Wikipedia:In the news/Candidates/3 January 2010

US, UK and France close embassies[edit]

The US embassy in Yemen has closed in response to threats by al-Qaeda and has instructed its Yemeni employees to stay away until further notice. Cargoking talk 11:39, 3 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Updated. Any supports, blurbs? Cargoking talk 12:08, 3 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Don't know if this will get any support considering the reaction to the CIA attack in Afghanistan... --can dle •wicke 12:20, 3 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This is different. Also, embassy related things have been featured before. Cargoking talk 12:24, 3 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

UK Embassy Now. This is spreading. Cargoking talk 13:09, 3 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Neutral. Temporary embassy closures are not common events, and the Mauritania story last March got a respectable 14.8k hits peak as a result of being on ITN. The update meets the minimum requirements, but I'm a little bit worried that there is no more to say about this story beyond what is already in the update. My gut feeling is that we're short-changing our readers a little bit with this story, which is why I'm not quite supporting. Physchim62 (talk) 13:20, 3 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

If diplomatic ties are formally severed, I'll support as important international relations news. If this is just a temporary closure, I'm leaning towards oppose. Modest Genius ^talk 14:22, 3 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think there is any suggestion of breaking diplomatic relations – quite the reverse, according to the Spanish press, which reports a joint US–UK initiative to support the Yemeni security forces (police and coast guard in particular). The embassy closures are security measures to protect embassy staff. Physchim62 (talk) 22:38, 3 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

~~Neutral leaning towards~~ France's closure works for me. Support. It's interesting, but it doesn't seem that significant to me. However, I'll support unconditionally if this spreads and other countries (especially UN Security Council members) start closing embassies. HJMitchell You rang? 20:19, 3 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

France. Cargoking talk 13:40, 4 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

If people are going to support, we need to have an update that does justice to the story: Foreign relations of Yemen would be the obvious place, but this article hardly mentions the current (alledged) terrorist activity at all. Still neutral, until I can see how this is going to pan out, oppose any story that only covers the U.S. embassy closure. Physchim62 (talk) 16:05, 4 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Updated suggested article. Feel free to expand. Cargoking talk 16:34, 4 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

A well-worded blurb please? --BorgQueen (talk) 21:04, 4 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

"Several nations close their embassies in Yemen in response to threats by al-Qaeda." Ks0stm ^(T•C•G) 21:18, 4 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks but I think it is better if we mention the names. --BorgQueen (talk) 21:22, 4 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

There are now too many countries to list them all, especially as we don't like too many links on ITN pieces. Compare these three examples:

Several countries, including three permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, close their embassies in Yemen.
Several countries, including France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, close their embassies in Yemen.
France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, among other countries, close their embassies in Yemen.

What's the hook on this? The number of countries or the Al-Quaeda threat? Physchim62 (talk) 21:51, 4 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The hook should be the al-Qaeda threat, in my opinion. I believe we tend to overemphasize diplomatic news on ITN because of the mistaken belief that the "international-ness" of items make them more newsworthy. The real "news hook" here is that the group that carried out terrorist attacks in the U.S. and Europe may have found a haven. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 00:50, 5 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Err, no, it's that they've issued specific threats. al-Qaeda has been in Yemen for years, it's only since Christmas that people have started paying attention. yay kneejerk reactions! I'm still neutral on this. Modest Genius ^talk 01:25, 5 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Support mentioning both, like "Several countries, including France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, close their embassies in Yemen in response to threats by al-Qaeda." Grsz¹¹ 00:54, 5 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Support the situation in Yemen is of high significance internationally, and three world powers closing embassies, even temporarily, is ITN worthy. ~ DC (Talk|Edits) 01:39, 5 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Support. I added more about the Italian and Czech Republic embassies, which are also changing accesssability. Spencer^{T♦Nominate!} 03:03, 5 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Posting soon. --BorgQueen (talk) 05:45, 5 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The embassy of the US is now reopen [1].--Avala (talk) 09:32, 5 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

China diesel spill[edit]

(BBC) A construction accident has caused the release of 150,000 litres of diesel from a China National Petroleum Corporation pipeline into the Wei River (a tributary of the Yellow River) in Shaanxi province, China. Around 700 emergency personnel are battling to stop the pollution reaching the Yellow River, a drinking water source for millions of people. No sign of an article yet - Dumelow (talk) 16:40, 3 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Comment this is on a similar scale to the 2005 Jilin chemical plant explosions, so a priori significant. However, the accident happened on 30 December and there's no article and precious little in the way of hard facts to write one, so I think it will probably drop off the ITN timescale. Physchim62 (talk) 02:21, 4 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It reached the Yellow River today, so something new happened. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 14:26, 4 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Here's an article - Yellow River oil spill; help in expanding this is welcome and appreciated. :) --Zvn (talk) 15:02, 4 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Support. The current article is short, but meets minimum standards and can be improved. That will do for me! Physchim62 (talk) 21:57, 4 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]