Deutsche Welle
English Service News
02nd January, 2001, 16:00 UTC
September 11 Terrorist Suspect Enters No Plea to Murder Charges
Zacarias Moussaoui, the first man to be indicted on charges involving
the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, pleaded not guilty on
Wednesday to charges of conspiring with Osama bin Laden to kill
thousands of people. The trial was set to open at the federal courthouse
of Alexandria, in the US state of Virginia on October 14. Moussaoui, a
33-year-old French citizen of Moroccan descent, said in a statement to
the court that "in the name of Allah he did not have anything to plead".
But U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema said she understood that
to be a plea of not guilty. Moussaoui faces six charges of terrorism and
conspiracy to murder, four of which carry the death penalty. Moussaoui
was detained before the September 11 attacks on Washington and Pentagon
and is believed to have been the missing terrorist on the hijacked
American Airlines plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. Police apprehended
him on immigration charges after a warning from a flying school where he
received training on a jumbo jet simulator.
Initial ISAF Arrives in Kabul
An advance team of ISAF, the international U.N.-mandated force for
Afghanistan, has flown to Kabul, comprising about 30 officers, according
to a British embassy spokesman. Among the team are also German
Bundeswehr officers. The team's task is check out facilities ahead of
the arrival of contingents from 17 nations. ISAF is expected to
eventually number about 4,500 troops.
German Ships Sail for Africa Coast to Back U.S.
Six German navy ships set sail on Wednesday for the Horn of Africa to
protect shipping routes and prevent al-Qaeda fighters travelling to
Africa to seek sanctuary and set up bases. Two frigates, a maintenance
ship and three other support vessels with a total of 750 sailors were
expected to take about three weeks to reach the coast of Somalia after
leaving the northwestern port of Wilhelmshaven. They represent Germany's
biggest contribution yet to the U.S. war on terrorism. Germany has
committed itself to providing up to 3,900 troops to support the United
States, but most will remain on standby at home bases. Germany's
parliament has authorised up to 1,800 naval forces to participate. The
mission is due to last eight months to a year, with the sailors rotated
after six months.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair Travels to South Asia
British Prime Minister Tony Blair leaves for South Asia on Wednesday
but his government played down talk he might act as peacemaker between
Pakistan and India, locked in their biggest military stand-off in 15
years. The nuclear neighbours' dispute over the Himalayan region of
Kashmir has led them to the brink of war. But British Foreign Secretary
Jack Straw said the British premier had no magic solution to the
problem. Blair is scheduled to visit Bangladesh, India and Pakistan
during his week-long trip. Tension between India and Pakistan has risen
sharply since an attack on the Indian parliament on December 13 in which
14 people were killed. New Delhi blames the attack on two Pakistan-based
militant groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. Both India's Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistan's President General Pervez
Musharraf are due to attend a South Asian summit in Kathmandu, Nepal,
beginning on Friday, but India has ruled out talks with Pakistan there.
New Zambian President Sworn In After Judge Rejects Recount Petition
Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia's ruling MMP party has been sworn in as
president despite oppositon claims of vote rigging after a judge
rejected a petition for a recount of Thursday's election. Armed police
cordoned off the venue, Lusaka's main court complex, where clashes
erupted on Tuesday. The ceremony was boycotted by Zambia's ten
opposition parties. Earlier today, Judge Peter Chitengi had said Zambian
law only allowed a legal review after inauguration. Latest official
results put Mwanawasa 35,000 votes ahead of the opposition candidate
Anderson Mazoka, who on Saturday had claimed victory and alleged
vote-rigging. Mwanawasa is the hier of retiring President Frederick
Chiluba. Head EU monitor Michael Meadowcroft said his team had spotted
"clear, glaring irregularities".
Duhalde Argentina's Latest President
Argentina's Congress has appointed Eduardo Duhalde, a populist
Peronist senator, as new interim president until 2003, making its fifth
appointment in two weeks to tackle recession and social chaos. Duhalde,
already a presidential candidate in 1999, said he wanted to form a
government of national unity. Fernando de la Rua quit last month as
president. Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, quit last week.
Euro Cash in First Major Test
Europe's new euro notes and coins are undergoing their first major
test today with shops open again after New Year as 305 million people,
from Finland to Spain, use their new cash in earnest. The euro is
trading up, at 90 U.S. cents. Against the yen, the euro is at a two-year
high. After Tuesday's smooth euro start, German supermarket chains today
report few hitches, with customers buying in euros - often with bank
cards - and old deutschmarks. They're allowed until late February. The
Netherlands' post office said some of its smaller branches had delayed
opening because of hitches. French officials say few bank workers had
observed a strike call. Spain reports its first robbery - 91,000 euros
taken by two masked men. Non-cash electronic trading in euros began
three years ago.
German CSU Party Probed over Funding Charges
German prosecutors said on Wednesday they were investigating
allegations of a fresh funding scam in the conservative party that
overshadowed its efforts to pick an election candidate to face
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Munich prosecutors said they were
investigating a report in the weekly Stern magazine which alleged that
the Bavaria-based Christian Social Union improperly obtained federal
matching funds by classifying subscriptions to party newspapers as
donations. A spokesman for Bundestag speaker Wolfgang Thierse, a member
of the ruling Social Democrats, said parliament would also examine
whether the CSU had broken party funding laws. But CSU general secretary
Thomas Goppel slammed the timing of the Stern allegations, saying they
were aimed at derailing Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber's propects for
being picked as the CDU/CSU candidate for Chancellor, which is expected
by the end of this month.
Sydney Ringed by Bushfires
Police in eastern Australia say they've arrested 21 people for arson
- one as young as nine - as bushfires ring Sydney, fuelled by resurgent
dry winds. One blaze is just 17 kilometres from the city's centre.
Police said they'd found two incendiary devices. New South Wales state
premier Bob Carr attributed a third of the fires to arsonists. Twenty
thousand emergency workers are fighting more than 100 bushfires across
the state. After last week's loss of 150 outlying homes, 500 more people
have been evacuated. Some 300,000 hectares of bush has been scorched and
thousands of wildlife and farm livestock killed. Meanwhile New Zealand
has been shrouded by smoke from Australia's fires. The Wellington
government has said it will send additional firefighter
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