DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter English Service News 12.03.07, 17:00 Uhr UTC
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' We want to hear from you! Send your thoughts and comments on any DW-WORLD.DE article to [EMAIL PROTECTED] '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Germany "Won't Be Blackmailed," Minister Says German politicians have rejected calls for the Bundeswehr to pull out of Afghanistan under threat of terror attacks as a foreign ministry crisis team works to free two German hostages kidnapped in Iraq. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evuo4sIfcha79I0&req=l%3Devuo4rIfcha79I0 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Merkel pays tribute to Chirac German Chancellor Angela Merkel has paid tribute to outgoing French President Jacques Chirac. The chancellor's spokesman told reporters in Berlin that Chirac was a reliable partner who had used his time in office to work to deepen the already strong ties between France and Germany. The statement came a day after the 74-year-old Chirac appeared on national television to officially announce that he would not run for re-election in next month's presidential vote. Chirac was first elected president in 1995. Recent opinion polls give Nicolas Sarkozy of Chirac's conservative UMP party a narrow lead over the Socialist candidate, Ségolène Royal. Islamist militants threaten Germany Germany has rejected a demand purported to have come from Islamist militants for it to withdraw its soldiers from Afghanistan. Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble told reporters in Berlin that although the government was taking the threats seriously, it would not allow itself to be blackmailed. Schäuble said that the almost 3,000 Bundeswehr soldiers and police trainers in Afghanistan would stay put. Government officials have been analysing the video-taped threats, which were posted on the Internet. In a video posted Saturday, militants holding a German woman and her son captive in Iraq threatened to kill them unless Berlin withdraws its forces from Afghanistan within 10 days. Nine policemen killed in Afghanistan blast At least nine policemen have been killed in a remote-controlled bomb explosion in the western Afghanistan province of Farah. Security officials said the policemen's vehicle hit the roadside bomb as they were travelling along a main road in the province. Among those killed was the local police commander. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Lawyers protest in Pakistan Lawyers across Pakistan have boycotted courts and staged street demonstrations to protest against President Pervez Musharraf's decision to suspend the country's top judge. Dozens of people were hurt as riot police clashed with protesting lawyers in the eastern city of Lahore. The government says that Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry is facing allegations that he abused his authority, but it has refused to make public any details of the case against him. Suicide bomber hurts 4 in Casablanca In Morocco, a suicide bomber has detonated explosives in an internet cafe, killing himself and injuring four people. Witnesses said the son of the cafe manager got into an argument with a man when a bomb hidden under his clothes exploded. The bomb was believed to have exploded accidentally. Police said the bomber was planning an attack in an unknown location, and had entered the cybercafe to get last-minute instructions through e-mail. The incident took place in Sidi Moumen, a slum area in Casablanca where a suicide bombing killed 45 people in 2003. Police assault Zimbabwean opposition Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been badly beaten by police and is undergoing hospital treatment. That's according to Tsvangirai's lawyers. One man was shot dead while Tsvangirai and dozens of other opposition figures were detained as riot police broke up an anti-government prayer meeting on Sunday. A coalition of opposition, church and civic groups called Sunday's meeting to address Zimbabwe's deepening political and economic crisis. Opponents of President Robert Mugabe blame him for repression, acute food shortages, and record inflation of some 1,600 percent -- the highest in the world. Ethiopian forces clash with insurgents Two people have been killed by stray bullets in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, after gunmen attacked an Ethiopian army camp. Witnesses say a teenage boy and a woman died and five others were injured when Ethiopian troops protecting government installations battled with insurgents. Dozens of civilians have been killed in clashes in Mogadishu since joint Ethiopian-Somali forces ousted a powerful Islamist movement from the country's southern and central regions. The violence is blamed on remnants of the Islamist group. Somalia has lacked a function government since the dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991. UN blames Sudan for Darfur war crimes The United