Deutsche Welle English Service News 05. 12. 2005, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
German Ex-Minister Under Fire Over CIA Abduction Germany's former interior minister, Otto Schily, is facing pressure by opposition politicians to reveal his knowledge about the abduction of a German national by the US intelligence service. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1801715,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bundesliga is in full swing again! Get it all on DW-WORLD.DE: We offer you results, tables and live tickers of the matches. Check out picture galleries of the best players and interactive features such as quizes and betting games where Chinese Bayern Munich fans get a chance to compete against Texan Schalke supporters. You'll find it all at www.dw-world.de/soccer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Explosion in Israeli town kills five A suicide bombing at a shopping mall in the coastal Israeli town of Netanya has killed at least five people and wounded over thirty others. The Palestinian group Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for the attack and published a video of the purported bomber. The group has been behind all suicide bombings inside Israel since the main armed factions signed a truce agreement in March. The Palestinian Authority has condemned the attack and promised a harsh response. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom has vowed a "hard and painful" reply to the attack. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has scheduled a Security Cabinet meeting to discuss a reponse. Iran warns Israel after Netanyahu threat Iran has warned Israel of serious consequences if its nuclear installations are attacked by the Jewish state. The remarks come after former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel needed to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear threat. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said last week that Israel would never allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad caused an international backlash in October when he called for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map. The International Atomic Energy Agency has found Iran in violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Saddam trial adjourns until Wednesday The trial of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants in Baghdad has been adjourned until Wednesday. Saddam and his associates are on trial for the massacre of 148 people from the Shiite village of Dujail in 1982. All the accused could face the death penalty. The judge adjourned the trial after a stormy session in which Saddam, his former interior minister and lawyers derided the testimony of two witnesses. Earlier, the defence team walked out briefly over a challenge to the legitimacy of the court and security concerns sparked by the murder of two defence lawyers in recent weeks. Another European taken hostage in Iraq Iraqi police say gunmen have abducted a French engineer in western Baghdad. The kidnappers surrounded the man as he was driving to his work site in Karradah. Meanwhile German Chancellor Angela Merkel says there has been no response from the abductors of a German archaeologist kidnapped in Iraq more than a week ago. Susanne Osthoff has been threatened with death unless Germany ceases its support for the Iraqi government. The kidnapper's first deadline expired on Friday. The German Chancellor insisted that Berlin is doing everything it can to save Osthoff. Trial of "Islamic terrorist group" opens Fourteen men have gone on trial in the Netherlands charged with belonging to a radical Islamist terror network. Among the accused is Mohammed Bouyeri, already jailed for life for the murder of film- maker Theo van Gogh last year. The trial, the first to come to court under new anti-terror legislation, is being seen as a test case. The suspects are alleged to be members of the so-called Hofstad group, based in The Hague. If found guilty, the men face jail sentences of up to 15 years. Rice to defend CIA on Europe trip US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice arrives in Berlin later for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel amid a growing scandal over alleged abuses committed by the CIA in Europe in their fight against terrorism. Secretary Rice is expected to reassure European allies and to ask them to mute their public criticism. In the latest twist, the Washington Post is reporting that the German government knew that one of its citizens had been wrongfully detained by the CIA, but kept quiet at the request of the US government. The Post says that, in its campaign to dismantle terror networks, the CIA wrongfully imprisoned up to three dozen people, including German citizen Khaled el-Masri. It claims Germany's former Interior Minister Otto Schily was informed about the case by the US authorities. Kazakh election flawed: OSCE International monitors say presidential elections in Kazakhstan this weekend failed to meet international democratic standards. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said in a statement that various flaws had distorted the competition. In particular, it cited restrictions on opposition campaigning, harassment of campaign staff and intimidation by the authorities. Official results showed veteran president Nursultan Nazarbayev re-elected with more than 91 percent of the vote. The opposition has called the election fraudulent and says it will fight to have it declared invalid. German Defence Minister in Kosovo Germany's new defence minister, Franz Josef Jung, is going to Pristina to visit with German troops serving in the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo, known as KFOR. Germany has some 2,600 troops serving in the force. Jung is expected to follow the visit with trips over the next week to other countries like Bosnia, Afghanistan and Djibouti, where German troops are serving. Strong earthquake hits East Africa A strong earthquake has hit East Africa in the Lake Tanganyika region. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale and struck shortly after one p.m. Central European time. The USGS said the epicenter was 55 kilometers southeast of the town of Kalemie on Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Hundreds of people evacuated office buildings as far away as Nairobi, Kenya. The quake was also felt in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. Local sources say some people have been killed and buildings damaged. China orders 150 Airbus jets China has ordered 150 Airbus single-aisle A320 airliners in a deal worth some 8.5 billion euros. The deal was signed on the second day of a visit to France by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. The order represents a great boost to European industry. The A320 family of jets comprises four aircraft capable of seating 107 to 185 passengers. The deal comes a day after Airbus indicated that it may be prepared to build a complete aircraft assembly line in China. Majority of Japanese favor female monarch An overwhelming majority of Japanese support a plan to allow a woman to ascend the nation's imperial throne. A government panel last month officially proposed revising Japan's 1947 Imperial Household Law to allow female monarchs. Japan's royal family faces a serious succession crisis due to the lack of a male heir. A poll conducted last week shows that 71.9 percent support breaking the all-male imperial tradition. Germany marks Volunteer Day December 5 is International Volunteer Day, offering organisations and individuals the opportunity to draw attention to their contributions toward making the world a better place. In Germany an estimated 23 million people offer their time and services free of charge for a wide variety of different causes. On the weekend German president Horst Koehler honoured selected volunteers with the Order of Merit of the Federal Rebublic, in symbolic recognition of the services of all volunteers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Week in Germany: The best from German culture, business and politics in a convenient weekly wrap-up. Read and subscribe at www.germany.info/twig ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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