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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- A high court in northern India on Friday acquitted a wealthy businessman facing the death sentence for the killing of a teen in a case dubbed "the house of horrors."
Moninder Singh Pandher was sentenced to death by a lower court in February.
The teen was one of 19 victims -- children and young women -- in one of the most gruesome serial killings in India in recent years.
The Allahabad high court has acquitted Moninder Singh Pandher, his lawyer Sikandar B. Kochar told CNN.
Pandher and his domestic employee Surinder Koli were sentenced to death in February by a lower court for the rape and murder of the 14-year-old.
The high court upheld Koli's death sentence, Kochar said.
The two were arrested two years ago after body parts packed in plastic bags were found near their home in Noida, a New Delhi suburb. Their home was later dubbed a "house of horrors" by the Indian media.
Pandher was not named a main suspect by investigators initially, but was summoned as co-accused during the trial, Kochar said.
Kochar said his client was in Australia when the teen was raped and killed.
Pandher faces trial in the remaining 18 killings and could remain in custody, the attorney said. | What was the amount of children murdered? | [
"19"
] | da0e6b66e04d439fa1ba23c32de07e50 | [
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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- A high court in northern India on Friday acquitted a wealthy businessman facing the death sentence for the killing of a teen in a case dubbed "the house of horrors."
Moninder Singh Pandher was sentenced to death by a lower court in February.
The teen was one of 19 victims -- children and young women -- in one of the most gruesome serial killings in India in recent years.
The Allahabad high court has acquitted Moninder Singh Pandher, his lawyer Sikandar B. Kochar told CNN.
Pandher and his domestic employee Surinder Koli were sentenced to death in February by a lower court for the rape and murder of the 14-year-old.
The high court upheld Koli's death sentence, Kochar said.
The two were arrested two years ago after body parts packed in plastic bags were found near their home in Noida, a New Delhi suburb. Their home was later dubbed a "house of horrors" by the Indian media.
Pandher was not named a main suspect by investigators initially, but was summoned as co-accused during the trial, Kochar said.
Kochar said his client was in Australia when the teen was raped and killed.
Pandher faces trial in the remaining 18 killings and could remain in custody, the attorney said. | When was Pandher sentenced to death? | [
"February."
] | 724f6eb9a2814e4fb2d7d8e4de846073 | [
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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- A high court in northern India on Friday acquitted a wealthy businessman facing the death sentence for the killing of a teen in a case dubbed "the house of horrors."
Moninder Singh Pandher was sentenced to death by a lower court in February.
The teen was one of 19 victims -- children and young women -- in one of the most gruesome serial killings in India in recent years.
The Allahabad high court has acquitted Moninder Singh Pandher, his lawyer Sikandar B. Kochar told CNN.
Pandher and his domestic employee Surinder Koli were sentenced to death in February by a lower court for the rape and murder of the 14-year-old.
The high court upheld Koli's death sentence, Kochar said.
The two were arrested two years ago after body parts packed in plastic bags were found near their home in Noida, a New Delhi suburb. Their home was later dubbed a "house of horrors" by the Indian media.
Pandher was not named a main suspect by investigators initially, but was summoned as co-accused during the trial, Kochar said.
Kochar said his client was in Australia when the teen was raped and killed.
Pandher faces trial in the remaining 18 killings and could remain in custody, the attorney said. | The court aquitted Moninder Singh Pandher of what crime? | [
"rape and murder"
] | d64cbb90e5134081acfa83d3e702408c | [
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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- A high court in northern India on Friday acquitted a wealthy businessman facing the death sentence for the killing of a teen in a case dubbed "the house of horrors."
Moninder Singh Pandher was sentenced to death by a lower court in February.
The teen was one of 19 victims -- children and young women -- in one of the most gruesome serial killings in India in recent years.
The Allahabad high court has acquitted Moninder Singh Pandher, his lawyer Sikandar B. Kochar told CNN.
Pandher and his domestic employee Surinder Koli were sentenced to death in February by a lower court for the rape and murder of the 14-year-old.
The high court upheld Koli's death sentence, Kochar said.
The two were arrested two years ago after body parts packed in plastic bags were found near their home in Noida, a New Delhi suburb. Their home was later dubbed a "house of horrors" by the Indian media.
Pandher was not named a main suspect by investigators initially, but was summoned as co-accused during the trial, Kochar said.
Kochar said his client was in Australia when the teen was raped and killed.
Pandher faces trial in the remaining 18 killings and could remain in custody, the attorney said. | who was acquitted | [
"Moninder Singh Pandher"
] | fd7177ee6f1f4d62becd983a0305f503 | [
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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- A high court in northern India on Friday acquitted a wealthy businessman facing the death sentence for the killing of a teen in a case dubbed "the house of horrors."
Moninder Singh Pandher was sentenced to death by a lower court in February.
The teen was one of 19 victims -- children and young women -- in one of the most gruesome serial killings in India in recent years.
The Allahabad high court has acquitted Moninder Singh Pandher, his lawyer Sikandar B. Kochar told CNN.
Pandher and his domestic employee Surinder Koli were sentenced to death in February by a lower court for the rape and murder of the 14-year-old.
The high court upheld Koli's death sentence, Kochar said.
The two were arrested two years ago after body parts packed in plastic bags were found near their home in Noida, a New Delhi suburb. Their home was later dubbed a "house of horrors" by the Indian media.
Pandher was not named a main suspect by investigators initially, but was summoned as co-accused during the trial, Kochar said.
Kochar said his client was in Australia when the teen was raped and killed.
Pandher faces trial in the remaining 18 killings and could remain in custody, the attorney said. | who was sentenced | [
"Moninder Singh Pandher"
] | cd25c69f631349748ccdeccaace66463 | [
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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- A high court in northern India on Friday acquitted a wealthy businessman facing the death sentence for the killing of a teen in a case dubbed "the house of horrors."
Moninder Singh Pandher was sentenced to death by a lower court in February.
The teen was one of 19 victims -- children and young women -- in one of the most gruesome serial killings in India in recent years.
The Allahabad high court has acquitted Moninder Singh Pandher, his lawyer Sikandar B. Kochar told CNN.
Pandher and his domestic employee Surinder Koli were sentenced to death in February by a lower court for the rape and murder of the 14-year-old.
The high court upheld Koli's death sentence, Kochar said.
The two were arrested two years ago after body parts packed in plastic bags were found near their home in Noida, a New Delhi suburb. Their home was later dubbed a "house of horrors" by the Indian media.
Pandher was not named a main suspect by investigators initially, but was summoned as co-accused during the trial, Kochar said.
Kochar said his client was in Australia when the teen was raped and killed.
Pandher faces trial in the remaining 18 killings and could remain in custody, the attorney said. | What was Moninder Singh Pandher acquitted for? | [
"the killing of a teen"
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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- A high court in northern India on Friday acquitted a wealthy businessman facing the death sentence for the killing of a teen in a case dubbed "the house of horrors."
Moninder Singh Pandher was sentenced to death by a lower court in February.
The teen was one of 19 victims -- children and young women -- in one of the most gruesome serial killings in India in recent years.
The Allahabad high court has acquitted Moninder Singh Pandher, his lawyer Sikandar B. Kochar told CNN.
Pandher and his domestic employee Surinder Koli were sentenced to death in February by a lower court for the rape and murder of the 14-year-old.
The high court upheld Koli's death sentence, Kochar said.
The two were arrested two years ago after body parts packed in plastic bags were found near their home in Noida, a New Delhi suburb. Their home was later dubbed a "house of horrors" by the Indian media.
Pandher was not named a main suspect by investigators initially, but was summoned as co-accused during the trial, Kochar said.
Kochar said his client was in Australia when the teen was raped and killed.
Pandher faces trial in the remaining 18 killings and could remain in custody, the attorney said. | Who was sentenced to death in February? | [
"Moninder Singh Pandher"
] | 5b2631c1d21044a9bb1b2c22d118ad97 | [
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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- A high court in northern India on Friday acquitted a wealthy businessman facing the death sentence for the killing of a teen in a case dubbed "the house of horrors."
Moninder Singh Pandher was sentenced to death by a lower court in February.
The teen was one of 19 victims -- children and young women -- in one of the most gruesome serial killings in India in recent years.
The Allahabad high court has acquitted Moninder Singh Pandher, his lawyer Sikandar B. Kochar told CNN.
Pandher and his domestic employee Surinder Koli were sentenced to death in February by a lower court for the rape and murder of the 14-year-old.
The high court upheld Koli's death sentence, Kochar said.
The two were arrested two years ago after body parts packed in plastic bags were found near their home in Noida, a New Delhi suburb. Their home was later dubbed a "house of horrors" by the Indian media.
Pandher was not named a main suspect by investigators initially, but was summoned as co-accused during the trial, Kochar said.
Kochar said his client was in Australia when the teen was raped and killed.
Pandher faces trial in the remaining 18 killings and could remain in custody, the attorney said. | how many people died | [
"19"
] | 79e3ef1435f34886888ebf84b12364c7 | [
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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- A high court in northern India on Friday acquitted a wealthy businessman facing the death sentence for the killing of a teen in a case dubbed "the house of horrors."
Moninder Singh Pandher was sentenced to death by a lower court in February.
The teen was one of 19 victims -- children and young women -- in one of the most gruesome serial killings in India in recent years.
The Allahabad high court has acquitted Moninder Singh Pandher, his lawyer Sikandar B. Kochar told CNN.
Pandher and his domestic employee Surinder Koli were sentenced to death in February by a lower court for the rape and murder of the 14-year-old.
The high court upheld Koli's death sentence, Kochar said.
The two were arrested two years ago after body parts packed in plastic bags were found near their home in Noida, a New Delhi suburb. Their home was later dubbed a "house of horrors" by the Indian media.
Pandher was not named a main suspect by investigators initially, but was summoned as co-accused during the trial, Kochar said.
Kochar said his client was in Australia when the teen was raped and killed.
Pandher faces trial in the remaining 18 killings and could remain in custody, the attorney said. | How many children and young women were murdered? | [
"19"
] | fd571dcf979c4b9aa3d5da73c7668e38 | [
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the Marines shown in a famous World War II photograph raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was posthumously awarded a certificate of U.S. citizenship on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia depicts Strank and five others raising a flag on Iwo Jima.
Sgt. Michael Strank, who was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States when he was 3, derived U.S. citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently discovered that Strank never was given citizenship papers.
At a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Memorial -- which depicts the flag-raising -- in Arlington, Virginia, a certificate of citizenship was presented to Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero.
Strank and five other men became national icons when an Associated Press photographer captured the image of them planting an American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.
Strank was killed in action on the island on March 1, 1945, less than a month before the battle between Japanese and U.S. forces there ended.
Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of CIS, presented the citizenship certificate Tuesday.
He hailed Strank as "a true American hero and a wonderful example of the remarkable contribution and sacrifices that immigrants have made to our great republic throughout its history." | What war was the Iwo Jima battle a part of? | [
"II"
] | eb767219b657430d803c28f31da0f1d2 | [
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the Marines shown in a famous World War II photograph raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was posthumously awarded a certificate of U.S. citizenship on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia depicts Strank and five others raising a flag on Iwo Jima.
Sgt. Michael Strank, who was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States when he was 3, derived U.S. citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently discovered that Strank never was given citizenship papers.
At a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Memorial -- which depicts the flag-raising -- in Arlington, Virginia, a certificate of citizenship was presented to Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero.
Strank and five other men became national icons when an Associated Press photographer captured the image of them planting an American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.
Strank was killed in action on the island on March 1, 1945, less than a month before the battle between Japanese and U.S. forces there ended.
Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of CIS, presented the citizenship certificate Tuesday.
He hailed Strank as "a true American hero and a wonderful example of the remarkable contribution and sacrifices that immigrants have made to our great republic throughout its history." | Where was Michael Strank born? | [
"Czechoslovakia"
] | f0d948a6226b49dc8963151aeb51a2a7 | [
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the Marines shown in a famous World War II photograph raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was posthumously awarded a certificate of U.S. citizenship on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia depicts Strank and five others raising a flag on Iwo Jima.
Sgt. Michael Strank, who was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States when he was 3, derived U.S. citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently discovered that Strank never was given citizenship papers.
At a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Memorial -- which depicts the flag-raising -- in Arlington, Virginia, a certificate of citizenship was presented to Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero.
Strank and five other men became national icons when an Associated Press photographer captured the image of them planting an American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.
Strank was killed in action on the island on March 1, 1945, less than a month before the battle between Japanese and U.S. forces there ended.
Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of CIS, presented the citizenship certificate Tuesday.
He hailed Strank as "a true American hero and a wonderful example of the remarkable contribution and sacrifices that immigrants have made to our great republic throughout its history." | Where was STrank killed? | [
"on the island"
] | 5de4d7fe4356447997704bfad418f2ed | [
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the Marines shown in a famous World War II photograph raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was posthumously awarded a certificate of U.S. citizenship on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia depicts Strank and five others raising a flag on Iwo Jima.
Sgt. Michael Strank, who was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States when he was 3, derived U.S. citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently discovered that Strank never was given citizenship papers.
At a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Memorial -- which depicts the flag-raising -- in Arlington, Virginia, a certificate of citizenship was presented to Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero.
Strank and five other men became national icons when an Associated Press photographer captured the image of them planting an American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.
Strank was killed in action on the island on March 1, 1945, less than a month before the battle between Japanese and U.S. forces there ended.
Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of CIS, presented the citizenship certificate Tuesday.
He hailed Strank as "a true American hero and a wonderful example of the remarkable contribution and sacrifices that immigrants have made to our great republic throughout its history." | Who was among six who famously raised flag on Iwo Jima? | [
"Sgt. Michael Strank,"
] | 91e9e24d19a243d4a97d149ffa84c70c | [
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the Marines shown in a famous World War II photograph raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was posthumously awarded a certificate of U.S. citizenship on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia depicts Strank and five others raising a flag on Iwo Jima.
Sgt. Michael Strank, who was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States when he was 3, derived U.S. citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently discovered that Strank never was given citizenship papers.
At a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Memorial -- which depicts the flag-raising -- in Arlington, Virginia, a certificate of citizenship was presented to Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero.
Strank and five other men became national icons when an Associated Press photographer captured the image of them planting an American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.
Strank was killed in action on the island on March 1, 1945, less than a month before the battle between Japanese and U.S. forces there ended.
Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of CIS, presented the citizenship certificate Tuesday.
He hailed Strank as "a true American hero and a wonderful example of the remarkable contribution and sacrifices that immigrants have made to our great republic throughout its history." | What rank did Michael Strank hold? | [
"Sgt."
] | f216cb9f43744e228978091774604ff2 | [
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the Marines shown in a famous World War II photograph raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was posthumously awarded a certificate of U.S. citizenship on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia depicts Strank and five others raising a flag on Iwo Jima.
Sgt. Michael Strank, who was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States when he was 3, derived U.S. citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently discovered that Strank never was given citizenship papers.
At a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Memorial -- which depicts the flag-raising -- in Arlington, Virginia, a certificate of citizenship was presented to Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero.
Strank and five other men became national icons when an Associated Press photographer captured the image of them planting an American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.
Strank was killed in action on the island on March 1, 1945, less than a month before the battle between Japanese and U.S. forces there ended.
Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of CIS, presented the citizenship certificate Tuesday.
He hailed Strank as "a true American hero and a wonderful example of the remarkable contribution and sacrifices that immigrants have made to our great republic throughout its history." | When was the certificate given to his sister? | [
"Tuesday."
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the Marines shown in a famous World War II photograph raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was posthumously awarded a certificate of U.S. citizenship on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia depicts Strank and five others raising a flag on Iwo Jima.
Sgt. Michael Strank, who was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States when he was 3, derived U.S. citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently discovered that Strank never was given citizenship papers.
At a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Memorial -- which depicts the flag-raising -- in Arlington, Virginia, a certificate of citizenship was presented to Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero.
Strank and five other men became national icons when an Associated Press photographer captured the image of them planting an American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.
Strank was killed in action on the island on March 1, 1945, less than a month before the battle between Japanese and U.S. forces there ended.
Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of CIS, presented the citizenship certificate Tuesday.
He hailed Strank as "a true American hero and a wonderful example of the remarkable contribution and sacrifices that immigrants have made to our great republic throughout its history." | Who was killed on Iwo Jima in World War II ? | [
"Michael Strank,"
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the Marines shown in a famous World War II photograph raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was posthumously awarded a certificate of U.S. citizenship on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia depicts Strank and five others raising a flag on Iwo Jima.
Sgt. Michael Strank, who was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States when he was 3, derived U.S. citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently discovered that Strank never was given citizenship papers.
At a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Memorial -- which depicts the flag-raising -- in Arlington, Virginia, a certificate of citizenship was presented to Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero.
Strank and five other men became national icons when an Associated Press photographer captured the image of them planting an American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.
Strank was killed in action on the island on March 1, 1945, less than a month before the battle between Japanese and U.S. forces there ended.
Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of CIS, presented the citizenship certificate Tuesday.
He hailed Strank as "a true American hero and a wonderful example of the remarkable contribution and sacrifices that immigrants have made to our great republic throughout its history." | WHERE WAS Strank, born? | [
"Czechoslovakia"
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the Marines shown in a famous World War II photograph raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was posthumously awarded a certificate of U.S. citizenship on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia depicts Strank and five others raising a flag on Iwo Jima.
