Deutsche Welle English Service News 03.02.2005, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Analysis: Arab Protests are Calculated Political Response Mass protests, threats of violence and boycotts in the Arab world are exaggerated reactions to the Mohammed cartoon and an example of how governments instrumentalize hatred against the West for political purposes. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1890725,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Win a trip to Germany! "A Time to Make Friends" is the motto of this summer's World Cup in Germany. Tell us what you associate with the host country and you could end up winning a trip for two to Germany. To find out more, go to: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1863969,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IAEA delays decision on Iran The board of governors of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog has put off a decision on whether to report Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear programme. A spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency said the board would resume discussions on the issue in Vienna on Saturday. Diplomats said the delay was due to haggling between the European Union and developing countries on the text of an EU-sponsored resolution. It would give Iran until March to fully co-operate with the IAEA or face further action, possibly including UN sanctions. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country will not give up its nuclear programme, which he says is for peaceful purposes only. The US and the EU say they fear Iran could be seeking to produce nuclear weapons. Egyptian ferry sinks in Red Sea An Egyptian passenger ferry carrying around 1,300 people has sunk in the Red Sea. Maritime officials say coast guard vessels have rescued 100 survivors and pulled dozens of bodies from the water. Authorities say the 35-year-old ship was heading from the Saudi port of Duba to the Egyptian port of Safaga. It sank about 70 kilometres off the Egyptian coast in the early hours of Friday as most of the passengers were asleep. Deutsche Welle correspondent Karim el-Gawhary in Cairo says it's not clear what caused the ferry to sink. Many of those on board the ferry are said to have been pilgrims returning from the Hajj. Others are said to have been Egyptian workers returning home from their jobs in Saudi Arabia. Germany deflects cartoon criticism The German government has responded to protests against the publication of caricatures of Prophet Mohammed by highlighting the importance of freedom of expression. Government spokesman Thomas Steg told reporters in Berlin that press freedom was an essential component of democracy, but he also underlined the media's responsibility to respect religious freedoms. Protests against the caricatures are continuing as tens of thousands of people take to the streets in Iran, Egypt, Syria and the Palestinian territories. Meanwhile, a spokesman from the US State Department criticised the publication of the cartoons in European newspapers as "unacceptable" incitement to religious or ethnic hatred. Steinmeier appeals for Germans' release German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has recorded a video appeal for the release of two German engineers kidnapped in Iraq. The video was to be aired by Arabic-language television station Al-Jazeera. In the video, Steinmeier said a crisis team set up to try to gain the release of the two men still had not been able to establish contact with the kidnappers. This comes a day after the mothers of the two hostages appeared on television asking their captors to release their sons. On a video aired by Al-Jazeera on Tuesday, the kidnappers threatened to kill the two Germans within 72 hours unless Germany ended all co-operation with the Iraqi government. Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany would not be "blackmailed." Palestinian rocket hits kibbutz At least three Israelis have been injured in a Palestinian rocket attack on a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip. An Israeli army spokesman said a Qassam rocket exploded in a house in the Karmiyya kibbutz, injuring two adults and a one-month old baby. Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes and artillery have launched attacks on a target in southern Lebanon. This followed an attack by Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon on an Israeli army base near the border. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Hezbollah said that attack came in revenge for killing of a teenage Lebanese boy who went missing in the border area two days ago. Taliban launches major attack Taliban insurgents have launched four attacks in the southern Afghan province of Helmand. The deputy provincial governor said three policemen and 20 Taliban fighters were killed. Police say it was the biggest guerrilla attack in Afghanistan for several months. About 200 insurgents were involved in the fighting, including some who ambushed police reinforcements going to the scene of the initial clash. The province has seen frequent violence since US forces and their Afghan allies ousted the Taliban in late 2001. Several thousand British troops are due to be deployed there this year under a plan to expand Afghanistan's NATO-led peacekeeping force. ICJ rejects Congo human rights case The International Court of Justice has ruled it does not have jurisdiction to hear a case brought by Democratic Republic of Congo against Rwanda for allegedly supporting rebel militias in its east. In a statement, the court rejected 11 separate reasons Congo had put forward for the court to hear the case, saying they were all unfounded. Aid groups say Uganda and Rwanda backed two invasions of Congo, in 1996 and 1998, leading to a five-year war that involved six African armies and killed nearly 4 million people. Congo began its suit shortly after the formal end of hostilities in 2002, though the conflict is still simmering. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Click Back is waiting for you! 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