Deutsche Welle
English Service News
26 July 2004, 16:00 UTC
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Deutsche Welle
English Service News
US says France hampering trade talks
Washington's senior trade negotiator has accused French President
Jacques Chirac of hampering efforts to reach a global free trade
accord, as EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels to forge their
negotiating strategy. US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick has
criticized Chirac's rejection of a draft framework to be discussed
by World Trade Organization delegates in Geneva starting Tuesday.
The Geneva talks are seen as crucial to reducing global trade
barriers. The French president last week described the framework as
detrimental to the interests of the European Union, most notably
French farm subsidies.
EU threatens sanctions against Sudan
EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels have said they would
support UN sanctions against Sudan if the government there fails to
end the violence in the Darfur region. In a joint statement the EU
ministers said they would take appropriate steps if Khartoum does
not end the fighting and resume peace talks with rebels. The United
Nations has described the situation in Darfur as the world's worst
humanitarian disaster and now fears that as many as 50,000 people
have been killed by Arab militia. A million others have been
displaced. Meanwhile an Oxfam aid flight carrying water and
sanitation equipment has arrived in Darfur. A spokeswoman said her
charity would be able to provide around 60,000 people with clean
water.
Hostage takers in Iraq step up activity
Insurgents determined to undermine Iraq's interim government have
stepped up their campaign of hostage-taking to pressure foreign
troops and companies to leave the country. Militant groups have
reportedly seized two Jordanians, two Pakistanis and an Iraqi in the
latest wave of kidnappings. Meanwhile, a militant Islamic group
holding three Indians, three Kenyans and an Egyptian have extended a
deadline for its demands to be met. The kidnappers want the Kuwaiti
company which employs the hostages to pull out of the country.
Senior Iraqi official assassinated
A senior Iraqi interior ministry official has been shot dead in a
drive-by shooting. The interior ministry said that Colonel Mussab
al-Awadi and two of his bodyguards were attacked by gunmen outside
his home in Baghdad. Earlier, at least five people were killed in a
suicide car bombing in the northern city of Mosul. Three US soldiers
and four security guards were injured in the blast outside the main
gates of the Mosul airfield. On Sunday, Iraqi security forces killed
13 insurgents during a raid north of Baghdad.
No relations with Israel yet, says Iraqi PM
Iraq's interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, has been meeting with
Lebanese leaders in Beirut during a three-day visit there. Among
many issues, leaders were to discuss the return to Iraq of millions
of dollars deposited in Lebanese banks before the Iraq war last
year. In the meantime, Prime Minister Allawi told reporters that
Baghdad would not move to normalise relations with Israel until
other Arab countries do as part of a Middle East agreement. He did
say, however, that he was interested in restoring diplomatic ties
with Kuwait, which Iraq invaded under the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Sharon says no turning back on Gaza pullout
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he would proceed with
his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip despite mass protests. On
Sunday more than 100,000 Israelis formed a human chain in protest of
removing Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. Sharon said there
was no turning back on his so-called disengagement plan because
Israel could not stay in the Gaza Strip forever. Most Israelis
favour a pullout, but hard-liners in Sharon's Likud Party continue
to oppose it.
Yudhoyono wins first round of Indonesian vote
Ex-general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has won the first round of
Indonesia's presidential election balloting and will meet incumbent
President Megawati Sukarnoputri in a runoff election in September.
Yudhoyono topped the July 5 ballot with almost 33.6 percent of the
vote, ahead of Megawati's 26.6 percent.
Karzai announces candidacy in Afghan elections
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has formally announced his candidacy
for the presidential elections in October, but has dropped a
powerful warlord from his ticket. Instead, Karzai named a brother of
the late resistance leader Ahmad Shah Masood as his running mate.
Karzai chose Ahmed Zia Masood as first vice president and current
vice president Karim Khalili as a second running mate. He dropped
warlord Mohammed Qasim Fahim, who is currently serving as Defence
Minister. Fahim has said he will back Karzai's former education
minister Yonus Qanooni, who also announced his candidacy. A final
list of candidates will be published Thursday.
Arroyo outlines domestic reform plans
In her state of the union address, Philippine President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo has rejected criticism of her decision to withdraw
peacekeepers from Iraq to save the life of a captive Filipino truck
driver. The Philippines had no policy demanding the sacrifice of
human life, Arroyo said to the opening session of Congress. The
United States, Australia, Iraq and other allies sharply criticized
Arroyo's pullout decision, saying it had encouraged more kidnappings
in Iraq. Arroyo's speech focused mainly on plans for economic
reforms. Arroyo presented five reform packages aimed at creating six
million jobs, attracting foreign investment, fighting corruption,
improving education and making the country less dependent on foreign
energy.
India, China in talks to end border dispute
India and China have started talks to settle a border dispute in the
Himalayas that has fueled distrust between them for more than forty
years. The world's two most populous nations fought a brief and
brutal war over their border in 1962, and both sides claim the other
is occupying parts of its land. India disputes Chinese rule over
Aksai Chin, 38,000 square kilometers of barren, uninhabited land on
the Tibetan plateau, which Beijing seized from the Indian state of
Jammu and Kashmir in the 1962 war. China claims 90,000 square
kilometers of territory ruled by India, mostly in the Indian state
of Arunachal Pradesh.
Indonesian court jails terrorist
An Indonesian court has jailed an alleged member of the Jemaah
Islamiyah regional terrorist network for three years for withholding
information on the group's activities. Hutomo, alias Abu Farak, was
found guilty of failing to inform authorities of terror plots as the
leader of a JI cell in southern Sumatra. The defendant also sent
three cell members to attend JI meetings to refresh their bomb-
making and firearms skills.
NATO to command Olympic anti-terror efforts
NATO will officially command anti-terror forces at the 2004 Summer
Games in Athens next month. NATO General-Secretary Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer confirmed that NATO troops would monitor Greek airspace
with AWAC surveillance aircraft and also help the Greek navy patrol
its territorial waters.
Czechs choose new prime minister
Social Democrat leader Stanislav Gross will be officially nominated
as Czech Prime Minister later on Monday, paving the way for a new
centre-left government after Vladimir Spidla stepped down last month.
President Vaclav Klaus said he would nominate Gross, who at 34 would
be Europe's youngest premier, after a meeting that followed weeks of
political horse-trading. Gross has been holding talks with two other
parties, the centrist Christian Democrats and the rightist Freedom
Union, and is expected to form a coalition government by August 1.
Forest fires in France under control
Special fire-fighting aircraft and more than 1000 firemen have
brought bush fires in southern France under control. Winds fuelling
the fires subsided, aiding the effort to control the blazes. About
2500 hectares of land, including forests, have been destroyed. Over
1000 residents were also forced to evacuate the area near
Marseilles.
Klinsmann new Germany coach
Juergen Klinsmann has been named the new coach of
the German national soccer team. He has received a
two-year contract taking him through the 2006 World
Cup, which will be hosted by Germany. Klinsmann
replaces Rudi Voeller who resigned after Germany's early
exit from the Euro 2004 soccer championships in
Portugal. Klinsmann will be joined by former striker
Oliver Bierhoff as team manager and Holger Osiek as
assistant coach.
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