Deutsche Welle English Service News 14.03.2004, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The East is Calling! On May 1st the EU expands to include 10 new members. Join DW-WORLD on a cultural and political journey across thousands of kilometers by participating in our online quiz. You'll come out a winner -- whether it's picking up a prize or expanding your mind. http://dw-world.de/go-east ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Bloodied but Unbowed, Spain Goes to the Polls Voting continues across Spain in the country's parliamentary election. The ruling Popular Party is facing opposition and protest in the wake of Thursday's terror attacks. 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_1141437_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Suicide bombing in Israel kill 8 Hamas A double suicide bomb attack on the Israeli port of Ashdod has killed at least 11 people including the two bombers. At least 18 people were wounded in the explosions that took place inside and outside the port. The Palestinian militant groups Hamas and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades have claimed joint responsibility for the attack. According to some reports the tentative first ever meeting between the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei has been postponed due to the attack. Videotape and arrests point to Islamic extremist involvement in Spain terror attacks Spain says it has not been able to identify the man who appears on a video that claimed responsibility for Madrid's bomb blasts in the name of Al Qaeda. Interior Minister Angel Acebes said on Sunday that neither the French, British nor Portuguese intelligence services have any knowledge of this person. The video tape was recovered by police from a rubbish bin on the outskirts of the capital after a Madrid television station received a call from a man with an Arabic accent saying the tape was there. On Saturday five men - three Moroccans and two Indians - were arrested in connection with the bombings. According to Moroccan officials one of the men being detained for questioning was already under survellance for having close ties to a radical Islamic movement. Voters turn up in record numbers Spaniards have voted in massive numbers in a general election thrown wide open by a new claim that al Qaeda rather than Basque separatists was behind the Madrid train bombs. In the first five hours of voting, turnout hit nearly 40 percent, almost 10 percent more than four years ago. Opinion polls last week had forecast a victory for incumbant Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's Popular Party but observers say the results are now completely open. Thousands of people have been demonstrating across the country criticising Aznar's support for the US led war on Iraq and attacking the governments readiness to blame the Basque separatist group ETA for the attacks as election campaining. Europe, US bolster security in wake of Madrid attacks Germany's interior minister Otto Schilly has called for a special EU meeting to discuss the repercussions of the Madrid bombings for Europe. Following a special council security meeting in Berlin on Sunday, attended by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, Schilly said a request would go to Ireland who currently holds the European Union Presidency for a special meeting to be held of the EU's top security officials. Schily said all European countries must reassess their security measures together. Meanwhile authorities in Europe have started a massive security clampdown in the wake of last Thursday's bombings. French officials boosted the terror alert level on its railways to "red", its second-highest level while British authorities plan to deploy undercover "train marshals" on the railways and in the London Underground. Turnout favours Putin in Russian election Turnout in Russia's presidential election has exceeded the 50 percent minimum needed to make the vote valid according to the central electoral commission. Failure to exceed the 50 percent mark was seen as the only obstacle that President Vladimir Putin faced to his re-election for a second term in office. As voting continues across Russia's eleven time zones the Russian leader is expected to get at least 60 percent of the vote, while his rivals are expected to poll in the single digits. Putin's main opponents have said campaigning was marred by pro-Kremlin bias in the media. Georgian president denied entry to independent-minded province Media reports in Georgia say President Mikhail Saakashvili has put the country's military on alert after being prevented from entering the restive Adzharia region. Saakashvili and his entourage were heading to Adzharia for campaign appearances ahead of Georgia's March 28 parliamentary election. Aslan Abashidze, the leader of Adzharia, is a fierce opponent of Saakashvili. Under Abashidze, Adzharia has run its own affairs, withholding tax payments to the centre and otherwise refusing to cooperate with Tbilisi. Meanwhile, the Interfax news agency has reported that Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a warning to Georgia against sending forces into Adzhara. Riots by Syrian Kurds die down after warnings Rioting by Kurds in northeastern Syria has reportedly died down on Sunday after authorities warned they would severely punish the perpetrators. At least 14 people were killed in northeastern Syria on Friday and Saturday in riots which began with fighting at a soccer match in the town of Kameshli, near the border with Turkey. Movement was heavily restricted in Kameshli and sporadic gunfire could be heard. According to some reports army tanks reportedly shot on Kurdish civilians and the death toll could be as high as 70. China amends its constitution to include rights, property protection China's legislature has approved a series of long-awaited amendments to the state constitution, including landmark provisions that refer to human rights, protecting private property and firming up socialist ideology. The nearly 3,000 delegates to the National People's Congress concluded their 10-day session by making 13 changes to the 1982 constitution, which also included codifying existing powers of the state president and replacing the phrase "martial law" with "state of emergency." The amendments mark the fourth time the constitution has been changed and were passed by a vote of 2,863 in favour to just 10 opposed, or 99 percent approval. Madagascar mourns victims of Cyclone Gafilo Flags flew at half mast and national radio and television fell silent Sunday as Madagascar mourned the victims of last weeks Cyclone Gafilo. The official death toll stood at 74 and 200 000 people have been made homeless. Some 169 people were still missing, including more than 100 people believed drowned when their ferry sank between the Comoros and Madagascar, leaving only two known survivors. The government described Gafilo as the worst cyclone to hit the country in more than a decade. It destroyed houses, crops and roads spared by an earlier cyclone in February. The World Food Program estimates the country would need up to 5,000 tonnes of food after much of the country's crops were destroyed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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