Deutsche Welle English Service News October 21st, 2003, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Iran Agrees to Inspections after EU Talks The foreign ministers of Europe's big three -- Great Britain, France and Germany -- breathed a sigh of relief when Iranian officials agreed to nuclear inspections after a tense day of talks. 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_1005954_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Arafat seeks world action to stop "military madness" Palestinian President Yasser Arafat demanded immediate international action on Tuesday to stop what he described as "military madness" after Israel killed 10 Palestinians, most of them civilians, in air strikes in the Gaza Strip. Israel's army, echoing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said there would be no let-up in its hunt for Islamic militants despite the civilian deaths. This drew unusually tough criticism in Israel and calls from the opposition for an investigation. The five air strikes on Monday, which also wounded about 100 people, and a Palestinian ambush that killed three Israeli soldiers on Sunday dealt further blows to a stalled U.S.-backed peace "road map". Arafat has repeatedly called for the international community to send monitors to the region. Israel opposes this. French FM to meet backers of alternative peace plan for Mideast French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin will meet on Wednesday in Paris with former Palestinian information minister Yasser Abed Rabbo and former Israeli left-wing justice minister Yossi Beilin, both backers of the unofficial "Geneva initiative" for Middle East peace. A ministry spokesperson said the plan drafted last week by Israeli left-wingers and leading Palestinians calls for shared sovereignty over disputed areas of the holy city of Jerusalem and would grant the Palestinians 97.5 percent of the West Bank. In exchange, Palestinian refugees would waive their right of return to areas now incorporated in the state of Israel as it was founded in 1948. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has not formally endorsed the plan but praised all peace efforts. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rejected it, saying the internationally-backed roadmap was the only path to peace. IRA statement on latest disarmament move The Irish Republican Army, Northern Ireland's most powerful Roman Catholic paramilitary group, announced on Tuesday it had authorised a fresh act of disarmament, in a move hoped to revive the province's stalled peace process. Hours after Downing Street confirmed a 26 November poll date, the IRA said it was committed to resolving the weapons issue and had authorised a further act of "putting arms beyond use". Ahead of the IRA statement, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams urged total support for the political process. Adams added that "Sinn Fein wants to see the guns taken out of Irish society". APEC concludes with pledge to fight terrorism and urges resumption of WTO talks On the final day of the APEC summit, US President George W. Bush continued to push security themes to the forefront of the discussion. Earlier, he had called for support in Iraqi reconstruction and criticized North Korea's nuclear program. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who caused a stir at the meeting with several controversial remarks, accused the US of hijacking the summit agenda. In their final declaration, the 21 member states agreed to a number of specific counter-terrorism measures, as well as a committment to restart stalled World Trade Organization talks. Next year's APEC meeting will be hosted by Chile. Bush, who is on a six-nation Asian tour, is now in Singapore for an expected 15-hour visit. Iran agrees to suspend uranium enrichment Iran has agreed to suspend its disputed uranium enrichment programme. At talks with the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain on Tuesday, diplomatic sources said Iran would halt uranium enrichment and the reprocessing of nuclear fuel, as well as agreeing to sign the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Additional Protocol allowing tougher UN inspections of its nuclear sites. This follows a top-level visit last week by the UN watchdog, which had given Iran until late October to disclose the extent of its nuclear activities. German foreign minister Joschka Fischer said that the accord would "stabilise the region". EU bans single-hull oil tankers A year after the Prestige oil-tanker disaster off Spain, single-hull tankers carrying heavy fuel oil were banned from EU ports under new rules adopted on Tuesday. The European Union's executive Commission said it would continue to press for an international regime against the most dangerous types of tanker. The ban brings the EU in line with the United States, which restricted single-hull tankers carrying heavy-grade fuel from its waters three years after the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska. German government warns opposition not to block reforms German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has urged squabbling opposition conservatives not to block his reforms, saying that would kill the slow recovery from stagnation in Europe's largest economy. Schroeder's labour market reforms and planned 15.6 billion euros in tax cuts were passed in the lower house last week, and the government now requires approval from parliament's upper house. Schroeder's reforms include plans to pressure long-term unemployed to take on available work. China puts two satellites into orbit China has rocketed two satellites into orbit, including one jointly developed with Brazil to study the Earth's surface. Last week, China became just the third nation after the United States and the former Soviet Union to successfully send a man into orbit. The Sino-Brazilian satellite would be controlled by China for one and a half years and by Brazil for the remainder of its two-year life span. Pope elevates 31 bishops Pope John Paul II has formally elevated 31 bishops to the position of cardinal. The ceremony, originally scheduled for early next week, was moved up because of the Pope's ill health. Today's ceremony at the Vatican wound up a week of events celebrating the 25th anniversary of his papacy, and it brings the number of cardinals to a record 135. Their main task will be nominating a successor to John Paul the second once he passes away. Rugby - Italy beat Canada Finally World Cup rugby being played in Australia, and Italy defeated Canada 19-14 in a pool D match in Canberra, which eliminated the north Americans from the tournament. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
