----------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Sun Sets on a Changing Forum The World Economic Forum ended with an appeal for overcoming global poverty through just globalization. Top executives shared the stage with speakers ranging from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to U2 singer Bono. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1434_A_435723_1_A,00.html ----------------------------------------------------------- Deutsche Welle English Service News 5th February, 2002, 16:00 UTC Iraq Could Re-admit Inspectors - Russia A Russian official has said that Iraq is willing to re-admit U.N. weapons inspectors amid alarm among Arab and European leaders about U.S. threats to renew military action against Saddam Hussein. Yevgeni Yagupetz, a member of a Russian committee on Iraq, told the news agency AFP in Moscow that Baghdad would admit inspectors if U.N. sanctions were lifted and Americans and Britons were left out. U.N. inspectors, who'd check for weapons of mass destruction, left Iraq in 1998 after a U.S.-British bombing campaign. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was willing to receive an Iraqi offer of "dialogue" via the Arab League. Another German foreign office official Karsten Voigt has warned of "differences" if the USA widened its anti-terror campaign militarily against Iraq. That was suggested by U.S. officials at last weekend's military policy forum in Munich. US troops may have killed "friendly" Afghans The American Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has conceded that U.S. troops might have killed "friendly" Afghan forces in a raid north of Kandahar last month but declined to comment on reports that U.S. troops had already apologized and paid compensation. Rumsfeld said an investigation continued into whether the American soldiers killed some 15 supporters of Kabul's new government in the raid, instead of Taliban or al Qaeda militants as the military first reported. Afghans Heading Home - UNHCR The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR forecasts that a quarter-of-a-million Afghans will return to their homes in the next few months, and up to 1.2 million by the end of this year. Already during January, more than 100,000 had returned to Afghanistan from neighbouring countries. A UNHCR spokesman in Geneva said most, however, would wait until organised returns in late March. Clansmen Kill Palestinians in Jenin In what appears to have been lynch justice, Palestinian clansmen have stormed a court in Jenin and shot dead three Palestinians who had just been convicted of killing a Palestinian security officer. He'd been involved in past years in the killing of Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel. Two of those convicted had just got death sentences; the third 15 years jail. Their killers fled and are now being sought reportedly by Palestinian police. Correspondents said the killings involved residents from the village of Kabatia near Jenin. The West Bank town's court was convened in temporary quarters. Fischer Meets Israeli and Palestinian Peace Campaigners German foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, has met leading representatives of a joint Israeli and Palestinian peace movement in Berlin. The foreign office said they told Fischer the only way forward was to rebuild trust and to negotiate. Fischer is planning a visit to the Middle East later this month. Lagos Riots - Toll Rises to 100 Last weekend's ethnic riots in Lagos claimed the lives of at least 100 people and left another 400 injured, according to the Nigerian branch of the Red Cross. It has helped evacuate 3,000 residents from the Lagos district of Mushin. Army and police patrols have interrogated suspects. In northern Nigeria soldiers are also on high alert, patrolling Kano city. A senior police officer quoted by Reuters said Lagos' ethnic clashes seemed designed to create instability. Ten days ago a mysterious armoury explosion resulted in more thann 1,000 deaths. Tackled Poverty Warns Annan The World Economic Forum has ended in New York with a warning from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan that globalization could backfire if business leaders ignored world's billions of poor. Annan said poverty and disease must be tackled, and rich countries must open their agriculture-subsidized markets. Rich nations, he said, should double their aid to 100 billion dollars a year. It was also in their own interests to avoid further conflicts and anarchy. Next year the forum will return to the Swiss resort of Davos. Musharraf Chides India Continuing a confrontation over Kashmir, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has accused India of playing cynical "brinkmanship", saying it was avoiding Pakistani offers of consultation. The Indian foreign ministry rejected his charge and said remarks by Musharraf about the Indian-ruled part of Kashmir amounted to interference in India's internal affairs. In a speech to mark what Pakistan calls "Kashmir Solidarity Day", Musharraf again called for international mediation - an appeal which India has often rejected. In recent months both countries have boosted border troops. Gibraltarians Reject Talks Gibraltarians have rejected Monday's talks in London between Britain and Spain on the future of the British colony, saying their homeland was neither Spain's to take nor Britain's to give away. A crowd estimated by police at 2,000 gathered at the Spanish border to protest against talks between British Foreign Minister Jack Straw and his Spanish counterpart Josep Pique aimed at reaching a comprehensive agreement on the disputed colony. BSE Testing Flaws The German consumer protection minister wants tighter checks on laboratories testing meat for mad cow disease after tests were found to be flawed in two states. The massive test failures are claimed most likely not to have harmed consumers. Ministers are meeting on Wednesday to standardise procedures. Clamps on Youth Smokers The German government plans to use credit cards to stop juveniles buying cigarettes from vending machines. The cards would have the age of the user on them. The government says it's talking to makers of vending machines to equip them to work only with cards. It's illegal in Germany to sell cigarettes to anyone under 16. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.antic.org/
