Auschwitz camp saw record 1.3 million visitors in 2009

(WARNING): Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

Sun, 03 Jan 2010

Warsaw - International interest in the most prominent symbol of the Nazi death machine, the Auschwitz concentration camp, remains high, with a record number of visitors in 2009, officials said Sunday. The erstwhile Auschwitz-Birkenau complex drew 1.3 million visitors last year, a record for the 62-year history of the memorial, the facility's press office reported.

Well more than half the visitors - 821,000 - were young people, a matter of satisfaction since they are the world's future, said museum director Piotr M A Cywinski.

"Without a deepened knowledge about Auschwitz, Europe of today cannot be understood," the historian said.

Among the visitors were 58,000 Germans - for fifth place among the nationalities visiting the site, after Poland, Britain, Italy and Israel.

In addition, there was a steadily rising number of visitors from Asia, in particular South Korea, the memorial office said.

The memorial site was again in the international headlines in December when thieves stole the infamous wrought-iron "Arbeit macht Frei" (work makes free) sign above the entrance gate.

Five suspects were later arrested and the damaged sign was recovered in a forest.

In the industrial-scale mass annihilation carried out at the Auschwitz and nearby Birkenau camps, some 1.1 million people, chiefly European Jews, were sent to their deaths between 1940 and 1945.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/301890,auschwitz-camp-saw-record-13-million-visitors-in-2009.html.

India condemns killing of student in Australia

Sun, 03 Jan 2010

New Delhi - The government of India has condemned the killing of an Indian student in Melbourne on Sunday and asked Australian authorities to take action against the perpetrators of the attack. Nitin Garg, 21, was stabbed to death by unidentified assailants at a park in the city in south-eastern Australia. He is the first victim to succumb to injuries amid a string of racist attacks on India students and immigrants in Australia, the PTI news agency reported.

Garg who was beaten by a group of men on a previous occasion had migrated from northern India and had permanent residency in Australia.

"The Minister of External Affairs (SM Krishna) strongly condemned the brutal attack on Mr Garg and called on Australian authorities to speedily bring to book person/s responsible for the crime," a statement issued by India's Foreign Office said.

Krishna directed the Indian embassy in Australia to coordinate with Australian authorities and extend assistance to Garg's family as well as the Indian community in the city, the statement added.

According to the PTI news agency, nearly 100 cases of attacks on Indians were reported in Australia in 2009 against 17 similar assaults in 2008.

On a visit to India in November, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said his government was committed to taking all possible measures to ensure safety of Indians, seeking to allay Delhi's concerns over the attacks.

Several Australian ministers have visited India in recent months as the issue threatens both the billion-dollar education industry and bilateral ties. An estimated 90,000 Indians study in Australia.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/301891,india-condemns-killing-of-student-in-australia.html.

Two trains collide in northwestern Turkey: one killed - Summary

Sun, 03 Jan 2010

Istanbul - Two trains collided in north-western Turkey on Sunday, killing a train driver and injuring 14 people, according to officials. The crash took place in the rural Bilecik region, near the city of Eskisehir, some 400 kilometers south-west of Istanbul.

A train failed to heed a red stop signal and slammed head-on into a stationary train.

Officials have given conflicting reasons for the crash.

Bilecik governor Musa Colak, who provided the casualty figure, said an electrical fault caused a switch to malfunction. But officials from the national train company said there was no problem with the signaling system in the area of the crash.

Although Turkey has been upgrading its train system, there have been several deadly accidents in recent years.

A derailment in January 2008 resulted in the death of nine passengers.

Thirty-seven people were killed in July, 2004 when a new high- speed train went off the tracks in north-western Turkey.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/301903,two-trains-collide-in-northwestern-turkey-one-killed--summary.html.

US, British embassies in Yemen shut over al-Qaeda threat - Summary

Sun, 03 Jan 2010

Sana'a,Yemen - The US and British embassies in the Yemeni capital Sana'a were closed Sunday amid terrorism threats threats from the regional branch of al-Qaeda, a Yemeni security source said. The source, who asked not to be named, said the two embassies had received intelligence about potential attacks.

"They informed Yemeni authorities that they had received intelligence tip-offs about possible attacks," the source told the German Press Agency dpa.

The US embassy said in a so-called warden message posted on its website that is has closed "in response to ongoing threats by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to attack American interests in Yemen."

It did not say when it would reopen and officials could not be reached for comment. A local employee of the embassy said local and American embassy staff members were asked to stay away for the day.

Hours after the US embassy closed, the British embassy also closed "for security reasons", the BBC reported, citing Britain's Foreign Office in London.

Armoured police vehicles were seen patrolling streets surrounding the two embassies in the Sheraton neighborhood.

Speaking to US broadcaster Fox News, an adviser to US President Barack Obama said the US has no plans to open a new military front in Yemen, preferring to rely on Yemeni forces to counter the terrorism threat there.

"We are not talking about that at this point at all," White House aide John Brennan said when asked whether US troops would be sent to Yemen.

"The Yemeni government has demonstrated their willingness to take the fight to al-Qaeda," he said. "They are willing to accept our support. We are providing them everything that they have asked for."

US aid to Yemen is on the rise, as Washington wants Sanaa to step up its anti-terrorism operations against al-Qaeda bases in the country's south. Military assistance is now estimated at 70 million dollars and could go up further.

