Deutsche Welle
English Service News
17. 12. 2005, 17:00 UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Germany Wants UN to Censure Iran Over President's Remarks
Germany plans to ask the UN Security Council to punish Iran for remarks
made by its president questioning the reality of the Holocaust, a
senior government official says in an interview to be published Sunday.
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internet address below:
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More violence at WTO talks
There have been violent clashes in Hong Kong at the World Trade
Organisation summit between anti-globalisation protesters and
police. Hundreds of mainly South Korean farmers managed to break
through a police cordon to reach the summit's venue. At least 54
people were injured as police used tear gas and batons to stop them.
Meanwhile there's no sign of a breakthrough in trade talks. A draft
of the final declaration shows that there's been no agreement on a
date for ending farm export subsidies. The US wants a 2010 date,
however that's been rejected by the EU which is aiming for 2013.
Diplomats say a failure to reach an agreement would deal a serious
blow to the credibility of the WTO.
Bush admits to secret spying order
President George W. Bush has admitted that he signed a secret order
after the Sept. 11 terror attacks permitting surveillance of US
citizens without court approval. In a live radio address Bush said
it was a vital measure to protect US national interests. Earlier his
administration's "war on terror" suffered a major setback after the
US Senate blocked the renewal of the 'Patriot Act' - wide-ranging
anti-terrorist legislation - by a vote of 52-47 with several
opposition Democrats joining Republican senators to press their
demands for safeguarding civil liberties. The White House had wanted
to strengthen the act, but senators argued it infringed on
Americans' privacy too much.
EU budget deal reached
EU leaders in Brussels have welcomed a deal securing the bloc's
budget from 2007-2013. The agreement came after Britain said it
would slash its rebate by 10.5 billion euros over seven years. The
new 862 billion euro budget includes a review of all EU
expenditures, including farm spending, by 2009. Discussions had
previously stalled over the UK's rebate, France's farm subsidies and
eastern European nations' demands for more development aid. German
Chancellor Angela Merkel helped facilitate the final agreement by
proposing that the budget be increased by 13 billion euros to cover
additional costs. Merkel said that a "big cloud had been lifted from
Europe," adding that the 25-member bloc could now focus on other
pressing issues.
Berlin believes Iraq hostage still alive
The German government believes one of its nationals abducted in Iraq
three weeks ago is still alive and in relatively good health. The
weekly news magazine Focus said its report was based on information
provided by the government's emergency task force. The foreign
office declined to comment on the report. Susanne Osthoff, who spent
more than a decade working on excavations in Iraq, disappeared on
Nov. 25. Four days later she and her driver were shown on a
videotape blindfolded and surrounded by heavily armed men.
Germany to ask UN for censure on Iran
Germany says it is considering which options can be taken to punish
Iran for the anti-Israeli remarks made by President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad. Chancellory chief of staff Thomas de Maiziere said the
Berlin government was planning to ask the UN Security Council to
look into possible internationally-backed punitive measures.
Ahmadinejad has made a series of inflammatory remarks about Israel
describing it as a tumour to be wiped off the map and more recently
saying that the Holocaust was a myth. German Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the Iranian president's behaviour was
dangerous and cynical.
Militant leader killed in Gaza Strip
A senior Palestinian militant has been killed following an Israeli
airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip. Three other people were
reported wounded in the rocket attack on a car in the town of Khan
Yunis. The militants belonged to the Abu el-Reesh Brigades, an armed
wing of the main Fatah faction.
Macedonia moves closer to EU membership
Macedonia has moved a step closer to realising its dream of European
Union membership. On Saturday Macedonia became the second former
Yugoslav republic, after Croatia, to get a green light this year to
open negotiations with Brussels, eventually to join what now is a
25-nation bloc. Macedonian Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski welcomed
the decision, describing the move as recognition for recent reforms.
No date was set for a start of the membership talks.
Romania detects new bird flu cases
Romania has detected new cases of bird flu in domestic fowl in a
village 90 km east of Bucharest. Since October, Romania has found
avian flu in 21 villages in and around the Danube delta, a stopping
point for migratory birds. Nine cases have been confirmed as being
the potentially deadly H5N1 strain. There are fears the H5N1 virus
could mutate into a form easily transmissible among humans.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Agriculture Ministry announced on Saturday that
a British laboratory had confirmed an outbreak of the deadly H5N1
strain in several villages in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.
Turkey's PM says EU trying to pressure judiciary
Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused the European Union on
Saturday of trying to influence the country's judiciary over the
trial of novelist Orhan Pamuk. The Pamuk trial, which has divided
Turkey, was adjourned to Feb. 7 shortly after it began on Friday.
The case has raised concerns over freedom of expression in Turkey
which started membership talks with the EU in October. Pamuk faces a
possible three-year jail term for "insulting Turkish identity" by
saying in a newspaper interview that no one dared discuss the
massacre of a million Armenians 90 years ago and the killings of
30,000 Kurds in the past two decades.
Bayern stay top with win at Dortmund
In Germany's football Bundesliga, league leaders Bayern Munich
consolidated their position with a 2-1 win away to Borussia Dortmund
in the final round of games before the winter break. In Saturday's
other games: Leverkusen-Hannover 0:0 Moenchengladbach-Frankfurt 4:3,
Kaiserslautern-Wolfsburg 3:2 Stuttart-Schalke 2:0, Mainz-Duisburg
1:1 and Bielefeld-Cologne 3:2.
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