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Deutsche Welle English Service News April 15th, 2001, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: The EU Backs Off On Israel The EU Foreign Ministers buried talks of sanctions against Israel at their meeting in Luxembourg. But they are doubtful of Israel's idea for a regional conference. 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_498043_1_A,00.html ----------------------------- Survivors in Air China Crash Thirty-nine people have miraculously survived a jetliner crash in South Korea. Earlier on Monday, an Air China passenger aircraft went down in a wooded South Korean mountain during heavy rain and fog. There were 167 passengers and crew on board, most of whom were Korean. The location of the crash has made search and rescue efforts difficult, but officials said at least one of the flight recorders had been recovered. South Korean cabinet ministers have already ordered checks of their country's main transportation systems, ahead of soccer's World Cup finals, to be co-hosted in South Korea in six weeks. Monday's crash was the first for Air China in nearly five decades. Israel Arrests Top Palestinian Leader Israel has arrested a leading Palestinian figure close to President Yasser Arafat. Israeli security sources said they had arrested Marwan Barghouthi, considered by Israel as the top militant in the area. Barghouti is the secretary general of the Arafat's Fatah movement in the West Bank. He has been sought by Israel since the launch of the latest West Bank offensive. Israel has accused Barghouti of leading Fatah militants to carry out scores of attacks against Israelis. U.S. Secretary of State Calls on Syria and Lebanon to Rein in Hizbollah U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has held talks with leaders in Lebanon and Syria on a one-day sidetrip from Jerusalem. During his visits in both Beirut and Damascus, he appealed to leaders to rein in Hizbollah guerrillas. Powell said recent border attacks by the Hizbollah against Israel threatened to widen the conflict in the region. Powell is on a mission in the Middle East to bring about a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian violence but so far, separate meetings with Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat have brought about no agreements nor committments from either side regarding the current crisis. EU Decides to Bury Talk of Sanctions against Israel European Union foreign ministers have decided not to discuss imposing sanctions against Israel for its offensive in the West Bank, and instead have opted to rally behind Powell and his mission in the Middle East. Diplomats of the 15 nations were also ready to reject a call by the European Commission for an emergency meeting with Israel, at least until the U.S Secretary of State has ended his peacemaking drive. Meanwhile, the U.N.'s top human rights body condemned Israel on Monday for "mass killings" of Palestinians and demanded a pull-out from occupied Palestinian areas. A number of the EU states backed the resolution, but Britain and Germany voted against it while Italy abstained. Arabic Newspaper Prints Statement from Mullah Omar An Arabic newspaper has printed what it claims is a statement from the former Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar. The daily al-Hayat quoted Omar as saying that Jews and Americans were conducting a losing war against Islam and the Palestinians. A similar statement, also attributed to Mullah Omar, was published on an internet web site which has regularly carried news about Afghanistan as well as alleged statements by Taliban leaders. Omar has been on the run since the war in Afghanistan began. He is considered to be one of Washington's most wanted men. Four U.S. Soldiers Die in Rocket Accident Four American soldiers were killed and one badly injured on Monday while destroying abandoned Taliban rockets near the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. A spokesman for the provincial government in Kandahar told news sources that the incident was an accident and not an act of sabotage. At Bagram Air Base just outside the Afghan capital Kabul, a U.S. military spokesman said five soldiers were involved in disposing of 107mm rockets when the accident happened. Monday's accident appeared similar to an incident in Kabul last month when three Danish soldiers along with two German soldiers were killed while disposing of Soviet-era ground-to-air rockets. Hanover Trade Fair Begins Hanover's annual industrial trade fair - regarded as the world's biggest - has opened its doors, featuring innovations of almost 7,000 exhibitors from 69 countries. Over the next six days, 200,000 guests, mostly industry experts, are expected. At a function in Hanover on Saturday, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder maintained that Germany's lacklustre economy was now on the upturn. Michael Rogowski, who heads the BDI industry federation, said industry confidence had improved but gains were only modest. 2006 World Cup Venues in Germany Soccer's ruling body FIFA has chosen 12 venues in Germany for the 2006 World Cup finals, including the city of Cologne. Munich is seen as the favorite city to host the opening of the games, while Berlin seems the likely candidate for the finale. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ==^================================================================
