Deutsche Welle English Service News February 18th 2005, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Seeking Common Ground to Curb Neo-Nazis Both the government and opposition agree that the right of assembly needs tightening to prevent neo-Nazi marches at historic landmarks such as the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. But details still need to be ironed out. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1493176,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Are you interested in German soccer? Then DW-WORLD has just the thing for you: On Saturday, we offer you a live ticker of a Bundesliga match. The game starts at 15:30 CET, so be sure not to miss it. Follow all the action by clicking on the LIVE SOCCER banner at DW-WORLD's new Bundesliga Web site: http://www.dw-world.de/soccer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Iraq mosque attacks target Shiites Shiite Muslims in Iraq celebrating the religious period of Ashura have been targeted in at least two separate attacks. At least 15 people were killed and 40 wounded in a suicide bombing at a mosque in southwestern Baghdad, while a second bombing shortly afterwards at another Shiite mosque killed at least two people and wounded five. Last year, 170 people were killed during Ashura in a series of suicide bombings in Baghdad and Kerbala. Also in Baghdad, three people were killed when a rocket landed near a police station in a Shiite district. Elsewhere in Iraq, the US military says four US soldiers have been killed in separate attacks, three in and around the northern city of Mosul and one north of Baghdad. Meanwhile, Indonesia's government says two Indonesian television journalists may have been seized by insurgents on Tuesday near Ramadi. Iraqi cabinet still under discussion Wrangling continues on the formation of Iraq's new cabinet. Election results from January 30 put the main Shiite religious parties out in front with 140 seats. This falls short of a two-thirds legislative majority. Shiites may ally with Kurdish parties. They got 75 seats. Iran has no nuclear arms plans: Putin Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is convinced that Iran is not trying to build a nuclear weapon, and that Russia will continue its nuclear cooperation with the Islamic Republic. Putin however told Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rohani, at talks in the Kremlin that he hoped Tehran would keep its agreements with Russia and the international community. The United States has criticised Moscow for pressing ahead with construction of a reactor at Bushehr in southern Iran. Washington is concerned that Tehran could be using Russian know-how to covertly build a nuclear weapon.Iran has denied wanting nuclear weapons, saying it wants atomic technology solely to generate electricity. Ukraine wants EU entry talks in 2007 Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has said Kiev will not settle for a mere partnership with the European Union and that it wants entry talks to begin in 2007. Speaking with the news agency AFP ahead of a visit to Brussels on Monday, Yushchenko said his talks with EU officials would focus on securing a start date for negotiations. During Yushchenko's visit, the European Union plans to adopt an "action plan" for Ukraine giving the country benefits including better trade terms and fewer visa restrictions. However, the plan stops short of addressing Kiev's desire to join the 25-member bloc. Children die of cold in Afghanistan Aid workers in Afghanistan say up to 1,000 children may have died from cold and malnutrition during severe winter weather affecting Ghor province in the west of the country. The director for Catholic Relief Services in the region, Paul Hicks, said survey teams who visited 16 villages in one district had recorded an average of five child deaths in each over the past two weeks. Ghor province has been hit hard by snowstorms in Afghanistan's worst winter for more than a decade. Most of the province remains out of reach of humanitarian aid. US warns Nepal's Gyanendra The United States has warned Nepal's King Gyanendra, who seized power two weeks ago, to quickly restore constitutional rights. US ambassador James Moriarty said, otherwise, the USA, European nations and India, which this week recalled their envoys, would also "consider" cutting military aid. Gyanendra in a new broadcast said he had assumed power to tackle Maoist insurgents and "extricate" Nepal from what he called a "morass". Nepalese political parties say hundreds of their members, and trade union, human rights and student movement activists, have been detained or put under house arrest. State media said at least 43 Maoists had been killed in four clashes, mainly with security forces at four locations across Nepal. South African statistics implicate AIDS South Africa has reported a 57 percent jump in reported deaths between 1997 and 2002, indirect evidence of the rocketing toll of the country's AIDS epidemic. The figures, released by the official statistics agency Statistics South Africa, showed deaths increasing most rapidly for women and for people aged between 20 and 49. These are regarded as the groups most susceptible to the AIDS virus. HIV/AIDS affects an estimated one in nine of the country's 45 million people. Plague kills 61 in Congo The World Health Organisation says an outbreak of plague in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 61 diamond miners and infected hundreds more. It said it was rushing an emergency team to the region to tackle the outbreak. Many of the 7,000 miners working in Zobia, north of the city of Kisingani, have fled since the outbreak began two months ago. The WHO says they could have spread the highly contagious disease. The form of plague suspected is pneumonic plague, which has a very high fatality rate and is deadly if not treated. Zimbabwe turns back S.Africa opposition Zimbabwe has turned away a fact-finding team from neighbouring South Africa's main opposition party, saying it did not have permission to enter the country. South Africa's DA, a historically white party led by lawyer Tony Leon, had planned to assess whether Zimbabwe's upcoming elections scheduled for March 31 can be free and fair. The polls will pit President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Earlier this month, the DA declared ZANU-PF had made a fair election "almost impossible", saying it used food supplies as a political weapon, intimidated voters, persecuted the opposition, restricted the media and controlled the voting process. Thatcher denies role in E. Guinea coup British businessman Mark Thatcher has appeared in court in South Africa to answer questions about an alleged coup plot in Equatorial Guinea as part of a plea deal. Thatcher, the son of British ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, answered questions submitted by Equatorial Guinean prosecutors. They allege his involvement in a plot to topple longtime leader Teodoro Obian Nguema. He has admitted to violating South African anti-mercenary laws by helping finance a helicopter which prosecutors allege was to be used in the coup plot. But he said he was at first unaware that it was to be used for mercenary activities. He denied any further involvement. Equatorial Guinea in November sentenced 13 people, including 11 foreigners, to jail sentences for their role in the plot. Debate on right of assembly The German parliament has begun debate on plans to limit right of assembly legislation in a bid to hinder rallies by neo-Nazis. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's coalition wants the option to prohibit such rallies. The opposition conservatives want a prohibited zone near parliament extending to the Brandenburg Gate and the adjacent Holocaust Memorial. Neo-Nazis want to march at the Gate on May 8, the 60th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat. A former constitutional court judge, Dieter Grimm, has warned against a general ban. He told the Berlin newspaper "Tageszeitung" that Germany's post -war constitution only allowed right of assembly exceptions at sites where the dignity of Holocaust victims was likely to be denegrated. Ackermann keeps nordic combined title Germany's Ronny Ackermann has retained his men's individual nordic combined world title with a victory in the 15-kilometre freestyle sprint in the Bavarian town of Obertsdorf. Ackermann was folowed home by fellow German Bjorn Kircheisen and Felix Gottwald of Austria. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
