Deutsche Welle English Service News 13.08.2005, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The waiting is over for fans of German soccer as the Bundesliga starts again. Get it all on DW-WORLD.DE: We offer you results, tables and live tickers of the matches. Check out picture galleries of the best players and interactive features such as quizes and betting games where Chinese Bayern Munich fans get a chance to compete against Texan Schalke supporters. You'll find it all at www.dw-world.de/soccer
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: UN Reform Unlikely Before Year's End Many countries think UN Security Council reform is needed, but disagree on how to do it. UN chief Kofi Annan now says finding a compromise will take longer than expected. The plan pushed by Germany is likely doomed. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1679194,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sri Lankan foreign minister killed Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has imposed a state of emergency following the assassination of the country's foreign minister. Lakshman Kadirgamar was shot dead in the garden of his home in the capital, Colombo. Officials say they believe a sniper fired the shots that fatally wounded the 73-year-old foreign minister. They also suspect that the Tamil Tiger rebels were behind his killing. However, Tamil Tiger rebels have denied involvement in the assassination and said the Government must look "inwards" to get at the killers. Kadirgamar was an ethnic Tamil who was a vocal opponent of the rebels. Sri Lankan government spokesman Nimal Siripala De Silva admitted to reporters in Colombo, that the killing was a blow to the current peace process. The Tamil Tigers and government forces have largely been observing a cease-fire agreed three years ago. Germany condemns assassination Germany is one of several countries that have condemned the assassination of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said in a statement that Kadirgamar's murderers must be brought to justice. He said he'd sent a message to Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga expressing condolences to the foreign minister's family and all Sri Lankans. Fischer described Kadirgamar as a friend of Germany and a statesman who was highly regarded around the world. Schroeder launches election campaign German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, launched his election campaign on Saturday. The elections, called early, are due in mid-September, subject to confirmation from Germany's Supreme Court. In his launch, Schroeder attempted to exploit theconservative opposition's infighting, hoping to build on his party's recent rise in opinion polls. However Schroeder's Social Democrats still trail far behind the Christian Democrats, but crept up two percentage points in a new poll released Saturday to 28 percent, while the CDU dropped two points to 41 percent. Britain bans radical Muslim cleric The British government has barred a radical Muslim cleric from returning to the country. Syrian-born Omar Bakri Mohammed who had spent the past 20 years in Britain is currently in Lebanon. This comes with British officials set to deport another radical Muslim cleric and nine other foreigners suspected of posing a threat to national security. Jordan has said that it would ask Britain to extradite one of those detained, the Muslim cleric Abu Qatada. He's the man Spanish officials have described as Osama bin Laden's "spiritual ambassador in Europe." Palestinians celebrate Israeli pull-out Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has joined in celebrations along the beachfront of the Gaza Strip, just days ahead of Israel's planned withdrawal from the occupied territory. Abbas said in a speech that the Gaza pull-out would bring Palestinians one step closer to their dream of an independent state. Thousands of Palestinians waved flags, danced and sang in anticipation of the event. Israel is to begin removing residents from 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip next week. 9/11 tapes made public New York City's fire department has released audio tape recordings from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The tapes contain about 15 hours of radio transmissions from civilians trapped in rubble and responses from fire fighters and paramedics after the attacks. The release follows a court order which overruled efforts to keep records of the World Trade Center attack private. Several city officials had fought the release, arguing that some oral histories were made confidentially and that some details would upset the families of those who died. Haze fades over Malaysia The air over Malaysia has begun to clear for the first time in over a week. But Malaysian officials have expressed anger at Indonesia for not controlling man-made forest fires which caused the extreme haze. Indonesian farmers of palm oil said they had set hundreds of fires in the past 11 days to clear land. As a result, the smoke has been blowing over to Malaysia, which is now experiencing its worst ecological crisis in years. Officials say schools have been closed, and hospitals are filled with patients complaining of respiratory problems. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DW-WORLD offers you a special service for the Bundesliga. Get all the action on your mobile device and you'll never miss out on important news. For more information, please visit http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,1595,8733,00.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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