Deutsche Welle English Service News July 13th, 2001, 16:00 UTC Beijing has been awarded the 2008 Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee awarded the games to China, which defeated Toronto, Paris, Istanbul and Osaka. Olympic Committee members voted in favour of Beijing despite international concern at China's human rights record. For the 2008 Games, they gave Beijing 56 votes, Toronto 22, Paris 18 and Istanbul 9. China lost out by just two votes to Sydney in the race to stage the 2000 games. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has appealed to nations to stick to a committment to cut emissions of gases blamed for global warming. Annan made the plea at a press conference in Berlin Friday, ahead of next week's global climate meeting in Bonn. The 1997 UN Koyoto treaty aims to reduce Greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide by 5.2 percent over 20 years. Annan stressed industrial countries should not wait for "perfect science" before taking action. President George W. Bush said the United States rejects the Kyoto agreement, saying it is flawed and would harm the U.S.economy. The US is offering to spend more on global research. Negotiations to resolve the crisis in Northern Ireland are scheduled to resume late Friday in Birmingham. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Republic Premier Bertie Ahern are to host talks with the main pro-agreement parties. Two loyalist organizations have declined their invitations. Senior Ulster Unionist politician, John Taylor, warns that in the absence of a breakthough, fresh assembly elections could be called in Autumn. -- Roman Catholics rioted for a second night in a row in Belfast Thursday night. 113 police officers were hurt in actions, they say, were planned and coordinated, and included the use of petrol and acid bombs. The riots followed what had been a relatively peaceful twelfth of July, when about 100,000 Protestant "Orangemen" paraded across the province. Israeli soldiers temporarily crossed into Palestinian controlled areas in the West Bank overnight Thursday. During their brief incursion, Israeli tank-shells fired at homes in the city of Hebron, as well as two buildings housing Palestinian intelligence and national security forces. 17 people were injured. Earlier, in a Palestinian attack, a Jewish settler was killed, triggering a fierce gunbattle that left at least 23 people wounded. The military affairs commentator at Israel's Channel One television, said that from now on "Israel would exact a price" for every Palestinian assault on Israelis. In India, security is tight ahead of an historic summit this weekend in Agra between India and Pakistan The leaders of both countries hardened their positions on Friday, with neither side showing any flexibility on the central dispute of Kashmir, an issue that has divided them for more than five decades. Although India wants the summit to address several issues ranging from trade to nuclear weapons, Pakistan insists that Kashmir must top the agenda./- Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, insisted he could not remain leader of his country if he accepted India's continued control of the Himalayan territory. Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, told a local news agency that Kashmir would always remain "the core" of nationhood and has rejected any suggestion of third-party mediation. Space officials are analyzing why a new generation Ariane-5 rocket put two satellites in a defective orbit following Thursday's launch from French Guiana. Arianespace officials said that after a normal lift-off, the rocket's upper stage shut down 80 seconds too soon. The rocket was carrying an experimental satellite for the European Space Agency (ESA) valued at 850 million US dollars and a Japanese satellite for direct broadcast television.// It's not sure whether orbit can be corrected and whether the satellites could still be used. Their life expectancy in any case will be reduced. European Union ministers are considering establishing a data base of potential violent demonstrators to prevent rioting at EU summits. The ministers say they want to avoid riots like the one in Goeteburg in Sweden last June. German Interior Minister Otto Schilly said EU countries must work together to prevent similar riots in the future. He suggested a data base be established, similar to one used to identify German soccer hooligans who repeatedly cause trouble at soccer matches. The radical Islamic Taleban has banned people in Afghanistan from using the Internet. The Taleban governments Foreign Minister, Wakil Ahmed Mutawakil said the Internet was being used to spread obscene and immoral messages as well as propaganda against the Islamic religion. It's not sure whether the ban applies to International agencies in Afghanistan, such as the United Nations. Telaban state employees have also been banned from accessing the worldwide web. Use of computers and the Internet in Afghanistan is very low. Iberia, Spain's biggest airline resumed flights on Friday, a few hours after the company grounded its entire fleet amid a bitter pay dispute with its pilots. The company said 80 percent of all flights took off on time, and only 5 of 1002 flights were cancelled. Iberia's 1,900 pilots are demanding a pay increase and have called one-day strikes once a week throughout the summer to back their claim. Serbian News Network - SNN [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.antic.org/