Nuns held by rebels in Syria are freed, arrive at border: witnesses

By Firas Makdesi and Alexander Dziadosz

JDAIDAT YABBOUS, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - About a dozen nuns held by rebels in Syria for more than three months were released on Sunday and arrived back in Syria after traveling through Lebanon, officials and witnesses said.

Witnesses at the Syrian border with Lebanon said the nuns arrived at the crossing late on Sunday night and headed toward Damascus in a minibus. One witness counted 13 nuns and three other workers from their convent.

"I'm in good health, thank God," one of the nuns said by phone, leaving before she could give her name or further details.

A Lebanese security source had said the nuns had been taken to the Lebanese town of Arsal earlier in the week and would head to the Syrian capital on Sunday accompanied by the head of a Lebanese security agency and a Qatari intelligence official.

The nuns went missing in December after Islamist fighters took the ancient quarter of the Christian town of Maaloula north of Damascus.

After being held in the Greek Orthodox monastery of Mar Thecla in Maaloula, they were reportedly moved to the rebel-held town of Yabroud, about 20 km (13 miles) to the north, which is now the focus of a government military operation.

Speaking to reporters at the border, Syrian Greek Orthodox Bishop Louka al-Khoury welcomed the reported release of the nuns. "What the Syrian army achieved in Yabroud facilitated this process," he said.

Shortly after the nuns disappeared, Islamist rebels said they had taken them as their "guests" and that they would release them soon.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group identified the rebels who took the nuns as militants from the Nusra Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria.

The Observatory and a rebel source in the area said the release of the nuns had been agreed as part of a swap in which the government would free scores of women prisoners.

"The deal is for the release of 138 women from Assad's prisons," the rebel source said, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Other reports by activists on social media said around 150 prisoners would be released.

In December, the nuns appeared in a video obtained by Al Jazeera television, saying they were in good health, but it was not clear under what conditions the video had been filmed.

Syrian state television devoted significant coverage to the release on Sunday, but made no mention of any prisoner exchange agreement. It broadcast live footage from the Lebanese border and interviews with church officials, including one who denounced the West as only believing "in the dollar".

A montage of Christian imagery including churches, a statue of the Virgin Mary and murals of Jesus was set against music and described Syria as a "cradle of the monotheistic faiths."

Syria's Christian minority has broadly tried to stay on the sidelines of the three-year-old-conflict, which has killed over 140,000 people and which has become increasingly sectarian.

But the rise of hardline Islamists among the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim opposition has alarmed many. Assad, whose minority Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, has portrayed himself as a bulwark against militant and intolerant ideologies.

(Editing by Eric Walsh) nL6N0M60NP

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Nuns held by rebels in Syria are freed

About a dozen Greek Orthodox nuns held captive for more than three months have been released.
Part of reported prisoner swap

Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine sought urgent Western backing on Monday after Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted that Crimea had the right to join his country even while hinting at a readiness for dialogue.

The pro-European team in Kiev that rode the wave of three months of deadly protests to topple a Kremlin-backed regime is running against the clock to preserve the territorial integrity of the culturally splintered nation of 46 million.

The self-declared leadership on the predominantly ethnic Russian peninsula of Crimea has proclaimed independence from Kiev and set a March 16 referendum on switching over to Kremlin rule.

The decision has been condemned by Western powers who are also furious at Moscow's seizure of Crimea in a lightning but bloodless operation that began days after the February 22 fall and subsequent escape to Russia of president Viktor Yanukovych.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- whose cautious approach to imposing sanctions on Russia has clashed with the more hawkish positions of Eastern European nations and the United States -- bluntly told Putin on Sunday that the Crimean referendum was "illegal".

The most explosive East-West crisis since the Cold War was stoked further when the Kremlin said Putin told both Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron that he fully recognised the actions of the Crimean leaders -- in power since an end of February seizure of the local parliament and government by pro-Kremlin gunmen.

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A police officer looks on as pro-Russian "self-defence" activists use a bat to beat a pro- …

The Kremlin said Putin stressed "the steps undertaken by the legitimate authorities of Crimea are based on the norms of international law" -- a comment hinting strongly that the Kremlin was ready to annex Crimea after handing the peninsula as a "gift" to Ukraine when it was a part of the Soviet empire in 1954.

