East Ukraine insurgents prepare for Easter, fortify barricades ADVERTISING East Ukraine insurgents prepare for Easter, fortify barricades DONETSK, Ukraine — Pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine on Saturday prepared to celebrate Orthodox Easter at barricades outside government offices seized in nearly
East Ukraine insurgents prepare for Easter, fortify barricades
DONETSK, Ukraine — Pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine on Saturday prepared to celebrate Orthodox Easter at barricades outside government offices seized in nearly a dozen cities, despite an international agreement to disarm and free the premises.
In Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, a co-chairman of the self-appointed Donetsk People’s Republic, which is demanding broader regional powers and closer ties to Russia, vowed that insurgents will continue occupying government offices until the new pro-Western Kiev government is dismissed.
“We will leave only after the Kiev junta leaves,” Pushilin told the Associated Press outside the occupied regional administration building. “First Kiev, then Donetsk.”
Nearby, retiree Ksenia Shuleyko, 65, was handing out pieces of homemade Easter raisin cake, traditionally served for Orthodox Easter. Speaking from a red tent, decorated with a red hammer-and-sickle Soviet Union flag, Shuleyko expressed hope that Russia, which annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula last month, would also wield influence in the Donetsk region near the border with Russia, known as the Donbass.
“We believe in Russia. It helped Crimea, it will also help the Donbass,” Shuleyko said. “God will help those who believe and we do believe.” Moments later, she performed a patriotic Soviet-era song together with other demonstrators and could not contain tears.
Holy fire ceremony draws tens of thousands of Orthodox Christians
JERUSALEM — The dark hall inside Christianity’s holiest shrine was illuminated with the flames from thousands of candles on Saturday as worshippers participated in the holy fire ceremony, a momentous spiritual event in Orthodox Easter rites.
Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected at the site where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher now stands in the Old City of Jerusalem. While the source of the holy fire is a closely guarded secret, believers say the flame appears spontaneously from his tomb on the day before Easter to show Jesus has not forgotten his followers.
The ritual dates back at least 1,200 years.
Thousands of Christians waited outside the church for it to open Saturday morning. Custody of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is shared by a number of denominations that jealously guard their responsibilities under a fragile network of agreements hammered out over the last millennia. In accordance with tradition, the church’s doors were unlocked by a member of a Muslim family, who for centuries has been the keeper of the ancient key that is passed on within the family from generation to generation.
Once inside, clergymen from the various Orthodox denominations in robes and hoods jostled for space with local worshippers and pilgrims from around the world.
Fiat and Chrysler to build 3 Jeep models in China for local market
ROME — Fiat and Chrysler announced plans Saturday to build three new Jeep models in China for that market, the biggest for the vehicles outside the United States, as they attempt to boost sales in a country where they lag behind their competitors.
The automakers said they will expand their joint venture with China’s Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd., and increase the portfolio of Jeeps, which are currently imported to China.
Production is expected to start in late 2015 in Guangzhou, the companies said in a statement, adding that they are considering a Jeep model “uniquely designed for China.”
Chrysler Group LLC spokesman Gualberto Ranieri declined to provide details on that model. He said in an email that more information will be announced at an “appropriate time.”
Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, who plans to complete the legal merger of Fiat and Chrysler by the end of the year, said in the statement that the deal represents the next phase in the “expansion on a global scale of the Jeep brand.”
By wire sources
