Deutsche Welle
English Service News
September 30th, 2001, 16:00 UTC
Afghanistan's Taliban rulers admitted on Sunday they had hidden
Islamic militant Osama bin Laden for his own protection and that he
was currently in a safe location under their control. The Taliban
said it could not hand him because of what they called "security
reasons". Bin Laden has so far failed to react to a Taliban request
for him to leave, the Taliban ambassador in Pakistan said Sunday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he questioned anything
the Taliban says because just a few days ago they had said they
didn't know where bin Laden was. The White House repeated its demand
that the Taliban hand over its prime suspect in the deadly hijacked
suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Meanwhile British Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters he had
seen "powerful" evidence linking the 44-year-old Saudi-born fugitive
to the attacks. Washington is currnently assembling a broad
international coalition to support what Bush has called a war on
terrorism.
An Iranian navy commander said 41 U.S. and British warships had
arrived in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman and Iran was watching
closely for any sign of an attack on Afghanistan, the official IRNA
news agency said on Sunday. Iranian Admiral Valamanesh said his
forces were watching the activities of the U.S. and British ships
"day and night", adding that there were also two aircraft carriers
belonging to Pakistan. Iran is opposed to any U.S. strike and has
called for a U.N.-led international coalition to fight terrorism.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said on Sunday fresh terror
attacks were likely and the risk of such strikes could increase
following any military action in the U.S. war on terrorism.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in an
interview with an Austrian magazine that there would be innocent
civilian casualties in the event of a military campaign in the war
against terrorism. Solana and a number of other top EU officials
returned on Friday from a whirlwind tour of key Asian and Middle
Eastern countries last week. Meanwhile European leaders have decided
to press ahead with anti-terrorism measures in response to the
September 11 suicide attacks in America.
Three Islamic fundamentalists have been arrested in Germany as part
of the worldwide hunt for supporters of Osama Bin Laden and those
involved in the attacks on New York and Washington. One Turk and two
Yemenis were detained in the central city of Wiesbaden and charged
with possession of weapons and forging documents. Investigators
believe Bin Laden supporters based in Germany played a crucial role
in the attacks on America. In London, police continue to question an
Algerian pilot whom the American authorities have described as one
of the biggest catches in the case so far. Lotfi Raissi is reputed
to have given flight training to four of the hijackers. Raissi's
lawyer says he denies being involved. Another man said to be linked
to Bin Laden has been detained in the West African state of
Mauritania.
The search for possible survivors among the rubble of the World
Trade Center in New York has ended, more than 14 days after the
terrorist attacks in the USA. New York's mayor, Rudolph Giuliani,
said all hope of finding people alive had gone. The last survivor
was rescued from the ruins one day after the attacks. Official
figures say that only 309 bodies have been found of the 5,641 people
who are thought to have died.
Pope John Paul said on Sunday the world had to be spared the "wicked
plague of terrorism". Speaking to pilgrims and tourists in St
Peter's Square, the Pontiff also said the search for peace could not
be divorced from the application of justice. He asked the world's
roughly one billion Roman Catholics to pray the rosary during the
entire month of October "for peace, so that the world may be spared
from the wicked plague of terrorism." He called for the banning of
violence and asked for prayers so that "hate and death never have
the last word."
Thousands of people in the US and Europe have held anti-war
demonstrations in opposition to American plans for a possible
military strike against terrorists. In Washington, 5000
demonstrators called on the US to renounce military reprisals
against those responsible for the aerial attacks on September 11.
Roughly 7000 demonstrators took to the streets in San Francisco.
Other peaceful protests were held in Athens, Madrid and Rome.
Radio Kabul has announced that a British journalist arrested in
Afghanistan on Friday is being held on suspicion of espionage. The
Afghan Islamic Press says 43-year-old Yvonne Ridley, a reporter for
the Sunday Express newspaper, was arrested near the eastern city of
Jalalabad, dressed in Afghan clothes. Diplomatic efforts are being
made to secure her release. Meanwhile, the Pakistani lawyers of
eight Shelter-Now aid workers arrested by the Taliban in August say
their trial is to resume today, Sunday. They are charged with
attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity, an offence that under
strict Taliban law might carry the dealth penalty.
The trial of eight foreign nationals accused of trying to convert
Afghan Muslims to Christianity resumed on Sunday with the Taliban's
chief justice saying the threat of an imminent U.S. attack would not
influence the court. Two Americans, two Australians and four Germans
are now the only foreign aid workers left inside Afghanistan.
Proceedings were disrupted after the September 11th attacks on the
US, when diplomats and relatives left Afghanistan. -On Friday
another foreigner was arrested in Afghanistan, British journalist
Yvonne Ridley. The Taleban say they detained her near the eastern
city of Jalalabad, for entering the country illegally. A Taleban
diplomatic source said Ms Ridley was still being questioned and
could be tried for spying.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said on Sunday he would continue
political meetings with Israel despite what he called mounting
Israeli "aggression". Israel, meanwhile, has given the Palestinians
a 48-hour ultimatum to fulfil their commitment to last week's
ceasefire deal. Arafat, who was in Egypt for talks with President
Hosni Mubarak and Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, said the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict was escalating despite a renewed
pledge on Thursday by both parties to reinforce a ceasefire. The
Palestinian leader had earlier told reporters that an agreement he
reached with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres last week
reaffirming a previous ceasefire had failed to stop the bloodshed.
Two Palestinians were killed early on Sunday by Israeli forces. The
upsurge in violence has threatened the fragile truce which the
United States hopes will bolster Islamic and Arab support for an
anti-terror coalition it wants to establish.
A jacket filled with plastic explosives meant for a suicide attack
was found in a park in central Colombo. Sri Lankan police officials
said on Sunday a park worker had found the jacket and alerted police
officials who later defused it. The discovery of the jacket comes a
few days after Tamil Tiger guerrillas accused the Sri Lankan army of
assassinating one of their senior leaders last week, a move the
rebels have condemned as provocative, raising fears of a retaliatory
strike. The army has denied any responsibility for the death.
The German Foreign Ministry has announced additional financial
assistance of 2 million marks to Macedonia. A total of 1.8 million
will be granted as aid to the displaced persons and for the
reconstruction of destroyed houses in the former Yugoslav Republic.
The financial aid will be transferred via the German Red Cross and
other humanitarian organizations, according to agency reports. Last
week the German Bundestag endorsed the deployment of additional
troops to the Balkans to participate in the follow NATO mission in
Macedonia, to protect civilian observers.
Swissair is urgently seeking help from Switzerland's federal
government on Sunday in a last-ditch attempt to avoid a financial
collapse. The company's top officials were holding talks with the
government, which owns a three percent stake in the airline, in
the search for funding to cover short-term obligations and to
seek a longer-term refinancing. A Swissair spokesman blamed the
aftermath of the September 11 attacks on the United States for the
company's financial crisis. Chairman Mario Corti on Friday told
Swiss television that Swissair was managing liquidity on a
day-by-day basis and declined to say whether its October wages were
guaranteed.
And finally some news from the world of sport. Formula One world
champion Michael Schumacher starts from pole position for the U.S.
Grand Prix in Indianapolis, which starts in about two hours time.
Meanwhile it's emerged that Schumacher was on the verge of retiring
from Formula One following the September 11 terrorist attacks on New
York and Washington, Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn has
revealed.
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