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Deutsche Welle English Service News April 16th, 2002, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Germany's Terrorism Test Europe's first al-Qaeda trial opened in Frankfurt on Tuesday. At stake is the fate of five Algerian men accused of planning a bomb attack in Strasbourg and Germany's reputation as a serious terrorist-fighting country. 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_499109_1_A,00.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- Entire Dutch Cabinet Resigns Following Scathing War Report The Dutch government has collapsed following an official report which condemned the Netherlands for its failure to protect Muslims in Srebrenica during the Bosnian war. Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok and his cabinet resigned after a crisis meeting to discuss the official report which emerged last week by the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD). Top politicians and military leaders along with poorly equipped Dutch peacekeepers were blamed for their inability to stop ethnic cleansing in the worst massacre of the war in 1995. Queen Beatrix is expected to oversee the formation of a caretaker government until a new government is formed after general elections in May. Powell Conducts Last Round of Talks; Questions Raised over Jenin Incursions U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has held another round of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Sharon in a bid for a ceasefire. The Secretary of State was also apparently trying to get Sharon to order a full military withdrawal from the West Bank rather than a partial pullout. Earlier, Powell said talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials were making progress, but he wasn't sure if they would produce a ceasefire before departing for Cairo on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a Palestinian cabinet minister has demanded an inquiry into allegations that Israeli troops massacred Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp. Nearly 500 residents of the West Bank town were said to have been killed as Israeli troops swept through the city and sealed it off to outsiders during the 12-day incursion. Israeli authorities have also been accused of trying to cover up what really happened in Jenin during the fiercest fighting since the offensive began. Israeli officials said about 70 Palestinian militants were killed in fighting in Jenin during a mission to root out terrorists targeting civilians in suicide attacks. Thousands Take to the Streets in Italy to Protest Labor Reform Most of Italy has been brought to a halt as thousands of demostrators staged a general strike to protest against planned labor reforms. For the first time in twenty years, workers and trade unions gathered in cities throughout Italy to rally against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's planned overhaul of the labor market which the government says is needed to boost efficiency. All over Italy air and rail transport came to a standstill while schools, banks and post offices shut down. Satified union leaders said Berlusconi would have to back down and drop plans to make it easier for companies to fire staff. The strike is expected to last until Tuesday evening. Police in Germany Arrest and Release Suspect Linked to Djerba Explosion German authorities have released a man earlier arrested in connection with last week's explosion at a synagogue in Tunisia which killed 16 people, including 10 German tourists. Authorities said the man, who was not identified, was believed to have had contact with an attacker based in Tunisia shortly before the explosion occurred. But officials at the federal prosecutors office in Karlsruhe said on Tuesday that there was not enough evidence to hold the suspect. German authorities believe the explosion was a deliberate attack rather than an accident as Tunisian authorities have insisted. Meanwhile, two Arabic newspapers have reported that the al Qaeda terrorist network claimed responsibility for the explosion, saying it was in response to Israel's military offensive in the West Bank. German Trial of Terrorist Suspects Begins with Chaos The trial five Algerian men suspected of a bomb plot and links to the al Qaeda network has gotten underway in Germany amid boosted security. Early proceedings were disrupted after one defendant began gesturing wildly and shouting in Arabic, causing the judge to briefly adjourn the trial. While all five of the men have been accused of belonging to a terrorist group, four of them face further charges of planning to bomb a Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg in 2000. German Bishop Quits Amid Sex Abuse Allegations A German bishop has resigned following allegations that he sexually abused a woman during her process of conversion to Catholicism. A spokesperson for Bishop Franziskus Eisenbach, 58, said his decision to resign was not an admission of guilt. The Roman Catholic Church has recently been shaken by a series of sex scandals involving high-profile figures. The Vatican said on Tuesday it hoped an important meeting of U.S. cardinals next week would help restore trust in the church following the paedophilia scandals. Karzai in Rome to Accompany Ex-King Home Afghanistan's interim leader Hamid Karzai is in Rome to accompany ex-King Mohammad Zahir Shah home from exile. Karzai and other supporters hope the frail, 87-year-old former king can help unite rival ethnic groups once he is back in Afghanistan. Italian officials have indicated that Mr. Karzai and the ex-king would return to Kabul on Wednesday or Thursday. The former monarch has been living in exile since 1973. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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