Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- Deutsche Welle English Service News August 13th , 2001, 16:00 UTC The Macedonian government and ethnic Albanian politicals leaders have signed a peace plan aimed at defusing ethnic tensions and a six-month uprising by Albanian rebels. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and NATO Secretary-General George Robertson attended the signing ceremony held in the Macedonian capital Skopje at the residence of President Boris Trajkovski. The treaty aims to safeguard Macedonia's 20 percent Albanian population, including its language. The success of the plan relies heavily on the disarmament of Albanian terrorists. Despite a ceasefire agreed to Sunday night, shootings are being reported northeast of Skopje and in the West of Macedonia. Germans flew flags at half mast on Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the building of the Berlin Wall. At a ceremony where he laid red roses at section of the Wall, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Germans should never forget the estimated 960 East Germans who were killed trying to flee East Germany across the Wall. Little remains of the 155-kilometer-long structure that divided Berlin and once symbolised the Cold War. Communist leaders also erected a 1,400-kilometer-long barbed wire fence along the inner-German border. The Wall fell in 1989 and resulted in German reunification. Chancellor Schroeder begins a two-week trip through eastern areas of Germany bordering Poland and the Czech Republic. He faces critisism for not doing enough to stem an exodus of residents and reduce unemployment in the region, which still running at about 17 percent. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited a controversial war shrine in Tokyo Monday, where millions of war dead are remembered alongside 14 executed war criminals. At the Yasukini Shrine, Koizumi said he felt "deepest regret" for past Japanese invasions that had caused "unmeasurable suffering". The visit has divided the Japanese public and drawn protests from China and other Asian neighbours, who say it suggested a lack of repentance for wartime aggression. Koizumi's timing did however avoid the later date of Wednesday, August 15th, the anniversary of Japan's capitulation at the end of World War Two. //-August the 15th is also South Korea's Liberation Day, marking the end of Japan's brutal 35-year occupation of the Korean Peninsula. Businesses are closed throughout Palestinian areas in protest against Israel's seizure last Friday of Orient House, the PLO's unofficial headquarters in East Jerusalem. Israeli police say Orient House is to remain closed for the next six months. Israeli news agencies report that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has approved a planned meeting with Foreign Minister Simon Peres and Palestinian officials - but not with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. U.S. envoy David Satterfield is due to hold talks with Arafat on Monday in a bid to halt the escalating violence in the region. German Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer will begin a 7-day trip to the Middle East next week, where he will meet with the governments in the region, starting with Syria. Afghanistan's ruling Taleban has issued visas to foreign diplomats in Pakistan so they can visit Kabul, but still barred access to Germans, Australians and Americans among 24 aid workers arrested a week ago. Fears are held especially for 16 Afghans also employed by the German-based group "Shelter Now". Its president Udo Stollte, in an interview with Deutsche Welle's English Service, denied Taleban charges that "Shelter Now" had spread Christianity among Moslems. He said staff just did relief work, including building homes for refugees and distributing food. Visiting Moscow, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had talks with Russian leaders over their objections to NMD, the missile defence system planned by America to counter so-called rogue states. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov disputed Rumfeld's claim that the former Cold War ABM treaty of 1972 had outlived its usefulness, saying Russia still saw it as an important international document. Rumsfeld said that the USA would proceed and test parts of its NMD scheme, but would also reduce its arsenal of nuclear weapons. Russia too says its wants cuts - far beyond the current START-2 treaty. The German pharmaceutical company Bayer said worldwide 52 people are believed to have died after taking the anti-cholesterol drug Lipobay, which had been one of its fastest growing products. The company's Chief Executive, Manfred Schneider said on Monday Bayer would review its drugs division, but said the company was not in need of rescue. The German government has demanded a report describing the risks of Lipobay - also sold as Baycol - by the end of the week. Bayer withdrew the drug from the market last Wednesday after deaths were linked to it. ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://TOPICA.COM/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