But Merkel's office also said Putin had promised to discuss with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday the creation of an "international contact group" on Ukraine that he had resisted in the past.

Germany is pushing the group's creation as a way of avoiding an all-out war breaking out on the eastern edge of Europe that would see Ukraine call for Western help against its nuclear-armed neighbour.

The embryonic sign of diplomatic progress came as Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk prepared to fly to Washington for his first meeting with US President Barack Obama -- pushing a peace plan that includes support for Ukrainian presidential elections on May 25.

Wednesday's meeting will both boost the credibility of Yatsenyuk's untested government -- not recognised by Russia -- and provide Ukraine with a chance to iron out the details of crucial economic relief for its wheezing economy.

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Ukrainian Cossacks take the oath on Independence Square in Kiev on March 9, 2014 (AFP Photo/Anatolii …

"This is a very important visit," Ukraine's interim Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya told Kiev's 1+1 television late on Sunday.

"We hope that during these negotiations, we will find joint approaches to solving the situation around Crimea."

Deshchytsya -- who had earlier confirmed that Ukrainian troops in Crimea were under orders not to open fire on or be provoked by the pro-Kremlin militia who have overrun the peninsula - -- said Kiev was pushing hard for a "peaceful solution".

The White House said Yatsenyuk's visit would "highlight the strong support of the United States for the people of Ukraine" in the face of the "ongoing military intervention in Crimea."

It added that Obama will discuss an economic support package that so far has seen Washington pledge a quick infusion of more than $1 billion and the European Union promise to deliver 11 billion euros ($15 billion).

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Pro-Russian sef-defence activists stand around after clashes with pro-Ukrainian supporters during th …

Ukraine says it needs about 25 billion euros ($35 billion) in assistance over two years to keep the country running after Russia froze a $15 billion package it promised Yanukovych as his reward for rejecting an historic EU trade deal in November.

Yanukovych's shock decision sparked the Kiev protests in which 100 died -- most of them in days of carnage preceding the pro-Moscow regime's fall.

Deshchytsya said on Sunday that Kiev hoped to sign parts of the rejected Association Agreement at either a meeting of EU foreign ministers on March 17 or a summit of the bloc's 28 leaders on March 20-21.

- Russian flags in east Ukraine -

The escalating standoff has seen Obama vow to impose visa bans and asset freeze on Russia officials held responsible for endangering the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

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A sailor guards a Russian navy ship in the Bay of Sevastopol on March 9, 2014 (AFP Photo/Viktor Drac …

US officials have stressed that Putin himself is not on that list but also warn that Washington could pull out of a G8 summit the Russian leader is hosting in Sochi in June.

The European Union for its part has halted visa talks and threatened to impose tough economic sanctions unless Putin quickly opens talks with the Kiev team.

The Kremlin blames the new Ukrainian rulers for having fomented an atmosphere of intimidation against ethnic Russians in the eastern and southern swathes of Europe's largest country that prompted Putin to threaten to use force on March 1.

Ukraine on Sunday was hit by rival protests that saw pro-Kremlin separatists seize the regional seat of power in the eastern city of Lugansk and raise the Russian flag on the local security forces' headquarters in Yanukovych's native region of Donetsk.

Pro-Moscow militants wearing balaclavas and bullet-proof vests -- joined by Cossacks wielding whips -- also attacked a small rally for Ukrainian unity in the Crimean naval port city of Sevastopol that has housed Russia's Black Sea Fleet since the 18th century.

Moscow says it would consider diplomatic proposals, but insists Crimea has a right to secede.
Merkel rebukes Putin

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden calls Venezuela's situation alarming in remarks published Sunday, suggesting its government is using "armed vigilantes" against peaceful protesters and accusing it of "concocting false and outlandish conspiracy theories" about the United States.

Biden's remarks, issued in writing to a Chilean newspaper in response to questions, drew an angry rebuke from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

"We reject their aggression," President Maduro told supporters at a rally the socialist-led government held at the presidential palace. "They were defeated in the OAS and now they want revenge."

The U.S. had strongly objected to a declaration of solidarity for Venezuela issued by the Organization of American States on Friday night.

