Deutsche Welle English Service News 21. 04. 2005, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
"Nazi" Attacks on Pope Anger Germans Germany's top-selling newspaper Bild was furious on Thursday at the coverage of the new pope by British newspapers, which had accentuated Benedict XVI's past as a teenager in Nazi Germany. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1559257,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Commercial helicopter downed in Iraq A Bulgarian commercial helicopter has been shot down in Iraq, killing all eleven people on board. The company which owned the aircraft said three Bulgarian crew, six American passengers and two guards from an unspecified country were killed. The aircraft was travelling between Baghdad and Tikrit when it was hit, possibly by a rocket-propelled grenade. Bulgaria's defence ministry confirmed the incident in a statement from Sofia. The attack north of Baghdad came amid a surge in violence and puts further pressure on Iraq's leaders to move more quickly to form a government nearly three months after elections. US calls Belarus Europe's last dictatorship US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and 26 NATO foreign ministers have met in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, where the alliance signed a military cooperation accord with Russia. The bloc also unveiled a package of new measures to boost NATO-Ukraine relations which could eventually lead to its membership in the alliance. In the meantime, the US and Russia have clashed over the ex-Soviet state of Belarus. Rice called Belarus' government the "last true dictatorship" in Europe. She also met Belarussian opposition leaders in a show of support for pro-democracy groups in the country. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rebutted her comment and said he opposed any attempt at regime change. Vietnamese war veterans die in bus Thirty-two Vietnamese veterans of the Vietnam War have died in a bus accident. They were on their way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the victory over US-backed South Vietnamese forces. The bus, carrying 33 people was bound for Ho Chi Minh city when it skidded off a cliff. US kill 12 insurgents in Afghanistan US forces in Afghanistan have killed at least 12 insurgents, after rockets were fired at a US base in the south eastern part of the country. Helicopters, aircraft and artillery were used to respond to the four rockets fired at the Salerno base in Khost province according to a statement issued by the US military. The clash is one of the most violent in recent months in Afghanistan, where more than 18,000 US-led troops are pursuing Taliban and al Qaeda militants. France wins massive deals in China A French business convoy to China led by Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has secured deals worth over 200 billion euros. Premier Raffarin, on a three-day visit to the communist country, said after meeting his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, that Paris supports Beijing's new anti-seccession law. The law, widely criticised by the European Union and the US and Japan, allows China to use military force against Taiwan if it moves towards independence. China consider Taiwan part of its territory. France, along with Germany, is pushing the EU to lift its arms embargo against China which was imposed after its bloody suppression of pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Ex-Ecuadoran president to go to Brazil Ousted Ecuadorian president Lucio Gutierrez has been granted asylum in Brazil after seeking refuge in its embassy in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito. He was fired by Congress on Wednesday for meddling with Ecuador's Supreme Court. The new president, Alfredo Palacio has ordered Gutierrez's arrest. Dutch have 'mad cow' victim The Netherlands has reported its first human case of "mad cow" disease but reassured that Dutch beef is safe to eat because all cows are tested before slaughter. The interior ministry confirmed that a patient at a hospital in the central town of Utrecht had been diagnosed with the human form of the fatal brain-wasting disease. It is thought to be caused by eating cattle who are sick with the illness called BSE. It's estimated that around 150 people have fallen sick with the disease world wide, most of them in Britain. There have also been cases in France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Canada and the United States. Talks begin about new Italian government In Italy President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi has begun talks with Italy's political leaders to try to form a new government. Silvio Berlusconi, who resigned as prime minister on Wednesday, is again expected to lead. Ciampi will hold formal consultations with all parliamentary parties until noon on Friday, after which he will decide if Berlusconi has the necessary support to return to the post of Prime Minister. If Berlusconi fails to form a new coalition, Ciampi would almost certainly be forced to call a snap general election, one year ahead of time. Berlusconi and his allies want to avoid an immediate general election, which opinion polls indicate they would lose. UN drops tough Sudan resolution European Union countries have withdrawn a draft resolution at the United Nation's top human rights body which condemns the Sudanese government's role in violence and abuse in the crisis region of Darfur. They have agreed to support a milder resolution with African countries and in cooperation with Sudan. A Luxembourg representative, the country which currently heads the EU, said the new resolution would offer the best chance of halting human rights abuses in Darfur. Over 300,000 people have been killed in the Western region and more than two million displaced by attacks from suspected government-backed Arab militias. Pope reconfirms top officials The Vatican has announced that Pope Benedict XVI has reconfirmed the top officials of the Vatican's central government. Among those reconfirmed is Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano, an Italian who ranks second only to the Pope in the Church hierarchy. Meanwhile some 500,000 people along with state leaders and royalty are expected in Rome on Sunday for the inauguration mass of the new Pope, less than a fortnight after millions gathered there to bid farewell to his predecessor, John Paul II. German visa scandal inquiry televised Germany's former deputy foreign minister, Ludger Volmer, has testified before a parliamentary hearing investigating the so-called visa affair. This is the scandal which critics say aided human trafficking and is threatening Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer's position in government. Volmer defended the controversial move by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's centre-left coalition government to relax entry regulations into Germany in the year 2000. The opposition conservatives, however, continue to accuse Fischer of opening the flood gates to a wave of illegal immigrants mainly from Eastern Europe. Sharon says terrorism must stop Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has once more demanded "a complete stop to terrorism" by Palestinians before any implementation of the international roadmap for peace. Speaking on public radio Sharon said that he expected not only "a total end to terrorism and violence" but also a "cessation of incitement to violence". The roadmap is an American-sponsored phased plan which aims to create an independent Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. On Wednesday the Israeli army began removing non-essential equipment from the Gaza Strip. Withdrawal of troops and settlers from the area is planned to begin in July. Pernod Ricard bids for Allied Domecq France's drinks giant Pernod Ricard has announced a friendly take-over bid for Britain's Allied Domecq. The potential deal values Allied Domecq at about $14 billion or 10.7 billion euros and would make Pernod the world's No. 2 spirits business after Diageo, owners of Smirnoff vodka and Guinness. Pernod Ricard is the maker of drinks such as Glenlivet whiskey and Havana Club rum. It would be the biggest public offer so far this year in Europe. The move by Pernod may trigger rival bids from other drinks companies, keen not to be left behind in the latest round of industry consolidation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information please turn to our internet website at http://dw-world.de/english Here you'll find out what's happening in Germany, Europe and the rest of the world. News and background reports from the fields of current affairs, culture, business and science. And of course the DW website also has information about DW-RADIO and DW-TV programmes: topics, broadcast times and frequencies. You can even listen to all programmes as audio-on-demand. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BalkanNews/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
