Deutsche Welle English Service News 16. 09. 2005, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Merkel's Fans in Washington Washington is watching Sunday's election and, secretly, hoping for a Merkel victory. But the promise of better relations is off-set by areas of potential dispute. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1711004,00.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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Europe renews Iran nuclear offer European foreign ministers have again appealed to Iran to accept incentives in return for halting uranium enrichment. According to British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, the European Union hopes to keep the UN Security Council out of the dispute. Straw said this would be subject to Iran's response, expected on Saturday. Iran's new President, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad threatened this week to reveal atomic secrets to other Islamic states. The foreign ministers of Britain, France, and Germany met with Ahmedinejad and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York on Thursday. German Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, said that it was time for Iran to make a move. Iran has said that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only; the United States says Tehran is trying to manufacture nuclear weapons. Merkel's coalition takes very small lead A potential centre-right coalition has taken a lead in two major opinion polls on Germany's upcoming parliamentary elections. A conservative-Free Democrat government would take a very slim majority in the vote on Sunday, according to the Forsa and Allensbach Institutes. Nonetheless, some 25 percent of the electorate remains undecided. In the coming hours, campaign speeches are expected from leaders of all the major parties, including Social Democrat Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his Christian Democrat opponent Angela Merkel. Because the race is so close, the parties are breaking with tradition and extending their rallying into the election weekend. Schroeder's Social Democrat-Green coalition has ruled Germany for seven years. Taliban kills Afghan candidate Another Afghan election candidate has been killed, just two days before the first parliamentary polls in decades. Taliban rebels said they shot and killed Abdul Hadi late Thursday evening after dragging him from his home. He is the seventh candidate to be killed since July. Around 12 and half million Afghans are eligible to vote on Sunday. More than 5,700 candidates are competing for 249 parliamentary seats, as well as places on dozens of provincial councils. Over 30,000 foreign troops and 100,000 local troops will patrol polling booths. Iraq: bomb kills 11 at Shiite mosque A suicide car bomber blew himself up outside a Shiite mosque north of Baghdad, killing eleven people and wounding over twenty others. Iraqi police said the bomb went off as worshippers left Friday prayers in the central town of Tuz Khurmatu. It's the latest attack in three days of violence that has killed more than 200 people. Meanwhile, the moderate Shiite leaders have condemned a call by Iraq's al Qaeda leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, for a total war on the country's Shiite Muslim majority. Pyongyang: reactor "sign of trust" North Korea has refused to give up its nuclear weapons programme if it does not receive a light water reactor. A Pyongyang official said in Beijing that the reactor would be a "sign of trust" between the United States and North Korea. Washington has so far been against helping Pyongyang build a light water reactor, even for peaceful purposes. North Korea has said it would accept joint management and inspections for the reactor. Russia has said that six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme would break down if the sides do not sign a joint statement by Saturday. Israel's security zone to include Gaza The Israeli government has announced it will expand a closed military zone 150 meters in northern Gaza. Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said the zone aims to prevent attacks on Israeli soldiers from the Palestinian territory. Palestinian planning minister Ghassan Khatib said the move was proof that Israel remained an occupying force. Israel withdrew all its troops from the Gaza Strip after being there for 38 years. In Gaza, thousands of people have been streaming across the border into and out of Egypt, following a breakdown of security. Israel fears that weapons smugglers may be moving through holes in the wall separating Gaza from Egypt. Democrats attack Bush's Katrina speech US Democrats have criticised the speech of US President George W Bush promising major reconstruction after Hurricane Katrina. News agency AFP says it received a statement from Senator John Kerry that Americans doubt the competence of the Bush administration to carry out the promise. Bush said on national television Thursday night the government would spend billions of dollars to rebuild the Gulf Coast region. He also ordered the Department of Homeland Security to review emergency plans for every major US city. Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast at the end of August, submerging much of the city of New Orleans. Hundreds of people are confirmed dead. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