Nations Human Rights Council is accusing Sudan's government of orchestrating and taking part in war crimes in Darfur. It also says measures taken by the international community have so far been "inadequate and ineffective" in the face of widespread rape, torture and other abuses. Observers say the Darfur conflict has left some 200,000 people dead and 2.5 million others displaced since 2003. The Sudanese government denies responsibility for abuses and blames the ongoing violence on rebel groups which refused a 2006 peace deal. Mauritania heads to poll run-off Mauritania's presidential contest looks certain to go to a second round as no candidate appears to have secured more than 50 percent of the vote in Sunday's election. With nearly all of the votes counted, former cabinet minister Sidi Ould Sheikh Abdellahi and longtime opposition figure Ahmed Ould Daddah emerged as the two top candidates and will likely face each other in a run-off later this month. The vote was peaceful until gunmen opened fire and killed a security guard at a building where votes were being counted. The election marked the final stage in the country's gradual return to civilian democracy after a bloodless military coup in August 2005. Pro-Putin parties top Russian elections Preliminary results from regional elections in Russia show the pro-Kremlin United Russia party in the lead. The new Just Russia party, also pro-Kremlin, is in second place, while the Communists and ultra-nationalist Liberal Democrats are in third and fourth place respectively. Several opposition parties that were disqualified accuse the Kremlin of using tough new election rules to sideline opponents. Sunday's regional elections are being seen as a preview of Russia's parliamentary elections in December and next year's vote for Putin's successor. British journalist reported kidnapped There are reports this hour that a British journalist has been kidnapped in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian police said the BBC correspondent's rental car had been found abandoned in Gaza City. BBC officials in Jerusalem had no immediate comment. The British Embassy said it was checking into the reports. Bush in Guatemala, protests continue US President George W. Bush is in Guatemala, the fourth stop on his five-nation tour of Latin American. Later in the day Bush is due to discuss immigration and free trade with his Guatemalan counterpart, Oscar Berger. The US leader will also visit a rural farm cooperative and take an archeological tour of ancient Mayan ruins. Mayan Indians have been protesting Bush's planned visit, saying they will "cleanse" the ancient site afterward. Bush's week-long Latin American tour has been greeted by mass protests, some of them violent. Meanwhile, Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez, who is on a parallel tour of the region, is continuing his attacks on the US leader. Speaking on a visit to Bolivia, Chavez called for a socialist counterattack against the American "empire." Hundreds of California homes evacuated A fast-moving brush fire in southern California has forced authorities to evacuate more than 500 homes. Unusually high temperatures for the time of year have helped fuel the spread of the fire which has so far engulfed about 1,000 hectares of woodland. The blaze is centred on a wealthy part of Orange County about 60 kilometres south of Los Angeles. Fire-fighters say two properties have been damaged but that they hope to contain the blaze fully by Monday night. Dubai airport reopens after accident Dubai airport has reopened to air traffic after closing for seven and a half hours because of an aborted takeoff by a Bangladeshi airliner. The plane, which had 236 people on board including crew members, was due to fly from Dubai to Dhaka when the accident occurred. Fifteen people were reported to have been slightly injured. Officials say they are investigating the incident. Röber throws in the towel at Dortmund In sports: Bundesliga soccer club Borussia Dortmund have parted company with head coach Jürgen Röber. Röber handed in his resignation less than three months after taking over from the Dutchman, Bert van Marwijk, who was sacked during the Bundesliga's winter break. Following their 2-0 defeat against Bochum on Saturday, Dortmund have dropped to 13th place in the standings, just one point out of the relegation zone. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Need a good laugh? Then check out DW-WORLD.DE'S From the Fringe Special, which regularly brings you quirky stories from and about Germany. To find out more, go to http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evuo4sIfcha79I1&req=l%3Devuo4rIfcha79I1 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' For more information please turn to our internet website at http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evuo4sIfcha79I2&req=l%3Devuo4rIfcha79I2 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. 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