Deutsche Welle English Service News 22.6.2005, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Court Backs Soldier's Anti-Iraq War Stance A German court ruled Wednesday that a soldier, who refused to follow orders because he did not want to support the US-led war in Iraq, had every right to do so. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1625524,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow all Confederation Cup matches with DW-WORLD's live ticker. We'll bring you all the games of the "World Cup dress rehearsal" between now and June 29: http://www.dw-world.de/worldcupe ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Iraq future to be discussed in Brussels A major international conference on Iraq has opened in Brussels attended by over 80 ministers and officials including United Nations chief Kofi Annan. An Iraqi delegation headed by Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari travelled to Brussels to discuss the way forward with top diplomats from the United States, the European Union, Russia, Japan and Arab countries. Jaafari appealed for assistance to fight the insurgency in his country, which he called "a struggle of wills between good and evil." He also called for more help to rebuild Iraq. The Brussels conference is being co-hosted by the European Union and the United States. Sunni lawyer and his son killed in Iraq A Sunni Arab lawyer active in politics and his teenage son have been killed by unknown gunmen in Baghdad. The man and his son were gunned down as they drove through a north western part of the city. Sunni officials said they had received warnings of a violent campaign against them before the next round of elections. Also, two Iraqi police officers have been killed by a car bomb explosion in the town of Madain, some 20 km south east of Baghdad. Meanwhile, a Filipino hostage has been released in Iraq after nearly eight months in captivity. Roberto Tarongoy, an accountant, was taken hostage on November 1, along with five co-workers when militants stormed a Baghdad villa belonging to their Saudi employer. Over 60 rebels killed in Afghanistan Afghan and US troops backed by warplanes have killed more than 60 Taliban guerrillas in south-west Afghanistan. More than 30 were reported captured. US military sources added that eight Afghan security personnel have also been killed since fighting broke out on Tuesday. Lieutenant Cindy Moore, a spokeswoman for the US military, said that the deaths occurred during a search and attack operation code-named "Catania" to destroy guerrilla sanctuaries. EU adopts sugar reform plans The European Union Commission has unveiled a plan to reform Europe's heavily subsidised sugar market. The nearly 40-year-old policy had pushed EU sugar prices to three times the world average. The proposed reforms knock down share prices of major European sugar companies. The move is likely to spark a fight among all 25 member states and trade partners abroad. Previous attempts to radically reform the policy had been blocked by member countries which grow sugar. The reforms come two months after the World Trade Organisation ruled that EU sugar policies were illegal, in response to a complaint from Australia, Brazil and Thailand. New German passports on their way The German government has announced a decision to introduce new identity cards in November. The announcement follows a recommendation from German Interior Minister Otto Schily. The new cards will incorporate a digital chip, which will hold a photograph. A biometric fingerprint system will later be introduced in March 2007. The government hopes the new identity cards will improve security and help to prevent forgeries. The new cards will be more than twice as expensive than the old ones, costing 59 euros. Palestinian PM flees gunfire Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei was forced to flee gunfire on a building in a West Bank refugee camp where he was speaking. Shots were fired at the camp in Nablus in apparent frustration at the Palestinian Authority. Qurei, who was not injured by the shots, condemned attempts by militants to impose their will on the Palestinian leadership. Meanwhile, in another development, Israel has resumed its policy of targeted assassinations. Israeli officials confirmed a failed strike against an Islamic Jihad leader on Tuesday and said the action marked the resumption of the policy. Arms trade undercutting war on poverty A campaign group has accused the world's richest nations of continuing to sell arms to regimes which use the weapons to abuse human rights. That's according to a report published by the Control Arms Campaign, a group comprising of organisations including Oxfam and Amnesty International. They say the world's main industrialised nations, the G8 which includes Germany, are responsible for more than 80 percent of global arms sales and part of that goes to the world's poorest and most corrupt countries. EU launches deficit action against Portugal The European Union Commission has ordered Portugal to cut its budget deficit to fall in line with EU laws. The ruling makes Portugal the second EU country to face a formal complaint over budget shortfalls since the restrictions were relaxed earlier this year. The EU's Stability and Growth Pact requires member countries to keep their public deficit to less than three percent of gross domestic product. Several eurozone countries, notably Germany and France, have repeatedly breached the limit. Greek police surround Athens's landfill Greek riot police have surrounded the capital's biggest garbage dump to block demonstrators protesting the transfer of processed sewage to the site. Riot squads took up positions around the landfill in northern Athens following clashes with around 1,000 angry residents on Tuesday night. Locals say the area is already too contaminated by the vast dump which will reach its full capacity in September. The mud was ordered to be dumped at the landfill after the sewage treatment centre on a tiny nearby island said it was unable to store the large amount of sludge. Residents want the government to come up with a national strategy for dealing with garbage disposal. Putin remembers WWII victims Russian President Vladimir Putin has laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, marking the 64th anniversary of Nazi Germany's attack on the Soviet Union. Other high-ranking officials also took part in the ceremony. Last May, politicians travelled to Moscow to mark the 60th anniversary of the allied victory over Nazi Germany. Over 27 million Russian citizens were killed in the war. Conflicting reports about solar craft The fate of an experimental solar-driven spacecraft is unknown after contact with it was lost shortly after its launch. The privately funded Cosmos 1, which was propelled into space by a converted Russian intercontinental missile, was intended to demonstrate the viability of sunlight for powering interplanetary travel. After lift-off, mission control scientists in Moscow said they were encountering problems with the craft and had been unable to contact the spacecraft. But later a US team also working on the project reported that a weak signal from the craft had been found. The Planetary Society funded the shoe-string project which cost around 3.3 million euros. Floods in China kill at least 46 At least 46 people have died in flooding following torrential rain in southern China. The new casualty figures means that more than 400 people have died in heavy rains and flooding in China since May. Premier Wen Jiabao called for an "all-out effort" to fight the devastation as officials evacuated 100,000 residents of the southern city of Wuzhou threatened by a swollen river. Officials fear this year's floods could be worse than usual. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Get all the info on the "World Cup dress rehearsal" on DW-WORLD: For the Confederations Cup, we offer you reports, results, rankings, live ticker of all the games, a Web blog with personal views on the competitions, picture galleries, a forum, a quiz and more. Get it all at http://www.dw-world.de/worldcup ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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