Deutsche Welle English Service News September 1st 2002, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: EU United Against US Unilateral Attack on Iraq The issue of a possible unilateral US strike on Iraq topped the agenda at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Denmark this weekend. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1430_A_620388_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Palestinians break off contacts with Israel The Palestinian Authority says it has cancelled all talks with Israel. The move, it said, comes as a result of the deaths of 11 Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli Army over the past several hours. The Palestinian information minister, Yasser Abed Rabbo said talks would not resume until there was some sort of international intervention. As well, an advisor to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council session to discuss the crisis. Powell says Washington wants return of weapons inspectors to Iraq U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday that Washington wanted the first step towards solving the Iraq crisis to be the return of weapons inspectors to assess President Saddam Hussein's arms capability. Powell's comments appeared to contradict the stance taken by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who said last week there was no point in sending inspectors back into Iraq but instead called for pre-emptive military action. Powell also said he understood that the international community needed more information about the threat posed by Saddam before it could decide on what should be done. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has reiterated Germany's opposition to a possible U.S. strike against Iraq, describing the risks as "incalculable." Summit on Sustainable Development At the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the European Union has unveiled a plan to give people in developing countries better access to energy. EU president Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Danish prime minister, unveiled the project in Johannesburg on Sunday. He said initiative would cost about 700 million euros and benefit 17 partner countries. Earlier, delegations to the summit agreed on a plan to slow the extinction of animals and plants by 2010. However, environmental groups said this agreement would actually weaken a biodiversity pact reached earlier this year. Four killed in Afghanistan Three Afghans were killed and at least 17 others injured near Kabul on Sunday when an anti-tank mine exploded, destroying an ambulance. The vehicle, belonging to a Danish de-mining agency, had gone to a minefield just north of the capital to collect the body of an Afghan who had died a few minutes previously when an anti-personnel mine went off. In a separate incident in the west of Kabul, one Afghan man died and a British peacekeeper was slightly hurt when an explosive device hidden in a wooden handcart went off. ETA bomb foiled, Basques clash with police Police in Spain on Sunday defused a car bomb apparently planted by ETA terrorists. Police said the 40-kilogram bomb was likely meant to go off as a police vehicle drove past. They said it had been placed in a van stolen on Saturday by three hooded assailants, who claimed to be acting in the name of the Basque separatist group. The incident comes just days after a Spanish judge suspended the Batasuna party, which is widely believed to be ETA's political wing. Meanwhile, in San Sebastian, police clashed with Batasuna supporters after a demonstration against the suspension of the Basque party. Security officials warn of threat of terrorist attacks in Germany Security officials believe that the threat of terrorist attacks in Germany will be heightened in the days leading up to the one-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks in New York and Washington. According to a report in the national Sunday paper, the Welt am Sonntag, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has warned that American, Jewish and Israeli installations in Germany are among the most likely targets. Interior Minister Otto Schily though, has played down the warning, saying there have been no concrete indications that a terrorist attack is being planned. Typhoon batters South Korea A typhoon has swept across South Korea, killing at least 45 people and causing widespread damage. Thirty more are missing. One village south of the capital, Seoul, is reported to have been virtually washed away. Record rainfalls of up to 870 milimetres were recorded on Saturday, and railway service and air travel, were severely disrupted. More than 600,000 homes lost power supplies. Thousands of tourists were stranded on Cheju island. By Sunday evening most domestic flights had resumed and some trains and buses had begun operating again. Three dead in Switzerland after heavy thunderstorms Severe weather conditions in parts of central Europe are causing havoc again this weekend. Three people have been killed in eastern Switzerland during heavy thunderstorms. Local authorities say the three victims perished when their house was burried by a mudslide. Several streets and railway routes have also had to be closed. And the eastern German state of Saxony has again been hit by heavy rain. That is causing more flooding in an area that in recent weeks saw the worst flooding in a century. At least one Autobahn has been closed. Suspect denies hijack intentions Reports that a Swedish man of Tunisian origin tried to hijack a plane last Thursday and carry out a September 11-style attack have been denied by the Swedish government and the suspect's lawyer. A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Goran Persson told the newspaper "Expressen" that such claims reported in the British and U.S. media were grabbed out of thin air. Swedish lawyer Nils Uggla said his client had admitted carrying a gun found in his hand luggage before a Ryanair flight from Sweden to Britain but he denied planning a hijack or having anything to do with terrorism. A senior Swedish intelligence official said the suspect took flying lessons in the USA in 1996 but expressed sceptism that a hijack had been imminent. Schumacher wins Belgian GP In sports: Michael Schumacher made history on Sunday by driving his Ferrari to victory in the Belgian Grand Prix. That makes him the first-ever driver to win 10 races in a single Formula 1 season. His Ferrari teammate, Rubens Barrichello came second, followed by Juan-Pablo Montoya of BMW-Williams. Germany has advanced to the second round of the World Basketball Championships in Indianapolis after easily beating Algeria 102-70. Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points for the Germans. And at the Champions Trophy field hockey tournament being played here in Cologne, Germany on Sunday beat India to go top of the table, while Pakistan beat South Korea 4-1. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information please turn to our internet website at http://dw-world.de/english Here you'll find out what's happening in Germany, Europe and the rest of the world. News and background reports from the fields of current affairs, culture, business and science. And of course the DW website also has information about DW-RADIO and DW-TV programmes: topics, broadcast times and frequencies. You can even listen to all programmes as audio-on-demand. 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