Christians in Egypt fear for their lives after converting from Islam

January 26, 2010 - 11:41 AM

| by: Dana Lewis

Egyptian Maher El-Gowhary and his 15 year old daughter Dina never pray twice at the same church, never stay longer than a month in any one apartment.  They are constantly under threat, always on the run because they converted to Christianity in a largely Muslim country.

Maher and Dina nervously agreed to meet us at a Church in Cairo. The priest at the Church said he feared problems from the Egyptian authorities and while he agreed to have us watch his Sunday mass, the Priest  declined to speak to us about what is happening in Egypt and to the El-Gowhary's.

They tell their story out of fear and desperation.  Born Muslims they chose to convert to the Christian Church after both claim they had religious visions.

Now Maher says "Muslims try to kill us,  and will kill us if they find us."

Several religious fatwas have been issued for "spilling his blood" after Maher asked an Egyptian Court to legally recognize his conversion, so he can one day be buried as a Christian and so his daughter won't be forced into a marriage by her Muslim mother.

The court ruled a legal conversion to Christianity would threaten public order.  His lawyer told us it's a dangerous double standard because in Egypt a Christian can convert to the Muslim faith in a week, but a Muslim cannot convert to the Christian faith.

Ten percent of Egypt is Christian, largely the Coptic Christians who increasingly say they face daunting discrimination and even death.

We had to hide our camera as we followed the El-Gowhary's because we were told if the authorities discovered we were preparing our story we would be arrested.

Religious tensions are running high in Egypt.

On January 6th, the Coptic Christmas eve, three Muslim men sprayed gunfire at a Church in Upper Egypt killing six Christians and wounding up to a dozen more.  Christians rioted the next day and the area is still closed to outsiders including the press.

Human rights activist Hussein Bahjet say's Egypt has the potential to become like Lebanon because of growing sectarian violence.

"Civil strife that could engulf the country" Bahjet says.

The U.S. State Department reports respect of religious freedom in Egypt is declining, Christians are denied Government jobs, Priests are threatened and harassed, Christians are increasingly attacks in what State describes as "a climate of impunity that encourages violence."

In some cases authorities turn a blind eye to attacks on Christians, in other cases there is evidence police sparked the attacks.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been largely silent about the problem, but this week he spoke out saying Egyptians must up-root "fanaticism and sectarianism, which threatens the unit of our nation."

Dina has written a letter to President Obama which has been published on Christian websites.  She has been pulled out of school. She has only a blue jean jacket to stay warm and little food to eat.  Her letter was a desperate plea.  "I wrote that we are a minority Christian Community treated very badly and I want to tell President Obama to tell the Egyptian Government to treat us well."

Click to read full article at

Fox News

Atheist Group Attacks Mother Teresa

By Bob Unruh
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

A prominent atheist organization in America is attacking Mother Teresa as unworthy of being honored with a memorial stamp, as the U.S. Postal Service has announced.

In fact, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is advocating that its constituents "vote with your pocketbook, and boycott these stamps."

The group also suggests, "If this choice of a polarizing Roman Catholic figurehead or the Post Office's flagrant violation of its own policy distresses you, let the Post Office know (by mail or e-mail) … Or make this the subject of an educational letter to the editor, or simply use this opportunity to enlighten friends and colleagues about the darker side of Mother Teresa's religious activism."

The Pacific Justice Institute, which engages in battles regularly on behalf of civil rights and the nation's Christian heritage, immediately launched its own campaign urging support for the stamp.

"We didn't want theirs to be the only letters," Matthew McReynolds, the organization's associate counsel, told WND.

"Just when you think the atheists and anti-religionists have run out of things to complain about, they attack Mother Teresa, one of the great role models of the last century," said PJI President Brad Dacus. "We are encouraging anyone who has been inspired by Mother Teresa to join us in writing letters of appreciation to the U.S. Postal Service to counter the ridiculous complaints they are receiving from the FFRF."

The Postal Service announced plans for the Mother Teresa stamp along with stamps honoring Katharine Hepburn, Negro Leagues Baseball and Cowboys of the Silver Screen.

The agency noted Mother Teresa "received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work."

