France And Germany Mark Centennial Of The Start Of The Great World War I

French troops moving to the frontline of the war fight

French President Francois Hollande and his German counterpart, Joachim Gauck, on Sunday marked the centennial of the start of World War I with a joint ceremony at the observation post on Hartmannswillerkopf, a mountain that was the scene of intense fighting during the war.

According to a report by Fox News Latino, the observation post in the Vosges mountains of Alsace, a region in north eastern France, changed hands eight times between December 1914 and 1915.

Some 30,000 soldiers from both countries died in the fighting around the rocky spur in the months after Germany declared war on France on Aug. 3, 1914.

Hollande and Gauck shook hands, embraced and participated in a military ceremony before placing the cornerstone of what will be the first Franco-German museum to tell the story of "The Great War."

The museum is scheduled to open in 2017.

Hollande and Gauck visited the crypt that contains the remains of 12,000 unknown soldiers and made their way to the front line, a walk that allows visitors to learn first hand about the horrors of war.

Belgium's King Philippe, meanwhile, honored cavalryman Antoine Fonck, the first Belgian soldier to die in World War I, at a ceremony in the eastern town of Thimister-Clermont that was attended by more than 1,000 people.

Fonck died on the Thimister-Clermont battlefield on Aug. 4, 1914, the day that the German occupation of Belgium started.

King Philippe placed a wreath at the monument in Thimister-Clermont to Fonck, who was only 21 when he died fighting to defend neutral Belgium from German troops.

The commemoration of the start of World War I will continue on Monday in Liege, Belgium, where about a dozen heads of state and government, including Spain's King Felipe VI, will participate in a ceremony, Belgian officials said

Comments

Over Here Guys!; Mosanto Develops Revolutionary New Penis-Enlarging Corn Crop. (Must Read)

The multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation, Monsanto, announced this morning, that they had genetically engineered a modified corn crop, designed to help men have larger penises and longer-lasting erections. The company’s scientists used genes from a number of plants to create this surprising species of transgenic corn, described as “more efficient than any penis-enlarging pill”. They notably used genetic material from a plant native to Indonesia and Malaysia, called Eurycoma Longifolia or Tongkat Ali , which is known for its ability to raise testosterone levels. They also used genes from watermelon, as its rind is a good natural source of citrulline, a dietary precursor which causes the penis to fill up nitric oxide. This relaxes the smooth muscle in blood vessels and erectile organs, augmenting the penis’ capacity for enlargement during erection. “Men will...

Justice And The Killer Cop

NOT surprisingly, and for good reasons too, security agencies, in particular the Nigeria Police, have been placed on the spot by local and international human rights communities for their highhandedness in dealing with suspects in custody or at points of arrest. Quite a number of extra-judicial killings and tortures in these circumstances have been highlighted by the local media too. Against this background, the judgment of the Bayelsa State High Court, Nembe Division, sitting in Yenagoa, delivered by Justice Lucky Boufili sending killer policeman, Matthew Egheghe, to the gallows is most welcome. It is a bold statement that the law frowns at cruelty by uniformed officers of the state and that an appropriate premium is placed on life by the Nigerian state. That judgment would not bring back the dead, but it should to some extent console their grieving families that justice was served to the guilty. It would equally serve as a deterrent to trigger-h...

10 Burnt To Death In Lagos Tanker Fire

No fewer than 10 people were roasted as a tanker laden with petrol went up in flames yesterday at Berger Suya junction, Apapa, Lagos. Also, several buildings, eight vehicles, and over 200 locked-up shops including a commercial bank in the area were razed. The fire which started at about 10:30pm on Tuesday and raged till 3:00am yesterday was said to have been caused by a tanker laden with 33,000 liters of petrol which lost control as it was about to negotiate a sharp bend and exploded close to Suya spots in the area. Several passengers in two commercial buses, by-standers, two Hausa suya vendors including the driver of the truck and the conductor were burnt beyound recognition as rescue workers were seen picking bones of parts of human beings into body bag. Source: Vanguard

Pep Opara's Blog

Search This Blog