Deutsche Welle English Service News October 26th, 2003, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Work on Holocaust Memorial Stopped over Degussa Role Work on Berlin's much-delayed Holocaust memorial has been halted following objections to the participation of chemicals maker Degussa, which once had a unit involved in the production of poison for Nazi death camps. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1432_A_1014293_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rocket attack on central Baghdad hotel kills one and injures 15 US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz escaped injury when the hotel he was staying in was attacked by rockets early this morning. The Al Rasheed, a luxury hotel built by Saddam Hussein and now home to many of the leaders of the US security forces in Baghdad was hit by 6 to 8 rockets launched remotely from a trailer disguised as a generator normally used in road work. One US soldier died and 15 were injured. Wolfowitz, seen by many as one of the main architects of the invasion of Iraq was quick to hold a press conference following the attack. He was visibly shaken but in defiant mood. Observers were shocked that such a heavy bombardment could take place in such a strongly fortified area for the hotel is in the main centre of operations of the US-led coalition ruling Iraq. Israeli army dynamite tall structures on Gaza Strip The Israeli army has destroyed three 13-storey, partially completed buildings in the Gaza Strip with dynamite in retaliation for a deadly Palestinian attack on a nearby Jewish settlement. Before the blast troops evacuated more than 2,000 Palestinians from neighbouring homes supposedly to protect them. The buildings south of Gaza City overlooked the heavily guarded settlement of Netzarim, where two gunmen acting on orders from Islamic Jihad and Hamas mounted a raid on Friday that killed three soldiers. Israeli military officials said the structures had been used as observation posts for planning the attack. Palestinians say they were inhabited. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told CNN in a phone interview from his home in Jericho that he condemned the destruction of the buildings, which had left at least 180 families homeless, as a war crime. Uranium enrichment continues in Iran In spite of earlier assurances to the contrary Iran has yet to halt uranium enrichment in accordance with an agreement with Britain, France and Germany. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi had said he believed that a halt to enrichment had been implemented but when questioned a matter of hours later he agreed that enrichment activities were still going on in Iran. An IAEA deadline for the Islamic republic to meet a series of demands expires this coming Friday, and the board of governors of the UN's nuclear watchdog is to meet to evaluate Iranian compliance on November 20th. Pakistan claimes it has arrested high ranking al Qaeda operative Pakistani security officials say they've arrested a potentially high-ranking member of the al Qaeda terror network. The man, whose name is being withheld by officials, was arrested in Faisalabad and is said to be an Arab national. Pakistan says it has so far arrested more than 500 Taliban and al Qaeda operatives since the start of the international anti-terror campaign. At least 14 wounded in attack in Indian Kashmir Fourteen people were wounded in a grenade attack in Indian Kashmir Sunday. Muslim guerrillas are believed to be behind the attack, which was carried out against an Indian security patrol on a road in Bijbehara, 40 kilometers south of the summer capital, Srinagar. Rescue efforts continue for lost miners in Russia Emergency teams in southern Russia have resumed their efforts to free 13 coal miners trapped underground since Friday. The miners are believed to be stuck in an elevated part of a mine and surrounded by rising floodwater. There is no contact with the miners and officials fear that their oxygen may be running out. 33 others miners, who were part of the original group, were rescued on Saturday after being able to move to a different location. The mishap occurred after a an underground lake burst open, inundating the mine and knocking out power. Quakes kill 9 in north east China Two powerful earthquakes in China have killed at least 9 people and injured up to thirty. The quakes measuring 6.1 and 5.8 on the Richter scale rocked areas in China's Gansu province 1300 kms north east of the capital. An official from the local seismological bureau said that four townships in the mainly rural area had been affected with reports of 90% damage to buildings in one village. Up to 10,000 homes have been destroyed. Workers are struggling to repair cracks in a major reservoir in the quake area. 12,000 evacuated as Californian wildfire spreads 15 houses have been destroyed in the wildfires spreading across southern California. 12,000 people are being evacuated from residential areas about 100 kms north east of downtown Los Angeles. The fire zone has now grown to cover 6,000 hectares. Seasonal winds known as Santa Anas are fanning the fire thought to have been started deliberately. The blaze is so intense that a thick cloud of smoke is blanketing Los Angeles in spite of its distance from the fires. Winners of German Environment Prize announced The German physicist Claus Mattheck and the businessman Hermann Josef Schulte are the winners of this year's German Environment Prize. Dr. Mattheck won the award for his research aimed at protecting trees from environmental dangers. Hermann Josef Schulte shares the honours for developing automobile engine filters that are more environmentally friendly. German President Johannes Rau presented the 500,000 Euro prize, which is also Europe's most lucrative environmental prize. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Serbian News Network - SNN [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.antic.org/
