Deutsche Welle English Service News January 26th, 2004, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Blair’s “Week from Hell“ British Premier Tony Blair is facing one of the toughest weeks of his career: First he could suffer a major defeat in parliament Tuesday, followed by the Wednesday release of a report on the 2003 death of an expert on Iraq’s weapons. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www2.dw-world.de/english/current_affairs/1.56369.1.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EU row as China's Hu visits France Chinese President Hu Jintao has arrived in France on a four-day visit overshadowed by a dispute within the EU on whether it should lift its arms embargo on China. The EU imposed it after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. In Brussels, French Foreign Minister Dominque de Villepin urged EU colleagues to end the ban by March, saying it was "outdated. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said the EU would have to make sure that any weapons exported were not used by China against Taiwan. A leading Euro Parliament member, Graham Watson of the Liberal Democrats, said the French move was "outrageous". China's President Hu has been welcomed to Paris by President Jacques Chirac. On Thursday Hu visits Airbus in Toulouse. Annan - mass killings in '90s were preventable UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said the mass killings in the former Yugoslavia or Rwanda in the 1990s could have been prevented if the world had had the will to take action. Addressing an international conference on preventing genocide in Stockholm, Annan said that the failure of the international community to stop the killings in these two regions was "especially shameful". He proposed the setting up a UN committee to prevent atrocities. Ten heads of state and officials from dozens of nations have gathered for the three-day conference, the first of its kind in over 50 years. Powell - democracy inadequate in Russia U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who's begun a visit to Moscow, has said he is worried about Russia's democracy. In an article by Powell published in the newspaper Izvestia, Powell said Russian politics did not have an "essential balance" between the executive, legislative and judiciary. Later, after meeting President Vladimir Putin, Powell said his article was not an attempt to interfere. Attending a joint press conference, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said their talks had been "full of good will". Putin, earlier, said the United Nations should get more involved in Iraq. He said U.S.-Russian relations were "solid" despite differences. Karzai signs new Afghan constitution Afghan President Hamid Karzai has signed Afghanistan's new constitution into law at a brief ceremony in the capital, Kabul. The constitution, ratified earlier this month, outlines a tolerant, democratic Islamic state under a strong presidency, a two-chamber parliament, and an independent judiciary. The text also declares men and women equal before the law. The United Nations has however warned that countrywide elections to be held under the new constitution in June may have to be delayed because of poor security. Asia's bird flu crisis deepens Asia's bird flu crisis is deepening, with Pakistan announcing that it has also been affected by the disease. Pakistani officials say a strain of avian flu was behind the deaths of possibly millions of chickens in its south. The number of human fatalities in other Asian countries has possibly climbed to twelve, after the deaths of four Thais suspected of having the disease. Thai officials have also announced the first confirmed death from the disease in Thailand, a six-year-old boy. The World Health Organisation says attempts to find a vaccine against the virus are being frustrated by its fast rate of mutation, and has called for an international effort. So far, at least eight countries, mostly in South Asia, have been hit by the disease. Hizbollah-Israel prisoner exchange pending Initial arrangements have been made for a prisoner exchange between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hizbollah group. In the exchange, mediated by the German government, Israel has pledged to release 400 Palestinian prisoners as well as an additional 35 prisoners from other Arab countries. For its part, Hizbollah is to free three Israeli soldiers who are presumed dead as well as an Israeli businessman. All were captured by the guerrilla group in October 2000. The exchange is to take place in Germany. US crew missing after helicopter crash In Iraq, the two-man crew of a US helicopter is still missing after the aircraft crashed into the Tigris river near the northern city of Mosul. Rescuers said they were losing hope of finding the soldiers alive. The crew was on a search and rescue mission to save another soldier from a capsized patrol boat. In another development, a decison from the United Nations on whether to send a mission to Iraq to study election possibilities could come as early as today. US officials in Iraq have said that continuing violence there and the absence of an electoral roll or a census make it impossible to hold early elections. New EU passenger rights from next year European Union governments have given their final approval to legislation giving airline passengers more rights to compensation when hit by delays, cancelled flights or overbooking. The new passenger rights will come into effect in 2005. The law will force all airlines flying to and from EU airports to pay sums as high as 600 euros to passengers bumped off flights, depending on the length of the flight. The current maximum is 300 euros. Passengers whose flights are cancelled for commercial reasons will also receive compensation payments. EU officials argue that the new rules will increase pressure on airlines to limit the practice of overbooking. Bid for Aventis by Sanofi The German-French pharmaceuticals firm Aventis has rejected a hostile takeover bid by its French rival Sanofi-Synthélabo, valued at nearly 48 billion euros. Aventis said the bid was too low and it was looking at other options. Sanofi bid, if completed, would create Europe's number one pharmaceuticals group. Globally, it would be the world's third largest. Meanwhile, auditors examining the books of the Italian dairy foods concern Parmalat say it has debts totalling more than 14 billion euros. That's nearly eight times the amount initially stated by former Parmalat manager now in custody. The auditors PriceWaterhouseCoopers said liquid assets in late 2002 and at September last year were "negligible". An official administrator is trying to rescue Parmalat and its 36,000 jobs world-wide. Fatal shooting at Gelsenkirchen mosque - man arrested German police have arrested a 59-year-old Turkish man suspected of murdering two worshippers at a mosque in the industrial city of Gelsenkirchen. Authorities said the suspect had pulled a gun during Monday morning prayers, then shot and killed two other Turkish men. Police later arrested the suspect at his home without incident. A motive for the killings has not been given. Parliamentarians to pay normal "practice fee" The German Interior ministry has announced that an annual 20 euro "practice fee" paid by parliamentarians and civil servants when visiting a doctor or dentist is to be revised upwards. Since the start of the year, ordinary residents in Germany who are members of statutory health schemes have had to pay 10 euros for their first visit in every three-monthly quarter, costing them at least 40 euros per year. After a storm of protest, the ministry said regulations would be amended to require parliamentarians and civil servants to pay the same amount. They get supplementary health benefits. Second Mars rover sends pictures A second Mars probe has landed safely on the red planet. NASA's Opportunity rover transmitted its first pictures of Mars back to Earth amid jubilation from the scientists who developed the project. The vehicle joins NASA's other rover, called the Spirit, which also successfully landed on Mars at the beginning of January. The mission to investigate the possibility of life on Mars has cost around 700 million euros. 'Return of the King' wins best picture at Golden Globes The fantasy film "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" has won four awards including best picture at Hollywood's annual Golden Globes. The other big winner was the romance "Lost in Translation," which won best comedy or musical prize. A best screenplay award went to the film's director, Sofia Coppola. Golden Globes do not carry as much weight and prestige as the Academy Awards but they usually set the stage for the films nominated to win Oscars. Philippoussis beaten at Australian Open In tennis, Australia's Mark Philippoussis has had a surprise upset by Morocco's Hicham Arazi who beat him in three sets in the fourth round of the Australian Open. Philippoussis, 10th seed at the tournament, was starting to look like a serious contender, but he slipped up losing 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. And in women's singles, the Belgian Kim Clijsters has advanced to the next round after beating Italy's Sylvia Farina 6-3, 6-3. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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