Sgt. Michael Strank, who was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States when he was 3, derived U.S. citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently discovered that Strank never was given citizenship papers.
At a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Memorial -- which depicts the flag-raising -- in Arlington, Virginia, a certificate of citizenship was presented to Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero.
Strank and five other men became national icons when an Associated Press photographer captured the image of them planting an American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.
Strank was killed in action on the island on March 1, 1945, less than a month before the battle between Japanese and U.S. forces there ended.
Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of CIS, presented the citizenship certificate Tuesday.
He hailed Strank as "a true American hero and a wonderful example of the remarkable contribution and sacrifices that immigrants have made to our great republic throughout its history." | What did Strank not receive? | [
"citizenship papers."
] | 112ea4764a82474d99982e8ddfe56dfd | [
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the Marines shown in a famous World War II photograph raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was posthumously awarded a certificate of U.S. citizenship on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia depicts Strank and five others raising a flag on Iwo Jima.
Sgt. Michael Strank, who was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States when he was 3, derived U.S. citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently discovered that Strank never was given citizenship papers.
At a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Memorial -- which depicts the flag-raising -- in Arlington, Virginia, a certificate of citizenship was presented to Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero.
Strank and five other men became national icons when an Associated Press photographer captured the image of them planting an American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.
Strank was killed in action on the island on March 1, 1945, less than a month before the battle between Japanese and U.S. forces there ended.
Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of CIS, presented the citizenship certificate Tuesday.
He hailed Strank as "a true American hero and a wonderful example of the remarkable contribution and sacrifices that immigrants have made to our great republic throughout its history." | Where was Strank born? | [
"Czechoslovakia"
] | 821a22757f7a4e498fd20050e4cc8a4f | [
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the Marines shown in a famous World War II photograph raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was posthumously awarded a certificate of U.S. citizenship on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia depicts Strank and five others raising a flag on Iwo Jima.
Sgt. Michael Strank, who was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States when he was 3, derived U.S. citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently discovered that Strank never was given citizenship papers.
At a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Memorial -- which depicts the flag-raising -- in Arlington, Virginia, a certificate of citizenship was presented to Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero.
Strank and five other men became national icons when an Associated Press photographer captured the image of them planting an American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.
Strank was killed in action on the island on March 1, 1945, less than a month before the battle between Japanese and U.S. forces there ended.
Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of CIS, presented the citizenship certificate Tuesday.
He hailed Strank as "a true American hero and a wonderful example of the remarkable contribution and sacrifices that immigrants have made to our great republic throughout its history." | Who received the certificate? | [
"Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero."
] | 3944899575e2496e9b49bc6040ce5290 | [
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the Marines shown in a famous World War II photograph raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was posthumously awarded a certificate of U.S. citizenship on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia depicts Strank and five others raising a flag on Iwo Jima.
Sgt. Michael Strank, who was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States when he was 3, derived U.S. citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently discovered that Strank never was given citizenship papers.
At a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Memorial -- which depicts the flag-raising -- in Arlington, Virginia, a certificate of citizenship was presented to Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero.
Strank and five other men became national icons when an Associated Press photographer captured the image of them planting an American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.
Strank was killed in action on the island on March 1, 1945, less than a month before the battle between Japanese and U.S. forces there ended.
Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of CIS, presented the citizenship certificate Tuesday.
He hailed Strank as "a true American hero and a wonderful example of the remarkable contribution and sacrifices that immigrants have made to our great republic throughout its history." | Who was among the six who raised the flag in Iwo Jima? | [
"Sgt. Michael Strank,"
] | 0507f1c29219435d9d0ae30e9a855308 | [
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 6,000 Christians have fled the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in the past week because of killings and death threats, Iraq's Ministry of Immigration and Displaced Persons said Thursday.
A Christian family that fled Mosul found refuge in the Al-Sayida monastery about 30 miles north of the city.
The number represents 1,424 families, at least 70 more families than were reported to be displaced on Wednesday.
The ministry said it had set up an operation room to follow up sending urgent aid to the displaced Christian families as a result of attacks by what it called "terrorist groups."
Iraqi officials have said the families were frightened by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face death.
Fourteen Christians have been slain in the past two weeks in the city, which is about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Baghdad.
Mosul is one of the last Iraqi cities where al Qaeda in Iraq has a significant presence and routinely carries out attacks. The U.S. military said it killed the Sunni militant group's No. 2 leader, Abu Qaswarah, in a raid in the northern city earlier this month.
In response to the recent attacks on Christians, authorities have ordered more checkpoints in several of the city's Christian neighborhoods.
The attacks may have been prompted by Christian demonstrations ahead of provincial elections, which are to be held by January 31, authorities said.
Hundreds of Christians took to the streets in Mosul and surrounding villages and towns, demanding adequate representation on provincial councils, whose members will be chosen in the local elections.
Thursday, Iraq's minister of immigration and displaced persons discussed building housing complexes for Christian families in northern Iraq and allocating land to build the complexes.
Abdel Samad Rahman Sultan brought up the issue when he met with a representative of Iraq's Hammurabi Organization for Human Rights and with the head of the Kojina Organization for helping displaced persons.
A curfew was declared Wednesday in several neighborhoods of eastern Mosul as authorities searched for militants behind the attacks.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. | What frightened the families? | [
"a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face death."
] | cf8180391a1c4afb9520dabec41e3874 | [
{
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 6,000 Christians have fled the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in the past week because of killings and death threats, Iraq's Ministry of Immigration and Displaced Persons said Thursday.
A Christian family that fled Mosul found refuge in the Al-Sayida monastery about 30 miles north of the city.
The number represents 1,424 families, at least 70 more families than were reported to be displaced on Wednesday.
The ministry said it had set up an operation room to follow up sending urgent aid to the displaced Christian families as a result of attacks by what it called "terrorist groups."
Iraqi officials have said the families were frightened by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face death.
Fourteen Christians have been slain in the past two weeks in the city, which is about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Baghdad.
Mosul is one of the last Iraqi cities where al Qaeda in Iraq has a significant presence and routinely carries out attacks. The U.S. military said it killed the Sunni militant group's No. 2 leader, Abu Qaswarah, in a raid in the northern city earlier this month.
In response to the recent attacks on Christians, authorities have ordered more checkpoints in several of the city's Christian neighborhoods.
The attacks may have been prompted by Christian demonstrations ahead of provincial elections, which are to be held by January 31, authorities said.
Hundreds of Christians took to the streets in Mosul and surrounding villages and towns, demanding adequate representation on provincial councils, whose members will be chosen in the local elections.
Thursday, Iraq's minister of immigration and displaced persons discussed building housing complexes for Christian families in northern Iraq and allocating land to build the complexes.
Abdel Samad Rahman Sultan brought up the issue when he met with a representative of Iraq's Hammurabi Organization for Human Rights and with the head of the Kojina Organization for helping displaced persons.
A curfew was declared Wednesday in several neighborhoods of eastern Mosul as authorities searched for militants behind the attacks.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. | How many Christian families have been displaced | [
"1,424"
] | d51a4e7aebd545a28739de93de2e0916 | [
{
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 6,000 Christians have fled the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in the past week because of killings and death threats, Iraq's Ministry of Immigration and Displaced Persons said Thursday.
A Christian family that fled Mosul found refuge in the Al-Sayida monastery about 30 miles north of the city.
The number represents 1,424 families, at least 70 more families than were reported to be displaced on Wednesday.
The ministry said it had set up an operation room to follow up sending urgent aid to the displaced Christian families as a result of attacks by what it called "terrorist groups."
Iraqi officials have said the families were frightened by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face death.
Fourteen Christians have been slain in the past two weeks in the city, which is about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Baghdad.
Mosul is one of the last Iraqi cities where al Qaeda in Iraq has a significant presence and routinely carries out attacks. The U.S. military said it killed the Sunni militant group's No. 2 leader, Abu Qaswarah, in a raid in the northern city earlier this month.
In response to the recent attacks on Christians, authorities have ordered more checkpoints in several of the city's Christian neighborhoods.
The attacks may have been prompted by Christian demonstrations ahead of provincial elections, which are to be held by January 31, authorities said.
Hundreds of Christians took to the streets in Mosul and surrounding villages and towns, demanding adequate representation on provincial councils, whose members will be chosen in the local elections.
Thursday, Iraq's minister of immigration and displaced persons discussed building housing complexes for Christian families in northern Iraq and allocating land to build the complexes.
Abdel Samad Rahman Sultan brought up the issue when he met with a representative of Iraq's Hammurabi Organization for Human Rights and with the head of the Kojina Organization for helping displaced persons.
A curfew was declared Wednesday in several neighborhoods of eastern Mosul as authorities searched for militants behind the attacks.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. | What did extremists order thdm to do | [
"Islam or face death."
] | e355da603839475bb4f903fe017545f4 | [
{
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789
],
"start": [
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] | 2 |
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 6,000 Christians have fled the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in the past week because of killings and death threats, Iraq's Ministry of Immigration and Displaced Persons said Thursday.
A Christian family that fled Mosul found refuge in the Al-Sayida monastery about 30 miles north of the city.
The number represents 1,424 families, at least 70 more families than were reported to be displaced on Wednesday.
The ministry said it had set up an operation room to follow up sending urgent aid to the displaced Christian families as a result of attacks by what it called "terrorist groups."
Iraqi officials have said the families were frightened by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face death.
Fourteen Christians have been slain in the past two weeks in the city, which is about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Baghdad.
Mosul is one of the last Iraqi cities where al Qaeda in Iraq has a significant presence and routinely carries out attacks. The U.S. military said it killed the Sunni militant group's No. 2 leader, Abu Qaswarah, in a raid in the northern city earlier this month.
In response to the recent attacks on Christians, authorities have ordered more checkpoints in several of the city's Christian neighborhoods.
The attacks may have been prompted by Christian demonstrations ahead of provincial elections, which are to be held by January 31, authorities said.
Hundreds of Christians took to the streets in Mosul and surrounding villages and towns, demanding adequate representation on provincial councils, whose members will be chosen in the local elections.
Thursday, Iraq's minister of immigration and displaced persons discussed building housing complexes for Christian families in northern Iraq and allocating land to build the complexes.
Abdel Samad Rahman Sultan brought up the issue when he met with a representative of Iraq's Hammurabi Organization for Human Rights and with the head of the Kojina Organization for helping displaced persons.
A curfew was declared Wednesday in several neighborhoods of eastern Mosul as authorities searched for militants behind the attacks.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. | How many families have been displaced? | [
"1,424"
] | 6e1e1a152d7c430b90e08dbc6ef470eb | [
{
"end": [
358
],
"start": [
354
]
}
] | 2 |
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 6,000 Christians have fled the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in the past week because of killings and death threats, Iraq's Ministry of Immigration and Displaced Persons said Thursday.
A Christian family that fled Mosul found refuge in the Al-Sayida monastery about 30 miles north of the city.
The number represents 1,424 families, at least 70 more families than were reported to be displaced on Wednesday.
The ministry said it had set up an operation room to follow up sending urgent aid to the displaced Christian families as a result of attacks by what it called "terrorist groups."
Iraqi officials have said the families were frightened by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face death.
Fourteen Christians have been slain in the past two weeks in the city, which is about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Baghdad.
Mosul is one of the last Iraqi cities where al Qaeda in Iraq has a significant presence and routinely carries out attacks. The U.S. military said it killed the Sunni militant group's No. 2 leader, Abu Qaswarah, in a raid in the northern city earlier this month.
In response to the recent attacks on Christians, authorities have ordered more checkpoints in several of the city's Christian neighborhoods.
The attacks may have been prompted by Christian demonstrations ahead of provincial elections, which are to be held by January 31, authorities said.
Hundreds of Christians took to the streets in Mosul and surrounding villages and towns, demanding adequate representation on provincial councils, whose members will be chosen in the local elections.
Thursday, Iraq's minister of immigration and displaced persons discussed building housing complexes for Christian families in northern Iraq and allocating land to build the complexes.
Abdel Samad Rahman Sultan brought up the issue when he met with a representative of Iraq's Hammurabi Organization for Human Rights and with the head of the Kojina Organization for helping displaced persons.
A curfew was declared Wednesday in several neighborhoods of eastern Mosul as authorities searched for militants behind the attacks.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. | What were the families ordered to do? | [
"Islam or face death."
] | c18f743cc233480ea414d0f62854cc35 | [
{
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789
],
"start": [
770
]
}
] | 2 |
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 6,000 Christians have fled the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in the past week because of killings and death threats, Iraq's Ministry of Immigration and Displaced Persons said Thursday.
A Christian family that fled Mosul found refuge in the Al-Sayida monastery about 30 miles north of the city.
The number represents 1,424 families, at least 70 more families than were reported to be displaced on Wednesday.
The ministry said it had set up an operation room to follow up sending urgent aid to the displaced Christian families as a result of attacks by what it called "terrorist groups."
Iraqi officials have said the families were frightened by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face death.
Fourteen Christians have been slain in the past two weeks in the city, which is about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Baghdad.
Mosul is one of the last Iraqi cities where al Qaeda in Iraq has a significant presence and routinely carries out attacks. The U.S. military said it killed the Sunni militant group's No. 2 leader, Abu Qaswarah, in a raid in the northern city earlier this month.
In response to the recent attacks on Christians, authorities have ordered more checkpoints in several of the city's Christian neighborhoods.
The attacks may have been prompted by Christian demonstrations ahead of provincial elections, which are to be held by January 31, authorities said.
Hundreds of Christians took to the streets in Mosul and surrounding villages and towns, demanding adequate representation on provincial councils, whose members will be chosen in the local elections.
Thursday, Iraq's minister of immigration and displaced persons discussed building housing complexes for Christian families in northern Iraq and allocating land to build the complexes.
Abdel Samad Rahman Sultan brought up the issue when he met with a representative of Iraq's Hammurabi Organization for Human Rights and with the head of the Kojina Organization for helping displaced persons.
A curfew was declared Wednesday in several neighborhoods of eastern Mosul as authorities searched for militants behind the attacks.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. | How many Christians have been slain | [
"Fourteen"
] | e827c84864df4e0ca1af642e8b0252f9 | [
{
"end": [
801
],
"start": [
794
]
}
] | 2 |
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 6,000 Christians have fled the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in the past week because of killings and death threats, Iraq's Ministry of Immigration and Displaced Persons said Thursday.
A Christian family that fled Mosul found refuge in the Al-Sayida monastery about 30 miles north of the city.
The number represents 1,424 families, at least 70 more families than were reported to be displaced on Wednesday.
The ministry said it had set up an operation room to follow up sending urgent aid to the displaced Christian families as a result of attacks by what it called "terrorist groups."
Iraqi officials have said the families were frightened by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face death.
Fourteen Christians have been slain in the past two weeks in the city, which is about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Baghdad.
Mosul is one of the last Iraqi cities where al Qaeda in Iraq has a significant presence and routinely carries out attacks. The U.S. military said it killed the Sunni militant group's No. 2 leader, Abu Qaswarah, in a raid in the northern city earlier this month.
In response to the recent attacks on Christians, authorities have ordered more checkpoints in several of the city's Christian neighborhoods.
The attacks may have been prompted by Christian demonstrations ahead of provincial elections, which are to be held by January 31, authorities said.
Hundreds of Christians took to the streets in Mosul and surrounding villages and towns, demanding adequate representation on provincial councils, whose members will be chosen in the local elections.
Thursday, Iraq's minister of immigration and displaced persons discussed building housing complexes for Christian families in northern Iraq and allocating land to build the complexes.
Abdel Samad Rahman Sultan brought up the issue when he met with a representative of Iraq's Hammurabi Organization for Human Rights and with the head of the Kojina Organization for helping displaced persons.
A curfew was declared Wednesday in several neighborhoods of eastern Mosul as authorities searched for militants behind the attacks.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. | Who was displaced? | [
"1,424 families,"
] | 14e2349d9cd44e738a47695030f2ba4f | [
{
"end": [
368
],
"start": [
354
]
}
] | 2 |
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 6,000 Christians have fled the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in the past week because of killings and death threats, Iraq's Ministry of Immigration and Displaced Persons said Thursday.
A Christian family that fled Mosul found refuge in the Al-Sayida monastery about 30 miles north of the city.
The number represents 1,424 families, at least 70 more families than were reported to be displaced on Wednesday.
The ministry said it had set up an operation room to follow up sending urgent aid to the displaced Christian families as a result of attacks by what it called "terrorist groups."
Iraqi officials have said the families were frightened by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face death.
Fourteen Christians have been slain in the past two weeks in the city, which is about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Baghdad.
Mosul is one of the last Iraqi cities where al Qaeda in Iraq has a significant presence and routinely carries out attacks. The U.S. military said it killed the Sunni militant group's No. 2 leader, Abu Qaswarah, in a raid in the northern city earlier this month.
In response to the recent attacks on Christians, authorities have ordered more checkpoints in several of the city's Christian neighborhoods.
The attacks may have been prompted by Christian demonstrations ahead of provincial elections, which are to be held by January 31, authorities said.
Hundreds of Christians took to the streets in Mosul and surrounding villages and towns, demanding adequate representation on provincial councils, whose members will be chosen in the local elections.
