Deutsche Welle English Service News January 30th 2005, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Bringing the Farm to the Big City Farmers from far and wide meet up in Berlin each year for the "Green Week" agricultural trade fair. As things wrap up on Sunday, German organic producers are celebrating their rapidly growing market share. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1470437,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- In light of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in 2005, DW-WORLD has put together a special site marking the occasion. Our coverage looks at the effect of World War II on countries around the world and includes interviews with scholars as well as picture galleries. To view the site, please go to http://www.dw-world.de/english ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 36 die during Iraq's watershed election Polling stations have now closed in the landmark multi-party elections in Iraq. Violence throughout the country resulted in the deaths of 36 people during the past 24 hours, according to a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. A group led by the self-styled leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has claimed responsibility for several suicide bombings. In spite of the spate of deaths there is guarded optimism about the success of the ballots. Electoral commission officer Adel Lami told reporters that he estimated an impressive seventy-two percent of Iraqi registered voters turned out to choose a 275-member national assembly that will draw up a constitution so that a permanent government can be elected later in the year. UK military plane crashes near Baghdad A British military transport plane has crashed north-west of Baghdad. The British defence ministry in London said it was investigating the crash of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules plane without saying whether there were casualties. According to the Royal Air Force website, the Hercules has a crew of five or six and can carry up 128 troops. UN should consider Sudan sanctions UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that the United Nations should consider sanctions against Sudan for gross violations of human rights in Darfur. He told a press conference during an African Union summit in Nigeria that serious violations of international humanitarian law have taken place in the province. He made the remarks after he received a key UN report detailing abuses in the vast desert region where 1.8 million people have been forced from their homes. He added that the report would soon be made public after it is presented to the Security Council. Abbas, Sharon to meet Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are to meet early next month in an attempt to revive the Mideast peace process. It would mark the first meeting between Sharon and Abbas as the respective leaders of their governments. Both sides said they were hopeful of making progress in the peace talks. Israel's Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said on Sunday that the government was ready to hand over control of several towns in the occupied West Bank to the Palestinian Authority within days. The announcement was made after talks with former Palestinian Security Minister Mohammed Dahlan. There's been a sharp drop in violence in the Gaza Strip since Palestinian security forces were deployed to prevent attacks on Israeli targets. Three die in shootout in Kuwait In Kuwait City three people including a policeman have been killed and five others wounded in a shootout between security forces and suspected militants. Police said the deaths occurred during an hour- long raid on suspected militant hideouts in the Salmiya district. The incident took place in the district near to the American University of Kuwait which is home to a large number of Westerners. Kuwait has recently witnessed a surge in al Qaeda-linked violence. Police arrest Egyptian opposition leader In Egypt a prominent opposition member of the government has formally been detained by police for four days questioning on criminal charges. Ayman Nour, leader of the Ghad or Tomorrow Party, was stripped of his parliamentary immunity as he left the parliament building on Saturday. The charges relate to accusations of forged documents used for the validation of the party last year. Nour's wife told reporters that the charges were fabricated to discredit his party, the largest opposition group with six members of parliament. Indonesia wants German alert system Indonesia has said it intends to use a tsunami early warning system for the region developed in Germany. Officials in Berlin said a deal would be signed in March. Media reports said that under the German system buoys would be placed in the Indian Ocean off Indonesia's coast that would send signals recording the movement of waves via satellite to a computer centre. The system is expected to cost around 45 million euros. EU revises economic growth goals EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen has said the European Union has given up its goal of being the world's strongest economic region by the year 2010. Speaking to journalists in Brussels, Verheugen said that he would be content if the EU could reduce the inequality between the bloc and the United States and keep pace with regions like Latin America. The German politician said Europe's poor level of innovation and the incomplete single market were to blame. He also warned that if the EU did not act Europe would lose its prosperity and quality of life. Israeli author Kishon dies aged 80 Ephraim Kishon, one of Israel's best-known authors, has died at the age of 80 at his home in Switzerland. An Israeli newspaper quoted his son as saying Kishon had died of a heart attack late on Saturday. Kishon was born in Hungary and survived the Holocaust before emigrating to Israel in 1949 where he made a name for himself as a political satirist. He wrote more than 50 books that were translated into 37 languages. Safin wins Australian Open Marat Safin of Russia has defeated Lleyton Hewitt to win the Australian Open. Safin came from behind to beat Australian Hewitt 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 at the Rod Laver Arena. It was Safin's second grand slam title. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When the ball gets rolling on the first day of the second half of the Bundesliga season, it’s time to place your bets at DW-WORLD again. Bet, score and win is the name of the game. Compete with soccer fans around the world by predicting who will be up or down, how many goals and how tops the table. Return for each match day and participate in the game individually or as a team with friends and colleagues. Prove your skill at picking the winners, and if you bet correctly, you’ll be awarded with great prizes each time the Bundesliga plays. So join the fun, it’s only a click away. http://www.dw-world.de/english/kickofftip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
