Deutsche Welle
English Service News
11th January, 2001, 16:00 UTC
CDU Leader Bows Out of Chancellorship Race
The leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union, Angel Merkel,
has decided to bow out of the running to become the conservative
candidate for chancellor in next September's general election.
Although not yet officially confirmed, a Berlin newspaper and the
German television news channel, NTV, announced the move Friday
afternoon. The reports said Ms. Merkel would step aside to let
Edmund Stoiber challenge incumbent Social Democratic chancellor,
Gerhard Schroeder. Mr. Stoiber is the leader of the Christian Social
Union, the CDU sister party in Bavaria.
Israel continues retaliatory moves against Palestinians
The Israeli army has bulldozed the runway at the Palestinian-
controlled international airport in the Gaza Strip in retaliation
for a Palestinian raid that killed four Israeli soldiers. It also
announced it had cut off the main road between central and southern
Gaza and that special forces arrested eight Palestinians wanted for
arms smuggling in Rafah, a Gaza town on the border with Egypt, and a
Hamas militant in the West Bank. The latest developments, including
an announcement by the militant group Islamic Jihad that it would no
longer adhere to its halt in attacks on Israelis, threatened to
wreck U.S. efforts to end more than 15 months of bloodshed. On the
eve of the Gaza operation, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said
he would not resume contacts with the Palestinians until they
arrested people involved in a weapons shipment Israel seized in the
Red Sea last week.
U.S. warns Iran while the first Afghani prisoners are flown to Cuba
The United States has flown the first al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners
out of Afghanistan as its forces combed eastern mountains for
remaining guerrilla fighters. The first batch of 20, who were
reportedly chained together with their beards shaved off for reasons
of hygiene, were expected to arrive later today, Friday at a
specially constructed jail in Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. Navy base in a
remote corner of Cuba. U.S. officials have said an initial 100 out
of more than 300 detainees from Afghanistan will soon be flown to
Cuba. Meanwhile in response to reports supporters of Osama bin Laden
had fled across the border into neighbouring Iran, U.S. President
George W. Bush warned Tehran against harbouring such fugitives and
urged it to help Washington in its war on terrorism. Iran swiftly
denied it had protected members of bin Laden's al Qaeda network,
saying its borders were tightly closed.
German and Dutch peacekeepers arrive in Kabul
After having been stranded in Turkey for three days, the first
German and Dutch military units assigned to the International
Security Assistance Force, have arrived in Kabul. The ISAF which
eventually will total some 5,000 soldiers from 18 countries is also
now operational in the Afghan capital. Earlier, British Defense
Secretary Geoff Hoon confirmed Britain will relinquish lead nation
status of the ISAF after 3 months. He hinted Turkey may take command
of the force at that point.
India sees itself on the brink of war with Pakistan
With hundreds of thousands of troops massed along the India-Pakistan
border, India's army chief has said his army was ready for a war
with Pakistan. Both armies traded fire in the Himalayan area of
Kashmir, as Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf worked on a speech
expected to detail fresh curbs on anti-Indian militants and that
world hopes will cool tensions. But with India sceptical of how far
Musharraf can go against Islamic militants regarded by some
Pakistanis as freedom fighters, India is pressing its case in
Washington and preparing further sanctions against its nuclear rival.
Indonesia Weighs Lifting Molucca Emergency Status
Indonesia has said it may lift the civil emergency status imposed on
the Molucca islands because of improving security in that part of
the Sulawesi region, following three years of bloodshed between
Moslems and Christians. Civil emergency status is one level below
martial law and allows security forces to search homes, detain
suspects and impose curfews. Officials said the main danger area now
was around Ambon, the main city of the Moluccas, some 2,300
kilometers east of Jakarta. the local governor said a peace deal had
been signed between both sides, but said however that four previous
peace pacts have failed.
African Leaders Condemn Terrorism
African leaders meeting in Sudan for an anti-terrorism conference
condemned the September 11 attacks in the U.S. at the close of their
summit on Friday, but failed to agree on any specific measures to
combat violent extremists. It had been hoped to secure an agreement
to set up meetings between the seven East African countries
attending to share information on extremists who may be operating in
their region. Instead, the leaders of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Sudan agreed to resume discussions on the
war on terror at their next meeting, due to take place next year in
the ugandan capital, Kampala.
EU threatens Zimbabwe with economic sanctions
Zimbabwe faced harsh words from the European Union on Friday, a day
after its ruling party approved new laws criminalizing criticism of
President Robert Mugabe ahead of a crucial presidential election in
March. The European Union said Zimbabwe faces economic sanctions if
it fails to curb alleged human rights abuses. Britain said earlier
that the legislation passed in Harare showed the government's
"contempt for basic democratic principles". Zimbabwe also faces
possible suspension from the Commonwealth, as well as U.S. travel
and investment sanctions.
Serbian News Network - SNN
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.antic.org/