Thursday, Iraq's minister of immigration and displaced persons discussed building housing complexes for Christian families in northern Iraq and allocating land to build the complexes.
Abdel Samad Rahman Sultan brought up the issue when he met with a representative of Iraq's Hammurabi Organization for Human Rights and with the head of the Kojina Organization for helping displaced persons.
A curfew was declared Wednesday in several neighborhoods of eastern Mosul as authorities searched for militants behind the attacks.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. | Who are the extremists ordering to convert to Islam? | [
"Muslim"
] | bfd32dbb458f4e4e9dc77e71e8b79f08 | [
{
"end": [
729
],
"start": [
724
]
}
] | 2 |
(CNN) -- Fighting in the volatile Sudanese region of Darfur has sparked another wave of refugees into Chad and left a Red Cross employee dead, according to international agencies.
Refugee camps in eastern Chad house about 300,000 people who fled violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said on Monday that more than 12,000 people have fled militia attacks over the last few days from Sudan's Darfur region to neighboring Chad, still recovering from a recent attempt by rebels there to topple the government.
"Most of the new arrivals in Chad had already been displaced in Darfur in recent years. They are really tired of being attacked and having to move," said UNHCR's Jorge Holly. "All the new refugees we talked to said they did not want to go back to Darfur at this point, they wanted to be transferred to a refugee camp in eastern Chad."
This latest influx of refugees in Chad aggravates an already deteriorating security situation across this politically unstable region of Africa.
Before the latest flight into Chad, the UNHCR and its partner groups "were taking care of 240,000 Sudanese refugees in 12 camps in eastern Chad and some 50,000 from Central African Republic in the south of the country." Up to 30,000 people in Chad fled the country for Cameroon during the rebel-government fighting.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday that one of its employees was killed in western Darfur last week during fighting. The victim is a 45-year-old Sudanese national and father of six children.
He was killed in the area of Seleia, one of the three towns where reported government-backed Janjaweed militia attacks on Friday left around 200 people dead.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week deplored the acts, urged all parties to stop hostilities, and said "all parties must adhere to international humanitarian law, which prohibits military attacks against civilians."
The United Nations says "more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.2 million others forced to flee their homes since fighting began in 2003 among government forces, rebel groups and allied militia groups known as the Janjaweed."
The recent fight between Chad's government and rebels is seen as a proxy war over Darfur. Sudan's government believes Chad is supporting rebels in Darfur. Chad's government believes Sudan is supporting the rebels that moved on Chad's capital of N'Djamena. E-mail to a friend | Where was one employee killed? | [
"Sudanese region of Darfur"
] | e4c6761c97bf43968aab463242699433 | [
{
"end": [
58
],
"start": [
34
]
}
] | 3 |
(CNN) -- Fighting in the volatile Sudanese region of Darfur has sparked another wave of refugees into Chad and left a Red Cross employee dead, according to international agencies.
Refugee camps in eastern Chad house about 300,000 people who fled violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said on Monday that more than 12,000 people have fled militia attacks over the last few days from Sudan's Darfur region to neighboring Chad, still recovering from a recent attempt by rebels there to topple the government.
"Most of the new arrivals in Chad had already been displaced in Darfur in recent years. They are really tired of being attacked and having to move," said UNHCR's Jorge Holly. "All the new refugees we talked to said they did not want to go back to Darfur at this point, they wanted to be transferred to a refugee camp in eastern Chad."
This latest influx of refugees in Chad aggravates an already deteriorating security situation across this politically unstable region of Africa.
Before the latest flight into Chad, the UNHCR and its partner groups "were taking care of 240,000 Sudanese refugees in 12 camps in eastern Chad and some 50,000 from Central African Republic in the south of the country." Up to 30,000 people in Chad fled the country for Cameroon during the rebel-government fighting.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday that one of its employees was killed in western Darfur last week during fighting. The victim is a 45-year-old Sudanese national and father of six children.
He was killed in the area of Seleia, one of the three towns where reported government-backed Janjaweed militia attacks on Friday left around 200 people dead.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week deplored the acts, urged all parties to stop hostilities, and said "all parties must adhere to international humanitarian law, which prohibits military attacks against civilians."
The United Nations says "more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.2 million others forced to flee their homes since fighting began in 2003 among government forces, rebel groups and allied militia groups known as the Janjaweed."
The recent fight between Chad's government and rebels is seen as a proxy war over Darfur. Sudan's government believes Chad is supporting rebels in Darfur. Chad's government believes Sudan is supporting the rebels that moved on Chad's capital of N'Djamena. E-mail to a friend | what happened in chad | [
"attempt by rebels there to topple the government."
] | b5d3a8ce0345443cb3425074fb125d34 | [
{
"end": [
552
],
"start": [
504
]
}
] | 3 |
(CNN) -- Fighting in the volatile Sudanese region of Darfur has sparked another wave of refugees into Chad and left a Red Cross employee dead, according to international agencies.
Refugee camps in eastern Chad house about 300,000 people who fled violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said on Monday that more than 12,000 people have fled militia attacks over the last few days from Sudan's Darfur region to neighboring Chad, still recovering from a recent attempt by rebels there to topple the government.
"Most of the new arrivals in Chad had already been displaced in Darfur in recent years. They are really tired of being attacked and having to move," said UNHCR's Jorge Holly. "All the new refugees we talked to said they did not want to go back to Darfur at this point, they wanted to be transferred to a refugee camp in eastern Chad."
This latest influx of refugees in Chad aggravates an already deteriorating security situation across this politically unstable region of Africa.
Before the latest flight into Chad, the UNHCR and its partner groups "were taking care of 240,000 Sudanese refugees in 12 camps in eastern Chad and some 50,000 from Central African Republic in the south of the country." Up to 30,000 people in Chad fled the country for Cameroon during the rebel-government fighting.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday that one of its employees was killed in western Darfur last week during fighting. The victim is a 45-year-old Sudanese national and father of six children.
He was killed in the area of Seleia, one of the three towns where reported government-backed Janjaweed militia attacks on Friday left around 200 people dead.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week deplored the acts, urged all parties to stop hostilities, and said "all parties must adhere to international humanitarian law, which prohibits military attacks against civilians."
The United Nations says "more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.2 million others forced to flee their homes since fighting began in 2003 among government forces, rebel groups and allied militia groups known as the Janjaweed."
The recent fight between Chad's government and rebels is seen as a proxy war over Darfur. Sudan's government believes Chad is supporting rebels in Darfur. Chad's government believes Sudan is supporting the rebels that moved on Chad's capital of N'Djamena. E-mail to a friend | Who is fighting in Chad? | [
"government forces, rebel groups and allied militia groups"
] | 5dfe084373f349e7a840361c8ed74801 | [
{
"end": [
2178
],
"start": [
2122
]
}
] | 3 |
(CNN) -- Fighting in the volatile Sudanese region of Darfur has sparked another wave of refugees into Chad and left a Red Cross employee dead, according to international agencies.
Refugee camps in eastern Chad house about 300,000 people who fled violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said on Monday that more than 12,000 people have fled militia attacks over the last few days from Sudan's Darfur region to neighboring Chad, still recovering from a recent attempt by rebels there to topple the government.
"Most of the new arrivals in Chad had already been displaced in Darfur in recent years. They are really tired of being attacked and having to move," said UNHCR's Jorge Holly. "All the new refugees we talked to said they did not want to go back to Darfur at this point, they wanted to be transferred to a refugee camp in eastern Chad."
This latest influx of refugees in Chad aggravates an already deteriorating security situation across this politically unstable region of Africa.
Before the latest flight into Chad, the UNHCR and its partner groups "were taking care of 240,000 Sudanese refugees in 12 camps in eastern Chad and some 50,000 from Central African Republic in the south of the country." Up to 30,000 people in Chad fled the country for Cameroon during the rebel-government fighting.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday that one of its employees was killed in western Darfur last week during fighting. The victim is a 45-year-old Sudanese national and father of six children.
He was killed in the area of Seleia, one of the three towns where reported government-backed Janjaweed militia attacks on Friday left around 200 people dead.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week deplored the acts, urged all parties to stop hostilities, and said "all parties must adhere to international humanitarian law, which prohibits military attacks against civilians."
The United Nations says "more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.2 million others forced to flee their homes since fighting began in 2003 among government forces, rebel groups and allied militia groups known as the Janjaweed."
The recent fight between Chad's government and rebels is seen as a proxy war over Darfur. Sudan's government believes Chad is supporting rebels in Darfur. Chad's government believes Sudan is supporting the rebels that moved on Chad's capital of N'Djamena. E-mail to a friend | What is Darfur wracked by? | [
"Fighting"
] | 2a8c19296685447c9a49f6ef05f6421a | [
{
"end": [
16
],
"start": [
9
]
}
] | 3 |
(CNN) -- Fighting in the volatile Sudanese region of Darfur has sparked another wave of refugees into Chad and left a Red Cross employee dead, according to international agencies.
Refugee camps in eastern Chad house about 300,000 people who fled violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said on Monday that more than 12,000 people have fled militia attacks over the last few days from Sudan's Darfur region to neighboring Chad, still recovering from a recent attempt by rebels there to topple the government.
"Most of the new arrivals in Chad had already been displaced in Darfur in recent years. They are really tired of being attacked and having to move," said UNHCR's Jorge Holly. "All the new refugees we talked to said they did not want to go back to Darfur at this point, they wanted to be transferred to a refugee camp in eastern Chad."
This latest influx of refugees in Chad aggravates an already deteriorating security situation across this politically unstable region of Africa.
Before the latest flight into Chad, the UNHCR and its partner groups "were taking care of 240,000 Sudanese refugees in 12 camps in eastern Chad and some 50,000 from Central African Republic in the south of the country." Up to 30,000 people in Chad fled the country for Cameroon during the rebel-government fighting.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday that one of its employees was killed in western Darfur last week during fighting. The victim is a 45-year-old Sudanese national and father of six children.
He was killed in the area of Seleia, one of the three towns where reported government-backed Janjaweed militia attacks on Friday left around 200 people dead.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week deplored the acts, urged all parties to stop hostilities, and said "all parties must adhere to international humanitarian law, which prohibits military attacks against civilians."
The United Nations says "more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.2 million others forced to flee their homes since fighting began in 2003 among government forces, rebel groups and allied militia groups known as the Janjaweed."
The recent fight between Chad's government and rebels is seen as a proxy war over Darfur. Sudan's government believes Chad is supporting rebels in Darfur. Chad's government believes Sudan is supporting the rebels that moved on Chad's capital of N'Djamena. E-mail to a friend | How many have recently crossed to Chad? | [
"12,000"
] | 3b962494eb4d499aa616beec5f28945c | [
{
"end": [
367
],
"start": [
362
]
}
] | 3 |
(CNN) -- Fighting in the volatile Sudanese region of Darfur has sparked another wave of refugees into Chad and left a Red Cross employee dead, according to international agencies.
Refugee camps in eastern Chad house about 300,000 people who fled violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said on Monday that more than 12,000 people have fled militia attacks over the last few days from Sudan's Darfur region to neighboring Chad, still recovering from a recent attempt by rebels there to topple the government.
"Most of the new arrivals in Chad had already been displaced in Darfur in recent years. They are really tired of being attacked and having to move," said UNHCR's Jorge Holly. "All the new refugees we talked to said they did not want to go back to Darfur at this point, they wanted to be transferred to a refugee camp in eastern Chad."
This latest influx of refugees in Chad aggravates an already deteriorating security situation across this politically unstable region of Africa.
Before the latest flight into Chad, the UNHCR and its partner groups "were taking care of 240,000 Sudanese refugees in 12 camps in eastern Chad and some 50,000 from Central African Republic in the south of the country." Up to 30,000 people in Chad fled the country for Cameroon during the rebel-government fighting.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday that one of its employees was killed in western Darfur last week during fighting. The victim is a 45-year-old Sudanese national and father of six children.
He was killed in the area of Seleia, one of the three towns where reported government-backed Janjaweed militia attacks on Friday left around 200 people dead.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week deplored the acts, urged all parties to stop hostilities, and said "all parties must adhere to international humanitarian law, which prohibits military attacks against civilians."
The United Nations says "more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.2 million others forced to flee their homes since fighting began in 2003 among government forces, rebel groups and allied militia groups known as the Janjaweed."
The recent fight between Chad's government and rebels is seen as a proxy war over Darfur. Sudan's government believes Chad is supporting rebels in Darfur. Chad's government believes Sudan is supporting the rebels that moved on Chad's capital of N'Djamena. E-mail to a friend | How many people have crossed to Chad in last few days? | [
"12,000"
] | 4756a9395c34424b9b1e3bf972ca81b0 | [
{
"end": [
367
],
"start": [
362
]
}
] | 3 |
(CNN) -- Fighting in the volatile Sudanese region of Darfur has sparked another wave of refugees into Chad and left a Red Cross employee dead, according to international agencies.
Refugee camps in eastern Chad house about 300,000 people who fled violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said on Monday that more than 12,000 people have fled militia attacks over the last few days from Sudan's Darfur region to neighboring Chad, still recovering from a recent attempt by rebels there to topple the government.
"Most of the new arrivals in Chad had already been displaced in Darfur in recent years. They are really tired of being attacked and having to move," said UNHCR's Jorge Holly. "All the new refugees we talked to said they did not want to go back to Darfur at this point, they wanted to be transferred to a refugee camp in eastern Chad."
This latest influx of refugees in Chad aggravates an already deteriorating security situation across this politically unstable region of Africa.
Before the latest flight into Chad, the UNHCR and its partner groups "were taking care of 240,000 Sudanese refugees in 12 camps in eastern Chad and some 50,000 from Central African Republic in the south of the country." Up to 30,000 people in Chad fled the country for Cameroon during the rebel-government fighting.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday that one of its employees was killed in western Darfur last week during fighting. The victim is a 45-year-old Sudanese national and father of six children.
He was killed in the area of Seleia, one of the three towns where reported government-backed Janjaweed militia attacks on Friday left around 200 people dead.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week deplored the acts, urged all parties to stop hostilities, and said "all parties must adhere to international humanitarian law, which prohibits military attacks against civilians."
The United Nations says "more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.2 million others forced to flee their homes since fighting began in 2003 among government forces, rebel groups and allied militia groups known as the Janjaweed."
The recent fight between Chad's government and rebels is seen as a proxy war over Darfur. Sudan's government believes Chad is supporting rebels in Darfur. Chad's government believes Sudan is supporting the rebels that moved on Chad's capital of N'Djamena. E-mail to a friend | Who was killed in Dafur? | [
"Red Cross employee dead,"
] | 94eeac488fe24c93af5d26b2133a66fd | [
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(CNN) -- England international footballer Steven Gerrard was found not guilty of affray by a court in his home city on Friday.
England international Steven Gerrard was cleared by a court in Liverpool of affray.
The jury at Liverpool Crown Court took a little over an hour to clear Gerrard of charges relating to a fracas in a nightclub bar in the north-western of England city on December 29 of last year.
They accepted the Liverpool captain's version that he acted in self defense in punching businessman Marcus McGhee.
The 29-year-old was the only one of the seven defendants in the case to be cleared after an incident which was described by judge Henry Globe as an "explosion of violence."
Gerrard spoke of his relief outside the court.
"Can I just say how pleased I am with today's verdict," he said.
"I'm glad to put this case behind me and I am really looking forward to the season ahead and concentrating on my football now.
"I would just like to say a big thank you to my legal team and to my friends and family and everyone at Liverpool football club for supporting me."
His comments were met with a round of applause from a large group of fans of the Premier League club who had gathered outside the court, before he was ushered away.
Gerrard was celebrating in the Lounge Inn in Southport, a suburb of Liverpool, after scoring twice his team's 5-1 win at Newcastle which took them to the top of the Premier League.
Video footage, which was available to the court, showed the moment around 2.am in the morning when trouble flared.
Gerrard apparently wanted to change the music on the CD player and the 34-year-old McGee said the football star had acted aggressively in trying to grab the device.
In the fracas which followed, Gerrard admitted throwing three punches but said only one connected.
He claimed, and his version was accepted by the jury, that he believed he was about to be attacked himself.
"You did not start the violence, it was started by the violent elbowing of Marcus McGee in the face by one of your friends, John Doran," Globe said.
"The victim's consequential actions of reeling backwards and then forwards and your actions in response to that movement forward has to be seen against that background," he added.
Five other men have already pleaded guilty to affray and another admitted a lesser charge of threatening behavior. They will be sentenced at a later date. | How many years old was the businessman? | [
"29-year-old"
] | a2bae4da91124955a93812f5df904785 | [
{
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(CNN) -- England international footballer Steven Gerrard was found not guilty of affray by a court in his home city on Friday.
England international Steven Gerrard was cleared by a court in Liverpool of affray.
The jury at Liverpool Crown Court took a little over an hour to clear Gerrard of charges relating to a fracas in a nightclub bar in the north-western of England city on December 29 of last year.
They accepted the Liverpool captain's version that he acted in self defense in punching businessman Marcus McGhee.
The 29-year-old was the only one of the seven defendants in the case to be cleared after an incident which was described by judge Henry Globe as an "explosion of violence."
Gerrard spoke of his relief outside the court.
"Can I just say how pleased I am with today's verdict," he said.
