News of the World, January 2009

EUROPE:

"Europe is getting pounded by a tidal wave of bad economic news that has prompted warnings of a frightening rise in civil unrest. Top politicians in Europe are so rattled by the prospect of growing protests that they have arranged an emergency leaders' summit in March to deal with growing tensions. Earlier this week, riot police were needed to rescue Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde, when his limousine was pelted by eggs and drink cans hurled by protesters. Thousands of protesters have participated in sometimes-violent street demonstrations in Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Greece in recent weeks."

VATICAN CITY:

"Pope Benedict XVI is understood to be preparing to cancel the excommunication of four traditionalist Catholic bishops, including one who believes that the Holocaust never happened and that the Nazi gas chambers were a myth. The Pope has already signed the decree lifting the excommunication of the four bishops of the ultra-conservative Society of St. Pius X, according to well-sourced reports in the Italian media. One of the bishops, Richard Williamson, a British former Anglican Old Wykehamist and Cambridge graduate, said in a Swedish television interview this week: 'There were no gas chambers.'"

CHINA:

"A Chinese court has handed down two death sentences in the melamine tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children and made 300,000 more ill, last summer, but judges spared top executives of Sanlu, the company that produced and sold the poisonous baby formula. Zhang Yujun, who had made and sold more than 600 tonnes of "protein powder" laced with melamine and Gent Jinping were sentenced to death for producing melamine, a chemical used in plastic, mixing it with milk powder and selling it to Sanlu. They will likely be executed quickly, as is the custom in China."

MIDDLE EAST:

"Israel will allow journalists free access to the war-battered Gaza Strip, a statement from the defence ministry said. The Erez crossing will be open all days except Saturday. Israel had barred journalists from Gaza during its 22-day war on the Hamas rulers of the enclave."

"Four Palestinians were injured when two tunnels used by smugglers collapsed on the border between Egypt and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, an Egyptian security official said. Israel charges that Hamas gets weapons through tunnels that run under the Rafah border. Scores of tunnels used by Palestinians and Egyptians to smuggle contraband into the territory, have collapsed in recent months, killing more than 40 people."

AUSTRIA:

"The trial of Joseph Fritzl, accused of holding his daughter captive as a sex slave over 24 years, during which she bore seven of his children, will begin on March 16, an Austrian court said. The trial will last about a week, but no date has yet been set for the verdict. The beginning of proceedings will be open to the public and media but later access will depend on further developments.

IRELAND:

"An Irish woman who forced a teenage son to have sex with her four times over a six-year period and abused and starved five other children in a rat-infested bungalow was jailed for seven years yesterday. 'I can safely say that I was the worst mother in the world and I'd turn back the clock if I could, but I can't', the 40-year-old woman was quoted as saying. She was given seven years and concurrent sentences of six years on counts of carnal knowledge, incest and wilful neglect."

INDIA:

"A paratrooper in a remote mountainous area of India's troubled northeast went on a shooting rampage, killing six of his own unit after an altercation, security officials said. The incident took place in Manipur state's Ukhrul district, about 90 kilometres from the capital, Imphal, where the country's oldest paramilitary force, the Assam Rifles, is deployed for anti-insurgency operations. Security forces launched a massive search operation in the mountains after he escaped with automatic weapons and ammunition."

SRI LANKA:

"Nearly 100 civilians have been killed in artillery exchanges between Sri Lanka's military and Tamil Tigers, a top government official working in the area controlled by the rebels said. Sri Lanka's military has boxed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam into an area of less than 400 square kilometres after the most successful campaign so far in the 25-year war and is aiming to deliver a final blow to the last rebel stronghold, the port of Mullaitivu."

ZIMBABWE:

"The cholera death toll in Zimbabwe has soared to 2,755, with 48,623 people suspected of being infected, according to new world Health Organization statistics. The numbers show a sharp rise in fatalities and new infections from statistics published earlier. The UN's humanitarian co-ordination office said in Geneva that preventive measures were not working and that a growing number of deaths were occurring beyond the reach of health workers in rural areas."

CONGO:

"United Nations peacekeepers in Congo demanded yesterday to be given a role in joint military operations by Congolese and Rwandan armies against Hutu rebels, saying they feared for civilians otherwise. The UN force in Congo has been largely excluded from the operation, in which more than 3,500 Rwandan soldiers crossed into Congo to advance on rebel strongholds in North Kivu province. Fears for civilians are high because the Hutu rebel group has turned on them in the past. The UN's 17,000-strong force has worked with Congo's army, but co-operation soured recently due to accusations of abuse by Congolese forces. Human rights groups have accused the army of rape and pillage, notably in defeats by Congolese Tutsi rebels last year."

RUSSIA:

"The European human rights court yesterday ordered Russia to pay $300,000 to the families of five Chechens whose relatives say they were abducted by Russian soldiers and a sixth who was found dead. The court unanimously ruled that Russia violated several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the victims' right to life, the right to an effective investigation and the right to effective remedy."

UNITED STATES:

"Making his first extensive comments on the Middle East crisis, President Barack Obama yesterday outlined actions that Israel and Hamas must take to ensure a 'durable ceasefire' in the region. "Hamas must end its rocket fire, (and) Israel will complete the withdrawal of its forces from Gaza", Mr. Obama said. Mr. Obama said that the U.S. "will always support Israel's right to defend itself against legitimate threats. No democracy can tolerate such danger to its people, nor should the international community, and neither should the Palestinian people themselves, whose interests are only set back by acts of terror." For Hamas to be a "genuine party to peace", Mr. Obama said the group must "recognize Israel's right to exist; renounce violence; and abide by past agreements."