Deutsche Welle
English Service News
August 2nd , 2001, 16:00 UTC
A former Bosnian Serb general has been jailed for 46 years for his
role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, the longest sentence so far
imposed by the U.N. war crimes tribunal. Radislav Krstic was
convicted of genocide for his role in Europe's worst atrocity since
World War Two. He had pleaded not guilty to eight counts, including
genocide and crimes against humanity. Almost 8,000 Muslim men and
boys were murdered after Srebrenica fell in July 1995 despite being
a United Nations-designated "safe area". The tribunal's harshest
sentence had been 45 years to Bosnian Croat general Timohir Blaskic
for charges including crimes against humanity.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has called for the immediate
cessation of all forms of violence in the Middle East and for the
appointment of international observers. Arafat, on a one-day visit
to Italy, held talks with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Pope
John Paul. The visit had taken on urgency following the killing of
eight Palestinians by Israel on Tuesday in a missile strike which it
said was in self defence. Earlier, the Pope told Arafat violence
between Israelis and Arabs had reached "unheard of" proportions and
called for an end to reprisal killings.
Israel has fended off international criticism of its missile attack
on Islamic militants, as Palestinian President Yasser Arafat
demanded monitors be sent to the Middle East. Two children were
among the victims of the Tuesday raid on a Hamas headquarters in
Nablus which touched off a fresh wave of violence across the West
Bank and Gaza Strip. Militant Islamic groups vowed Israel would pay
a heavy price for its policy of killing militants it suspects of
planning operations against the Jewish state. The United States
condemned the Israeli attack as "too aggressive" and Egyptian
Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher dismissed Israeli justifications of its
policies.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has endorsed reformist
Mohammad Khatami as president for a second four-year term, but
warned against straying from the path of Islam and the perils of
liberalism. President Khatami, re-elected with a landslide 77
percent of the vote in June, is to formally begin his second term
when he takes an oath of office in parliament on August 5.
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed comprehensive energy
legislation that adopts the Bush administration's plan to drill in
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Opening part of the Alaskan
wilderness is key to the White House's long-term efforts to boost
domestic oil and natural gas supplies, and reduce U.S. dependence on
foreign oil imports. The House legislation also includes over 33
billion dollars in tax breaks for the energy industry. Opponents to
drilling said the refuge's environment would forever be harmed by
the equipment that would be dragged through the pristine wilderness
to explore for oil.
Macedonia's Prime Minister has urged tougher action to recapture
territory held by ethnic Albanian rebels, saying it would be
shameful to sign any peace deal under rebel threats. Ljubco
Georgievski, speaking in southern Yugoslavia on a Macedonian
national day holiday, said he was optimistic that current talks
between leaders of Macedonia's four main political parties could end
with a plan to avert a new Balkan war. Ethnic Albanian rebels, who
say they are fighting for greater rights for minority Albanians who
make up about a third of Macedonia's population, control a swathe of
northern and western Macedonia.
The biggest-ever shipment of spent German nuclear fuel has arrived
at a processing plant in France only slightly delayed by
environmental protests. A spokeswoman for the French nuclear
processing agency said the convoy containing some 100 spent fuel
rods reached the La Hague plant near Cherbourg some two hours behind
schedule. Greenpeace and Green Party activists blocked the nuclear
rail shipment on at least two occasions as it headed across northern
France by chaining themselves to the tracks. Police quickly cut them
free, allowing the train to pass. The original shipment from Germany
comprised 12 wagons, but three were uncoupled in France and taken to
the port of Dunkerque, where they will be loaded on to a ship and
taken to a reprocessing plant in the British town of Sellafield.
The European Commission has said the European Union was pressing
Russia to grant better access and safety conditions for aid workers
in Chechnya. The European Commission also announced a further two
million euros in humanitarian aid for victims of the conflict in the
rebel southern Russian republic. The EU and Moscow have been at odds
over Chechnya since Moscow launched a military crackdown on
separatist rebels in the republic in October 1999. Brussels has
condemned what it sees as the excessive use of force and human
rights violations, and called for a political solution.
Taiwan rescuers have searched for a fourth day for more than 100
people swept away by flash floods or buried under mud and rock in
one of the island's worst storms, and hopes of finding survivors
were fading. The death toll from Typhoon Toraji had risen to 77
people, with 133 people still missing. Officials say the search will
go on until most of the missing are accounted for. In Indonesia
hundreds of villagers who were missing after floods and landslides
on the remote surfing island of Nias, that killed a total of 60
people, have turned up. Rescue workers finally reached some isolated
villages on the Indian Ocean island, off the northwest coast of
Sumatra, days after floods had wiped out roads and bridges in the
area.
Serbian News Network - SNN
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.antic.org/