"I'm glad to put this case behind me and I am really looking forward to the season ahead and concentrating on my football now.
"I would just like to say a big thank you to my legal team and to my friends and family and everyone at Liverpool football club for supporting me."
His comments were met with a round of applause from a large group of fans of the Premier League club who had gathered outside the court, before he was ushered away.
Gerrard was celebrating in the Lounge Inn in Southport, a suburb of Liverpool, after scoring twice his team's 5-1 win at Newcastle which took them to the top of the Premier League.
Video footage, which was available to the court, showed the moment around 2.am in the morning when trouble flared.
Gerrard apparently wanted to change the music on the CD player and the 34-year-old McGee said the football star had acted aggressively in trying to grab the device.
In the fracas which followed, Gerrard admitted throwing three punches but said only one connected.
He claimed, and his version was accepted by the jury, that he believed he was about to be attacked himself.
"You did not start the violence, it was started by the violent elbowing of Marcus McGee in the face by one of your friends, John Doran," Globe said.
"The victim's consequential actions of reeling backwards and then forwards and your actions in response to that movement forward has to be seen against that background," he added.
Five other men have already pleaded guilty to affray and another admitted a lesser charge of threatening behavior. They will be sentenced at a later date. | What did Gerrard admit | [
"throwing three punches"
] | d25b7480afc34567b5ecbc8a09692ace | [
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(CNN) -- England international footballer Steven Gerrard was found not guilty of affray by a court in his home city on Friday.
England international Steven Gerrard was cleared by a court in Liverpool of affray.
The jury at Liverpool Crown Court took a little over an hour to clear Gerrard of charges relating to a fracas in a nightclub bar in the north-western of England city on December 29 of last year.
They accepted the Liverpool captain's version that he acted in self defense in punching businessman Marcus McGhee.
The 29-year-old was the only one of the seven defendants in the case to be cleared after an incident which was described by judge Henry Globe as an "explosion of violence."
Gerrard spoke of his relief outside the court.
"Can I just say how pleased I am with today's verdict," he said.
"I'm glad to put this case behind me and I am really looking forward to the season ahead and concentrating on my football now.
"I would just like to say a big thank you to my legal team and to my friends and family and everyone at Liverpool football club for supporting me."
His comments were met with a round of applause from a large group of fans of the Premier League club who had gathered outside the court, before he was ushered away.
Gerrard was celebrating in the Lounge Inn in Southport, a suburb of Liverpool, after scoring twice his team's 5-1 win at Newcastle which took them to the top of the Premier League.
Video footage, which was available to the court, showed the moment around 2.am in the morning when trouble flared.
Gerrard apparently wanted to change the music on the CD player and the 34-year-old McGee said the football star had acted aggressively in trying to grab the device.
In the fracas which followed, Gerrard admitted throwing three punches but said only one connected.
He claimed, and his version was accepted by the jury, that he believed he was about to be attacked himself.
"You did not start the violence, it was started by the violent elbowing of Marcus McGee in the face by one of your friends, John Doran," Globe said.
"The victim's consequential actions of reeling backwards and then forwards and your actions in response to that movement forward has to be seen against that background," he added.
Five other men have already pleaded guilty to affray and another admitted a lesser charge of threatening behavior. They will be sentenced at a later date. | Who was cleared by a Liverpool court? | [
"Steven Gerrard"
] | 71b4bc9f4eff428ca119ad7605c28fa0 | [
{
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(CNN) -- England international footballer Steven Gerrard was found not guilty of affray by a court in his home city on Friday.
England international Steven Gerrard was cleared by a court in Liverpool of affray.
The jury at Liverpool Crown Court took a little over an hour to clear Gerrard of charges relating to a fracas in a nightclub bar in the north-western of England city on December 29 of last year.
They accepted the Liverpool captain's version that he acted in self defense in punching businessman Marcus McGhee.
The 29-year-old was the only one of the seven defendants in the case to be cleared after an incident which was described by judge Henry Globe as an "explosion of violence."
Gerrard spoke of his relief outside the court.
"Can I just say how pleased I am with today's verdict," he said.
"I'm glad to put this case behind me and I am really looking forward to the season ahead and concentrating on my football now.
"I would just like to say a big thank you to my legal team and to my friends and family and everyone at Liverpool football club for supporting me."
His comments were met with a round of applause from a large group of fans of the Premier League club who had gathered outside the court, before he was ushered away.
Gerrard was celebrating in the Lounge Inn in Southport, a suburb of Liverpool, after scoring twice his team's 5-1 win at Newcastle which took them to the top of the Premier League.
Video footage, which was available to the court, showed the moment around 2.am in the morning when trouble flared.
Gerrard apparently wanted to change the music on the CD player and the 34-year-old McGee said the football star had acted aggressively in trying to grab the device.
In the fracas which followed, Gerrard admitted throwing three punches but said only one connected.
He claimed, and his version was accepted by the jury, that he believed he was about to be attacked himself.
"You did not start the violence, it was started by the violent elbowing of Marcus McGee in the face by one of your friends, John Doran," Globe said.
"The victim's consequential actions of reeling backwards and then forwards and your actions in response to that movement forward has to be seen against that background," he added.
Five other men have already pleaded guilty to affray and another admitted a lesser charge of threatening behavior. They will be sentenced at a later date. | Who was cleared of charges | [
"Steven Gerrard"
] | cacee83b29e04e16a10b6bedf782d25a | [
{
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(CNN) -- England international footballer Steven Gerrard was found not guilty of affray by a court in his home city on Friday.
England international Steven Gerrard was cleared by a court in Liverpool of affray.
The jury at Liverpool Crown Court took a little over an hour to clear Gerrard of charges relating to a fracas in a nightclub bar in the north-western of England city on December 29 of last year.
They accepted the Liverpool captain's version that he acted in self defense in punching businessman Marcus McGhee.
The 29-year-old was the only one of the seven defendants in the case to be cleared after an incident which was described by judge Henry Globe as an "explosion of violence."
Gerrard spoke of his relief outside the court.
"Can I just say how pleased I am with today's verdict," he said.
"I'm glad to put this case behind me and I am really looking forward to the season ahead and concentrating on my football now.
"I would just like to say a big thank you to my legal team and to my friends and family and everyone at Liverpool football club for supporting me."
His comments were met with a round of applause from a large group of fans of the Premier League club who had gathered outside the court, before he was ushered away.
Gerrard was celebrating in the Lounge Inn in Southport, a suburb of Liverpool, after scoring twice his team's 5-1 win at Newcastle which took them to the top of the Premier League.
Video footage, which was available to the court, showed the moment around 2.am in the morning when trouble flared.
Gerrard apparently wanted to change the music on the CD player and the 34-year-old McGee said the football star had acted aggressively in trying to grab the device.
In the fracas which followed, Gerrard admitted throwing three punches but said only one connected.
He claimed, and his version was accepted by the jury, that he believed he was about to be attacked himself.
"You did not start the violence, it was started by the violent elbowing of Marcus McGee in the face by one of your friends, John Doran," Globe said.
"The victim's consequential actions of reeling backwards and then forwards and your actions in response to that movement forward has to be seen against that background," he added.
Five other men have already pleaded guilty to affray and another admitted a lesser charge of threatening behavior. They will be sentenced at a later date. | What did Gerrard admit doing? | [
"punching businessman Marcus McGhee."
] | 93c2ea88796d4049aef01bbeb0ac973e | [
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(CNN) -- England international footballer Steven Gerrard was found not guilty of affray by a court in his home city on Friday.
England international Steven Gerrard was cleared by a court in Liverpool of affray.
The jury at Liverpool Crown Court took a little over an hour to clear Gerrard of charges relating to a fracas in a nightclub bar in the north-western of England city on December 29 of last year.
They accepted the Liverpool captain's version that he acted in self defense in punching businessman Marcus McGhee.
The 29-year-old was the only one of the seven defendants in the case to be cleared after an incident which was described by judge Henry Globe as an "explosion of violence."
Gerrard spoke of his relief outside the court.
"Can I just say how pleased I am with today's verdict," he said.
"I'm glad to put this case behind me and I am really looking forward to the season ahead and concentrating on my football now.
"I would just like to say a big thank you to my legal team and to my friends and family and everyone at Liverpool football club for supporting me."
His comments were met with a round of applause from a large group of fans of the Premier League club who had gathered outside the court, before he was ushered away.
Gerrard was celebrating in the Lounge Inn in Southport, a suburb of Liverpool, after scoring twice his team's 5-1 win at Newcastle which took them to the top of the Premier League.
Video footage, which was available to the court, showed the moment around 2.am in the morning when trouble flared.
Gerrard apparently wanted to change the music on the CD player and the 34-year-old McGee said the football star had acted aggressively in trying to grab the device.
In the fracas which followed, Gerrard admitted throwing three punches but said only one connected.
He claimed, and his version was accepted by the jury, that he believed he was about to be attacked himself.
"You did not start the violence, it was started by the violent elbowing of Marcus McGee in the face by one of your friends, John Doran," Globe said.
"The victim's consequential actions of reeling backwards and then forwards and your actions in response to that movement forward has to be seen against that background," he added.
Five other men have already pleaded guilty to affray and another admitted a lesser charge of threatening behavior. They will be sentenced at a later date. | What did the Jury accept | [
"They accepted the Liverpool captain's version that he acted in self defense"
] | d0ca6cbeb3e4472ea949e4644b9873b8 | [
{
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(CNN) -- England international footballer Steven Gerrard was found not guilty of affray by a court in his home city on Friday.
England international Steven Gerrard was cleared by a court in Liverpool of affray.
The jury at Liverpool Crown Court took a little over an hour to clear Gerrard of charges relating to a fracas in a nightclub bar in the north-western of England city on December 29 of last year.
They accepted the Liverpool captain's version that he acted in self defense in punching businessman Marcus McGhee.
The 29-year-old was the only one of the seven defendants in the case to be cleared after an incident which was described by judge Henry Globe as an "explosion of violence."
Gerrard spoke of his relief outside the court.
"Can I just say how pleased I am with today's verdict," he said.
"I'm glad to put this case behind me and I am really looking forward to the season ahead and concentrating on my football now.
"I would just like to say a big thank you to my legal team and to my friends and family and everyone at Liverpool football club for supporting me."
His comments were met with a round of applause from a large group of fans of the Premier League club who had gathered outside the court, before he was ushered away.
Gerrard was celebrating in the Lounge Inn in Southport, a suburb of Liverpool, after scoring twice his team's 5-1 win at Newcastle which took them to the top of the Premier League.
Video footage, which was available to the court, showed the moment around 2.am in the morning when trouble flared.
Gerrard apparently wanted to change the music on the CD player and the 34-year-old McGee said the football star had acted aggressively in trying to grab the device.
In the fracas which followed, Gerrard admitted throwing three punches but said only one connected.
He claimed, and his version was accepted by the jury, that he believed he was about to be attacked himself.
"You did not start the violence, it was started by the violent elbowing of Marcus McGee in the face by one of your friends, John Doran," Globe said.
"The victim's consequential actions of reeling backwards and then forwards and your actions in response to that movement forward has to be seen against that background," he added.
Five other men have already pleaded guilty to affray and another admitted a lesser charge of threatening behavior. They will be sentenced at a later date. | Who did Gerrard admit to punching? | [
"businessman Marcus McGhee."
] | ecf374e59bbd4bb38a3891169555aa86 | [
{
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(CNN) -- England international footballer Steven Gerrard was found not guilty of affray by a court in his home city on Friday.
England international Steven Gerrard was cleared by a court in Liverpool of affray.
The jury at Liverpool Crown Court took a little over an hour to clear Gerrard of charges relating to a fracas in a nightclub bar in the north-western of England city on December 29 of last year.
They accepted the Liverpool captain's version that he acted in self defense in punching businessman Marcus McGhee.
The 29-year-old was the only one of the seven defendants in the case to be cleared after an incident which was described by judge Henry Globe as an "explosion of violence."
Gerrard spoke of his relief outside the court.
"Can I just say how pleased I am with today's verdict," he said.
"I'm glad to put this case behind me and I am really looking forward to the season ahead and concentrating on my football now.
"I would just like to say a big thank you to my legal team and to my friends and family and everyone at Liverpool football club for supporting me."
His comments were met with a round of applause from a large group of fans of the Premier League club who had gathered outside the court, before he was ushered away.
Gerrard was celebrating in the Lounge Inn in Southport, a suburb of Liverpool, after scoring twice his team's 5-1 win at Newcastle which took them to the top of the Premier League.
Video footage, which was available to the court, showed the moment around 2.am in the morning when trouble flared.
Gerrard apparently wanted to change the music on the CD player and the 34-year-old McGee said the football star had acted aggressively in trying to grab the device.
In the fracas which followed, Gerrard admitted throwing three punches but said only one connected.
He claimed, and his version was accepted by the jury, that he believed he was about to be attacked himself.
"You did not start the violence, it was started by the violent elbowing of Marcus McGee in the face by one of your friends, John Doran," Globe said.
"The victim's consequential actions of reeling backwards and then forwards and your actions in response to that movement forward has to be seen against that background," he added.
Five other men have already pleaded guilty to affray and another admitted a lesser charge of threatening behavior. They will be sentenced at a later date. | Who was cleared of affray charge? | [
"Steven Gerrard"
] | e5feb0ff23904312a8f720a0915d314f | [
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Johannesburg (CNN) -- Miffed by a visa delay that led the Dalai Lama to cancel a trip to South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu lashed out at his government Tuesday, saying it had acted worse than apartheid regimes and had forgotten all that the nation stood for.
"When we used to apply for passports under the apartheid government, we never knew until the last moment what their decision was," Tutu said at a news conference. "Our government is worse than the apartheid government because at least you were expecting it from the apartheid government.
"I have to say that I can't believe this. I really can't believe this," Tutu said. "You have to wake me up and tell me this is actually happening here."
The Dalai Lama scrapped his planned trip to South Africa this week after the nation failed to issue him a visa in time, his spokesman said.
Visa applications for him and his entourage were submitted to the South African High Commission in New Delhi, India, at the end of August, and original passports were submitted on September 20, more than two weeks ago, a statement on his website said.
However, South Africa's foreign affairs office said it did not refuse a visa.
"South Africa will not comment on the decision, because it is not our decision, it is his decision," according to spokesman Clayson Monyela, who said the visa application was still under consideration.
The Dalai Lama had been invited to the country to receive the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation and to speak at a number of events, including a lecture in honor of Tutu's 80th birthday. Tutu and the Dalai Lama are recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Tutu said he would pray for the defeat of South Africa's government, led by the African National Congress (ANC), which is rooted in the fight against the system of apartheid, or legal racial separation, that was present in South Africa until 1994.
"You are disgraceful," Tutu said about the government. "You are behaving in a way that is totally at variance with the things for which we stood."
The ANC plans to call on government officials to explain to South Africans why the visa process was delayed, spokesman Jackson Mtembu said. He said everyone was in the dark about this matter.
But he also suggested that Tutu calm down. A comparison to apartheid regimes, he said, was unfair.
This is not the first time the Dalai Lama has not been able to visit South Africa. In 2009, South Africa refused the Tibetan spiritual leader a visa to attend an international peace conference, saying it was not in the country's interest for him to attend.
In refusing the 2009 application, South Africa said that if the Dalai Lama attended the conference, the focus would shift away from the 2010 World Cup, the global soccer championship it was hosting.
"We cannot allow focus to shift to China and Tibet," presidential spokesman Thabo Masebe said, adding that South Africa had gained much from its trading relationship with China.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and China pressures governments around the world to deny him any legitimacy.
Speculation surfaced Tuesday that this year's visit was also affected by South Africa's relationship with China.
South African Vice President Kgalema Motlanthe visited Beijing last week and met with Chinese President Hu Jintao to discuss bolstering bilateral ties.
Motlanthe said South Africa was ready to boost the strategic partnership between the two countries to a new stage, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.
But Monyela said the application had nothing to do with China.
"We are a sovereign nation which takes decisions in our domestic interest," Monyela said.
The Dalai Lama posted a message on Twitter last week that said: "Even if the Chinese leave nothing but ashes, Tibet will rise from these ashes as a free country even if it takes a long time to do so."
Kim Norgaard, CNN's Johannesburg bureau chief, contributed to this | who did say South Africa did not issue a visa on time? | [
"Archbishop Desmond Tutu"
] | cae419e0e8c74368a8967b49134be759 | [
{
"end": [
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Johannesburg (CNN) -- Miffed by a visa delay that led the Dalai Lama to cancel a trip to South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu lashed out at his government Tuesday, saying it had acted worse than apartheid regimes and had forgotten all that the nation stood for.
"When we used to apply for passports under the apartheid government, we never knew until the last moment what their decision was," Tutu said at a news conference. "Our government is worse than the apartheid government because at least you were expecting it from the apartheid government.
"I have to say that I can't believe this. I really can't believe this," Tutu said. "You have to wake me up and tell me this is actually happening here."
The Dalai Lama scrapped his planned trip to South Africa this week after the nation failed to issue him a visa in time, his spokesman said.
Visa applications for him and his entourage were submitted to the South African High Commission in New Delhi, India, at the end of August, and original passports were submitted on September 20, more than two weeks ago, a statement on his website said.
However, South Africa's foreign affairs office said it did not refuse a visa.
