Foreign Desk
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
BLAST ROCKS JAKARTA NEAR AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY
JAKARTA, Indonesia – A powerful explosion near the Australian Embassy in Jakarta wounded at least four people today and damaged a high fence surrounding the diplomatic compound.
The source of the blast was not immediately known. Windows of nearby buildings were shattered and several cars were damaged. An AP reporter on the scene said at least four people were wounded. A severed human leg lay in the street.
In the same neighborhood last year, 12 people died in a suicide attack on the JW Marriott hotel. In 2002, more than 200 people died in an attack on two nightclubs on the tourist island of Bali.
The blast occurred shortly after 10:15 a.m. Police were not immediately available for comment. Australia, America, and several other countries have recently warned that Muslim militants may be planning new attacks in Indonesia.
– Associated Press
CARIBBEAN
HURRICANE IVAN DEVASTATES GRENADA
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada – The most powerful hurricane to hit Grenada in a decade killed at least 12 people, damaged 90% of its homes, and destroyed a prison, leaving criminals on the loose, officials said yesterday. American medical students were taking precautions against looters.
Hurricane Ivan was set to inflict direct hits on Jamaica, Cuba, and possibly the southern United States, the U.S. Hurricane Center in Miami said. Before it slammed into Grenada Tuesday evening, Ivan gave Barbados and St. Vincent a pummeling, damaging hundreds of homes and cutting utilities. Thousands of people there remained without electricity and water yesterday. In Tobago, officials reported a 32-year-old pregnant woman died yesterday when a 40-foot palm tree fell into her home, pinning her to her bed. Details on the extent of the death and destruction in Grenada did not come through until yesterday because the storm cut all communications with the island of 100,000 people and radio transmissions on the island.
“We are terribly devastated…It’s beyond imagination,” Prime Minister Mitchell told his people and the world from aboard a British Royal Navy vessel that rushed to the rescue. Mr. Mitchell, whose own home was flattened by Ivan, said 90% of homes on the island were damaged and he feared the death toll would rise.
– Associated Press
MIDDLE EAST
FIRE AT TURKISH COPPER MINE KILLS 19
ANKARA, Turkey – A fire raged through a copper mine in northern Turkey yesterday, killing 19 workers and injuring 17 others. Rescuers were searching the smoke-clogged shafts to make sure no one was left inside.
The miners were trapped nearly 500 feet beneath the surface when the blaze broke our Wednesday morning in the mine in the town of Kure, 185 miles north of the Turkish capital, Ankara. Ilker Keremoglu, chief executive officer of STFA, an Istanbul-based company that owns the copper mine, said the fire started during welding inside. It took rescuers four hours to douse the blaze. They needed military-issue gas masks to enter the smoke-filled mine in search of survivors, who had fled to the lower levels.
Seventeen miners, some suffering from smoke inhalation, and 19 bodies were brought to the surface by rescuers, the Anatolia news agency said. Rescuers continued searching through the mine yesterday evening to make sure that no one was left.
– Associated Press
ISRAELI TROOPS MOVE ON TERRORISTS TO HALT ROCKET FIRE
JERUSALEM – Israeli helicopters fired on Palestinian Arabs armed with rifles and anti-tank weapons in northern Gaza early today, the military said, stepping up actions to prevent militants from firing rockets at settlements and towns. Hospital officials said three Palestinian Arabs were wounded in the attack.
Palestinian Arab witnesses said Israeli forces opened fire as gunmen gathered to try to stop a military tank advance on the Jebaliya refugee camp, home to 100,000 poverty-stricken Palestinian Arab refugees and a hotbed of terrorists. The Israeli military said the armed Palestinian Arabs that were attacked by the helicopters were also planting bombs. Military officials said soldiers did not enter the refugee camp. Yesterday, terrorists fired eight homemade “Qassam” rockets at Israeli towns despite the army operation, the military said. No one was hurt.
Also yesterday, Prime Minister Sharon decided to move another section of his West Bank security barrier closer to the cease-fire line between Israel and the West Bank, but he also endorsed a decision to include the largest West Bank settlement and a bloc of smaller ones near Jerusalem on the Israeli side of the security fence.
– Associated Press