"Noted for her compassion toward the poor and suffering, Mother Teresa, a diminutive Roman Catholic nun and honorary U.S. citizen, served the sick and destitute of India and the world for nearly 50 years. Her humility and compassion, as well as her respect for the innate worth and dignity of humankind, inspired people of all ages and backgrounds to work on behalf of the world’s poorest populations," the USPS announcement said.

The description continued:

Mother Teresa, an ethnic Albanian, was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on Aug. 26, 1910, in Skopje in what is now [Albania]. Drawn to the religious life as a young girl, she left her home at the age of 18 to serve as a Roman Catholic missionary in India. "By then I realized my vocation was towards the poor," she later said. "From then on, I have never had the least doubt of my decision." Having adopted the name of Sister Mary Teresa, she arrived in India in 1929 and underwent initial training in religious life at a convent in Darjeeling, north of Calcutta. Two years later, she took temporary vows as a nun before transferring to a convent in Calcutta. She became known as Mother Teresa in 1937, when she took her final vows.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation said there's "plenty" wrong with the honor.

"It is against … postal regulations to 'honor religious institutions or individuals whose principal achievements are associated with religious undertakings or beliefs,'" the group said.

"Mother Teresa … is a bad fit to appear on a stamp based on other postal criteria. The fact that Pres. Clinton made her an honorary citizen in 1996 gets around one obvious objection, but criterion No. 6 also should have been a stumbling block: 'Stamps or stationery items shall not be issued to honor fraternal, political, sectarian, or service/charitable organizations,'" said the foundation.

"The organization she ran and was inextricably identified with, Missionaries of Charity, was both sectarian (Roman Catholic) and a service/charitable organization," the group said.

"Here's another objection: Mother Teresa used almost every public occasion, including her acceptance speech for the Nobel prize, to promote Roman Catholic dogma, especially its antiabortion ideology," the group said. "Even during her Nobel acceptance, the nun delivered a gratuitous tirade against abortion."

The organization called Mother Teresa's address "a disturbing, befogged religious rant."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation had no such objections to the honor for Hepburn, a prominent atheist. In fact, the group said a better purchase option would be the stamp honoring Hepburn, who told the Ladies' Home Journal in 1991, "I'm an atheist, and that's it. I believe there's nothing we can know except that we should be kind to each other and do what we can for other people."

Pacific Justice, however, noted organizations such as the Universal Society for Hinduism have called the Mother Teresa stamp an honor to all of India.

The Postal Service said the stamp features a portrait of Mother Teresa painted by award-winning artist Thomas Blackshear II of Colorado Springs, Colo.

The agency said when the 1979 Nobel was awarded, she accepted it, "in the name of the poor, the hungry, the sick and the lonely." She convinced organizers to donate to the needy money normally used to fund an awards banquet.

"Well respected worldwide, she successfully urged many of the world's business and political leaders to give their time and resources to help those in need. President Ronald Reagan presented Mother Teresa with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985, the same year she began work on behalf of AIDS sufferers in the U.S. and other countries. In 1997, Congress awarded Mother Teresa the Congressional Gold Medal for her 'outstanding and enduring contributions through humanitarian and charitable activities,'" the Postal Service recited.

She died in Calcutta in 1997 and is buried there.

Pacific Justice Institute said it has clashed with the FFRF before.

Click to read full article at

World Net Daily

Somali Extremist Group threatens to attack Kenya

Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) -- Al-Shabaab, a hard-line Somali rebel group that is on the U.S. government's terror watch list, has threatened to attack neighboring Kenya, according to an online audio recording.

On an Al-Shabaab Web site, men chant in Kiswahili, the national language of Kenya, saying, "We will reach Nairobi. When we arrive, we will hit until we kill." A taped message in Arabic follows, thought to be by Abu Zubeyr, Al-Shabaab's commander in Somalia. The speaker of the message threatens those he calls infidels, throughout the world.

It would not be the first threat by Al-Shabaab toward Kenya. Many analysts say Kenya is vulnerable to attack by the Islamic group, which is trying to overthrow the weak transitional government.

The threat follows heightened tensions between the Kenyan government and Somalis living in Kenya over the past month. Kenya recently rounded up and arrested several hundred Somali immigrants and refugees living in a mostly Somali neighborhood. And earlier this month, Muslim protesters clashed with police after Friday prayers, leading to one death and extensive property damage.

