Tito Villanova

 Former Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova, who has been battling cancer, has died at the age of 45.

"FC Barcelona is in immense mourning," the Spanish club said in a statement. "Tito Vilanova has died at the age of 45. May he rest in peace."

Vilanova, who had first been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor of the throat in November 2011, stepped down as Barcelona coach in July 2013.

He succeeded Pep Guardiola, who is now Bayern Munich coach, in June 2012 and led the Catalan giants to the Spanish La Liga title during his time in charge of the team.

Photos: People we lost in 2014

Following the announcement of Vilanova's death, Barcelona said it would open an area of condolence in the main grandstand at its Nou Camp stadium.

"It will be open to anyone who wishes to express their sympathy and love for the late Tito Vilanova," the club added.

"The club wishes to express its most heartfelt sympathy to his family, who are being joined in these moments of mourning by FC Barcelona members and fans all around the world, as well as the rest of the footballing and sporting world."

Barcelona also revealed plans for a religious memorial ceremony in the coming days.

The club's president Josep Maria Bartomeu said on this Twitter page: "Tito Vilanova was a wonderful person, and will never be forgotten at FC Barcelona. Thank you for everything you taught us. Rest in peace."

Barcelona player Cesc Fabregas paid tribute on his Facebook page saying he met Vilanova 14 years ago, adding: "Thank you for always trusting me, to help me improve and overcome personal and professional obstacles."

This are just few things that happened in history on April 25th

1185 - Sea battle at Dan-no-ura: Minamoto Yoritomo beats Taira-family
1449 - Anti-pope Felix V resigns
1507 - Geographer Martin Waldseemuller 1st used name America
1541 - -26) Liege flooded after heavy down pour
1604 - Count Maurits' army lands at Cadzand
1607 - Battle at Gibraltar: Dutch fleet beats Spanish/Portuguese fleet
1614 - Amsterdam Bank of Loan forms
1626 - Battle at the Dessauer bridge: Monarch Albrecht von Wallenstein beats Earl of Mansfeld
1660 - English Convention Parliament meets & votes to restore Charles II
1678 - French troops conquer Ypres
1684 - Patent granted for thimble
1707 - Battle of Almansa; Franco-Spanish forces defeat British and Portuguese
1719 - Daniel Defoes publishes "Robinson Crusoe"
1747 - Prince Willem V appointed viceroy of Zealand
1792 - Guillotine first used in France, executes highwayman Nicolas J Pelletier

Crisis in Ukraine

Kiev  -- Ukrainian acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said Wednesday that the separatist protests in Ukraine's eastern region would be resolved within 48 hours -- either through negotiations or the use of force.

At the same time, Russia insisted that the presence of its troops just over the border was no reason to worry.

The United States and others have accused Russia of fomenting the separatist unrest as a pretext for military intervention.

Using classified and commercial satellite imagery, the United States estimates there are up to 40,000 Russian troops on the border with eastern Ukraine. NATO has also warned of a major troop buildup.

But Russia's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Ukraine and the United States have "no reason for concern" about the presence of Russian forces, which it says are on military exercises.

"Russia has repeatedly stated that it does not conduct unusual or unplanned activities which are militarily significant on its territory near the border with Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry said in a prepared statement.

It added that accusations that Russia was building up its armed forces were "groundless."

Asked if he considered the threat of a Russian advance into Ukraine more likely now than last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told CNN's Jim Sciutto, "We are always vigilant. We are always looking at the options that we need to take."

Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe, has been asked to come up with "new and additional measures and options" and report back to both Hagel and NATO, the U.S. defense secretary said.

Meanwhile, the separatist protests in eastern Ukraine have entered their fourth day.

Pro-Russian protesters seized government buildings in the cities of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv on Sunday.

Rebels who occupied Donetsk's regional government building a day later -- declaring a "people's republic" and calling for a referendum on secession from Ukraine to be held by May 11 -- remained in control of the building Wednesday, holed up behind substantial makeshift barricades.

In Kharkiv, more than 70 people were detained Tuesday in what Ukrainian authorities said was an anti-terrorism operation, as security forces cleared a government building of protesters.

The 48-hour deadline set by Avakov to end the crisis may escalate the tensions in Ukraine's eastern region.

"There are two opposite ways for resolving this conflict -- a political dialogue and the heavy-handed approach. We are ready for both," he said, according to official news agency Ukrinform.

On Tuesday, Moscow warned that any use of force to crack down on protests in the region, which borders Russia, could lead to civil war and called for "the immediate cessation of any military preparations."

I belive that we Should be praying for our Ukranian brothers.

April 9th

According to historians this are some issues that occured on April 9 of the following years:

193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans).
475 - Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite christological position.
715 - Constantine ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1241 - Battle of Liegnitz - Mongol armies defeat Poles & Germans
1388 - Battle of Näfels; Glarius Swiss defeat Habsburg (Austrian) army
1413 - Henry V is crowned King of England.
1440 - Christopher of Bavaria is appointed King of Denmark.

Lost airplane

Perth, Australia (CNN) -- The hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 took on increasing urgency Friday as searchers began scouring the ocean floor and the batteries powering its locator pingers approached the end of their expected lifetimes.

If they die, so too could investigators' best hope of determining what caused the jetliner to vanish from radar screens last month.

Fourteen aircraft and 11 ships were involved in Friday's activities, reported the Australian agency coordinating the search efforts.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has determined a search area of about 84,000 square miles (218,000 square kilometers), 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) northwest of Perth.

Weather in the area was good, with visibility greater than 6 miles (10 kilometers).Bill Schofield, an Australian scientist who worked on developing flight data recorders, said, "If they do find it, I think it'll be remarkable."

The decision about where in the southern Indian Ocean to focus British and Australian naval ships equipped with sophisticated listening technology was nothing more than an educated guess of where the plane may have hit the water.

On Friday, ships did report sightings of objects, but none were linked to plane debris.

The British Royal Navy survey ship HMS Echo and the Australian naval supply ship Ocean Shield began searching the depths Friday along a single 150-mile (240-kilometer) track, said retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, the head of the Australian agency coordinating the search.

The Ocean Shield is equipped with high-tech gear borrowed from the United States:

• The Towed Pinger Locator 25 contains an underwater microphone to detect pings from the jet's voice and data recorders as deep as 20,000 feet (6,100 meters). It is towed behind a vessel that typically travels at 1 to 5 knots, depending on the water's depth.

"It is a very slow proceeding," said Capt. Mark M. Matthews, director of ocean engineering.

• The Bluefin-21 is an underwater vehicle that can scour the ocean floor for wreckage and can also be used to find mines. It is 16.2 feet long, weighs 1,650 pounds, can work for 25 hours at 3 knots and can operate to a depth of nearly 15,000 feet.

The ocean in the search area is 6,500 feet to 13,000 feet deep.

Since the devices don't require daylight, they can search around the clock.

CNN posted this, few hours ago, can you imagine how the families of this lost persons are feeling? lets continue praying for them.

Alexios I Komnenos

Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus  was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. Inheriting a collapsing empire and faced with constant warfare during his reign against both the Seljuq Turks in Asia Minor and the Normans in the western Balkans, Alexios was able to halt the Byzantine decline and begin the military, financial, and territorial recovery known as the Komnenian restoration. His appeals to Western Europe for help against the Turks were also the catalyst that triggered the Crusades.

Alexius I Comnenus occupies Byzantine throne exactlly on this date April 4 of 1081