DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
04. 05. 2006 16:00 Uhr UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
US Official: Europe's Allegations on CIA Flights "Absurd"
The United States hit back Thursday at allegations that the CIA had flown
thousands of planes with suspects aboard through Europe to countries where
they might be tortured, as claimed by two European investigations.
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Olmert lays out vision for Israel's future
Incoming Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has laid out his vision for
Israel's future borders in a major policy speech to parliament.
Olmert said that the nation needed to rid itself of isolated West Bank
settlements, but it would maintain control over large settlement blocs.
Olmert added that he preferred to reach a deal with the Palestinians through
negotiations, but if that failed he would act unilaterally to create fixed
borders for Israel. Olmert was speaking just hours before his coalition
Cabinet is to be sworn in. Olmert's centrist Kadima party will lead the
coalition with the centre-left Labour Party, the pensioners' party and
ultra-Orthodox Shas.
Moussaoui to have final say in US court
Al-Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui will have one last chance to make a
statement in a US court before being sent to the country's top security jail
to serve a life sentence. A jury on Wednesday rejected the US government's
bid to enforce the death penalty against Moussaoui. He is due to be formally
sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of release for his role in
the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, which left nearly
3,000 people dead.
US dismisses CIA prisoner flight claims
The United States has hit back at allegations that the CIA has flown
thousands of suspects through Europe to third countries where they might
face torture. John Bellinger, a lawyer acting for the US State Department,
dismissed the claims as "absurd". He added that Washington did not outsource
torture or transfer suspects abroad expecting torture. Bellinger was
responding to a European Parliament probe which concluded that more than
1,000 CIA flights had transited the EU, and that the CIA had been
responsible for kidnapping and illegally detaining alleged terrorists on EU
soil.
Bomb near Baghdad court
In Iraq, a roadside bomb has exploded near a courthouse in Baghdad killing
at least nine people. Police said the blast also wounded 46 others. Interior
Ministry sources said the bomb targeted civilians.
Insurgents are waging a campaign of bombings and shootings in a bid to
topple the Iraqi government and drive out US troops.
Germany denies paying ransom for hostages
A senior German foreign ministry official has denied that Berlin paid a
ransom to secure the release of two German hostages in Iraq who were freed
this week. Reinhard Silberberg, the head of the crisis team in the foreign
ministry said that the German government did not give in to blackmail. This
was the first official comment on numerous reports that Berlin bought the
freedom of Rene Braeunlich and Thomas Nitzschke. The two men, both
engineers, returned to Germany on Wednesday after more than three months in
the hands of kidnappers in Iraq. They threatened to kill the hostages unless
the government heeded a set of constantly changing demands. Iraq's
ambassador to Germany however says he believes the men were released in
exchange for payment.
Germany to agree national citizenship law
Interior ministers from Germany's federal states are trying to reach a
compromise on a national citizenship law. Until now, each of the
16 federal states has set its own requirements for foreigners seeking to
become German citizens. But the state interior minister of Lower Saxony, Uwe
Schuenemann, says there is now sufficient consensus for a new law, which
would include a German language test for citizenship qualification.
Conservative southern states would still be allowed to test their applicants
for knowledge of German history and culture.
West introduces resolution against Iran
The UN Security Council is discussing a resolution introduced by Western
countries that could trigger sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme. The
ambassadors of France and the US said they hoped the council would approve
the resolution soon. Despite objections from Russia and China, the draft
falls under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter, which allows for sanctions and
even military action. John Bolton, the US ambassador to the United Nations,
said early June would be the deadline for Iran to comply. Iran insists its
nuclear programme is for peaceful proposes only. However, Western nations
are concerned it is seeking a nuclear weapons capability.
Moscow 'turns blind eye' to racist crimes
A new report by the international human rights watchdog Amnesty
International says racist killings in Russia are "out of control".
The report into violent racism shows that at least 28 people were killed and
366 were assaulted in 2005. Amnesty condemned discrimination by the
authorities and a failure to properly record or investigate racist crimes.
The Amnesty report includes examples of police and prosecutors routinely
classifying murders and serious assaults by skinhead extremists as lesser
crimes of "hooliganism".
Amnesty is calling on President Vladimir Putin's government to adopt a
comprehensive "plan of action" to combat racism and anti-Semitism.
Bad weather hampers rescue efforts
Rescue workers in southern Russia are continuing to look for the bodies of
passengers killed in Wednesday's plane crash. All 113 people on board the
Armenian airliner were killed when it nose-dived into the Black Sea while
trying to land at the Russian resort of Sochi. So far, 47 bodies have been
recovered. The cause of the crash is not known but officials say bad weather
was most likely to blame.
Voting underway in UK local elections
In Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair's governing Labour party is facing a
tough test today in local elections. More than half the British electorate
are eligible to vote in polls for city and district councils. Most observers
agree that Blair's government is under considerable pressure going into the
poll. Recent scandals have left several ministers facing calls to step down.
And the prime minister's own prominent role in the US-led war in Iraq has
proved unpopular among many voters.
UK heads NATO-led force in Afghanistan
Britain has taken command of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan. The transfer of
authority for the nearly 10,000-strong ISAF peacekeeping force follows the
deployment of thousands of troops in the volatile southern province of
Helmand, where remnants of the ousted Taliban movement are most active. By
July, Britain will have stationed some 3,000 troops in Helmand to help
maintain security.
Protests in South Korea over US base
Riot police in South Korea have clashed with anti-US protesters and local
farmers, on the site of a planned US military base. The activists barricaded
themselves in an old school building in a bid to block the plan, forcing
police to storm the building. Dozens of protesters and some journalists were
injured. The confrontation has been brewing since South Korea agreed two
years ago to move the main US military base in the country out of the
capital Seoul.
Solomons parliament elects new PM
The Solomon Islands opposition leader Manasseh Sogavare has been chosen as
the nation's new prime minister. The original choice, Snyder Rini, resigned
last week after his election sparked riots in the capital, Honiara.
Sogavare, who also served as prime minister between 2000 and 2001, pledged
to end corruption. Hundreds of foreign troops and police are in the
Solomons, having been deployed when the anti-Rini protesters began damaging
property and businesses.
Picasso painting fetches $95.2 million
A painting by Pablo Picasso has become the second most expensive painting
ever sold. The 1941 portrait "Dora Maar with cat," fetched an astounding 95
million dollars - that's nearly twice the amount predicted by auctioneer
Sotheby's. The work - snapped up by an anonymous buyer - depicts Picassos'
lover with a black cat on her shoulder. The world record for auctioned art
is held by another Picasso, "Boy with a pipe," which sold for 104 million
dollars two years ago.
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