Deutsche Welle English Service News 12.06.2005, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Barroso Urges Compromise on EU Budget European Commission President Jose Barroso on Sunday called upon Britain to reach a compromise over its controversial European Union budget rebate, ahead of a key EU summit this week. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1612260,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DW-WORLD values your opinion: We look forward to hearing from you about stories we write and regularly post your letters in our reader response section. Check them out at: http://www.dw-world.de/english or write us an e-mail yourself: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Third round of Lebanese election Lebanese voters are heading to polling stations in the third of four rounds of parliamentary elections. Candidates are vying for seats in central Mount Lebanon and in the eastern Bekaa Valley. Nearly half of the 128 seats in parliament are up for grabs, making this the most crucial round of the elections. The polls are the first to be held since Syria pulled its troops out of Lebanon after a nearly 30-year presence. Anti-Syrian factions are expected to win the majority in the assembly, riding a wave of sympathy over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in February. Italians vote on fertility law Italians have begun voting in a referendum on whether to relax the country's stringent rules on assisted fertility. Voters are being asked to decide whether to lift a ban on donor eggs and sperm, screening for couples with hereditary diseases, and scientific research on embryos. The referendum has split the predominantly Catholic country, and Pope Benedict XVI has called on Italian voters to boycott the referendum on moral grounds. A minimum 50 percent turnout is required for the result of the referendum to be considered valid. Several Italian politicians have criticised the Vatican for interfering in a political matter. French journalist freed in Iraq A French journalist who was kidnapped in Iraq five months ago is on a flight home to Paris. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy greeted Florence Aubenas at a Cyprus airport, where she arrived on a flight from Baghdad. He's accompanying her on the connecting flight back to France. Earlier, the Paris based newspaper, Libération, which Aubenas works for, said both she and her Iraqi interpreter were in good health. Aubenas and her interpreter were abducted by an unknown group after leaving their hotel in Baghdad in early January. The interpreter has already been reunited with his family in Baghdad. Several killed in Iranian bomb attacks Four bombs have gone off in south-western Iran, killing at least five people and injuring more than 80 others. The bombs went off near government buildings in the town of Ahvaz, the capital of the partly Arabic-speaking province of Khuzestan. The city was rocked by several days of ethnic unrest in April. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings, that came just five days before Iran's presidential election. Russian train derailed by bomb blast A passenger train travelling from the republic of Chechnya to the Russian capital, Moscow, has been derailed by an explosion. Russian media reported that dozens of people on board were injured after several carriages jumped the tracks near the town of Uzunovo. That's about 150 kilometres south-east of Moscow. Russian officials say they're treating the incident as a terrorist attack. A security services spokesman said there was evidence that the blast was deliberately set off. No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion that took place on Russia's independence day. Russian troops have been fighting separatist rebel forces in Chechnya for more than five years. Four Palestinian prisoners executed The Palestinian Authority has executed four prisoners, defying international calls to halt capital punishment as part of reforms considered key to securing future Palestinian statehood. An Interior Ministry spokesman said three men were hanged and the fourth was killed by a firing squad after they were convicted for murder. Human rights groups have criticised the executions, saying the proceedings lack due process of law. They are the first executions to take place in Palestinian-ruled areas in nearly three years. Kuwait gets first woman minister Kuwait's prime minister has appointed the country's first female cabinet minister. The official state news agency said Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah appointed Massouma Mubarak as planning minister and minister of state for administrative development affairs. Kuwait is the third country in the conservative Gulf Arab region to appoint a woman cabinet member. This comes just weeks after Kuwait granted women the right to vote. Fischer meets Sir Bob Geldof in Berlin German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer is meeting with pop music star Sir Bob Geldof in Berlin this Sunday. The musician has been a leading campaigner against poverty and disease in Africa for the past two decades. He and Fischer are expected to discuss ways the German government can do more to support development in sub-Saharan Africa. Their meeting comes a day after finance ministers from the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations agreed on a deal to provide more than 30 billion euros of debt relief for Africa's poorest nations. Federer wins Halle Open In sports: The world's No. 1 tennis player, Roger Federer, has won Germany's Halle Open for a third consecutive year. In the final, the Swiss player beat Marat Safin of Russia in straight sets, 6-4 6-7 6-4. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Send us your favorite picks for sight-seeing, museum hopping, historical edification – whatever you’ve got to share with others heading to Germany. Restaurants, hotels, back-country hideaways – write to us with your insider tips and tell us about what you liked best about traveling in Germany. For more information, please go to http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1096790,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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