January 2005 - January 27, 2005

January 27, 2005

• President of the Royal Society warns of oil companies' funding of lobbies in the UK to cast skepticism over the debate on climate change. (Guardian)
• Conflict in Darfur: Around 100 people have been killed following an Air Raid into the Darfur region of Sudan according to the African Union. Jean Baptiste Natama, the A.U's spokesperson has described it as a "major ceasefire violation". (BBC)
• Conflict in Iraq: At least 11 people are known to have died in Iraq today, including at least one United States Marine. (Bloomberg)
• Holocaust survivors, former Red Army soldiers, leaders of more than 40 countries, and other people gather in Oświęcim, Poland for the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp where more than 1 million people were killed. Reuters (Jerusalem Post) (Deutsche Welle) (BBC) (CBC) (Bloomberg) (Reuters Alertnet)
• French national railways SNCF are severely disrupted by a 24-hour walkout by staff to protest the rape of a ticket inspector on a Toulouse - Cahors train on Tuesday. The inspector had been attempting to charge a man for not having a ticket. A 24 year old man was later arrested. The strike is due to end at 1500 UTC. (BBC)
• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: In an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, has said he is "very satisfied" with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's efforts to restore calm. Sharon pledged to further peace process efforts with Abbas, with a meeting possible within two weeks. (Swiss Info) (Kerala Next)
• In Bangladesh, a grenade attack kills former Awami League Finance Minister Shah A M S Kibria and four others (CNN) (Channel News Asia)
• New York radio station Hot 97 has suspended the staff of the show Miss Jones in the Morning. The show came under criticism for broadcasting a parody song that ridicules the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake. (BBC) (Reuters) (MTV.COM)
• The fifth World Social Forum begins in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The event is accompanied by tens of thousands of activists (Forbes) (BBC)
• In Burundi, South African mediator, deputy president Jacob Zuma has warned the president of the transitional government, Domitien Ndayizeye, not to try to change the draft constitution to let himself run in the forthcoming elections (Reuters Alertnet) (IOL) (BBC)
• According to family members, funeral of the purged Chinese communist leader Zhao Ziyang will be held on next Saturday (Reuters) (BBC) (Epoch Times)
• In a conference hosted by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, several scientists state that the ecology of Prince William Sound in Alaska still has not recovered from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (Reuters Alertnet)