DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter English Service News 09.01.07, 17:00 Uhr UTC
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' 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=evu7tcIfcha79I0&req=l%3Devu7tbIfcha79I0 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Russia Faces Angry EU in Energy Dispute German Chancellor Merkel said Tuesday that disruption of oil supplies to Europe was destroying confidence in Moscow. Her comments come a day before the EU unveils its official energy strategy. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evu7tcIfcha79I1&req=l%3Devu7tbIfcha79I1 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Fierce firefight rages in Baghdad An Iraqi Defense Ministry official says 50 militants have been killed in central Baghdad in clashes between gunmen and US-backed Iraqi forces. More than 20 militants were also arrested in the operation in Haifa Street, a Sunni Arab insurgent stronghold. Skirmishes began in the early hours of Tuesday and by daylight had grown into a heated firefight. Police said the clashes erupted when gunmen attacked Iraqi army checkpoints, and that Iraqi soldiers appealed to the US military for help. At least 30 killed in plane crash in Iraq A plane en route from Turkey to Iraq has crashed killing at least 32 people. A Turkish Foreign Ministry official said the plane had been trying to land in foggy conditions near Balad, around 80 kilometres north of Baghdad. It's believed all those on board were Turkish workers who had left from the city of Adana early on Tuesday. US strikes al Qaeda targets in Somalia US helicopter gunships have launched fresh attacks on suspected al-Qaeda terrorists hiding in southern Somalia. The raids come a day after US forces launched at least two air attacks in the same area. Somali government officials said more than 20 civilians died in the latest attack, and an unspecified number were killed in Monday's raid. Washington says al-Qaeda operatives linked to the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania are being sheltered by Somali Islamists. The air raids marked the first overt US military intervention in Somalia since the early 1990s. The European Commission has criticised the US operation, saying it would not help Somalia's long-term stability. Motassadeq appeals 15-year sentence A Moroccan national, convicted by a German court over the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, has appealed against his 15-year prison sentence. Judges in Hamburg on Monday increased Mounir el Motassadeq's existing seven-year sentence for belonging to a terrorist group to the maximum 15 after also finding him guilty of being an accessory to mass murder. The latest trial was the third for Motassadeq, who was the first man ever to be convicted in connecton with the September 11 attacks. Japan's PM Abe arrives in London Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has arrived in London for talks with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. It's Abe's first stop on a European tour aimed at strengthening ties with the NATO alliance. His trip will also take him to Germany, France and Belgium, where he'll become the first Japanese premier to attend a meeting of NATO's North Atlantic Council. Abe, who replaced Junichiro Koizumi in September, will also push for a harder line against North Korea over its nuclear programme. Earlier he had led a ceremony marking Japan's creation of a full-scale defence ministry for the first time since World War Two, replacing the previous defence agency. Bangladesh police clash with protesters Thousands of protesters have fought battles with riot police in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka for a third straight day. Soldiers have in the meantime moved in to help quell the violent demonstrations. The deployment of the army followed three days of a blockade of Dhaka enforced by a united opposition led by the Awami League. The opposition wants a delay to general elections scheduled for later this month. The opposition is also threatening to boycott the elections, saying they will be fraudulent. More than 600 people have been injured in street violence since Sunday. ETA claims Madrid airport bombing The Basque separatist group ETA has said it was behind the recent car bomb attack on Madrid's international airport. ETA made the claim in a statement sent to a pro-Basque newspaper. At the same time the group said the cease-fire agreed on with the government in March still stood. The explosion at the airport on December 30 killed two people and left 26 others hurt. In response, the government scrapped a planned dialogue with ETA and declared the peace process to be over. In its statement ETA blamed the government for the breakdown in the peace process and said it did not intend to kill anyone in the Madrid attack. EU urges Russia, Belarus to solve oil row The European Commission and EU president Germany have condemned a decision by Russia to cut off oil supplies to parts of Europe, including Germany and Poland. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said such a move was unacceptable without prior consultation. Moscow on Monday stopped oil exports through the Druzhba pipeline which passes through Belarus, after accusing Minsk of illegally siphoning off oil. The two countries have been involved in a bitter spat over oil and gas supplies. Belarus says Russia is refusing to pay a shipment tax on oil which it imposed after Russian energy giant Gazprom forced Minsk to pay double the previous rate for gas. Fewer asylum-seekers in Germany In Germany, the number of asylum-seekers dropped once again in 2006. Only around 21,000 refugees sought asylum in Germany last year, which is almost 30 percent fewer than in 2004. The likelihood of receiving asylum in Germany also remained extremely slim in 2006, with less than one percent of applications being approved. The majority of asylum seekers in Germany came from Iraq, Turkey and Serbia. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' 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=evu7tcIfcha79I2&req=l%3Devu7tbIfcha79I2 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' For more information please turn to our internet website at http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evu7tcIfcha79I3&req=l%3Devu7tbIfcha79I3 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=927954 405&mid=900004368&sig=BLFIIEEJBDNPGGMK Copyright Deutsche Welle 2007 Serbian News Network - SNN news@antic.org http://www.antic.org/
