Holocaust Survivors To Mark Auschwitz Liberation

Missing 43 Students 'All Kidnapped And Killed'

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 28 Januari 2015 | 18.46

Officials investigating the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico have confirmed they were kidnapped, murdered and incinerated by police.

Families of the victims believe their loved ones are still alive - but for the first time, Mexico's attorney general has said he is certain that all of the students were killed and burned before their remains were thrown into a river.

Jesus Murillo Karam also rejected claims that the army had any participation in the mass slaying.

He added: "To close the investigation is perhaps not the appropriate word, until I have all of those responsible under arrest I can't close it, so that is not the right word.

"But if you ask me if the elements of the investigation are enough to conclude that they were killed there and incinerated, I would say 'yes', and even more than in many other cases."

The case has caused considerable controversy in Mexico, with some fire experts claiming the government's rendition of events is implausible.

However, forensic evidence suggests that the fuel and temperature of a fire at a garbage dump thought to have been used to dispose of the bodies was capable of turning 43 bodies into ashes.

Mexican authorities have only been able to identify the DNA of one student, and Austrian scientists working on the case have claimed it is impossible to identify the other victims.

Relatives of the missing students have said they no longer believe a word the government says, as the theory of what happened to their loved ones has continually changed since they were last seen in September.

The brother-in-law of one victim, Valentin Cornelio Gonzalez, said: "On a personal level, it makes me mad because this is what they've always done.

"There's no chance that the parents are going to believe the government saying they're dead... they are going to look for them alive."

The conclusion that all 43 students have been killed is based on the testimony of a prime suspect arrested a fortnight ago.

Felipe Rodriguez Salgado is one of 99 people who have been detained in connection with the crime.

There have also been 39 reported confessions, nearly 400 declarations, almost 500 forensic tests, 16 raids and two reconstructions.

All 43 students were men training to be teachers. Their bus is thought to have been attacked in the city of Iguala by police who then handed them over to gangs.

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Risk V Reward In Islamic State Hostage Deal

Time is running out and pressure is mounting for the Jordanian and Japanese authorities.

The demand from Islamic State militants is the release, within 24 hours, of an Iraqi would-be suicide bomber in exchange for the lives of a Japanese journalist and a Jordanian fighter pilot.

Bluntly, the Jordanian authorities will now be weighing up the risks of releasing Sajida al Rishawi into the hands of a terrorist group against the reward for doing so.

:: The risks

1. Releasing a self-confessed terrorist into the hands of a terror group. Sajida al Rishawi confessed to trying to blow up the Radisson SAS hotel in Amman in 2005.

In her televised confession (which she later retracted) she said she hoped to kill as many men, women and children as possible.

Her husband's suicide belt went off. He died along with 36 other victims. Al Rishawi's belt did not go off and she was later arrested.

If she is handed over to IS militants, could she go on to carry out a successful suicide mission?

2. Bowing to terrorists' demands: No government wants to be seen to be bowing to the demands of the Islamic State.

Deals with terrorists embolden them and encourage them to take more people hostage.

The covert payment of ransoms by some governments has only added to Islamic State's wealth, which is already huge thanks to their control of oil assets in Syria and Iraq.

The Jordanian government will be under huge pressure by the Americans and others not to do any deal with Islamic State.

:: The rewards

1. The hostages survive: If Al Rishawi is released and Islamic State militants stick to the deal (there is no guarantee that they will) then clearly the lives of Kenji Goto and Lt Mu'ath al Kaseasbeh will be saved.

Emotionally, this is an overriding objective.

2. Intelligence: Agencies around the world would be extremely keen to "debrief" the two hostages and learn as much as possible about their captors.

It is thought that they were being held by a man dubbed 'Jihadi John', a Briton who was behind the beheading of a number of other hostages, including Britons David Haines and Allan Henning and Americans Steven Sotloff, James Foley and Peter Kassig.

Despite sustained efforts, he has not been located. Intelligence agencies could glean vital information from the two men.