"South Africa will not comment on the decision, because it is not our decision, it is his decision," according to spokesman Clayson Monyela, who said the visa application was still under consideration.
The Dalai Lama had been invited to the country to receive the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation and to speak at a number of events, including a lecture in honor of Tutu's 80th birthday. Tutu and the Dalai Lama are recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Tutu said he would pray for the defeat of South Africa's government, led by the African National Congress (ANC), which is rooted in the fight against the system of apartheid, or legal racial separation, that was present in South Africa until 1994.
"You are disgraceful," Tutu said about the government. "You are behaving in a way that is totally at variance with the things for which we stood."
The ANC plans to call on government officials to explain to South Africans why the visa process was delayed, spokesman Jackson Mtembu said. He said everyone was in the dark about this matter.
But he also suggested that Tutu calm down. A comparison to apartheid regimes, he said, was unfair.
This is not the first time the Dalai Lama has not been able to visit South Africa. In 2009, South Africa refused the Tibetan spiritual leader a visa to attend an international peace conference, saying it was not in the country's interest for him to attend.
In refusing the 2009 application, South Africa said that if the Dalai Lama attended the conference, the focus would shift away from the 2010 World Cup, the global soccer championship it was hosting.
"We cannot allow focus to shift to China and Tibet," presidential spokesman Thabo Masebe said, adding that South Africa had gained much from its trading relationship with China.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and China pressures governments around the world to deny him any legitimacy.
Speculation surfaced Tuesday that this year's visit was also affected by South Africa's relationship with China.
South African Vice President Kgalema Motlanthe visited Beijing last week and met with Chinese President Hu Jintao to discuss bolstering bilateral ties.
Motlanthe said South Africa was ready to boost the strategic partnership between the two countries to a new stage, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.
But Monyela said the application had nothing to do with China.
"We are a sovereign nation which takes decisions in our domestic interest," Monyela said.
The Dalai Lama posted a message on Twitter last week that said: "Even if the Chinese leave nothing but ashes, Tibet will rise from these ashes as a free country even if it takes a long time to do so."
Kim Norgaard, CNN's Johannesburg bureau chief, contributed to this | who is responsible for all this | [
"government."
] | 8de3b9570e7548659ee86c52110e3598 | [
{
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1993
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Johannesburg (CNN) -- Miffed by a visa delay that led the Dalai Lama to cancel a trip to South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu lashed out at his government Tuesday, saying it had acted worse than apartheid regimes and had forgotten all that the nation stood for.
"When we used to apply for passports under the apartheid government, we never knew until the last moment what their decision was," Tutu said at a news conference. "Our government is worse than the apartheid government because at least you were expecting it from the apartheid government.
"I have to say that I can't believe this. I really can't believe this," Tutu said. "You have to wake me up and tell me this is actually happening here."
The Dalai Lama scrapped his planned trip to South Africa this week after the nation failed to issue him a visa in time, his spokesman said.
Visa applications for him and his entourage were submitted to the South African High Commission in New Delhi, India, at the end of August, and original passports were submitted on September 20, more than two weeks ago, a statement on his website said.
However, South Africa's foreign affairs office said it did not refuse a visa.
"South Africa will not comment on the decision, because it is not our decision, it is his decision," according to spokesman Clayson Monyela, who said the visa application was still under consideration.
The Dalai Lama had been invited to the country to receive the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation and to speak at a number of events, including a lecture in honor of Tutu's 80th birthday. Tutu and the Dalai Lama are recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Tutu said he would pray for the defeat of South Africa's government, led by the African National Congress (ANC), which is rooted in the fight against the system of apartheid, or legal racial separation, that was present in South Africa until 1994.
"You are disgraceful," Tutu said about the government. "You are behaving in a way that is totally at variance with the things for which we stood."
The ANC plans to call on government officials to explain to South Africans why the visa process was delayed, spokesman Jackson Mtembu said. He said everyone was in the dark about this matter.
But he also suggested that Tutu calm down. A comparison to apartheid regimes, he said, was unfair.
This is not the first time the Dalai Lama has not been able to visit South Africa. In 2009, South Africa refused the Tibetan spiritual leader a visa to attend an international peace conference, saying it was not in the country's interest for him to attend.
In refusing the 2009 application, South Africa said that if the Dalai Lama attended the conference, the focus would shift away from the 2010 World Cup, the global soccer championship it was hosting.
"We cannot allow focus to shift to China and Tibet," presidential spokesman Thabo Masebe said, adding that South Africa had gained much from its trading relationship with China.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and China pressures governments around the world to deny him any legitimacy.
Speculation surfaced Tuesday that this year's visit was also affected by South Africa's relationship with China.
South African Vice President Kgalema Motlanthe visited Beijing last week and met with Chinese President Hu Jintao to discuss bolstering bilateral ties.
Motlanthe said South Africa was ready to boost the strategic partnership between the two countries to a new stage, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.
But Monyela said the application had nothing to do with China.
"We are a sovereign nation which takes decisions in our domestic interest," Monyela said.
The Dalai Lama posted a message on Twitter last week that said: "Even if the Chinese leave nothing but ashes, Tibet will rise from these ashes as a free country even if it takes a long time to do so."
Kim Norgaard, CNN's Johannesburg bureau chief, contributed to this | Who does the African National Congress say should calm down? | [
"Tutu"
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Johannesburg (CNN) -- Miffed by a visa delay that led the Dalai Lama to cancel a trip to South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu lashed out at his government Tuesday, saying it had acted worse than apartheid regimes and had forgotten all that the nation stood for.
"When we used to apply for passports under the apartheid government, we never knew until the last moment what their decision was," Tutu said at a news conference. "Our government is worse than the apartheid government because at least you were expecting it from the apartheid government.
"I have to say that I can't believe this. I really can't believe this," Tutu said. "You have to wake me up and tell me this is actually happening here."
The Dalai Lama scrapped his planned trip to South Africa this week after the nation failed to issue him a visa in time, his spokesman said.
Visa applications for him and his entourage were submitted to the South African High Commission in New Delhi, India, at the end of August, and original passports were submitted on September 20, more than two weeks ago, a statement on his website said.
However, South Africa's foreign affairs office said it did not refuse a visa.
"South Africa will not comment on the decision, because it is not our decision, it is his decision," according to spokesman Clayson Monyela, who said the visa application was still under consideration.
The Dalai Lama had been invited to the country to receive the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation and to speak at a number of events, including a lecture in honor of Tutu's 80th birthday. Tutu and the Dalai Lama are recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Tutu said he would pray for the defeat of South Africa's government, led by the African National Congress (ANC), which is rooted in the fight against the system of apartheid, or legal racial separation, that was present in South Africa until 1994.
"You are disgraceful," Tutu said about the government. "You are behaving in a way that is totally at variance with the things for which we stood."
The ANC plans to call on government officials to explain to South Africans why the visa process was delayed, spokesman Jackson Mtembu said. He said everyone was in the dark about this matter.
But he also suggested that Tutu calm down. A comparison to apartheid regimes, he said, was unfair.
This is not the first time the Dalai Lama has not been able to visit South Africa. In 2009, South Africa refused the Tibetan spiritual leader a visa to attend an international peace conference, saying it was not in the country's interest for him to attend.
In refusing the 2009 application, South Africa said that if the Dalai Lama attended the conference, the focus would shift away from the 2010 World Cup, the global soccer championship it was hosting.
"We cannot allow focus to shift to China and Tibet," presidential spokesman Thabo Masebe said, adding that South Africa had gained much from its trading relationship with China.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and China pressures governments around the world to deny him any legitimacy.
Speculation surfaced Tuesday that this year's visit was also affected by South Africa's relationship with China.
South African Vice President Kgalema Motlanthe visited Beijing last week and met with Chinese President Hu Jintao to discuss bolstering bilateral ties.
Motlanthe said South Africa was ready to boost the strategic partnership between the two countries to a new stage, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.
But Monyela said the application had nothing to do with China.
"We are a sovereign nation which takes decisions in our domestic interest," Monyela said.
The Dalai Lama posted a message on Twitter last week that said: "Even if the Chinese leave nothing but ashes, Tibet will rise from these ashes as a free country even if it takes a long time to do so."
Kim Norgaard, CNN's Johannesburg bureau chief, contributed to this | Who says the government is acting worse than apartheid regime? | [
"Archbishop Desmond Tutu"
] | a83b84c69a5b4e81a1962695f5cdf9a4 | [
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Johannesburg (CNN) -- Miffed by a visa delay that led the Dalai Lama to cancel a trip to South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu lashed out at his government Tuesday, saying it had acted worse than apartheid regimes and had forgotten all that the nation stood for.
"When we used to apply for passports under the apartheid government, we never knew until the last moment what their decision was," Tutu said at a news conference. "Our government is worse than the apartheid government because at least you were expecting it from the apartheid government.
"I have to say that I can't believe this. I really can't believe this," Tutu said. "You have to wake me up and tell me this is actually happening here."
The Dalai Lama scrapped his planned trip to South Africa this week after the nation failed to issue him a visa in time, his spokesman said.
Visa applications for him and his entourage were submitted to the South African High Commission in New Delhi, India, at the end of August, and original passports were submitted on September 20, more than two weeks ago, a statement on his website said.
However, South Africa's foreign affairs office said it did not refuse a visa.
"South Africa will not comment on the decision, because it is not our decision, it is his decision," according to spokesman Clayson Monyela, who said the visa application was still under consideration.
The Dalai Lama had been invited to the country to receive the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation and to speak at a number of events, including a lecture in honor of Tutu's 80th birthday. Tutu and the Dalai Lama are recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Tutu said he would pray for the defeat of South Africa's government, led by the African National Congress (ANC), which is rooted in the fight against the system of apartheid, or legal racial separation, that was present in South Africa until 1994.
"You are disgraceful," Tutu said about the government. "You are behaving in a way that is totally at variance with the things for which we stood."
The ANC plans to call on government officials to explain to South Africans why the visa process was delayed, spokesman Jackson Mtembu said. He said everyone was in the dark about this matter.
But he also suggested that Tutu calm down. A comparison to apartheid regimes, he said, was unfair.
This is not the first time the Dalai Lama has not been able to visit South Africa. In 2009, South Africa refused the Tibetan spiritual leader a visa to attend an international peace conference, saying it was not in the country's interest for him to attend.
In refusing the 2009 application, South Africa said that if the Dalai Lama attended the conference, the focus would shift away from the 2010 World Cup, the global soccer championship it was hosting.
"We cannot allow focus to shift to China and Tibet," presidential spokesman Thabo Masebe said, adding that South Africa had gained much from its trading relationship with China.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and China pressures governments around the world to deny him any legitimacy.
Speculation surfaced Tuesday that this year's visit was also affected by South Africa's relationship with China.
South African Vice President Kgalema Motlanthe visited Beijing last week and met with Chinese President Hu Jintao to discuss bolstering bilateral ties.
Motlanthe said South Africa was ready to boost the strategic partnership between the two countries to a new stage, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.
But Monyela said the application had nothing to do with China.
"We are a sovereign nation which takes decisions in our domestic interest," Monyela said.
The Dalai Lama posted a message on Twitter last week that said: "Even if the Chinese leave nothing but ashes, Tibet will rise from these ashes as a free country even if it takes a long time to do so."
Kim Norgaard, CNN's Johannesburg bureau chief, contributed to this | Who was denied visa to South Africa in 2009? | [
"Dalai Lama"
] | 0156d8f11b574ff2b1c5d75ecfdbb3b4 | [
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(CNN) -- Jewish organizations called for a Romanian official to resign and face a criminal investigation after he wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, and his 15-year-old son "entered the stage marching the clearly identifiable Nazi 'goose step,'" the Center for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism in Romania said in a letter to the country's prosecutor general.
The organization's director, Marco Katz, said Mazare had broken Romanian law and encouraged his son to do the same, "educating him to treat the law with contempt."
Katz said Mazare was sending a message "that to wear Nazi uniforms and to march the Nazi steps is legal and 'in vogue' in Romania."
He urged the authorities and the head of Mazare's Social Democrat party to show that message "will be strongly countermanded."
Mazare, 41, said he had not noticed the Nazi swastika symbol on the uniform before he wore it, according to the Romanian Times newspaper.
"I checked it before I put it on but the swastika was very small and I didn't see it," he said. "I really liked the look of the uniform after seeing it in the Tom Cruise film 'Valkyrie.' I bought it from a costume hire shop in Germany."
A top Nazi hunter said Mazare should quit.
"The proper thing for you to do is to admit your mistake, apologize for it and resign your position," Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem wrote to Mazare. Zuroff sent CNN a copy of the letter.
He said it was no defense that the uniform was that of the Wehrmacht -- the army -- rather than the SS, the elite Nazi guard which took the lead in killing Jews during the Holocaust.
"The Wehrmacht played an active role in the mass murder of European Jewry and many other innocent victims. By dressing in a Wehrmacht uniform, you are expressing totally unwarranted support and nostalgia for an army which committed the most terrible war crimes and acts of genocide," the letter said.
"It would hard to adequately describe the depth of the pain that your appearance caused, not only to Jews and other victims of Nazism, but to any person of moral integrity who knows the history of World War II," Zuroff wrote.
Zuroff told CNN he did not expect Mazare to resign, or even to respond to the letter.
But he said he hoped the mayor might act on Zuroff's suggestion that Mazare create a Romanian-language edition of an acclaimed exhibition on the crimes of the Wehrmacht.
The Nazi uniform incident, which took place Sunday, was the first time Zuroff heard of Mazare, he said.
"He has a history of being outrageous, but his antics have never included something that I would deal with," Zuroff said.
"He's a real character, apparently. He's also very popular, which makes this much more difficult."
CNN attempts to contact Mazare were unsuccessful.
Romania was a Nazi ally from 1940 to 1944, under the leadership of a right-wing military government led by General Ion Antonescu.
At least 270,000 Romanian Jews were killed or died from mistreatment during the Holocaust, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia.
The 1930 Romanian census recorded 728,115 people who identified themselves as Jewish, comprising approximately 4 percent of the population, the reference work says.
Antonescu was deposed in 1944 and Romania switched sides in World War II. | Who is Radu Mazare? | [
"mayor of the town of Constanta,"
] | 82efdfba5b904210ad7dd3a4eb6af32f | [
{
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(CNN) -- Jewish organizations called for a Romanian official to resign and face a criminal investigation after he wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, and his 15-year-old son "entered the stage marching the clearly identifiable Nazi 'goose step,'" the Center for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism in Romania said in a letter to the country's prosecutor general.
The organization's director, Marco Katz, said Mazare had broken Romanian law and encouraged his son to do the same, "educating him to treat the law with contempt."
Katz said Mazare was sending a message "that to wear Nazi uniforms and to march the Nazi steps is legal and 'in vogue' in Romania."
He urged the authorities and the head of Mazare's Social Democrat party to show that message "will be strongly countermanded."
Mazare, 41, said he had not noticed the Nazi swastika symbol on the uniform before he wore it, according to the Romanian Times newspaper.
"I checked it before I put it on but the swastika was very small and I didn't see it," he said. "I really liked the look of the uniform after seeing it in the Tom Cruise film 'Valkyrie.' I bought it from a costume hire shop in Germany."
A top Nazi hunter said Mazare should quit.
"The proper thing for you to do is to admit your mistake, apologize for it and resign your position," Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem wrote to Mazare. Zuroff sent CNN a copy of the letter.
He said it was no defense that the uniform was that of the Wehrmacht -- the army -- rather than the SS, the elite Nazi guard which took the lead in killing Jews during the Holocaust.
"The Wehrmacht played an active role in the mass murder of European Jewry and many other innocent victims. By dressing in a Wehrmacht uniform, you are expressing totally unwarranted support and nostalgia for an army which committed the most terrible war crimes and acts of genocide," the letter said.
"It would hard to adequately describe the depth of the pain that your appearance caused, not only to Jews and other victims of Nazism, but to any person of moral integrity who knows the history of World War II," Zuroff wrote.
Zuroff told CNN he did not expect Mazare to resign, or even to respond to the letter.
But he said he hoped the mayor might act on Zuroff's suggestion that Mazare create a Romanian-language edition of an acclaimed exhibition on the crimes of the Wehrmacht.
The Nazi uniform incident, which took place Sunday, was the first time Zuroff heard of Mazare, he said.
"He has a history of being outrageous, but his antics have never included something that I would deal with," Zuroff said.
"He's a real character, apparently. He's also very popular, which makes this much more difficult."
CNN attempts to contact Mazare were unsuccessful.
Romania was a Nazi ally from 1940 to 1944, under the leadership of a right-wing military government led by General Ion Antonescu.
At least 270,000 Romanian Jews were killed or died from mistreatment during the Holocaust, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia.
The 1930 Romanian census recorded 728,115 people who identified themselves as Jewish, comprising approximately 4 percent of the population, the reference work says.
Antonescu was deposed in 1944 and Romania switched sides in World War II. | Who is calling for the official's resignation? | [
"organizations"
] | addf2f237c4245e4a671efdd3df4cf2f | [
{
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(CNN) -- Jewish organizations called for a Romanian official to resign and face a criminal investigation after he wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, and his 15-year-old son "entered the stage marching the clearly identifiable Nazi 'goose step,'" the Center for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism in Romania said in a letter to the country's prosecutor general.
