HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
Deutsche Welle English Service News March 26th, 2001, 16:00 UTC ----------------------------------------------------------------- Sun, Sand and Surgery British patients fed up with waiting for a free hospital bed are travelling abroad for treatment, after last year's European Court of Justice ruling, enabling hospital treatment in foreign countries. http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1448_A_484644_1_A,00.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- Earthquake in North Afghanistan claims thousands of lives The death toll from two earthquakes in northern Afghanistan could be as high as 5,000 according to officials at the Organisation for European Affairs and the Afghan interior ministry. The epic centers were located about 90 miles north of Kabul near the town of Nahrin in the Hindu Kush mountains. Officials added at least 4,000 people were injured and 20,000 are believed to be homeless. Powerful aftershocks, treacherous terrain and wintry weather have hindered rescue parties working on the mountain slopes according to officials. The U.S. Geological Survey in a statement published on their website said the quakes struck the area on Monday evening and early Tuesday morning local time. Humanitarian aid on its way to Afghan earthquake victims The European Commission, through its humanitarian aid office, known as (ECHO) on Tuesday announced emergency aid for victims of the earthquake in Afghanistan. Hundreds of tents and blankets are already enroute to the disaster zone, with an additional 1,500 tents and shelter kits being prepared for shipment. Israel says Arafat will not travel to Arab League summit Israel, ignoring pressure from the United States and the European Union on Tuesday said Palestinian President Yasser Arafat had not met its terms and will not allow Mr. Arafat to attend the two-day Arab League summit in Beirut. However, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon left open the possibility of a last-minute reprieve that would lift Mr. Arafat's three-month-old travel ban. As diplomats haggled about a ceasefire, the bloodshed continued on Tuesday. Israeli police said two Palestinians blew themselves up with their own bomb near Jerusalem on the way to an attack. The 18 months of voilence has claimed at least 1,103 Palestinians, 358 Israelis, and thousands more have been injured. Thousands of Palestinians rally peacefully in Gaza Thousands of Palestinians marched in Gaza on Tuesday to protest the Israeli travel ban on Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. Holding large placards and waving Palestinian flags, the protesters urged Arab leaders gathering in Beirut to provide arms for the 18-month-old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Palestinian officials at the rally accused Israel of trying to blackmail Mr. Arafat by demanding more concessions on a U.S. truce-to-peacemaking plan before letting him go to Beirut. Palestinian national and Islamic factions at the rally called on Arab leaders not to propose peace to Israel until it has withdrawn entirely from occupied territories. Arab leaders start to arrive in Beirut Arab leaders have started to arrive in Beirut for their two-day summit. The 22 members of the Arab League are expected to endorse the Saudi land-for-peace proposal. The 53 year long Arab-Israeli conflict tops the agenda. Also attending the summit will be UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. The EU's foreign policy supremo, Javier Solana and Jose Maria Aznar, the prime minister of Spain and current EU president. The ailing leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates will send representatives. The only confirmed no-show is Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Talks Off in Italian Labour Dispute Italy's government has ruled out talks with the country's three largest trade unions aimed at averting a general strike. The talks had been due today. Union leaders had also threatened not to attend after several members of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's cabinet had insinuated union sympathies for terrorism. On Saturday up to three million Italian workers had converged on Rome in protest at plans by Berlusconi's government to erode job protection laws. Demonstrators also held a minute's silence for a government labour law reformer, Marco Biagi, who was assassinated last Tuesday. "Galileo" - Europe's Answer to GPS EU transport ministers have decided to erect an independant European satellite navigation system. The European Union plans to have 30 satellites in orbit by 2008 to serve civilian purposes such as freight forwarders and fisheries. The system tentatively named "Galileo", will have a total cost of 3.6 bln euros with a number of agencies and the private sector splitting the bill. The EU hopes to rival the American Gobal Positioning System or GPS network that already enables users to pinpoint their locations. The first satellites are to be launched on Ariane and Russian Soyuz rockets, in 2004. Peso Plunges Further In Argentina a rush on banks and money bureaus has eroded the peso a further 20 percent against the dollar as fears of hyperinflation grow. By Monday evening as anxious customers queued, hoping to turn their savings into hard currencies, the peso had fallen to about 3.90 pesos to the dollar. That's a slump of 65 percent since early January when President Eduardo Duhalde's government removed parity. Analysts say although Argentina's central bank has invested 1.2 billion dollars in reserves to prop up the peso, its efforts have proved ineffective. Stoppages in Eastern Germany Metal engineering companies in Germany's eastern state of Saxony say they have filed for a court injunction in a bid to stop warning strikes in the region by the trade union IG Metall. There's also been stoppages in another state, Brandenburg, and the eastern part of Berlin. IG Metall wants a 6.5 percent pay rise. Employers have offered two percent each for this year and next year. Ifo index shows German business confidence is growing The key German IFO-business index on Tuesday jumped to an 11-month high reflecting confidence that the German economy, Europe's largest is recovering from a mild recession. The index showed current conditions remain difficult, however, German businesses are confident about the long range outlook. The widely watched Ifo index is a monthly survey of some 7,000 German firms. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
