hatoyama on monday told reporters that the election result shows the will of
the people of nago city although he reiterated that the central government
final decision would not come before may
china firms found selling melamine tainted food report
beijing jan afp
three chinese companies have been found selling food products tainted with
melamine the chemical blamed for the deaths of six babies in huge dairy
scandal in state media said monday
the authorities in the southwestern province of guizhou found that the products
said to include popsicles contained levels of the industrial chemical that
were above allowable limits the china daily newspaper said
one official quoted in the paper said the products may have contained tainted
milk that was recalled after the scandal but had found its way back on to the
market
the paper said the food companies involved had blamed the problem on milk powder
bought from suppliers
in melamine was found to have been added to milk to give the appearance of
higher protein content
it found its way into range of products including baby formula leading to the
death of six infants and making almost ill according to official
figures
the scandal triggered an uproar in china and abroad and many products
containing chinese dairy were taken off shelves around the world total of
people have been reportedly convicted and two have been executed
countdown to shanghai world expo begins
shanghai jan afp
less than days before the world expo opens in shanghai armies of workers
wearing yellow and orange hard hats are buzzing around huge muddy site where
the pavilions are far from finished
but officials say preparations are on track for the massive six month event
which is due to bring at least million visitors streaming into china
biggest city from may
we re confident as we ve been working on this for eight years said xu bo
assistant commissioner general at the world expo
right now percent of the structural work is finished and now we re starting
interior work
less than two years after china successfully hosted the beijing olympics expo
will offer the asian giant new opportunity to impress the world and
organisers promise the event will be record breaking
the site is the biggest ever for an expo and it will welcome record
participating countries and international organisations along with the
mammoth number of visitors most of them chinese
the expo is sign of power and for us it very strong symbol xu said
about the first expo to be held in developing country funded by budget of
more than four billion dollars
china has also allocated billion dollars for new highways subway lines road
repairs and the renovation of many districts in shanghai figure that does
not even include the expansion of the city pudong airport
shanghai has become permanent building site said xu
authorities also shut down very polluting factories one shipyard and
relocated residents to make way for the vast expo site on the banks of
the huangpu river
welders masons electricians and plumbers are now stepping up their efforts to
transform the site still full of mounds of earth bricks and cables into field
of expo dreams full of national pavilions with bold designs
the british pavilion looks like giant ball of acrylic rods poland
construction brings to mind intricately cut paper and germany is built at
sharp angles
the french pavilion opposite is cloaked in concrete fishnet while
switzerland will see visitors ride chair lifts on the building grassy roof
japan meanwhile has chosen kind of purple turtle the netherlands bright
yellow tulip romania big green ball and finland huge white bowl
the biggest of all is china main national pavilion large red inverted
pyramid that can be seen from far away and which xu says represents wisdom
wealth and harmony
and china expo performance centre which looks like flying saucer can house
an audience of up to people
better city better life organisers hope the shanghai expo will allow for
reflection on the idea of long lasting and green urbanisation and are putting
the emphasis on energy saving
on the as yet unfinished expo boulevard huge trumpet shaped structures will
soak up the sun rays to light up galleries and catch the rain to water the
green areas
the separate chinese theme pavilion which will host exhibitions during the
expo is covered in solar panels visitor shuttles are electric and all the
lighting used to illuminate the building at night is energy efficient
as the start of the expo nears million tickets have already been sold
more than expected at this stage
with organisers planning for peaks of to one million visitors day
security is major headache for authorities more than it was for the
olympic games in beijing as the expo will last six months
we will try to limit the number of visitors some days said xu who added that
china wants foreigners to come when asked about the possibility of visa
restrictions such as those implemented during the beijing games
foreigners are expected to account for five percent of total visitors or at
least million people
at the french pavilion marketing director franck serrano said he hoped to
attract percent of visitors
vietnam approves largest thermal power project
hanoi jan afp
authorities in energy hungry vietnam have approved development of the country
largest thermal power project worth at least billion dollars the developer
said
in statement monday the vinh tan energy joint stock company vtec said its
megawatt project to be built in southern binh thuan province under
build operate transfer framework will use imported coal
the consortium aims to start construction late next year for operation in
vtec is consortium of clp holdings of hong kong mitsubishi corp electricity
of vietnam and pacific corporation of vietnam
