Deutsche Welle English Service News September 7th 2003, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Völler Lambastes German Soccer Critics Germany’s national team barely managed to draw with soccer minnows Iceland in an important European Championship qualifying match on Saturday. Afterwards, coach Rudi Völler attacked journalists for expecting more. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1441_A_965158_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Israeli officials called for Arafat expulsion Senior Israeli officials called for the expulsion of Yasser Arafat in response to the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in a bitter power struggle with the Palestinian president. Meanwhile the United States is striving to salvage its "road map" to Middle East peace. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said US officials were reaching out to their Israeli and Palestinian counterparts, and urged all parties to "consider carefully the consequences of their actions" for the peace process. He said the White house remained committed to implementation of the road map, working with Israelis, Palestinians, Arab states who seek peace, as well as the diplomatic "quartet" that crafted the peace plan. That group includes the European Union, the United Nations, Russia, and the United States, which had made Abu Mazen's appointment a precondition for releasing the blueprint and moving towards the creation of a Palestinian state. Hamas spiritual leader says he would teach Israel "an unforgettable lesson" Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin says his movement would teach Israel "an unforgettable lesson" after surviving an assassination attempt. The 67-year-old wheelchair-bound cleric was slightly injured on Saturday in an air strike as he met with Hamas colleagues. He said that Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, would avenge his attack, at a time and place they decided. 'Time is right' for UN role in Iraq: Condoleezza Rice US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice has pressed the case for greater international involvement in the stabilisation of Iraq, saying that "the time is right" for a United Nations presence there. Her comments came after the 15 member Security Council held closed-door consultations Friday to debate a new US draft resolution that seeks to send a multinational force to Iraq. The US draft also seeks greater financial assistance for the Iraqi reconstruction and acceptance of the US-installed governing council. Ms Rice said the US resolution gives would-be contributing countries the authority they need to aid in Iraq's reconstruction. Possible Al Qaeda tape vows more attacks An audio tape purported to be from a member of Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network has promised Sunday more attacks against Americans everywhere and denied any links to the killing of a Shi'ite Muslim cleric in Iraq. The tape, dated September 3, came a few days before the second anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on US cities, which were blamed by the US administration on Al Qaeda. Some US and Iraqi reports suggested that Al Qaeda was behind a car bomb attack that killed top Shi'ite cleric Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim and 83 others in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf last month. The tape also said US losses in Afghanistan were much higher than announced by Washington. As security in Iraq deteriorates, Bush to tell Americans to stay the course Two children have reportedly been killed in fighting between Iraqi police and thieves in Falluja, west of Baghdad. In other acts of lawlessness plaguing the country, assailants, overnight, destroyed a car with a rocket-propelled grenade and fired mortars at Iraqis working with U.S. forces. Also, the U.S. military said unidentified assailants had fired several missiles at a U.S. transport plane taking off from Baghdad but failed to hit it. Meanwhile, in the United States, President George W. Bush is scheduled to address the nation later on Sunday in a prime-time speech, defending his efforts to rebuild Iraq. British reinforcements arrive in Iraq An additional 120 British troops have arrived in Iraq from their base in Cyprus. The soldiers now bring to 10,620 the number of British troops in Iraq. Hundreds more soldiers are expected to be deployed in the coming week. The decision to send in an additional contingent comes as Washington moves to expand international troop committments. It also coincides with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's three-day inspection of Iraq's worsening security situation. He blamed general violence in the country on members of the now-banned Baath Party. US defence secretary in Afghanistan The American defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld has now arrived in Afghanistan for talks with President Hamid Karzai. Their discussions are to focus on continuing efforts to rebuild the country since the war which overthrew the Taliban. Rumsfeld's visit coincides with a U.S.-Afghan offensive against suspected Taliban fighters in the south and east of the country. UK wants UN vote on Tuesday to end Libya sanctions Britain has scheduled a Security Council vote for Tuesday to lift U.N. sanctions against Libya. Such a move would release $2.7 billion to the families of 270 victims killed in the 1988 airliner bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. The issue has been overshadowed, however, by a dispute between France and Libya over payments to the families of 170 people killed in a 1989 French airliner bombing over Niger. Unclear is whether the dispute would delay the vote. In a deal negotiated with Britain and the United States, Libya last month accepted responsibility for the Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie and agreed to pay compensation. Australia hamstrung in effort to send alleged terror backer to Lebanon Australia, Lebanon discuss extradition of Al Qaeda suspects The Australian Government says it is talking with Lebanese authorities about their attempts to arrest two men in Australia linked to Al Qaeda. Bilal Khazaal was named earlier this week as having had contact with an Al Qaeda suspect being held in Spain, Abu Dahdah. Lebanon wants to arrest Mr Khazaal and his brother, Maher. Australian Attorney-General Darryl Williams has refused to confirm reports the men are linked to terrorism funding but has told an Australian television station there is no extradition treaty with Lebanon. However the Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, says Lebanese authorities may still get access to Mr Khazaal. Belal Khazaal refused to comment today. Interfaith meeting in Aachen Senior representatives of world religions have gathered for an inter-faith meeting in the German city of Aachen. More than 500 participants from 50 countries came together for a morning Mass in the city's famous cathedral before talks began. Main topics of discussion during the three-day gathering will be cooperation between religions and coping with conflicts. Russian film wins Golden Lion at Venice A Russian film called "The Return", about the reunion of a father with his sons after a 10-year absence, has won the Venice Film Festival's top prize, the Golden Lion. The film's director, Andrey Zvyagintsev, dedicated the award to the 15-year-old star of the movie Vladimir Garin, who tragically died in a drowning accident a couple of months after filming ended. The runner-up Jury Grand Prix was awarded to "The Kite" ("Le Cerf-Volant"), a film by Lebanese director Randa Chahal Sabbag about love and separation along the Lebanese-Israeli border. The Silver Lion award went to Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano for "Zatoichi" about a blind samurai warrior who saves a village from sword-wielding gangsters. Germany's Katja Riemann won best actress for her role in "Rosenstrasse," playing the Aryan wife of a Jew in Nazi Germany. Twenty films competed for the Golden Lion award at the 60th annual edition of the world's oldest film competition, but some 145 titles were shown. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
