Deutsche Welle English Service News 15. 10. 2005, 16:00 UTC ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Angela Merkel is set to become Germany's next chancellor as Christian Union parties and the Social Democrats seem headed for a grand coalition. Read all about the latest developments in the formation of Germany's next government on DW-WORLD'S election site: www.dw-world.de/election05 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Iraqis vote on draft constitution The polls have closed in Iraq, where voters have cast their ballots in a referendum on the country's draft constitution. Security at polling stations all across the country was extremely tight and relatively little violence has been reported. Three policemen were killed and three others wounded in a roadside bomb blast near the northern town of Baquba. Six people were injured in four attacks on polling stations in the capital, Baghdad. Insurgents also clashed with US and Iraqi troops in Ramadi. Up to 15 million Iraqis were eligible to vote on the constitution, which will be deemed approved unless two-thirds of voters in three of the country's 18 provinces reject it. The first results are expected in the next few days. Deadly bird flu type found in Romania The avian influenza virus that was recently detected in ducks in Romania is the deadly H5N1 strain, which can be contracted by humans. European Union officials said testing at a British laboratory had confirmed that the virus found in Romania is the same one that has killed 60 people in Asia. An outbreak of the same strain was confirmed in western Turkey on Friday. The European Commission has advised national governments to pinpoint areas most at risk and to keep poultry separate from migratory birds that could carry the virus. Health officials have expressed concern that the virus could mutate into a form that could be passed easily between human beings. Pakistan quake death toll at 38,000 Officials in Pakistan say the death toll from last week's earthquake has risen to 38,000. At least 60,000 people were injured and more than three million others have been left homeless. President Pervez Musharraf said he expected the toll to rise further as recovery teams reach remote villages. In the town of Balakot heavy rain and snow are hampering aid efforts. Tens of thousands of people in the area are in desperate need of shelter. Medical officials visiting Pakistani-controlled Kashmir said thousands of injured quake victims could die over the next few days if they don't receive help soon. A top UN official said that reconstruction of the region would cost billions of euros and could take up to a decade to complete. Two killed in bomb attacks in Iran Two people have been killed and dozens of others injured after two bombs went off in the south-western Iranian city of Ahvaz. Iranian state television reported that the two explosions came just five minutes apart. It said they occurred near a shopping centre in central Ahvaz. That was the scene of several bomb blasts blamed on separatist groups earlier this year. US troops breaking law in Iraq: UN A senior UN official has accused US forces in Iraq of breaching international law by deliberately withholding food and water from the Iraqi population. Human rights investigator Jean Ziegler said US troops had used these tactics to drive people out of their homes in insurgent strongholds prior to an offensive. Ziegler said troops were using starvation as a method of warfare. The US military has denied the accusations but conceded that food supplies were occasionally disrupted in combat situations. Bolton accuses Iran of seeking weapons The US Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, has accused Iran of engaging in an 18-year bid to develop nuclear weapons. At the same time, Bolton said he hoped diplomatic pressure would prevent Tehran from achieving its alleged nuclear ambitions. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has held talks with her Russian counterpart in Moscow on Iran's nuclear policy on which they fail to see eye-to-eye. The US wants to refer Iran to the UN Security Council should it reject further diplomatic talks and continue its nuclear-related activities. However Russia is against the move and says Iran should be allowed to pursue a peaceful nuclear programme. Weah pulls ahead in Liberia poll As results continue to trickle in from Liberia's first post-war presidential vote, soccer star George Weah is pulling ahead of the 21 other candidates. The electoral commission said Weah had gained around 30 percent of the vote so far with his nearest rival, former World Bank economist Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, on 17 percent. A runoff vote between those two remains likely, as Weah is still not close to the absolute majority needed for an outright win. The United Nations Security Council has praised Liberia for the peaceful vote. It said the process could play a crucial role in restoring peace to the troubled West African country, which ended its civil war in 2003. Guitierrez arrested on return to Ecuador The former president of Ecuador, Lucio Gutierrez, has been arrested after returning to the country from exile. Gutierrez was taken into custody on arrival in the Pacific Coast town of Manta and later flown to the capital Quito. He was arrested on the charge of being a threat to national security, as he claims he is the country's rightful president. This comes just days after Gutierrez told reporters in Colombia that he planned to return home to try and retake power. The former president was granted asylum in Colombia, after being ousted by Ecuador's congress last April for compromising the independence of the supreme court. G20 meeting calls for more open trade At a meeting of the so-called G20 countries in Beijing, Chinese President Hu Jintao has called for more progress on removing global trade barriers and fighting poverty. Other issues to be addressed at the two-day summit of finance ministers and central bank leaders are the impact high oil prices could have on the global economy and a planned reform of the IMF and the World Bank. The G20 is made up of the seven leading industrialised nations and all major developing countries. Bremen go top of Bundesliga table In sports: There was a full slate of games in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Schalke and Bayern Munich played to a 1-1 draw, while Bremen trounced Nuremberg 6-2. This puts Bremen top of the table, ahead of Bayern who are level on points. Elsewhere, Kaiserslautern and Dortmund drew 3-3, Bielefeld blanked Berlin 3-0, Mainz beat Leverkusen 3-1, Wolfsburg upset Hamburg 1-0 and Stuttgart and Moenchengladbach played to a 1-1 draw. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Week in Germany: The best from German culture, business and politics in a convenient weekly wrap-up. Read and subscribe at www.germany.info/twig ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
