Deutsche Welle English Service News 10-03-2002, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Reunification Blues Twelve years ago, East and West Germany agreed to come together, ending a 28-year division. But the initial euphoria following reunification has dwindled and many, especially in the East, face a hard new reality. 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_647987_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Congressional leaders back Bush's Iraq policy U.S. Congressional leaders have expressed strong support for President George W. Bush and his tough stance on Iraq. The House of Representatives has agreed on the wording of a resolution, giving Bush the authority to unilaterally use military force against Iraq - without approval by the UN - should diplomacy fail to bring a resolution to the crisis. The head of United Nations weapons inspectors, Hans Blix, is to brief members of the Security Council on Thursday on the agreement he has reached with Baghdad for the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq after a 4-year absence. Washington says a new U.N. Security Council resolution is needed to impose strict time limits and spell out the consequences if Baghdad interferes with the inspections. Germany reaffirms opposition to participation in war against Iraq Germany and France still have their differences on the issue of how to deal with Iraq. During a meeting in Paris on Wednesday, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told French President Jacques Chirac that Germany remains firmly opposed to a military strike against Iraq. Chirac said he understood and respected Schroeder's view, but said he did not share it. Chirac said France would not rule out the possibility of taking part in military action alongside the United States. The one major point the two leaders did agree on, was that no military action should be taken until it becomes clear whether Baghdad will comply with United Nations resolutions. Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian man Israeli soldiers early Thursday morning shot dead a 45-year-old Palestinian, who they say broke a curfew in the West Bank town of Jenin. More than 30 other Palestinians were taken into custody in the Gaza Strip. In Jerusalem and the surrounding area, Israeli police conducted a major search operation and took into custody about 1,600 suspected illegal Palestinians workers. Kurdish rebel leader Ocalan death sentence commuted to life imprisonment Turkey has commuted the death sentence imposed by its highest court on Kurdish rebel leader, Abdullah Ocalan, into life imprisonment. The state-run Anatolian newsagency, reports that Turkey's state security court on Thursday formally lifted the death sentence it passed on Ocalan in 1999, after he was captured in Kenya and then tried in Ankara for treason. Turkish authorities blame Ocalan for 30,000 deaths in a 16-year separatist campaign in the south-east. The decision to commute Ocalan's sentence is in line with Turkey's abolition of the death penalty in August to meet European Union human rights criteria. US resumes top level contact with North Korea The United States is resuming top-level contacts with communist North Korea after a break of almost two years. U.S. Special envoy James Kelly is in the north Korean capital Pyongyang for a three day visit. Kelly and his 9-member delegation is seeking dialoge with North Korea about its production and export of missiles, its nuclear policy and human rights. Relations between the U.S. and North Korea have been increasingly strained, every since President George W. Bush referred to the country as an "Axis of Evil." Germany celebrates national holiday: Renovated Brandenburg Gate to be revealed tonight Here in Germany, the third of October is a national holiday. Most workers have the day off to mark the day 12 years ago, when East and West Germany formally joined to form one country. Ceremonies and festivities are being held across Germany to mark unification. The main event will take place in the capital, Berlin,tonight where the newly renovated Brandenburg Gate will be unveiled. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton will be a guest of honour. However, 12 years after Germany was reunited, some say the process of unification is still incomplete. One of them is Berlin's Mayor, Klaus Wowereit, who said that while wages in the East are still lower than they are in the West, unemployment there remains much higher. West African ministers arrive in Ivory Coast West African mediators arrived Thursday in Ivory Coast's rebel-held city of Bouake, saying they had a mandate from the government to negotiate a ceasefire between the rebel troops and the army. Bouake fell to the rebels on September 19 when a military insurrection against President Laurent Gbagbo's government narrowly failed to seize power. The rebels say that if they gain power they will stage new elections after a short transitionary period. Gbagbo has said that he is ready to agree to a ceasefire, but the government is unwilling to accept a de facto separation of the country between north and south. Report by WHO: 1.6 million people die a violent death every year More than 1.6 million people die a violent death every year, according to a report released by the World Health Organisation in Brussels. In the year 2000, one in five deaths was war-related; one-third were homicides and half of all deaths were suicides. The report shows that 90 percent of those who died a violent death, lived in poor or third world countries. More than 160 experts contributed to the report, which took three years to be compiled, and is the most-comprehensive ever documentation of its kind. The WHO commissioned the report in 1996, which also offers guidelines for governments and political institutions on how to improve the situation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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