Deutsche Welle
English Service News
30th December, 2001, 16:00 UTC
Afghan force deal finalised
In Kabul, an agreement for deploying a multinational force in
Afghanistan has been reached and some of the foreign forces may have
already arrived here, the foreign minister of the Afghan interim
government said on Sunday. Abdullah Abdullah also said that Osama bin
Laden, the Saudi-born militant earlier said to have slipped out to
Pakistan despite weeks of heavy U.S. bombing, was probably still in
Afghanistan. The U.S. campaign, now focused on combing the rugged
terrain near the Pakistan border for Mr. bin Laden and his al Qaeda
fighters, was not yet over and should continue until all terrorist cells
in Afghanistan were destroyed, he said.
Plans to rebuild Bamiyan statutes
The two giant rock-face Buddhist statues at Bamiyan destroyed by the
Taliban last March could be rebuild, according to Afghanistan's new
Culture Minister Raheen Makhdoom, who's returned from exile.He said a
U.N. seminar with foreign experts was proposed. One idea was to feed
exact measurements made in 1970 by Swiss professor Robert Kostka into a
three-dimensional computer image, resulting in models on a scale of
one-to-ten. Minister Makhdoom said the Taliban's widespread destruction
of artifacts had left Afghanistan facing a mammoth task. But priority
must be given to re-establish printing, radio and television.
Premier Blair urges restraint from India and Pakistan
British Prime Minister Tony Blair urged restraint on Sunday from
India and Pakistan, after Indian politicians said they would unite
behind their leader if he was forced into war with their neighbour and
arch rival.Russian, French and U.S leaders have also urged restraint,
the reduction of tensions and a return to diplomacy and President Bush
has demanded that Pakistan eliminate terrorist groups. India's Prime
Minister Atal Vajpayee has said he does not want war with Pakistan, but
neither does he rule out military action, if Islamabad fails to shut
down Pakistan-based groups fighting Indian rule in the Himalayan region
of Kashmir. India blames two of the militant groups for the December
13th suicide attack on its parliament. EU foreign policy chief Javier
Solana has warned that continuing tensions between the two nuclesr
powers could seriously destabilise neighbouring Afghanistan.
At least 120 killed in Peruvian fireworks blaze
In Peru, a blaze caused by a fireworks explosion in historic central
Lima killed at least 124 people, police said on Sunday. They warned the
death toll could rise, as more bodies are found in charred buildings.
The fires raged for over four hours and also injured at least 120
people. The fire started when a merchant lit a piece of fireworks to
show an interested customer, as crowds of shoppers stocked up in
preparation for New Year's festivities. The historic center of Lima, a
sprawling capital city of about 8 million people, has been designated a
World Heritage area by the United Nations' Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization or UNESCO.
Zambian opposition wants inauguration of new president blocked
Zambian 10 opposition parties met the chief justice on Sunday to
demand he block the swearing-in of a new president, while he probes
charges that the ruling party rigged last week's elections. They want
Chief Justice Ngulube to investigate reports that in some areas the
number of declared votes exceeded that of registered voters and in
others extra ballot boxes appeared long after counting in the southern
African state had been completed. Final results in the closest-fought
presidential and parliamentary elections since independence from Britain
in 1964 are due on Tuesday, and the swearing-in of the new president has
been scheduled for Wednesday. Latest results from the Electoral
Commission gave Anderson Mazoka of the United Party for National
Development a narrow lead.
Sydney still on acute fire alert
In Australia,police, said they had arrested eight people in
connection with lighting fires and suspect nearly half the over 100
fires in New South Wales state were started deliberately. The fires
burning to the north, west and south of Sydney have placedthe country's
largest country under siege and altogether have destroyed about 250,000
hectares of bush,destroyed around 150 homes, killed thousands of sheep
and cut road and rail links along with power supplies to about 12,000
properties. Smog blanketed Sydney obscuring the tallest skyscrapers,,
setting off smoke alarms in some office buildings, adding to the
workload of overstretched fire crews. Visibility was down to just a few
hundred metres.Health authorities have strongly advised people with
respiratory problems to stay indoors
Argentine cabinet offers to quit
Argentina's new cabinet has offered to resign, after more widespread
protests by a public angered by perceived corruption, limits on bank
cash withdrawals, and government inability to end a deep recession.
Interim President Adolfo Rodriguez Saa has not said, if he would accept
the resignation. He said he'd told banks to extend their hours and
ensure that all automatic cash machines worked to enable payments of up
to 1,000 dollars to pensioners and people on salaries. Highly indebted
Argentina last week suspended foreign loan repayment
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