Jacques Agency

A senior Italian cleric has been arrested in connection with an inquiry into a Vatican bank scandal over allegations of corruption and fraud. Monsignor Nunzio Scarano works in the Vatican's financial administration. A secret service agent and a financial broker have also been arrested. They are suspected of trying to move 20m euros ($26m; £17m) illegally. Pope Francis ordered an unprecedented internal investigation into the bank's affairs in the wake of recent scandals. Monsignor Scarano, 61, worked for years as a senior accountant for a Vatican department known as Apsa (the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See). He was suspended from that position "about a month ago, after his superiors learnt about an investigation into his activities", Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said. Monsignor Scarano has been under investigation by Italian police for a series of suspicious transactions involving the recycling through the Vatican bank of a series of cheq...

Jesus Cleanses a Leper; The Centurion’s Faith - Universal Church of the Living God

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La sabiduria del cielo - Universal Church of the Living God

David Cameron and President Putin can overcome differences on Syria to bring new momentum to efforts to stop the killing in Syria, the PM has said. Mr. Cameron said it was no secret he and the Russian president had disagreements over Syria, but they shared a common aim - to end the conflict. Both wanted to keep Syria intact and get a transitional government in place, he said. Mr. Putin was at No 10 for talks ahead of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland. Speaking after the meeting, Mr. Cameron said they had also discussed the "rules of the game for the world economy", particularly on tax and company ownership; and working together more closely on issues like science and space, trade and investment. Arming rebels He said it was "no secret" the two leaders had disagreements over Syria. Speaking to John Pienaar on BBC Radio 5 live he said President Putin's arming of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime would not stop the West from arming the rebels. H...

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Pope Francis 'confirms Vatican gay lobby and corruption' - Universal Church of the Living God

Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, has passed a law imposing heavy fines for providing information about homosexuality to people under 18. The measure was passed unanimously and will become law when approved by the upper house and President Vladimir Putin, a virtual formality. Gay rights campaigners clashed with anti-gay activists outside the Duma. The lower house also passed a bill imposing up to three years in jail on those who offend religious believers. The law comes in the wake of the imprisoning of members of the punk band Pussy Riot for performing an anti-Putin protest in an Orthodox cathedral in February 2012. Two band members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, are currently serving two-year jail terms. The new law on "offending religious feelings of the faithful" will also take effect after approval by the upper house and the president. Violence between rival protesters spread onto Moscow's central street on Tuesday, reports the BBC...

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A former CIA technical worker has been identified by the UK's Guardian newspaper as the source of leaks about US surveillance programmes. Edward Snowden, 29, is described by the paper as an ex-CIA technical assistant, currently employed by defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. The Guardian said his identity was being revealed at his own request. The recent revelations are that US agencies gathered millions of phone records and monitored internet data. The Guardian quotes Mr Snowden as saying he flew to Hong Kong on 20 May, where he holed himself up in a hotel. He told the paper: "I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things… I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded." Asked what he thought would happen to him, he replied: "Nothing good." He said he had gone to Hong Kong because of its "strong tradition of free speech". Booz Allen Hamilton confirmed Mr Snowden had been an employee for less...

A Lebanese man apparently protesting against the role of Hezbollah in the Syria conflict has been killed by gunfire outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut, Lebanese security sources say. A small group was protesting at the embassy against the Shia movement and its backer, Iran, over their involvement in Syria. It is not yet known who killed the protester. Last week Hezbollah fighters helped retake the town of Qusair from rebels. 'Partisans attacked demonstrators' Clashes broke out on Sunday between supporters and opponents of Hezbollah outside the Iranian embassy, on the outskirts of Beirut, a Lebanese army spokesman was quoted by news agency AFP as saying. The young man was injured in the fighting and later died of his wounds, the army spokesman told AFP. The man killed was identified by Beirut media as Hisham Salman, head of the student section of the Lebanese Option party, a small opposition group. The party's leader, like Hezbollah, is from the Shia community, ho...

