Deutsche Welle
English Service News
27th October , 2001, 16:00 UTC
U.S. jets launched heavy raids on the Afghan capital Kabul on
Saturday as the Taliban claimed a blow against U.S. efforts to topple
the regime with the capture and execution of an opposition commander.
Western warplanes also hit forward Taliban positions, facing
opposition forces to the north of Kabul. Abdul Haq, the famous
Pashtun warlord, on a mission to persuade Pashtun tribal leaders to
switch allegiance, was executed hours after his capture.President
George W. Bush signed a major bill giving the government more powers
in its campaign against terrorism. These include arresting and
detaining immigrants without charge or trial and eavesdroping on
phone calls, e-mail and Internet traffic. Traces of the germ warfare
agent anthrax have meanwhile turned up at post offices serving the
Supreme Court in Washington and CIA Headquarters in Verginia.
The United States has admitted that some of its B52 planes
inadvertently dropped bombs on Red Cross warehouses in Kabul for the
second time in less than two weeks and a nearby residential area, as
the air strikes intensified on Saturday. The Pentagon blamed a
targetting error. A BBC journalist also visited a village in Northern
Alliance held territory, which was also accidentially bombed by U.S.
planes on Saturday, killing about ten people and injuring another 20.
The Red Cross said it deplored the bombing of its warehouses in Kabul
as a violation of international humanitarian law.
Russia has announced that it will give 40 tanks and more than 100
armoured vehicles to Afghanistan's opposition Northern Alliance by
year's end, Interfax news agency reported on Saturday. In another
development, British forces are on standby for immediate deployment
in Afghanistan. The Britsh government has announced 200 Royal Marines
on military exercises in the Gulf would remain there and take part in
raids against targets in Afghanistan. 4,000 other personnel from the
Swift Sword Operation in Oman, will be based on the assault ship HMS
Fearless.
An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale rocked the
southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan on Saturday and thousands of
buildings collapsed, the official Xinhua news agency reported.It said
at least one person was killed and 130 people were injured in the
latest tremor to hit the quake-prone region. Rescue workers were
looking for more victims of the early afternoon earthquake which
destroyed thousands of buildings in six villages in Yongsheng
County, some 600 km northwest of the provincial capital of Kunming,
the agency reported.
The fire in the 17km-long Gotthard Alpine tunnel has claimed far
fewer lives than first feared. Police say they find it almost
unbelievable that only eleven people have been confirmed dead so far,
and they say they do NOT expect the figure to rise. Most of the cars
in the tunnel were found to have been abandoned. The Gotthard tunnel
is the world's second-longest road tunnel and could be closed for
months. Meanwhile, the Mont Blanc Tunnel between France and Italy
will reopen to cars from December 15th. It was closed after a
horrific blaze claimed the lives of 39 people in March 1999. To avoid
head-on collisions, traffic will be one-way, another tunnel will
carry traffic in the opposite direction.
Montenegro's independence from the Yugoslav Republic could be decided
in Spring next year by a referendum. Yugoslav President Vojislav
Kostunica and Montenegro's President, Milo Djukanovic, said a
referendum was the only way to settle the question. The leaders of
Montenegro - the smaller of the two partners in the Yugoslav
Federation - favour independence. Serb leaders want a reformed
Yugoslav federation - a stance backed by Western powers. Only 700,000
people still live in Montenegro. A general election last April in the
coastal republic shows voters are fairly evenly split on the whether
to go it alone.
The Pentagon has announced its biggest defence contract ever.
Lockheed Martin Corporation has been picked to build the new Joint
Strike Fighter for a total contract estimated to be worth more than
US $200 billion. The U.S. plans to buy just over 3000 of the
"stealth" aircraft which are designed to evade radar and replace
Lockheed's F-16 and nearly all its other ageing warplanes over the
next 40 years. US-allies are expected to buy as many planes again.
Lockheed Martin beat the Boeing Company in the fierce contest. The
first Joint Strike Fighter is expected to premiere by 2008.
Former German tennis star Steffi Graf has given birth to a baby boy,
according to the mass circulation tabloid Bild in its Saturday
edition. The baby was born three weeks early. Andre Agassi, from
America, and Steffi Graf were married on Monday in a private ceremony
in Las Vegas.
Serbian News Network - SNN
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.antic.org/
