Deutsche Welle English Service News 14. 04. 2005, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Row Erupts Over Ethics and Religion Ruling Conservative politicians in Germany are up in arms over the decision made by the ruling SPD-Green government to make lessons in ethics and religion compulsory in Berlin. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1551981,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Al Qaeda claims Baghdad attacks An al Qaeda-linked group in Iraq led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has claimed responsibility for two-suicide bomb blasts in Baghdad. The claim was published on an Islamist Web site but has not been independently verified. At least 15 people were killed and 35 others wounded in the attacks that targeted a police highway patrol in the capital. An Interior Ministry official said the death toll could rise. The bombs went off on a busy street during rush hour. The latest attacks came a day after a series of explosions in several parts of the country killed 15 people. Three charged over UN oil-for-food Three people have been charged over the United Nations oil-for-food programme scandal. US federal prosecutors in New York indicted a US businessman, a Bulgarian and a Briton over their involvement in paying bribes to Saddam Hussein's former regime in Iraq. In return they are believed to have received oil vouchers which were then sold at inflated prices. The kickbacks were part of funds that had been slated for humanitarian relief. The charges also target two companies operated by one of the defendants. Schroeder wants end to China arms ban German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has renewed his call for the European Union to lift its arms embargo against China. Speaking to the German parliament in Berlin, Schroeder said the embargo, which was imposed following the 1989 Tianamen Square massacre, was no longer necessary. Schroeder noted, that EU leaders had agreed to lift the embargo at summit talks in December. But some, including members of Schroeder's Social Democratic Party have expressed reservations about the idea. Opposition to lifting the ban has been growing in several EU countries, since Beijing passed a law last month threatening to use "non-peaceful" means to prevent Taiwan from formally declaring independence. Palestinians vow reprisals for killing A Palestinian militant group has vowed revenge for the killing of one of its members by Israeli troops. However a spokesman for the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said this would not have any impact on the ceasefire between the two sides. The militant was shot dead during a raid in a refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus. An Israeli military source said soldiers shot the man after he opened fire on them as they tried to arrest him. But a Palestinian militant leader in the camp said the Israelis had fired the first shot. The incident was the latest of a number of breaches of a truce between Israel and Palestinian militants in the past few days. German police arrest Islamist suspects German police have arrested seven people during a series of nation-wide raids targeting suspected Islamist terror networks. Among those arrested are two Arab men who are suspected of laundering money for Islamist extremist groups. Police said one of them, an Egyptian, knew some of the terrorists involved in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Police searched around 30 premises throughout Germany. In January some 700 officers carried out raids resulting in the arrest of 22 suspected Islamist radicals. Nepal army kills 65 rebels The Nepalese army says it has killed at least 65 maoist rebels in renewed clashes in western Nepal. It's not known whether there were any military casualties. The latest attacks come just a week after government troops killed 113 rebels. More than 11,000 people have been killed in the fighting between the two sides since 1996. Bangladesh death toll rises to 34 The death toll from a factory explosion in Bangladesh has risen to 34. At least 100 people are still believed to be trapped beneath the rubble. Officials said they expect to find more bodies as they access more of the building's nine stories. The illegally-constructed textile factory at Palash Bari, 30 kilometres north-west of the capital Dhaka, was packed with night-shift workers when it collapsed on Monday. Police say a defective boiler may have caused the disaster. Garments account for two-thirds of Bangladesh's exports, generating over five billion dollars in earnings annually. Chirac to kick start EU "yes" campaign French President Jacques Chirac is to appear in a television broadcast to try to persuade his fellow countrymen to vote yes in a referendum on the European Union constitution. Chirac is to discuss the issue in a televised encounter with 80 voters under the age of 30. With less than six weeks to go before the referendum, opinion polls show that the "no" vote has a clear lead. A no vote in France would scupper the treaty, since it has to be approved by all 25 EU member states to come into force. Rumsfeld in talks with Kyrgyz leaders US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has held talks in Kyrgyzstan with the new leadership there. Their talks focused on America's continued use of its military base in the Central Asian country. US officials said the new government had made it clear that there would be no problems regarding access to the base. Kyrgyzstan's acting President Kurmanbek Bakiyev told journalists that his country would honour any bilateral agreements with the United States. The country also has strategic importance for Russia which also maintains a military base there. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
