Deutsche Welle
English Service News
21. 12. 2005, 17:00 UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
German Court Orders Retrial in Mannesmann Case
The defendants in the long-running Mannesmann case will go back to
court after Germany's Federal Court of Justice on Wednesday threw out
a previous acquittal and ruled that the long-running trial will be
reopened.
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Iran holds tough line in EU nuclear talks
Iran has reiterated its intention to develop a fully-fledged nuclear
programme in talks with European Union negotiators from Germany,
France and Britain. EU diplomats said their meeting in Vienna was
unlikely to deter Tehran from plans to enrich uranium, even at the
risk of being referred to the United Nations Security Council. The
talks are the first since August, when Iran announced its decision
to resume uranium conversion, which is a precursor of enrichment.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is for generating electricity,
while the West is concerned the Islamic republic is secretly aiming
to build atomic weapons.
Rumsfeld visits Afghanistan
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is in Afghanistan where he has
held talks with President Hamid Karzai. Speaking in the capital
Kabul, Rumsfeld said the recently announced US decision to cut its
force in Afghanistan by up to 3,000 troops would not change its
focus on counter-terrorism in the country. President Karzai said
Afghanistan was not concerned that the troop cut meant a reduction
in the US commitment to the country. Rumsfeld arrived from
neighbouring Pakistan where he toured areas devastated by the Oct. 8
earthquake that killed more than 74,000 people in India and
Pakistan.
Saddam trial resumes in Baghdad
The war crimes trial against Saddam Hussein and seven colleagues has
resumed in Baghdad. It follows a two-week recess after the former
Iraqi leader refused to take the stand. He's now hearing further
witnesses testify against him over the alleged massacre of 148 Shia
Muslims in Dujail village in 1982. Saddam Hussein and his aides have
denied all the charges against them. If convicted they could face
the death penalty.
Lebanon studying status of freed hijacker
Lebanon's prime minister has said his government was studying the
legal status of a freed hijacker following a request by the United
States for Lebanon to turn him over. The man, Mohammed Ali Hamadi, a
member of the Hezbollah militant group, was convicted for the 1985
hijacking of a TWA jetliner and released last week from a German
prison. The State Department in Washington said talks were underway
with the Lebanese government. Hamadi had been jailed in Germany for
his role in the killing of a US Navy diver during the hijacking. He
was paroled after serving nearly 19 years of a life sentence and
went to Lebanon after his release. The State Department said it was
disappointed with Germany's decision to release Hamadi early.
Two foreign teachers freed in Gaza
A Palestinian official has said that two foreign teachers who were
kidnapped earlier by a militant Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip
have been released. The pair, a Dutch and a Belgian national, had
been abducted outside the American International school in Beit
Lahiya. More than 10 foreign journalists and aid workers have been
kidnapped in the Gaza Strip so far this year, all of them were
released unharmed.
Israel to bar Palestinians from poll
The Israeli government has said it will prevent Palestinians living
in occupied east Jerusalem from voting in next month's parliamentary
election. A spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said this was
due to the radical Hamas group taking part in a parliamentary poll
for the first time. In response, the Palestinian Authority has
threatened to cancel the poll scheduled for Jan. 25. Israel annexed
east Jerusalem after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war but internationally
its regarded as occupied territory, home to some 200,000
Palestinians.
EU adds nations to preferential trade list
The European Union has added 15 developing countries to its new list
of preferential trading partners. Those on the list enjoy reduced-
or zero-duty access on their exports to the bloc. Eleven Latin
American countries will qualify under the EU's Generalised System of
Preferences, or GSP. They are: Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru
and Venezuela. Georgia, Moldova, Mongolia and Sri Lanka were also
included. Around 7,200 products are covered under the new GSP.
EU opens fish quota talks
European Union fisheries ministers are meeting for their annual
talks on fishing quotas in EU waters for next year. In a compromise
move, the European Commission has offered a slight increase for
plaice and cod while at the same time closing some waters to protect
threatened stocks. The commission also said a long-term approach was
needed to address the issue of declining fish stocks. The talks,
traditionally contentious, are expected to finish early on Thursday.
