News, 17.03.2005, 17:00 Uhr UTC Deutsche Welle English Service News 17. 03. 2005, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Clamping Down on Child Neglect One of the shocking aspects of the recent harrowing death of a seven-year-old girl in Hamburg was the fact that hers was not an isolated case. So why does child neglect still happen, and what can be done to prevent it? To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1520185,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Palestinians pledge calm Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has welcomed a declaration of calm by Palestinian factions who met in Egypt. But he called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to ensure that militants are eventually disarmed. The 13 Palestinian factions did not mention the word ceasefire in their declaration but agreed to a conditional halt in attacks on Israel. They say an extention of a truce depends on whether Israel releases more Palestinian prisoners and refrains from attacks in the occupied territories. Meanwhile, Israel and Egypt have repaired relations, with the arrival in Tel Aviv of a new Egyptian embassador. The two countries agreed to a return of ambassadors at a Middle East peace summit in February. Israeli nuclear whistleblower charged The Israeli nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu has been indicted for violating the terms of his parole. Israeli authorities said the charges relate to Vanunu's interviews with the foreign media and for attempting to travel despite a ban. Vanunu, a former nuclear technician, was released from prison last April after serving an 18 year term. He was jailed for disclosing details about Israel's nuclear programme. After his release Israeli authorities banned Vanunu from speaking to the media, citing security concerns. Russian Chubais survives assassination The head of Russia's largest electricity company has survived an assassination attempt. Anatoly Chubais was travelling in a convoy on a road east of Moscow, when unknown assailants detonated a roadside bomb. The convoy was also sprayed with bullets. Police said the two assailants disappeared into a nearby forest. Chubais, one of Russia's most controversial politicians, said he had a "pretty good idea" who was behind the attack but did not give further details. Zimbabwe's children vunerable The UN agency UNICEF says in Zimbabwe child mortality and vulnerability to AIDS has risen sharply. UNICEF director Carol Bellamy said international sanctions aimed at President Robert Mugabe were also impacting on Zimbabwe's children. Every eighth child dies before the age of five. That death rate was up 50 percent since 1990. Every 15 minutes a Zimbabwean child dies from HIV and AIDS. One million orphans had also lost their parents to the epidemic. Bellamy said in contrast to neighbouring southern African countries, donor assistance for Zimbabwe was meagre. Twin bombs explode in Afghanistan Two roadside bombs in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar have killed five people and wounded 32 others. Police have blamed the attacks on Taliban militants. The explosions occurred just hours after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had arrived in the capital Kabul for her first visit to Afghanistan. Rice held talks with Afghan leaders on countering terrorism and the war on drugs. At a joint news conference, Rice and Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced that parliamentary elections have been postponed until September. Rice has now returned to Islamabad for more talks with Pakistani officials. She is on a six-nation tour of Asia. SPD Simonis fails to win majority A senior member of Germany's governing Social Democrats, Heidi Simonis, has failed to be re-elected as premier of Schleswig- Holstein after four ballots in the state assembly. The opposition Christian Democrats have demanded her resignation. Simonis failed to secure the 35 votes needed to govern despite forming a coalition with the Greens and the minority Danish party the SSV. Opposition leader Peter Harry Carstensen also only won 34 votes. One member of parliament withheld the deciding vote. Under the current law Simonis can continue govern in the interim. Schroeder outlines job incentives Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has proposed lower corporate tax rates and more transport projects in a bid to generate jobs. To stablise revenues, Schroeder said tax loopholes could be closed and subsidies reduced. He also defended recently introduced labour market reforms. Germany has 5.2 million unemployed or 12.6 percent of the workforce. Responding to Schroeder's speech, opposition Christian Democrat leader Angela Merkel told parliament that Schroeder's proposals were "insufficient". Their speeches precede a crisis summit on unemployment between the ruling SPD/Green coalition and the opposition conservatives. Crude oil prices rise to over $57 barrel Crude oil prices have surged to record levels reaching more than $57 a barrel. The price surge comes a day after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries or OPEC decided to boost supplies by 500 000 barrels per day to meet increasing global demand. The higher prices have had a negative impact on European shares. Meanwhile the US government has approved a plan to begin drilling for oil and gas in a nature conservation area in Alaska. Environmentalists have been campaigning for years to prevent the drilling of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. US President George W Bush defended the move, saying it will make the American economy less dependent on oil imports from the Middle East. Landslide in Turkish village Up to 14 people are missing following a landslide in a central Turkish village. Local officials said around 30 houses were buried in the north-eastern Sivas province. The risk of fresh landslides has prevented rescuers from using earth-moving machines and forced them to work manually. The Governor of Sivas said the site had previously been declared risky for settlement by local authorities, but residents refused to leave their homes. Europe cool to Wolfowitz's nomination The nomination of Paul Wolfowitz as the next head of the World Bank has drawn a mixed response from European officials. Wolfowitz, who is currently the US Deputy Defence Secretary, has a reputation as a "neo-conservative" hawk and was a key architect of the Iraq war. German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said that "enthusiasm in old Europe (was not) exactly overwhelming", while Sweden's foreign minister said she was sceptical about the nomination. But UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw backed Wolfowitz, calling him "very distinguished and experienced internationally". Wolfowitz's appointment must still be formally approved by the board of the 184-nation development bank. Greek strike grounds areoplanes A strike by airline staff in Greece has brought internal air traffic to a standstill. Almost three quarters of all flights have been cancelled. Teachers, postal workers, railway workers and other government employees also took part in the stoppage. The strike was called by trade unions across Greece. They are demanding higher wages, as well as safe-guards to pensions and social security. UK police foil cyber bank robbery London police have foiled what could have been one Britain's biggest bank robberies. A gang tried to steal 316 million euros after hacking into the computers of the London branch of the Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui. The criminals installed keylogging software into the Sumitomo system to track all the keys pressed on computers, which gave them information on account numbers and passwords. A man has been arrested by police in Israel after an attempt to transfer £13.9m into an account there. He has been charged with money laundering and deception. Police said no money was taken. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
