DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
November 6th 2006, 16:00 UTC
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Germany's EU Presidency Plans Marred by Turkey Dispute
Reviving the constitution, solving energy problems, tackling global
warming and improving African relations: Germany has big plans for
its EU presidency in 2007. In addition, it now faces a growing dispute
with Turkey.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hm60qIfcha79I0&req=l%3D1hm60pIfcha79I0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Through Nov. 10 you can vote for your favorite weblog as part of
Deutsche Welle's annual Best of the Blogs weblog awards. Check
out the jury's nominees and cast your vote at www.thebobs.de.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Iraq lifts indefinite curfew
A round-the-clock curfew in Baghdad and other areas in Iraq will be
lifted on Tuesday. Government officials said vehicles will be
allowed back in the streets of the capital 6am local time on
Tuesday, while pedestrians are free to travel immediately. The
curfew imposed on Baghdad, Diyala and Salaheddin provinces was aimed
at preventing an insurgent backlash after a court sentenced the
nation's former president Saddam Hussein to death for crimes against
humanity. The daily dusk-to-dawn curfew in Baghdad will, however,
remain in effect.
Shelling traps civilians in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's military and Tamil Tiger rebels have accused each other
of initiating artillery attacks in the island's restive east as both
sides brace for a major offensive. The military said the rebels had
launched artillery salvos aimed at trapping civilians and had
prevented food supplies from reaching several villages. Tiger
leaders denied the charge and said it was the army that started
shelling rebel-held areas in a bid to prevent civilians from
obtaining food and provisions, which are running dangerously low.
Sri Lanka tests for chikungunya fever
Sri Lankan health officials have sent samples from more than 1,000
patients suffering from high fever to Thailand to check if they are
suffering from chikungunya, a mosquito-borne viral disease that
was reported in neighbouring India. A health ministry official said
testsdone at a local laboratory proved that those patients were not
suffering from dengue, measles or rubella. Chikungunya is spread
by female mosquitoes, and symptoms include high fever, joint pain,
headache and vomiting. There is no known cure for the disease,
although it is not life threatening if detected in time.
Peace talks resume in Nepal
Nepal's government and Maoist rebels have resumed peace talks aimed
at finalising a landmark agreement to end a decade of insurgency.
Rebel leaders and government officials say a breakthrough is likely,
as key differences on the future of the monarchy and the management
of rebel arms appear to have been resolved. About 13,000 people have
died in the rebels' 10-year struggle for a communist state.
Hamas, Abbas agree in principle
The Fatah Party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the
Islamic militant group Hamas have reached agreement in principle on
forming a government of national unity. A Hamas official said Prime
Minister Ismail Haniya would brief his cabinet on the agreement
later in the day. He didn't say whether Hamas had given in to Abbas'
main demand to uphold past interim Israeli-Palestinian peace deals
and recognition of Israel. A similar agreement reached two months
ago collapsed over Hamas' refusal to accept this demand.
Tajiks vote in presidential election
Voters in Tajikistan have been going to the polls in a presidential
election in which the incumbent, Emomali Rakhmonov, appears certain
to return to power. Turnout has been high, with the country's
elections commission reporting that more than 65 percent of voters
had cast their ballots in the first six hours of voting. President
Rakhmonov, meanwhile, had rejected criticism from Western election
observers about how the vote was being conducted. He insisted that
the election was democratic, but he also admitted that it didn't
meet Western standards.
S.Africa upholds Shaik fraud verdict
A South African court has upheld corruption and fraud convictions
against Schabir Shaik, a businessman with close ties to the nation's
former deputy president Jacob Zuma. The court ruled that Shaik was
guilty of two counts of corruption for making payments to Zuma to
further his own business interests and trying to secure bribes for
Zuma from a French arms company. It also threw out Shaik's appeal
against the fraud conviction and said that he should serve 15 years
in jail. Prosecutors said they would study the ruling and then
consider whether to re-indict Zuma, whose own corruption trial was
thrown out of court in September due to unnecessary prosecution
delays. The move could derail Zuma's campaign to become President in
2009.
EU toughens hand-luggage rules
Tougher European Union anti-terror measures involving liquids in
airline hand luggage have gone into effect. Passengers must now
carry fluids such as water, hand cream, perfumes, toothpaste, and
mascara in containers with a maximum capacity of 100 millilitres
each. These then have to be packed a transparent, re-sealable
plastic bag. Exceptions apply for medicines and baby food or milk.
The EU adopted the standardised measures after British authorities
said in August they had discovered a terrorist plan to create bombs
using liquid explosives stored in carry-on luggage.
UN climate conference opens in Nairobi
The latest international conference on climate change has opened in
the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Kenyan Vice President Moody Awori
opened the United Nations-sponsored forum with a speech in which he
described global warming as one of the most serious threats humanity
has ever faced. A UN report released on the eve of the talks
forecast dire effects from climate change on parts of Africa. It
says that yields of crops will fall while rising seas could engulf
cities. The meeting is the 12th set of UN climate talks since the
signing of the climate change convention in 1992, but data released
last week shows greenhouse gas levels are still rising.