:: Other options

There are other plausible scenarios which could secure the release of the two men.

Through backchannels in Jordan, a deal could perhaps be struck which would see the release of a number of other alleged Islamist militants who are in Jordanian jails, prisoners who are seen as less of a security risk.

If any deal is done though, the Jordanian and Japanese authorities will need a "proof of life", showing that Mr Goto and Lt al Kaseasbeh are still alive.

In Tuesday's demand, both men were seen only in photographs. Some in Jordan believe that Lt al Kaseasbeh is already dead.

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Jordan 'Ready' To Exchange Militant For Pilot

A Jordanian spokesperson has said his country is willing to hand over an Iraqi would-be-suicide bomber if a Jordanian pilot captured by Islamic State is released.

In an announcement on state television, Mohammad al Momani said: "Jordan is ready to release prisoner Sajida al Rishawi if the Jordanian pilot Lieutenant Muath al Kasaesbeh was released and his life spared."

In Jordan, the pilot's father, Safi al Kaseasbeh, had implored the government "to meet the demands" of Islamic State.

"All people must know, from the head of the regime to everybody else, that the safety of Mu'ath means the stability of Jordan, and the death of Mu'ath means chaos in Jordan," he said.

Bassam al Manasseer, chairman of Jordan's foreign affairs committee, announced earlier that negotiations were taking place through religious and tribal leaders in Iraq.

The news comes as the mother of a Japanese hostage also being held by Islamic State made a tearful appeal to Japan's Prime Minister to help save her son, Kenji Goto.

Junko Ishido said she had begged Shinzo Abe to "Please save Kenji" and to work with the Jordanian government to secure his release.

IS warned in a video that Mr Goto and Mr al Kaseasbeh, would be killed within 24 hours if its demands were not met.

The video shows Mr Goto in an orange jumpsuit and holdling a picture of Mr al Kaseasbeh, along with an audio message of him pleading for his life.

The group said the hostages' lives would be spared if Jordan releases Sajida al Rishawi, an Iraqi woman sentenced to death for her involvement in a 2005 terrorist attack that killed 60 people.

It comes after IS apparently murdered another Japanese prisoner, Haruna Yukawa - an act condemned by Japan's government.

Mr Abe has now expressed outrage at the threat to kill Mr Goto, while talks continue in Jordan to try to free the men.

"This was an extremely despicable act and we feel strong indignation. We strongly condemn that," he said referring to the video.

"While this is a tough situation, we remain unchanged in our stance of seeking help from the Jordanian government in securing the early release of Mr Goto."

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Russia's Credit Rating Cut To Junk Status

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 27 Januari 2015 | 18.46

Russia's sovereign credit rating has been downgraded to "junk" status by Standard & Poor's, which cited growing economic weaknesses.

The ratings agency's cut brings the country's rating below investment-grade for the first time in a decade.

The decision risks raising borrowing costs in Russia as many investment and pension funds have rules that prevent them buying any product not classed as investment-grade.

It also makes it more difficult for banks and other companies to refinance themselves.

S&P said it had cut the rating from BBB- to BB+ because of the growing impact of low oil prices and Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

The move, while widely expected, triggered a further weakening of the rouble - falling more than 7% at one stage to 70 to the dollar.

Banking stocks were also badly hit, while the cost of insuring Russian sovereign debt for five years rose, in a sign of investor concern.

Finance minister Anton Siluanov played down the situation.

"The decision taken shows the excessive pessimism of the agency. It fails to consider a series of factors which characterise the strong side of the Russian economy: the accumulation of large international reserves, including in the sovereign funds," he said.

Russia's international reserves, managed by the central bank, have collapsed since early last year following heavy spending to prop up the rouble, which has fallen more than 40% against the dollar in the last year.

Russia's economy is expected to slide into recession this year as a result of soaring inflation and the weak oil price.

A 60% fall in oil costs since June last year has depressed export revenues.

