DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News 06. 03. 2006 17:00 Uhr UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Private Security Firms Gear Up for Soccer World Cup Security is set to be one of the most important topics during the upcoming soccer World Cup in Germany and private security firms are rubbing their hands in anticipation. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1921353,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Kicking News" -- DW-WORLD's Soccer Newsletter: Get all the news about the World Cup and Germany's Bundesliga on DW-WORLD.DE at the end of every month. To subscribe, go to: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1170241,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElBaradei hopeful over Iran The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog agency Mohammed ElBaradei has said he's still hopeful a deal will emerge in the next week to defuse the standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions. ElBaradei's remark came as the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency convenes in Vienna. It's expected to forward a IAEA report to the UN Security Council alleging that Iran has largely ignored UN calls to remove doubts over its nuclear programme. In February the council deferred possible sanctions pending the report expected this week. Iran says its nuclear work is for electricity generation only, but it's threatened to start full-scale uranium enrichment. Western nations fear Iran could develop atomic weapons. Babic commits suicide in The Hague Milan Babic, the former rebel Croation Serb leader, has committed suicide in his cell at a prison in The Hague, home to the war crimes tribunal. In a statement the tribunal said that he was found dead in the UN detention unit late on Sunday. Babic was serving a 13-year prison sentence for persecution against non-Serbs and crimes against humanity. He was seen as a key ally of former Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic, who's currently standing trial at The Hague. Inquiry likely on BND agents in Iraq It looks increasingly likely that a German parliamentary committee of inquiry could examine the role of Germany's BND intelligence service in Iraq during the 2003 US-led invasion. A third opposition party in Germany's Bundestag parliament, the liberal Free Democrat Party, has decided to press for an inquiry, following the Greens and Left Party. The three parties would have enough votes to seek an inquiry despite objections of Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition. The "New York Times" newspaper has claimed that BND agents handed an Iraqi plan on Baghdad's defences to US authorities before the war. The previous German government had publicly opposed the invasion. Sniper kills senior Iraqi army officer A senior commander of the Iraqi army has been shot dead in western Baghdad. Police said the general was killed by a sniper while driving through the Gazaliya area of the city. The officer's identity has not yet been confirmed, but he is thought to have been in charge of security for part of the Iraqi capital. He is also thought to be the most senior Iraqi officer to be killed since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The killing comes amid a wave of car bomb attacks in and around Baghdad. Ongoing sectarian violence triggered by the bombing of an important Shi'ite shrine in Samarra has killed more than 400 people since February 22. Iraqi parliament to meet March 12 Iraq's President Jalal Talabani has said he will summon the country's new parliament to a first session on March 12. That would trigger a 60-day period during which parliament must pick a prime minister and cabinet. The formation of a unity govermment has been delayed since December's election by sectarian strife and discord over the main Shiite bloc's decision to retain Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari. Sunni, Kurdish and some secular politicians are disenchanted over his past year as interim prime minister. Walkout by Fatah in new parliament The first session of the new Palestinian parliament has ended in a walkout by the former ruling Fatah party after heated debate with Hamas deputies, the winners of January's election. Hamas is challenging extra powers given by the previous parliament to President Mahmoud Abbas to appoint judges of a proposed constitutional court. Hamas rejects that, saying Abbas would effectively have a veto over laws passed by the new parliament. Fatah says the change is closed business but Hamas says the move was invalid because the former assembly met after the election. A roll call during Monday's session showed that 15 of the new parliament's 132 deputies are either in Israeli prisons or on the run. Maoist rebels raid Nepalese town Hundreds of Maoist rebels have raided a town in eastern Nepal, bombing government buildings and freeing dozens of prisoners from a local jail. Officials in the town of Ilam, about 600 kilometres east of Kathmandu, said at least eight people including three rebels and two policemen were killed in the overnight attack. At least 12 police officers were wounded. Regional officials said government troops had taken control of the town and were searching surrounding areas for the attackers. Battles in northern Pakistan Reports from Pakistan's northern Waziristan region say residents have fled the town of Miran Shah, near the Afghan border, as tribal rebels battled Pakistani troops. The military says it's killed more than 120 rebels in three days of fighting. Five troops had also been killed. A curfew has been imposed. The pro-Taliban rebels attacked government installations in the town on Saturday as US President George W. Bush met President Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan's capital. Pakistan has been trying to clear militants from area since 2004. South Africa's Zuma pleads not guilty South Africa's former deputy president Jacob Zuma has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape. Zuma told the court in Johannesburg that he had had sexual relations with the 31-year-old woman in question but insisted that it was consensual. Prosecutors say Zuma raped the woman last November after inviting her to sleep over at his home. President Thabo Mbeki fired Zuma, who was seen as his successor, last June following a major corruption scandal. H5N1 also found in cats in Austria The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in several cats in Austria's southern region of Styria, according to its regional government. Last week, Germany notified the first case of an infected domestic cat in Europe. That was on the northern island of Ruegen, where H5N1 first emerged in dead swans. Adjacent Poland has become the latest European country to report bird flu finds in two dead swans. New cases have also been reported in France, Greece and Switzerland. In Geneva experts of the World Health Organisation are discussing protective measures. They fear the virus could mutate and become transmissible person-to-person. So far, the viral strain has emerged in 17 nations. Since 2003 more than 90 people have died, mostly in Asia, mostly from direct contact with poultry. Traffic recovering after snowfalls Traffic services are gradually recovering across southern Germany and in the European Alps after heavy snowfalls at the weekend. In Bavaria and Baden Wurttemburg states highways and rail lines are largely clear. But trams in the cities of Munich and Augsburg have been delayed as workers shovel snow from the tracks. The trade union Ver.di, now into the fifth week of a strike, let highway maintenance staff back to work in some snow-bound areas of Bavaria. Snow blockages have also given some pupils a day off school. In the French Alps, 3,000 winter sports tourists were forced to stay an extra night in mountain huts because exit routes were blocked. Meteorologists say a thaw could set in on Wednesday, increasing the risk of avalanches and flooded rivers from melting snow. Amnesty condemns Iraq abuse Amnesty International has said that around 14,000 prisoners are being held in Iraq in US and British detention without charge or trial. In its latest report on the situation in Iraq, the human rights group says the lessons of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal appear to have been ignored amid further reports of torture. The report highlights the case of Kamal Muhammad, a 43-year-old father of 11 children, who's reportedly been held by US forces for over two years without charge. Amnesty said it based its findings on interviews with former prisoners. US and British officials say all prisoners are being treated according to international law. "Crash" upsets "Brokeback" at Oscars There's been an upset at the Oscars awards in Los Angeles with the film "Crash" winning best movie over the heavily favoured gay cowboy drama "Brokeback Mountain." "Crash" looks at race relations in Los Angeles. "Brokeback" had picked up a host of other awards and nominations going into the Oscars, but the only award it got went to Ang Lee as best director. Philip Seymour Hoffman won the best actor category for his performance in "Capote", while Reece Witherspoon won best actress for the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the line." Best supporting actor went to George Clooney for his role in "Syriana" while best supporting actress was won by Rachel Weisz for her performance in "The Constant Gardener." The African film "Tsotsi" was named best foreign language movie. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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