Deutsche Welle English Service News 14. 05. 2005, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
EU Agrees Air Travel Tax to Fund Aid EU finance ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Saturday agreed in principle to levy a tax on airplane tickets to fund extra development aid. The tax would be voluntary or obligatory depending on the country. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1583396,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- We'd like to introduce you to our latest newsletter: "Germany Light" give you a weekly look at Germany's cultural, peculiar and sometimes odd happenings. To sign up for regular dose of fun and entertainment, please go to our Newsletter section at http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1170241,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Up to 500 dead in Uzbekistan unrest Human rights organisations say up to 500 people were killed when government troops shot at protestors gathered at the city square in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan on Friday. President Islam Karimov said Saturday that troops were forced to open fire when insurgents who had seized a government building attempted to break through an advancing line of police and soldiers. He accused a radical Islamic group of starting the unrest to spark an uprising. Thousands of people fled Andijan Saturday while new crowds gathered at the square. Troops have ordered journalists to leave and shut access to the city. The US, which maintains a major airbase in Uzbekistan, has urged authorities and demonstrators to exercise calm. The bloodshed in Andijan, Uzbekistan's fourth largest city, started early Friday when armed men stormed the local prison to free inmates accused of belonging to an outlawed Islamic group. Muslim groups condemn Koran desecration Muslim groups have called on the United States to investigate a magazine report that their holy book, the Koran, was desecrated by US staff at Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, and to punish those responsible. The 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said it had written to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, following a huge outcry in the Muslim world. The magazine report triggered massive demonstrations including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia and the Palestinian territories. 16 people were killedin Afghanistan on Friday in the worst anti-US protests there since Americans moved in 2001. CIA plane kills Al Qaeda leader in Pakistan American TV networks are reporting that a senior al Qaeda leader was killed in a missile attack by an unmanned CIA intelligence Predator aircraft in Pakistan. The man, identified as the Libyan national Haitham al-Yemeni, was Al Qaeda's third most senior member. US intelligence officials had been tracking al-Yemeni for some time, hoping he would lead them to Al Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden. Palestinian officials deny the reports. Israel starts flare-up on Lebanon border Israeli artillery and aircraft pounded the outskirts of Lebanese border villages on Saturday, in the fiercest clashes with Hizbollah guerrillas in four months. European diplomats say Israel provoked the Shiite militant group,in order to force it to meet UN Security Council demands to disarm. The fighting comes as Lebanon prepares to hold its first general election without a Syrian military presence in 33 years. Chen wins most votes in Taiwan poll Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has won a poll on Saturday. The result could ease pressure on the independence-minded leader to reconcile with China. Chen's party won just over 42 percent of the vote while the island's largest opposition party, the Nationalists or Kuomingtang (KMT) received just under 39 percent of the vote. The poll was to elect an ad hoc, 300-member National Assembly to ratify constitutional amendments approved by parliament last year. But Taiwan-China ties dominated the agenda and the election was viewed as a vote of confidence on Chen's China policy. The National Assembly, a legacy from Taiwan's former dual parliament system, is being formed only for the purpose of voting on the constitutional amendments and will be dismantled by the end of the year. Two Koreas to meet next week North Korea has proposed a meeting with South Korea for early next week. The proposal for working level talks came in a message Pyongyang sent to Seoul's unification ministry on Saturday. The ministry said it would use the meeting to press Pyongyang to return to stalled six-party nuclear talks. The two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia met for three rounds of talks up to June 2004 with no substantive progress. The North agreed to meet for a fourth round, set for last September, but it has yet to take place. Turkish airline banned, regarded unsafe The German government has intervened to rescue thousands of its nationals stranded in Turkey. The tourists were stranded after air safety regulators banned Turkish charter company Onur Air from German, Swiss, Dutch and French airports. Berlin said it wants assurances from Turkey that replacement aircraft will be allowed to land. A spokesman for Onur Air rejected claims that the air carrier's 28 planes were unsafe and said the company planned to take legal action. Bulgaria to host three US military bases The US Congress has decided to use three Bulgarian military bases for the deployment of US forces. Defence Minister Nikolay Svinarov said on Saturday that a US governmental delegation was expected to arrive in Bulgaria in the coming days to discuss the bases. The stationing of US troops in Bulgaria is part of a broader US strategy of shifting troops based in Europe further east. The aim is to move soldiers from positions to cope with a possible Soviet invasion of Europe to a deployment better suited to the current US preoccupation with terrorism and conflicts in the Middle East. Glazer poised to take over soccer club Manchester United fans are preparing to launch a series of protests over the attempted take over of the club by American billionaire Malcolm Glazer. Glazer was poised to take full control of the English soccer club having secured a fraction short of the 75 percent stake he needs under stock market rules to take the club into private ownership. By the end of Friday's trading he'd bought up enough shares to raise his stake in the club to 74.8 percent. A spokesman for Glazer said he expected to hit the 75 percent threshold on Monday. Many United supporters are not pleased. Angry fans were expected to demonstrate at Sunday's match at Southampton. They fear that Glazer will jack up ticket prices and withdraw the club from the stock exchange. DR Congo passes draft constitution The Democratic Republic of Congo's national assembly has adopted a draft constitution. The draft seeks to lay the base of a democratic regime and free elections for the first time in 40 years. The constitution curbs the powers of the President of Africa's third largest country and decentralises power by increasing the number of provinces from the current 11 to 26. The draft replaces the 2002 transitional constitution and still has to be voted on in a referendum. The 2002 solution provided for a transition period following a five year civil war involving neighbouring states and caused some three million deaths. Tonnes of cocaine seized in Columbia Columbian authorities say they have seized almost 14 tonnes of cocaine worth almost 280 million euros. Columbia's national police director told a news conference in the capital, Bogota, that it was the biggest haul ever seized in a single operation. He said the cocaine was found stashed on a riverbank in the south of the country. And he said the drugs belonged to members of an outlawed far-right militia. Strong quake rocks Sumatra A strong earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale has rattled Indonesia's Sumatra island. The quake struck around noon Saturday as residents fled their homes for higher ground fearing a possible tsunami. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The quake was also felt on nearby Nias island, which was hit by an 8.7 magnitude quake on March 28 that killed hundreds of residents. Indonesia, especially Sumatra, has been hit by daily aftershocks since the massive earthquake on Dec. 26 that led to a devastating tsunami. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Send us your favorite picks for sight-seeing, museum hopping, historical edification � whatever you�ve got to share with others heading to Germany. Restaurants, hotels, back-country hideaways � write to us with your insider tips and tell us about what you liked best about traveling in Germany. For more information, please go to http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1096790,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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