Deutsche Welle English Service News 03. 02. 2005, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Europe Likes the Sound of Bush European politicians like the soothing words on Iran they heard in President George W. Bush's State of the Union Address on Wednesday. But in other areas, the two sides remain far apart. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1477249,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DW-WORLD's "Click Back" monthly review quiz for February is waiting for you and will test your knowledge of stories we've written. If you answer all questions correctly, you can also win a great prize. To play, please go to: http://www.dw-world.de/english ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bush pledges to end tyranny US President George W. Bush has outlined his key policies for his second term in power. In his first annual State of the Union speech since his re-election, Bush said his ultimate aim was to end tyranny around the world. He condemned governments that promote terror and singled out Iran, accusing it of state-sponsored terrorism. Bush also held out hope for the creation of an independent Palestinian state. The president hailed landmark democratic events such as the elections in Ukraine, Afghanistan and Iraq, but said more must be done to support democracy around the world. On domestic issues Bush said he intended to reform Social Security, simplify the tax code and tackle the huge budget deficit. Mandela tells rich to feed the poor South African Nobel peace laureate Nelson Mandela has said that it is the duty of rich nations to help end the misery of the world's poorest people. The former political prisoner was addressing a cheering crowd of about 22,000 in London's historic Trafalgar Square on the eve of a meeting of the G7 finance ministers. 86-year-old Mandela, told the rally that poverty and inequality rank alongside slavery and apartheid as modern social evils. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has vowed to make Africa one of the priorities of his presidency of the Group of Seven industrialised nations this year. Israel signals handovers Israeli government sources say senior cabinet ministers plan to hand control of five West Bank towns back to the Palestinians. Also planned is the release of 900 Palestinian prisoners. The initiatives precede a summit due next Tuesday between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas has urged Israel to declare an official ceasefire. Sharon's aides said he first wanted proof that Palestinian militants had been disarmed. US President George W. Bush - in his State of the Union address on Wednesday - pledged the Palestinians 350 million euros, saying two states, Israel and Palestine, were within reach. Visiting Israel, German President Horst Koehler said he would strive for even closer German-Israel ties, especially to inform youth on the Holocaust. Georgia's premier Zhvania found dead Georgian investigators have blamed the death of Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania on exhaust gas from a faulty heater. Zhvania was found dead in an apartment in Tbilisi. A local Georgian official was found dead in an adjacent room. President Mikhail Saakashvili,who has taken over the running of the government, appointed Zhvania a year ago. In a televised address he expressed his deep regret at the untimely death. Zhvania, aged 41, was a market-oriented reformer who helped lead a revolution in 2003 against ex-president Eduard Shevardnadze. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Zhvania had been "pivotal" in placing the ex-Soviet republic on the road to democracy. Deaths from faulty gas-canister heaters in Georgia are quite common. German soccer scandal deepens German soccer's match-fixing scandal has deepened with confirmation from the DFB federation that the referee Robert Hoyzer manipulated four matches last year. DFB co-president Theo Zwanziger said, aside from a German Cup match between Paderborn and Hamburg, Hoyzer had told prosecutors that he fixed one second-league and two regional league games. Zwanziger said three other suspended referees were under investigation. Bundesliga chief Werner Hackmann said a prosecutors' report showed that "organised crime" had been involved. Two Croatian brothers from Berlin have already been arrested. Deutsche Bank - axing jobs, profits up A plan by Deutsche Bank to axe more than 3,200 jobs abroad, mainly at its foreign investment branches, has been condemned by the German trade union Ver.di. It has accused Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest commercial bank, of "sacrificing" jobs on the "altar" of stock market analysts. Deutsche Bank said the cuts combined with 1,900 layoffs within Germany, announced in December, would trim eight percent off its workforce of 65,000 employees. For 2004 its net profit was 2.5 billion euros, an 87 percent gain on the previous year. That's its highest level since the boom-and-bust year of 2000. Irish PM downplays IRA posturing Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern asserted that the Irish and British governments would carry on with the Northern Ireland peace process, despite the Irish Republican Army's statement on Thursday that it was withdrawing its offer to destroy its remaining weapons. In interviews on Irish and British radio stations Sinn Fein negotiator Martin McGuinness said the IRA decision resulted from what he called a confrontational approach taken by the British and Irish governments. The turnaround came as a result of repeated accusations that the IRA were behind a massive 38 million euro bank robbery in December last year which is denied by the paramilitary group. Opposition leader leaves Cambodia Reports from Cambodia say opposition leader Sam Rainsy has left the country after being stripped of his immunity from prosecution by parliament. Rainsy had faced various defamation lawsuits, including one from his rival, Prime Minister Hun Sen. Rainsy was seen boarding a flight for Singapore but his final destination is unknown. Hun Sen pressed parliament to lift immunity after Rainsy implicated him in a fatal attack in 1997 on an opposition rally. The US embassy said the Cambodian parliament move was a "major setback". Zimbabwe's MDC to take part in poll Zimbabwe's main opposition party has said it will after all take part in the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 31. The Movement for Democratic Change said it would field candidates despite concerns over the fairness of the poll. Last year the party had threatened to boycott the elections saying that conditions favoured ruling President Robert Mugabe. US condemns EU on China arms ban The US House of Representatives has sharply condemned the European Union's intention to lift its arms embargo on China. The house overwhelmingly backed a resolution that describes the EU move as a threat to US security interests. On a recent trip to China, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had called for an end to the weapons embargo which was put in place following Beijing's bloody crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in 1989. Pope out of danger Doctors in Rome treating Pope John Paul II have said that his condition has stabilised and that there was no more reason for concern. A Vatican spokesman said the results of medical tests had been "satisfactory." The pope was admitted on Tuesday after complaining of breathing problems brought on by a heavy cold. He's expected to stay in hospital until early next week. The 84-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church has a history of health problems, most prominently Parkinson's disease. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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