Belarus: Vandals desecrate Holocaust memorial

Vandals desecrated a memorial to Jewish victims of the Nazi Holocaust, painting a swastika in the center of it and scattering leaflets that warned against "enemies and traitors of our Fatherland," a Jewish leader said Monday. In the incident overnight, attackers also threw white paint on sculptures that are part of the memorial - called Yama, or "The Pit" - in the center of the Belarusian capital, Minsk, said Yakov Basin of the Union of Belarusian Jewish Social Organizations and Societies. A previously unknown group calling itself White Rus claimed responsibility. The Minsk prosecutor's office on Monday called the incident "petty hooliganism" and said it wouldn't launch a criminal probe.