Deutsche Welle
English Service News
April 1st 2005, 16:00 UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
World's Catholics Pray for Gravely ill Pope
The condition of Pope John Paul II is described as "stable, but
serious" after deteriorating drastically on Friday as millions of
anxious faithful around the world gathered to pray for the ailing
pontiff.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1537791,00.html
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Pope still conscious after heart failure
The Vatican says that Pope John Paul II is still conscious and in a
stable but serious condition after suffering heart failure. A
Vatican spokesman said the 84-year-old pontiff had received a
special communion reserved for those near death. This came after a
sharp downturn in his health overnight. Officials added that the
Pope was being treated in the Vatican because it was his desire to
remain in his residence and not return to the hospital.
Zimbabwe ZANU-PF results climbing
The opposition in Zimbabwe has again accused President Robert
Mugabe's government of election fraud. The latest poll results from
Thursday's parliamentary elections have shown Mugabe's ruling
ZANU-PF cutting into the opposition's early lead. The opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had won in key urban cities
including Harare, but results from rural communities appeared to be
showing more support for the ZANU-PF. Mugabe, who has ruled
Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980, has already dismissed
opposition charges of election fraud and said he was confident that
his party would win a two-thirds majority.
Sudan slams UN resolution on Darfur
Sudan has slammed a United Nations resolution sending Darfur war
crime suspects to the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling it
"unfair" and "narrow-minded." But the two main Darfur rebel groups
welcomed the resolution and said they would comply by sending any of
their members accused of crimes to the court. The UN Security
Council voted 11-0 to refer a sealed list of 51 people accused of
crimes against humanity in Darfur to the ICC. Four nations,
including the US, abstained from voting. The US, which opposes the
court, agreed not to veto the resolution after receiving assurances
that American citizens would be exempt from prosecution over
Sudan.
Weather hampers Indonesian quake effort
Residents on the Indonesian island of Simeulue have fled in panic to
the hills following rumours that another major earthquake was
imminent. Indonesian officials on the island said most of the
residents had abandoned their homes in panic. In the meantime,
relief agencies have had to use helicopters to ferry aid to the
island of Nias because the airport has been too badly damaged by
Monday's devastating earthquake. The United Nations says at least
620 people were killed after the 8.7-magnitude quake struck, but
that figure is expected to rise.
US Presidential commission slams CIA
A US presidential commission has strongly criticised the
work of the country's intelligence services in the run-up
to the invasion of Iraq. In a report published on Thursday,
it described the intelligence provided on Baghdad's alleged
weapons of mass destruction as "dead wrong." It said the
information collected was either "worthless or misleading."
Fischer to testify at inquiry next month
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer will appear before a
parliamentary investigative committee next month. Fischer is due to
answer questions over his role in what has become known as the "visa
affair." The Foreign Minister was not originally due to testify
until later. But the opposition pushed for an earlier hearing before
key regional elections in North-Rhine Westfalia scheduled for May.
Czech government survives crisis
Czech Prime Minister Stanislav Gross has survived a parliamentary
no-confidence vote. The coalition government was in crisis amid a
row over the Czech premier's personal finances. Gross was left
relying on the support of the opposition Communist party.
Hutu group apologises for genocide
A Rwandan Hutu group has offered an unprecedented apology for the
genocide of Tutsis in 1994. The group announced from Rome that it
would lay down its weapons before peacefully returning home. The
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda includes militia who
participated in the mass murder of 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and
moderate Hutus. The Hutu rebels were chased out of Rwanda following
the genocide, taking refuge in the jungles of neighbouring Congo. In
its statement, the FDLR said it would accept disarmament and the
peaceful return of its forces to Rwanda. The announcement came after
several days of talks in Rome organised by the Sant'Egidio religious
community.
US soldier convicted in Iraqi killing
A US military court has convicted a US soldier who shot dead a
wounded Iraqi last year. At the US army base in Wiesbaden, Germany
Captain Rogelio "Roger" Maynulet was found guilty on a charge of
assault with intent to commit manslaughter. Maynulet maintained he
shot the badly wounded man to end his suffering. The jury was shown
film footage of the shooting that had been captured by a
surveillance plane. Maynulet faces up to 10 years in prison.
Ex-Taliban commander surrenders
A former Taliban commander has surrendered to the Afghan government,
one of most high-profile figures to do so since the regime was
toppled more than three years ago. Afghan intelligence officials
said Commander Abdul Waheed had handed himself over to the
authorities in south-eastern Helmand province to take advantage of a
planned amnesty announced by Kabul early this year. President Hamid
Karzai's administration has been in talks with a number of former
Taliban leaders in recent months but has not announced the final
details of the amnesty scheme.
Right-to-die debate continues
The severely brain-damaged American woman, Terri Schiavo, has died
at a hospice in the US state of Florida. Schiavo had been in a
vegetative state for 15 years following cardiac arrest, kept alive
through artificial means. Her case was at the centre of a
politically-charged right-to-die controversy in the US.
Conservative legislators, including President George W. Bush, said
there should be changes to the law to favour the "pro-life" stance.
Schiavo died 13 days after courts had ordered her feeding tube to be
removed. Her husband had argued that she would never have wanted to
be kept alive through artificial means.
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