Deutsche Welle English Service News 14. 11. 2005, 17:00 UTC ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1775332,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Germany's major parties approve deal Germany's major political parties have approved with large majorities an agreement for a coalition government under the leadership of Angela Merkel. The conservative CDU and CSU, as well as the Social Democrats, each endorsed the deal at separate party conferences. Conservative Angela Merkel is now virtually assured of becoming Germany's next chancellor. She defended the compromises her party had to make in order to get the Social Democrats to agree to a coalition. Outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, meanwhile, despite having turned down any offers to participate in the grand coalition, lent his support to the latest deal. Two minority parties, the liberal FDP and the Greens, have said they will protest the coalition agreement to Germany's constitutional court. They claim that budget plans to create more debt than investment go against Germany's constitutional requirement to maintain economic stability. Suicide bombers strike in Kabul Two suicide car bombers have struck in the Afghan capital Kabul, killing a German soldier and two civilians. The first car bomber rammed into a German vehicle carrying NATO peacekeepers. The second attack occurred 90 minutes later near the agency that organised Afghanistan's recent election. On each occasion the attackers rammed a car into a vehicle belonging to the NATO-led peacekeeping force ISAF. Taliban fighters have claimed responsibility for the attacks. Deal 'in sight' on free movement in Gaza US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has said that Israelis and Palestinian negotiators were working on a deal for the free movement of Palestinians across Gaza borders. The move follows Israel's withdrawal from the territory. Rice delayed her departure from Israel on Monday as negotiators met again to hammer out a deal. In a separate development, masked gunmen have stormed into a Palestinian election office in the Gaza Strip and ordered it closed, saying upcoming parliamentary elections were un-Islamic. An election official said the Palestinian Authority would not respond to the threat. Russia says scientist sold state secrets Russia has announced the arrest of a major space technology executive on charges he sold military secrets to China. Igor Rehetin is the chief executive of TsNIIMASH-Export, which markets Russian space research abroad. Two other staff members were also arrested. The firm allegedly sold technology to a Chinese company that could have been used for military purposes. The deal was allegedly made without government approval. In the last two years, at least two prominent Russian scientists have been convicted of selling secrets abroad. Both of them said the information was freely available. Human rights groups have accused Russia of interpreting normal activity as espionage. France seeks to extend emergency law In reaction to 18 nights of youth rioting across France, the French government has approved a three-month extension of special emergency powers invoked to curb the violence. That bill will be put to parliament for approval on Tuesday. Last week France revived a 50-year-old colonial-era law to grant local officials powers to impose curfews and other restrictions on designated areas. Police said the number of car burnings had declined but unrest was still on-going. Sunday night's rioting was heaviest in Lyon, and in Toulouse and Paris, with 271 vehicles set on fire and 112 people 3 arrested. Farmer threatened Lake Constance poison German prosecutors have said a local farmer is the likely suspect who threatened to poison Lake Constance. The man, whose name has not been released, had a history of mental illness and threatened to poison water in the past. Authorities found two open containers at the bottom of the lake last week, and were checking them for pesticides. Lake Constance is in the Alps and provides drinking water to some four and a half million people in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Its control authority received an anonymous letter last month threatening to dump pesticides into the lake. But the authority said the water has been extensively tested and there is no danger. State memorial remembers Rabin Israel has held a state memorial for former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, assassinated 10 years ago. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spoke, saying that despite his disagreements with Rabin, he never doubted his honour and good intentions. Former US President Bill Clinton called Rabin "a universal soldier in a conflict that continues to bedevil the world." A Jewish ultranationalist, Yigal Amir, shot Rabin dead on November 4, 1995. Amir opposed Rabin's policy of trading land for peace with the Palestinians. Rabin was awarded the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize, along with his foreign minister Shimon Peres and former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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