Muslim human-rights groups in Kenya have called for protests in support of cleric Abdulah Ibrahim el-Faisal, whom Kenya declared an unwanted person and deported earlier this month. The Jamaican-born Muslim cleric was previously jailed in Britain for inciting murder and racial hatred. But Kenya's efforts to deport him failed. He was then arrested on return to Kenya, further outraging some Muslim leaders.

Alfred Mutua, Kenya's government spokesman, has since said that el-Faisal has successfully been deported. However, the government has given mixed signals as to whether he has actually left.

Click to read original article from CNN.com

_____________________________________

JMC Ministries Response

written by Miranda Caverley

Kenya is very close to our hearts because we have friends who are missionaries working over there. Jim and Alice Vanderhoof have been missionaries to Kenya for over 20 years now.  They work with World Gospel Mission to reach out to the people of Kenya. There son Nate Vanderhoof is one of our bestfriends and also ministry partner. Please keep Jim and Alice in your prayers that the Lord continues to protect them and their ministry work in Kenya.

To Learn More about Jim and Alice Vanderhoof’s work in Kenya Click on the Link Below

Jim and Alice Vanderhoof

at World Gospel Mission.com

Haiti orphanages being targeted for theft as people struggle to survive in the aftermath of quake

(CNN) -- Haiti's orphanages have become targets for people desperate for food, water and medical supplies in the aftermath of the devastating magnitude 7.0 earthquake.

On Wednesday night, Maison de Lumiere, an orphanage caring for 50 orphans, came under attack from a group of 20 armed men, aid workers told the Joint Council on International Children's Services.

A neighboring orphanage sheltering about 135 children has been robbed several times over the past few days, they said.

Meanwhile, aid workers said a third orphanage caring for 17 orphans reported that townspeople are trespassing and tapping into the water supply that is reserved for the children.

"It was calm at first, but the situation is getting more desperate," said David Beck, pastor at Child Hope International, the nonprofit that oversees Maison de Lumiere. No shots were fired in the attack on the orphanage, and security guards were able to drive off the marauders, he said. But one orphanage worker was hit in the head with a rock, he said.

"If people think you have food, then they will come after it," Beck said. The orphanage is rationing what food and water it does have, he said.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, and experienced high rates of poverty and disease even before the quake. The quake has made the situation far more desperate.

Looting is becoming a big concern for the orphanages as fear and frustration mount and help is slow to arrive, said Tom DiFilipo of the Joint Council on International Children's Services, a U.S.-based advocacy group for children in need of families.

To protect the children, some orphanages are on lock-down, according to volunteers working with the relief agencies.

"When bringing in supplies to an orphanage, you can only bring in a day or two day's worth," said DiFilipo. "If you bring more than that, the locals come in."

This week's raids are included on a growing list of difficulties facing orphanages that is being compiled by the Joint Council on International Children's Services. DiFilipo said he expects the challenges of food, medical aid and security to continue affecting the orphanages for weeks.

For every Haitian orphan brought to safety in the United States and elsewhere, thousands more are left behind to face the primitive conditions resulting from last week's earthquake. There is no accurate count of how many orphanages have experienced looting and other attacks.

Since the quake, the Joint Council on International Children's Services has received dozens of phone calls, text messages and e-mails from orphanages reporting problems ranging from food shortages to security threats.

The agency is in touch with about 50 orphanages in Haiti and the reports are updated daily. The group is also working with members of Congress, the Red Cross and other aid agencies to relay the messages.

Before the quake, Haiti had 380,000 orphans, according to UNICEF. It is still too early to determine how many children were orphaned by the quake.

The people of Haiti have grown desperate for food, water and assistance since the quake decimated the capital last week, toppling buildings, cutting power, contaminating water supplies and ravaging roads.

The conditions for children in Haiti are bleak, aid officials said. Orphans are sleeping outside or in makeshift tents. Facilities are running low on food, water and medical supplies. Some orphanages have already reported deaths.

Click to read full article at CNN.com

TV and Video Games linked to Children Getting Rickets in the UK

AP

Studies show the incidence of rickets, a disease previously linked with poverty or malnutrition, is increasing -- and may be due to computer gaming and TV.

The hours children spend indoors playing computer games or watching television may be to blame for a resurgence of rickets, The Times of London revealed Friday.

