Deutsche Welle English Service News 27.07.2005, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Italy Accuses G4 of Foul Play Italy has accused Brazil, Germany, India and Japan of resorting to blackmail in their bid to secure permanent seats on the UN Security Council and backed a rival proposal for council enlargement. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1660662,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DW-WORLD's "Click Back" monthly review quiz for July 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Suspected London bomber arrested British media have reported that one of the suspects from last week's failed bombing attempts in London has been arrested. The man was allegedly captured in a pre-dawn raid in the English city of Birmingham. Police refused to confirm or deny the report. Three other men were also detained by police in the raids. Another man was arrested under anti-terrorism laws as he prepared to travel on a flight to the southern French city of Nimes from Luton airport north of London. It was not immediately clear if he was connected to the London bombing investigation. Meanwhile, several British newspapers have reported that one of the men suspected of trying to set off bombs in London last week has a prison record. The suspect, Muktar Said Ibrahim, was reportedly convicted of a string of muggings and then learned his Islamist extremist views in prison. UK, Spain plan 'alliance of civilizations' British Prime Minister Tony Blair has welcomed a Spanish proposal on creating an "alliance of civilizations" between Western and Muslim countries in the fight against terror. Blair said at a press conference with his Spanish counterpart Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in London that the idea was to have Western countries and Muslim countries form a coalition of civilised people from different races and religions to combat terrorism. Earlier, the British prime minister, held talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Blair said Turkey too was involved in the proposal. Abudcted Algerian envoys in Iraq killed An Al Qaeda linked organisation in Iraq has said in an internet posting that it had killed two kidnapped Algerian envoys. The statement has not yet been verified. Ali Belaroussi and Azzedine Belkadi were kidnapped a week ago in the capital Baghdad by armed gunmen. On Tuesday, the pair appeared in a video blindfolded, giving their names and home addresses. Earlier, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld paid a surprise visit to Iraq. News reports said he had urged Iraqi officials to finish their draft constitution before the August 15 deadline. Media reports also said Iraq's prime minister Ibrahim Jaafari was pushing for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from the country. But Rumsfeld said troops would stay in Iraq as long as needed. Guilty decisions in Mont Blanc trial A French court has found the main defendants in the Mont Blanc tunnel disaster guilty of manslaughter, six years after a fire that killed 39 people. The court in Bonneville ordered the security officer in charge of Europe's longest tunnel to six months in prison. The former head of the tunnel operator, ATMB, received a two-year suspended sentence, whereas the Belgian truck driver who caused the 1999 fire received a four-month suspended sentence. The fire in the middle of the 12 km long tunnel between Italy and France was one of the worst-ever European road disasters. Sharon in Paris for a fence-mending visit Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has met with French President Jacques Chirac in Paris in the hope of improving ties between the two countries. Sharon angered the French last year when he encouraged French Jews to emigrate because of anti-Semitism in France. In a brief comment as Chirac greeted him at the Elysee Palace, Sharon said he hoped the visit would bring an additional reinforcement to relations between the two countries. Sharon also praised France's role in the Middle East peace process. Chirac said France was standing by the Israeli and Palestinian people during the Gaza pullouts scheduled for August. Germany rules against phone tapping Germany's highest court has limited the right of police to tap telephone calls of suspected criminals. The Federal Constitutional Court said the wide-ranging powers granted to police in the state of Lower Saxony were unconstitutional. Since last year, the state has allowed police to tap phones, and monitor fax and email messages of people they believe will commit serious crimes. In its ruling, the court said Lower Saxony's failure to name a timeframe for the crime to be committed or define what it meant by a serious crime had given investigators too much power. Massive fire on Indian oil platform A massive fire has broken out on an offshore oil platform on India's west coast. The Indian Oil Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said one platform in the Bombay High offshore field has been completely burnt. He said there could be as many as 300 people trapped on the platform. Indian television reports said many people had jumped into the sea to escape the fire. There are also unconfirmed reports that a rescue team sent to the rig had been caught by the flames. The cause of the fire is not yet known. Floods kill at least 100 in western India At least 100 people have been killed by floods and landslides in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Officials said rescue teams reached a village south of the state capital Bombay, where a landslide buried more than 30 houses late on Tuesday. The army, navy and air force were called in to help. Electricity and phone links were disrupted and commuters stranded for a second day on Wednesday. On Tuesday, parts of Bombay experienced a record rainfall of 94 cm, the highest in more than three decades. Heavy rains and high winds have been forecast for another 48 hours. Egypt police take DNA from families Police in Egypt have taken DNA samples from four Egyptian families possibly linked to the bombers of last weekend's attacks in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik. Security sources said police were trying to match the DNA from the families with the DNA from remains found at the bomb sites. At least 64 people were killed in the series of blasts at a hotel and two shopping areas. Hospital sources say as many as 80 people were killed but many of the bodies could not be identified. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Send us your favorite picks for sight-seeing, museum hopping, historical edification whatever youve 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. News and background reports from the fields of current affairs, culture, business and science. 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