Deutsche Welle English Service News September 2nd 2003, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Swedish PM Blames Big Economies for Euro Weakness Prime Minister Persson of Sweden says Europe's biggest economies are responsible for the weakness of the eurozone. That's not likely to convince his skeptical compatriots to vote for the euro in an upcoming referendum. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1433_A_961211_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Shiite funeral procession enters third and final day More than a hundred thousand mourners are gathered in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf to take part, for a third day, in a funeral procession for the slain Shi'ite leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim. Security forces were on high alert fearing further terrorist attacks. Hakim and at least 80 others were killed when a car bomb exploded Friday. Iraqi Police say those arrested in the attack have revealed plans to kill other religious and secular leaders, as well. Egypt Tuesday urged what it called "all forces" in Iraq to uphold security and called for the start of -quote - "a new period in which the Iraqi people assume responsibility." Investigators are analysing an audio tape of a man claiming to be Saddam Hussein in which he denied responsibility for the attack. Officials now claim all bombing suspects are Iraqi nationals, contradicting earlier reports. Bomb blast in Baghdad kills 1 and injures 15 A car bomb at Baghdad's police headquarters killed an Iraqi police officer and wounded 15 others Tuesday. The bombing is being seen as an assassinate attempt against the city's police chief, who is also a key ally of the U.S. force in Iraq. Double murders in Pakistan Gunmen in Pakistan shot and killed two senior members of a pro-government political party in Karachi Tuesday. The two were members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. In a second attack, which took place after the two men were buried, at least six gunmen opened fire on the mourners outside a house in a Karachi neighbourhood. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks. Four Years Jail for radical cleric in Indonesia An Indonesian court jailed Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir for four years on treason charges on Tuesday. The prosecution failed however to prove he led the Jemaah Islamiah network blamed for bombings in Southeast Asia. The prosecution had demanded a 15-year sentence. The radical cleric has said he will appeal the verdict. UN urges Iran to allow nuclear sites The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, Mohammed ElBaradei, has urged Iran to allow short-notice inspections of its nuclear sites. Speaking after a meeting with Germany's foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, the International Atomic Energy Agency chief urged Tehran to ratify a protocol of the Non-Proliferation treaty which would allow unannounced checks by UN teams of its nuclear sites. Fischer called on the Iranian government to work with the IAEA and said it would be a "nightmare" if Iran became a nuclear power. Korea wants more nuclear talks North Korea has said it is prepared to return to the negotiating table to attempt to resolve the nuclear crisis with the United States. Last week Pyongyang described six-nation talks as "useless" and said it would continue to work on its nuclear weapons programme. However in a statement released by the official KCNA news agency, the government has said it wants to resolve the issue through dialogue. Last week's talks between the United States, North Korea, South Korea, China, Russia and Japan failed to achieve a breakthrough. Israel declares "all out war" against Hamas Israel has said two Palestinian militants were killed in a missile strike against the radical Islamic group Hamas Monday. It was the sixth Israeli missile strike targeting Hamas activists since a suicide bus bomb in Jerusalem killed 22 people in August. Israel said it has now declared "all out war" on Hamas. Israeli defense chiefs said their ground forces were ready to take on Hamas fighters in their Gaza Strip stronghold if given the order to launch a largescale operation. Meanwhile, Israel's hawkish defence minister, Shaul Mofaz, said on Tuesday that he favours expelling Palestinian President Yasser Arafat by the end of the year, because he was complicating peace moves. Turkish prime minister to meet Schroeder Turkey's prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, who's currently visiting Germany, has been criticised by moderate Turkish interest groups for allegedly meeting representatives of the radical Islamic group Milli Goerus. According to a Turkish newspaper, Erdogan met with the group's local leader in Berlin yesterday. The group is under observation by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Erdogan's opponents are said to be concerned about the overtures he's been making to Islamic factions. The prime minister met Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who said he would support Turkey's bid to join the EU. Hundreds rescued in hotel fire Around 500 tourists, 300 of them German, were rescued unharmed after the hotel complex they were staying in in Mombassa, Kenya caught fire. German Bundeswehr soldiers, stationed in the area as part of the anti-terror alliance, Enduring Freedom, helped out in the rescue operations. The cause of the blaze is not yet known. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
