Deutsche Welle English Service News November 11th, 2003, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
German Opposition Party Applies To Ban Alleged Anti-Semite In a dramatic reversal on Monday, leaders of Germany's main opposition party said they would seek to remove a member of their party accused of having made discriminatory comments about Jews. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1432_A_1026812_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- More violence in Iraq as US pushes political process A bomb planted on a road in the southern Iraqi city of Basra has killed at least three Iraqis. Police said no British troops, who are in charge of policing Basra, were in the area at the time of the blast. In another incident, a bomb blast outside a courthouse in Baghdad has left six people wounded. In an effort to reduce attacks on U.S. troops, Washington has said it hopes to get Iraq's minority Sunni Moslems involved in the country's new political and economic system. Most attacks have occurred in the so-called Sunni triangle of central Iraq. The top U.S. military commander in Iraq, Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, has said his troops were currently holding up to 20 suspected al-Qaeda members. Meanwhile, Jordan's King Abdullah has warned that establishing a federal system in post-war Iraq would be a recipe for the breakup of the country. Saudi bombing suspects arrested In Saudi Arabia, security forces have arrested suspects in a suicide bomb attack on a housing complex in the capital Riyadh. Saudi Arabia's King Fahd has vowed to strike with what he called an "iron fist" at anyone trying to destabilise his country. A diplomat said an intensive search for the culprits had been launched immediately after the attack. Some suspects were detained and released after interrogation. According to the London-based Al Majalla newspaper, Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombing which killed eighteen people. IAEA says Iran guilty of repeated nuclear failures The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, says Iran has been guilty of some breaches of international nuclear safeguards. After repeated denials, Iran has now acknowledged producing a small amount of plutonium which could be used to create a nuclear weapon. The UN report also says that Iran has admitted setting up a laser uranium-enrichment plant that it had kept secret from the nuclear agency. A senior Iranian official on Tuesday played down the report, saying the amounts of nuclear material were insignificant. Libyans nab scores of Egyptians seeking to slip into Europe Libyan authorities have arrested 104 people from neighboring Egypt who were seeking to make their way illegally into Europe from the southern Mediterranean country. Officials in Tripoli said the arrests, which included a handful of Ghanaians and Nigerians, took place Saturday along the coast near the Libyan capital. Libya has been accused, most notably by Italy, of being a funnel for illegal immigrants from Africa. In July, the two countries signed an accord to deal with the problem. Meanwhile, calling people trafficking a fundamental breach of human dignity, Morocco's King Mohammad VI has announced plans to set up two government bodies in his country to crack down on illegal emigration to Europe. Kordorkovsky bail appeal denied Russian oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been denied bail by a Moscow court. The former head of the YUKOS oil company, reputedly Russian's richest man, was ordered to remain in prison pending an investigation into charges of fraud and tax evasion. The ruling was issued at the end of a closed court hearing at which Khorokovsky, appeared briefly by video link. It was the first time he had been seen in public since his arrest on October 25.The conflict between Khodorkovsky and the Kremlin has triggered concerns it may signal a rise in state interference in business. Analysts say the move was orchestrated by the Kremlin to punish the billionaire for his support for liberal opponents of President Vladimir Putin ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections this and next year. US top court to hear Guantanamo cases The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear appeals by detainees from the Afghan war held at the Guantanamo Bay camp in Cuba. For the first time, the court will assess whether US courts have the jurisdiction to consider appeals made on behalf of inmates held at the camp. The Supreme Court is to hear arguments in the case next year, with a decision expected in June. The appeals have been lodged by lawyers for 16 detainees, claiming that they are being held illegally. The detainees have no access to their families or to lawyers. Also, no legal charges have ever been brought against them. This marks the first time the highest court agreed to hear a case stemming from anti-terrorism policies instituted by President George W. Bush. First German state submits law banning head scarf The state of Baden-Wuerttemberg has become the first region in Germany to submit legislation banning the wearing of Islamic headscarves by teachers. The state's center-right coalition said on Tuesday that, if passed, teachers in future would be prohibited from wearing religious symbols that carried political overtones. Culture and Education Minister, Annette Schavan, called the headscarf a symbol of cultural separatism and oppression against women. The bill will go before the state parliament for a vote early next year. Singapore urges Asia to tighten maritime security Singapore has urged its Asian neighbors to tighten security at sea, warning that militants could follow the lead of pirates whose attacks are growing increasingly violent. Singapore is the world's largest container transshipment hub and is considered a prime target for maritime attacks. It has stepped up sea patrols since foiling a plot by Islamic radicals to blow up Western targets in the city in 2001. The International Maritime Bureau recently identified Indonesia's waters, which are close to Singapore, as the world's most dangerous, accounting for 87 of the world's 344 pirate attacks this year. Some western intelligence agencies and maritime security officials have linked al Qaeda, or militant groups associated with it, to Indonesian piracy. Top British athletes want Elgin Marbles returned to Greece A group of 13 British Olympic medals winners are exerting pressure on their government to return the so-called Elgin marbles to Greece ahead of next year's Olympic Games. Popular sportsmen and women such as Linford Christie, Daley Thompson and Alan Wells as well as ice skating champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean added their voices to demands that the British Museum give up the 2,500 year-old sculptures. Since its independence in 1832, Greece has repeatedly requested the return of what it calls the Parthenon marbles and their fate has dogged relations between the two countries ever since. In October Britain denied a report that it was to return the marbles to Greece in time for the 2004 Olympics in exchange for Greek support of London's own Olympic bid for 2012. Sri Lanka's leaders to talk Sri Lanka's prime minister has said he will meet the president, a week after rivalry between them spilled over into a political crisis. The talks will reportedly focus on the peace process between Tamil Tiger rebels and the government, which Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says had been put in jeopardy by the political turmoil triggered by the president. President Chandrika Kumaratunga sacked the defence, interior and media ministers and suspended parliament last week, while Wickremesinghe was on an official visit to the United States. The announcement came as Norwegian envoys arrived in Sri Lanka to try to push forward the peace process. The envoys will hold talks with all key players in the conflict this week. French terror suspect had photos of nuclear reactor in Sydney Australian police have uncovered pictures of a nuclear reactor and a list of bomb-making components in the apartment of a French man suspected of planning terror attacks in Sydney. The suspect, Willie Virgile Brigitte, was deported on October 17th. The 35-year-old man is being held by the French authorities in a prison outside Paris. Media reports say Brigitte was setting up an al-Qaeda sleeper cell, passing on bomb-making skills and possibly considering an attack on the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor on the outskirts of Sydney. German baby food company takes blame in Israeli infant deaths The German baby food manufacturer blamed by Israeli health authorities for the deaths of at least two infants has admitted it made mistakes in the production process. The Humana company produces a non-dairy kosher baby formula which the Schneider Medical Center near Tel Aviv says lacks the important ingredient Vitamin B1. Humana has blamed the problem on human error. The Israeli secret service has been called in to help police investigate the possibility of sabotage. The formula is sold only in Israel. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
