HIGH WATER EXTENDS RHINE RIVER BLOCKAGE Rising water levels on the Rhine caused by heavy rain are delaying an operation near Karlsruhe to raise two sunken boats which have blocked the river's main navigation channel since early last week, a Karlsruhe water authority spokesman said. He said two floating cranes were unable to begin lifting the sunken tug Orinoko and its lighter because the water level had reached 815 centimetres and was forecast to rise to 820-830 cm by tomorrow. He was unable to say when the operation might begin. Meanwhile, high water at Cologne has forced vessels to travel at reduced speed, a water authority spokesman in Cologne said. But a water authority spokesman in Duisburg, 60 kms north of Cologne, said vessels there were moving normally.