1. According to CNN, Even by ISIS’ brutal standards, the video is horrific. Twenty-one Coptic Christians beheaded on a beach in Libya. Christians across the world expressed horror and outrage at the mass killing, with Pope Francis calling the victims “martyrs” whose violent deaths should unite the fractured Christian community. Remarkably, though, a leading Coptic Christian bishop says that he has already forgiven the ISIS soldiers who slaughtered his fellow Copts. Bishop Angaelos, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, was in Washington on Friday for the swearing-in of the United States’ new ambassador-at-large for religious freedom, David Saperstein. Angaelos spoke to CNN about why ISIS targets Coptic Christians, and why he forgives them, even as he rejects their horrific acts.
2. According to Religion News Service, Surveys have long shown that women lead more active lives of faith than men, and that millennials are less interested than earlier generations. One in three now claims no religious identity. What may be new is that more women, generation by generation, are moving in the direction of men — away from faith, religious commitment, even away from vaguely spiritual views such as “a deep sense of wonder about the universe,” according to some surveys.
3. According to the Associated Press, Human rights groups have received dozens of complaints in the past month from Russian conscripts who say they have been strong-armed or duped into signing contracts with the military to become professional soldiers. The conscripts are then sent to participate in drills in the southern Rostov region bordering Ukraine. Because only contract soldiers can legally be dispatched abroad, worries are spreading among families that inexperienced young conscripts could be sent to fight in eastern Ukraine alongside pro-Russian separatists. Many soldiers contend that’s already happened. The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a written request for comment sent Feb. 9 or to follow-up phone calls.
4. According to Xinhua, The new U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, who paid an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Saturday, said the timetable for American forces drawdown in Afghanistan would be reviewed. Addressing a joint press conference with President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, Carter, who took the helm as defense secretary only days ago said the withdrawal plan of U.S. troops from Afghanistan will be discussed in further details during President Ghani’s visit to Washington and his meeting with President Barack Obama next month. Under President Obama’s drawdown plan, the 10,800-strong U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan beyond 2014 is due to drop to some 5,500 by the end of 2015 and then pull out altogether by early 2017 except for 1,000 who will provide security for the American embassy in the country.
5. According to AFP, The United States and Latin American nations voiced concerns over political tensions in Venezuela after the socialist government arrested the opposition mayor of Caracas in an alleged coup plot. Almost exactly one year after opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez was arrested as he led a wave of protests against socialist President Nicolas Maduro, intelligence agents burst into Mayor Antonio Ledezma’s office late on Thursday and hauled him to jail. A third radical critic of the government, ousted lawmaker Maria Machado, is under investigation over an alleged plan to assassinate Maduro, though she remains free. Maduro, who has accused the opposition of trying to topple him several times since his April 2013 election, said late Thursday that the mayor was detained over a coup plot financed by the United States. Washington dismissed the claims as “baseless and false.”
6. According to the Associated Press, One of the world’s tallest residential towers caught fire early on Saturday in Dubai’s Marina district, sending hundreds of residents pouring into the streets as bright yellow flames raged several stories high. No one was reported killed. The fire broke out at about 2 a.m. in the 86-story Torch tower on the northeast end of the densely populated waterfront district, which is packed with multi-story skyscrapers. High winds whipped through the area, fanning the flames, and debris from the fire cluttered nearby streets. Dubai’s police chief said that firefighters put out the blaze before it caused serious damage.
7. According to Time Magazine, Fresh off his visit with Prince William last year, President Obama is going to host another royal guest — the heir to the British throne. Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are scheduled to meet with Obama during their four-day visit to the United States in March. The heir to the throne will meet with the President in the Oval Office on March 19, according to a tweet from the National Security Council, and the meeting is said to underscore the “special relationship” between the U.S. and the U.K.
8. According to Reuters, Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, who fled to Russia a year ago after being toppled by months of street protests, said he was ready to return to Ukraine if the opportunity arose. The pro-Russian leader was overthrown by the “Maidan” uprising in Kiev against his decision to back away from a deal that would have taken the country towards integration with Europe and instead tighten economic ties with Russia, Ukraine’s old Soviet master. Yanukovich said in a TV interview aired on Saturday, “God has left me alive, so it looks like I’m needed for something… As soon as there is a possibility for me to return, I will return and will do everything I can to make life better in Ukraine. And today, the main task is to stop the war.”
9. According to AFP, a top US official said the State Department faces thousands of cyber attacks every day, refusing to confirm that hackers who breached their system in November were reportedly still lurking in the network. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, “We have robust security to protect our computer systems and our information, which includes access to an unclassified, open-net system.” But she acknowledged the attacks on an increasing list of public and private institutions were growing more sophisticated. She added, “We deal successfully with thousands of attacks every day, and we deal with them in conjunction with other relevant government agencies.”
10. According to the Associated Press, Former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell was sentenced on Friday to one year and 1 day in prison for her role in a bribery scheme that destroyed her husband’s political career. U.S. District Judge James Spencer sentenced McDonnell on eight public corruption counts. The couple had been found guilty of doing favors for a nutritional supplements executive in exchange for $165,000 in gifts and loans. Prosecutors had asked for an 18-month sentence for the former first lady. Defense attorneys requested probation and 4,000 hours of community service. Fighting back tears, McDonnell apologized to her family and Virginians and said she takes full responsibility.
