Deutsche Welle English Service News March 23rd 2005, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
EU Leaders to Rewrite Services Bill European leaders approved watered-down financial regulations Tuesday while also scaling back a plan to liberalize the service sector intended to help the EU become more economically competitive. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1527216,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DW-WORLD values your opinion: We look forward to hearing from you about stories we write and regularly post your letters in our reader response section. Check them out at: http://www.dw-world.de/english or write us an e-mail yourself: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- No broad consensus on EU directive European Union leaders meeting in Brussels have failed to reach agreement on liberalising the bloc's internal services sector. Following talks, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a press conference that the proposal in its current form did not meet the EU's social standards. The original version of the Bolkestein directive would have made companies offering services throughout the EU subject to regulations in their own countries. This had sparked fears in a number of member states of an influx of cheap labour from eastern Europe. Barroso said the directive would have to be reworked in order to reach a broader consensus. Solana against EU arms ban on China Divisions have emerged among European Union member states over plans to lift an arms embargo on China. The EU banned arms sales to the communist state following the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing. EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana says the embargo is unfair. He told reporters in Brussels that Beijing was making progress on human rights and it seemed unfair to maintain sanctions 16 years after the event that led to them being imposed. But now some member states have expressed concern over Beijing's passage of a new law authorising the use of military force against Taiwan if it declares independence. French President Jacques Chirac said lifting the embargo did not mean the EU would sell arms to China. Iraqi commandos seize rebel base Iraqi commandos backed by US troops and helicopters have killed dozens of foreign militants in a battle to seize an insurgent training camp. The Iraqi Interior Ministry said it happened about 160 kilometres northwest of the capital, Baghdad. A commander of the specialist police unit that led the the assault said at least 45 militants had been killed, and that the majority of them were Syrians and Saudis. At least seven Iraqi commandos were killed and several others wounded. A US military spokesman said Iraqi forces were now in complete control of the site. Kyrgyyz minister vows to end unrest Kyrgyzstan's new interior minister says he will use all lawful means to restore order, amid increasing unrest over parliamentary elections held earlier this year. Keneshbek Dyushbayev said this could include the use of force, but he said security forces would not shoot at law-biding citizens. He was speaking to reporters in the capital, Bishkek, just hours after he was appointed by President Askar Akayev. Protesters armed with sticks and petrol bombs drove police out of the southern towns of Jalal Abad and Osh on the weekend. The opposition accuse President Akayev of rigging the elections, and they're demanding that he annul the results and resign. Schiavo's parents lose appeal A federal appeals court in the US city of Atlanta has rejected a request to reinsert the feeding tube of the severely-brain damaged Terri Schiavo. A three-judge panel ruled two-to-one against granting the request, filed by her parents. They've vowed to appeal the decision. The case went to appeal in Atlanta after a Florida federal judge had also refused an earlier request. The 41-year-old Schiavo has been in a vegetative state for 15 years. Her parents' lawyer said she was fading quickly as she began a fifth full day without nutrients or water. Schiavo's doctors removed her feeding tube at the request of her husband last week. Michael Schiavo says his wife wouldn't have wanted to be kept alive by artificial means. Kosumi voted in as new Kosovo PM Kosovo has a new prime minister. The Serbian province's parliament elected Bajram Kosumi by a vote of 71 to 36. He replaces Ramush Haradinaj who resigned earlier this month, following his indictment on war crimes charges by the international war crimes tribunal in the Hague. Kosumi served as environment minister in Haradinaj's government. Kosovo has been a United Nations protectorate since a 1999 NATO bombing campaign that ended a crackdown by the forces of then-Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on ethnic Albanians. Explosion kills three in Lebanon In Lebanon, at least three people have died and several others were wounded in a bomb explosion at a shopping centre. Police say the explosion occurred in a mainly Christian town, 20 kilometres north of Beirut. This is the second attack in five days. Lebanese officials say the attacks are meant to fuel sectarian strife following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in February. His murder has triggered a wave of anti-Syrian protests. UN debates resolution on Sudan The United Nations Security Council is set to meet to discuss whether to send peacekeepers to Sudan. The United States has decided to split its proposed resolution into three parts. Only the part that proposes to deploy a peacekeeping force in southern Sudan to monitor a peace accord is expected to win approval. The two other measures to deal with the crisis in the Darfur region face opposition. These include sanctions and setting up a venue to try war crimes suspects. The two-year-old conflict has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people and displaced more than a million others. EU: Microsoft proposal "unacceptable" The European Commission has said Microsoft's proposal to limit the powers of an EU-appointed monitor is unacceptable. The EU imposed sanctions, along with a record 497 million euro fine, on the US software giant one year ago for competing unfairly against rivals. Microsoft was supposed to nominate a "monitoring trustee" as part of the decision. Now the company wants to be able to veto the issues the monitor can examine. A Commission spokesperson said the proposal was "unacceptable". He said Microsoft has 10 business days to respond. Cambodian prisoners killed in break out At least 16 inmates of a Cambodian prison have been killed by guards following an prison outbreak. An estimated 30 other prisoners managed to escape after taking hostages. Inmates of a prison in the eastern province of Kompong Cham took wardens hostage, and then tried to escape by ramming cars through the gate. Three guards and several prisoners were seriously wounded. At least 30 inmates, most of them in jail for serious crimes, managed to escape in the chaos. Chess champ's Iceland citizenship final Iceland has finalized citizenship for world chess champion Bobby Fischer, ending a long detention in Japan and his possible deportation to the United States. Fischer is wanted in the US for violating sanctions against former Yugoslavia by playing a chess match there in 1992. Washington has said it was disappointed by Iceland's move and reiterated that it wanted Fischer handed over. Fischer has been held in Japan since July, when he was arrested for travelling on what US officials said was an invalid passport. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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