Deutsche Welle English Service News 26.02.2004, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Schröder Returns to the White House German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder left for a two-day trip to the U.S. on Thursday. For the first time in more than two years, he'll be back at the White House. Is the rift over Iraq a thing of the past? To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1430_A_1123916_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Macedonia's president killed in plane crash Macedonia's president, Boris Trajkovski was killed in a plan crash in southern Bosnia Tuesday morning. His plan was reported to have hit a mountain in poor weather. A total of nine people were on the plane. There were no survivors. Boris Trajkovski was known as a moderate leader who many credited with uniting his ethnically divided country. Javier Solana, the EU's foreign and security affairs chief, said today was a very tragic day for the people of Macedonia and for all Europeans. Armed gangs roam Haitian capital as crisis escalates In Haiti, armed supporters of President Jean Bertrand Aristide have set up roadblocks and looted the capital Port-au-Prince in anticipation of a threatened rebel attack. Hundreds of Haitians and foreigners are trying to leave the country as civil unrest escalates. Opposition leader Charles Baker has called on the international community for assistance. Meanwhile, France has become the first country to call on Aristide to step down so that an international peacekeeping force could be deployed. US President George W. Bush said a security force could only be sent after a settlement is reached, and warned potential Haitian refugees against taking to sea. The United Nations Security Council and the Organization of American States will hold emergency meetings on Haiti later today. North Korea says it is ready to freeze nuclear weapons program North Korea told the United States Thursday it was willing to freeze its nuclear weapons program if Washington takes "corresponding measures" at the same time. Six-nation talks have been going on China's capital Beijing, Thursday, aimed at resolving the dispute over North Korea's nuclear programme. Former minister says UK spied on UN chief Former UK government minister Clare Short has said on radio that Britain conducted spying operations on UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in the run-up to last year's war on Iraq. Asked whether British spies had been told to carry out operations within the United Nations, Short asserted: "Yes, absolutely." In response British Prime Minister Tony Blair speaking at his monthly press conference said that he would not comment on the truth of the allegations but stressed that the fact of making such claims was deeply irresponsible. He added that Clair Short's actions were undermining British security. Israel raids Palestinian banks of millions Israeli forces have raided Palestinian banks seizing millions of dollars in cash. Israel justified the unprecedented raids saying they targeted money funnelled by Iran, Syria and Lebanon to Palestinian militant groups. Up to nine million dollars were taken from four banks. Israel asserts the money will be used in unspecified humanitarian aid for Palestinians. Israeli authorities referred to the operation as "legal confiscation" whereas Palestinian officials said the raid violated banking agreements and could trigger a run on the banks. Meanwhile two Palestinians have been shot dead after opening fire on Israeli troops and civilians at the Erez crossing point into the Gaza Strip. One Israeli also died in the attack according to the emergency services. Fifteen die in Siberian cafe explosion 15 people have died in an explosion at a cafe in a city in Russia's Siberia region. 19 more people were injured in the blast which occurred in the city of Chita, about 4,500 km east of Moscow and near Russia's borders with Mongolia and China. It is not clear what caused the explosion although emergency workers at the scene said it could have been an accidental gas explosion. Germany's Schroeder sets off for U.S. visit German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is on his way to the United States for a visit that will take him to the White House for the first time in two years. Schroeder's meeting with US President George W. Bush is expected to focus on putting their differences over the Iraq war behind them. Schroeder told German radio ahead of his visit that both nations now have a common interest in stabilising Iraq. Germany has offered non-military support, but stands firm in its refusal to send troops to Iraq. Indonesian court convicts first of Marriott bombers An Indonesian court trying people in connection with last year's Marriott hotel bombing in Jakarta that killed 12 people has convicted a man and sentenced him to 10 years in jail. 23 year-old Sardona Siliwangi was found guilty of storing explosives used in the explosion. He is the first person convicted in connection with the bombing. The al-Qaida-linked terror group Jemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for the Marriott bombing and the 2002 bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, which killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists. European Space Agency mission launch delayed by one day The European Space Agency's plan to launch a probe intended to land on a comet for the first time has been delayed by one day due to unfavourable weather conditions. The probe called Rosetta is to be launched from a base in French Guyana. The aim of the 100 billion euros project is to land the probe on the frozen surface of a comet known as 67P after a journey lasting 10 years. The comet is in orbit in the solar system's main asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. It is hoped that the mission will reveal information about the origins of the universe. Scientists at mission control in Darmstadt, Germay cancelled the lift-off just minutes before its scheduled launch. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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