Deutsche Welle English Service News 09 June 2004, 16:00 UTC ----------------------------------------------------------------------
On June 12, European soccer fans turn to Portugal, where the European Championships will kick off on that date. To mark the occasion, DW-WORLD offers you special coverage, including background information, picture galleries, match reports, games and much more: http://www.dw-world.de/english ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: German Teens Sentenced for Abusing Classmate Three German students at a vocational school in northern Germany have been sentenced to jail time for mistreating a classmate. Six others involved in the abuse that went on for months received lesser sentences. 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_1231445_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bush hoping for NATO support US President George W. Bush is hoping for a wider role for NATO in Iraq after the handover of power on June 30. After meeting with Iraq war ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush said he would like it if more NATO countries participated in the re-building of the country but is aware there are limits. Currently, 15 NATO countries have forces in Iraq, but Germany and France have refused to send troops there. On Tuesday, the UN Security Council voted unanimously in favour of a US-British resolution on Iraq, laying the foundation for more co-operation between the coalition and war opponents. The resolution gives international legitimacy to the Iraqi interim government that is to take power on June 30. It also authorises a US-led multinational force to use "all necessary measures" to keep the peace. G8 summit formally begins Wednesday At the G8 summit in Sea Island, Georgia (USA), leaders are preparing for discussions on the global economy, trade and fighting poverty. On Tuesday, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder met privately with host US President George W. Bush in a talk described as very friendly. Schroeder said following the 30-minute meeting with Bush that democracy in the Middle East and in Iraq must come from within and cannot be imposed on countries by force. The summit starts formally later on Wednesday. Iraq oil pipeline explosion Saboteurs have blown up four oil pipelines in the last 72 hours in Iraq, forcing cuts in output for the national electricity grid. Iraqi officials said the attack appeared to be part of an insurgent campaign to shake confidence in the new government. In the flashpoint town of Fallujah, a mortar attack has killed at least four members of an Iraqi force given control of the city in April. Some reports claim up to 12 members were killed. The US military said the mortar was aimed at American forces. US troops are still within striking distance of the city. Kurdish politicians ordered to be freed Turkey's appeals court has ordered the release of four jailed Kurdish politicians, including human right award winner Leyla Zana. The ruling on Wednesday follows a request by the country's chief prosecutor to overturn the 15-year sentences handed down to Zana, Hatip Dicle, Selim Sadak and Orhan Dogan in 1994 for collaborating with an armed Kurdish rebellion. Also, for the first time on Turkish state-owned media, tv and radio programs were broadcast in Kurdish on Wednesday. Both moves are expected to quiet critics of Turkey within the European Union as it continues to debate whether to assume talks with Turkey as an EU candidate. Thousands starve in Darfur Reports from Sudan's Darfur region have claimed that hundreds of children have started to starve to death in what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. More than one million people have been driven from their homes since fighting between black Africans and Arab militias began in 2003. Human rights groups have accused the Islamic government in Khartoum of arming Arab militias to carry out ethnic cleansing. The government has denied this claim. Britain's international development secretary has criticised the UN response to the crisis as too little too late. Hilary Benn said Britain will top up the $35 million already given to UN agencies by $28 million. The UK, US and European Union have provided three quarters of the international response to Darfur. Govt. forces recapture strategic Congolese city Government forces recaptured the strategic city of Bukavu in eastern Congo on Wednesday, ending a one-week take over by renegade troops. The crisis had threatened to derail the peace process. Senior commanders of the renegade troops left Bukavu as United Nations peacekeepers began to enforce a ban on weapons in a neighborhood that is considered a renegade stronghold. In Kinshasa, the capital, President Joseph Kabila's government said the recapture of the city showed the power-sharing administration's commitment to holding its territory together. The transitional government took office last June, ending a five-year war that drew in six foreign armies. An estimated 3.3 million people perished in the war, mainly through war-induced disease and famine. Freed Italian hostages return home Three Italian hostages have arrived safely in Rome after being held almost two months by Iraqi insurgents. On Tuesday, US-led forces in Iraq freed the three Italians along with a Polish businessman who was kidnapped last week. On April 12, four Italians had originally been abducted but only days later, one of the Italians was killed by his captors. Three teens jailed for student abuse A court in Hildesheim, Germany has sentenced three teenagers to between 15 and 18 months in prison after being found guilty of leading a group that abused a fellow student for months. Six other young men also convicted Wednesday received lesser sentences. The 16- to 18-year-olds beat, kicked and humiliated their victim, now aged 18, twice a week over the course of three months in 2003, and even videotaped some of the acts. The case raised an outcry in Germany when videos of the abuse were broadcast in February this year. Pakistan army clashes with fighters Pakistani troops have killed at least seven foreign militants in a gunbattle in a tribal village near the Afghan border. The fighting broke out near the South Waziristan district capital Wana after a dawn rocket attack on army posts. This could be the start of the army's threatened second major offensive this year against the al Qaeda-linked fighters. In the first offensive in March, both the Pakistani army and militant forces suffered heavy casualties. Pakistan has been trying to persuade several hundred suspected al Qaeda-linked fighters to lay down arms and register with authorities. Venezuela's Chavez to face Aug. 15 recall Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will have to face an August 15 recall vote. Elections officials said the recall vote could oust the leftist government. Opponents to Chavez gathered 2.54 million signatures to demand the recall, surpassing the 2.43 million, 20 percent of the electorate required by Venezuela's constitution. To recall Chavez, Venezuela's opposition needs to win more than the 3.7 million votes he received during his 2000 election to a six-year term. Critics accuse Chavez of steering Venezuela toward a dictatorship and blame for the country's weak economy. Massive drug bust on Fiji Police on the South Pacific island of Fiji have seized drugs and chemicals in three warehouses worth more than $500 million dollars. The Fiji police commissioner, Andrew Hughes, said it was the biggest laboratory producing amphetamines, a stimulant, in the southern hemisphere. Seven men were arrested in three warehouses whose drugs were intended for the world market. The narcotics ring was suspected to be run by Hong Kong and Malaysian gangsters. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Attention: Due to e-mail manipulation, many e-mails are being sent from e-mail accounts that resemble Deutsche Welle mail accounts. Many of these mails contain viruses. We would like to inform you that Deutsche Welle (DW-WORLD) is not responsible for sending such mails. 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