Deutsche Welle English Service News 23.02.2004, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Germany Sees a Bright Future in Turkish Markets In the 19th Century, Germans helped build the Baghdad Railway connecting Turkey to Iraq. Turkey remains an important trading partner today and German businessmen are eager to tap into the market of the future. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1431_A_1121585_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Court hearings on Israel's security fence begins The International Court of Justice in the Hague has begun hearings on the legality of Israel's security fence in the West Bank. Addressing the court, Palestinian representative Dr. Nasser Al-Kidwa maintained the barrier amounted to a seizure of Palestinian territory. The Israeli government, which has boycotted the trial, insists the $4 billion project is a temporary measure against Palestinian terrorist attacks. The court's judgments are not binding, but are seen as influential. The hearings have been accompanied by the largest wave of Palestinian demonstrations in the West Bank since 2000, with Israeli soliders using tear gas to disperse stone-throwing demonstrators. UN says months needed before Iraqis can vote United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has said that months of work are still needed before credible elections can be held in Iraq, suggesting they may not be possible until 2005. A new report to the UN Security Council says it would take at least 8 months to hold a vote once basic legal and technical agreements are reached. Even then, elections would only be possible if security improves in Iraq. The United States had asked for help from the UN in the face of increasing Iraqi calls for immediate direct elections before the United States hands over power in Baghdad on June 30. EU criticises Iranian elections as "flawed" European Union foreign ministers have criticized Iran's latest parliamentary elections as "flawed". Initial results show Iranian religious conservatives as decisive winners of the elections, which Iran's reformist parties say were not free or fair. Over 2,000 reformist candidates had been banned from standing. The turnout of 50% was higher than expected, but still 25% lower than the previous election, which gave a landslide victory to reformists. Following the announcement of results, at least seven people were reported killed in violent clashes in southern Iran. U.S. marines on their way to Haiti The U.S. government is sending fifty combat-ready marines to Haiti to secure embassy and staff ahead of threats of rebel attack on Haiti's capital. The announcement follows repeated offers by France to send a military force to Haiti if sanctioned by the United Nations. Rebels meanwhile have overrun Haiti's second city, Cap Haitien, the last government stronghold in the north of the country. There are also reports that rebels have attacked a police station in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Both rebel militias and Haiti's political opposition have rejected the latest international proposal of a power-sharing agreement, and are demanding the resignation of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. At least five killed at India's main space center ElBaradei in Libya for atomic talks The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, has arrived in Libya for talks on the nuclear black market that supplied Libya, Iran and North Korea with parts. Negotiations will also focus on a nuclear plant that the US says it wants dismantled. ElBaradei's visit follows Friday's release of an IAEA report which states that Libya's nuclear weapons programme is more extensive than previously thought. Libya announced in December that it was stopping its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programmes and invited US, British and international experts to help it disarm. AIDS meeting begins in Dublin EU development ministers are meeting in Ireland's capital Dublin through Tuesday to discuss ways of combating HIV and AIDS. The director of UNAIDS, Peter Piot, said the virus is spreading faster in eastern Europe and in central Asia than anywhere else in the world, where 1.5 million people are currently infected with the AIDS. The director of the U.N. Children's Fund, Carol Bellamy, said she was bothered most by the lack of knowledge of the risks of contracting Aids in those two parts of the world. EU criticises Iranian elections as "flawed" European Union foreign ministers have criticized Iran's latest parliamentary elections as "flawed". Initial results show Iranian religious conservatives as decisive winners of parliamentary elections, which Iran's reformist parties say were not free or fair. Friday's vote drew a record low turnout, with the interior ministry saying that just over 50 percent of Iran's voters cast ballots. In the capital, Tehran, turnout was as low as 28 percent. Many reformist candidates had been banned from standing. At least seven people were reported killed in violent clashes in the country's south, following the announcement of results. Heated debate at GM food conference An international conference on genetically-modified food has opened in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. The five-day conference, sponsored by the United Nations, has been overshadowed by dispute between the European Union and the United States on the potential risks of GM foods. Opponents say they pose a risk to humans and the environment. Supporters claim the technology is a potential remedy for the world's food production problems. The European Union has angered the United States by passing stringent laws insisting that all foods containing GM ingredients are labelled as such. The US, a major GM producer, wants labelling requirements loosened. Milosevic trial delayed once again The U.N. war crimes trial of former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic has been delayed once again. The Hague courted cited the defendant's poor health as the reason for the delay. On Sunday, the tribunal's presiding judge, Richard May, said he would resign May 31 on health grounds. The U.N. tribunal says it does not expect undue delays but others on the court say Mr. Milosevic could ask the tribunal to roll back the case to square one to allow the new judge time to get acquainted with the 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/
