DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
30. 03. 2006 16:00 Uhr UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
German Parliament Debates Reforms
Using Wednesday's debate about the chancellery's budget for 2006 as a
peg, German parliamentarians engaged in a general exchange of
arguments and opinions about the grand coalition's policies.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1949093,00.html
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"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
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Kidnapped US reporter freed in Iraq
Jill Carroll the US reporter held hostage in Iraq for more than two
months has been freed. An Iraqi government source said that Carroll
was in good health and was being cared for in Baghdad's heavily
guarded government compound, the Green Zone. Carroll, who works for
the Boston-based Christian Science Monitor, was abducted by unknown
gunmen in west Baghdad in early January. Carroll's release comes a
week after the freeing of three other western hostages, a Briton and
two Canadians. Her captors, who called themselves the Revenge
Brigades, had demanded the release of all women detainees in Iraq.
Taylor's trial to be moved to The Hague
Sierra Leone's UN-backed war crimes court has asked the Netherlands
to allow the trial of Liberia's ex-president and former warlord
Charles Tayler to be shifted to The Hague where it'll be safer. A
Dutch foreign ministry spokesman said a new UN resolution would be
needed and the trial would have to take place inside the facilities
of one of the other international courts already located in The
Hague. Liberia's new President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has backed the
request. Taylor was arrested on Wednesday in Nigeria while trying to
flee after three years of exile. He faces 11 charges dating back to
two civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone between 1989 and 2003.
Berlin talks on Iran nuclear activities
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier says the United
States, Russia, China and Europe remained intent on a diplomatic
solution to the dispute with Iran over its nuclear programme. US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice however warned Iran that the
international community was united. The remarks followed a meeting
in Berlin among diplomats from the five veto-wielding members of the
UN Security Council plus Germany over ways to press Iran to stop
making enriched uranium, which can be used for weapons. Iran says
its program is peaceful. The Berlin meeting came a day after the UN
Security Council unanimously approved a non-binding statement urging
Iran to suspend uranium enrichment. It asks the UN's nuclear
watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to report back in
30 days on Iran's compliance with demands to stop enriching uranium.
Fresh strikes over French job law threatened
French unions and student groups have called for fresh strikes and
protests next week to keep up the pressure on the government over
the country's youth job law. Universities across the country have
been disrupted for weeks by protests over the law, which makes it
easier for employers to hire and fire workers. Hundreds have been
arrested in violent clashes with police amid generally peaceful
protests. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has refused to back
down, saying the law creates jobs. But he did say he was willing to
compromise. The French Constitutional Council is expected to hand
down a verdict today on an appeal against the new law.
Germany's jobless rate dips in March
Germany's jobless rate edged downward in March. According to
government figures released Thursday, unemployment fell slightly to
12 percent, breaking back below the politically sensitive 5 million
mark. Unemployment was down from 12.2 percent in February and 12.1
percent in January. The Federal Statistics Office said the number of
Germans without a job fell to 4.9 million, compared to 5 million in
February. The German labour office expects as many as 60,000 new
jobs will be created during the soccer World Cup.
Storm batters Western Australia
A >
The German city of Dresden and other residents along the Elbe river
are bracing for flood waters swelled by melting snow and heavy rain.
Officials are preparing to evacuate low-lying parts of Dresden. The
swelling river have reawakened memories of a disaster in eastern
German in 2002 when the River Elbe reached a flood height of 9.4
metres. Experts predict 7.5 metres for Friday. An similar emergency
is emerging in the southern Czech Republic, where teams are
reinforcing river banks.
Schroeder to chair gas pipeline consortium
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has been appointed
chairman of the consortium building a strategically vital gas
pipeline linking Russia's vast reserves with German markets.
Schroeder joined executives from the Russian and German energy
giants OAO Gazprom, BASF AG and E.On AG in Moscow on Thursday for an
inaugural meeting of the consortium. Schroeder's nomination provoked
a storm of criticism that he allegedly used his official position
for personal gain. Schroeder, a close ally of Russian President
Vladimir Putin, had been a strong advocate of the project while in
office. Russia began building the Baltic Sea pipeline in September
to diversify supply routes, especially to Germany, Gazprom's largest
foreign customer.
Brazil's first astronaut blasts off
Brazil's first astronaut has launched into space together with a
Russia-US crew bound for the orbiting International Space Station.
Marcos Pontes, a 43-year old Brazilian Air Force pilot, blasted off
from Baikonur in Kazakhstan early on Thursday. The Soyuz rocket is
set to dock in two day's time. Pontes's two colleagues, Pavel
Vinogradov and Jeffrey Williams will remain in space for a six-month
rotation aboard the station. But Pontes is set to return to earth in
10 days with the outgoing crew.
German spelling to be standardised
Spelling in German is to be standardised at schools in Germany from
next August after ten years of controversial modernisation. It had
led to some words being spelt differently in Germany's 16 regional
states. In Berlin their premiers have voted for the standardisation
as recommended by an expert spelling panel. The standardisation will
apply from the start of Germany's new school year in the European
summer, with a 12-month transit phase. Under Germany's constitution
the 16 Laender have the perogative in educational matters.
Germany to tighten border controls
German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has revealed that the
German governement is considering overruling the Schengen agreement
for the duration of this summer's World Cup and reimposing border
controls to combat hooliganism. The Schengen agreement allows
travellers to cross certain borders without showing their passports
and Germany is one of 15 countries to sign the agreement. Germany
has borders with six Schengen countries. Speaking at a World Cup
security meeting in Berlin, Schaeuble said the country was
well-equipped to protect the safety of the players and spectators
when the finals begin on June 9.
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