Scientists say that rickets is becoming "disturbingly common" among British children. The disease is caused by chronic vitamin D deficiencies, which can be triggered by long periods out of natural sunlight and a poor diet.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, Professor Simon Pearce and Dr. Tim Cheetham, of Newcastle University, called for milk and other food products to be supplemented with vitamin D in an attempt to counteract the problem.

Vitamin D is produced naturally when the skin is exposed to sunlight, and is also found in a small number of foods, including oily fish, liver and egg yolks.

Recent studies show that the incidence of rickets, a disease previously linked with poverty in Victorian Britain or malnutrition in the developing world, is increasing. More than 20 new cases are discovered every year in the northern England city of Newcastle alone.

Children with rickets do not grow properly and can develop bow legs.

Dr. Cheetham, a senior lecturer in pediatric endocrinology, added: "I am dismayed by the increasing numbers of children we are treating with this entirely preventable condition. Fifty years ago many children would have been given regular doses of cod liver oil, but this practice has all but died out."

For more on this story, see The Times of London.

Local Ohio Missionaries to Haiti Hit hard by Earthquake

Patti Cunningham, of Portsmouth, and her adopted son, Jude, watch the devastation in Jude’s home country of Haiti unfold Friday on CNN. Jude was in Portsmouth for his adoptive father’s funeral when the massive earthquake hit.

posted January 17, 2010

Jude Isaac watched on CNN, along with the rest of the world, as his home in Haiti fell apart following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Port-au-Prince Tuesday. If he hadn’t been in Portsmouth for his adoptive father’s funeral, he too may have been buried by the quake that has already killed an estimated 50,000 people.
Jude, 21, was born in Haiti. His mother died when he was very young and his father couldn’t care for him. He was living on the streets, alone, when he was 8 years old, eating whatever he could catch or find.
“When I was on the streets, I started praying that I would find new parents,” Jude said.
He said God answered his prayers when Patti and Randy Cunningham, of Portsmouth, found him in 1997.
“My church group at the time, Christ Community Church — we were going on a short-term mission trip to build a church and I was asked to go on it. I talked my whole family into going,” Patti Cunningham said.
With her was her husband, and their children, Jared and Lindsey, along with a foreign exchange student living with them from Germany. The family was in Haiti from Dec. 26, 1997, until Jan. 3, 1998. They were so taken by the country, the family raised money and in July 1998, they went back and established duel residency between the U.S. and Haiti. While there, they helped start a medical clinic, feeding programs, and have created six churches — each with a primary school.
“Starvation is the second highest killer in Haiti right now; right behind waterborne diseases,” Patti said.
Since their first visit, Randy has spent more and more time in Haiti, with Jude, while Patti stayed in Portsmouth, visiting occasionally.
“(Randy) was afraid, because of the dangers. He had been shot at three times, and had been robbed at gunpoint once. So he was afraid for me to be there,” she said. “The crime rate has gone up. When we first went over there, there was never robberies or anything like that against Americans. Now there’s kidnapping and stuff like that, and it’s desperation.”
The Cunninghams didn’t know Jude was homeless, and he didn’t come to live with the family until he was 10 years old. The adoption process in Haiti is long and tedious. Patti said their paperwork had been destroyed or lost three times, and corruption slows the process even further. There are always people standing outside offices waiting to be bribed to go inside and push paperwork through the system — and sometimes they’ll just take the money and disappear, Jude said.
“Everybody there does what they need to do, because when other people are having different problems than you, you’re really not going to find anyone there to help you with your problems when they got their own problems to care about. Nothing ever changes, and if there is a change it probably gets worse,” he said.
The adoption took so long, in fact, that they still had not completed it by the time Jude was 16, and at that age, he was removed from the program.
Randy passed away in Haiti on Dec. 29, hours after returning from Portsmouth where he and Jude spent Christmas with their family. Jude was issued a six-month visa to visit the U.S. for his father’s funeral in Portsmouth, and he was with Patti when they heard news of the earthquake Tuesday evening.
“Someone called me and told me there was an earthquake, and I turned on CNN and ...,” Patti paused to fight back her tears. “It was just devastating. A lot of people had nothing before, but now they don’t even have hope because businesses are gone and that means jobs are gone. There’s already a shortage of food and water and it’s only going to get worse because the big water companies were in Port-au-Prince, so the water is going to be contaminated.”
Though he lived with Randy in Montrouis, about 90 minutes from Port-au-Prince where the quake hit, Jude said he and Randy probably would have been in town that day for their feeding programs. He said he’s glad he avoided the disaster, but still worries about friends left behind.
“They live more out on the coast, but sometimes they go into town to get stuff done, and I couldn’t get a hold of them to see if they’re OK. I haven’t been able to get through because all the phone companies are down and no electric,” he said. “I have a feeling that they’re fine because they live out on the coast, but the thought of not being able to get a hold of them and hear what is going on, or know that people are OK (scares me).”
Patti said the best thing anyone can do now is to donate to one of the many relief programs available. The American Red Cross has programs available, and more information about donations and private offers of assistance can also be found on the U.S. State Department’s Web site, at http://www.state.gov/p/wha/ci/ha/earthquake/index.htm.
“Today, our thoughts and prayers remain with everyone in Haiti, as well as the family and friends of Haitians here in the United States who may be in search of loved ones or grieving a loss,” Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said Friday. “We know that many Ohioans are looking for ways they can financially assist with the relief efforts in Haiti. We are encouraging Ohioans to donate what they can afford to help the families who are struggling and without essential needs as a result of this catastrophe. The compassion and charity of Ohioans can go a long way toward helping Haitians who may be left with next to nothing.”
Indeed, that compassion can go a long way; and every penny counts.
The average family income in Haiti is 3,200 Haitian dollars a year. That’s equal to only about 400 U.S. dollars, Patti said. Sending only $20 to Haitian relief programs is like sending 5 percent of the average income in Haiti. Sometimes we think $20 isn’t enough to make a difference, but imagine how much it might help you if, during a crisis, someone handed you 5-percent of your annual income.
Patti said she was happy to see such a global response to the disaster, but her biggest concern is that the hype will settle in a few months and assistance will dry up while Haiti still needs it. She remembers the way Haiti was quickly forgotten after one of the major hurricanes that have struck the area almost yearly.
“The (President Bill) Clinton Administration, they helped more than anybody I’ve ever seen. Haiti got a lot of help from the U.S., but it seems like the country doesn’t change,” Patti said.
Thursday, President Barack Obama committed $100 million toward Haitian relief efforts. The World Bank also issued $100 million, and Britain sent $10 million. Patti said she hopes the money can be used to help rebuild infrastructure for safer buildings, electricity and clean water.
“This is a turning point. That’s what we’re all praying for,” she said.

