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Deutsche Welle 12th March, 2002, 16:00 UTC English Service News ----------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Six Months After As many predicted, as people everywhere feared, September 11 changed the world. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1434_A_471722_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------- 150 Israeli tanks in Ramallah -- Palestinian extremists attack a bus and car The Israeli army has sent thousands of troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships into Palestinian areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in a massive military operation. At least 30 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds taken into custody. Witnesses said some 150 Israeli tanks have taken up positions in Ramallah, several in front of Palestinian President Yassar Arafat's headquarters. In the city's main square, angry Palestinians strung upside down the corpse of an alleged collabortor with the Israelis. Heavy shooting also broke out in several parts of the city and Israeli helicopter gunships opened fire on the al- Am'ari refugee camp on the city's outskirts. In northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, Palestinian gunmen killed at least 7 Israelis during an attack on a bus and several cars in the Galilee region. At this time it is unclear who is responsible for the attack. In Jerusalem, a senior Israeli military officer said the latest offensive by land, sea, and air, was aimed at smashing (Palestinian)bases of terror. Arafat urges resistance to Israel raids The Palestinian Authority including President Yassar Arafat have called on Palestinians to resist Israeli occupation troops who seized the city of Ramallah in the biggest single military operation in 17 months. The Israeli military ordered all men aged between 15 and 45 to gather in al-Am'ari's public square. However, witnesses told the Reuters news agency, women and children took to the streets in defiance while the men stayed indoors. The Palestinian leadership urged the men not to surrender. Further reports indicate Israeli troops then entered homes arresting the men who were blindfolded and bound, and dragged towards tanks and armoured vehicles. Television footage showed hundreds of men gathered in squares blindfolded, and with their hands tied. Mr. Arafat told Abu Dhabi television on Monday that the Israeli army's conduct during the sweeps amounted to "new Nazi racism". Zimbabwean officials start counting ballots as a key opposition figure is arrested A senior Zimbabwean opposition figure has been charged with treason as officials on Tuesday began counting the ballots cast in Zimbabwe's presidential election. In the capital, Harare, Welshmen Ncube, Secretary General of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was charged in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate President Robert Mugabe. He and two other MDC officials had previously been arrested in February and charged with treason and have been released on bail. Late Monday, police in Harare closed polling stations after the High Court had rejected a request for a fourth day of polling. Election observers complained that many people did not have a chance to vote before the polls closed. There is no indication whether incumbent President Mugabe has survived the stiffest challenge so far to his two decades as president. Results are expected Wednesday afternoon. Zimbabwean election observers said election severely flawed) Norway's observer mission said on Tuesday Zimbabwe's presidential elections were severely flawed and failed to meet international standards. Kare Vollan, the head of the 25-strong Norwegian mission, told a news conference that the presidential elections failed to meet key, broadly accepted criteria for elections. The Norwegians are the largest European observer group at the elections after the European Union withdrew its team because President Robert Mugabe had excluded some EU member states. 13 dead in Kashmir The latest fighting in Kashmir on Tuesday claimed 13 lives including 7 rebels and 2 Indian soldiers. According to the daily police reports nearly 500 people, mostly rebels, have been killed in a recent surge of violence across the region. Pakistan and India have almost a million troops deployed in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Hardline Hindus head for Ayodhya on eve of ruling 6,000 police are on patrol in the Indian holy city of Ayodhya as thousands of Hindus have started to arrive in the city ahead of a key supreme court ruling. The Court will announce its decision on Wednesday whether or not Hindus will be allowed to hold a prayer ceremony in Ayodhya despite opposition by Muslims who see it as a prelude to the building of a temple on top of a mosque razed by Hindu extremists in 1992. While awaiting the court's ruling, the government has pledged to keep hardline Hindus out of Ayodhya, sealing roads and cancelling trains in a bid to contain religious violence that erupted on February 27 which has killed over 700 people. Lufthansa and Volkswagen report considerably different results. In business news, Lufthansa, the German national airline has announced it's first operating loss in 8 years. The airline reported a pre-tax loss of over 750 million €uros and has decided not to pay a dividend to share holders. However, the airline said it's lifting a hiring freeze and said some of the 43 aircraft it grounded following the September 11th terrorist attacks will return to service soon. The airline added it also had a number of extraordinary expenses related to a series of strikes by its pilots last year. Meanwhile, Volkswagen, Europe's largest car maker reported a record turnover of 88.5 billion €uros for last year. However, Bernd Pitchesrieder, who takes over as CEO in April, said sales for the first quarter of 2002 were "extremely disappointing". He said weak markets in Germany and in South American especially, Brazil and Argentina, have forced management to implement cost cutting measures. VW last year reported a net profit of 4.4 billion €uros. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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: [email protected] 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 ==^================================================================
