Deutsche Welle English Service News November 12th 2005, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Experts Say Merkel Will Bring Change in Style, Not Policy for US Germany finally has a coalition deal, paving the way for Angela Merkel to become chancellor. Experts say foreign policy under her will lead to warmer ties with the US, but it won't translate into major policy changes. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1774280,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DW-WORLD is looking for the best Weblog. Our International Weblog Awards are in full swing and now it's time for you to cast your vote. Choose your favorite from more than 100 finalists and win an iPod Shuffle with a bit of luck. DW's "The BOBs -- The Best of The Blogs" is sponsored by Maritim Hotel Bonn. Fore more, go to http://www.thebobs.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Germany's Merkel defends coalition deal Germany's chancellor-designate Angela Merkel has defended her coalition's programme of tax hikes and cuts to benefits as vital for reviving the country's ailing economy. Merkel was speaking a day after her conservative Christian Democrats and the centre-left Social Democrats sealed an agreement to create the new "grand coalition" government. The deal includes measures to increase Germany's value-added tax to 19 percent by 2007, slash subsidies to home buyers and commuters and relax labour market rules. An agreement on several other key issues, such as health care and nuclear energy, has been put on hold until next year. Annan urges reconciliation on Iraq visit United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has paid a surprise visit to Iraq, his first since US-led forces ousted Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. Annan urged Iraqis to embrace a process aiming to reconcile all the country's ethnic and religious groups. The UN has been operating at greatly reduced levels in Iraq after bomb attacks on its Baghdad offices two years ago. Shortly after Annan's arrival, a car bombing in a market in east Baghdad left at least five people dead and dozens wounded. Senior Saddam aide reported dead The deputy of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is reported to have died. The 63-year-old Izzat Ibrahim was the most senior member of the former regime still at large and was said to have been a top leader in Iraq's insurgency. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said on Saturday that Ibrahim's death would be good for Iraq and bad for the insurgency, if the reports were true. News of Ibrahim's death came through the Arabic television channel al Arabiya. Ibrahim was number six on the US military's list of their 55 most-wanted Iraqis. Jordan says Al Qaeda behind blasts Jordan has confirmed that Al Qaeda in Iraq was behind three suicide bombings at hotels in the capital Amman earlier this week. Officials said an investigation had shown that the group led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was behind the attacks that left nearly 60 people dead, the majority of them Jordanian nationals. Authorities declined to comment on the nationality of the attackers, but said they had entered Jordan from abroad. Since the blasts, police have detained as many as 100 people in a nation-wide hunt for the attackers' accomplices. Mideast reform talks end inconclusively A Middle East reform conference promoted by the United States has ended without a final declaration. Delegates from 36 countries took part in the meeting in Bahrain, which aimed to promote political and economic reform in the Middle East and North Africa. The forum announced a 100 million dollar fund to support business enterprise across the region, as well as a 50 million dollar "Foundation for the Future," to help the spread of democracy and political reform in the Middle East. At the conference, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticised political repression in Syria and called for the release of a political activist who was detained last month. Weah demands rerun of Liberia vote In Liberia, the party of soccer star George Weah is demanding a rerun of the country's presidential runoff vote. Weah supporters say that Tuesday's ballot, which appears to have been won by Harvard-trained former Finance Minister Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, was unfair. International observers, however, gave the election a generally clean bill of health and urged all parties to respect the result. If Johnson-Sirleaf's victory is confirmed, she would be the first woman to be elected president anywhere in Africa. The election was held after Liberia's civil war ended two years ago. Paris police ban weekend gatherings France is still experiencing civil unrest in many poor suburbs around the country. For a 16th night in a row, rioters burned hundreds of cars, and police said a number of people were detained. In the town of Amiens, the electricity was cut after rioters vandalised a power substation. In central Paris, where France is playing Germany in a friendly soccer match on Saturday night, police have banned public gatherings and brought in extra officers to prevent any potential outbreaks of violence. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Week in Germany: The best from German culture, business and politics in a convenient weekly wrap-up. 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