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Deutsche Welle English Service News May 2nd, 2002, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Europe and America Take Stock Unlimited solidarity has turned to wary support in the transatlantic relationship, as a host of thorny economic and politic issues strain relations between Europe and the US. 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_511163_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Arafat Emerges from Confinement Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has been freed from his virtual house arrest in Ramallah. Hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets and chanted in support of their leader as he toured the destruction in the West Bank town. The lifting of Arafat's confinement came after a U.S-brokered deal secured the turnover to Israel of six Palestinians wanted by Israel for the murder of a cabinet minister last year. The six suspects are to be kept under British and American guard. After Israeli troops ended their siege in Ramallah, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spoke on American television and said he could not guarantee that Arafat would be allowed to return to the West Bank if he travelled abroad. Meanwhile, violence in the Middle East continued as Israeli troops killed one Palestinian, identified as a security force member, and wounded three others at the Church of the Nativity compound in Bethlehem. The army said it fired on armed men in the courtyard of the church, where troops are in a standoff with gunmen holed up inside among priests and civilians. U.N. Abandons Jenin Inquiry U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has told the U.N. Security Council that he would cancel the fact-finding mission into the Jenin refugee camp and disband its 20 members who have been waiting in Geneva since last weekend. Annan's decision follows a series of objections from the Israeli cabinet. In the meantime, another group, Human Rights Watch, said it did not find proof to back charges of a massacre in Jenin. The group said it had identified 52 Palestinian who were killed during the fighting, 22 of them civilians. It also said there was evidence that Palestinian civilians had been used as human shields. Human Rights Watch's 48-page report was based on the findings of three investigators it sent to Jenin for one week. British-led Operation in Eastern Afghanistan Troops from Britain and Canada backed by U.S helicopters have begun a new offensive in the eastern Afghan mountains in search of remaining al Qaeda and Taliban rebels. The task of the 1,000-strong force involved in "Operation Snipe" was to destroy al Qaeda caves and bunkers and to kill or capture any al Qaeda militants or followers of the Taliban. A team of about 200 U.S. paratroopers was also due to join the operation. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said al Qaeda rebels were still hiding on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Military Jet Crashes in Phillipines A Phillipine air force fighter jet has crashed into a school north of Manila, killing its pilot and injuring 19 people on the ground. Six rooms of the school were destroyed, but a greater disaster was averted because the school was closed for summer holidays. Officials said the cause of the accident was not yet known. The ageing F-5 jet was returning from training exercises with U.S. forces which are in the country to help the Philippines repel external attacks and counter terrorism. Food Crisis in Southern Africa The world's largest disaster relief agency has warned of a looming crisis in drought-hit southern Africa, where hunger is already causing severe illness among children. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies appealed urgently for funds to feed about half a million people in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. A public health and nutritional expert from the International Federation said he expected malnutrition to worsen dramatically in all three states. France Prepares for More Le Pen Demos France has braced itself for potentially violent protests as the far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen heads south to Marseille for a final evening campaign rally before Sunday's presidential election runoff. In the Mediterranean port city, which has a large Muslim community of mainly North African origin, 1,500 police were on hand to separate friends and foes of the anti-immigrant National Front chief. On Wednesday, at least 1.3 million people took to the streets in a nationwide show of determination to stop Le Pen from becoming president. Grandson Lindbergh Repeats Legendary Flight Erik Lindbergh, grandson of legendary pilot Charles Lindbergh, has landed at an airport near Paris after repeating his grandfather's solo flight across the Atlantic. To mark the 75th anniversary of the historic flight, Erik Lindbergh also flew solo for 17 hours in a single-engine plane dubbed the "New Spirit of St. Louis." He touched down at Le Bourget airport where his grandfather had also landed. The original trans-Atlantic flight took Charles Lindbergh 33 hours and 29 minutes, making his the first solo non-stop trip in history. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ==^================================================================
