Deutsche Welle English Service News September 21th 2003, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
The Last Candidate Says "Yes" The last of the 10 candidate countries has approved membership in the EU. With 67 percent endorsing entry into the European bloc next year, Latvia joins its Baltic neighbors Estonia and Lithuania on the road to Brussels. 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_975969_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CSU set to win landslide in Bavaria Voters have been going to the polls in the southern state of Bavaria this Sunday. State elections here in Germany are widely viewed as a test of the popularity of the federal government, and in Bavaria, things don't look good for Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats. In Bavaria, the conservative Christian Social Union is expected to be returned to power in a landslide. The CSU have held power in Bavaria for the past four decades, but opinion polls predict that this time, the party could take more than 60 percent of the vote. Some polls indicate that Schroeder's Social Democrats are bound for their worst-ever post-war result in Bavaria. The CSU is led by the man who ran for chancellor against Schroeder in last year's federal election, Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber. Since Schroeder narrowly won that vote, his Social Democrats have been easily beaten in state elections in Hesse and Lower Saxony. Wounded Iraqi GC member in stable condition The Shi'ite member of Iraq's US-appointed Governing Council who was wounded in a shooting on Saturday is reported to be in serious but stable condition. Police say gunmen opened fire on Akila al-Hashemi's car as she left her home in Baghdad on Saturday. Three bodyguards were also wounded. Meanwhile, two US soldiers have been reported killed and 13 others wounded in a mortar attack outside a US-run prison on the outskirts of Baghdad. In a separate incident one US soldier has been killed after his vehicle was hit by an explosive device in the town of Ramadi. The latest deaths bring to 79 the number of US troops killed in hostile fire since May 1, when US President George W. Bush declared major combat operations over. Koehler approves of Iraq's economic reforms The head of the International Monetary Fund, Horst Koehler, has welcomed an announcement by Iraq's finance minister of reforms designed to encourage foreign investment. Speaking after a meeting of the IMF's policy-setting committee in Dubai, Koehler described the proposed measures as a huge step forward for Iraq. Under the reforms, unveiled earlier on Sunday, full foreign ownership of Iraqi businesses is to be allowed in all economic sectors except for oil. The US-backed Iraqi finance minister, Kemal al-Kilani, said the reforms would take effect soon, but did not give an exact date. He said the measures would help Iraq develop a free and open market and gain a foothold in the global economy. Blair meets Aznar in London British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with his Spanish counterpart, Jose Maria Aznar earlier this Sunday. The two met as Aznar was making a stopover in London, on his way to the United States. Blair is reported to have used their meeting to brief Aznar on his talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac in Berlin on Saturday. During those talks, Blair rejected a call by both Schroeder and Chirac for the United States and Britain to quickly transfer power in Iraq to an Iraqi government. Blair said Iraq was still too unstable for that to be done. Blair did however agree with Schroeder and Chirac on the need to develop a common European defence policy. Latvian voters favor joining EU The German government has welcomed the overwhelming vote delivered by Latvia's citizens on Saturday, to join the European Union. Sixty-seven percent of Latvians who cast their ballot on EU entry voted in favour. Germany's chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, said the vote sealed the former Soviet Republic's return to the European fold. Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said the vote signalled that Europe's former east-west division had been overcome once and for all. Latvia was the last of 10 mainly eastern European countries to vote in favour of joining the EU, when it expands from 15 to 25 members next May. US Army Chaplain under Investigation for Treason A Muslim US Army chaplain who counseled suspected al-Qaeda militants at a prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is under arrest on suspicion of espionage and treason, according to US officials. However, no formal charges have yet been filed. The chaplain, Captain James Yee, is a West Point Military Academy graduate who converted to Islam about 10 years ago. Various US media report that investigators seized a detailed sketch of the Guantanamo detention facility and other confidential documents when they arrested Yee. Palestinian PM-designate in talks with local leaders Palestinian prime minister-designate Ahmed Qorei is holding talks with leaders of various Palestinian factions in an effort to shore up support for a new government. Sources said he was meeting with members of President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction. It's not clear whether he will also hold talks with leaders of the militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups. Qorei was appointed two weeks ago by Arafat as a replacement for Mahmoud Abbas. Britain's FM wants progress on trade The British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has said he hopes developed and developing countries can agree on a swift resumption of trade talks. Speaking as the chairman of the International Monetary Fund Committee meeting in Dubai, Brown said it was important to get both sides together again. World Trade Organisation talks in Mexico broke down last week after rich and poor nations failed to agree on slashing farm subsidies. Experts say the failure means the WTO is unlikely to comprehensively dismantle trade barriers by its 2005 deadline. Moenchengladbach fire coach Lienen In sports: Ewald Lienen has become the first Bundesliga coach to be sacked this season. Borussia Moenchengladbach fired coach Lienen on Sunday, less that 24 hours after his soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision to Hanover. That was their fourth straight defeat. Lienen has been replaced by another former Moenchengladbach player, Holger Fach. And in tennis, Germany have lost their relegation Davis Cup tie against Belarus. Max Mirnyi defeated Germany's Rainer Schuettler to give them an unassailable 3-1 lead. This means Belarus, not Germany, remain in the 16-strong World Group. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
