U.S. to loosen security standards for new embassy in Berlin

A U.S. embassy spokeswoman said Secretary of State Colin Powell had decided to make an exception for Berlin and rule that existing security arrangements were sufficient although they did not meet standards set after the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Under former U.S. president Bill Clinton Washington had demanded Berlin shift two streets to give the future embassy a 30-metre (100- foot) buffer zone. This not only would have damaged the symmetry around the 18th century Bradenburg Gate - the city's symbol - but would also have taken land designated for Germany's planned Holocaust memorial.

The new American embassy will be built on the site of former U.S. embassy to Germany until the Second World War. The building was destroyed during Allied bombing of Berlin in the war. During the Cold War the site was trapped within the Berlin Wall's death strip. Talks with Berlin on final details of the project were continuing. "We hope the few remaining problems can be resolved in the near future," said the spokeswoman.

(la/dpa)