Oil is the biggest contributor to the Russian purse and President Vladimir Putin has admitted a failure to diversify the country's economy, pledging to publish soon an economic plan to combat the crisis.

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Gallery: Fierce Fighting Continues On Front Line In Ukraine

A Ukrainian serviceman fires a weapon during fighting with pro-Russian separatists in Pesky village near Donetsk

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused Russia on Wednesday of sending 9,000 troops to back separatist rebels in the east of his country, something Russia strongly denied

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Holocaust Survivors To Mark Auschwitz Liberation

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About 300 Holocaust survivors are expected to attend an event marking 70 years since Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz death camp.

They will be joined by world leaders later in remembering the 1.1 million people killed by Nazis at the site, along with the countless others who lost their lives during the conflict.

With all visiting survivors now in their 70s and older, this could be the last major commemoration attended in numbers. In 2005 - the 60th anniversary of the Holocaust - 1,500 victims made the trip to southern Poland.

One 88-year-old Auschwitz survivor - who will sing a memorial prayer during the commemoration - said the Holocaust was "almost impossible for a human mind to comprehend", adding that "he prays to God that we as human beings are able to learn something from it".

Another, Rose Schindler, explained how only 11 of her loved ones survived the Holocaust, out of more than 300 relatives.

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Gallery: Portraits Of Auschwitz Survivors

Auschwitz death camp survivor Jacek Nadolny, 77. Jacek was seven during the Warsaw Uprising, when he was sent with his family to Auschwitz-Birkenau by train

Jacek holds up a wartime photo of his family. In January 1945 the family was moved to a labour camp in Berlin

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Halina Brzozowska, 82. Halina was 12 when her family were sent to a camp in Pruszkow, she and her six-year-old sister were then moved by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau

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Halina said that it was hard to say what had happened to them, that they were taken from their homes, family and lost their childhood

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Laszlo Bernath, 87, credits his father being a practical man with his survival of Auschwitz. He was 15 when they were taken but his father told him to lie about his age so they would not be separated

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Once the 85-year-old arrived at Auschwitz, she was chosen for slave labour and was given no chance to say goodbye to her parents and four siblings.

"I have no graves for my mother, sisters, my brother and my father. So this somehow is a way to say goodbye," she added.

Vladimir Putin will be absent from the main event, amid continuing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. However, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and France's Francois Hollande will attend, along with Germany's Joachim Gauck, for a day of prayer and wreath laying.

Some survivors made an early walk through the death camp to lay a wreath, accompanied by Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski.

On the eve of the commemoration, Steven Spielberg spoke to Holocaust survivors in Krakow - warning of "anti-Semites, radical extremists and religious fanatics" who want to propagate hate crimes.

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Gallery: 70th Anniversary Of The Liberation Of Auschwitz Camp

A general view of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in Oswiecim. The Germans built the Auschwitz camp in 1940 as a place of incarceration for the Poles

From 1942, it became the largest site of extermination of the Jews from Europe

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The director of Schindler's List, speaking weeks after four Jews were murdered at a kosher supermarket in Paris, added: "If you are a Jew today – in fact, if you are any person who believes in the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom in free expression - you know that like many other groups, we are once again facing the perennial demons of intolerance."

About 11 million people, mostly Jews but also gipsies, homosexuals and communists, were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Tuesday is also Holocaust Memorial Day in Britain. Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said: "This year's Holocaust Memorial Day is of especial significance - marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

"It's a day to honour the Holocaust survivors who are still with us, and to remember the six million Jewish people who were murdered."

David Cameron recalled his own visit to Auschwitz on LBC radio, saying: "You've seen the films, you've read the books, you remember watching The World At War when - in my case - you were a young boy.

"But nothing actually prepares you for the reality of looking at the children's clothes and the suitcases and the human hair and the industrial scale of it all."

Labour leader Ed Miliband told BBC Radio: "It's an emotional day for people who have memories and families involved in this. It's 70 years since my grandfather died in one of the camps.

