News for Wednesday: April 19th, 2000

Al Fayed slams Government for Diana "cover up"(Yahoo: Reuters) By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Mohamed Al Fayed, the multi-millionaire owner of the luxury Harrods department store, has accused the Government of a "shameful cover up" over the deaths of his son Dodi and Princess Diana. Fayed said the Government's "blanket refusal to answer legitimate questions" about Dodi and Diana's deaths in a Paris car crash in August 1997 would "only fuel suspicion of foul play". "The people of Britain deserve answers," Fayed said in a statement. "After all Diana was, in (Prime Minister) Tony Blair's words 'The People's Princess'." The Egyptian-born Harrods boss called for a full public inquiry into the crash, saying he refused to accept the conclusions of an inquiry by French authorities. Diana and Dodi were found in the mangled wreckage of their Mercedes after it sped into a Paris underpass, hit a concrete pillar and veered into the wall. The French investigation concluded that Henri Paul, the driver of the car, was drunk and was to blame for the accident. FAYED SEES BRITISH HAND IN CRASH Fayed has repeatedly accused the British establishment of being behind the crash. In a recent High Court libel case, he accused Prince Philip of masterminding Dodi and Diana's deaths. Fayed said on Tuesday his written call to Home Secretary Jack Straw for a public inquiry had been rejected. "Straw maintained that the French authorities were better placed than the British to make an inquiry and that there was 'general acceptance of the conclusions reached by the French judges'," Fayed said. He also said Straw did not accept that there was widespread public concern about the crash. Fayed said he totally rejected these arguments. In an open letter published on his Web site, Fayed said all his attempts to make progress towards a second public inquiry had been blocked by "a brick wall of silence and secrecy". Fayed's statement said a poll running on the Web site at www.alfayed.com showed "overwhelming" public support for a British inquiry, with 76 percent in favour. ~*~ Youngsters Airlifted From Dartmoor(Yahoo: PA) Twelve schoolchildren on a Duke of Edinburgh's award expedition have been airlifted off a wet and windy Dartmoor after getting into difficulties. Two of the youngsters suffering from the effects of hypothermia were taken by search and rescue helicopter and an ambulance to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth for treatment and checks. One of the party, who were understood to be aged between 14 and 16 and from a school in Bedford, called Brixham coastguards on Tuesday afternoon with a mobile phone. Coastguards alerted Devon and Cornwall Police who co-ordinated a rescue operation. The youngsters were picked up from Fernworthy Forest, near Postbridge. RAF Chivenor 22 Squadron Sea King co-pilot, Flight Lieutenant Kev Berry, said they picked up members of the Dartmoor Rescue Group at Postbridge and began searching for the youngsters. They located them in a valley where they had managed to shelter from heavy rain and wind. "They had prepared themselves quite well, and had cared for the casualties by putting them in tents," said Flt Lt Berry. Police said tonight two of the youngsters were suffering the effects of hypothermia, while others were "very cold and wet". ~*~ Russia's Putin says Queen clued up on politics(Yahoo: Reuters) KIEV (Reuters) - Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin has said he was pleasantly surprised to find the Queen showing an avid interest in affairs of state and relations with Russia. Putin, jovial and upbeat after talks with Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, told a news conference he had had a "very interesting" informal meeting on Monday with the Queen, lasting 50 minutes instead of the originally planned 15. "I had been told the Queen is not interested in anything political and speaks only on social issues," Putin said. "On the contrary, the Queen is very well informed on a number of international issues and on security matters and she displayed avid interest." Putin said the Queen "had shown a keen interest" in his account of the situation in Russia and "made a few remarks on relations between Russia and the royal family". The Queen is distantly related to the former Russian royal family, whose rule ended in 1917 ahead of the Bolshevik revolution. Putin's meeting took place after talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair on his first foreign trip since being elected last month. Putin later flew to Ukraine. The trip also included a stop in ex- Soviet Belarus. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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