Deutsche Welle English Service News November 12th, 2003, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Bundeswehr Afghanistan Expansion Met with Threats Germany's UN Ambassador said that "major challenges" lie ahead for Afghanistan as a renegade warlord threatened German soldiers beginning peacekeeping duties in Kunduz. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1430_A_1028078_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Blast kills 22 at Italian HQ in Baghdad A big explosion has killed at least 22 people at the Italian Carabinieri police headquarters in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya. Fifteen Italians and seven Iraqis died and a further 59 people were wounded in the attack. The blast, described as a "vile attack" by Pope John Paul II, is thought to have been caused by a truck loaded with explosives. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Italy would not be intimidated by the bombing, but some opposition parties called for a withdrawal of Italian troops. In a separate incident on Wednesday one US soldier was killed after an explosion in Baghdad. Palestinian PM calls for elections Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie has called for a mutual ceasefire with Israel and said he intended to hold general elections for the Palestinian parliament and presidency by June 2004. In a speech to the parliament, Qurie urged Israel and the Palestinians to halt attacks against civilians and take steps to reach a truce to end three years of violence. Earlier, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said it was time to end the spiral of Middle East violence. He said Israel had a right to live in security alongside a future Palestinian state. For its part, Israel said it would embrace the new government as a real partner if it showed a resolve to dismantle the infrastucture of terrorism. Yukos chief Khodorkovsky could face two years in prison A public prosecutor in Moscow has said the Russian businessman Mikhail Khordorkovsky could remain in jail for up to two years while investigators carry out their work. Mr Khordorkovsky was arrested last month on fraud and tax evasion charges. On Tuesday a Moscow court turned down an appeal by his lawyers to have him released on bail. They have described him as a "political" prisoner and say they will appeal to the Russian Supreme Court and possibly the European Court of Human Rights. Supporters of the former Yukos head say he is being persecuted because he has funded liberal parties which oppose Russian President Vladimir Putin. UN court to hear appeal for first genocide conviction over Srebrenica The UN War Crimes Court has said it will hear the appeal of the first man found guilty of genocide since the tribunal's inception after the 1990s Balkan war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosnian Serb General Radislav Krstic's case will go to the court at the end of November. He was convicted over two years ago for leading troops in the massacre of Srebrenica, one of the worst mass killings in Europe since World War II. Lawyers said Krstic was expected to ask for a re-trial. Former Elf chairman jailed in French corruption trial Concluding a spectacular trial, a judge has sentenced the former chairman of French oil giant Elf to five years in prison. Loik Le Floch-Prigent and 37 others had been accused of siphoning off huge sums of money to fund political favors and luxury lifestyles. In what has been billed as France's biggest corporate graft case, the judge also fined Le Floch-Prigent 375,000 euros. The trial centered on the misappropriation of hundreds of millions of dollars between 1989 and 1993, when Elf's global empire of business and political influence was under state control. Police disperse pro-Estrada protest in Manila Philippine police used teargas and water cannon to disperse thousands of protesters demanding that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo step down. It was the biggest demonstration since the House of Representatives began a controversial move last month to impeach Supreme Court Chief of Justice Hilario Davide for alleged mismanagement of a judiciary fund. Failure to impeach the judge has divided the country and raised the political temperature ahead of presidential elections next May. The demonstration came a day after the military activated a new 6,000-member unit to guard the capital Manila against security threats. Germany announces winter aid for Afghanistan Germany has announced 1.2 million euros in aid to help Afghan refugees and others to cope with the coming winter. The money, which will be given to various non-governmental organizations, raises the total of Germany's contributions to humanitarian aid for Afghanistan this year to 3.7 million euros. The donations will help supply tarpaulins, quilts and blankets to refugees, widows, orphans and the sick. Nuclear waste shipment arrives at German dump A convoy of highly radioactive nuclear waste has arrived at a storage facility in Germany after a massive security operation to keep away hundreds of protestors. Overnight, police dispersed around 500 anti-nuclear activists who had gathered near Gorleben to block roads being used by the transport. Protesters said the shipment, which left France's La Hague treatment plant on Sunday, was dangerous and would contaminate the water table in Gorleben. Anti-globalisation activists flock to Paris forum Thousands of anti-globalisation activists have come together in Paris for a meeting that seeks to challenge mainstream politicians on everything from genetically modified food to free trade and immigration. Organisers expect tens of thousands of people and around 1,800 organisations from across the world to attend the four-day European Social Forum, with about 3,000 participants coming from Germany alone. The meeting will also address issues such as EU enlargement and conditions in Iraq. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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