The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 03-03-23

The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Hellenic Radio (ERA) <www.ert.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Weather forecast

Winds east, northeasterly, moderate to strong, rising to very strong in the east and gale force in the Aegean.

The temperature in Athens will range from 4 to 10 C and in Thessaloniki from &#8211;1 to 4 C.

(23/3/2003 11:18:00 рм)

[02] Pounding of Iraq continues

Yesterday's bombing in Baghdad resulted in the death of at least 3 people and the injury of more than 200. In Basra at least 50 Iraqis were killed according to the TV network Al Jazeera of Qatar.

The Iraqi Information Minister Mohamed Seyd Al Sayiaf accused the American forces of hitting residential areas. From TV he said that seven houses were destroyed and others suffered damages.

Meanwhile, battles are taking place 160 kilometers from Baghdad, while according to the Iraqi TV the leader of the Baath party was killed at the town of Najaf.

More battles took place near the port of Umm Qasr and in Nasryia, which according to t he Americans it has been seized.

At the same time, the American forces launched attacks in Northern Iraq against Islamic Kurds, who are believed to be cooperating with the Al Quaeda network killing 45 of them.

On a relative development, the American general Stanley Mc Crystal stated that the American forces have not any proof yet that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction.

Meanwhile, a US soldier has been arrested after a grenade attack at a rear US base camp in northern Kuwait, which killed another serviceman and wounded 12 others.

A military spokesman said two grenades had been rolled into a command tent in Camp Pennsylvania, the base of the 101st US Airborne Division.

Eleven soldiers were evacuated to field hospitals in the area, while two others were treated at the scene.

However, military sources said one man had later died of his injuries.

Moreover, Britain said it appeared that a Royal Air Force plane that went missing in the Gulf on Sunday had been shot down by a U.S. Patriot missile.

"It appears the RAF aircraft was engaged by a Patriot missile near the Kuwaiti border. The crew are missing. I can't confirm the type of aircraft or the number of crew," said a spokesman for Britain's Defence Ministry.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, speaking in Damascus on his way to Cairo for an Arab foreign ministers' meeting, calls on Arab governments to confront "the US aggression" and warns Turkey against supporting the US.

At the same time, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's birthplace Tikrit was also bombed heavily, while the Iraqi authorities visit there to brief journalists was cancelled.

In the meantime, the Australian government is thinking of confiscating all Iraqi assets in Australia following thus the example of the USA. At the same time, in a telephone conversation, the American President George W. Bush thanked the Australian Prime Minister John Howard for Australia's participation in the war against Iraq.

On a relative development, three British journalists were killed near Basra, while an Australian cameraman died after a booby-trapped car in Northern Iraq exploded.

Meanwhile, while Turkey is sending troops to Northern Iraq to prevent the creation of an independent Kurdish state, the USA is changing their war plans ordering 25 ships that are carrying equipment and the 4th Infantry Division to leave the Meditteranean Sea and to head for the Persian Gulf. Washington is aiming at creating another front in Northern Iraq, this time from the Iraqi Kurdistan, warning at the same time the Turks to keep away from Iraq.

At the same time, in an interview with Newsweek, the Turkish Prime Minister Tayeep Erdogan maintained that he enjoys the USA's consent to send troops in Northern Iraq.

On a relative development, Germany warned that it would withdraw its crews froom NATO AWACS aircrafts if Turkey invaded Northern Iraq.

The Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou from his side stated that no neighbouring country with Iraq should get involved with the war in Iraq.

At the same time, in an interview with the Observer, the British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook stated that Britain would regret it finally for cooperating with the USA at the expense of the European Union. 'We should sustain our traditional alliance with the USA even if the Bush administration does not share our vision for the world and our values.

(23/3/2003 11:20:00 рм)

The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article