More than 600 immigrants nabbed off Sicily
Italian customs officials have intercepted more than 600 illegal
immigrants on four boats off the southern coast of Sicily. The first
boat was carrying 177 migrants. Three other boats with about 480
people on board were also reported to the authorities later and
intercepted by the Italian coast guard. The boats apparently set
sail from North Africa. This year, more than 15,000 people have been
detained after trying to illegally land on Italian territory.
South China city on alert for toxic slick
The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou has been ordered to prepare
emergency plans to ensure safe drinking water as a toxic cadmium
slick approaches the city of 10 million residents. The incident
follows a chemical spill in northeast China last month that left
millions without water for four days. The latest toxic spill was
caused by an excessive discharge of cadmium from a state-owned
smelting works on the Beijiang river.
Shell pipeline still burning in Nigeria
Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell in Nigeria is still struggling to put
out a fire at a pipeline in the southern Niger Delta region. The
fire was apparently sparked by a dynamite attack by unknown gunmen
on Tuesday. At least eight people died in the blast, which caused a
major oil slick in addition to the fire. Shell said work was ongoing
to determine the extent of the damage. In the meantime output has
been cut by 170,000 barrels per day (bpd), the equivalent of 7
percent.
Eritrea started 1998 war: claims body
An international commission has ruled that Eritrea violated
international law with an attack on Ethiopia in 1998 that triggered
a two-year border war. A series of rulings earlier this week by the
Amsterdam-based Eritrea Ethiopia Claims Commission held Eritrea
responsible for igniting the war, but also found Ethiopian troops
liable for abusing civilians and looting. In response to the rulings,
Ethiopia is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation.
The move is likely to stoke further tension between Ethiopia and
Eritrea, with both nations recently massing armies along their
border and Eritrea restricting the work of UN peacekeepers.
Russian troops for UN mission in Sudan
President Vladimir Putin has proposed sending a Russian military
contingent, including helicopters and other hardware, to join a UN
peacekeeping mission in southern Sudan. Putin made the proposal to
send 200 Russian troops in response to a call from UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan. The Russian soldiers would be placed under the
command of the UN. More than 10,000 UN peacekeepers are being
deployed to Sudan's south to monitor a peace deal signed last
January. The Russian proposal does not apply to the conflict in
Darfur in western Sudan, where 6,000 troops from the African Union
are stationed.
Tanzania's new president sworn in
In Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete has been sworn in as the country's new
president. Kikwete took the oath of office at a ceremony in the
capital, Dar-es- Salaam, which was attended by heads-of-state and
government leaders from 14 African nations. In his first official
address, Kikwete promised to do more to fight poverty. Kikwete was
elected a week ago with more than 80 percent of the vote and
succeeds Benjamin Mkapa, who was not allowed to run for another
term.
Second day of transit strike in NYC
Millions of New York City commuters are having to find alternative
means of transportation as transit workers continue their strike for
a second day. Mayor Michael Bloomberg again joined tens of thousands
of other New Yorkers hiking across the Brooklyn Bridge into
Manhattan. The city's nearly 34,000 subway and bus workers stayed
out despite a court order fining their union a million dollars for
each day of the stoppage. It is the first strike on the United
States' biggest transportation system in 25 years. Bloomberg said
there could be no negotiations until the strike ended. City
authorities fear New York will lose 1.6 billion dollars in Christmas
business if the strike lasts one week.
EU takes chemical companies to court
The European Commission has fined four chemical companies around 75
million euros for running a cartel in the rubber chemicals market.
The commission said the companies, one of whom is German giant
Bayer, had swapped information and fixed prices to their advantage.
A commission spokesman urged anyone who had been affected by the
cartel's decision to take the companies to court. Rubber chemicals
are commonly used in car tyres.
German court orders Ackermann retrial
Germany's Federal Court of Justice has ordered a retrial of a case
involving the chairman of Deutsche Bank and a deal between mobile
phone giants Vodafone and Mannesmann. The case revolves around bonus
payments and golden handshakes worth around 60 million euros made to
departing Mannesmann executives after Vodafone took over the
Duesseldorf-based rival in 2000. The federal court upheld an appeal
from prosecutors who had challenged the acquittal of Deutsche Bank
CEO Josef Ackermann and his five co-defendants last year. The trial
was Germany's highest-profile corruption case in decades.
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