Deutsche Welle English Service News May 24th, 2002, 16:00 UTC
------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Bush and Putin: Comrades in Arms? The American and Russian presidents plan to sign a major nuclear treaty on Friday, but critics say loopholes allowing both sides to store the warheads could water down future international nonproliferation efforts. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1430_A_542620_1_A,00.html ------------------------------------------------------------------- Russian-U.S. Pledge to Reduce Warheads In Moscow the U.S. and Russian presidents, Bush and Putin, have signed a new disarmament treaty, pledging to trim nuclear warheads by two thirds by 2012, and a second agreement on closer cooperation. Each nation has 6,000 long-range warheads deployed. They'll be reduced to between 1,700 and 2,200 devices. Warheads removed do not have to be destroyed. They can be put in storage. Each party can cancel the treaty with only three months' notice. Both the USA and Russia said the 1991 START reduction treaty remained in effect. At a news conference, Bush referred to terrorism and U.S. criticism of Russia's building of a nuclear power plant in Iran. President Vladimir Putin denied that the venture undermined non-proliferation. The new treaties precedes next week's NATO summit with Russia in Rome. Cuts Reduce Risk - Germany Germany has welcomed the latest American-Russian disarmament move. Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said the Moscow treaty was a further step toward the eventual elimination of nuclear arsenals. The removal of each and every warhead, Fischer said, reduced the risk of an atomic catastrophe. Finnish Parliament Approves Reactor Despite environmentalist objections, Finland's parliament has approved the construction of a new atomic reactor - the first in an EU country since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Finland's assembly voted 107 to 92. Environment Minister Satu Hassi said her Greens party would decide on Sunday whether to quit Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen's Social Democrat-led coalition. Lipponen said the new reactor, whose location is still undecided, would make Finland less dependent on energy imports. Its two existing plants generate 28 percent of the electricity used by Finns. Last year, Russia supplied 7.3 billion kilowatts, according to Interfax. A recent survey show Finns split 48-to 46 percent over the project. Kashmir on "Knife Edge" - EU's Patten Pakistan has announced what it called "routine" missile tests during a visit to New Delhi by EU envoy Chris Patten who said Indian- Pakistani tensions over Kashmir were on a "knife edge". Pakistan said its tests were due over the weekend. Patten had talks with Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, whose ministry described Pakistan's announcement as an "antic". In Moscow, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he'd spoken to Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, and, reportedly, India's Singh. Powell said he hoped both nuclear rivals realised it was time to "step back". On Thursday, India's Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee softened his tone and began a holiday after threatening a decisive fight. Overnight, India and Pakistan said their border troops again traded heavy gunfire. Fatah Disavows Al-Aqsa Brigade The Fatah movement of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has for the first time distanced itself from its splinter faction, the Al-Aqsa brigade that claimed responsibility for a foiled attack in Tel Aviv. Fatah said suicide attacks, such as Thursday night's attempt to ram a car bomb into nightclub, amounted to terrorism. A Israeli guard shot dead the approaching driver. The car blew up before impact. Israeli forces, meanwhile, have again raided the West Bank town of Tulkarm. Sources said eight Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers were hurt. In Moscow, presidents Bush and Putin spoke vaguely in favour of fresh talks on the Middle East. Visiting Berlin, former Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu called for Arafat's replacement. Netanyahu also reiterated his bid to unseat his Likud rival, premier Ariel Sharon. Pope Clears Bulgaria The ailing Pope John Paul, who's visiting Bulgaria, has absolved the Balkan nation of any link to the 1981 attempt to assassinate him. The Pontiff met with President Georgi Parvanov, and afterwards a Vatican spokesman said John Paul had never believed in the so-called "Bulgarian connection". The Pope was nearly killed in 1981 by the Turkish gunman Mehmet Al Agca who alleged that he'd acted on orders of the Soviet-controlled Bulgarian secret service. In Sofia, the Pope has also met Patriarch Maxim of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in an attempt to bridge a Christian church divide dating back to 1054. Of Bulgaria's 8.2 million population, more than 80 percent are orthodox Christians. Only one percent are Roman Catholics. Ferry sinks in Bangladesh, more than 60 missing More than 60 people are missing, and presumed drowned, after a ferry sank in a river in southern Bangladesh, three weeks after nearly 500 people were killed in a similar disaster. Police officials said the ferry had about 100 people on board when it sank in the Baleswar river during a storm on Thursday night. Search and rescue operations are continuing. Whaling Conference Ends in Uproar The 45 nations of the International Whaling Commission have ended their conference deeply divided after votes that rejected bids by Japan to hunt commercially and native peoples to hunt traditionally. The rejections deny Unuit communities of U.S. Alaska and Russia's Far East of rights to hunt bowhead whales. Japan, as host of the conference in its coastal town of Shimonseki, sought the blocking of the long-standing Unuit practice, saying other nations were hypocritical in blocking Japanese hunting. Anti-whaling activists said such comparisons were unjust. Using a "scientific" loophole in a 1986 world ban, Japan and Norway each hunt about 600 whales annually. During the conference, Iceland was refused full IWC membership. Korean taxi drivers join strikes Some 10,000 South Korean taxi drivers joined strikes orchestrated by a militant umbrella union on Friday, just one week before the start of the World Cup soccer finals the country is co-hosting with Japan. The taxi drivers joined some 40,000 metal, chemical and hospital workers on the picket lines to back demands for a shorter working week, and more money. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
