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Deutsche Welle
English Service News
March 17th, 2002, 16:00 UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Pacifists No More
Germany's Green Party has officially ditched the pacifist position on
which it was founded, alienating much of its core constituency in
this
election year.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1432_A_477913_1_A,00.html
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Pakistan Church Attack - Five Killed
A grenade attack inside the Protestant International Church in
Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, has left at least five people dead,
including two Americans, one Pakistani, and an Afghan.
Police said at least 45 churchgoers were injured, some seriously.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility. U.S. President
George W. Bush said he was outraged. Pakistan's President Pervez
Mussharaf called the attack a "ghastly act of terrorism". Witnesses
said a man walked into the church and threw up to six grenades.
Islamabad police chief Nasir Durrani said the provisional list of
wounded included 31 foreign nationals. He said authorities were
trying to establish whether attackers were among the injured or dead.
Violent Setback for Zinni
U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni's bid to convene Middle East ceasefire talks
have been scuttled so far by the failure of Israel and the
Palestinians to agree terms for a meeting, and fresh attacks.
At the Israel town of Kfar Saba a suspected Palestinian gunman shot
at passersby, killing a woman and wounding 15 other people. The
gunman was shot dead. In Jerusalem a suicide bomber killed himself
and injured nine people at a bus stop. Israeli tanks re-entered
Bethlehem overnight. A Palestinian militant was killed. Palestinian
officials insist that Israel complete pullouts from Bethlehem and
Beit Jala before starting talks with Zinni, but the Israeli
government refuses, saying terror attacks must first stop. EU
leaders, concluding their Barcelona summit, demanded restrain on both
sides and urged Israel to withdraw its forces from autonomy areas.
Gunmen Kill Colombian Archbishop
Unidentified gunmen on Saturday evening killed a Colombian Roman
Catholic archbishop who had denounced corruption, shooting him
several times in the head and chest as he left a church after
presiding over a wedding. Police said, two men believed to be leftist
rebels, shot the unescorted Archbishop of Cali, Isaias Duarte
Cancino, at point-blank range and escaped on a motorcycle. Just hours
after his death a massive power outage plunged much of the war-torn
nation into darkness. Authorities said they couldn't confirm what had
caused the blackout. The largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia -- known by the Spanish initials FARC -- has
launched a sabotage campaign since President Andres Pastrana broke
off peace talks in February.
Zimbabwean President Mugabe sworn in
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has taken the oath of office to
officially start a new six-year term on Sunday as Western powers
pile pressure on him over his disputed election victory. The United
States, several EU countries, New Zealand and Canada all boycotted
the ceremony to protest the election result which observers said was
neither free nor fair. Mugabe's main rival, Morgan Tsvangirai of
the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), branded the vote
"daylight robbery" and also boycotted the ceremony. However, many
African states have endorsed Mugabe's victory, which his ruling
ZANU-PF party is lauding as a triumph against Western imperialism.
Nepalese Counter-Offensive
Nepal's military claims to have killed at least 68 Maoist rebels
during a raid on a rebel training camp at Gumchal in Rolpa district,
a rebel stronghold in western Nepal.
The Nepalese defence ministry said its troops had also found a "large
amount" of munitions. A further 100 rebels were wounded. Nepal's
parliament extended a state of emergency last month after 167 people,
mostly soldiers, were killed in a rebel attack. The revolt has hurt
Nepal's economy and its key tourist industry.
Cheney Draws Blank
Continuing his 11-nation Middle East tour, U.S. Vice President Dick
Cheney has failed to persuade Arab nations to endorse U.S.
suggestions that Iraq's Saddam Hussein be removed militarily.
On Saturday, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdullah said an attack on
Iraq would not be in the interests of the region. The Saudi press
agency SPA said Prince Abdullah had, however, accept an invitation to
visit U.S. President George W. Bush on an unspecified date. Arriving
in Bahrain, Cheney said Bush had not made a decision to attack Iraq.
Cheney, who is due next in Qatar and then Kuwait on Monday, is
campaigning to stop Saddam Hussein from acquiring mass weapons.
Portugal Votes
Parliamentary elections are taking place this Sunday in Portugal,
with pre-poll surveys pointing to gains by the centre-right Social
Democrats but not enough to clinch a majority over the Socialists.
Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Guterres resigned in December,
embarrassed by Social Democrat wins in local elections. Campaigning
for today's poll was dominated by the issue of Portugal's slowing
economy. Initial reports today pointed to a low voter turnout.
BMW takes first and second in Sepang
In sports, BMW Williams drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo
Montoya took first and second place respectively at the Malaysian
Grand Prix. Defending world champion Michael Schumacher, was
involved in an incident in the first corner finished third.
Schumacher remains top of the drivers table with 14 points, two
points clear of Montoya and four points ahead of his brother Ralf.
The next race is in two weeks in Brazil.
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