The organization's director, Marco Katz, said Mazare had broken Romanian law and encouraged his son to do the same, "educating him to treat the law with contempt."
Katz said Mazare was sending a message "that to wear Nazi uniforms and to march the Nazi steps is legal and 'in vogue' in Romania."
He urged the authorities and the head of Mazare's Social Democrat party to show that message "will be strongly countermanded."
Mazare, 41, said he had not noticed the Nazi swastika symbol on the uniform before he wore it, according to the Romanian Times newspaper.
"I checked it before I put it on but the swastika was very small and I didn't see it," he said. "I really liked the look of the uniform after seeing it in the Tom Cruise film 'Valkyrie.' I bought it from a costume hire shop in Germany."
A top Nazi hunter said Mazare should quit.
"The proper thing for you to do is to admit your mistake, apologize for it and resign your position," Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem wrote to Mazare. Zuroff sent CNN a copy of the letter.
He said it was no defense that the uniform was that of the Wehrmacht -- the army -- rather than the SS, the elite Nazi guard which took the lead in killing Jews during the Holocaust.
"The Wehrmacht played an active role in the mass murder of European Jewry and many other innocent victims. By dressing in a Wehrmacht uniform, you are expressing totally unwarranted support and nostalgia for an army which committed the most terrible war crimes and acts of genocide," the letter said.
"It would hard to adequately describe the depth of the pain that your appearance caused, not only to Jews and other victims of Nazism, but to any person of moral integrity who knows the history of World War II," Zuroff wrote.
Zuroff told CNN he did not expect Mazare to resign, or even to respond to the letter.
But he said he hoped the mayor might act on Zuroff's suggestion that Mazare create a Romanian-language edition of an acclaimed exhibition on the crimes of the Wehrmacht.
The Nazi uniform incident, which took place Sunday, was the first time Zuroff heard of Mazare, he said.
"He has a history of being outrageous, but his antics have never included something that I would deal with," Zuroff said.
"He's a real character, apparently. He's also very popular, which makes this much more difficult."
CNN attempts to contact Mazare were unsuccessful.
Romania was a Nazi ally from 1940 to 1944, under the leadership of a right-wing military government led by General Ion Antonescu.
At least 270,000 Romanian Jews were killed or died from mistreatment during the Holocaust, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia.
The 1930 Romanian census recorded 728,115 people who identified themselves as Jewish, comprising approximately 4 percent of the population, the reference work says.
Antonescu was deposed in 1944 and Romania switched sides in World War II. | What did Mazarin do? | [
"he wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show"
] | 71cd7129527c44839ed379d92567e5bf | [
{
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(CNN) -- Jewish organizations called for a Romanian official to resign and face a criminal investigation after he wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, and his 15-year-old son "entered the stage marching the clearly identifiable Nazi 'goose step,'" the Center for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism in Romania said in a letter to the country's prosecutor general.
The organization's director, Marco Katz, said Mazare had broken Romanian law and encouraged his son to do the same, "educating him to treat the law with contempt."
Katz said Mazare was sending a message "that to wear Nazi uniforms and to march the Nazi steps is legal and 'in vogue' in Romania."
He urged the authorities and the head of Mazare's Social Democrat party to show that message "will be strongly countermanded."
Mazare, 41, said he had not noticed the Nazi swastika symbol on the uniform before he wore it, according to the Romanian Times newspaper.
"I checked it before I put it on but the swastika was very small and I didn't see it," he said. "I really liked the look of the uniform after seeing it in the Tom Cruise film 'Valkyrie.' I bought it from a costume hire shop in Germany."
A top Nazi hunter said Mazare should quit.
"The proper thing for you to do is to admit your mistake, apologize for it and resign your position," Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem wrote to Mazare. Zuroff sent CNN a copy of the letter.
He said it was no defense that the uniform was that of the Wehrmacht -- the army -- rather than the SS, the elite Nazi guard which took the lead in killing Jews during the Holocaust.
"The Wehrmacht played an active role in the mass murder of European Jewry and many other innocent victims. By dressing in a Wehrmacht uniform, you are expressing totally unwarranted support and nostalgia for an army which committed the most terrible war crimes and acts of genocide," the letter said.
"It would hard to adequately describe the depth of the pain that your appearance caused, not only to Jews and other victims of Nazism, but to any person of moral integrity who knows the history of World War II," Zuroff wrote.
Zuroff told CNN he did not expect Mazare to resign, or even to respond to the letter.
But he said he hoped the mayor might act on Zuroff's suggestion that Mazare create a Romanian-language edition of an acclaimed exhibition on the crimes of the Wehrmacht.
The Nazi uniform incident, which took place Sunday, was the first time Zuroff heard of Mazare, he said.
"He has a history of being outrageous, but his antics have never included something that I would deal with," Zuroff said.
"He's a real character, apparently. He's also very popular, which makes this much more difficult."
CNN attempts to contact Mazare were unsuccessful.
Romania was a Nazi ally from 1940 to 1944, under the leadership of a right-wing military government led by General Ion Antonescu.
At least 270,000 Romanian Jews were killed or died from mistreatment during the Holocaust, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia.
The 1930 Romanian census recorded 728,115 people who identified themselves as Jewish, comprising approximately 4 percent of the population, the reference work says.
Antonescu was deposed in 1944 and Romania switched sides in World War II. | What did the mayor wear? | [
"Nazi uniform"
] | 0faf663ba6d64d849e70f496f63980e6 | [
{
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(CNN) -- Jewish organizations called for a Romanian official to resign and face a criminal investigation after he wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, and his 15-year-old son "entered the stage marching the clearly identifiable Nazi 'goose step,'" the Center for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism in Romania said in a letter to the country's prosecutor general.
The organization's director, Marco Katz, said Mazare had broken Romanian law and encouraged his son to do the same, "educating him to treat the law with contempt."
Katz said Mazare was sending a message "that to wear Nazi uniforms and to march the Nazi steps is legal and 'in vogue' in Romania."
He urged the authorities and the head of Mazare's Social Democrat party to show that message "will be strongly countermanded."
Mazare, 41, said he had not noticed the Nazi swastika symbol on the uniform before he wore it, according to the Romanian Times newspaper.
"I checked it before I put it on but the swastika was very small and I didn't see it," he said. "I really liked the look of the uniform after seeing it in the Tom Cruise film 'Valkyrie.' I bought it from a costume hire shop in Germany."
A top Nazi hunter said Mazare should quit.
"The proper thing for you to do is to admit your mistake, apologize for it and resign your position," Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem wrote to Mazare. Zuroff sent CNN a copy of the letter.
He said it was no defense that the uniform was that of the Wehrmacht -- the army -- rather than the SS, the elite Nazi guard which took the lead in killing Jews during the Holocaust.
"The Wehrmacht played an active role in the mass murder of European Jewry and many other innocent victims. By dressing in a Wehrmacht uniform, you are expressing totally unwarranted support and nostalgia for an army which committed the most terrible war crimes and acts of genocide," the letter said.
"It would hard to adequately describe the depth of the pain that your appearance caused, not only to Jews and other victims of Nazism, but to any person of moral integrity who knows the history of World War II," Zuroff wrote.
Zuroff told CNN he did not expect Mazare to resign, or even to respond to the letter.
But he said he hoped the mayor might act on Zuroff's suggestion that Mazare create a Romanian-language edition of an acclaimed exhibition on the crimes of the Wehrmacht.
The Nazi uniform incident, which took place Sunday, was the first time Zuroff heard of Mazare, he said.
"He has a history of being outrageous, but his antics have never included something that I would deal with," Zuroff said.
"He's a real character, apparently. He's also very popular, which makes this much more difficult."
CNN attempts to contact Mazare were unsuccessful.
Romania was a Nazi ally from 1940 to 1944, under the leadership of a right-wing military government led by General Ion Antonescu.
At least 270,000 Romanian Jews were killed or died from mistreatment during the Holocaust, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia.
The 1930 Romanian census recorded 728,115 people who identified themselves as Jewish, comprising approximately 4 percent of the population, the reference work says.
Antonescu was deposed in 1944 and Romania switched sides in World War II. | What organizations are calling for his resignation? | [
"Jewish"
] | 62f5d6617c6b410baf6b172f9e1bc969 | [
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(CNN) -- Jewish organizations called for a Romanian official to resign and face a criminal investigation after he wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, and his 15-year-old son "entered the stage marching the clearly identifiable Nazi 'goose step,'" the Center for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism in Romania said in a letter to the country's prosecutor general.
The organization's director, Marco Katz, said Mazare had broken Romanian law and encouraged his son to do the same, "educating him to treat the law with contempt."
Katz said Mazare was sending a message "that to wear Nazi uniforms and to march the Nazi steps is legal and 'in vogue' in Romania."
He urged the authorities and the head of Mazare's Social Democrat party to show that message "will be strongly countermanded."
Mazare, 41, said he had not noticed the Nazi swastika symbol on the uniform before he wore it, according to the Romanian Times newspaper.
"I checked it before I put it on but the swastika was very small and I didn't see it," he said. "I really liked the look of the uniform after seeing it in the Tom Cruise film 'Valkyrie.' I bought it from a costume hire shop in Germany."
A top Nazi hunter said Mazare should quit.
"The proper thing for you to do is to admit your mistake, apologize for it and resign your position," Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem wrote to Mazare. Zuroff sent CNN a copy of the letter.
He said it was no defense that the uniform was that of the Wehrmacht -- the army -- rather than the SS, the elite Nazi guard which took the lead in killing Jews during the Holocaust.
"The Wehrmacht played an active role in the mass murder of European Jewry and many other innocent victims. By dressing in a Wehrmacht uniform, you are expressing totally unwarranted support and nostalgia for an army which committed the most terrible war crimes and acts of genocide," the letter said.
"It would hard to adequately describe the depth of the pain that your appearance caused, not only to Jews and other victims of Nazism, but to any person of moral integrity who knows the history of World War II," Zuroff wrote.
Zuroff told CNN he did not expect Mazare to resign, or even to respond to the letter.
But he said he hoped the mayor might act on Zuroff's suggestion that Mazare create a Romanian-language edition of an acclaimed exhibition on the crimes of the Wehrmacht.
The Nazi uniform incident, which took place Sunday, was the first time Zuroff heard of Mazare, he said.
"He has a history of being outrageous, but his antics have never included something that I would deal with," Zuroff said.
"He's a real character, apparently. He's also very popular, which makes this much more difficult."
CNN attempts to contact Mazare were unsuccessful.
Romania was a Nazi ally from 1940 to 1944, under the leadership of a right-wing military government led by General Ion Antonescu.
At least 270,000 Romanian Jews were killed or died from mistreatment during the Holocaust, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia.
The 1930 Romanian census recorded 728,115 people who identified themselves as Jewish, comprising approximately 4 percent of the population, the reference work says.
Antonescu was deposed in 1944 and Romania switched sides in World War II. | What did Radu Mazare say he did not notice? | [
"the Nazi swastika symbol on the uniform before"
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(CNN) -- Jewish organizations called for a Romanian official to resign and face a criminal investigation after he wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, and his 15-year-old son "entered the stage marching the clearly identifiable Nazi 'goose step,'" the Center for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism in Romania said in a letter to the country's prosecutor general.
The organization's director, Marco Katz, said Mazare had broken Romanian law and encouraged his son to do the same, "educating him to treat the law with contempt."
Katz said Mazare was sending a message "that to wear Nazi uniforms and to march the Nazi steps is legal and 'in vogue' in Romania."
He urged the authorities and the head of Mazare's Social Democrat party to show that message "will be strongly countermanded."
Mazare, 41, said he had not noticed the Nazi swastika symbol on the uniform before he wore it, according to the Romanian Times newspaper.
"I checked it before I put it on but the swastika was very small and I didn't see it," he said. "I really liked the look of the uniform after seeing it in the Tom Cruise film 'Valkyrie.' I bought it from a costume hire shop in Germany."
A top Nazi hunter said Mazare should quit.
"The proper thing for you to do is to admit your mistake, apologize for it and resign your position," Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem wrote to Mazare. Zuroff sent CNN a copy of the letter.
He said it was no defense that the uniform was that of the Wehrmacht -- the army -- rather than the SS, the elite Nazi guard which took the lead in killing Jews during the Holocaust.
"The Wehrmacht played an active role in the mass murder of European Jewry and many other innocent victims. By dressing in a Wehrmacht uniform, you are expressing totally unwarranted support and nostalgia for an army which committed the most terrible war crimes and acts of genocide," the letter said.
"It would hard to adequately describe the depth of the pain that your appearance caused, not only to Jews and other victims of Nazism, but to any person of moral integrity who knows the history of World War II," Zuroff wrote.
Zuroff told CNN he did not expect Mazare to resign, or even to respond to the letter.
But he said he hoped the mayor might act on Zuroff's suggestion that Mazare create a Romanian-language edition of an acclaimed exhibition on the crimes of the Wehrmacht.
The Nazi uniform incident, which took place Sunday, was the first time Zuroff heard of Mazare, he said.
"He has a history of being outrageous, but his antics have never included something that I would deal with," Zuroff said.
"He's a real character, apparently. He's also very popular, which makes this much more difficult."
CNN attempts to contact Mazare were unsuccessful.
Romania was a Nazi ally from 1940 to 1944, under the leadership of a right-wing military government led by General Ion Antonescu.
At least 270,000 Romanian Jews were killed or died from mistreatment during the Holocaust, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia.
The 1930 Romanian census recorded 728,115 people who identified themselves as Jewish, comprising approximately 4 percent of the population, the reference work says.
Antonescu was deposed in 1944 and Romania switched sides in World War II. | What did the mayor do? | [
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(CNN) -- Jewish organizations called for a Romanian official to resign and face a criminal investigation after he wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, and his 15-year-old son "entered the stage marching the clearly identifiable Nazi 'goose step,'" the Center for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism in Romania said in a letter to the country's prosecutor general.
The organization's director, Marco Katz, said Mazare had broken Romanian law and encouraged his son to do the same, "educating him to treat the law with contempt."
Katz said Mazare was sending a message "that to wear Nazi uniforms and to march the Nazi steps is legal and 'in vogue' in Romania."
He urged the authorities and the head of Mazare's Social Democrat party to show that message "will be strongly countermanded."
Mazare, 41, said he had not noticed the Nazi swastika symbol on the uniform before he wore it, according to the Romanian Times newspaper.
"I checked it before I put it on but the swastika was very small and I didn't see it," he said. "I really liked the look of the uniform after seeing it in the Tom Cruise film 'Valkyrie.' I bought it from a costume hire shop in Germany."
A top Nazi hunter said Mazare should quit.
"The proper thing for you to do is to admit your mistake, apologize for it and resign your position," Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem wrote to Mazare. Zuroff sent CNN a copy of the letter.
He said it was no defense that the uniform was that of the Wehrmacht -- the army -- rather than the SS, the elite Nazi guard which took the lead in killing Jews during the Holocaust.
"The Wehrmacht played an active role in the mass murder of European Jewry and many other innocent victims. By dressing in a Wehrmacht uniform, you are expressing totally unwarranted support and nostalgia for an army which committed the most terrible war crimes and acts of genocide," the letter said.
"It would hard to adequately describe the depth of the pain that your appearance caused, not only to Jews and other victims of Nazism, but to any person of moral integrity who knows the history of World War II," Zuroff wrote.
Zuroff told CNN he did not expect Mazare to resign, or even to respond to the letter.
But he said he hoped the mayor might act on Zuroff's suggestion that Mazare create a Romanian-language edition of an acclaimed exhibition on the crimes of the Wehrmacht.
The Nazi uniform incident, which took place Sunday, was the first time Zuroff heard of Mazare, he said.
"He has a history of being outrageous, but his antics have never included something that I would deal with," Zuroff said.
"He's a real character, apparently. He's also very popular, which makes this much more difficult."
CNN attempts to contact Mazare were unsuccessful.
Romania was a Nazi ally from 1940 to 1944, under the leadership of a right-wing military government led by General Ion Antonescu.
At least 270,000 Romanian Jews were killed or died from mistreatment during the Holocaust, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia.
The 1930 Romanian census recorded 728,115 people who identified themselves as Jewish, comprising approximately 4 percent of the population, the reference work says.
Antonescu was deposed in 1944 and Romania switched sides in World War II. | What did the Jews call for? | [
"a Romanian official to resign and face a criminal investigation"
] | 34efb46a0d164208b49f03d46e69eb92 | [
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(CNN) -- Jewish organizations called for a Romanian official to resign and face a criminal investigation after he wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, wore a Nazi uniform during a fashion show over the weekend.
Radu Mazare, the mayor of the town of Constanta, and his 15-year-old son "entered the stage marching the clearly identifiable Nazi 'goose step,'" the Center for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism in Romania said in a letter to the country's prosecutor general.
The organization's director, Marco Katz, said Mazare had broken Romanian law and encouraged his son to do the same, "educating him to treat the law with contempt."
Katz said Mazare was sending a message "that to wear Nazi uniforms and to march the Nazi steps is legal and 'in vogue' in Romania."
He urged the authorities and the head of Mazare's Social Democrat party to show that message "will be strongly countermanded."
Mazare, 41, said he had not noticed the Nazi swastika symbol on the uniform before he wore it, according to the Romanian Times newspaper.
