Deutsche Welle English Service News May 27th, 2002, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Staying on Message The European globalization-critical group Attac has become a leading voice against neo-liberal economic policies. A member of Attac's leadership spoke with DW-WORLD on the direction the group is taking. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1430_A_561323_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan Denies Infiltration Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, who in recent days has been told by Western nations to restrain militants, has denied that they are infiltrating into Indian-held Kashmir over the Line of Control. In a televised speech, Musharraf said Pakistan, which at the weekend test-fired two missiles, did not want war with its nuclear rival India. In New Delhi, the foreign ministry said India would delay its reply until Tuesday. Visiting Berlin ahead of a trip to South Asia, British foreign minister Jack Straw said Kashmir was at "very dangerous" juncture. Earlier on Monday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair telephoned both Musharraf and India's Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Musharraf, in his speech, said Pakistan would hold parliamentary elections between October the 7th and the 11th. Bush Links D-Day to Anti-Terror War Visiting American dead at Normandy in France, U.S. President George W. Bush has equated D-Day sacrifices in defeating Nazi Germany 56 years ago with the current U.S.-declared war against terrorism. Again, Bush said, sacrifices had to be made "for the good of freedom all over the world". Accompanying him on American Memorial Day, French President Jacques Chirac spoke of what he called a joint battle against modern "terrorist barbarity". From France, Bush was due to fly on to Italy. On Tuesday he and Russian President Vladimir Putin will sign an accord creating a NATO-Russia consultative council at a tightly guarded NATO military base outside Rome. Blast Near Tel Aviv An explosion, attributed by Israeli media to a suspected Palestinian suicide bomber, has injured up to 50 people at a shopping centre on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, in the suburb of Petah Tikwah. It follows a suicide bombing last week in the nearby town of Rishon Lezion in which two Israelis were killed. Since the weekend, Israeli forces have re-entered Bethlehem and maintain a grip on Qalqilya. FDP Denies Anti-Semitism Charge Visiting Tel Aviv, the head of Germany's opposition FDP liberals Guido Westerwelle has denied that criticism of Israel's operations against Palestinians amounted to anti-Semitism. Westerwelle met Israeli President Moshe Katzav who said he was very worried by rising anti-Semitism in Europe. In Germany, Westerwelle's deputy Jurgen Moellemann remains embroiled in a row with the Central Council of Jews. For the first time, other leading members of the FDP have sharply criticised recent remarks by Moelleman. One senior party figure, Walter Doering, said Moellemann was trying to garner voters on the right fringe and that was catastrophic for the party. Black Box Signals Lost Searchers say they've lost signals thought to have come from two data recorders missing in Taiwan Straits waters in the wake of Saturday's mid-air loss of a China Airlines flight and its 225 occupants. Vessels have so far recovered 80 bodies and some floating wreckage. Taiwanese experts have dismissed any terrorist cause. Speculation in the Taiwanese press about the 23-year-old Boeing 747 has focused on material fatigue or the explosion of near-empty fuel tanks. U.S. experts have arrived. Saturday's flight from Taipei to Hong Kong disintegrated suddenly at 9,000 metres. Most victims were Taiwanese. President Jiang Zemin of rival China today offered his condolences. Saturday's crash was Asia's third major air disaster in six weeks. Uribe Wins Colombian Election Colombia's presidential election has been won by Alvaro Uribe a hardline right-winger who has pledged to re-conquer the half of the country now under the control of left-wing guerrillas and other paramilitaries. Uribe won a landslide victory on an independent ticket, securing more than 53 percent of the vote, the first outright election victory in the country's history. In his victory speech in the capital Bogota, he told his supporters that he was prepared to talk peace with illegal armed groups of left and right, but they had to first lay down their weapons. His nearest rival, Horacio Serpa, of the Liberal Party, attracted just 31 percent. He conceded defeat and later resigned as leader of his party. Food Scare on Bio Farms Germany's fledgling ecological farm sector is under a cloud on news that federal meat inspectors knew two months ago that batches of poultry were contaminated with a herbicide called "Nitrofen". It's suspected of causing cancer. At the weekend, it emerged that Nitrofen-contaminated wheat could have been fed out at more than 100 "bio" farms in northern Germany. In numerous states, authorities have begun recalling poultry produce and eggs. The opposition CDU has sharply criticised Greens Consumer Protection Minister Renate Kunast who has promoted bio farming since scares such as BSE. Lower Saxony state says the suspect wheat could have been imported from Poland. Italian Communal Elections Communal and regional elections have continued for a second day in some parts of Italy. At stake are the posts of ten regional presidents, nearly 1,000 mayors and numerous city assemblies in cities such as Genoa and Parma. On Sunday, 12 million Italians, representing a quarter of all voters, cast ballots. The polls are seen as the first test of support for Prime Silvio Berlusconi's year-old conservative government. New Hungarian government sworn in Hungary's fourth post-communist government was sworn in on Monday pledging to boost wealth, fight poverty and corruption and ensure the country's smooth entry into the European Union. The Socialists and their liberal Free Democrat allies have formed what they call a "national centrist" coalition after winning a slender 10-seat majority in the 386-seat Parliament in April. Ifo Index Released Germany's Ifo business climate survey climbed in May, beating expectations and signalling renewed confidence that Europe's largest economy is on the mend. The monthly survey of 7,000 German businesses also showed confidence in the second half of this year. The economist in charge of survey, Gernot Nerb, said a German recovery was noticeable but added that the economy remained subdued with consumer demand still weak because of high unemployment. The euro jumped on the news to over 92 U.S. cents. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Serbian News Network - SNN [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.antic.org/
