HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
Deutsche Welle English Service News April 24th, 2001, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Germany's Terror Fight Yields Results Germany shows it's getting tougher on terror at home with a nationwide sweep that netted 11 suspected members of a Palestinian organization. Prosecutors believe they were planning attacks in Germany. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1430_A_504643_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Quake kills one and topples mosque tower in Kosovo An earthquake measuring 5.3 on Richter scale has jolted the Balkans. In the town of Gnjilane, a mosque tower toppled, killing at least one person. Telephone and electrical services have been disrupted throughout Kosovo where NATO-led peacekeepers said at least 35 people were injured. The tremor caused tall buildings to sway in the Macedonian capital Skopje. The tremor was felt as far away as the Bulgarian capital Sofia. It was also felt in Skopje, Belgrade and Montenegro. The epic centre was in northeastern Macedonia close to the border with Kosovo. UN Fact Finding Commission Could Get New Members The United Nations has agreed to consider appointing new members to a commission that is to investigate alleged atrocities by the Israeli army in the Jenin refugee camp. Late Tuesday, Israel threatened to suspend co-operation with the inquiry, complaining no military or counter-terrorism experts had been appointed to the panel. Early Wednesday, three of the four people appointed to the commission arrived in Geneva, Switzerland for preliminary meetings. Former Finnish President Marrti Ahtisaari is to lead the UN fact finding mission. MIDEAST-CHURCH-TALKS Israeli and Palestinian negotiators continue a second day of talks on Wednesday to try to resolve the three-week-old standoff between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen holed up in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. At the same time just a few kilometers down the road, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana met with Palestinian President Yassar Arafat at his besieged compound in Ramallah. As yet there is no word from either meeting if progress is being made. Mr. Solana will also meet with Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Elieser and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon later this evening. Suspected Terrorist arraigned in Germany as Dutch Police arrest 4 others Otto Schily, the German federal interior minister has warned of possible terror attacks in Germany. His warning came one day after raids in 5 states netted 11 members of the Sunni Palestinian al-Tawhid organization who are suspected of plotting terrorist activities. Most of the 11 suspects were arraigned in court on Wednesday. In Holland, Dutch police have arrested 4 Algerians suspected to be members of an Islamic militant group. Five others were briefly detained but have been released. The four are believed to be members of a splinter group of the Islamic Army. The group known as the Groupe Salafsite pour la Prediction et le Combat (GPSC)has declared a jihad or holy war against the enemies of Islam. UK Police Arrest 16 Paedphiles Scotland Yard has successfully smashed a major child pornography operation in the United Kingdom. 34 police forces simultaneously raided 75 locations throughout the UK early Tuesday. At least 16 people have been arrested including a 15 year old, and a large amount of computer equipment had been seized for examination. The operation codenamed "Magenta" used specialized equipment to trace people who had entered child porn chat rooms anonymously. Detectives expect to make further arrests as the content of computer hard drives are examined. Caspian Summit Ends Without Agreement The five leaders of states surrounding the Caspian Sea were unable to agree on how to divide the sea and its rich oil and gas reserves despite a year's planning and two days of talks. The 5 states have sharp differences on how to divide the sea, including the water itself and so the fishery rights and hydrocarbon reserves beneath it. Currently the Caspian is governed by agreements between the Soviet Union and Iran that date back to 1970. Observers said the meeting appeared to highlight rather than overcome the differences between Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Iran. Czech Parliament Retains Benes Decree The Czech parliament has voted almost unanimously to leave untouched the so-called Benes Decree used to expel three million ethnic Germans from the-then Czechoslovakia when World War II ended. Germany, and Austria, had urged the Czech Republic to declare the decree void ahead of EU enlargement. Visiting Brussels, Schroeder's conservative challenger in September's election, Bavarian premier Edmund Stoiber said the Czech expulsions remained "an injustice". Stoiber had talks with EU Parliament president Pat Cox. Schroeder vague on reforms in campaign manifesto German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday launched his party's bid for re-election, presenting the SPD manifesto that promised more support for families but was vague on reforms. In unvieling the election platform of his Social Democrats, Schroeder admitted he had failed to keep a 1998 election promise to cut unemployment to 3.5 million but said even though four million Germans were still jobless, 500,000 more people now had work than when he took power four years ago. The SPD manifesto entitled "renewal and togetherness", contains only broad pledges and avoids the labour market reforms and tax cuts beyond those already planned for 2003 and 2005. The final version of the manifesto dropped a sentence that pledged German victory of the football World Cup in 2006 when Germany hosts the event. The Chancellor who is a big football fan laughing said he wanted to keep the manifesto realistic. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information please turn to our internet website at http://dw-world.de/english Here you'll find out what's happening in Germany, Europe and the rest of the world. News and background reports from the fields of current affairs, culture, business and science. And of course the DW website also has information about DW-RADIO and DW-TV programmes: topics, broadcast times and frequencies. You can even listen to all programmes as audio-on-demand. --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
