Deutsche Welle
English Service News
August 28th , 2001, 16:00 UTC
Thousands of Palestinians have gathered in the West Bank to mourn
the slain Palestinian faction leader Abu Ali Mustafa. Mustafa, was
leader of the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
(PFLP) and the most senior Palestinian assassinated by Israel since
the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation began 11 months
ago. Israeli officials said Mustafa, 64, had masterminded the
formation of terrorist units and a series of car bombings in the
Jewish state. Palestinian and Islamic factions, in the meantime,
have vowed revenge on Israel for the assassination. Just hours
after the assassination, Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles seized
positions in a Palestinian-ruled village in reprisal for shots fired
at a Jewish settlement. A Palestinian security officer was killed
in the raid. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has
called Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss the
Israeli-Palestinian escalation of violence. Official Egyptian news
sources said the Egyptian president had suggested an immediate start
to negociations with the Palestinian Authority.
Hundreds of asylum seekers remain on board a Norweigan cargo ship
off the coast of Australia, with their fate still hanging in the
balance. The 438, mostly Afghan refugees were rescued from a
sinking ferry on Sunday and have since become the victims of an
international row between Australia, Indonesia and Norway over who
will accept them. All three countries have refused to have anything
to do with the affair. Even the United Nations refugee body (UNHCR)
said it did not know who had responsibility for the plight of the
world's latest boat people, saying international law was unclear on
the issue. Many of the asylum seekers have begun hunger strikes and
the freighter's captain has warned of increased tension and
worsening health conditions aboard the vessel. Norway's Foreign
Minister said it was Australia's duty to let the refugees land at
the nearest port. But Australia, a country built on immigration,
continues to refuse entry to refugees, saying it was sending a
strong message to future asylum-seekers.
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson is to visit Macedonia on
Wednesday to inspect the alliance's operation of gathering weapons
surrendered by ethnic Albanian guerrillas. A NATO spokesman in
Macedonia said Robertson would visit a military base where the
weapons are being gathered and hold talks with mission commanders and
political leaders in the former Yugoslav republic. NATO's Task
Force Harvest, currently with 3,300 troops, began its mission on
Monday to help Macedonia avert the full-scale warfare which engulfed
other parts of the Balkans in the past decade. Meanwhile Germany's
contribution of 500 soldiers to NATO's planned 4500-strong force
looks increasingly likely, ahead of a Bundestag vote on Wednesday.
King Abdullah of Jordan and Russian President Vladimir Putin have
called for an end to the international isolation of Iraq, saying it
would help stabilise the entire Middle East. During 90 minutes of
one-on-one talks in the Kremlin, the two men also discussed the
spiralling violence between Israel and the Palestinians, whose
11-month revolt has claimed more than 700 lives. The talks were
later expanded to include ministers and discussions on trade and
investment. Abdullah said he and Putin had agreed that a solution
must be found to the "tragic situation" of the Iraqi people, now in
the 11th year of U.N. sanctions imposed after Iraq invaded
neighbouring Kuwait in 1990. Putin echoed the remarks, saying that
only "political-diplomatic" efforts could resolve the long-running
international standoff with Iraq over sanctions.
Nigeria is to host talks in Abuja next week aimed at defusing
tensions between Harare and London over Zimbabwe's controversial
land reform campaign. Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe said
earlier this month that he was confident Nigerian President Olusegun
Obasanjo would be able to help sooth relations between Zimbabwe and
Britain. Sources in Zimbabwe, meanwhile, have said that militants
were set to intensify the seizure of white-owned land, taking over
many of the country's largest farms at a faster rate than before.
Mugabe claims Britain is responsible for the compensation to white
farmers whose land is to be seized by the state. But London has
said it would not finance land reform amid violence and disregard
for the rule of law. Zimbabwe, the former British Colony of
Rhodesia, has been immersed in an economic and political crisis
since February of last year when self-styled war veterans,
encouraged by the state, seized hundreds of white-owned farms across
the country.
Western diplomats in Kabul said Afghanistan's ruling Taliban had
agreed to let them make more consular visits to eight jailed foreign
aid workers accused of promoting Christianity. But it remained
unclear when the diplomats could visit the jailed foreigners for a
second time. Four Germans, two Australians, two Americans and 16
Afghans, all from German-based Christian relief agency Shelter Now
International (SNI), were arrested more than three weeks ago. They
face charges of trying to convert Afghan Muslims to Christianity,
which could carry a death penalty under the Taliban's purist
interpretation of Islam.
The carmaker Volkswagen and the German trade union IG Metall have
agreed to create 3,500 new jobs, aimed at the unemployed, at VW's
plant in Wolfsburg, under a cost-saving deal.
Volkswagen says it will save 20 percent compared to existing wage
contracts. Another 1,500 jobs at VW's minivan plant in Hanover are
still undecided. A union negotiator said - despite the savings - the
deal matched minimum metal worker wage rates in the region, and
fixed the working week at 35 hours. Volkswagen had initially wanted
42.5. Instead, a VW spokesman said workers who did not meet output
and quality targets during a shift would stay on and work extra
hours. Employment contracts would start with six months of training.
The plan by Japan's government to reform the country's economy has
been jolted by statistics showing that unemployment rose to a
post-war record of five percent in July.
The number of registered job-seekers jumped a-quarter-of-million to
3.3 million. The news has left Japan's new Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi facing cabinet pressure to rethink plans to tighten the
budget and instead spend more to stimulate the labour market.
In recent weeks, leading Japanese companies have announced job cuts,
including Toshiba. It plans a cut of 17,000 jobs within three years.
Japan's crisis has eroded its one-time system of jobs-for-life.
Serbian News Network - SNN
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http://www.antic.org/
