DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter English Service News 10.01.07, 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=evu827Ifcha79I0&req=l%3Devu826Ifcha79I0 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: EU Unveils Major New Energy Policy The European Commission unveiled sweeping plans Wednesday to diversify EU energy sources, slash carbon emissions by 20 percent and enforce rules for fuel competition. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evu827Ifcha79I1&req=l%3Devu826Ifcha79I1 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Belarus says Russia oil row may be over Belarus says it has lifted a demand for Russia to pay transit fees on oil exports. The office of Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said earlier that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had "found a compromise". The move clears the way to a resolution of the dispute between the two countries, which led Moscow to cut off all oil supplies on Sunday night through the Druzhba pipeline that carries crude oil from Russia through Belarus to Europe. EU leaders said the move made it harder to trust Russia as an energy supplier. They also berated Moscow and Minsk for failing to consult key customers like Germany before turning off the taps. EU maps out new energy priorities The European Commission has mapped out sweeping new energy priorities for the European Union. The plans include moves to diversify EU energy sources, slash carbon emissions and enforce rules for fuel competition. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the EU needed to respond quickly to rapidly changing political and economic realities. The commission presented its plans amid growing concern over the reliability of supplies from Russia, breaches of EU energy principles by member governments and global warming. Bush to call for more US troops to Iraq US President George W. Bush is due to unveil his new Iraq strategy in a speech later on Wednesday. The plan is expected to call for a further 20,000 US soldiers to be deployed to Iraq, to boost the existing contingent of about 132,000. A senior official said late on Tuesday that the additional US forces would be used to quell the violence in Baghdad, and added that the troop increase would be gradual. Opposition Democrats in Congress have vowed to oppose the plan and top military leaders appear to only reluctantly support it. New air strikes reported in Somalia New air strikes have been reported on suspected Al-Qaeda targets in southern Somalia, near the Kenyan border, however it's unclear whether US warplanes were involved in the latest attacks. The Pentagon has acknowledged that the US carried out its first overt military action in Somalia since 1994 with a targeted air strike on Monday on suspected Al-Qaeda hideouts. Somali elders said at least 19 people had died in the attack. The US action has been condemned by the European Union and the United Nations. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon warned that the air strikes could escalate hostilities in the region. 6 dead in 2 bomb blasts in Philippines At least six people have been killed and 25 others wounded in two separate bomb blasts in the southern Philippines. The first bombing took place at a market in General Santos City, killing six people and wounding 23 others. Two hours later, another bomb exploded near a police outpost in nearby Kidapawan City, wounding at least two people. The attacks came amid heightened security across the Philippines, which is preparing to host two summits of Asian leaders this week. Authorities are investigating whether the attacks were meant to disrupt the summits, which are to be held in the central island of Cebu. Merkel, Abe hold talks in Berlin German Chancellor Angela Merkel and visiting Japanese leader Shinzo Abe have said an EU arms embargo on China should remain in place. Following talks in Berlin, Abe said that his government was concerned about China's military build-up which could tilt the balance of power in the region. Merkel said her government had no intention of changing its position on the embargo which was imposed following Beijing's crackdown on pro-democracy students in 1989. Abe is on a tour of key European countries and will be the first Japanese Prime Minister to visit NATO headquarters when he travels to Brussels on Thursday. Chavez pledges radical change for Venezuela Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has been sworn in for a new six-year term which he says he will use to transform the country into a radical socialist state. Chavez took the oath at the National Assembly, five weeks after his comprehensive reelection win. He has said he intends to use his landslide victory to push ahead with radical nationalisation plans, including regaining control of key utility and telecommunications companies. Financial markets have taken a beating with shares dropping sharply as a result of Chavez' leftist push. Opposition won't back new Czech gov. In the Czech Republic, talks have collapsed on the opposition Social Democrats backing the new centre-right minority government. This means that the new government of conservative politician Mirek Topolanek faces failure in any parliamentary confidence vote, which must take place within a month. This comes just a day after Topolanek formed his second government since a June election ended in a hung parliament, with 100 seats each for leftist and rightist parties. A minority government composed solely of Topolanek's Civic Democrats failed to win a confidence vote in October and he has overseen a caretaker government since with parliament paralysed. Kazakh parliament appoints new PM Kazakhstan's parliament has voted unanimously to appoint Deputy Prime Minister Karim Masimov to the post of prime minister of the energy-rich Central Asian country. The technocrat, who studied at a top US business school, had been nominated for the job by the country's powerful president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Masimov replaces Danial Akhmetov, who resigned on Monday following criticism of his performance. A new cabinet must also now be formed, since the previous cabinet resigned along with Akhmetov. Merkel says 2007 crucial for German economy German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that this year will be crucial for her government's goal of sustaining the economic upswing. Merkel told a press conference in Berlin that more hard work was needed to shore up last year's promising developments. Leading analysts say Germany's economy grew by 2.75 percent last year, the biggest rise since 2000. Unemployment figures were down while domestic demand also finally picked up. However, this year's three-percent hike on value-added tax is expected to put a damper on economic growth. Germany finds new EADS investors The German government has found a group of investors who will take over some of DaimlerChrysler's stake in the aerospace giant EADS. Germany has been searching for investors to take on the 7.5 percent share in order to safeguard German influence in the Franco-German aerospace group. German Government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm says a deal has been reached but final details won't be announced until later this month. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' 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=evu827Ifcha79I2&req=l%3Devu826Ifcha79I2 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' For more information please turn to our internet website at http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evu827Ifcha79I3&req=l%3Devu826Ifcha79I3 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. 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