Deutsche Welle
English Service News
14.10.2002, 16:00 UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Investigations Begin in Bali Bomb Blast
The worst act of terror since Sept. 11, the recent bomb attack in
Bali
has heightened fears of a regrouping of the Al Qaeda terrorist
network
in Southeast Asia, and the planning of more assaults from and in
this region.
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_655506_1_A,00.html
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Indonesia implicates Al Qaeda in Bali bombing
Indonesia's defence minister has implicated the al-Qaeda network in
Saturday's bombing on Bali as at least 12 nations try to identify
tourists among more than 180 dead, and evacuate 300 wounded.
Defence Minister Matori Abdul Jalil said he was convinced that there
was what he called a "domestic link" with al Qaeda. As Australia's
toll reached 14 killed and 200 injured, its Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer said he too suspected al Qaeda. Such links were
today denied by militant Indonesia Moslem cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.
Three rugby clubs - two from Australia and one from Hong Kong -
whose teams had been in Bali, said they were missing players. One
club, from Sydney, said it had identified five teammates in a Bali
morgue. As surviving burn victims arrived in northern Australia, a
Darwin hospital spokesman Dr. Len Notaras equated the bombing with
September the 11th. The USA, which says two Americans were among the
dead, has advised its non-essential diplomats to leave Indonesia.
More world leaders condemn bombing
Among further reactions to the weekend attack on Bali, U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned the bombing as "inhumane" and
"tragic".
Visiting China, Annan said he felt deep sympathy for grieving
relatives. Nations must cooperate, he said, to defeat the "scourge
of terrorism". At the Vatican, Pope John Paul said he was "deeply
shocked" by what he termed as "cruel and misguided violence".
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of Germany sent his condolences to
Indonesia and Australia. The German Foreign Office now says eight
Germans remain missing on Bali. One German was killed and ten
injured. Germany's federal bureau of investigation, the BKA, said it
was sending a forensic team.
Britain suspends Belfast assembly
Britain has suspended Northern Ireland's power-sharing government
after a spy scandal threw the region's peace process into its worst
crisis in four years. Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid
told reporters he hoped the temporary end to devolution in Northern
Ireland and subsequent return of direct rule from London would be "a
short-lived impasse." Northern Ireland Assembly elections
scheduled for May of next year would still go ahead, he said.
Defections from Kenya's government
Six cabinet dissidents have quit Kenya's ruling party, KANU, ahead
of elections in December, after President Daniel Arap Moi named as
his successor the son of late founding president Jomo Kenyatta.
Uhuru Kenyatta, aged 41, accepted his nomination as presidential
candidate today at a sports stadium in Nairobi. The latest to resign
was Tourism Minister Kalonza Musyoka. He joined five colleagues who
say they plan to form a new alliance with other parties that would
name its own single candidate. Moi, who is barred constitutionally
from standing again, denied that KANU was split. It's ruled Kenya
for 40 years, with Moi in power for the past 24 years.
Rebels in Ivory Coast take key cocoa town
Tension in Ivory Coast has increased as rebels there tightened their
hold on a key cocoa town. Rebels advanced on Daloa over the weekend
in what is seen as their most important move since seizing much of
the north following a failed coup attempt on September 19. Experts
said the latest rebel advance was likely to affect cocoa markets on
Monday. In the meantime, the rebel commander said his men did not
intend to make further advancements, but their goal was to get
President Laurent Gbagbo to step down. Many of the rebels are angry
at being thrown out of the army and they are demanding fresh
elections and reintegration into the country's military forces.
Serbian presidential election fails
Serbia will have to hold fresh presidential elections after Sunday's
run-off poll failed to attract the minimum turnout amid a boycott by
nationalist party supporters. Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica
was coasting to victory but officials said the election would be
declared invalid. Preliminary official figures and independent
estimates indicated that only around 45 percent of voters had cast
their ballots Sunday, with Kostunica taking some 66 percent.
Putin wants to boost Russian-Japanese ties
President Vladimir Putin has told Japan's Foreign Minister, Yoriko
Kawaguchi, on a visit to Moscow, that Russia wants to revive ties,
including trade, during a summit next January.
For decades, Russian-Japanese relations have been marred by a
dispute over four eastern Pacific islands, the southern Kuriles.
Putin said there was "plenty" of work to be done before Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi attended the summit. Russia's trade with
Japan is only a seventh of that between Japan and Germany.
Travel and airline shares fall
Shares, especially those in tourist firms and airlines, have fallen
heavily after the Bali bombing as shocked European markets shed
gains made late last week.
By late afternoon, the DAX in Frankfurt was down nearly two percent
at 2,874. Harder hit was the German tourist concern TUI, down seven
percent, and Lufthansa, down more than four percent. Defying the
trend were pharmaceutical shares after a court ruling in their
favour.
EU justice ministers tackle child pornography
EU justice ministers meeting in Luxembourg have opened discussions
aimed at harmonizing certain laws within the 15-member bloc. Their
goal is to strenghthen legislation EU-wide regarding the sexual
abuse of children as well as child pornography. Ministers were also
discussing their common fight against corruption and illegal drug
dealing. Obstacles, however, remained in finding unilateral support
for common drug laws because the Netherlands wants to maintain the
laws they already have in place.
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