Washington said the declaration contradicted the OAS charter, in part, by stressing non-intervention in Venezuela over guaranteeing that human rights and free speech are respected there. Twenty-nine states voted in favor of Friday night's declaration with only the United States, Canada and Panama objecting.

"The situation in Venezuela reminds me of previous eras, when strongmen governed through violence and oppression; and human rights, hyperinflation, scarcity, and grinding poverty wrought havoc on the people of the hemisphere," Biden told El Mercurio.

"The situation in Venezuela is alarming," he wrote. "Confronting peaceful protesters with force and in some cases with armed vigilantes; limiting the freedoms of press and assembly necessary for legitimate political debate; demonizing and arresting political opponents; and dramatically tightening restrictions on the media" is not what Washington expects from a signatory to international human rights treaties.

Rather than engaging the opposition in a "genuine dialogue," Biden added, "Maduro has thus far tried to distract his people from the profound issues at stake in Venezuela by concocting totally false and outlandish conspiracy theories about the United States."

Maduro claims student-led protests that ignited Feb. 12, mostly peaceful but including almost daily street clashes with security forces, are an attempt by the extreme right to overthrow him.

The demonstrations have been joined mostly by middle-class Venezuelans fed up with inflation that reached 56 percent last year, chronic shortages of some food staples, and one of the world's highest murder rates. But some poorer Venezuelans, students in particular, are taking part. The government says 21 people have died.

On Sunday afternoon in eastern Caracas, about 100 demonstrators threw rocks at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannon. Some protesters tore a bus kiosk from the sidewalk and set it ablaze, providing authorities with an opportunity to repeat on state media its accusation that anti-government activists are vandals.

Despite a growing body of evidence to the contrary, Maduro on Sunday denied that armed paramilitary supporters of the government have employed violence against protesters.

"The only violent armed groups in the street are those of the right," he told the crowd.

In a statement issued by the presidency, Maduro also accused the opposition was "receiving financing from the United States" to undermine "a solid democracy that has had the popular backing in 18 elections over 15 years." He offered no evidence.

The statement said Venezuela was nevertheless interested in renewing" full diplomatic relations with the United States based on "mutual respect" and "non-intervention."

The two nations have been without ambassadors since 2010 and Venezuela has expelled eight U.S. diplomats in the past 13 months for alleged meddling.

Maduro, the hand-picked successor of the late Hugo Chavez, later met at the presidential palace with actor-activist Sean Penn and Haiti's prime minister. Penn is an ambassador-at-large for Haiti, where he runs a nonprofit aid group. He was shown on state television and made no public comments.

Biden and Maduro are both scheduled to attend Tuesday's swearing-in of Michelle Bachelet as Chile's president.

Bachelet, who was also Chile's president in 2006-10, recently said her administration will support Maduro's government and the Venezuelan people so they can "search for the democratic means to social peace."

___

Associated Press writers Fabiola Sanchez in Caracas, Josh Lederman in Washington and Luis Andres Henao in Santiago, Chile, contributed to this report.

Vice President Joe Biden: Venezuela's lying

Nicolás Maduro isn't telling the truth when he says armed groups aren't harming protesters, Biden contends.
Maduro's response

Four new man-made, ozone-destroying chemicals have been discovered in the upper atmosphere, and appear to be slowing the recovery of the ozone hole, according to a new report.

The ozone hole over Antarctica has been gradually healing ever since an international treaty known as the Montreal Protocol began limiting the production of ozone-depleting chemicals in 1989. These chemicals, known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), were commonly used in refrigerators, air conditioners and aerosols until they were found to react with and break down ozone molecules in the Earth's protective ozone layer. The treaty was created to significantly cut CFC emissions and allow the ozone hole to completely close, potentially by 2050.

In 2010, a total ban on CFCs was put in place, but certain loopholes still exist in the Montreal Protocol that allow trace amounts of the chemicals to be used in the production of certain products, including some types of insecticides and solvents used to clean electronic equipment. [Top 10 Ways to Destroy Earth]

Now, researchers based at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom have calculated that these loopholes — previously thought to be relatively insignificant — have actually allowed more than 74,000 metric tons (about 82,000 tons) of three previously unknown CFCs, and one related compound known as an HCFC, to be released into the atmosphere. While this quantity is far smaller than peak CFC emissions in the 1980s, it is still a significant quantity that could slow the recovery of the ozone hole, the team reports today (March 9) in the journal Nature Geoscience.

