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AUSTRALIA

Raoul Wallenberg made honorary Australian

Australia paid tribute on Monday to Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved thousands of Jews during World War II, by making him the country's first honorary citizen.

Published: 15 April 2013 08:08 CEST
Raoul Wallenberg made honorary Australian

“The lives of those he rescued are Mr. Wallenberg’s greatest memorial and Australia is honoured to have survivors he rescued living in Australia today,” Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in a statement.

“The award of honorary Australian citizenship is symbolic recognition of Mr. Wallenberg’s tireless devotion to human life during the Holocaust.”

The recognition was made to mark the centenary year of Wallenberg’s birth.

He was posted to Nazi-occupied Budapest in July 1944 and rescued thousands of Hungarian Jews by issuing them protective passports in the final months of the Holocaust.

Wallenberg, then 32, also acquired buildings to house as many Jews as possible and provide them with extraterritorial status.

He was last seen alive on January 17, 1945 as Soviet forces ousted German and pro-Nazi Hungarian troops. Mystery surrounds his fate but according to the official Soviet account he died in prison in Moscow in 1947.

“This is the first time that Australia has bestowed such an honour,” said Gillard, with Australia joining the United States, Canada, Hungary and Israel who have already made him an honorary citizen.

AFP/The Local/dl

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TRAVEL

Denmark opens up to inbound travel from six countries outside EU

from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Thailand. But Danish residents are only recommended to visit the countries "if strictly necessary".

Published: 2 July 2020 16:38 CEST
Denmark opens up to inbound travel from six countries outside EU
Danes are still not recommended to travel to Australia. Photo: Loren Elliott/Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix
The decision to allow residents of the six countries to enter Denmark was made by representatives of Denmark's infectious disease agency SSI, together with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice, based on the 15 country “safe travel list” agreed by the European Council on Monday. 
 
Denmark judged that residents of Algeria, Georgia, Montenegro, Morocco, Rwanda, Serbia and Uruguay — which all made the European Council list, are not safe enough according to Danish standards, but gave no reasons for its decision. 
 
Denmark's foreign ministry said it would also continue to advise Danish residents against unnecessary travel to the six countries, as they all impose quarantine restrictions on people arriving from Denmark. 

“This means that all travel guides for these countries remain 'orange', the foreign ministry said in a statement. “So it goes without saying that all unnecessary journeys continue to be discouraged to countries outside the EU / Schengen and UK.” 

“If a country that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only recommends to travel because of entry restrictions or quarantine requirements, lift these, the travel guidance will be eased.” 

For the same reason, the UK, Ireland and Romania are still rated 'orange' by the foreign ministry, because of quarantine requirements imposed on Danish citizens. 

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