Deutsche Welle English Service News 08. 04. 2005, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
World Says Goodbye to Pope The world looked to Rome as leaders from more than 100 nations and a multitude of mourners gathered for the funeral on Friday of Pope John Paul II, one of the most cherished pontiffs in history. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1545495,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pope John Paul II laid to rest Pope John Paul II's body has been laid to rest in the crypt of St Peter's Basilica in Rome. A single bell tolled to mark the end of the burial ritual. As the requiem mass for Pope John Paul II ended lengthy applause rang out from the huge throng of mourners and state leaders who had massed in the Italian capital. More than 200 dignitaries and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had gathered in St. Peter's Square for the Pope's funeral. The open-air requiem mass was led by German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who is the dean of the College of Cardinals. Germany was represented at the funeral by President Horst Koehler and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Late on Thursday the last of an estimated two million pilgrims filed past the Pope's body. The world says goodbye to the Pope Millions of people have been saying their final goodbye to Pope John Paul II at churches and open-air masses around the world. In the pontiff's home country Poland, about half a million people gathered to pray in the southern city of Krakow, where he served as archbishop before becoming Pope. Hundreds of thousands of others in Europe, Asia and Africa watched the funeral ceremony live on television. In Communist China, Catholics marked the funeral in official churches and underground congregations despite an official blackout of the ceremony. In Russia, whose dominant Orthodox Church had strained relations with the Pope, hundreds of Catholics watched the live transmission of the funeral at a Moscow cathedral. Three killed in Cairo bomb attack Three people have been killed after a bomb packed with nails went off in a tourist district of the Egyptian capital, Cairo. One of the victims was a French national, another was a US citizen. Police say early indications are that the third victim was the bomber himself, but they have not yet confirmed his identity. French, Italian and American tourists were among the almost 20 people injured in the blast. Tourists in Egypt have been targeted by attacks attributed to Islamist militants before. Last October, 34 people were killed in bombings in and around the Red Sea resort of Taba. Nepal police arrest dozens of protestors In Nepal anti-monarchy protests across the country have resulted in the police arresting more than 70 people. Nepal's King Gyanendra declared a state of emergency in the Himalayan country on February 1 and suspended civil liberties, saying his power seizure was necessary to tackle a Maoist insurgency that has killed more than 11,000 people since 1996. Anti-monarchy protests were called by five political parties to mark the 1990 establishment of parliamentary democracy. Overnight government forces claim to have killed at least 50 Maoist rebels during an attack on an army base. Beirut vows co-operation with UN probe The Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmud Hammoud has said Beirut is ready to co-operate with a proposed international inquiry into the bombing in February that killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. The inquiry is to be instigated after a United Nations Security Council resolution, sponsored by France, the United States and Britain, was adopted unanimously by the 15-member council. A previous UN fact-finding mission has already pointed the finger at neighbouring Syria which has thousands of troops stationed in Lebanon and has dominated the country politically for three decades. Syria has since agreed to pull out all its troops by April 30. British MG Rover carmaker collapse The owners of MG Rover, the last major British-owned carmaker have appointed administrators to run the company. The move, the first step towards bankruptcy, came after the collapse of a proposed deal with China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Failure to secure the deal has put around 6,000 jobs at risk at Rover's Longbridge plant near to Birmingham. Another 15,000 jobs could be affected at suppliers. The British government which is facing a General Election in May has announced a support package of about 58 million euros to help the suppliers. The original company which became MG Rover was founded in 1904. Fewer seeking asylum in Germany The number of people seeking asylum in Germany has dropped. According to statistics released by the Interior Ministry in Berlin, just under 6,900 people applied for asylum in Germany in the first three months of 2005. That's about a third less than the number of applicants in the same period of last year. Most of the applicants in the first quarter of this year came from Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey or Russia. Mayor of Mexico City loses immunity Mexico's Congress has voted to strip the mayor of Mexico City of his immunity from prosecution. Legal action against Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador could knock the leading presidential candidate out of next year's election race. He has been accused by prosecutors of contempt of court during a minor land dispute. Before Congress made its decision, around 150,000 protesters marched through the streets in Mexico City in support of Obrador. The popular mayor has pledged that even if he is imprisoned he will run in the elections against the current President Vicente Fox. Djibouti voters go to the polls Presidential elections are taking place in Djibouti which is situated at the southern tip of the Red Sea. Police fired teargas into an unruly crowd of around 400 opposition supporters calling for a boycott of the polls. The winner of the election is not in doubt, since the only candidate is incumbent President Ismail Omar Guelleh. The opposition says the election is a farce. The opposition also accused the government of rigging the parliamentary elections two years ago, in which ruling coalition parties won all 65 seats. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DW-WORLD's "Click Back" monthly review quiz for April is waiting for you and will test your knowledge of stories we've written. If you answer all questions correctly, you can also win a great prize. To play, please go 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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