the vinh tan power project will form part of megawatt power complex
that will also include port for receiving coal ships the consortium said
private sector participation in infrastructure development is urgently needed in
the country particularly in power generation and seaports the american chamber
of commerce vietnam has said
vietnam economy grew percent last year despite the global downturn it is
rapidly modernising with average energy demand growing at about percent per
year authorities say
power outages happen periodically in the capital hanoi
ethiopian airliner crashes on takeoff in lebanon
beirut jan afp
an ethiopian airliner transporting passengers and crew crashed in stormy
weather just after takeoff in lebanon early monday plunging into the
mediterranean sea transport minister ghazi aridi said
witnesses reported seeing saw ball of fire as the jet plunged into the sea
aridi said ethiopian airlines flight lost contact with the airport control
tower shortly after takeoff and crashed into the sea about kilometres seven
miles south of the airport
the control tower was assisting the pilot of the plane on takeoff and suddenly
lost contact for no known reason aridi told reporters adding that the boeing
crashed some kilometres off the coast
he said the passengers include lebanese ethiopians one iraqi one french
woman one syrian and seven crew members there were also several dual nationals
including two british lebanese one canadian lebanese and russian lebanese
an airport official had initially said that people were on board the doomed
flight which he said crashed about five minutes after takeoff at am
gmt
aridi said he had formed an investigative committee to determine the cause of
the crash and had contacted nearby countries to assist in the search and rescue
effort
it was unclear whether there were any survivors
the lebanese army navy as well as the united nations interim force in lebanon
unifil were assisting in the rescue aridi added
we have contacted everyone inside and outside the country that can assist us
and the lebanese navy the army and unifil have joined in the rescue the
minister added
families of the passengers some of them weeping could be seen arriving at
beirut international airport where they were escorted to private area to
await news of their loved ones
the boeing which entered into commercial service in is one of the
latest versions of the world most widely used short to medium haul airliners
and is capable of carrying up to passengers
the accident took place amid heavy rains and storms in lebanon in the past two
days that have caused heavy flooding and damages in some part of the country
it also comes just one month after panamian flagged ship transporting
livestock capsized in similar weather and sank off the coast of northern lebanon
with around sailors on board
the majority of the sailors were rescued but were unaccounted for and
presumed dead
football fowler staying after coach dispute resolved fury
melbourne jan afp
former england international robbie fowler was committed to serving out his
contract with north queensland fury after resolving his dispute with coach ian
ferguson the league club said monday
the liverpool great refused to play in the home draw against brisbane roar
on saturday after being informed by ferguson that he would be starting on the
substitutes bench
fowler who is in the middle of two year contract watched from the
stands heightening speculation that he may be finished at the club
but fury chairman don matheson said both fowler and ferguson had agreed to stay
committed for the duration of their contracts following talks on monday
spoken to them today and realise there has been misunderstanding
matheson said in statement
ian wanted to play particular formation and that included utilising robbie as
an impact player off the bench and robbie believed he wasn part of the
squad
there has been an unfortunate outcome because of that misunderstanding
matheson said the issue had been sorted out between the pair and they had given
commitment to try and win fury three remaining matches of the season
the club apologises to the fans for what happened but moving forward am
happy that we been able to resolve this in the best interests of the club
and the game he said
matheson said fowler was frustrated by speculation that he would be quitting
robbie is getting pretty tired of the speculation that he will be leaving north
queensland fury fc he is not leaving the club said matheseon
he and his family have made some sacrifices for him to play for north
queensland and he happy with his decision
fowler told british newspaper last week that his wife was finding it tough to
adjust in townsville where fury are based
the kids are very adaptable to where they are but think my wife still needs
bit of convincing he said
it not like back at home where there more stuff to do and more families
that we know so she still adjusting
the former liverpool star is the highest profile signing in the five years of
the league
he is playing club football outside england for the first time since he finished
as the fourth highest all time scorer with goals in the premier league
survivors span the history of auschwitz
warsaw jan afp
from the first prison convoy to auschwitz in to the death march as
the nazis pulled out in the face of soviet advance kazimierz albin and marian
turski span the history of the infamous camp
the two elderly men both still display the mental strength that helped them
survive that place of horror which symbolises nazi germany world war ii
genocide
pole albin was in the first convoy to auschwitz but escaped after nearly
three years in
polish jew turski was sent there in the zenith of the nazis final
solution
