23 May 2002
Top security in Berlin ahead of Bush visit
German police have turned the centre of Berlin into a virtual fortress ahead of a visit by US president George W Bush. The largest security mobilisation in post-war history has sealed off the government quarter where Bush will be staying. A police spokesman says snipers will be in position while 5,000 police reinforcements have arrived from around Germany. They will make up half the total number of officers drafted in to combat the threat of violent demonstrations. Yesterday, at least 17 000 protestors marched peacefully in Berlin, mostly denouncing US foreign policy. Some members of the centre-left government are set to urge Bush to back-pedal on his stance over attacking Iraq. Out on the streets, security measures have been painstaking - checking inside lamp-posts for explosive devices and welding shut sewers.
Israel struck by suicide bombing again
There's been another suicide attack in Israel - the second in three days. A Palestinian man blew himself up last night in a packed public garden at Rishon Letzion, killing two people and wounding 27 others. It is the second time that the town's been hit. Two weeks ago, 16 people died when a local snooker hall was targetted. It now seems clear that a lull that followed Israel's military offensive last month is over and some sort of retaliation may well take place. The al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group linked to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, says it carried out the attack. It claimed responsibility just two hours after it lost a senior commander and two subordinates in an Israeli missile strike in the West Bank. Israel didn't wait for its admission to accuse the Palestinian Authority again of orchestrating "terrorism". But the Palestinian leadership also condemned it as a terrorist act and repeated its claim that such carnage worked against Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
UK Government rejects calls to relax drugs laws
The British government is being urged to relax controls on ecstasy, the drug commonly used in nightclubs. The radical parliamentary report recommends a new Dutch-style regime on illegal substances. Its findings are based on recent studies which show drugs use is on the increase. Ecstasy is currently ranked alongside heroin under British law. The MP's also recommend offering medical heroin to addicts and setting up safe so-called "injecting rooms", - measures which are already in place in the Netherlands and Switzerland. The government is considering relaxing its stance on the use of cannabis but is set to retain its hard line against ecstasy.
Clucking, but no plucking for designer fowl
An Israeli scientist is certain to make feathers fly in the poultry industry with the introduction of featherless chickens. The new hybrid fowl appears to be able to walk into a plastic bag and be hermetically sealed ready for the supermarket shelf - but they have been bred for environmentally friendly production in tropical climates. Geneticist, Avigdor Cahaner, explained that "by removing the feathers, the chickens will withstand the heat better. Conditions will be better, their welfare will be better, they will grow more, there will be lower mortality and therefore more efficient production in tropical regions." The environmental savings come in the reduction of energy for chicken shed ventilation and in the plucking process, however, animal welfare experts are unlikely to be impressed.