Deutsche Welle English Service News 12. 01. 2005, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DW-WORLD's "Click Back" monthly review quiz for January is waiting for you and will test your knowledge of stories we've written. If you answer all questions correctly, you can also win a great prize. To play, please go to: http://www.dw-world.de/english ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
German Army Tends To Tsunami Victims While Indonesia's government on Wednesday limited foreign access to its tsunami-devastated Aceh province, the German army has set up camp there and plans to offer help with a mobile field hospital. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1456912,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Debt relief for tsunami nations The so-called Paris Club of donor nations is meeting in the French capital to decide on debt relief for the tsunami-affected countries. The Paris group of 19 countries is expected to decide to freeze debt repayment for three years. Earlier the United Nations had said it had secured immediate aid of over 700 million dollars for the Indian Ocean tsunami relief effort. At an international donor conference in Geneva, Jan Egeland, the UN humanitarian relief coordinator, said it was the first time the world body had collected so much money in such a short space of time after a disaster. In total some seven billion dollars have been pledged. Indian Ocean alert system by 2006: UN The United Nations has said that a tsunami early-warning system for the Indian Ocean could be up and running by next year. UNESCO's director-general, Koichiro Matsuura, said the system would cost around 30 million dollars with donor countries footing most of the bill. He added that a global early warning system should be in place by 2007. The alert system is to be modelled on the one used in the Pacific Ocean. Indonesia wants foreign troops out Indonesia has warned foreign aid workers helping tsunami victims in the worst-hit region of Aceh of possible attacks by separatist rebels. For their part, the rebels insist they would never attack relief workers. Jakarta has also demanded that foreign troops helping the aid effort in Aceh province must leave by the end of March. Foreign aid workers and journalists in the ravaged province must also now register travel plans. Meanwhile in Thailand, Interpol and 20 national police forces have launched a major operation to identify the bodies of tsunami victims. Hundreds of unidentified corpses have been exhumed for DNA checks after hasty burials immediately after the tsunami. Strasbourg endorses EU constitution The European Parliament has overwhelmingly endorsed the European Union's first constitution. The treaty will however only come into force if all 25 member states ratify it, several by referendums. Two countries, Lithuania and Hungary, have already ratified the treaty by parliamentary vote. But its fate will be sealed in referendums in countries including France, the Netherlands, Britain, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Poland, where approval is far from certain. German police carry out major raids German police have arrested 14 people in a major operation aimed at a suspected militant Islamist network. Special task forces raided flats, telephone call-shops and mosques across five federal states. Some 700 police investigators were involved at a total of 50 locations. The network, which is allegedly based in the southern German city of Ulm, is suspected of involvement in people smuggling and illegal financial dealings aimed at funding militant groups. More violence in West Bank and Gaza Palestinian militants have killed an Israeli civilian and wounded three soldiers in an ambush in the southern Gaza Strip. Islamic Jihad militants claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was in response to calls by the new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to end their armed struggle. Earlier two Palestinians were killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli soldiers near Ramallah, on the West Bank. Israeli forces also arrested four suspected Palestinian militants near Gaza City. This is the first major violence since last Sunday's presidential election. Weapons search in Iraq ended Iraq's Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has acknowledged for the first time that some parts of the country will not be safe enough to take part in elections scheduled for Jan. 30. Allawi also said that Iraqi troop numbers would be doubled to provide more security during the poll. At least 20 people have been killed in Iraq in several attacks over the last few days. It's also being reported that the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has been abandoned. The Washington Post newspaper said officials involved in the hunt ended their search in December and returned home. Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction programme was the main reason cited by the Bush administration for going to war in Iraq. Abu Ghraib prisoners testify about abuse Two Muslim detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison have told a court martial in the United States that they were tortured and humiliated by a US soldier on trial for abuse. Charles Graner, who denies all charges, faces up to 17 years in jail. Graner's defense argues his client was only following orders to soften up prisoners for military intelligence agents. He is the first soldier to face court martial over the images of prisoner abuse at the Baghdad jail that caused worldwide outrage. Ten dead in California mudslide In California 10 people are now confirmed dead in a mudslide in the town of La Conchita. Rescue officials say at least 10 others are missing and thought to be buried beneath mounds of earth that engulfed several houses on Monday. Weeks of torrential rain led to the collapse of a hill situated above the town. Abkhazia in rerun vote Voting is underway in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia to find a new president. The re-run vote follows last October's election that ended in deadlock between the pro-Moscow candidate Paul Khadzhimba and Sergei Bagapsh after the former refused to concede defeat to Bagapsh. The two men are now running on a joint ticket after pressure from Moscow. Polls say Bagapsh is certain to win against the only rival, Yakub Lakoba. Turnout must reach at least 50 percent for the poll to be valid. Court slams covert paternity tests Germany's top criminal court has ruled that DNA tests cannot be done secretly to prove who fathered a child. The Federal Court of Justice said the personal rights of the child were violated if samples, such as hair or saliva, are obtained without permission and presented in court. Ruling on two test cases, it said men who denied fatherhood must present other evidence to disprove parentage. German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries sparked debate recently by proposing that persons who take samples secretly be jailed for up to one year. In Germany it's estimated that each year 70,000 children are born by women whose husbands are not the father. Among all births the illegitimacy rate lies between five and ten percent. With the boom in genetics, test kits for home use can be bought for 150 euros. NASA comet probe set to be launched NASA plans in the next few hours to launch its "Deep Impact" spacecraft, on a mission to investigate comets and asteroids. It involves firing a rocket more than a hundred million kilometres into space, with the aim of blasting a hole in a comet and getting a look at its inner workings. The rocket is set to collide with the Tempel 1 comet, which is three kilometers in diameter - an encounter due to take place on the Fourth of July. NASA says the crash will help them discover more about what comets are really made of. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Enjoy our "World News" newsletter? 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