Deutsche Welle English Service News 31. 01. 2004, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Struck Says Afghanistan Still Not Safe German Defense Minister Peter Struck has wrapped up a visit to the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, saying the country still isn't "stable" and has ruled out helping the Afghans fight the drug trade. 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_1101459_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fire kills 10 pensioners in Scottish care home A early morning fire in a seniors' home in Scotland has killed at least 10 elderly residents and injured 40 others. Investigators said the blaze in the two-storey building was likely to have started in a storage cupboard on the upper floor. Fire crews were at the scene in Uddingston, south of Scotland's biggest city, Glasgow, within five minutes of the alarm to carry residents, some of them wheelchair-bound, to safety. The fire had not caused major damage but the residents had been overcome by smoke while they were asleep in their bedrooms. Car bomb at Mosul police station kills nine; 3 Americans killed by roadside bomb A car bomb targeting an Iraqi police station killed nine people and injured 45 others on Saturday. Witnesses in Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, said they believed a suicide attacker drove through a security barricade in front of the police station before blowing up his vehicle outside the building. Officials confirmed a car bomb but wouldn't say if it was a suicide attack. In a separate incident, three American soldiers died when a roadside bomb ripped through their convoy near the oil fields of Kirkuk. Air France, BA cancel flights amid security concerns Both Air France and British Airways have separately cancelled weekend flights bound to the US. In both cases, airline officials in Paris and London cited security reasons for the cancellations but did not give details. MyDoom virus multiplying around the world A new internet worm is spreading fast and multiplying itself in systems around the world. The MyDoom virus apparently causes no damage to pc's, but it installs a program that gives hackers access to host computers. Millions of computers have so far been infected and the hunt for MyDoom's author continues with a half-a-million dollar reward out for information leading to the culprit. Pakistan sacks "father" of nuclear programme Pakistan's government has fired its top nuclear scientist amid a probe into the sale of nuclear technology to Iran and Libya. A government statement said Abdul Qadeer Khan had been taken out of his post as special adviser to the prime minister on the strategic programme. Government officials have identified Khan as a primary suspect in a two-month investigation into the alleged leaking of nuclear secrets to Libya and Iran. His removal is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, where Khan is seen by many Pakistanis as a vital deterrent to nuclear rival India. Bush says he wants facts on Iraqi weapons, but no commission US President George W. Bush has responded to increasing calls for an inquiry into Iraq's pre-war arms programmes, saying he wants to know the facts but stopping short of endorsing an independent investigation. Bush's political opponents as well as a number of fellow Republicans have called for an inquiry by an independent commission, after former chief US weapons inspector David Kay told a senate committee there was no evidence that Iraq possessed biological or chemical weapons. Claims that the former Iraqi regime had weapons of mass destruction were central to the Bush administration's case for going to war in Iraq. Hezbollah, Germany try to kickstart second prisoner swap Lebanon's Hizbollah militant group and German mediators are making moves to start the second phase of a prisoner swap with Israel. Local media have reported that the leader of Hizbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, and the head of Germany's external Federal Intelligence Service, August Hanning, met in Beirut to prepare the next stage of the exchange. Last Thursday, hundreds of Palestinians and Arab prisoners were freed in exchange for an Israeli businessman and the remains of three soldiers. Israeli troops raid Bethlehem after bus bombing Israeli forces have raided the West Bank city of Bethlehem and demolished the family home of a Palestinian policeman who killed 10 people and wounded nearly 50 in a suicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus. Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli soldiers shot dead a wanted Hamas militant who reportedly opened fire at the soldiers as they entered his home in Hebron. Troops in the Gaza Strip killed two Palestinian teenagers armed with explosives and a rocket-propelled grenade. Iran government deadlocked with hardliners over elections Iran's President Mohammad Khatami has acknowledged that his administration had reached a deadlock with hard-liners over who can run in next month's legislative elections. Although the hard-line Guardian Council reinstated nearly twelve hundred prospective candidates, it is still barring over 2,400 prominent reformist politicians and party leaders from the February polls. Meanwhile, Iranian reformist MPs have begun circulating and signing a letter of resignation in protest. WHO asks China to take urgent action as deadly bird flu spreads The World Health Organization has urged China to swiftly contain the spread of bird flu after authorities confirmed the illness in two more areas, including Shanghai. Bird flu has now spread to ten Asian countries and killed 10 people in Vietnam and Thailand. But Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra urged his country to eat more poultry, insisting properly-cooked chicken and eggs were safe. Hajj pilgrimage underway in Saudi Arabia The annual Hajj pilgrimage is underway in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca. About two million Muslims from around the world have gathered there for the religious event -- which has been overshadowed by fears of a possible terrorist attack. Some five thousand police and security officers are deployed in the city. The journey to Mecca is mandatory once in a lifetime for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it. Carolina Panthers vs. New England Patriots at Super Bowl About one billion television viewers are gearing up for the Super Bowl this Sunday in Houston, Texas, featuring the Carolina Panthers versus the New England Patriots. The Patriots are the heavy favourites but a bruising match is expected. Tickets in the meantime carry a heavy price ranging from $400 to $600. But even for fans who can afford them, tickets now are almost impossible to come by. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