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The last rebel stronghold near the strategic town of Qusair, western Syria, has fallen to government forces, Syrian state TV says. Eastern Bouweida village, which lies between Qusair and the restive city of Homs was captured by troops backed by militants from Lebanon's Hezbollah. The Syrian army regained control of the town of Qusair on Wednesday after weeks of intense fighting with rebel forces. The rebels have now lost a key supply route into neighboring Lebanon. "We can now declare Qusair and the surrounding area to be a fully liberated area. We will go after the terrorists wherever they are," an unnamed, senior Syrian army officer told state television on Saturday. The TV report showed shattered buildings and vehicles and weaponry abandoned by fleeing rebels in the village. Activists say that dozens of rebel fighters, including some foreign fighters, have been captured alive in Bouweida, but their fate is not yet known. One question now, says the BBC's Jim Mu...

Google has issued a strong denial that it allows the US government to access its servers. The internet giant said the government has no access, "not directly, or via a back door, or a so-called drop box". The Guardian claims the UK's eavesdropping centre GCHQ has secretly gathered intelligence on Britons from the world's largest internet companies. GCHQ is to report to MPs within days over claims it accessed data through a US spy programme called Prism. Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) expects the report by Monday. GCHQ said in a statement it operated to "a strict legal and policy framework". US spies have been accused of tapping into servers of nine US internet giants including Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Google in a giant anti-terror sweep. All deny giving government agents access to servers. Google's Chief Legal Officer David Drummond said: "We cannot say this more clearly - the government does not have access to G...

An actress from Texas has been arrested over ricin-laced letters sent to President Barack Obama, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the mayor's gun control group, officials said. Shannon Richardson, 35, had accused her husband of sending the letters, but authorities suspect she sent them. Agents in protective suits searched her home in New Boston on Wednesday. She has had small roles in The Vampire Diaries and The Walking Dead, according to her CV on the film database IMDB. Charges have not yet been filed against the pregnant mother of five, who contacted the FBI on 30 May to try to implicate her husband. The letter to Mayor Bloomberg referenced his support of stricter gun control, reportedly containing a threat to "shoot in the face" anyone who came for the sender's guns. It was addressed to the New York mayor's office, but was intercepted at a postal sorting facility. Another letter that tested positive for ricin was sent to the director of the group Mayors A...

President Barack Obama on Friday staunchly defended the sweeping government surveillance of Americans' phone and Internet activity, calling it a modest encroachment on privacy that was necessary to defend the United States from attack. Obama said the programs were "trade-offs" designed to strike a balance between privacy concerns and keeping Americans safe from terrorist attacks. He said they were supervised by federal judges and Congress, and that lawmakers had been briefed. "Nobody is listening to your telephone calls. That's not what this program is about," Obama told reporters during a visit to California's Silicon Valley. The Washington Post reported on Thursday that federal authorities have been tapping into the central servers of companies including Google, Apple and Facebook to gain access to emails, photos and other files allowing analysts to track a person's movements and contacts. That added to privacy concerns sparked by a report in Brita...

Former White House senior adviser David Plouffe on Sunday said that Republicans in Congress are wasting too much time on Obama administration scandals instead of focusing their efforts on economic issues that matter to the American people. Plouffe said he expects Republicans will spend the summer “surfing scandals” and said congressional oversight of the administration has become an obsession on Capitol Hill.

The Red Cross has expressed alarm over the situation in the besieged Syrian town of Qusair, and has appealed for immediate access to deliver aid. Thousands of civilians are believed to be trapped in the town, which lies close to the border with Lebanon. The battle for control between pro-government forces and rebel fighters has made medical supplies, food and water scarce, the Red Cross says. Russia has also reportedly blocked a UN "declaration of alarm" on Qusair. The draft Security Council declaration, which was circulated by Britain, voiced "grave concern about the situation in Qusair, and in particular the impact on civilians of the ongoing fighting". Council statements such as these must be agreed unanimously. However, a diplomat said Russia blocked the draft text because the UN had failed to speak out when Qusair was seized by rebels. Trapped civilians An opposition activist told the BBC on Friday that around 30,000 civilians were still in the town. Strateg...