Deutsche Welle English Service News 7-9-2002, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Unemployment Rains On Schröder's Parade The latest unemployment figures for Germany show a further rise, especially in the East. With federal elections scheduled for September, this is not good news for Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://lessing/english/current_affairs/currentaffairs1.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Aids conference in Barcelona At the international AIDS conference in Barcelona, doctors and leading pharmaceutical companies said the need for an HIV/AIDS vaccine has never been more urgent. The conference was told that 40 million people have already been infected and that nearly 600 people are infected with HIV every hour. Scientists believe predictions of a vaccine within the next five years are too optimistic for a number of reasons, one of which is money. Research and development of vaccines remain a risky venture as drug and biotech companies can make more money developing drugs to treat diseases than making vaccines to prevent them. Experts at the conference also called on governments to money available for public awareness campaigns. Dr. Lawrence Corey said education and methods to prevent sexual and blood transmission of the virus are vitally important. Political uncertainty in Turkey Turkey's ailing Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has appointed new ministers after a string of resignations from cabinet and party colleagues demanding early elections on Monday. Political uncertainty shrouded Turkey's governing coalition government after a total of 26 MPs departed, causing the DSP to lose its status as the largest party both in parliament and in the fragile three-party coalition. However, Prime Minister Ecevit told a leading oppposition figure he was not about to quit. Following a meeting with opposition leader Tansu Ciller, Mr. Ecevit said that he saw difficulty in the continuation of the government but that he had not yet come to the point of resignation. Turkish media had speculated all day about when the 77 year old ailing premier could resign. The crisis was triggered by Mr Ecevit's prolonged ill-health, which has kept him away from office since early May. Africa Union celebrates its creation Amid much fanfare and fireworks, Africa's new political union was launched on Tuesday with President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa named the AU's first chairman. Its forerunner, the Organisation of African Unity, which had been saddled with debt and bureaucracy was formally terminated on Monday. At the AU's first session a conflict resolution body known as the Peace and Security Council was created with the mandate to be more involved in crisis intervention than its predecessor in the OAU. Also at the meeting women demanded a bigger role in deciding the continent's future. Frene Ginwala, the female speaker of South Africa's parliament said a five person committee that will advise the Peace and Security Council should be composed entirely of women. The AU, aims to copy the European Union in fostering prosperity and democracy through social and economic integration. Israeli and Palestinian officials hold first set of talks; Islamic Jihad member killed Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has held talks with the Palestinian finance minister, opening a dialogue with officials involved in Palestinian reforms. The two men discussed ways of easing the economic hardships of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. The session was the first Israeli-Palestinian cabinet-level meeting in four months. Winnie Mandela pleads not guilt to 85 charges Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, on Tuesday plead not guilty to all 85 charges of fraud and theft. The trial began on Tuesday in Pretoria after the magistrate rejected a defense motion to dismiss all charges on the grounds that the state had not provided enough information to the defense. Her co-accused Andy Moolman also entered a plea of not guilty. The two are alleged to have defrauded financial institutions of about one million Rand, which is about 100,000 €uros. Taiwan's Coast Guard saves Chinese fishermen as typhoon hits Taiwan's Coast Guard on Tuesday rescued 133 Chinese fishermen huddled at the bow of their burning vessel in heavy seas as Typhoon Nakri neared the island with strong winds and torrential rain. A Coast Guard official said one fisherman was still missing, apparently after jumping from the burning vessel before the helicopters arrived. The cause of the fire is unknown. Meanwhile, the Central Weather Bureau issued sea and land warnings as the typhoon, with wind gusts of up to 90 km per hour (56 mph), disrupted air and sea traffic, and forced offices and schools near the storm's centre to close. Karaoke bar fire claims 53 lives Officials in Indonesia said 53 bodies had been recovered from the ruins of a karaoke bar on Sumatra Island that was destroyed by fire. Police said the manager of the bar had been detained for questioning and they are searching for the club's owner who was reportedly in Jakarta at the time of the blaze. Local fire officials said the complex lacked fire-safety features and that the building permit had been violated by adding two additional floors without government approval. Swiss air traffic controllers not to work alone anymore The Swiss Federal Aviation Authority on Tuesday ordered Skyguide, the company responsible for Swiss air traffic control to have at least 2 controllers on duty at any given time. It's the first concrete measure to be announced since a mid-air collision killed 71 people last week. The SFAA also ordered Skyguide not to turn off any safety system for maintainance unless it is compensated by other measures, such as having more staff on duty. The SFAA said the directives are not to be interpreted as an admission of guilt in relation to last Monday's crash. Germany's unemployment hovers near 4 million The number of people unemployed in Germany increased slightly in June and continues to hover just under the 4 million mark. However, today's statistic is higher by some 260,000 than a year ago. The German government said the global economic situation is the main reason for the country's high unemployment. The monthly figure came as another major German corporation, Babcock-Borsig, declared insolvency. The engineering firm based in Oberhausen is expected to announce a new management team shortly and receive bridge financing to maintain operations during the initial phase of bankruptcy proceedings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