albin was when germany invaded poland in september unbowed he chose to
follow thousands escaping to join polish exile army in france
he was captured in january trying to cross into slovakia on june he
was among the first poles sent to new camp in former barracks near the
southern town of oswiecim renamed auschwitz by the germans
the nazis set it up in drive to wipe out poland elites and stem underground
resistance
albin and his comrades learned from their crowing captors that the germans had
conquered paris
it was like the ground fell away beneath our feet our goal had been france and
joining the polish army there and now paris was occupied and france had
surrendered he told afp
on arrival the poles had numbers tattooed on their arms albin still bears his
they told us the young and the healthy won be allowed to live more than
three months priests month and jews two weeks he recalled
according to the auschwitz birkenau memorial and museum non
jewish poles were sent there half died from hunger disease shootings and
hangings and in its gas chambers
from when the camp expanded at nearby birkenau its main role was to
murder jews from across occupied europe at least million perished mostly in
birkenau gas chambers and their bodies were burned
albin gleaned information from drunken inmate overseers the notorious kapos
about birkenau he still remembers the smell of the burning corpses
albin knew german so the nazis made him cook giving him chance of
survival prisoners unable to understand german orders were often shot on the
spot
the odds on breaking out were virtually nil albin took advantage of working
just beyond the wire in an ss barracks
he seized his chance on february with friend
if we didn go then we wouldn have had another chance he said
they swam across an icy river as the sirens wailed
escaping dragnet they joined the polish resistance
in nazi reprisal for the escape albin mother was sent to auschwitz she
survived however
turski was barely teenager in
the nazis crammed poland jews into ghettoes where hundreds of thousands died
of starvation and disease and later sent them to death camps
in august year old turski was sent to auschwitz birkenau as the nazis
wiped out the ghetto in the central city of lodz
my father and brother were sent straight to the gas chamber he said
turski was among the few in his convoy picked out to work the camp was the
hub of an economic network exploiting slave labour tattooed with the number
he was sent to an oil refinery
on january came the death march the nazis began forcing
prisoners west as the soviets advanced
the skeletal inmates had to walk kilometres miles as temperatures hit
minus celsius minus four fahrenheit and were loaded into cattle cars
one of the privileged few lucky to go on two death marches turski said
with irony
in april weeks before germany defeat he was among the prisoners trailing
between buchenwald camp in germany and terezin in today czech republic
they didn give us anything for days what did eat grass he said
turski weighed just kilos pounds when he arrived at terezin he suffered
from scurvy and caught typhus during the march
his eyes light up when he tell of finding his mother
just after the war he met soviet jew near the polish czech border who asked
for photograph with his name on the back that man in turn met polish jews
over in germany
he spread the pictures on table mine was among them and among the people
looking was my mother she was with me the next day she used all her money to
buy me watch and didn have any left and still have that watch today
auschwitz haunts soviet veteran years after liberation
moscow jan afp
until the last ivan martynushkin knew nothing of the horrors his unit would
uncover when the soviet army fought its way to the barbed wire fences of
auschwitz nazi germany most infamous death camp
but years on he is still haunted by what he saw memories that have only
grown more terrible as he learned the camp story
some million people died at the camp between and one million of
them jews from across nazi occupied europe some died from overwork and
starvation but most were murdered in the gas chambers
will remember those things until the end of my days the year old
veteran who headed gunner unit of the red army nd rifle division that
liberated auschwitz said in interview with afp at his home in moscow
the sprightly grey haired veteran sat in his neat apartment surrounded by books
and photographs including one of him with russian prime minister vladimir
putin jacket pinned with war medals hung on the wall
martynushkin said it was only when he saw the camp barbed wires and his
commander ordered the troops to hold their fire that he guessed that this was
some special military zone that this was something else
for many veterans the lack of shooting on that day january in
the midst of the fiercest weeks of fighting remains one of their most powerful
impressions holocaust researcher ilya altman told afp
martynushkin recalled the ghostly quiet and acrid ash and smoke filled air at
auschwitz
he had seen other nazi prisoner camps but as his unit moved along the perimeter
of auschwitz he was staggered it was huge it went on and on for kilometres
he remembered
we started to see groups of people when we reached the fence they came up to
us dressed in prison stripes some had other clothes on top he said
after being in such hell constantly threatened by death they were worn
depleted people the only thing to them were those eyes that reflected kind of
joy of being freed the joy that hell had ended and they remained alive
as the soviet troops closed in some prisoners had been driven back
behind the nazi lines in forced death march that would be remembered by the
survivors as worse than all that had come earlier at the camp
