News, 18.03.2005, 17:00 Uhr UTC Deutsche Welle English Service News 18. 03. 2005, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Are you interested in German soccer? Then DW-WORLD has just the thing for you: On Saturday, we offer you a live ticker of a Bundesliga match. The game starts at 15:30 CET, so be sure not to miss it. Follow all the action by clicking on the LIVE SOCCER banner at DW-WORLD's new Bundesliga Web site: http://www.dw-world.de/soccer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Terrorism Tops the Agenda in Warsaw As the third summit of interior ministers and high-ranking government officials from the 46-member Council of Europe enters its last day in Warsaw, talks continue to focus on tackling terrorism and organized crime. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1522296,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Putin meets with 3 key EU leaders The Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in France for the first-ever four-way summit bringing together the leaders of France, Germany, Spain and Russia. Friday evening's meeting is intended to bolster frayed ties between Moscow and the European Union. President Putin is increasingly accused of flouting democratic norms in his handling of the press, business practices, the war in Chechnya and relations with Ukraine. Dutchman in court for Iraqi war crimes A Dutch businessman accused of providing former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein with the ingredients for chemical weapons has appeared in a Dutch court. Frans van Anraat is facing charges of complicity in war crimes and genocide for allegedly supplying thousands of tonnes of raw materials to make nerve gas and mustard gas. The weapons were used in the Iraq war against Iran and against Iraqi Kurds. It is the first time a Dutch national has faced such charges. The 62-year old faces up to life in prison if convicted. PRC threatens attacks on Israel A coalition of Palestinian militants has threatened to resume attacks on Israelis despite an informal truce agreed by 13 other armed groups in talks with the Palestinian Authority. The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) which did not attend Thursday's talks in Egypt, were second only to Hamas in launching rocket attacks against Jewish settlements in Gaza and southern Israel. The group, however, enjoys little Palestinian support and could face an angry response by the factions who did agree to a period of calm in their so-called "Cairo Declaration." The European Union's foreign and security chief Javier Solana, has welcomed the declaration as an encouraging step towards reviving the stalled Middle East peace process but the United States has said it does not go far enough. Five EU states agree on Stability Pact Five big European Union countries have reportedly agreed to block any moves for a rigid implementation of EU budget rules. The German daily, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reports that Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Britain believe that there should be "nothing automatic" in the application of sanctions against countries that breach the three percent deficit limit. The newspaper quoted German government sources as saying the five countries plan to vote against EU Commission proposals to tighten up the rules this weekend. Germany and France have both breached the three percent deficit rule for the past three years. Millions strike in Italy for higher wages Millions of Italian civil servants went on strike Friday, bringing work at public schools and hospitals to a halt. Italy's three largest trade unions called the strike to demand higher wages. Demonstrations were held in many Italian cities including Rome, where over 200,000 people took to the streets. Public poll rejects EU constitution A newspaper poll in France, suggests the French public may not support the European Union constitution. The survey in the French daily Le Parisien, found fifty one percent will vote 'No' when France holds a referendum on the issue in May. Politicians have reacted with shock to the results, with the opposition Socialists urging President Jacques Chirac to begin campaigning for the 'Yes' vote. The treaty must be ratified by all 25 member states. Spain became the first country to back the constitution following a similar referendum, although turnout was low. North Korea poses nuclear threat The head of the United Nation's nuclear watchdog has warned that North Korea poses more of a nuclear threat than Iran. Mohammed El-Baradei said on the US television broadcaster CNN that it was common knowledge North Korea had plutonium and had the capacity to build a nuclear bomb. He said Iran is merely suspected of developing its nuclear program for military purposes. North Korea halted all co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and kicked out its staff in December 2002. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to push for the resumption of six-party talks with North Korea while on a visit to Japan. Rice arrived in the capital Tokyo on the fourth leg of her six nation Asia tour. Spain arrests Syrian terror suspect Spanish police have arrested a Syrian man for suspected involvement in last year's March 11 Madrid train bombings. Investigators accuse Mohannad Almallah Dabas of recruiting young Islamist militants and sending them to overseas training camps. Dabas is also believed to have had close links with two others involved in the attack, including the Tunisian-born ringleader who blew himself up in a police raid in April. 76 people have been arrested in connection with the Madrid bombings so far. US cold war diplomat Kennan dies, 101 US diplomat George Kennan, the architect of Cold War-era containment of the former Soviet Union, has died aged 101. The US media reports that the Pulitzer prize-winning author died in Princeton in New Jersey on Thursday. Kennan left the US foreign service more than 50 years ago, but remained a leading thinker in international affairs. Kennan's concept of containment - the idea that the United States should stop the spread of communism worldwide through any means short of war - shaped decades of US international policy. Zimbabwe court refuses postal votes Zimbabwe's Supreme Court has rejected a request by expatriats to be able to take part in postal votes in this month's parliamentary elections. The court rejected an application by seven Zimbabweans living in Britain what wanted to take part in the March 31 polls. President Robert Mugabe says the approximatley three million Zimbabwians who live abroad should return to the country if they want to vote. Meanwhile the main opposition party warned that Zimbabwe urgently needed 1.5 million tonnes of corn to avert "starvation of major proportions". On Thursday, President Mugabe for the first time publicly acknowledged the country was facing a severe food shortage. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Join our latest forum: The EU intends to lift its 15-year arms embargo against China, much to the regret of the US which says resuming defense trade would upset the balance of power in the region. What do you think? Participate by going to http://www.dw-world.de/english ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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