Click to read original article from the
Portsmouth Daily Times

____________________________________

JMC Ministries Response

written by Miranda Caverley

This article was posted on January 17, 2010 and we just today were given a copy of the that days paper with this article in it by Martha Berell.  She is a  good friend and fellow ministry partner of Patti Cunningham . Martha gave us one of the few copies of the paper she had left and told us that the article was also posted online. 

If you follow JMC Ministries you will know that we are close friends to the Cunningham family and Randy’s death really hit us hard.  We are always sharing about Patti and Randy’s ministry that they not only do in Haiti but also Jamaica and Uganda. The devastation in Haiti really hit us hard because just 7 days before the earthquake hit their soon Jude was able to come to the U.S for Randy’s funeral and like the article said Jude may have been injured or even killed in the quake had he not been able to the emergency VISA to come to the U.S.

To learn more about Patti and Randy’s ministry visit Kingdom Builders International Myspace pager at

http://www.myspace.com/kingdom_builders_intl

To the entire Cunningham Family you are in our thoughts and prayers.  We thank you for the work you do to reach out to those in need in Haiti, Jamaica and Uganda

 

How The U.S. Coast Guard is helping in Haiti

JMC Ministries Response

written by Miranda Caverley

As the wife of a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard not many people know all the Coast Guard does to not only keep America Safe, but also how they give relief and help during disasters. During Hurricane Katrina the Coast Guard played a huge role in rescuing people who were trapped on the roofs of homes and also delivering Aid.

Please remember our military personnel  as they continue to help the people of Haiti.

Harrison Ford Talks About the Decline of Good Hollywood Roles

The Hollywood mega-star says if you want a quality role these days, you have to go out and make the movie yourself.

Veteran actor Harrison Ford has only made a handful of movies over the last few years, and it's not because he no longer loves acting – it’s just that according to him – Hollywood isn't producing any quality material.