the few thousands left behind were thought too weak to march but by some luck
escaped being shot in the chaos of the rushed exodus
martynushkin turned just days before arriving at auschwitz but by that time
he had already spent three years at the front
desensitized by the scale of suffering he witnessed over the war he did not
realize the full horror of the death camp he said
it was only later when the nuremberg trials began that he came to understand
what had previously seemed unimaginable
back then when we saw the ovens our first thought was oh well so they are
crematoriums so people died and they didn bury them all he said
we didn know then that those ovens were specially built for the killing of
people to burn those who had been gassed that kind of systematic killing
auschwitz operated from year after the german invasion of poland its
victims also included non jewish poles gypsies non jewish
other european nationals and around soviet prisoners of war
it was unlike any other war it was war over the existence of entire
peoples martynushkin said we were able to see this plan at auschwitz
everyone was there representatives of all the european nations
he was planning to travel to poland with handful of other surviving soviet
soldiers for the th anniversary of the day they liberated auschwitz
the history of auschwitz
warsaw jan afp
the nazi german death camp of auschwitz is an enduring symbol of the holocaust
here is its history based on that of the auschwitz birkenau memorial and
museum
september nazi german invasion of poland starts world war ii in europe
nazis massacre polish jews or force them into ghettoes start to wipe out
poland elites and try to stem resistance plan camps like those created in
germany after they won power in
april ss leader heinrich himmler picks site at barracks in southern
polish town oswiecim renamed auschwitz
june first polish political prisoners arrive
autumn resistance informs exiled polish government in london about camp it
tells allies
march himmler inspects auschwitz orders expansion
june germany invades soviet union breaking pact sends pows to
camp
september first mass gassing with zyklon soviet pows poles
january nazis set out plans for final solution genocide of europe
jews
january mass gassing of jews in auschwitz begins
march auschwitz ii birkenau opens
march first mass deportation of foreign jews to camp from france
from slovakia
may jews sent from poland from germany and austria
may first birkenau selection of arriving prisoners splitting those
slated for slavery from those gassed directly
june birkenau mutiny seven prisoners escape die
july jews sent from holland
august jews sent from belgium from yugoslavia
october industrial auschwitz iii monowitz camp opens
october jews sent from today czech republic
december jews sent from norway
february camp for roma set up at birkenau
march jews sent from greece
march crematoria begin burning gas chamber victims
october jews sent from italy
may allied planes photograph camp spot gas chambers and smoke britain and
us later bomb monowitz
may jews sent from hungary
august jews sent from lodz ghetto in poland
august roma gassed
august poles sent amid warsaw uprising
october mutiny by sonderkommando jews forced to burn bodies from gas
chambers three ss members sonderkommando prisoners die
november mass gassing of jews ends
january death march starts ss forces prisoners west as soviets
advance
january germans blow up birkenau gas chambers and crematoria withdraw
as soviet scouts approach
january soviet troops arrive find survivors
survivors liberators to honour auschwitz dead years on
warsaw jan afp
auschwitz survivors soviet army veterans who liberated them years ago and
leaders including israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu will wednesday
honour the million victims of the notorious nazi death camp
with their numbers dwindling year by year about one hundred survivors are
expected to attend ceremonies marking the anniversary of the january
red army liberation of the nazi german camp an enduring and stark reminder of
the horror of the holocaust
soon we will no longer be able to speak face to face with survivors most are
over years old now said piotr cywinski director of the auschwitz birkenau
memorial and museum
when the last witnesses of nazi germany insane politics leave us only the
walls and ruins will be left and will have to speak for them he said
senior officials from more than countries are due to attend the ceremony at
the site of the camp on the outskirts of the southern polish city of oswiecim
invited by polish president lech kaczynski his russian counterpart dmitry
medvedev has declined to attend citing other obligations according to
polish presidential statement
the kaddish or jewish prayer of mourning is to be recited during an ecumenical
ceremony at memorial to the victims organisers said
earlier european education ministers are to gather to reflect on how to best
teach youngsters the lessons of auschwitz almost seven decades after the end of
world war ii
the inauguration of russian exhibition on the liberation is also scheduled at
the camp museum for january declared international holocaust remembrance
day by the united nations
initially set up by the nazis as concentration camp for polish political
prisoners in year after germany invaded it became site primarily for
murdering jews from as it was expanded at nearby birkenau to step up the
final solution in the notorious gas chambers
in addition to million jews from poland and across occupied europe and
non jewish poles the camp was also used to kill roma
captured soviet soldiers and others including resistance members
arrested by the germans across the continent according to the museum