"When there's prejudice around the world and we see a rise in anti-semitism, it's incredibly important that we keep that memory alive."

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Written By Unknown on Senin, 26 Januari 2015 | 18.46

Greece's Syriza Forms Anti-Bailout Coalition

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Greece's left-wing Syriza party has formed an anti-austerity coalition government, just hours after sweeping to victory in Sunday's national election.

Party leader Alexis Tsipras struck a coalition deal with the right-wing Nationalist Independent Greeks party which, like Syriza, opposes Greece's tough international bailout deal.

"From this moment there is a government in the country," Nationalist Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos said after talks with Mr Tsipras at Syriza's headquarters in Athens.

"The Independent Greeks give a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. There is an agreement in principle."

Syriza won 149 seats in the 300-seat parliament, just two seats short of an overall majority.

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Gallery: Alexis Tsipras Celebrates Victory For His Anti-Austerity Party

A young child supporting anti-austerity party Syriza takes part in celebrations after the first exit polls in Athens

Syriza supporters await the final result of the Greek election at the party tent

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Members of the conservative New Democracy party watch as exit polls shows a significant victory for Syriza

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Outgoing Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is seen after a news conference following an updated exit poll in Athens

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Celebrations continue for supporters of Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras in Athens

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It had a 8.5-point lead over the ruling conservative New Democracy party of outgoing Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

Mr Tsipras will be sworn in later this afternoon.

The unusual pairing of parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum, but with a shared drive to reverse painful austerity measures, raises the prospect of a stand-off with European creditors and economic powerhouse, Germany.

In his victory speech Mr Tsipras vowed Greece would abandon the "catastrophic austerity" measures imposed under the EU-IMF deal.

He has also promised to renegotiate the repayment terms of Greece's €240bn (£176bn) international bailout.

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Gallery: Tsipras' Surprising First Post-Election Tweet

Syriza party leader Alexis Tsipras' first tweet after sweeping to victory in Greece's general election was somewhat unexpected

His first victory tweet was to British actor and comedian Hugh Laurie for this message of congratulations

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"Greece leaves behinds catastrophic austerity, it leaves behind fear and authoritarianism, it leaves behind five years of humiliation and anguish," Mr Tsipras told thousands of supporters in Athens.

But a spokesman for the German Chancellor said Angela Merkel still expects Greece to stand by its commitments to international creditors, while Chancellor George Osborne said Syriza's promises were going to "be very difficult to deliver".

The head of the Eurogroup, made up of eurozone's 19 finance ministers, Jereon Dijsselbloem, also fired a warning shot at the new government, saying Greece's eurozone membership depended on it complying with its agreements.

Greece was forced to undertake deep budget cuts and fiscal reforms as a condition for the 2010 bailout from the so-called "Troika" - the group of creditors made up of the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.

Many in Greece feel slashed public spending has hit the most vulnerable hardest, while leaving the tax evasion and corruption of the apparent elites untouched.

Financial markets have reacted nervously to the result, fearing fresh trouble in Greece and a contagion of anti-austerity sentiment in other struggling eurozone countries that could put strain the currency bloc.

The euro fell to a fresh 11-year low against the dollar shortly after the result became clear but later strengthened against the dollar and while stocks initially fell across Europe, the major markets later recovered.

The AthEx market - which tracks the prices of the top 25 firms in the Athens Stock Exchange - opened 0.6% lower before losing more than 5% of its value in a volatile first hour.

Mr Tsipras said he would cooperate with fellow eurozone leaders for "a fair and mutually beneficial solution", but said the Greek people come first.

"Our priority from the very first day will be to deal with the big wounds left by the crisis," he said.

"Our foremost priority is that our country and our people regain their lost dignity."

He added: "The verdict of our people means the Troika is finished.

"The new Greek government will be ready to cooperate and negotiate for the first time with our peers a just, mutually beneficial and viable solution."

Mr Samaras had insisted voters would be making a huge mistake to elect Syriza at a time when painful fiscal reforms may be about to pay off.

