Deutsche Welle
English Service News
4th November, 2001, 16:00 UTC
As the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan enters its fifth
week, U.S. jets continue to pound Taliban frontline positions in the
north of the country. Unconfirmed reports from aid workers in the
region said between 200 and 300 Taliban fighters had been wounded and
were being treated in military hospitals. Meanwhile, the Pentagon
said a U.S. helicopter on a special forces mission had crashed in bad
weather, injuring four crew members. The four were safely rescued by
another helicopter. The Pentagon has also flatly denied Taliban
claims that a second helicopter had been shot down, resulting in the
deaths of 40-50 Americans.
Saudi-born fugitive Osama Bin Laden has released another statement
appealing to Muslims to join a holy war against the West. Bin Laden
also denounced those who support Washington as traitors to Islam.
His statement came in a recorded video address, parts of which were
broadcast by the Qatar-based television station al-Jazeera. Analysts
say bin Laden's latest comments, made just ahead of Islam's holy
month of Ramadan, were another clear effort on his part to define the
Afghanistan conflict in religious terms. The White House dismissed
the statement as an act of desperation and said the latest propaganda
showed how isolated bin Laden was from the rest of the world.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has held talks with leaders in
Uzbekistan about the situation in Afghanistan. Speaking afterwards
at a press conference, Rumsfeld said anti-terrorist measures were
showing "measurable progress." He expressed appreciation for the
support given by Uzbekistan for the military campaign underway in
Afghanistan. At least 1,000 U.S. troops are in Uzbekistan, which has
also offered its Khanabad air base for humanitarian and
search-and-rescue operations. Rumsfeld is due in Pakistan later today
for talks with President Pervez Musharraf.
Anthrax has been discovered at a third U.S. postal facility in New
Jersey, where one worker is already suspected of suffering from the
skin form of the deadly disease, state officials said on Saturday.
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services announced
that anthrax had turned up in one sample collected by the FBI from a
regional mail processing and distribution center. The U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed five anthrax cases
in New Jersey so far. Meanwhile, in his weekly radio address,
President George W. Bush has called the anthrax mail scare sweeping
the nation "a second wave of terrorist attacks". Four Americans have
recently died from the deadly bacteria.
At least two Israelis were killed Sunday in an attack by a
Palestinian on a bus in East Jerusalem. More than 30 other passengers
were injured, some seriously, before the attacker was shot dead by
police. Radio reports in Israel said the man fired at the bus from a
moving vehicle. The extremist Hamas organization claimed
responsibility for the attack and said it was revenge for the killing
of a Hamas leader by Israeli troops last Wednesday. Earlier Sunday,
Israel announced that it was pulling its troops out of the West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has postponed a visit to the
United States, depriving Washington of a chance to increase pressure
for an end to violence which it fears will disrupt its anti-terror
alliance. In a further blow to international peace hopes, Israeli
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat
failed to hold formal talks despite attending a conference together
on the Spanish island of Majorca. But Belgium said they would meet
separately with European Union officials in Brussels on Monday.
Police are inspecting a car explosion in the British city of
Birmingham. They said they believed guerrillas opposed to the
Northern Irish peace process were responsible. No serious injuries
have been reported. A police spokeswoman said the blast, which
occurred late on Saturday near the city's main rail station, may be
linked to an Irish dissident group opposed to the peace process in
Northern Ireland. She said the explosion took place in area
containing crowded night-clubs and cinemas.
People in Cuba are on high alert as Hurricane Michelle picks up speed
and heads towards the Carribbean island. Cuban authorities said they
were confident that several days of preparations plus the evacuation
of 200,000 people would minimize damage and prevent loss of life.
With winds of up to 135 mph (215 kph), Michelle has already killed at
least 10 people and left 26 missing in Central America.
Serbian News Network - SNN
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