Daily Archives: December 21, 2013

Swedish Christmas Goat Engulfed in Flames – Again

Posted on by
Reply

Շվեդիա, ամանորյա ծղոտե այծ

 

Vandals in Sweden have burned down for the 27th time a giant straw goat meant to symbolize Christmas spirit.

The 13-meter (43-foot) high and 3.6-ton heavy straw goat was engulfed in flames early Saturday after unidentified assailants attacked it in the Swedish town of Gavle, 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Stockholm.

Շվեդիա, ամանորյա ծղոտե այծ

The straw goat is a centuries-old Scandinavian yule symbol that preceded Santa Claus as the bringer of gifts.

Since 1966, when the tradition of erecting the giant straw goat in the town square was introduced, Vandals have burnt it down 27 times.

Անկախ

Here come the brides: Mass wedding in Nigeria sees 1,000 Muslim couples tie the knot

Posted on by
Reply

Նիգերիա,պսակադրություն, մահմեդական զույգ

 

More than 1,000 Muslim couples tied the knot at a mass wedding Thursday in Nigeria’s second city of Kano, part of a government programme aimed at promoting stable families.

The elaborate event at the city’s central mosque included 1,111 previously divorced women and an equal number of men, many of whom had also been married before.

The mass wedding programme was launched last year by the state government and sharia police, or Hisbah, who enforce Islamic law, in response to what officials have described as a divorce epidemic.

Hisbah chief Aminu Daurawa said the programme has arranged 4,461 marriages over the last 18 months.

Under the match-making programme, the state government pays the traditional bride price, provides brides with furniture and seed money to start a small business.

 

Pope sends out 2,000 Christmas packages to Rome immigrants containing phone cards and a free day’s Metro travel

Posted on by
Reply

Պապ, ներգաղթյալներ,ամանորյա նվերներ

 

Pope Francis has given Christmas packages to 2,000 immigrants at a shelter near the Vatican.

The package included a Christmas card signed by the Pope, postage stamps, a pre-paid international calling card, and a free day travel card for the Rome metro.

She added that Benedict XVI had also reached out to those in need through various initiatives, in ways that were never publicized by the Holy See’s Press Office, reported the Catholic News Agency.

Meanwhile Pope Francis has made an amateur video praising the world’s ‘cartoneros’ – the poor people who pick through garbage to find recyclable and reusable goods.

He says their work is dignified and good for the environment.

 

 Անկախ

Report: Woman gives 19 students poisoned yogurt

Posted on by
Reply

yogurtNineteen school children in central China were hospitalized this week after consuming yogurt laced with poison, China’s state run news agency Xinhua reported.

Among the sick children, three were in serious condition, the agency reported. But none of the victims suffered life threatening injuries, the agency reported.

The incident occurred Wednesday at a school in Hunan province, the news agency reported. A 34-year old woman has been detained and accused of placing rat poison and herbicide in the yogurt, Xinhua reported.

Indonesian Muslims Protest Christmas in Aceh

Posted on by
Reply

Ինդոնեզիա,մահմեդական, ցույց , Սուրբ ծննդյան տոնակատարություն

A group of Muslims has protested against Christmas and New Year celebrations in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province.

About 70 protesters took part in the protest Friday at the governor’s office and at a hotel in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh.

The protest came days after an influential Islamic clerics’ organization, the Ulema Consultative Assembly, issued an edict prohibiting Muslims in the city from offering Christmas wishes or celebrating New Year’s Eve.

The protesters called on authorities to ban the celebrations, claiming they are prohibited by Islam.

Aceh at the northern tip of Sumatra is the only province in predominantly Muslim Indonesia that is allowed to implement a version of Islamic Sharia law.

 

 Անկախ