Deutsche Welle English Service News 15. 09. 2005, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
EU-3 Seek Nuclear Talks with Iran Germany, France and Britain sought talks with Iran on the sidelines of the UN summit as Washington signaled it needed more time to enlist support for possible UN sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1710780,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As part of our coverage of the upcoming elections, DW-WORLD offers you a new service to keep up to date on what's been happening. You can subscribe to our new podcast, which allows you to listen to DW-RADIO features and news reports wherever you want. To find out more, please go to: www.dw-world.de/podcasting-election2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Talabani calls for help against terror Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has called for international help to fight terrorism. In an address to the United Nations summit in New York, Talabani said Iraq was now a free country, thanks to the struggles of Iraqis and the international community. But he called for financial and moral support to combat what he called the terrorist "forces of darkness". He spoke of the desperate need of Iraqi people, who are being killed in their hundreds. The president spoke just hours after suicide bombers struck in the capital Baghdad for the second day, killing at least 25 people in four separate attacks. Traffic between Gaza & Egypt slows Traffic on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt is slowing to a stop, as Egyptian guards begin to assert control over the crossing. Overnight, a second hole was blown through a concrete wall, allowing people to cross the border easily. Under an agreement with Israel, Egypt has been deploying a 750-strong force to take security responsibility for the border and prevent weapons smuggling. Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said the Palestinian Authority must restore order in Gaza. Israeli court orders barrier reroute Israel's top court has ordered the government to reroute part of its controversial West Bank barrier to avoid cutting off Palestinian villages. The unanimous ruling could force Israel to remove a 13-kilometre section wall already built near the northern West Bank settlement of Alfei Menashe. But, in the same judgement, the Supreme Court ruled that the barrier itself was legal. This is contrary to a non-binding ruling by the International Court in The Hague last year, which said the entire barrier should be torn down. North Korea nuclear talks stall Six-party talks aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear programme have stalled. After the third day of meetings in Beijing, North Korea issued a statement saying that disagreement with the US was preventing progress. Delegates at the talks, which also include South Korea, Russia, Japan and China, have been discussing a proposal that would offer North Korea aid in exchange for dismantling its nuclear weapons programme. But North Korea is asking for a light-water nuclear reactor to generate electricity. The US has flatly rejected the proposal. Disarmament begins in Aceh Former rebels in Indonesia's province of Aceh have begun disarming under a peace agreement overseen by monitors from Asia and Europe. Members of the Free Aceh Movement or GAM handed over about 90 weapons. A further 800 weapons will be given up before the end of the year. The peace pact, signed in Finland last month by GAM and Indonesia's government, aims to end three decades of conflict that cost 15,000 lives. In return, Indonesia will halve its security forces in Aceh. Some 1,300 police left the region on Wednesday. Correspondents say the pact has raised hopes among four million people in Aceh who are still recovering from December's tsunami. For EU monitors it's their first disarmament mission in Asia. Budget cuts denied ahead of election Ahead of Sunday's election in Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government has rejected opposition claims that annual budget cuts of 30 billion euros are planned. Schroeder's finance minister Hans Eichel denied that his ministry had compiled such a list. Opposition conservative challenger Angela Merkel had accused the government of deceiving voters. Merkel has fended off attacks on her finance spokesman Paul Kirchhof, who'd proposed a flat-rate tax, by inviting another conservative expert Friedrich Merz to work alongside him. Surveys show that Schroeder's Social Democrats have dented the lead previously held by Merkel's conservatives and allied liberals. Germany's top court has rejected complaints by several small parties that the early election had given them little time to prepare. Germany's Lufthansa to boost surcharge German airline Lufthansa plans to boost fuel surcharges because of rising gas prices in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The Cologne-based airline said it would more than triple the charges for long-haul flights. The increase is the second this year. It will also be applied to Lufthansa flights within Europe, taking effect beginning September 26. Lufthansa is Europe's third-largest passenger airline, behind British Airways and Air France-KLM. US threatened by hurricane Ophelia Hurricane Ophelia is battering the eastern seaboard of the United States with high winds and rain. Tens of thousands of homes are without power. Schools and shops have been closed down as the hurricane bears down on the state of North Carolina with winds of around 140 kilometres per hour. Authorities there urged people to heed evacuation warnings. It is the seventh hurricane of the season, and comes less than three weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the neighbouring Gulf states. More than 700 people have now been confirmed dead from Katrina. Asian wargames to deter piracy Warships of five nations are holding a two-week naval exercice in the South China Sea to deter terrorism and pirates. The 26 warships come from Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Britain. Experts say piracy is a particular worry in the region's Malacca Strait. The waterway carries a quarter of the world's maritime trade, including tankers bringing oil from the Middle East to Japan and China. Earlier this week, four adjacent nations - Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand - began joint air patrols. Their planes will direct naval vessels to intercept suspected pirates. EU slashes DaimlerChrysler fine German car maker DaimlerChrysler has won a massive reduction in an antitrust fine imposed by the European Union. The European court in Luxembourg cut the original 72 million euro fine by nearly 90 percent to 10 million euros. The world's fifth largest carmaker was fined in 2001 for breaking EU free-trade laws in Spain, Germany and Belgium. The Court cancelled the first two charges, but upheld a ruling that DaimlerChrysler had restricted competition in Belgium. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
