LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY “The Copenhagen conference is not a
destination but a new beginning,” Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi,
saying the international climate talks produced “significant and positive” results Article, 1AAuschwitz sign recovered; 5 men held
WARSAW, Poland - Police have found the “Arbeit Macht Frei” sign that was stolen Friday from the gate of the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz, police spokesman Katarzyna Padlo said early today.
The sign, translated as “Work makes you free,” was found in northern Poland, she said, and police detained five men ages 25 to 39 who are being transported to Krakow for questioning.
The sign was cut into three pieces, each containing one of the words, said Dariusz Nowak, another spokesman.
Police were planning a news conference in Krakow, he said.
Authorities declined to divulge details of the circumstances in which the sign was found or to speculate on the motive of the perpetrators.
Krakow police are in charge of the investigation because they are the regional command for the area including the Auschwitz museum.
The sign that topped a main gate at the Auschwitz memorial site was stolen before dawn Friday. State authorities made finding it a priority and appealed to all Poles for assistance.
The camp, which became the world’s largest Jewish cemetery, was liberated by the Soviet troops on Jan. 27, 1945.
Somali militants kill 13 in police area
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Islamic militants fired mortar shells into Mogadishu’s police compound as the force was celebrating its 66th anniversary Sunday, sparking a battle that killed at least 12 civilians and a police officer, officials said.
One police officer was killed and three others were wounded in the fighting, which began after the mortar shell landed near the compound during the ceremony, police official Aden Ahmed said.
He said that government soldiers and the African Union forces returned fire, shelling Mogadishu’s rebel-controlled district. Most of the shelling hit near the Bakara market, a busy shopping area, Ahmed said.
Ali Musa, the head of the Mogadishu ambulance service, said at least 12 civilians were killed and 15 others were wounded in the retaliation.
Somalia’s capital sees near-daily bloodshed as a powerful insurgent group with links to al-Qaida tries to overthrow the fragile government and push out 5,000 African Union peacekeepers.
Malawi quake kills 3, levels buildings
BLANTYRE, Malawi - A strong earthquake destroyed several buildings in Malawi on Sunday, killing at least three people and injuring about 200, a government official said.
The quake struck the southeast African country at 1:19 a.m., and the victims included students who were sleeping in a dormitory at a government school, said Gasten Macheka, the commissioner of Karonga district.
Macheka said about 270,000 people have been urged to leave their homes for their safety, and that the hard-hit district in north Malawi urgently needs at least 48,000 tents and medical supplies.
“This is a crisis,” he said.
Macheka said at least three people were killed and 200 injured.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 6.0, making it strong enough to cause severe damage.Boy healing after 4 needles extracted
RIO DE JANEIRO - A 2-year-old Brazilian boy was recovering nicely Sunday and receiving support from across the country after surgery to remove sewing needles his stepfather confessed to pushing into him, a hospital official said.
The child faces additional surgery to remove more of the dozens of needles that remain in his body, said Suzy Moreno, a spokesman for Hospital Ana Nery in the northeastern city of Salvador.
Police said the boy’s stepfather, 30-year-old Roberto Carlos Magalhaes, has confessed to pushing the needles into the boy at the behest of his lover, Angelina Ribeiro dos Santos, in an odd ritual she said would keep the couple together.
However, police said she was really seeking revenge on Magalhaes’ wife by having him hurt her son.
Surgeons removed four of the needles - those considered most life-threatening - from one of the boy’s lungs and near his heart during a nearly five-hour operation Friday.
The needles were up to 2 inches long, Moreno said.
Needles will be removed from his abdomen and spine in forthcoming surgeries.
Magalhaes and dos Santos were both arrested, though no charges had been filed as of Sunday.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 12/21/2009