risk of extinction.

Some scientists complained on the sidelines of the meeting that governments had been allowed to water down the scientific findings, but Parry says getting the policy-makers to sign on to the document is of vital importance.

"Painful it may be but it creates the intergovernmental agreed baseline of information," he said. "We may not be right at the frontiers but we consolidate what we truly know."

In May, the panel will produce a similar report on how humans can help to avert the worst effects of climate change.

VOASE0406_In the News

06 April 2007

Presidential Candidates Raise Record Amounts of Money for Campaigns
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama lead all candidates in fundraising.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

The next presidential election in the United States is in November, two thousand eight. Yet several presidential candidates have raised large amounts of money already. Experts say the competition among the candidates to raise money has become the first important test of the campaign.

Senator Barack Obama

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama announced this week that his campaign has raised twenty-five million dollars over the past three months.

More than one hundred thousand people have given money to the senator from Illinois for his campaign. Thousands of people made donations of twenty-five or fifty dollars. Almost seven million dollars was raised on the Internet.

Senator Obama has raised only slightly less money than Senator Hillary Clinton of New York. She has received twenty-six million dollars in campaign donations. The former first lady's donations came from fifty thousand people. Senator Clinton has so far raised more money than any other presidential candidate.

Senator Hillary Clinton

Public opinion studies show Senator Clinton has more support than the other Democratic candidates. However, experts say the amount of money Senator Obama has raised shows that he is a major candidate.

Mister Obama is second among the Democratic candidates in public opinion studies. Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards is in third place. Mister Edwards' campaign reported raising fourteen million dollars so far.

This is the second time Mister Edwards has run for the Democratic nomination for president. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have been the subjects of many news reports recently. This is because they announced that that they will continue campaigning even though Elizabeth Edwards' cancer has returned.

Mitt Romney

Among Republican Party candidates, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has raised twenty-three million dollars. Thirty-three thousand people have donated to Mister Romney's campaign. This is more money than any other Republican candidate.

This was a surprise to many people because Mister Romney is in third place among Republican candidates in most public opinion studies. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Senator John McCain are in first and second place. Mister Giuliani has raised fifteen million dollars so far this year. Mister McCain has raised twelve and one-half million dollars.

Never in American history has so much money been raised this early in a presidential election. Many states are holding their nominating party meetings and primary elections earlier in two thousand eight. This will force candidates to spend more money earlier on advertising and campaign workers.

Experts also note that the Democratic presidential candidates have raised much more money than the Republicans. Historically, the Republican candidates have raised the most money.

And that's IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.