Deutsche Welle English Service News 21. 02. 2006, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Iran Hopeful About Russian Nuclear Compromise Plan Iranian officials said Tuesday they were hopeful a Russian compromise to end the crisis over Iran's nuclear program would bear fruit, but Moscow appeared skeptical after two days of talks. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1911121,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Kicking News" -- DW-WORLD's Soccer Newsletter: Whether its World Cup news or Bundesliga previews that you're looking for, you'll never miss out on the action with DW-WORLD.DE's new monthly soccer newsletter, "Kicking News." Stay on top of the game with DW-WORLD.DE! To subscribe, go to: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1170241,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Car bomb kills 20 at Baghdad market At least 20 people have been killed and many others injured after a car bomb went off at a market in a mainly Sunni district of Baghdad. An Iraqi interior ministry official said almost all of those injured in the blast were civilians. Police said they believed the attacker, who set the bomb off by remote control, had meant to hit a police patrol. Bird flu cases in Germany top 100 The number of birds infected with avian influenza in Germany has climbed to more than 100. This, after 22 more wild birds found dead on the northern island of Ruegen tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which can be deadly to humans. Officials in the state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania have declared a state of emergency in the areas where infected birds have been found. Officials say they are still hopeful that they can prevent the virus from infecting domestic birds. Poultry farmers have slaughtered thousands of birds as a precaution. Last week the federal government ordered all poultry kept indoors to prevent contact with migrating birds that could be carrying the virus. EU veternarians discuss bird flu A panel of European Union veterinary experts is meeting in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the merits of letting governments vaccinate domestic poultry against bird flu. France and the Netherlands favour poultry vaccination, while the European Commission and several other EU countries oppose the idea. German Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer and others have questioned the merit of vaccinations, insisting they are both costly and their effectiveness is doubtful. Hungary confirms bird flu in swans Hungary has become the seventh European Union nation with at least one confirmed case of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. Officials said tests conducted in Britain confirmed that three dead swans found in early February were infected with the disease. Hungary now joins Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy, France and Slovenia in reporting the disease's lethal strain in wild birds. Outside the EU, Croatia is the latest country to confirm the presence of the virus. Meanwhile, authorities in India have decided to cull about 700,000 chickens within 10 kilometres of a village where the disease was detected. Iran says Moscow talks "constructive" Iran says it won't hold any more meetings on its nuclear programme with the European trio of Germany, Britain and France. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters in Moscow that Tehran would negotiate with individual European countries instead. He was speaking at the end of two days of talks on Iran's nuclear programme that the Iranian delegation described as constructive. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it wasn't clear whether Tehran would accept Moscow's offer to enrich uranium for Iran on Russian soil. Western nations have expressed fears that Iran may be seeking to produce nuclear weapons, although Iran insists that its programme is for peaceful purposes only. Germany supports diplomacy on Iran German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier says he remains hopeful that the standoff over Iran's nuclear programme can be resolved through diplomacy. But speaking to reporters in Tokyo, Steinmeier did not rule out economic sanctions. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Tokyo supported Germany's approach on Iran. He said international co-operation was key to resolving the dispute. Steinmeier was in Tokyo as part of his current Asian tour. Haniya to form Palestinian government Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will formally ask Hamas leader Ismail Haniya to form a new government after the Islamist militant group won last month's election with a clear parliamentary majority. The victory of Hamas, though, has left the Palestinian Authority with new funding problems. Israel has frozen the transfer of tax and customs duties worth $50 million a month, arguing that the money could be used to finance militant attacks against its citizens. The United States and the European Union have also threatened to cut off aid unless Hamas renounces violence and recognises Israel's right to exist. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Cairo for discussions expected to centre on Hamas and Iran. Heros files for bankruptcy Germany's leading money-transport company, Heros, has filed for bankruptcy after authorities announced an investigation into the embezzlement of 300 Million euros by the firm's own employees. The huge figure is only an estimate, based on evidence seized during raids on firms and apartments and on testimony from those allegedly responsible. Four people have been arrested in the investigation. Rescuers losing hope for trapped miners Rescue teams in Mexico are working to free at least 65 workers trapped underground after a blast in a coal mine in the northern state of Coahuila. The authorities have not yet been able to make contact with the miners, and hopes of finding them alive are fading. Their oxygen supplies are believed to be running low or have run out. The explosion occurred on Sunday and it is thought to have been caused by gases igniting inside the mine. Irving to appeal Austrian jail sentence Right-wing British historian David Irving says he will appeal a three-year jail sentence ordered by an Austrian court for denying the Holocaust took place. He was on trial for a speech and an interview he gave in Austria 17 years ago. Irving pleaded guilty to the charge, while insisting that he now accepted that the Nazi genocide of more than 6 million Jews had occurred. In the meantime, the Austrian prosecutor has filed an appeal for a longer prison sentence, arguing that Irving had only pretended to change his views to escape a jail term. Holocaust denial is a criminal offence in Austria and carries a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment. Germans win men's biathlon relay In sports: At the Winter Olympics in Turin, Germany has won another medal. The team of Rico Gross, Michael Roesch, Sven Fischer and Michael Greis won the gold medal in the men's biathlon 4 x 7.5-kilometre relay. Russia won the silver and France took the bronze medal. Germany currently heads the medals table, followed by the USA and Austria. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sign up for our new podcast! 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