Deutsche Welle English Service News May 6th, 2004, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Europe-Med Forum to Push for Middle East Ceasefire Stability in the Middle East and the fight against terrorism top the agenda at a meeting between EU foreign ministers and representatives from southern Mediterranean states in Dublin on Thursday. 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_1191776_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoy our "World News" newsletter? Why not also subscribe to "Daily Bulletin", DW-WORLD's latest daily digest of the day's top German and European stories, delivered to you around 18:30 UTC. To find out more and sign up, please go to http://www.dw-world.de/english/newsletter ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Calls for Rumsfeld to quit over Iraq POW abuse The Washington Post has published graphic pictures of inmates of Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison being abused, adding to recent revelations of systematic torture and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers and contractors. The publication comes hours after US President George W. Bush appeared on Arabic-language TV to condemn the abuse. Bush stopped short of apologising personally for the incidents, however, and the appearance has been widely condemned in Arab media. There have been calls for the resignation of US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who apparently knew of abuse allegations since January. The international Red Cross has said it repeatedly asked Washington to take "corrective action" on conditions in Abu Ghraib. Rumsfeld has now been called on to answer questions on the maltreatment before the US Senate's Armed Services' Committee. US Iraq forces fight their way into Najaf Amidst reports of fierce gunfire and mortar shelling, US armoured units have retaken the governor's office in Najaf, the Shi'ite holy city controlled by militias loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. US tanks are now reportedly within 500 metres of the holy Shi'ite shrine to Imam Hussein. The attack comes after the US civilian administrator for Iraq, Paul Bremer, appointed a new governor of Najaf in an attempt to undermine al-Sadr's influence in the city. Occupation forces have been unable to enter Najaf for several weeks, with al-Sadr threatening a bloodbath if they approach the city's holy Shi'ite sites. In their biggest ever nationwide operations against al-Sadr's militia, US forces claim to have killed 41 Iraqis in Kufa, near Najaf. 7 die in bomb attack on US Baghdad HQ In Iraq, a suicide car bombing at a road block guarding the entrance to the U.S. headquarters in Baghdad has killed seven Iraqis and one US soldier. 26 people were wounded. A group linked to al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the attack. Overnight, 2 US soldiers were killed and 2 more wounded in a roadside bomb attack. Meanwhile, according to a latest poll, a majority of Americans now think that the war in Iraq was not worth its human and financial cost. US President George W. Bush has submitted a request to Congress for an additional $25 billion to pay for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Amnesty damns UN, NATO for sex trafficking in Kosovo The human rights organisation Amnesty International has accused the international community of complicity in the trafficking of women forced into prostitution in Kosovo. Amnesty alleges that women and girls are sold "like slaves" for as little as 50 Euros to brothels - many of whose clients are members of the Serbian province's NATO peacekeeping force or UN administration. Amnesty maintains that many of the girls are subject to torture, abuse and rape, and calls on international organisations to stop the traffic. Kosovo has been under UN administration since June 1999, after NATO bombing forced Serbian troops to withdraw. EU condemns Libyan AIDS trial as "flawed" The European Union has criticised the death sentence passed on five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor in Libya for allegedly intentionally infecting over 420 child patients with the AIDS virus. 23 of the children have since died. The court accepted prosecution allegations that the infections were part an experiment to find a cure for the disease. Human rights groups accuse Libya of fabricating the experiment story to cover up for unsafe practices in its hospitals and clinics. The EU says it is concerned the trial was flawed, amid allegations that confessions were extracted by torture. 630 killed in Nigerian ethnic clash In Nigeria, the death toll from an attack on a Muslim community by a Christian ethnic militia has been revised upwards to 630. Local people and a senior Red Cross official confirmed the figure at the site of a mass grave measuring 50 metres by 10 in the rural town of Yelwa. The deaths come during continued ethnic disputes over fertile farms and pastures in central Plateau state. Georgia regains control of breakaway region The President of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili, has proclaimed the start of his country's reunification in Batumi, the capital of the Adzhara region, after the area's 14-year rebel leader was forced to flee from office. After a night of opposition rallies and a massive defection of his supporters, Adzharian seccessionist leader Aslan Abashidze flew into exile in Moscow. Russia had previously been seen as a supporter of Abashidze, and former Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov helped negotiate a peaceful end to the crisis. On taking office 6 months ago, President Saakashvili had pledged to restore central rule over the whole of Georgia. UN says Afghan disarmament drive 'in jeopardy' The United Nations has warned that a plan to disarm Afghanistan's warring militias ahead of landmark elections is "seriously in jeopardy". According to UN Special Representative Jean Arnault, disarmament has yet to begin due to obstruction by powerful commanders, including several in key government posts. The Afghan Ministry of Defense adopted a plan in late March to disarm 40 percent of the country's estimated 100,000 irregular fighters by the end of June. Afghan Defense Minister, Mohammed Fahim, himself a powerful faction leader, has been slow to implement the disarmament plan, raising suspicions that he is holding on to an armed force that could distort the vote. Unions agree to Alitalia rescue plan Italy's government says a rescue plan for the national airline Alitalia has been agreed. The economics ministry said trade union leaders had signed the plan after marathon talks. Italian media said it did include staff reductions. The government named a replacement chief executive. He is Giancarlo Cimoli, who until now has headed Italy's state-owned railways. Economics minister Guilio Tremonti said the plan for Alitalia would not require a fresh injection of state funds. Italy's government holds a 62-percent stake in the loss-making airline. It has a total of 22,000 employees. Germany cracks down on youth drinking & smoking The German parliament has passed new regulations in an attempt to discourage young people from drinking and smoking. The measures include an increases taxes on sweet alcoholic drinks, known as "alcopops" and a ban on small packets of cigarettes. The government has accused drinks manufactures of deliberately marketing alcopops at under-18s, causing a marked increased of emergency hospital admissions for alcohol poisoning amongst young people. According to a survey, every second alcopop is bought illegally by an under-18 year old. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DW-WORLD.DE on Your Desktop. 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