After conceding defeat, he told supporters: "My conscience is clear because I told the truth to the Greek people until the very end.

"I received a country that was almost destroyed and I was asked to hold a hot potato and I did that."

Mr Tsipras, meanwhile, used his first post-election tweet to respond to a message of congratulations from British actor and comedian Hugh Laurie.

"Thank you Dr", he wrote, in apparent reference to Laurie's role in the US television series House.

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Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 24 Januari 2015 | 18.46

Prime Minister David Cameron and The Prince of Wales, representing the Queen, are flying to Saudi Arabia today following the death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

They will join a host of international dignitaries in Riyadh to pay their respects to the Saudi royal family.

President Obama has cancelled the end of his visit to India - which included a visit to the Taj Mahal - in order to fly to Saudi Arabia, a long-standing ally of the United States.

Mr Obama will travel to Riyadh on Tuesday to meet with King Salman, the White House has confirmed.

King Abdullah, 90, died on Thursday evening after almost two decades leading the world's biggest oil exporter.

Both Mr Cameron and the Queen said they were "saddened" by his death.

Their decision to fly to Saudi comes amid sharp criticism over a decision to lower flags at Whitehall and across England a mark of respect for the late monarch.

Downing Street and Whitehall buildings, including Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace, were instructed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on Friday to lower the Union Flag for 12 hours in tribute.

But some politicians and human rights campaigners have slammed the tributes to Abdullah who presided over a country where a woman was recently beheaded in public, a blogger was sentenced to receive 1,000 lashes for 'insulting Islam' and where women have been banned from driving.

Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, dismissed the flag tribute as "a steaming pile of nonsense", adding that it was "a stupid act on its own and a stupid precedent to set".

Former Conservative MP for Corby, Louise Mensch, took to twitter to vent her anger: "It is so unacceptable to offer deep condolences for a man who flogged women, didn't let them drive, saw guardian laws passed and starves them."

She even tweeted "F*** YOU" in reply to a tweet from the British Embassy in Riyadh which quoted the Prime Minister's sorrow at the king's death.

The head of Amnesty International implored the world not to forget the country's human rights abuses amidst the tributes to the dead king.

Salil Shetty said: "The Saudi regime seems insensitive to human rights and human dignity and unfortunately they are also protected by many Western countries because they have oil and because they are seen as allies in the fight against terrorism."

But Westminster Abbey argued refusing to lower its flag would not have helped the "desperately oppressed Christian communities of the Middle East".

"For us not to fly at half-mast would be to make a noticeably aggressive comment on the death of the king of a country to which the UK is allied in the fight against Islamic terrorism," a spokesman said.

A spokesman for UKIP leader Nigel Farage said lowering the flags showed "respect for an ally in the war against terror" and that the issue of human rights should be taken up with the new king.

But one of his MPs, Douglas Carswell, disagreed, saying officials had seriously blundered and showed "immoral" values far from those of the British public.

Referencing the civil service mandarin from television series Yes Minister, he said: "Sir Humphrey's values need to be aligned more closely to people in this country rather than being quite so immoral.

"Saudi Arabia is a country that doesn't let women drive and publicly executes people."

Archbishop of Canterbury The Most Rev Justin Welby told Sky News: 'Freedom of religion is essential and freedom to express Christian faith in Saudi Arabia is something that should happen.

"A few weeks ago there was a group of migrant workers arrested for holding a private service in a flat. That's not right.

"But I know that King Abdullah himself - it's a complicated place Saudi Arabia, like all countries - King Abdullah himself is someone who has worked very very hard on these issues and has contributed much and I think it's right that the prime minister should send condolences and should recognise what he's done over the years."

King Abdullah had run the country as de facto leader since the mid-1990s after his predecessor King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke.

He was admitted to hospital on 31 December suffering pneumonia and the royal court announced that he was breathing with the aid of a tube.

He has been succeeded by his 79-year-old half-brother, Salman.

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