Category:January 9, 2007

The time is 20:00 (UTC) on Tuesday January 9, 2007, and this is Audio Wikinews News Briefs.

Poland

Stanislaw Wielgus, the Archbishop of Warsaw, the capital of Poland, resigned yesterday after admitting to have spied for Poland's former Communist Government. At a mass in Warsaw Cathedral, the Archbishop was to have marked his formal installation. Instead, he tendered his resignation. Since the late 1960s, the former Archbishop spied on members of the Church for about 20 years. After the Gazeta Polska published allegations of his actions on December 20, Wielgus denied them. However, when church officials announced they had obtained documents showing that Wielgus had willingly co-operated with the secret services, he acknowledged that the accusations were true.

United States

In New York, a strong odor of natural gas permeated through parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Jersey City early yesterday morning. Authorities asserted that there is no cause for alarm and assure the air quality, though smelly, is safe enough to breathe. In a press conference, Mayor Michael Bloomberg says that a small gas leak at Bleeker St. and Sixth Av. "could not account for a smell so pervasive throughout the city". "We cannot speculate, but these are the facts: the smell is there, we don't know the source, and it doesn't appear to be dangerous," the Mayor continued.

United States

A family visiting the Disney-MGM Studios in Florida on Saturday has a video of what they claim to be "Tigger", the Winnie-the-Pooh character, punching their son. Jerry Monaco Jr. alleges that Tigger purposely punched him without provocation. The footage was caught on the family's video camera, and the Monacos and their attorney are demanding an apology from the actor.

India

India's yearly pilgrimage to the Ganges river is the worlds largest religious pilgrimage. This year thousands of Hindu Holy Men threatened to boycott festivals during their pilgrimage to the Ganges. The Hindus ritually wash away their sins by bathing in the river. However, raw sewage from Varanasi has raised the levels of fecal coliform bacteria to 1.5 million times the level safe for drinking.

Belgium

Prince Laurent of Belgium, the youngest son of King Albert II of Belgium, has been questioned last night by the federal police and is attending today's court session in Hasselt in a marine fraud case. The case turns around funds of the Belgian Navy that have been used to beautify the Prince's villa in Tervuren. The Prince has testified this afternoon. Prince Laurent stated that he needed funds to renovate his villa, and that Noël Vaessen, his adviser, told him the Navy could help him. The Prince stated that he thought it was legal, and that he had no reason to doubt his adviser.

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