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24 June 2002 Israel kills Hamas suspects and enters Ramallah
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli helicopters have fired missiles at two cars travelling on the outskirts of the Rafah refugee camp. Six Palestinians were killed; two of them, senior activists in the military wing of the Islamic group Hamas, were the intended target of the strike, according to Israeli radio. 10 people, including several children, were reportedly injured. Palestinian sources say the attack, near the border with Egypt, was the latest assassination attempt on militants waging an uprising against Israeli occupation. Under pressure to stop the militants, the Palestinian Authority has put Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas, under house arrest in Gaza City, and arrested about a dozen of his activists. Hamas has claimed responsibility for a series of suicide bombings. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has made an end to such attacks a pre-requisite to negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. Early today Israeli tanks and armoured personnel carriers entered the West Bank city of Ramallah and surrounded the headquarters of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. Ramallah is the sixth Palestinian city to be re-occupied in the past week. Israel has called up about 2,000 army reservists to assist its new offensive |
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Putin admits failure over Chechnya
Russian President Vladimir Putin has given his second annual news conference, at the Kremlin. He has addressed a series of international issues including the breakaway region of Chechnya. Putin told the 700 assembled journalists that federal forces could end their operations to flush out separatist rebels by the end of the year. He said Moscow had failed the Chechen people and allowed extremists to prevail. He also said that while he supported the idea of European Union enlargement, he was opposed to any move that would threaten Russian territorial sovereignty. He was responding to questions about the EU's plans regarding the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad. Kaliningrad is in the Russian federation but lies between Poland and Lithuiania, both countries which are in line to join the EU. Brussels wants to introduce visas for Russians travelling to and from Kaliningrad. Putin has said it is unimaginable that Russians wanting to visit family there would have to first go to the consulate of another country. Putin also answered a question on Estonia, saying he saw no reason to review relations with the independent Baltic state if it joined NATO. |
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Russia floods
Rescue workers, supported by the army, continue to battle against floods in southern Russia, which have swept away homes, wrecked industrial areas and destroyed transport links. No final figure has been put on the death toll, which was reduced over the weekend by the Emergencies Ministry to 24. However, thousands have been left homeless after an estimated 40 thousand homes were inundated. Evacuees have had to salvage whatever they can from the rising waters. Early estimates of the damage already run to around 35 million euro. In the Ingushetia region an entire cement producing factory was washed away in the torrent. In Chechnya, 13 thousand troops deployed to quell separatist rebels have been switched to rescue operations. The general picture is mixed, in some regions floodwaters are subsiding. In areas near the Black Sea, they are rising. Weather forecasts predict further rain. |
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Too little, too late in Iran
Iranians have criticised rescue efforts after an earthquake at the weekend, which left more than two hundred dead, and many thousands homeless. The quake, which measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, struck early Saturday morning. Its epicentre was some 200 kilometres west of the capital Tehran. Around one hundred villages have been totally destroyed or badly damaged. 1500 people have been injured, and it is estimated 25,000 are now without homes. Survivors claim they are still waiting for food, medicine and tents. America has offered humanitarian aid, despite sanctions imposed on Iran, and the fact it is classed by the U.S. as one of the axis of evil. The search for survivors goes on. 222 people have been officially confirmed as dead, although that figure is almost certain to rise. |
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German construction strike continues
In Potsdam Square in Berlin German construction workers are continuing their strike in a dispute over pay. And it is not just in the centre of the capital, but also in over 2400 other building sites that work has come to a halt. Union IG Bau has decided 30,000 of its members should down tools, extending the industrial action into its second week. Meanwhile officials continue to negotiate a deal. The workers are demanding a four point five per cent pay rise. Employers are offering two point one per cent for two thousand and three. The signs are both sides may soon shake on a deal. |
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Deadly measles epidemic in southern Italy
The region of Campania in southern Italy is trying to fight its worst epidemic of measles in thirty years. Three children have died in as many weeks after catching the virus, with many others ill in hospital in the city of Naples. Measles is dangerous in a very small number of cases, when it can cause pneumonia or brain swelling. Naples, with its high population density and high birth rate, is particularly vulnerable. Part of the problem in southern Italy is that less than 50 per cent of children are sent for anti-measles jabs. German health authorities have advised tourists travelling to the region to make sure that they are vaccinated. |
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Koreans elevate Hiddink to national hero
Behind the mask of traditional South Korean reserve there now lies utter adoration for the national side's Dutch coach Guus Hiddink. The World Cup hosts have fallen head over heels for hard-working Hiddink after he took their young team to the semi-finals, overcoming European favourites Portugal and Spain in the process. There is even talk of giving him honorary citizenship. Korean Airlines has offered him free first class travel for life. The former PSV Eindhoven coach won approval as a tough task master. He has transformed a team that had never won a World Cup game in five previous tournaments. The Koreans love his commitment, "I don't feel he's a foreigner at all", one woman said, "He's like a father and a Korean." Even President Kim Dae-Jung has thanked him for the country's footballing success. South Korea's "Hiddinkmania" may fizzle out if they fail to overcome the Germans in the semi-finals. But for now he is the hero of the hour, his image on web sites, commercials, flags and memorabilia around the country. |
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Forest fires continue to rage in America
Two huge forest blazes in Arizona have combined to become the largest fire in the state's history. 300,000 acres have now been burnt. 1700 firefighters are doing their best to limit how much more will go up in flames, but at the moment, they are loosing the battle. People are packing up and heading out. It is too dangerous to stay, and many do not know if they will have a home to return to. The battle goes on to quell the inferno. The blaze started on Tuesday as a 300-acre fire. But tinder dry conditions and strong winds have whipped it into huge proportions. There has been better news in Colorado, where the fire there is now around 70 percent contained. Nevertheless land burned in this year's Western fire season alone stands at more than double the 10-year-average. |
