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Deutsche Welle English Service News October, 06th, 2002, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Bush Praises German-American Relations US President Bush took the occaision of German-American Day on October 6 to laud German-American relations, while people in both countries celebrated German-American cultural ties which have a 300 year history. 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_650122_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Oil tanker ablaze off Yemen A large French tanker is on fire and leaking crude oil off eastern Yemen's port of Mina al-Thabah after what French embassy officials said was an attack by a small boat laden with explosives. The Yemini owner also said that his tanker was rammed. Except for one missing crew member, all 24 others were reported safe. The attack is similar to that two years ago, when suicide bombers rammed the U.S. destroyer Cole in Port Aden. The scene this time is 700 kilometres east of Aden. The tanker, the Limburg was approaching a terminal to load Yemeni oil. Already on board was oil from Iran. Europe still split over U.S. stance on Iraq EU defence ministers meeting on Crete have failed to agree on a joint position on Iraq as EU member Britain, like the USA, presses for a tough new U.N. resolution. This has been rejected so far by Russia and France. German Defence Minister Peter Struck said Germany continued to reject the USA's hard stance. The EU ministers did, however, decide that the European Union's own rapid- reaction force should be operational by next year. It will comprise about 60,000 troops. Bush signals thaw in U.S.-German tensions This Sunday has been declared by U.S. President George W. Bush to be German-American Day in an apparent thaw in strains over Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's anti-war stance on Iraq. Mr.Bush spoke of friendship forged after World War Two and centuries of German-American immigration. Last month, the White House rebuked Mr. Schroeder's campaign for re-election, saying ties were poisoned. For months,President Bush and Chancellor Schroeder have not met. Red Cross planning for possibility of war in Iraq The International Committee of the Red Cross has begun contingency planning to meet additional humanitarian needs in case of war against Iraq, its president said in an interview published Sunday in Switzerland. US President George Bush cranked up pressure on Iraq over the weekend, warning in his weekly radio address on Saturday that war may be unavoidable. The main tasks of the ICRC in such a conflict would be providing relief to the victims of conflict and ensuring respect for international humanitarian rights. The organization has been active in Iraq for many years, with the repatriation of prisoners of war from the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s one of their main efforts. Turkey to consider military response if Iraqi Kurds seek independence Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit warned on Sunday that his country could consider a military operation against a possible independence bid by Kurds in neighboring northern Iraq. Turkey has acknowledged that it already has a certain number of soldiers in northern Iraq. The Iraqi Kurds have been running northern Iraq outside Baghdad's authority and under the protection of a US-enforced no-fly zone since the 1991 Gulf War.Turkey is alarmed that they could move towards independence, if the United States topples Saddam Hussein, setting an example for its own Kurds in adjoining southeastern Turkey. Turkey's fears over a possible Kurdish state in the region lies at the core of its opposition to US plans to change the regime in Baghdad and has accused Washington of encouraging the Iraqi Kurds to move towards independence. Huge crowds as Pope makes saint of Opus Dei founder Pope John Paul made a saint on Sunday of Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, the controversial founder of the conservative Roman Catholic group Opus Dei, before one of the biggest crowds ever to flood the Vatican. About 300,000 pilgrims from 80 countries filled St. Peter's Square and spilled into surrounding piazzas for the ceremony . Saint Escriva is the 468th saint proclaimed by Pope John Paul, who has declared more saints than all of his predecessors in the last four centuries combined.Saint Escriva founded Opus Dei, which means "God's Work", in Spain in 1928. It now has 1,800 Opus Dei priests and 84,000 members worldwide, many of them professionals. Opus Dei has frequently been accused of having a dangerous, secret and fundamentalist agenda. Beer lovers gulp last litres as Oktoberfest ends Revellers at Munich's Oktoberfest, the world's biggest beer festival, geared up for massive hangovers on Sunday as the annual drinking event came to a close. Beer enthusiasts quaffed almost 6 million litres of strong Bavarian beer during the 16-day festival, which is 18 percent more than last year, when the atmosphere was subdued in reaction to the September 11 attacks on the United States. More than 6 million visitors thronged the 14 tents, some as large as football fields for the festival, a rise of seven percent from last year. The Oktoberfest was first held to celebrate the wedding in 1810 of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princes Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. Embattled German politician taken to hospital The former deputy head of Germany's pro-business Free Democrats, whose repeated criticism of Israel was blamed for his party's poor result in last month's election, was taken to hospital with heart problems on Sunday. Juergen Moellemann was forced to quit as deputy leader of the Free Democrats last month amid accusations of anti-Semitism over his criticisms of Israel and a leader of Germany's Jewish community. Mr. Moellemann was taken to a clinic in Muenster when an irregular heartbeat was detected, a spokesman said. The controversial politician is a colourful figure on the German political scene, often arriving at campaign rallies by parachute. Beer lovers gulp last litres as Oktoberfest ends Revellers at Munich's Oktoberfest, the world's biggest beer festival, geared up for massive hangovers on Sunday as the annual drinking event came to a close. Beer enthusiasts quaffed almost 6 million litres of strong Bavarian beer during the 16-day festival, which is 18 percent more than last year, when the atmosphere was subdued in reaction to the September 11 attacks on the United States. More than 6 million visitors thronged the 14 tents, some as large as football fields for the festival, a rise of seven percent from last year. The Oktoberfest was first held to celebrate the wedding in 1810 of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princes Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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