Deutsche Welle English Service News March, 15th, 2004, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Spain To Withdraw Troops From Iraq Fresh off his surprise electoral victory, Spain's prime minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced on Monday he would withdraw the country's troops from Iraq. 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_1143438_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Germany tightens domestic security People all across Europe paused for three minutes of silence at midday this Monday to honour at least 200 people killed in last Thursday's bomb attacks on commuter trains in Madrid. The vigil was meant as a show of solidarity with Spain. Meanwhile, Germany's foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, has told reporters that those attacks would be discussed at a monthly meeting of EU foreign ministers next week. Interior Minister Otto Schily has also called for an urgent meeting of EU interior ministers to discuss a possible increase in the threat posed by terrorism in Europe. On Sunday, Schily said he had ordered security to be stepped up at German train stations. He also ordered increased border checks. Spain probes link between Madrid and Casablanca attacks Authorities are investigating whether last week's Madrid train bombings were carried out by the same radical Islamist group that killed dozens of people in a series of blasts in Morocco last year. Police are focusing on one of three Moroccans arrested Saturday in connection with Madrid's railway attacks. The suspect, Jamal Zougam, was also mentioned in Spanish investigations last year into Islamic militant operations, including the September 11th attacks on the United States. Meanwhile, a White House official said US authorities believe evidence suggests an al-Qaida tie to the Madrid bombings. Spanish PM elect vows to pull troops out of Iraq after election upset Spain's Prime Minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has vowed to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq by June 30th unless the United Nations assumed control of the peacekeeping operation. Zapatero spoke hours after his Socialist Party won a surprise victory in Spain's general elections, ousting the conservative government. Following last week's railway bombings in Madrid, many people accused the outgoing government of provoking the attack by backing the Iraq war. Zapatero also said one of his top priorities would be the fight against terrorism. Putin wins landslide victory; election observers criticise fairness of vote Russian President Vladimir Putin has been re-elected by a landslide, with official preliminary results giving him 71 percent of the vote. Following his predicted victory, Putin immediately vowed to boost the economy and reduce poverty in Russia. He also promised to defend democratic principles and a free media in his second term. Meanwhile, European election observers have criticised Russia's presidential vote, saying it was well administered but fell short of democratic standards. Putin had earlier rebuffed criticism from the United States that the Kremlin had denied his rivals access to state-run media in the election campaign. Israel launch air strikes on suspected weapons factory in Gaza Israeli helicopters have attacked suspected Hamas weapons workshops in Gaza City, wounding at least one Palestinian. The air strikes follow Sunday's double suicide bombing in the Israeli port city of Ashdod, which killed at least 10 people and wounded 20 others. Both Hamas and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades have claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called off a meeting scheduled for Tuesday with his Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qureia. Car packed with explosives found outside US consulate in Pakistan Pakistani police have prevented a huge car bomb from exploding outside the US consulate in Karachi. Around 650 litres of chemical explosives, a timer and two detonators were found in a van left outside the tightly guarded consulate building. The device was set to explode some 20 minutes after bomb experts defused it. The attempted attack comes two days before US Secretary of State Colin Powell visits Pakistan for talks on the war against terrorism, peace moves with India, and nuclear proliferation. Iran agrees to let nuclear inspectors in: ElBaradei Iran has agreed to let United Nations nuclear inspectors into the country by the end of the month. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said he spoke to Iranian officials who told him the freeze on inspections would be lifted and could resume on March 27. The announcement reverses an earlier decision by Iran to stop inspections in protest of a resolution by the IAEA condemning Tehran for withholding sensitive nuclear information. Washington says Iran's nuclear programme is a front for building an atom bomb. Tehran denies this, saying its programme is solely for the peaceful generation of electricity. US Marine shot and wounded in Haiti; Aristide heads to Jamaica A U.S. Marine has been shot and wounded in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince. It's the first U.S. casualty of the Haiti peacekeeping mission following the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. U.S. troops have been attacked several times and have shot and killed at least six Haitians in the past week. Meanwhile, Aristide is due to arrive in Jamaica Monday for a visit with his two daughters. Aristide's visit just 200 kilometers away from his native country is causing deep concern in Haiti, with fears of increased violence among his supporters. Aristide claims that the U.S. and France kidnapped him and forced him into exile in the Central African Republic. Washington and Paris have dismissed the claims. EU moves closer to slapping sanctions on Microsoft The European Union has moved a step closer to imposing sanctions on software giant Microsoft over alleged abuses of its dominant position in the personal computer market. During a meeting in Brussels, anti-trust experts from EU member states agreed to back the European Commission's position. EU Competition Commissioner Mario Monti says he wants to take action to address the distorting effects of Microsoft's domination in PC software. Critics say Microsoft attempts to squeeze competitors out of the market by requiring computer makers to package Microsoft software with its Windows operating system. Another meeting is to be held next week decide what, if any, fines Microsoft should face. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
