A car bomb targeting Syrian Government facilities in Allepo, killing two.
8 Million Egyptian Christians are mourning the death of their Pope, amidst fears of continued Islamist violence.
Mehdi Militia Terrorists released an American hostage held for 9 months in Iraq.
Al-Qaeda terrorists murdered an American Teacher in Yemen less than a week after kidnapping a European teacher.
Details linked above & VoA details on Syria & Egypt follow:
Egyptians are mourning the death of Coptic Pope Shenouda III, the spiritual leader of the Middle East's largest Christian community.
Shenouda died on Saturday in Cairo at age 88 after suffering from what the official MENA news agency says was liver and lung disease.
Mourners gathered in the main Coptic cathedral in Cairo to pray and try to get a look at the pope's body. Many wept openly.
Historians say the Coptic church is one of the oldest in the world. It traces its founding to St. Mark, who is said to have introduced Christianity to Egypt in the 1st century. Egypt's Copts make up about 10 percent of the country's population of 80 million
Shenouda was born Nazeer Gayed, entering the priesthood and later a monastery as a young man. He was elected Coptic pope in 1971.
The late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat exiled Shenouda to a desert monastery in 1981 after he accused the government of failing to take action against Muslim extremists. Former President Hosni Mubarak ended his exile in 1985.
Shenouda led Copts through periods of tension with Egypt's Muslim majority. Islamist hardliners have carried out attacks against Christian churches, including bombing a Coptic church in Alexandria in 2011, killing 23 people.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Saturday he is saddened by Shenouda's death, calling him an “advocate for tolerance and religious dialogue.”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States sends its deepest condolences to the Egyptian people.
Many Copts are concerned that violence and persecution may continue after Islamists won a large a majority of seats in recent parliamentary elections and will be writing the new constitution there.
A car bomb struck near a Syrian government security building in the northern city of Aleppo Sunday, while a harsh military crackdown prevented opposition rallies marking one year since the first nationwide protests against President Bashar al-Assad.
Syria's state news agency said terrorists were behind the Aleppo explosion that killed two people and wounded 30 more. It was the second attack in two days on government strongholds.
Twin blasts minutes apart in the capital, Damascus, killed 27 people and wounded more than 100 on Saturday. No one has claimed responsibility for either of the attacks. the The Syrian government and opposition groups blame each other.
Large-scale bombings near government security buildings in Damascus and Aleppo have added a new element to the anti-government revolt. After other similar attacks, U.S. officials suggested al-Qaida militants may be joining the fray.
Aleppo and Damascus are both seen as having high levels of support for Mr. Assad.
Also Sunday, several hundred opposition activists attempted to gather in central Damascus for a rare march marking the first anniversary of nationwide protests demanding greater political freedoms. Syrian security forces broke up the rally and detained several prominent opposition figures, including Mohammed Sayid Rasas and Fayiz Sara.
Activists said government troops also carried out operations to block protests in the opposition hubs of Idlib, Deir Al-Zour and Daraa. They said rebels in Daraa blew up a bridge to prevent the military from bringing reinforcements to the area.
Aid groups have limited access to Syria, but a group of technical experts was recently allowed into the country to evaluate humanitarian needs among the civilian population. Staff from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the United Nations joined Syrian government officials on a tour of 15 cities.
In parallel with the mission, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Jakob Kellenberger, left for Moscow Sunday to ask Russia to help persuade Damascus to let more humanitarian aid into the country.
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