Deutsche Welle English Service News 23. 01. 2005, 17:00 UTC
---------------------------------------------------------------------- The waiting is over: on Jan. 21 the Bundesliga returns from its winter break and starts off the second half of the 2004/05 season. The 17 remaining match days leading up to the final on May 21 guarantee plenty of excitement. Can FC Bayern-Munich keep its lead at the top of the table or will one of the strong contesters Schalke 04 or VfB Stuttgart overtake the club from the Bavarian capital? And how do the lower ranked teams keep up with the rest? Who will survive into the next season and who will be forced down a notch? Keep informed of what’s happening in Germany’s premier soccer league at http://www.dw-world.de/soccer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- New Ukraine president sworn in Viktor Yushchenko has been sworn in as the third president of post-Soviet Ukraine. After months of political wrangling and mass protests against election fraud, Yushchenko took the oath of office in a parliamentary ceremony. He then addressed thousands of supporters in Kiev's Independence Square, the centre of the so-called Orange Revolution demonstrations. Yushchenko expressed his intention to steer Ukraine towards closer ties with the European Union, but also underlined the importance of maintaining good relations with Russia. On Monday, Yushchenko is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in what will be his first foreign visit. Zarqawi calls for war on Iraqi election Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has declared all-out war on next week's election. In an Internet audio message, a speaker believed to be Zarqawi said those who participate in the January 30 vote were "enemies of Islam". He added that the election was aimed at bringing Iraq under Shi'ite control and urged Sunni Muslims to fight against it. Meanwhile, diplomats have confirmed that eight Chinese hostages freed in Iraq are safe and have been handed back to Chinese authorities in Baghdad. Iraqi expats reluctant to register for poll The voter registration deadline for Iraqis living abroad has been extended due to a low turnout. The International Organisation for Migration, which is organising voting in 14 countries, blamed fear and apathy for the low registration numbers. Some one million expatriate Iraqis are eligible to vote. The absentee voting will take place as planned on January 28-30. Ceasefire near, Palestinian leader says New Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said he is close to reaching a deal with militants to cease attacks on Israelis. Palestinian militant leaders had earlier signalled they would help maintain calm in Gaza for at least a month but denied Israeli accounts that they had committed to a formal ceasefire at the behest of the moderate Abbas. Abbas, elected this month as Yasser Arafat's successor, has been trying to get militants to call off a 4-year-old armed revolt so he can start negotiating for Palestinian statehood in Israeli-occupied territories. Iran and US war of words Iran has said it was not taking talk of a US attack seriously, but warned that any military action against the Islamic republic would be a "major strategic blunder". The war of words between the two countries has continued to escalate since The New Yorker magazine reported earlier this week that US commandos have been covertly operating inside Iran since mid-2004. The Pentagon attacked the article as "riddled with errors " but did not publish a denial. The London-based Sunday Times newspaper says that British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has drawn up a dossier on Iran's alleged nuclear arms programme. The report rules out military action and argues for a negotiated solution. On Friday, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer urged the United States and Europe to agree on a common Iran policy. Ceasefire in tsunami-hit Aceh Indonesian troops have stopped launching attacks against separatist rebels in tsunami-hit Aceh province so the government can pursue peace talks. The nation's military chief said Sunday it was no longer raiding bases of the Free Aceh Movement. Although both the government and the rebels agreed to a ceasefire immediately after the tsunami, Indonesian troops have killed more than 200 rebels since the disaster. Social Welfare Minister Alwi Shihab said on Saturday the government would consider anything except independence during upcoming peace talks. Tsunami death toll keeps rising The Indonesian death toll from last month's earthquake and tsunamis has climbed by more than 7,000 over the weekend to nearly 174,000 according to new health ministry figures. Volunteer workers and soldiers in Aceh province continue to recover hundreds of bodies a day from the mud and rubble of homes some four weeks after the disaster. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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