“I grew up in a system where the studios spent a lot of money on the development of stories and ideas and bought books and they really developed the scripts. That doesn’t happen anymore,” Ford told Tarts. “Now, if you want good material you have to develop it for yourself or have a hand in the process. I have been determined to do that over the past few years.”

Ford took matters into his own hands by signing on as executive producer for the new fact-based drama “Extraordinary Measures,”  where he plays an unconventional scientist that sets out to develop a cure for Pompe disease alongside John and Aileen Crowley (Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell), whose young children are inflicted with the rare degenerative disorder.

“I was looking to develop material for myself,” Ford added. “I saw an opportunity to tell a very positive human story and the opportunity to craft for myself a part different to what I’ve normally done and a different genre.”

However the 67-year-old “Indiana Jones” star certainly isn’t the first to be dismayed by the caliber of Hollywood roles these days. In fact, it seems to be quite a hot topic, among both male and female actors.

“Where are the roles for the female experience from that (strong, admirable) point of view for the young college girls, mothers and grandmothers? A lot of actresses I speak to find the same thing,” actress Jessica Biel recently told us. “We're all scrambling for it when something good comes out that actually has a good female character.”

Click to read original article at Fox News

___________________________________

JMC Ministries Response

written by Miranda Caverley

For years now and even decades we have seen the decline in good wholesome family films.  Many movies even some PG rated ones have started to have risqué’ subjects and material in their films.  What was rated R  back in the 80’s and even 90’s is now considered PG-13 today which means teenagers are seeing more and more sex, violence, drugs and practically anything that is immoral. 

The fact that actors are now complaining that there are no good roles anymore is quite over do.  Harrison Ford is right that if you want a good movie/role you have to make it yourself.  That is why so many independent films, directors, producers etc. are popping up all over the place. Take the movie Fireproof for example That was made by a Church. A church people! Because they wanted to make films that were good family films with a message.  Hollywood use to make movies like that back in the 30’s 40’s and 50’s. 

But now there are hardly any.  I will say there are still some but like Jessica Beil said in the article.  There are so little good roles out there that when one comes available everyone is jumping on it.  When is directors, producers, and the movie companies going to realize people are getting tired and want change! 

We need more people like the Church that produced Fireproof to rise up and say no more! That they want to see good wholesome family films again that bring families back together not tear them apart.

Churches in UK to watch 3 minute warning video about the Equality Bill this Sunday

MEDIA ADVISORY, Jan. 20 /Christian Newswire/ -- Churches across the UK will interrupt their worship this Sunday to watch a three- minute warning video about the Equality Bill, which is due to be voted on in the House of Commons the following day.
Christian Concern for our Nation believes the Bill is the biggest state intervention into people's private expression of their faith since the Reformation.
Director Andrea Minichiello-Williams will tell Christians that if the Bill goes through, their church could not advertise for a "Christian youth worker", but just a "youth worker". The role of worship leader, often pivotal in any church, could no longer be restricted to Christians.
Andrea Minichiello Williams commented, "Christians and Churches across this nation need to be aware that this Bill has enormous implications for their day- to-day functioning. If it is passed in its present form, the Equality Bill will result in churches and Christian organisations having to recruit people to key positions who are unsympathetic to the need to reflect Christ and to worship Him through their work. That will in turn affect the way in which Jesus Christ is perceived by those served by the Church and its ministries."
The video can be watched on YouTube and the Christian Concern for our Nation website. Christians will also be urged to sign David Skinner's anti-Equality Bill petition on the No 10 Downing St website, which again can be accessed via www.ccfon.org.

Click to read original article at Christian News Wire

6.1 After Shock Hits Haiti

Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- A strong aftershock rocked Haiti on Wednesday morning just as much-needed medical aid was set to reach the earthquake-ravaged nation.

The 6.1-magnitude aftershock was about 6.2 miles deep, with an epicenter about 35 miles (60 kilometers) west-southwest of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

It rattled people struggling to recover from the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake that walloped the impoverished country January 12, killing at least 72,000 people.

Such a strong tremor can pose significant danger in a nation where damaged buildings are teetering precariously. The aftershock was the strongest to hit Haiti since last week's original quake, the USGS said.

The largest aftershock before Wednesday was magnitude 5.9, the agency said.

Click to read Full Article at CNN.com