Deutsche Welle English Service News 22. 01. 2005, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Far-Right German Party Belittles Holocaust A week before Europe hosts a series of memorial services in honor of the freeing of Auschwitz, a group of far-right German politicians caused a stir by walking out on a state ceremony for Nazi victims. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1466245,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The waiting is over: on Jan. 21 the Bundesliga returns from its winter break and starts off the second half of the 2004/05 season. The 17 remaining match days leading up to the final on May 21 guarantee plenty of excitement. Can FC Bayern-Munich keep its lead at the top of the table or will one of the strong contesters Schalke 04 or VfB Stuttgart overtake the club from the Bavarian capital? And how do the lower ranked teams keep up with the rest? Who will survive into the next season and who will be forced down a notch? Keep informed of what’s happening in Germany’s premier soccer league at http://www.dw-world.de/soccer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Chinese hostages freed in Iraq Insurgents in Iraq have released eight Chinese labourers they had held hostage since Tuesday. The men were freed after China advised its citizens not to travel to Iraq. Meanwhile, interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has warned that it will be impossible to provide full security for Iraq's January 30 elections. He spoke after two more suicide bombings apparently aimed at Iraq's Shi'ite population. Late on Friday, a suicide attack on a Shi'ite wedding party south of Baghdad killed at least 11 people and injured 27 others. Just hours before that attack, a suicide car bomber killed 14 Shi'ite worshippers as they left a Baghdad mosque. Iraqi expat voter registration extended Expatriate Iraqis wishing to register at voting centres in 14 countries for the January 30 poll have an extra two days in which to do so. The International Organisation for Migration, which has been carrying out voter registration for Iraqis living abroad, said the deadline would be extended as long as the host nations agreed. The IOM says that, so far, 130,000 expatriate Iraqis have been registered on electoral rolls. Palestinian group says ready for truce An armed group linked to Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas's Fatah faction has announced it was ready to seek a ceasefire with Israel. The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade said it was prepared to halt attacks but imposed a strict raft of conditions, including that Israel stops its military operations and releases Palestinian prisoners. Meanwhile, Abbas has begun a fresh round of talks with radical militant groups in Gaza to press them to also accept a truce with Israel. Earlier the Palestinian Authority said it was deploying thousands of Palestinian security forces across Gaza to prevent militant attacks on Israel. Europe calls for Iran diplomacy The French and British governments say they are continuing to push for a diplomatic solution to the current nuclear dispute with Iran. This follows a statement by NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Friday, in which he urged the United States and Europe to agree on a common Iran policy. US President George W. Bush has said he would not rule out military action against Iran, which the US thinks may be trying to construct a nuclear bomb. The European Union resumed negotiations with Iran on a trade and cooperation agreement last week after Tehran agreed to freeze uranium enrichment. Muslim pilgrims perform final hajj ritual More than two million Muslims from around the world have been performing the final ritual of stoning the devil at the annual hajj pilgrimage in the Mina valley near Mecca. The faithful throw pebbles at the "jamarat", or three pillars symbolising the devil. According to tradition, it is the place where Satan appeared first to Abraham, to his son, Ishmael, and to Ishmael's mother Hagar. All Muslims are required to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam, at least once in their lifetime if they have the means to do so. Sri Lanka rebels put struggle on hold Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels have said they are putting politics aside to deal with the aftermath of the Asian tsunami. They added that swifter, fairer government aid distribution could boost peace prospects. The Tigers have accused the government of blocking aid to areas they control. The Sri Lankan government denies this. Earlier, rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran held talks with a Norwegian delegation, which has been mediating between the rebels and Sri Lankan government. Though the talks were supposed to focus on tsunami reconstruction efforts, Norway says it hopes the peace process between the rebels and the government can be revived. Agreement on tsunami warning system Representatives from 150 countries have agreed to build a tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean. But critics accused the UN conference in Kobe, Japan, of not committing to anything specific. There was also dispute about the wish of the European Union to include in the final statement that global climate change could cause more natural disasters. This was opposed by the United States, Australia and Canada. Maldivians electing their parliament Parliamentary elections have begun in the Indian Ocean island state of Maldives which reports 82 people killed by the tsunami a month ago. Because of the disaster the election was postponed from the 31st of December. About half of the 275,000 Maldivians are entitled to elect 42 of the 50 members of parliament, the other eight are appointed. Nepal wedding bus crash kills 40 A bus carrying a wedding party dropped 100 metres off a hilly road into a river in west Nepal killing 40 people including the bridegroom, his father and a brother. The bride was among 19 others injured. Accidents are common in mountainous Nepal where old and crowded buses are for many people the only means of transport along winding, poorly maintained roads. German states to expel Islamists A leading news magazine says German interior ministers are compiling hundreds of names of Islamists to be expelled from Germany. The weekly Der Spiegel says the basis for the action is the new immigration law which went into force this year. It allows foreigners to be expelled if there is evidence that they represent a special danger. The conservative Bavarian interior minister has said he intends to make consistent use of the new provision, whose introduction was resisted by the co-governing Greens. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When the ball gets rolling on the first day of the second half of the Bundesliga season, it’s time to place your bets at DW-WORLD again. Bet, score and win is the name of the game. Compete with soccer fans around the world by predicting who will be up or down, how many goals and how tops the table. Return for each match day and participate in the game individually or as a team with friends and colleagues. Prove your skill at picking the winners, and if you bet correctly, you’ll be awarded with great prizes each time the Bundesliga plays. So join the fun, it’s only a click away. http://www.dw-world.de/english/kickofftip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 news@antic.org http://www.antic.org/
