War-time bomb sparks evacuation
Berlin Some 5,000 residents of a Berlin suburb were evacuated from their homes Saturday while explosives experts defused a 550-pound U.S. bomb believed dropped during the last months of World War II, police said.
Much of downtown Potsdam was sealed off and hundreds of stores and businesses were closed to allow for the removal of the bomb, which was found during excavation work on the grounds of a hospital.
Nearly 500 of the hospital’s patients were brought to a gymnasium for about six hours while disposal experts defused the bomb, police said. Other residents waited in schools and gymnasiums.
Potsdam is the capital of Brandenburg state, which surrounds Berlin, and is the former residence of Prussian kings.
Based on historical records, city officials believe the bomb was dropped in April 1945, about a month before the war’s end.
Nearly 60 years after the end of World War II, unexploded bombs dropped during Allied air raids across Germany are still discovered and disposed of.
Pope states concern over Cuba embargo
Vatican City Pope John Paul II on Saturday reiterated concern about the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, while encouraging openness on the communist-run island.
The pope met Saturday with Cuba’s new ambassador to the Vatican, Raul Roa Kouri, and the pontiff’s remarks were provided in a statement.
“The Holy See wishes ardently that the obstacles that currently impede free communication and exchange between Cuba and the international community may be overcome as soon as possible, thus consolidating, by means of a respectful and open dialogue among all, the conditions necessary for genuine development,” the pope said.
The pontiff also made several references to a wish for greater dialogue on the island.
The Vatican is against economic embargoes for political purposes, including the U.S. embargo against Havana.
John Paul II made a historic visit to Cuba in 1998, issuing strong calls for more freedoms, including freedom of expression.
After nearly 40 years of tensions following the 1959 Cuban revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power, church-state relations have improved, especially following John Paul’s visit. Christmas was reinstated as a permanent holiday on the island thanks to the pope’s visit.
Ireland set to change to metric speed limits
Dublin, , Ireland The government launched a public information campaign Thursday to prepare Ireland’s drivers for the imminent arrival of metric speed limits nationwide.
Transport Minister Martin Cullen said all 35,000 existing speed limit signs in miles would be taken down and replaced with metric signs in the few days before the Jan. 20 changeover. He said an additional 23,000 signs would be erected in what he called “one of the most important changes to date in Irish motoring history.”
Leaflets detailing the changes being mailed to about 1.6 million households in the Republic of Ireland began to arrive Thursday. They were published in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese and Russian.
The move was designed, in part, to end a glaring inconsistency on Irish roads. Speed limits are listed in miles, but most other road signs note distances in kilometers.
Opposition parties criticized the campaign as too rushed. Olivia Mitchell, transport spokeswoman for the Fine Gael party, noted that the government had spent two years preparing the public for the European common currency, the euro, but had set aside just two weeks for the speed-limit changes.
“The Department of Transport has had more than a year to provide information about the new speed limits. Instead, it decided to wait until the last minute,” Mitchell said.
In neighboring Northern Ireland, the British government announced Thursday it will erect new speed signs on major border crossings – emphasizing that the north’s signs remain in miles, not kilometers.