Deutsche Welle English Service News December 2nd 2005, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Germans in Iraq: "Everyone Knows the Risks" As the family of kidnapped German archaeologist Susanne Osthoff pleaded for her life, a German working in Iraq took stock of the situation. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1799359,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- UN says torture in China widespread A United Nations envoy has said that torture continues to be widespread in China and that the country's legal system needs a major overhaul for the situation to improve. Manfred Nowak, from the UN Human Rights Commission, is the first investigator on torture to visit China. He visited detention centres in the capital Beijing, and the restive regions of Tibet and Xinjiang. Nowak said that the government had tried to obstruct his investigation, which was granted after 10 years of lobbying by his office. China outlawed torture in 1996 but Nowak said that until independent judiciary and monitoring mechanisms are introduced the problem of torture would remain. Nepal's Maoists extend ceasefire Nepal's Maoist rebels have extended a ceasefire by one month as thousands of protesters rallied against King Gyanendra's seizure of power in February. The three-month unilateral ceasefire called by the Maoists was due to end on Friday. The rebels first initiated the break in fighting after joining political efforts to restore democracy following King Gyanendra's power grab. The announcement came as tens of thousands of people took to the streets in the capital Kathmandu. The demonstrators chanted anti-royal slogans and waved communist flags in a protest timed to coincide with the return of King Gyanendra from overseas. Ten US marines killed in Iraq Ten US marines have been killed and 11 wounded in the western Iraqi city of Falluja. The US military said in a statement the men were on a foot patrol on Thursday when they were killed in a bomb blast. Meanwhile, a 1,000 Shiite and Sunni Muslims have prayed together in the capital Baghdad, to show their unity. After midday prayers, the two groups held a demonstration saying they denounced of military and police raids and widespread arrests of people suspected of participating in the insurgency. Shiites now hold most of the political power in Iraq, while the anti-U.S. insurgency has been dominated by minority Sunnis. Belarus bans political opposition The lower house of parliament in Belarus has overwhelmingly approved a bill that could outlaw political opposition. The new legislation introduces tough penalties for anyone convicted of inciting demonstrations, joining illegal organisations or spreading information deemed harmful to the interests of the former Soviet republic. Belarus' security service said the amendments were needed to prevent popular protests, such as Ukraine's Orange Revolution. Opposition leaders have accused the government of trying to suppress challenges to President Alexander Lukashenko before the 2006 elections. The bill still needs to be passed by the upper house of parlaiment before becoming law. Beirut asks for broader Hariri investigation The government of Lebanon has asked the United Nations to expand its investigation into the murder of the country's former prime minister, Rafik Hariri. Beirut called for an extention of six months after a UN spokesman said its special investigator, Detlev Mehlis, needed more time. An initial report by Mehlis implicated Syria in the Beirut bombing that killed Hariri. Mehlis, meanwhile, has said he plans to terminate his mandate as the UN's special investigator at the end of this year. Compromise possible on EU budget Poor European Union newcomers have signalled they could accept a small cut in the aid they receive from EU coffers to allow a breakthrough in the bloc's stalled budget negotiations. The EU's 2007-2013 budget was the main topic of talks between leaders of the four biggest new members - Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia - with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Budapest. The new members reiterated their resistance to a plan by current EU chairman Britain to slash EU aid to newcomers by 10 percent, or about 16 billion euros. In a surprising turn, Blair said earlier he could also envision a cut in Britain's annual rebate, but not an end to it, unless agricultural subsidies were revised. Merkel on first official visit to Poland German leader Angela Merkel is visiting Poland for the first time since becoming chancellor ten days ago. Her trip takes place after the leadership in both countries recently passed to centre-right, Christian parties. A number of potentially difficult bilateral issues are on the agenda, including Polish unease over a gas pipeline between Russia and Germany that by-passes Poland. Merkel said her government would also extend restrictions on Polish workers in Germany by another three years due to its chronic unemployment problem. TV appeal by family of German hostage The relatives of a German woman kidnapped in Iraq have made a televised appeal to her captors to spare her life. Susanne Osthoff's sister and mother pleaded with the kidnappers to consider that their captive was a Muslim convert with a young daughter, as well as a friend of Iraq. The message was shown on Germany's ZDF television and was also aired on the Arab network Al-Jazeera. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that officials have so far been unable to contact Osthoff's kidnappers. Osthoff and her Iraqi driver were seized last Friday. The captors have threatened to kill the hostages unless Germany cuts its ties with Iraq's government. WHO stops employing smokers The World Health Organization has stopped recruiting smokers as part of its commitment to controlling tobacco use. As of December 1, all job vacancy notices include a line stating that the United Nations health agency does not promote tobacco use or recruit smokers. A spokesperson said that because the WHO had taken a public lead in the fight against tobacco use, as a matter of principle it did not want to recruit smokers. EU agrees on data storage European Union justice and interior ministers have agreed on plans to store telecommunications data to fight terrorism. The agreement calls on telecom firms to store records of phone and Internet use for at least six months. The compromise deal, which was agreed to by a majority of EU nations, still needs the approval of the European Parliament. Fire kills 9 at German homeless centre At least nine people have been killed and five others wounded in a fire which swept through a centre for the homeless in eastern Germany. The blaze broke out before dawn among shipping containers used to shelter homeless people in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. Police said the cause of the fire was under investigation. China's environment chief resigns China's Xinhua news agency has reported that the head of the country's environmental protection administration has resigned. It did not give any details or reasons for the resignation. This follows a chemical spill that has polluted the Songhua river in northeastern China and embarrassed President Hu Jintao's government. The toxic benzene spill forced towns along the river to shut down water supplies. The spill is now flowing towards the Khabarovsk region in Russia, where residents are stocking up on bottled water in case the water supply there will have to be shut down. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bundesliga is in full swing again! Get it all on DW-WORLD.DE: We offer you results, tables and live tickers of the matches. Check out picture galleries of the best players and interactive features such as quizes and betting games where Chinese Bayern Munich fans get a chance to compete against Texan Schalke supporters. You'll find it all at www.dw-world.de/soccer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/
