Deutsche Welle English Service News 16.01.2005, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Iraqi Admits to Moshammer Murder A young Iraqi man has confessed to murdering flamboyant German fashion designer Rudolph Moshammer after he refused to pay for sexual favors. Police arrested the suspect after they found his DNA at the crime scene. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1460112,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DW-WORLD values your opinion: We look forward to hearing from you about stories we write and regularly post your letters in our reader response section. Check them out at: http://www.dw-world.de/english or write us an e-mail yourself: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PLO urges end to violence The Palestine Liberation Organisation has urged militants to stop their attacks on Israeli targets. The appeal came following a meeting of the PLO's executive committee on Sunday and is the strongest demand yet to stop all military acts against Israel. The two main groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have so far rejected a truce. Earlier Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he had given the army free rein to clamp down on militants in the Gaza strip. He also accused new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of doing nothing to stop attacks on Israelis. Two days ago he cut off all ties with Abbas after an attack by Palestinian militants killed six Israelis. Graner sentenced to 10 years Charles Graner, the US soldier at the centre of the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, five years less than the maximum. On Friday, a military jury found Graner guilty of beating and sexually abusing prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. Many of the offences are documented in photos that Graner took. Addressing the jury before sentencing, Graner admitted for the first time that he acted wrongly. But he insisted that he was merely following orders to "soften up" prisoners for interrogation. UN airlifts supplies to Aceh The UN's refugee agency has begun airlifting supplies to remote parts of Indonesia's Aceh province to help thousands of tsunami survivors yet to receive aid. The move is a first for the UN refugee agency which usually helps people fleeing violence or persecution. Aceh province suffered the brunt of the tsunami with more than 110,000 dead. Meanwhile the Indonesian government has revised its demand for foreign troops helping the aid effort to leave the country. Foreign Minister Juwono Sudarsono said on Sunday the March deadline was merely a guideline for the government to improve its own efforts. Over 168,000 people have now been confirmed dead in the tsunami across south-east Asia. 80 Afghans freed from Guantanamo The US has released some 80 Afghan prisoners from Guantanamo Bay. The government in Kabul said they had already returned home and would appear before the Afghan Supreme Court. During the international anti-terror operation in Afghanistan three years ago, authorities sent hundreds of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters to the US base in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for interrogation. Last March, several members of a group of 23 Afghans freed from Guantanamo complained of being mistreated. Another 11 freed in September said they had been treated well. ETA supports peace dialogue The Basque separatist group ETA has said it's prepared to negotiate in the conflict with the Spanish government. Last November ETA's political wing, Batasuna, called for a peaceful and democratic dialogue between the Spanish government and the separatists. ETA published a statement on Sunday praising Batasuna's proposals and said it was determined to back the plans. However the group made no mention of laying down its weapons as demanded by the government before talks can begin. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said this weekend he would work with Batasuna if ETA gave up violence. ETA has killed more than 800 people since it began its campaign in 1968 for an independent Basque homeland. Voting underway in Croatia Voting is underway in Croatia in a presidential election runoff. Incumbent Stipe Mesic is expected to win a second five-year term. The latest opinion polls gave centrist Mesic a comfortable lead of around 30 percent over his rival, conservative Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor. In the first round of voting two weeks ago, Mesic gained a clear victory but failed to secure an outright majority. The winner of the election would very likely oversee Croatia's entry to the European Union, expected for 2009. Russia uncovers Islamist radicals Authorities in Dagestan say that Russian special forces have fought with Islamist radicals hiding there. In hours of gunfighting, four Russian soldiers and a number of extremists died. Many more were arrested. Russian secret services said that the operation prevented a terror attack similar to the hostage-taking in Beslan, near Chechnya, last year. Gunmen kill seven in Philippines Gunmen have killed seven people at a religious festival in the Philippines. Dozens more were injured. The apparent target was the local police chief in Aklan province on Boracay Island. Police are searching for the motive and the attackers. Crowds had gathered for a parade to celebrate a Philippine Roman Catholic holiday. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Are you mad about soccer and betting? DW-WORLD's new betting pool lets you match your wits against experts and soccer fans from around the world, game by game. You can play individually or as part of a team. You can test your ability to determine winners and losers, the up-and-coming and the has-beens as well as your general soccer expertise with friends and colleagues. Best of all: We'll be awarding fabulous prizes after each game. http://bundesligatip.dw-world.de/english.do ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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. Serbian News Network - SNN news@antic.org http://www.antic.org/