"I checked it before I put it on but the swastika was very small and I didn't see it," he said. "I really liked the look of the uniform after seeing it in the Tom Cruise film 'Valkyrie.' I bought it from a costume hire shop in Germany."
A top Nazi hunter said Mazare should quit.
"The proper thing for you to do is to admit your mistake, apologize for it and resign your position," Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem wrote to Mazare. Zuroff sent CNN a copy of the letter.
He said it was no defense that the uniform was that of the Wehrmacht -- the army -- rather than the SS, the elite Nazi guard which took the lead in killing Jews during the Holocaust.
"The Wehrmacht played an active role in the mass murder of European Jewry and many other innocent victims. By dressing in a Wehrmacht uniform, you are expressing totally unwarranted support and nostalgia for an army which committed the most terrible war crimes and acts of genocide," the letter said.
"It would hard to adequately describe the depth of the pain that your appearance caused, not only to Jews and other victims of Nazism, but to any person of moral integrity who knows the history of World War II," Zuroff wrote.
Zuroff told CNN he did not expect Mazare to resign, or even to respond to the letter.
But he said he hoped the mayor might act on Zuroff's suggestion that Mazare create a Romanian-language edition of an acclaimed exhibition on the crimes of the Wehrmacht.
The Nazi uniform incident, which took place Sunday, was the first time Zuroff heard of Mazare, he said.
"He has a history of being outrageous, but his antics have never included something that I would deal with," Zuroff said.
"He's a real character, apparently. He's also very popular, which makes this much more difficult."
CNN attempts to contact Mazare were unsuccessful.
Romania was a Nazi ally from 1940 to 1944, under the leadership of a right-wing military government led by General Ion Antonescu.
At least 270,000 Romanian Jews were killed or died from mistreatment during the Holocaust, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia.
The 1930 Romanian census recorded 728,115 people who identified themselves as Jewish, comprising approximately 4 percent of the population, the reference work says.
Antonescu was deposed in 1944 and Romania switched sides in World War II. | Who wore a Nazi uniform? | [
"Radu Mazare,"
] | 3424d05671244030a4c2774b0ee221bb | [
{
"end": [
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],
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(CNN) -- Pope John Paul II used to beat himself with a belt and sleep on a bare floor to bring himself closer to Christ, a book published Wednesday says.
The late pope had a particular belt for self-flagellation and brought it with him to his summer residence, according to the book, "Why he is a Saint: The True story of John Paul II."
"As some members of his own entourage were able to hear with their own ears, both in Poland and in the Vatican, Karol Wojtyla flagellated himself," the book says, using the name the pope was given at birth.
"In the closet, among the cloaks, a particular pant-belt hung from a hook, which he utilized as a whip and one which he always had brought to Castel Gandolfo," the book says.
The book was written by a Vatican insider, Slawomir Oder, with Italian journalist Saverio Gaeta of the Catholic weekly Christian Family. Oder is head of the Vatican committee investigating whether John Paul II should be declared a saint. John Paul died in 2005.
The evil albino monk in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" may be the best-known example of self-flagellation these days, but the practice is not unusual in Catholicism -- or nearly as extreme as it is shown in the movie.
"When members or former members [of Opus Dei] see the monk go at it in the movie, they just burst out laughing, it's so nutty," said the Rev. Michael Barrett, a priest of the Catholic Opus Dei sect.
In actual Catholic self-flagellation, "there is no blood, no injury, nothing to harm a person's health, nothing traumatic. If it caused any harm, the Church would not allow it," he wrote on Opus Dei's Web site when the movie came out in 2006.
"This voluntarily accepted discomfort is a way of joining oneself to Jesus Christ and the sufferings he voluntarily accepted in order to redeem us from sin. 'The Da Vinci Code's' masochist monk, who loves pain for its own sake, has nothing to do with real Christian mortification," Barrett said.
Mother Teresa is among famous Catholics who self-flagellated in some way, Barrett said.
Catholics are not alone in choosing to inflict pain on themselves for religion reasons. Some Shiite Muslims lash themselves until they bleed when marking the mourning period of Ashura, while fasting is practiced by people in several religions, including Jews on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.
David Gibson, a journalist who worked for Vatican Radio when John Paul II was pope, pointed out that the pontiff wrote an apostolic letter -- essentially a papal position paper -- on suffering in 1984.
"Christ did not conceal from his listeners the need for suffering. He said very clearly: 'If any man would come after me ... let him take up his cross daily,' " the pope wrote, quoting the Gospel of Luke.
Jesus, the pope wrote, "suffered in place of man and for man. Every man has his own share in the Redemption. Each one is also called to share in that suffering through which the Redemption was accomplished.
"In bringing about the Redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ," says the letter, Salvifici Doloris, On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering.
"John Paul was a product of a very Old World Polish Catholicism," said Gibson, who now writes on religion for Politics Daily.
"He was a very disciplined man and a very rigorous man in his personal spirituality," he said.
The authors of the new book clearly approve of any whipping the pope did of himself, he added.
"Even though it's going to weird people out, it's obviously seen by his postulators as a sign of his holiness," he said, using the technical term for the person | what Pope used to beat himself? | [
"John Paul II"
] | 8566a2dc57674563998517b58098b408 | [
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(CNN) -- Pope John Paul II used to beat himself with a belt and sleep on a bare floor to bring himself closer to Christ, a book published Wednesday says.
The late pope had a particular belt for self-flagellation and brought it with him to his summer residence, according to the book, "Why he is a Saint: The True story of John Paul II."
"As some members of his own entourage were able to hear with their own ears, both in Poland and in the Vatican, Karol Wojtyla flagellated himself," the book says, using the name the pope was given at birth.
"In the closet, among the cloaks, a particular pant-belt hung from a hook, which he utilized as a whip and one which he always had brought to Castel Gandolfo," the book says.
The book was written by a Vatican insider, Slawomir Oder, with Italian journalist Saverio Gaeta of the Catholic weekly Christian Family. Oder is head of the Vatican committee investigating whether John Paul II should be declared a saint. John Paul died in 2005.
The evil albino monk in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" may be the best-known example of self-flagellation these days, but the practice is not unusual in Catholicism -- or nearly as extreme as it is shown in the movie.
"When members or former members [of Opus Dei] see the monk go at it in the movie, they just burst out laughing, it's so nutty," said the Rev. Michael Barrett, a priest of the Catholic Opus Dei sect.
In actual Catholic self-flagellation, "there is no blood, no injury, nothing to harm a person's health, nothing traumatic. If it caused any harm, the Church would not allow it," he wrote on Opus Dei's Web site when the movie came out in 2006.
"This voluntarily accepted discomfort is a way of joining oneself to Jesus Christ and the sufferings he voluntarily accepted in order to redeem us from sin. 'The Da Vinci Code's' masochist monk, who loves pain for its own sake, has nothing to do with real Christian mortification," Barrett said.
Mother Teresa is among famous Catholics who self-flagellated in some way, Barrett said.
Catholics are not alone in choosing to inflict pain on themselves for religion reasons. Some Shiite Muslims lash themselves until they bleed when marking the mourning period of Ashura, while fasting is practiced by people in several religions, including Jews on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.
David Gibson, a journalist who worked for Vatican Radio when John Paul II was pope, pointed out that the pontiff wrote an apostolic letter -- essentially a papal position paper -- on suffering in 1984.
"Christ did not conceal from his listeners the need for suffering. He said very clearly: 'If any man would come after me ... let him take up his cross daily,' " the pope wrote, quoting the Gospel of Luke.
Jesus, the pope wrote, "suffered in place of man and for man. Every man has his own share in the Redemption. Each one is also called to share in that suffering through which the Redemption was accomplished.
"In bringing about the Redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ," says the letter, Salvifici Doloris, On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering.
"John Paul was a product of a very Old World Polish Catholicism," said Gibson, who now writes on religion for Politics Daily.
"He was a very disciplined man and a very rigorous man in his personal spirituality," he said.
The authors of the new book clearly approve of any whipping the pope did of himself, he added.
"Even though it's going to weird people out, it's obviously seen by his postulators as a sign of his holiness," he said, using the technical term for the person | who "a particular pant-belt" to beat himself, book says? | [
"Pope"
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(CNN) -- Pope John Paul II used to beat himself with a belt and sleep on a bare floor to bring himself closer to Christ, a book published Wednesday says.
The late pope had a particular belt for self-flagellation and brought it with him to his summer residence, according to the book, "Why he is a Saint: The True story of John Paul II."
"As some members of his own entourage were able to hear with their own ears, both in Poland and in the Vatican, Karol Wojtyla flagellated himself," the book says, using the name the pope was given at birth.
"In the closet, among the cloaks, a particular pant-belt hung from a hook, which he utilized as a whip and one which he always had brought to Castel Gandolfo," the book says.
The book was written by a Vatican insider, Slawomir Oder, with Italian journalist Saverio Gaeta of the Catholic weekly Christian Family. Oder is head of the Vatican committee investigating whether John Paul II should be declared a saint. John Paul died in 2005.
The evil albino monk in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" may be the best-known example of self-flagellation these days, but the practice is not unusual in Catholicism -- or nearly as extreme as it is shown in the movie.
"When members or former members [of Opus Dei] see the monk go at it in the movie, they just burst out laughing, it's so nutty," said the Rev. Michael Barrett, a priest of the Catholic Opus Dei sect.
In actual Catholic self-flagellation, "there is no blood, no injury, nothing to harm a person's health, nothing traumatic. If it caused any harm, the Church would not allow it," he wrote on Opus Dei's Web site when the movie came out in 2006.
"This voluntarily accepted discomfort is a way of joining oneself to Jesus Christ and the sufferings he voluntarily accepted in order to redeem us from sin. 'The Da Vinci Code's' masochist monk, who loves pain for its own sake, has nothing to do with real Christian mortification," Barrett said.
Mother Teresa is among famous Catholics who self-flagellated in some way, Barrett said.
Catholics are not alone in choosing to inflict pain on themselves for religion reasons. Some Shiite Muslims lash themselves until they bleed when marking the mourning period of Ashura, while fasting is practiced by people in several religions, including Jews on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.
David Gibson, a journalist who worked for Vatican Radio when John Paul II was pope, pointed out that the pontiff wrote an apostolic letter -- essentially a papal position paper -- on suffering in 1984.
"Christ did not conceal from his listeners the need for suffering. He said very clearly: 'If any man would come after me ... let him take up his cross daily,' " the pope wrote, quoting the Gospel of Luke.
Jesus, the pope wrote, "suffered in place of man and for man. Every man has his own share in the Redemption. Each one is also called to share in that suffering through which the Redemption was accomplished.
"In bringing about the Redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ," says the letter, Salvifici Doloris, On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering.
"John Paul was a product of a very Old World Polish Catholicism," said Gibson, who now writes on religion for Politics Daily.
"He was a very disciplined man and a very rigorous man in his personal spirituality," he said.
The authors of the new book clearly approve of any whipping the pope did of himself, he added.
"Even though it's going to weird people out, it's obviously seen by his postulators as a sign of his holiness," he said, using the technical term for the person | who says "Why he is a Saint: The True story of John Paul II"? | [
"Slawomir Oder,"
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(CNN) -- Pope John Paul II used to beat himself with a belt and sleep on a bare floor to bring himself closer to Christ, a book published Wednesday says.
The late pope had a particular belt for self-flagellation and brought it with him to his summer residence, according to the book, "Why he is a Saint: The True story of John Paul II."
"As some members of his own entourage were able to hear with their own ears, both in Poland and in the Vatican, Karol Wojtyla flagellated himself," the book says, using the name the pope was given at birth.
"In the closet, among the cloaks, a particular pant-belt hung from a hook, which he utilized as a whip and one which he always had brought to Castel Gandolfo," the book says.
The book was written by a Vatican insider, Slawomir Oder, with Italian journalist Saverio Gaeta of the Catholic weekly Christian Family. Oder is head of the Vatican committee investigating whether John Paul II should be declared a saint. John Paul died in 2005.
The evil albino monk in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" may be the best-known example of self-flagellation these days, but the practice is not unusual in Catholicism -- or nearly as extreme as it is shown in the movie.
"When members or former members [of Opus Dei] see the monk go at it in the movie, they just burst out laughing, it's so nutty," said the Rev. Michael Barrett, a priest of the Catholic Opus Dei sect.
In actual Catholic self-flagellation, "there is no blood, no injury, nothing to harm a person's health, nothing traumatic. If it caused any harm, the Church would not allow it," he wrote on Opus Dei's Web site when the movie came out in 2006.
"This voluntarily accepted discomfort is a way of joining oneself to Jesus Christ and the sufferings he voluntarily accepted in order to redeem us from sin. 'The Da Vinci Code's' masochist monk, who loves pain for its own sake, has nothing to do with real Christian mortification," Barrett said.
Mother Teresa is among famous Catholics who self-flagellated in some way, Barrett said.
Catholics are not alone in choosing to inflict pain on themselves for religion reasons. Some Shiite Muslims lash themselves until they bleed when marking the mourning period of Ashura, while fasting is practiced by people in several religions, including Jews on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.
David Gibson, a journalist who worked for Vatican Radio when John Paul II was pope, pointed out that the pontiff wrote an apostolic letter -- essentially a papal position paper -- on suffering in 1984.
"Christ did not conceal from his listeners the need for suffering. He said very clearly: 'If any man would come after me ... let him take up his cross daily,' " the pope wrote, quoting the Gospel of Luke.
Jesus, the pope wrote, "suffered in place of man and for man. Every man has his own share in the Redemption. Each one is also called to share in that suffering through which the Redemption was accomplished.
"In bringing about the Redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ," says the letter, Salvifici Doloris, On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering.
"John Paul was a product of a very Old World Polish Catholicism," said Gibson, who now writes on religion for Politics Daily.
"He was a very disciplined man and a very rigorous man in his personal spirituality," he said.
The authors of the new book clearly approve of any whipping the pope did of himself, he added.
"Even though it's going to weird people out, it's obviously seen by his postulators as a sign of his holiness," he said, using the technical term for the person | what did he do | [
"used to beat himself with a belt and sleep on a bare floor"
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(CNN) -- Pope John Paul II used to beat himself with a belt and sleep on a bare floor to bring himself closer to Christ, a book published Wednesday says.
The late pope had a particular belt for self-flagellation and brought it with him to his summer residence, according to the book, "Why he is a Saint: The True story of John Paul II."
"As some members of his own entourage were able to hear with their own ears, both in Poland and in the Vatican, Karol Wojtyla flagellated himself," the book says, using the name the pope was given at birth.
"In the closet, among the cloaks, a particular pant-belt hung from a hook, which he utilized as a whip and one which he always had brought to Castel Gandolfo," the book says.
The book was written by a Vatican insider, Slawomir Oder, with Italian journalist Saverio Gaeta of the Catholic weekly Christian Family. Oder is head of the Vatican committee investigating whether John Paul II should be declared a saint. John Paul died in 2005.
The evil albino monk in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" may be the best-known example of self-flagellation these days, but the practice is not unusual in Catholicism -- or nearly as extreme as it is shown in the movie.
"When members or former members [of Opus Dei] see the monk go at it in the movie, they just burst out laughing, it's so nutty," said the Rev. Michael Barrett, a priest of the Catholic Opus Dei sect.
In actual Catholic self-flagellation, "there is no blood, no injury, nothing to harm a person's health, nothing traumatic. If it caused any harm, the Church would not allow it," he wrote on Opus Dei's Web site when the movie came out in 2006.
"This voluntarily accepted discomfort is a way of joining oneself to Jesus Christ and the sufferings he voluntarily accepted in order to redeem us from sin. 'The Da Vinci Code's' masochist monk, who loves pain for its own sake, has nothing to do with real Christian mortification," Barrett said.
Mother Teresa is among famous Catholics who self-flagellated in some way, Barrett said.
Catholics are not alone in choosing to inflict pain on themselves for religion reasons. Some Shiite Muslims lash themselves until they bleed when marking the mourning period of Ashura, while fasting is practiced by people in several religions, including Jews on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.
David Gibson, a journalist who worked for Vatican Radio when John Paul II was pope, pointed out that the pontiff wrote an apostolic letter -- essentially a papal position paper -- on suffering in 1984.
"Christ did not conceal from his listeners the need for suffering. He said very clearly: 'If any man would come after me ... let him take up his cross daily,' " the pope wrote, quoting the Gospel of Luke.
Jesus, the pope wrote, "suffered in place of man and for man. Every man has his own share in the Redemption. Each one is also called to share in that suffering through which the Redemption was accomplished.
"In bringing about the Redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ," says the letter, Salvifici Doloris, On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering.
"John Paul was a product of a very Old World Polish Catholicism," said Gibson, who now writes on religion for Politics Daily.
"He was a very disciplined man and a very rigorous man in his personal spirituality," he said.
The authors of the new book clearly approve of any whipping the pope did of himself, he added.
"Even though it's going to weird people out, it's obviously seen by his postulators as a sign of his holiness," he said, using the technical term for the person | what pope is this | [
"John Paul II"
] | c27ec263e63642acb5192277c574b958 | [
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(CNN) -- Pope John Paul II used to beat himself with a belt and sleep on a bare floor to bring himself closer to Christ, a book published Wednesday says.
The late pope had a particular belt for self-flagellation and brought it with him to his summer residence, according to the book, "Why he is a Saint: The True story of John Paul II."
