Deutsche Welle
English Service News
28. 09. 2005, 16:00 UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
EU Parliament Huffs, But Says Yes to Turkey
The European Parliament Wednesday backed the start of entry talks
with Turkey next week, but took a couple of diplomatic shots at the
EU hopeful on human rights, religious freedom, and the Armenian massacre.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1724228,00.html
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Germans have voted, but political parties are not scrambling to find
a majority in parliament to form a governing coalition. Get all the
news and background analysis on DW-WORLD'S election site:
www.dw-world.de/election05
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EU tells Turkey to recognise genocide
The European Parliament in Strasbourg has given its backing to EU
membership talks with Turkey due to start next week. However in a
non-binding resolution EU parliamentarians demanded that Ankara
recognise the genocide of Armenians under Ottoman rule in 1915 as a
precondition for joining the EU. The controversial issue has become
a major stumbling block with Turkey refusing to accept the killing
of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide. At a press conference in
Strasbourg Turkey's foreign minister indicated that his country may
shun the accession talks if it is offered anything less than full EU
membership.
Iran moves to end UN inspections
Iran has taken a first step towards ending snap inspections of its
nuclear facilities by UN inspectors. The country's hard-line
dominated parliament voted by a clear majority against a protocol to
the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which had allowed such
inspections. The decision now has to be approved by two other
government bodies. It comes after the UN's nuclear watchdog on
Saturday passed an EU resolution that would see Iran referred to the
UN Security Council for violating nuclear safeguards. The United
States has repeatedly accused Tehran of striving to build nuclear
weapons.
Germany extends Afghan mission
The German parliament has by a large majority voted to continue the
country's military mission in Afghanistan. Deputies voted 535-14 in
favour of extending the mandate by one year. They also backed an
increase of the German contingent within the NATO-led International
Security Assistance Force by 750 troops, bringing the total to
3,000. It comes as at least nine people were killed and 27 others
wounded in a suicide attack on Afghan soldiers in the capital Kabul.
It's not clear who was behind the attack, the first major incident
since the country's historical parliamentary election earlier this
month.
Female suicide Iraqi bomber kills seven
Iraqi police say a female suicide bomber blew herself up outside an
army recruitment centre in northern Iraq killing at least seven
people and wounding over 30 others. The attack took place in the
town of Tal Afar, where Iraqi and US troops have just ended a joint
military operation against suspected insurgents. The bombing comes a
day after a similar attack on a recruitment centre in Baquba, north
of Baghdad. At least 10 died in that attack.
Parmalat trial under way
The founder of the Italian dairy giant Parmalat, Calisto Tanzi, went
on trial in Milan on Wednesday along with other former directors,
lawyers and accountants. The trial is taking place nearly two years
after a case of massive fraud was discovered at the company. Tanzi
and 15 others are accused of market rigging, providing false
accounting information and misleading Italy's stock market
regulator. The trial has now been adjourned until Dec. 2 while
officials consider attaching a civil suit to the criminal case.
CDU, SPD meet in pre-coalition talks
Senior members of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democratic
Party and the opposition Christian Democratic Union are holding a
second round of talks aimed at paving the way for negotiations on a
coalition. Schroeder is to be joined at the meeting by SPD leader
Franz Muentefering and three senior ministers in his current
government. CDU leader Angela Merkel is to be supported in the talks
by three conservative state premiers. The talks are expected to
focus on key policy issues, but they're not expected to settle the
biggest bone of contention, which is whether Schroeder or Merkel
should be the next chancellor. Both have claimed to have a mandate
to lead the country following this month's inconclusive election.
Death toll from Typhoon Damrey rises
The death toll from Typhoon Damrey in southeast Asia has risen to at
least 74. Over the past few days, the typhoon swept across the
Philippine island of Luzon, the southern Chinese island of Hainan,
Vietnam, Laos and northern Thailand. Officials in China and Vietnam
say Damrey was one of the worst typhoons in decades, severely
damaging homes, cutting power lines and disrupting food production.
The storm has now been downgraded after hitting Vietnam on Tuesday
morning, however officials there are warning of severe flooding in
coastal areas. Thousands of people were forced to evacuate inland.
Job cuts likely at Mercedes
German-US car giant DaimlerChrysler is reportedly planning major job
cuts at Mercedes. The official announcement is expected on Wednesday
after a supervisory board meeting in Michigan. Unconfirmed reports
say as many as 8,000 jobs could be axed from the struggling
carmaker's total German workforce of 160,000.
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Check out picture galleries of the best players and interactive
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You'll find it all at www.dw-world.de/soccer
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