Deutsche Welle English Service News October 28th 2003, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Stay or Go: The Question for NGOs in Iraq The attack on the Red Cross headquarters in Baghdad on Monday has once again prompted many aid agencies to reconsider their position and contemplate moving their international staff out of Iraq to safety. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,7489_A_1015680_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresh Iraqi bomb kills four, Bush vows not to be intimidated In the latest wave of violence in Iraq, a suicide bomber killed himself and at least four civilians in a car bomb attack near a police station and a school in Fallujah. The incident came just a day after the synchronized suicide car bombings in Baghdad, which devastated the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office and four police stations. As many as 43 people were killed in the blasts and more than 200 were injured. US forces have also announced that Baghdad's Deputy Mayor, Faris al-Assam, was killed in a drive-by shooting in the city on Sunday. Despite the ongoing violence, US President George W. Bush said at a White House press conference that his forces would not be intimidated by attacks on civilians. Bush also said he believed former members of Iraq's ruling Baath party and foreign terrorists were behind the recent wave of bombings. US air raid kills 18 Taliban in Afghanistan In Afghanistan, at least 18 guerrillas from the ousted Taliban regime and al Qaeda network are thought to have been killed in an engagement with US-led forces. According to the US military, US and Afghan government forces called in air support after a patrol engaged suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters in Paktika province. Over 350 civilians have been killed in the region since August in a spate of guerilla attacks. Arafat asks Korei to stay on as PM Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has asked Ahmed Korei to stay on as prime minister and form a government. The Palestinian Authority is currently governed by an emergency cabinet whose mandate expires next week. Mr Korei has said his continued tenure would depend on resolving differences with Mr. Arafat on his nomination for the post of interior minister. Mr. Korei's term in office has been hampered by Mr. Arafat's alleged reticence in implementing the so-called "roadmap" for peace, which foresees a Palestinian crackdown on militants. If he continues in office, Mr. Korei has indicated that his priority would be to re-establish a ceasefire with Israel. Colombia accepts ELN offer on release of seven foreign hostages Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has approved a proposal by the rebel National Liberation Army (ELN) to release seven foreign hostages to a delegation including the United Nations, the Roman Catholic church and two ELN spokesman, a church official said. ELN rebels earlier agreed to release the kidnapped tourists starting next week, as long as one of their jailed leaders is allowed to be part of a delegation due to greet them. The rebels said the hostages would be freed in Sierra Nevada, which is where the ELN seized eight people on September 12 from among a group of tourists trekking to the 3,500-year-old ruins of Colombia's Lost City. Time running out for trapped Russian coal miners In Russia, emergency crews are hoping to reach an air pocket in a collapsed mine in the south of the country sometime in the next few hours. That's where they hope 13 trapped miners have found sanctuary from a surging underground lake. The rescuers have dumped slag and metal pipes down a shaft in an effort to quell the flow of rushing floodwaters. No contact has been made with the 13 men trapped in the mine, and officials fear their oxygen may be running out. Thirty-three other coal miners were pulled unharmed from separate part of the mine on Saturday. Bosnian Serb ex-guard gets 8 years for camp crimes A former Bosnian Serb guard has been sentenced to eight years in prison by the United Nations International Tribunal for former Yugoslavia. Predrag Banovic, a waiter who served as a detention camp guard during the Bosnian war of 1992-95, was accused of abuse, torture and beating prisoners to death. He had pleaded guilty to one count of crimes against humanity after reaching an agreement with prosecutors. Four other charges were dropped under the deal and prosecutors and defence both recommended an eight-year term. Raging California fires kill at least 14 US President George W. Bush has declared a state of emergency in southern California as wildfires continue to rage out of control. At least 14 people have been killed and hundreds of homes destroyed in blazes fuelled by hot, desert winds. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes. Outgoing California Governor Gray Davis said he expected costs associated with the damage to rise into the billions of dollars. Law enforcement officials believe some of the blazes were set deliberately. They're looking for at least two male suspects. Germany most Internet-friendly A new study by the organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has found Germany to be the most internet friendly country in the world, with more websites per inhabitant than any other country. The trend was helped by T-Online - Germany's dominant internet service provider - which offers a high-speed broadband services including a facility that helps users set up their own homepages. Other countries with high numbers of websites per inhabitant include Denmark, Norway, Britain, and the United States. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
