Posted on 12/28/2004 9:44:55 AM PST by alnitak
Last Updated: Tuesday, 28 December, 2004, 17:17 GMT
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Kohl rescued as Swedes fear worst
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Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was among thousands of foreign tourists caught in the tsunami disaster in southern Asia. Britons, Swiss, French, Australians, Danes, Italians, Japanese and Americans in the region were hit, but Swedes seem to be among the worst affected. Sweden's foreign minister said 1,500 were still missing, mainly in Thailand, and she feared many would not be found. Sri Lanka says its troops airlifted Mr Kohl from the roof of a flooded hotel. A spokesman for Mr Kohl said the 74-year-old had been staying at a coastal resort in Sri Lanka, where he was undergoing heath spa treatments, and was not hurt. "Kohl intends to complete his holiday," he added. A huge undersea quake triggered sea surges on Sunday killing at least 38,000 people, with thousands more feared dead. Millions of people are homeless, and the disaster zone is now threatened with outbreaks of disease. Hundreds of holidaymakers have already flown or are flying out of the region. The bodies of more than 700 mainly foreign tourists have been found in the Thai resort of Khao Lak - the government says the death toll in Thailand may rise to about 2,000. Text messages The BBC's Lars Bevanger said six Swedes are among the dead, but tour operators in Sweden say more than 1,500 of their charter tourists are missing from various tourist resorts on Thailand's west coast.
An unknown number of Swedish independent travellers are also missing. The Swedish Foreign Minister, Laila Freivalds, told journalists in Stockholm she feared many of them would never be found. She is travelling to Thailand with relief workers to assess the situation and help in efforts to get Swedish nationals home. The Swedish government has sent text messages to everyone who has a Swedish telephone in Thailand, hoping to gain some answers as to the whereabouts of some of the missing. The Swedish government has responded by chartering three large passenger planes, which will make 20 flights to Thailand in order to get all Swedish citizens back by next Tuesday. The south of Thailand is a very popular for Swedes, particularly at this time of year, which is normally the coldest in the Scandinavian country.
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Un-freaking-believable!
You may be right... But there were noticable sea-level changes on at least 4 continents...
Are you aware that the earthquake set off the reader at 96th Street in New York City?
That's pretty damn world wide.
Yes, I was aware of that. You see, there are these series of plates, which are floating on a sea of molten rock, and...
;0)
I'm not sure how this is relevent. The reason that this is news is because of the Tsunami and all the people who died. It was a large, localized event. People in Europe, North America, and South America were not affected at all. Why the insistence on calling it a global event? Does this somehow make us care more?
If your 43 is the truth - then justice must be administered to NAMBLA immediately. Lets see some link to the story.
It proves it was a world wide event, which you seem to be denying.
And I don't mean they READ it there; they had movement.
I just think that you are changing the defintion of "Global Event" by incorporating totally inconsequential things. If you asked anyone where the Tsunami took place, 99% would say "Asia" not "globally".
I'm not sure why you're hell bent on saying that this event, the earthquake and the resulting tsunami, aren't "global" events.
But I contend that when it moves the ground in NYC, it's damn close enough for me.
BTW, it stopped the earth's rotation for 3 seconds. That's pretty compelling.
I thought it was 3 thousandths of a second, or something like that.
Also, since this was a "global" event, then surely you would agree that our aid money shouldn't just go to Asia, right?
"Kohl intends to complete his holiday."
It's more a statement of faith in the host country meant to buck up their tourist industry. He probably wants to get the heck out of there, but this is the 'right' thing to do. He's a politician and this is normal behavior for such critters.
What do you want to bet that Herr Kohl was wearing an itty-bitty speedo? Europeans love doing that....
Hate to say it, but Swedes don't need to go on sex tours since most of their depravity is perfectly legal in Stockholm. They're in Thailand and whatnot as today's high in Stockholm is 28 degrees Fahrenheit or -2 Celsius.
Bangkok is 73F & 23C.
I'd rather be in Bangkok, too.
This does, indeed, appear to be a case of ass-pulling. (:
Why do you call Dr. Kohl a bastard?
Kohl is too fat for windsurfing, he was for the spa there. And he´s not one of those who go on with daily life after such a disaster. I´m sure he has been praying for the victims every hour.
Umm....Did you pull that out of your a$$ or what?
I think Mr. Lucky was referring to the number of people lost to the size of the country.
God protect us from Modernmen!
Good comment, I thank you for that. Kohl is a good man.
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