the largest and deadliest nazi german camp auschwitz birkenau is the only one
to have been preserved much as it was when they fled from advancing soviet
forces cywinski said
this is why it is so urgently necessary to preserve what still remains he
said
the nazis razed their other death camps in poland like sobibor treblinka and
belzec to cover their tracks but fled before they could destroy auschwitz
birkenau
in two years after the war the polish government decided to preserve the
death camp enlisting survivors to create museum warsaw has paid for its
upkeep ever since
but as time passes the aging site is in need of ever greater maintenance with
record million visitors in wear and tear is inevitable
to preserve it poland has created special fund to which germany has already
pledged half the required million euros million dollars plans call
for the entire pool of cash to be invested and for earnings to cover maintenance
works over the next years
we want to preserve the memory of what the nazis wanted to destroy said
wladyslaw bartoszewski an auschwitz survivor and former polish foreign
minister
but the museum is not just fighting the passage of time
on december thieves stole the infamously cynical arbeit macht frei work
will set you free in german sign from the auschwitz entrance gate allegedly
on the order of swede known for neo nazi sympathies
recovered by the polish police two days later it was returned by investigators
to the museum on january
but it will not be back in place by the commemoration as the thieves had cut it
into three pieces and it must be restored the museum put up copy immediately
after the theft
centuries old holy city cellar at heart of byzantine battle
jerusalem jan afp
an arab israeli shopkeeper is locked in byzantine battle with the coptic
church over an ancient jerusalem cellar in saga involving christianity
holiest site and th century muslim general
lawyers on both sides expect authorities to decide soon whether the disputed
basement adjacent to the church of the holy sepulchre is sacred or not and
whether the egyptian christians or the israeli muslim can claim ownership
the legal battle over the centuries old vaulted stone cellar has been festering
for years in the heart of the holy city flashpoint of political and
religious conflict
it has as many twists and turns as the old city maze of narrow streets and
intrigue and features top middle east political players
antonios al orshaleme general secretary of the coptic orthodox patriarchate in
jerusalem insists the basement is holy ground and was once part of the church
of the holy sepulchre revered by most christians as the site where jesus was
crucified and buried
orshaleme says the vast cellar which runs under both the patriarchate and the
grocery store had been church at least as long as the holy sepulchre but
remains vague as to when it was last used as such
the church was built in the fourth century its destruction seven centuries
later provided an impetus for the crusades it was rebuilt in following
agreement between the byzantine empire and the region muslim rulers
here is monastery below is also monastery says orshaleme clad in
black gown an embroidered hood covering his head as he points to the ground
below the patriarchate
not so says lawyer reuven yehoshua who represents storekeeper hazam hirbawi
for years this cellar was used as garbage dump says yehoshua
the entrance to the basement which can be seen from above through mesh of
wire is cluttered with jumble of discarded objects
yehoshua points to survey that describes the basement as being
disgusting and filled with cesspools
this is what they say is holy place yehoshua asks shaking his head
history buff yehoshua bases his arguments on wealth of ancient documents
including one showing that salah ad din the th century military commander
who defeated the crusaders issued writ giving muslims control of the area
where the store is now located and the basements below it
orshaleme admits that part is true and points out with smile it goes to show
christians were the original owners
this whole area was part of the church of the holy sepulchre salah ad din made
the church smaller and surrounded it with muslims so it could not grow strong
again
the modern dispute started in when hazam hirbawi was sent by his father to
the cellar to pick up stone he needed to repair wall in the building only
to find copts digging and clearing out mud and rubble
asked what they were doing they said we re fixing our place said
hirbawi we kicked them out he adds
orshaleme says hirbawi had no right to interfere with the copts
hirbawi came down and made problems with workers from the church
the coptic church which is predominantly egyptian took its case to the
egyptian authorities who in turn raised it with then palestinian leader yasser
arafat
arafat told egyptian president hosni mubarak the copts could have it as
gift from him to egypt says hirbawi who like his father is arab israeli
hirbawi father refused to cave in and was eventually arrested by agents from
arafat preventive security who took him to the palestinian political capital
ramallah
the dispute rapidly snowballed and hawkish israeli prime minister benjamin
netanyahu who served first term at the time sent forces to surround
ramallah
the elder hirbawi was released three days later and took the issue to the
israeli authorities
the issue is one of clout for the copts comparatively small denomination and
among those who share ownership of the church of the holy sepulchre under
fragile agreement which hasn always been enough to prevent brawls between
rival monks
for hirbawi it question of principle
nobody can take what you own by force and it is forbidden for something that
belongs to muslims to be taken by christian
afp features
paris jan afp
