Deutsche Welle
English Service News
September 8th 2005, 16:00 UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
German Aid Enroute to New Orleans
Two US planes carrying a team of experts from Germany's Technisches
Hilfswerk, the federal agency for technical relief, have left for the
Gulf Coast. US President Bush accepted Berlin's offer of help on
Sunday.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1704325,00.html
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Cheney visits hurricane-hit states
US Vice President Dick Cheney has arrived in the Gulf states, where
he's to tour areas hit by Hurricane Katrina. He's there to assess
the relief operation and determine whether enough is being done to
assist the survivors. This comes as police and soldiers are
conducting house-to-house searches in New Orleans. All residents
have been ordered to leave the city, in which contaminated flood
water is said to pose a serious health risk. At least five people
have already died from water-borne infections. It's feared thousands
of people may have died in the floods. Among those listed as missing
are 900 foreign nationals, including several Germans. Officials say
it could take close to three months to drain New Orleans of
floodwater.
German experts to help hurricane relief
A team of experts from Germany is due to arrive in the United States
to support relief efforts in the region devastated by Hurricane
Katrina. Their main task will be to help pump flood water out of New
Orleans and they are bringing 15 high-powered pumps in addition to
other emergency equipment. A team of federal police officers from
Germany is also on its way to the US to help with the identification
of victims. In addition, the German government plans to deliver a
further 75 tonnes of food aid.
Yushchenko sacks Ukraine's gov't
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has sacked the government of
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. This comes just hours after two
senior officials resigned over allegations of corruption. Yushchenko
then appointed Russian-born economist Yuri Yekhanurov as prime
minister on a caretaker basis. The scandal began on Saturday, when
Yushchenko's chief-of-staff resigned, saying the president was
surrounded by corrupt people. Yushchenko was elected last December
in a re-run of the presidential election held one month earlier,
that the Supreme Court declared void due to electoral fraud. The
mass protests that followed the first vote became known as the
"orange revolution."
Germany, Russia sign pipeline deal
Germany and Russia have signed a deal to build a gas pipeline
linking the two countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin and
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder finalised the five-billion-dollar
agreement in a ceremony in Berlin. The pipeline is to stretch for
1,200 kilometres under the Baltic Sea from near St Petersburg to
Germany's north-eastern coast. It's to be built by the German
companies E.ON and BASF along with the state-owned Russian energy
giant Gazprom and is scheduled to go into operation in 2010. The
deal has been criticised by Ukraine and Poland who both receive
transit fees for the current Russian pipelines that cross their
territories.
German poll points to grand coalition
Here in Germany a new opinion poll shows that the conservative
chancellor candidate, Angela Merkel, and her Christian Democrats are
losing support. The latest survey shows that her party's lead has
shrunk since last weekend's televised debate with Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder of the Social Democrats. With the general election just 10
days away the Christian Democrats and their likely coalition
partner, the liberal Free Democrats, currently don't have enough
support to form a government. Many observers say Merkel may be
forced into a grand coalition with the Social Democrats.
Reports say Mubarak wins poll
Egyptian election officials have said that incumbent leader, Hosni
Mubarak, has won the country's presidential election. Election
commmission members were quoted as saying that Mubarak had claimed
around 70 percents of the vote. The official result isn't expected
until Saturday. The government had promised a fair vote in the
country's first-ever contested presidential poll but there were
widespread reports of pressure and intimidation by the ruling party
for voters to support Hosni Mubarak. One of his challengers, Aiman
Noor, has demanded a re-run claiming voting irregularities.
N.Korea six-party talks to resume
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has confirmed that six-party talks on
North Korea's nuclear crisis will resume on Tuesday after a break of
more than a month. The talks are being hosted by China and also
involve Russia, Japan, the United States and the two Koreas. The six
nations have agreed in principle to ensuring the Korean peninsula is
free of nuclear weapons. Analysts however say North Korea and the
United States remain far apart on key issues, including Pyongyang's
right to a civilian nuclear programme.
Tougher anti-terror laws in Australia
Australian Prime Minister John Howard has announced tougher
anti-terrorism legislation. The new laws would allow police to
electronically track terror suspects for up to a year, increase
detention powers, and tighten citizenship rules. Howard said the
moves were prompted by the London bombings by British-born Muslims
in July which killed more than 50 people, and the perception that
Australia was at risk of a similar attack.
Typhoon death toll rises to 145
The death toll from two typhoons that swept across China and Japan
has risen to at least 145 people. Chinese media said 124 people had
been killed by Typhoon Talim with another 31 still missing. In Japan
Typhoon Nabi has left at least 21 people dead. Thousands of
buildings have been damaged in both countries.
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Germans will head to the polls to elect a new parliament on Sept. 18.
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is fighting an uphill battle to remain in
office while his conservative challenger, Angela Merkel, has her eyes
set on the chancellery. Get all the information about Germany's 2005
election at DW-WORLD. To find out more, go to
http://www.dw-world.de/election05
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