A proposed new Yemeni counterterrorism unit would be paid for jointly by the United States and Britain, London announced. Britain will also host a conference on terrorism in Yemen later this month.

AQAP has taken responsibility for the attempt to blow up a plane over Detroit on Christmas Day and US President Barack Obama has also placed the blame on the group.

The closures came a day after General David Petraeus, the US commander in the Middle East, met with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/301917,us-british-embassies-in-yemen-shut-over-al-qaeda-threat--summary.html.

China's Yellow River threatened by oil leak

Sun, 03 Jan 2010

Beijing- Diesel oil was threatening to spill into China's Yellow River on Sunday, after a leak contaminated a tributary in the country's north-west, local media reported. The leak, which was discovered in a pipeline on Wednesday morning, had already contaminated the Weihe River, located 73 kilometers upstream from the Yellow River, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The pipeline owned by state oil giant PetroChina was shut down and more than 700 people were at the scene trying to control the spill and clean up the pollution, the report said.

Oil was detected 33 kilometers downstream from the leakage site, Xinhua quoted the local authorities as saying.

In a statement on its website, PetroChina's parent company, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), said the leak was caused by a "third party" during construction work.

There were concerns about the amount of time between the contamination's discovery and its reporting by local media.

"There has been zero coverage of the accident on television or in newspapers in Chishui township or Hua county," the Hong-Kong based South China Morning Post quoted one local as saying.

In 2005, toxic chemicals spilled from a CNPC petrochemical plant into the Songhua River in north-eastern Jilin Province caused massive water contamination and affected millions of people in Harbin and Russian cities downstream.

Then-environment minister Xie Zhenhua resigned amid criticism of negligent handling of the crisis, including failure of ecological authorities to sound the alarm immediately after the spill.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/301847,chinas-yellow-river-threatened-by-oil-leak.html.

Egypt police scuffle with pro-Gaza activists

By ASHRAF SWEILAM, Associated Press Writer

AL-ARISH, Egypt – International pro-Gaza activists and Egyptian security clashed at this Mediterranean port when Egypt refused to allow part of an aid convoy to pass through its land to the Hamas-ruled seaside territory, witnesses said Wednesday.

The intermittent clashes lasted for a couple of hours and left than 50 activists and over a dozen members of the security forces injured. Activists briefly seized some policemen as well.

The clashes add to the embarrassment of Egypt, which has come under fire from Arab and Muslim groups for cooperating with Israel in its 28-month blockade of the impoverished territory.

More than 500 international activists accompanied the convoy organized by the British-based group Viva Palestina, bringing tons of humanitarian supplies, as well as vehicles, to Gaza. The group includes British, American, Jordanian and Turkish activists and lawmakers.

The scuffle broke out late Tuesday at al-Arish port building when authorities told the organizers that out of the nearly 200 vehicles, some 59 can't enter Gaza through Egypt, but must go through Israeli terminals.

A security official said the vehicles in question are carrying pickup trucks, sedans, generators and other equipment, which are not allowed to pass through the Egyptian crossing at Rafah and had to go via Israel. Only medical aid and passengers are allowed through, the official said.

British MP George Galloway told Sky News television that the activists were negotiating with authorities and refusing to leave behind their vehicles.

"We refused this because it's a breach of the agreement which we reached in Aqaba between the government of Egypt and the Turkish side," he said. "It is completely unconscionable that 25 percent of our convoy should go to Israel and never arrive in Gaza, because nothing that goes to Israel ever arrives in Gaza."

Activists said the new conditions violate an earlier agreement with the Egyptian authorities, which agreed to allow the whole convoy into Gaza.

Egyptian authorities had already refused the convoy entry into the country from the Red Sea, forcing it to change course to the Mediterranean port.

"We are activists. We condemn the Israeli siege to start with. We will only enter through an Egyptian-Palestinian crossing," said Wael al-Sakka, a Jordanian activist.

Alice Howard, a spokeswoman for the group, said organizers were negotiating with an Egyptian security official, who said he would come back with answers. But instead, 2,000 riot police returned, spraying the activists with water cannons, and hurling rocks.

Television reports showed images of both riot police and activists hurling stones at each other and said clashes began when angry protesters attempted to leave the port area and were driven back by riot police.

Howard, speaking from London, said more than 50 activists were injured in the scuffle, including to the head and neck. The group's Web site showed images of injured activists.

In a statement, the group said it has blocked the entrance to the port to prevent the riot police from entering.

An Egyptian security official said the activists used two trucks to block the port gates, burned tires, and briefly detained a police officer and four of his men. They were later released, some with broken ribs.

The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Al-Sakka, the Jordanian activist, said the police charged a peaceful sit-in at the gates of the port. He said the group was not allowed to get out of the port building, denying government claims they have took control of the premise.

"The Egyptians were too high-strung. The police is the reason for the tension," al-Sakka said.

He said six activists were detained, including Americans and British citizens. The security official said five were detained, but didn't identify them. U.S. embassy officials were not immediately available for comment.

Algerian police dismantle drug trafficking network

(Magharebia) Algiers police dismantled an important drug-trafficking network last week, El Moudjahid quoted police officials as saying on Monday (January 4th). Six alleged members of the network were arrested and a vehicle loaded with 100kg of cannabis was seized during the operation.