"As some members of his own entourage were able to hear with their own ears, both in Poland and in the Vatican, Karol Wojtyla flagellated himself," the book says, using the name the pope was given at birth.
"In the closet, among the cloaks, a particular pant-belt hung from a hook, which he utilized as a whip and one which he always had brought to Castel Gandolfo," the book says.
The book was written by a Vatican insider, Slawomir Oder, with Italian journalist Saverio Gaeta of the Catholic weekly Christian Family. Oder is head of the Vatican committee investigating whether John Paul II should be declared a saint. John Paul died in 2005.
The evil albino monk in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" may be the best-known example of self-flagellation these days, but the practice is not unusual in Catholicism -- or nearly as extreme as it is shown in the movie.
"When members or former members [of Opus Dei] see the monk go at it in the movie, they just burst out laughing, it's so nutty," said the Rev. Michael Barrett, a priest of the Catholic Opus Dei sect.
In actual Catholic self-flagellation, "there is no blood, no injury, nothing to harm a person's health, nothing traumatic. If it caused any harm, the Church would not allow it," he wrote on Opus Dei's Web site when the movie came out in 2006.
"This voluntarily accepted discomfort is a way of joining oneself to Jesus Christ and the sufferings he voluntarily accepted in order to redeem us from sin. 'The Da Vinci Code's' masochist monk, who loves pain for its own sake, has nothing to do with real Christian mortification," Barrett said.
Mother Teresa is among famous Catholics who self-flagellated in some way, Barrett said.
Catholics are not alone in choosing to inflict pain on themselves for religion reasons. Some Shiite Muslims lash themselves until they bleed when marking the mourning period of Ashura, while fasting is practiced by people in several religions, including Jews on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.
David Gibson, a journalist who worked for Vatican Radio when John Paul II was pope, pointed out that the pontiff wrote an apostolic letter -- essentially a papal position paper -- on suffering in 1984.
"Christ did not conceal from his listeners the need for suffering. He said very clearly: 'If any man would come after me ... let him take up his cross daily,' " the pope wrote, quoting the Gospel of Luke.
Jesus, the pope wrote, "suffered in place of man and for man. Every man has his own share in the Redemption. Each one is also called to share in that suffering through which the Redemption was accomplished.
"In bringing about the Redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ," says the letter, Salvifici Doloris, On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering.
"John Paul was a product of a very Old World Polish Catholicism," said Gibson, who now writes on religion for Politics Daily.
"He was a very disciplined man and a very rigorous man in his personal spirituality," he said.
The authors of the new book clearly approve of any whipping the pope did of himself, he added.
"Even though it's going to weird people out, it's obviously seen by his postulators as a sign of his holiness," he said, using the technical term for the person | when John Paul wrot a apostolic letter on suffering? | [
"1984."
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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Jeremy Piven is the kind of guy who can make you laugh just by lifting an eyebrow.
Jeremy Piven stars as a used car salesman in "The Goods." He says "Entourage" would make a great film.
Of course, the popular actor can do much more than that to captivate audiences.
From drama to comedy, Piven has starred in more than 40 films on the big screen and has won critical acclaim for his role as super agent Ari Gold on HBO's "Entourage." (HBO, like CNN, is owned by Time Warner.)
Piven stopped by the CNN.com newsroom to talk with CNN's Nicole Lapin about his new film, "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard," in which he plays a used car salesman.
The following is an edited version of the interview:
CNN: [The movie] was hysterical, and my producer and I were sitting next to each other and we were trying to figure out -- is this like lowbrow, but it's smart, so it's medium-brow? Highbrow comedy?
Jeremy Piven: It's a hybrid-brow, or a unibrow. It's from the people who brought you "Talladega Nights" and "Step Brothers" and "Anchorman," so from the kings of guys who make really smart, low-brow comedies, and I'm just insanely honored to be a part of it.
It's like a dream because my fear was that by the time Will [Ferrell] hit the screen that, worst-case scenario, the movie wouldn't be funny enough. So that when Will jumps out of the plane, he takes us to a whole other level -- it's like, "Oh my God, Will Ferrell is so brilliant." But the reality is, the movie was so funny up until that moment that it was really, it was kind of organic, and it sustained it and it was really fantastic. Watch why part of Piven's interview had to be bleeped out »
James Brolin would go home to his wife, Barbra Streisand, at night, and I would say, "James, is she OK with all this?" Because he has one of the most twisted roles you've ever seen, as you know -- and I don't want to give it away. He was like, "Well, the wife is on the fence about this whole thing," and she came to a screening and I swear to God, Babs laughed the loudest.
CNN: I think that's a tease in itself. That would probably get people to see it.
Piven: Yes, I think you're right. The movie is OK'd by Barbra Streisand; she vetted the whole thing.
If you would have told me, I would be doing a lead in a movie, and Will Ferrell would have a smaller role in it, I never would have believed you, but I'm here to tell you anything is possible.
CNN: Anything is possible, even in some 40 some movies in your career, but this is the first lead in a while, I mean did it take you a while to get into the used car salesman character?
Piven: There's a great documentary called "Slasher" about car salesmen that I took a look at, and I went to a bunch of lots, and I've also been sold a lot of cars, and I'm what's known as a sucker.
As soon as they see me coming in, they know they're going to take my money. So I kind of took that, and I reversed it and I'm no longer a sucker.
CNN: Are you going to stick with "Entourage"?
Piven: Well, I think "Entourage" ... this season is the sixth season, and it's I think the most interesting of all of them, and I kind of have the best arc this year.
The backstage life of Hollywood is such fertile stuff for our show that I think we | What is the HBO series called? | [
"\"Entourage\""
] | 02de916680554d5fa6393a069bfbd9d6 | [
{
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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Jeremy Piven is the kind of guy who can make you laugh just by lifting an eyebrow.
Jeremy Piven stars as a used car salesman in "The Goods." He says "Entourage" would make a great film.
Of course, the popular actor can do much more than that to captivate audiences.
From drama to comedy, Piven has starred in more than 40 films on the big screen and has won critical acclaim for his role as super agent Ari Gold on HBO's "Entourage." (HBO, like CNN, is owned by Time Warner.)
Piven stopped by the CNN.com newsroom to talk with CNN's Nicole Lapin about his new film, "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard," in which he plays a used car salesman.
The following is an edited version of the interview:
CNN: [The movie] was hysterical, and my producer and I were sitting next to each other and we were trying to figure out -- is this like lowbrow, but it's smart, so it's medium-brow? Highbrow comedy?
Jeremy Piven: It's a hybrid-brow, or a unibrow. It's from the people who brought you "Talladega Nights" and "Step Brothers" and "Anchorman," so from the kings of guys who make really smart, low-brow comedies, and I'm just insanely honored to be a part of it.
It's like a dream because my fear was that by the time Will [Ferrell] hit the screen that, worst-case scenario, the movie wouldn't be funny enough. So that when Will jumps out of the plane, he takes us to a whole other level -- it's like, "Oh my God, Will Ferrell is so brilliant." But the reality is, the movie was so funny up until that moment that it was really, it was kind of organic, and it sustained it and it was really fantastic. Watch why part of Piven's interview had to be bleeped out »
James Brolin would go home to his wife, Barbra Streisand, at night, and I would say, "James, is she OK with all this?" Because he has one of the most twisted roles you've ever seen, as you know -- and I don't want to give it away. He was like, "Well, the wife is on the fence about this whole thing," and she came to a screening and I swear to God, Babs laughed the loudest.
CNN: I think that's a tease in itself. That would probably get people to see it.
Piven: Yes, I think you're right. The movie is OK'd by Barbra Streisand; she vetted the whole thing.
If you would have told me, I would be doing a lead in a movie, and Will Ferrell would have a smaller role in it, I never would have believed you, but I'm here to tell you anything is possible.
CNN: Anything is possible, even in some 40 some movies in your career, but this is the first lead in a while, I mean did it take you a while to get into the used car salesman character?
Piven: There's a great documentary called "Slasher" about car salesmen that I took a look at, and I went to a bunch of lots, and I've also been sold a lot of cars, and I'm what's known as a sucker.
As soon as they see me coming in, they know they're going to take my money. So I kind of took that, and I reversed it and I'm no longer a sucker.
CNN: Are you going to stick with "Entourage"?
Piven: Well, I think "Entourage" ... this season is the sixth season, and it's I think the most interesting of all of them, and I kind of have the best arc this year.
The backstage life of Hollywood is such fertile stuff for our show that I think we | What network is "Entourage" on? | [
"HBO's"
] | 6ff3efa8da7a4228a53f130774f75ccd | [
{
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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Jeremy Piven is the kind of guy who can make you laugh just by lifting an eyebrow.
Jeremy Piven stars as a used car salesman in "The Goods." He says "Entourage" would make a great film.
Of course, the popular actor can do much more than that to captivate audiences.
From drama to comedy, Piven has starred in more than 40 films on the big screen and has won critical acclaim for his role as super agent Ari Gold on HBO's "Entourage." (HBO, like CNN, is owned by Time Warner.)
Piven stopped by the CNN.com newsroom to talk with CNN's Nicole Lapin about his new film, "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard," in which he plays a used car salesman.
The following is an edited version of the interview:
CNN: [The movie] was hysterical, and my producer and I were sitting next to each other and we were trying to figure out -- is this like lowbrow, but it's smart, so it's medium-brow? Highbrow comedy?
Jeremy Piven: It's a hybrid-brow, or a unibrow. It's from the people who brought you "Talladega Nights" and "Step Brothers" and "Anchorman," so from the kings of guys who make really smart, low-brow comedies, and I'm just insanely honored to be a part of it.
It's like a dream because my fear was that by the time Will [Ferrell] hit the screen that, worst-case scenario, the movie wouldn't be funny enough. So that when Will jumps out of the plane, he takes us to a whole other level -- it's like, "Oh my God, Will Ferrell is so brilliant." But the reality is, the movie was so funny up until that moment that it was really, it was kind of organic, and it sustained it and it was really fantastic. Watch why part of Piven's interview had to be bleeped out »
James Brolin would go home to his wife, Barbra Streisand, at night, and I would say, "James, is she OK with all this?" Because he has one of the most twisted roles you've ever seen, as you know -- and I don't want to give it away. He was like, "Well, the wife is on the fence about this whole thing," and she came to a screening and I swear to God, Babs laughed the loudest.
CNN: I think that's a tease in itself. That would probably get people to see it.
Piven: Yes, I think you're right. The movie is OK'd by Barbra Streisand; she vetted the whole thing.
If you would have told me, I would be doing a lead in a movie, and Will Ferrell would have a smaller role in it, I never would have believed you, but I'm here to tell you anything is possible.
CNN: Anything is possible, even in some 40 some movies in your career, but this is the first lead in a while, I mean did it take you a while to get into the used car salesman character?
Piven: There's a great documentary called "Slasher" about car salesmen that I took a look at, and I went to a bunch of lots, and I've also been sold a lot of cars, and I'm what's known as a sucker.
As soon as they see me coming in, they know they're going to take my money. So I kind of took that, and I reversed it and I'm no longer a sucker.
CNN: Are you going to stick with "Entourage"?
Piven: Well, I think "Entourage" ... this season is the sixth season, and it's I think the most interesting of all of them, and I kind of have the best arc this year.
The backstage life of Hollywood is such fertile stuff for our show that I think we | Who plays a used car salesman? | [
"Jeremy Piven"
] | e9220f617d0b4c10bac8342712d3737f | [
{
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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Jeremy Piven is the kind of guy who can make you laugh just by lifting an eyebrow.
Jeremy Piven stars as a used car salesman in "The Goods." He says "Entourage" would make a great film.
Of course, the popular actor can do much more than that to captivate audiences.
From drama to comedy, Piven has starred in more than 40 films on the big screen and has won critical acclaim for his role as super agent Ari Gold on HBO's "Entourage." (HBO, like CNN, is owned by Time Warner.)
Piven stopped by the CNN.com newsroom to talk with CNN's Nicole Lapin about his new film, "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard," in which he plays a used car salesman.
The following is an edited version of the interview:
CNN: [The movie] was hysterical, and my producer and I were sitting next to each other and we were trying to figure out -- is this like lowbrow, but it's smart, so it's medium-brow? Highbrow comedy?
Jeremy Piven: It's a hybrid-brow, or a unibrow. It's from the people who brought you "Talladega Nights" and "Step Brothers" and "Anchorman," so from the kings of guys who make really smart, low-brow comedies, and I'm just insanely honored to be a part of it.
It's like a dream because my fear was that by the time Will [Ferrell] hit the screen that, worst-case scenario, the movie wouldn't be funny enough. So that when Will jumps out of the plane, he takes us to a whole other level -- it's like, "Oh my God, Will Ferrell is so brilliant." But the reality is, the movie was so funny up until that moment that it was really, it was kind of organic, and it sustained it and it was really fantastic. Watch why part of Piven's interview had to be bleeped out »
James Brolin would go home to his wife, Barbra Streisand, at night, and I would say, "James, is she OK with all this?" Because he has one of the most twisted roles you've ever seen, as you know -- and I don't want to give it away. He was like, "Well, the wife is on the fence about this whole thing," and she came to a screening and I swear to God, Babs laughed the loudest.
CNN: I think that's a tease in itself. That would probably get people to see it.
Piven: Yes, I think you're right. The movie is OK'd by Barbra Streisand; she vetted the whole thing.
If you would have told me, I would be doing a lead in a movie, and Will Ferrell would have a smaller role in it, I never would have believed you, but I'm here to tell you anything is possible.
CNN: Anything is possible, even in some 40 some movies in your career, but this is the first lead in a while, I mean did it take you a while to get into the used car salesman character?
Piven: There's a great documentary called "Slasher" about car salesmen that I took a look at, and I went to a bunch of lots, and I've also been sold a lot of cars, and I'm what's known as a sucker.
As soon as they see me coming in, they know they're going to take my money. So I kind of took that, and I reversed it and I'm no longer a sucker.
CNN: Are you going to stick with "Entourage"?
Piven: Well, I think "Entourage" ... this season is the sixth season, and it's I think the most interesting of all of them, and I kind of have the best arc this year.
The backstage life of Hollywood is such fertile stuff for our show that I think we | Who does Jeremy Piven play? | [
"a used car salesman"
] | 58a62222975840c6ba7b05be57bc9be8 | [
{
"end": [
152
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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Jeremy Piven is the kind of guy who can make you laugh just by lifting an eyebrow.
Jeremy Piven stars as a used car salesman in "The Goods." He says "Entourage" would make a great film.
Of course, the popular actor can do much more than that to captivate audiences.
From drama to comedy, Piven has starred in more than 40 films on the big screen and has won critical acclaim for his role as super agent Ari Gold on HBO's "Entourage." (HBO, like CNN, is owned by Time Warner.)
Piven stopped by the CNN.com newsroom to talk with CNN's Nicole Lapin about his new film, "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard," in which he plays a used car salesman.
The following is an edited version of the interview:
CNN: [The movie] was hysterical, and my producer and I were sitting next to each other and we were trying to figure out -- is this like lowbrow, but it's smart, so it's medium-brow? Highbrow comedy?
Jeremy Piven: It's a hybrid-brow, or a unibrow. It's from the people who brought you "Talladega Nights" and "Step Brothers" and "Anchorman," so from the kings of guys who make really smart, low-brow comedies, and I'm just insanely honored to be a part of it.
It's like a dream because my fear was that by the time Will [Ferrell] hit the screen that, worst-case scenario, the movie wouldn't be funny enough. So that when Will jumps out of the plane, he takes us to a whole other level -- it's like, "Oh my God, Will Ferrell is so brilliant." But the reality is, the movie was so funny up until that moment that it was really, it was kind of organic, and it sustained it and it was really fantastic. Watch why part of Piven's interview had to be bleeped out »
James Brolin would go home to his wife, Barbra Streisand, at night, and I would say, "James, is she OK with all this?" Because he has one of the most twisted roles you've ever seen, as you know -- and I don't want to give it away. He was like, "Well, the wife is on the fence about this whole thing," and she came to a screening and I swear to God, Babs laughed the loudest.
CNN: I think that's a tease in itself. That would probably get people to see it.
Piven: Yes, I think you're right. The movie is OK'd by Barbra Streisand; she vetted the whole thing.
If you would have told me, I would be doing a lead in a movie, and Will Ferrell would have a smaller role in it, I never would have believed you, but I'm here to tell you anything is possible.
CNN: Anything is possible, even in some 40 some movies in your career, but this is the first lead in a while, I mean did it take you a while to get into the used car salesman character?
Piven: There's a great documentary called "Slasher" about car salesmen that I took a look at, and I went to a bunch of lots, and I've also been sold a lot of cars, and I'm what's known as a sucker.
As soon as they see me coming in, they know they're going to take my money. So I kind of took that, and I reversed it and I'm no longer a sucker.
CNN: Are you going to stick with "Entourage"?
Piven: Well, I think "Entourage" ... this season is the sixth season, and it's I think the most interesting of all of them, and I kind of have the best arc this year.
The backstage life of Hollywood is such fertile stuff for our show that I think we | What is the name of the movie? | [
"\"The Goods.\""
] | 15efa49f57b24e6a83196ac8bbd9735b | [
{
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],
"start": [
157
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] | 8 |
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