"In comparison to the 1980s, it is minor — it is not a threat to the ozone layer just yet," said study co-author Johannes Laube.

But emissions of two of the compounds appear to have accelerated in recent years, which could result in more serious degradation of the ozone layer within a decade, Laube told Live Science.

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The area of the ozone hole, such as in October 2013 (above), is one way to view the ozone hole from …

To quantify the emissions of the new compounds, the researchers compared modern air samples with nearly century-old air samples trapped in old, compacted snow (known as firn snow) from Greenland. The team did not detect any of the four new compounds in snow from before the 1960s, which suggests that the compounds were man-made.

More recent samples were collected from a relatively unpolluted region of Tasmania from 1978 to 2012. The team has also been systematically collecting hundreds of air samples in each of the past five years from commercial air flights around the world.

It is still unclear whether the newly detected emissions are related to legal loopholes in the Montreal Protocol, or illegal chemical production, the team said. Regardless, the researchers think their findings call for a thorough examination of possible sources, and may offer a good opportunity to tighten the loopholes in the treaty, Laube said.

The team next plans to more closely analyze their aircraft samples to try to pinpoint sources of emissions, which they currently can only trace generally to the Northern Hemisphere.

Follow Laura Poppick on Twitter. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.

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Four previously unknown ozone-depleting compounds are discovered in Earth’s protective upper atmosphere.
Treaty loophole blamed

National Security Agency contractor-turned-leaker Edward Snowden told attendees at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas, on Monday that they are "firefighters" against mass surveillance.

"The NSA ... they're setting fire to the future of the Internet," Snowden said. "The result has been an adversarial Internet."

Snowden spoke via teleconference from Russia — where he was granted asylum from U.S. espionage charges — through seven proxies, organizers said. A green screen behind Snowden projected an image of the U.S. Constitution.

"It's nothing we asked for," Snowden said of the NSA's mass surveillance. "It's not something we wanted."

Snowden dismissed U.S. lawmakers who say his leaks have threatened national security.

"These things are improving national security," Snowden said. "We rely on the ability to trust our communications."

Snowden: 'Yes Absolutely' Would Leak AgainPlay video

People should be able to open emails without fear of spying, "whether they be journalists or activists," Snowden said.

"We've actually had tremendous intelligence failures because we've been monitoring everybody's communications rather than suspects," Snowden said.

He said tips that could have alerted authorities to accused Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the so-called underwear bomber, were missed as a result.

"What did we get from bulk collections?" Snowden said. "We got nothing."

Snowden also criticized U.S. intelligence officials like James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, for "cheering" the NSA rather than holding it accountable.

Snowden leaks causing "profound damage," …Play video

"We have an oversight that could work," Snowden said. "The overseers aren't interested in oversight."

The session — billed as “A Virtual Conversation with Edward Snowden” — was moderated by Ben Wizner, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy & Technology Project and Snowden’s legal advisor.

"If he were here in the United States he would be in a solitary cell," Wizner said.

Snowden's appearance at SXSW comes two days after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gave a similar speech to the conference from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he has been living in asylum.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., wrote a letter calling on SXSW conference organizers to cancel Snowden's appearance.

"I am deeply troubled to learn that you have invited Edward Snowden to address SXSW on privacy, surveillance, and online monitoring in the United States," Pompeo wrote. "Certainly an organization of your caliber can attract experts on these topics with knowledge superior to a man who was hired as a systems administrator and whose only apparent qualification is his willingness to steal from his own government and then flee to that beacon of First Amendment freedoms, the Russia of Vladimir Putin."

Snowden, though, said he did what he did to protect the First Amendment.

"Would I do this again? The answer is absolutely yes," Snowden said. "I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution and I saw that the Constitution was violated on a massive scale."

Snowden holds online chat behind 7 proxy servers

One group, the former government contractor says, is "setting fire to the future of the Internet."
Addresses SXSW conference