Deutsche Welle English Service News 09.21st.2002, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: German-American Relations at All-Time Low Comments made by the German Justice Minister likening President Bush to Hitler have upset leaders in Washington. Despite an apology from Chancellor Schroeder, relations between the two countries remain tense. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http: http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1432_A_641058_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Palestinian leader refuses to give up Israeli tanks and troops have demolished a large part of Yasser Arafat's Ramallah compound headquarters, but the Palestinian leader has refused to surrender. In his first public statement since the Israeli siege began last Thursday, Arafat again called for an end to attacks inside Israel but he said he would not capitulate. He also said he would not give up the Palestinian claim to Jerusalem. As Israeli bulldozers and tanks wrecked the stone buildings overnight in Arafat's compound, some witnesses said Arafat's life was in danger. But Israel says their goal was to isolate the Palestinian leader, and not kill him. Israel also wants 20 Palestinian militants it says are holed up in the leader's headquarters. Israel holds Arafat responsible for the two back to back suicide bombings last week, charging he has failed to rein in militants during the two-year-old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. International criticism of Israeli attack on Arafat headquarters Israel's siege on Yasser Arafat's headquarters has drawn criticism from around the world. The French foreign ministry called the operation "unacceptable" while British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said an attack on Arafat's office "wasn't the answer to suicide bombings." European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana warned that the Israeli operation would not end "terrorism." He added that the escalating violence in the region would undermine efforts to advance peace. Glacier triggers Russia mudslide, many still missing A huge glacier slid down a mountain side in southern Russia, moving through rural communities and leaving possibly as many as 100 people dead, emergency officials said on Saturday. An Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman said a massive chunk of ice broke away from the Maili glacier in the Caucasus mountain range on Friday night. Large amounts of ice, mud and rock poured into the region of North Ossetia. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the mudslide a catatrophe which he had never seen before. Rescue efforts were underway to save as many as 100 people who were still missing, including a 27-person camera crew and one of Russia's well-known film directors. Iraq won't accept any new UN resolutions Iraq has said it would not accept any new UN resolutions which were different from the ones already agreed upon with the United Nations. The latest announcement came in a statement released following a meeting of top Iraqi leaders chaired by President Saddam Hussein. The United States and Britain have stepped up pressure on the Security Council to adopt a tough new Iraq resolution backed by force should Baghdad refuse to disarm. Meanwhile, U.S. Army General Tommy Franks told a news conference in Kuwait that his troops were ready for war with Iraq whenever President George W. Bush gave the order. Franks insisted, however, that Bush had taken no final decision on launching a campaign against Iraqm, but he stressed the United States would not accept a continuation of the status quo. U.N. police turn back Kosovo Serb refugee convoy United Nations police have turned back a convoy of Kosovo Serb refugees who were trying to make a mass return to the internationally administered province on Saturday. Peacekeepers stood by as several dozen refugees including children were refused entry into Kosovo and returned to Serbia proper after a brief stand-off at a border crossing near the southern Serbian village of Merdare. A UN spokesman said the administration wanted to help Serbs return to their homes but it had to be done sensitively in order to avoid mass marches that could re-ignite ethnic tension. US national security advisor says US-German relations "poisoned" Controversy over a German minister's alleged comparison of U.S. President Bush's political methods to those of Adolf Hitler has overshadowed the final day before a general election in Germany. Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin has denied a newspaper report that she likened George W. Bush's stance on Iraq to Hitler's use of foreign policy to hide domestic problems. But she still faces calls to quit and charges from Bush's national security adviser Condoleezza Rice that U.S.-German relations have been "poisoned". It was unclear what impact, if any, the last-minute controversy would have on Sunday's result. Schroeder said he accepted his justice minister's denial of the remark, but made clear there was no room in his cabinet for such comparisons. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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