S.Africa probes nuclear reactor shutdown
South Africa's power utility Eskom has announced its Koeberg nuclear
power station in Cape Town is running on only one reactor after the
second reactor shut itself down on Sunday. Company officials said
the Koeberg Unit 2 reactor was in a safe condition and
investigations into the fault, believed to be with the reactor's
turbine control system, were underway. Koeberg is Africa's only
nuclear power station, with a production capacity of about 900
megawatts. Various problems have resulted in regular and costly
power outages in Cape Town and surrounding areas over the last year.
EU predicts higher eurozone growth
The European Commission is predicting the strongest economic growth
across the European Union of 2.8 percent for this year. That would
be the highest growth rate the 25-member bloc has seen in six years.
The figures were released by European Economic and Monetary Affairs
Commissioner Joaquin Almunia at a press conference in Brussels. The
forecast predicts economic growth of 2.4 percent in Germany's
economy for this year. But it also predict that growth in Germany
will fall to 1.2 percent next year, largely due to the VAT sales
tax, which is set to rise from 16 to 19 percent on January 1.
EU calls for investigation into power outages
The European Commission has called for an investigation into the
causes of a weekend power outage in much of western Europe and said
it would propose new measures to address the problem next year.
German electricity company E.ON has meanwhile confirmed it was to
blame for the blackout. E.ON said its grid had overloaded after it
switched off an electricity line over the river Ems to allow a
cruise ship to safely pass through. The knock-on power cut left
millions without electricity across Germany, France, Italy, Spain
and Portugal. Despite politicians' anger, E.ON said Europe's power
grid was in good shape.
Kyrgyz minister promises protesters no violence
In Kyrgyzstan, thousands of protesters have marched on president
Kurmanbek Bakiyev's offices in the capital, Bishkek. The President
has meanwhile sacked the Interior minister and appointed a replacement
who promised not to use force against protesters. The demonstration
comes after President Bakiyev failed to make a widely expected
appearance before parliament to present sweeping changes to the
constitution. The opposition says the proposals merely make things
worse. It's the fifth day of protests against Bakiyev, who critics accuse
of failing to deal with widespread poverty and abandoning the
democratic reforms promised in the run-up to the elections.
New fighting reported in Somalia
Islamic forces in Somalia say they've clashed with militia backed by
Ethiopian troops in the country's north. The Union of Islamic Courts
said it came under attack close to the border of the semi-autonomous
region of Puntland, a region which has close ties to Ethiopia and
has so far resisted the spread of the Islamic courts that control
most of southern Somalia and the capital Mogadishu. Officials in
Puntland, however, have denied there was any fighting, saying the
Islamic courts were merely seeking a pretext to attack the region.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian officials have repeated earlier denials that
they have troops inside Somalia.
Italian court convicts Egyptian man
An Italian court has convicted an Egyptian man also wanted in Spain
over the 2004 Madrid train bombings on international terrorism
charges and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. The court in Milan
convicted Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed and a co-defendant, Yahia Ragheh
who was given a five-year term. Both men were led out of the
courtroom in handcuffs surrounded by prison guards. Milan
prosecutors were seeking a 14-year sentence for the 35-year-old
Ahmed, arguing that he had ties to a terror cell whose reach
extended throughout Europe and even to Iraq. Ahmed, who was arrested
in Milan, has denied belonging to an Egyptian radical Islamic group.
Ortega leading in Nicaragua elections
Early election results in Nicaragua suggest former Marxist
revolutionary Daniel Ortega could return to power as president after
16 years. Initial results show the Sandinista leader ahead of his
main challenger. Ortega says he has changed from the leader who
seized property from the wealthy during a 1979 revolution. The poll
is being watched by the US, which is concerned that its former Cold
War enemy could be returned to power. Ortega's opponents say he
would take the nation back to the days of the civil war with the
Contra rebels. Final results from the election, which saw a high
turnout, are not expected to be declared until much later today,
Monday.
Former Turkish PM dies
Former Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, a key figure who
ordered troops into Cyprus in 1974, has died. He was 81 and had been
in a coma since suffering a stroke in May. A journalist by
profession, the leftist nationalist Ecevit served five terms as
prime minister, and was a key political force in Turkey for almost
half a century. During his first term, Ecevit ordered the invasion
of Cyprus in response to a coup on the Mediterranean island
engineered by Greek Cypriots seeking a union with mainland Greece.
This led to the division of the island which still exists today.
Linde sells forklift unit for four billion
The German firm Linde, the world's largest maker of industrial
gases, has sold its forklift unit Kion Group for four billion euros.
The US investors Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Goldman Sachs will take
control of Kion pending anti-trust approval. Linde's management said
it would honour a deal struck with its 20,000 Kion workers that will
keep existing plants in Germany open for six years in exchange for
longer shifts and lower pay.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Need a good laugh? Then check out DW-WORLD.DE'S From the
Fringe Special, which regularly brings you quirky stories from and
about Germany. To find out more, go to http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hm60qIfcha79I1&req=l%3D1hm60pIfcha79I1
----------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information please turn to our internet website at
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hm60qIfcha79I2&req=l%3D1hm60pIfcha79I2
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can cancel our newsletter at:
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/public/unsubscribe.jsp?gid=90003210&uid=927954405&mid=90053882&sig=ANNGEGIIDINPIDIM
