DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter English Service News 31. 03. 2006 16:00 Uhr UTC
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: No Solution Other Than Police Presence for Unruly Berlin School Police have stepped in at a Berlin school to help control violence that teachers say is out of control. Berlin's education senator is coming under heavy criticism for refusing to close the secondary school down. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1950087,00.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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- At least 60 dead in Iranian quakes A series of earthquakes and several aftershocks have jolted Iran's western province of Lorestan, killing at least 60 people. The quakes' magnitudes were between 5.5 and 6.0 on the Richter scale. Iranian state television said more than 800 others were injured and that dozens of villages were either severely damaged or destroyed. Many areas are said to be without power and telephone lines are down. Iranian rescue teams are heading to the area. Iran is one of the most quake-prone countries in the world. In 2003 the southern city of Bam was hit by a major earthquake with the loss of 31,000 lives. Militant leader killed in Gaza A senior Palestinian militant leader has been killed in a car explosion in Gaza City. It's not clear whether the blast was the result of an air strike by Israeli forces who have since denied any involvement. Doctors said the man was a top commander of the Popular Resistance Committees. This comes a day after a suicide bomber killed four Israelis near the West Bank settlement of Kedoumim. It was the first such attack in two months. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the bombing but urged Western nations not to cut off their aid to the new Hamas-led government. Local Sri Lankan poll boosts president In Sri Lanka the ruling coalition of President Mahinda Rajapakse has come away the clear winner of local polls. The United Peoples' Freedom Alliance won 225 of the 266 councils up for grabs. The hardline Marxist JVP, who back Rajapakse in parliament but oppose his concessions to the Tamil Tiger rebels, did worse than expected and finished third. The main opposition United National Party managed to claim second place with 33 councils. The result boosts Rajapakse's chances of reaching a peace deal with the Tamil Tiger rebels. Thai court says PM Thaksin can run A Thai court has rejected a last-ditch attempt by opponents of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to prevent him from running in Sunday's snap general election. Opponents accuse Thaksin of corruption and abuse of power but the court said that it would consider their petition after the election. Thaksin denies any wrongdoing in the sale of 1.9 billion dollars worth of tax-free shares in the telecoms company Shin Corp. and called the snap election in a bid to renew his mandate. Despite massive demonstrations which were sparked by the controversial sale, Thaksin is expected to be re-elected. Opposition parties say they will boycott the polls. Bhopal survivors threaten hunger strike Survivors of the Bhopal gas leak in central India have threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike unless their demands for compensation are met. About 50 survivors have gathered in New Delhi urging the government to force US chemicals company Dow Chemical to pay for the cleanup of thousands of tons of toxic waste that leaked from the plant after an accident in 1984. More than 15,000 people are believed to have died in the immediate aftermath and over the past 20 years. Over 550,000 others in the region have suffered serious health problems. Dow Chemical says it never owned or ran the Bhopal plant which was operated by an Indian subsidiary. River levels rising in Saxony Officals monitoring the flood situation in the eastern German state of Saxony have said they expect the Elbe river to reach its peak level on Saturday. Authorities in Dresden said it was unlikely the river would rise beyond the critical eight-metre mark in the city. In the nearby city of Pirna hundreds of residents are being evacuated. Meanwhile the flooding in the neighbouring Czech Republic has claimed at least four lives. In Prague, authorities said they may have to close underground tram stations in case they're flooded. German Pakistan quake relief ends The German military is ending its relief efforts in the earthquake-hit region of Pakistan. The German Defense Ministry said the Bundeswehr airlifted more than 3000 tonnes of aid to victims. Over 80,000 people were killed in the October 8 quake, more than three million were left homeless. Bahrain boat overloaded; 57 dead The owner of a leisure boat that capsized in Bahrain overnight admits the vessel may have been overloaded. The boat, hired by a local firm for a dinner party, had 137 people from 16 nations on board when it capsized. Tourist operators say they believe it was designed to carry just 100 people. At least 57 people are confimed dead. Sixty survivors made it to shore, another 13 are missing. The Gulf state's interior ministry said the dead included 17 Indians, 13 Britons, and four South Africans. German school asks for police help Teachers at a school in the German capital Berlin have issued a call for help to police after complaining that violent behaviour by pupils was getting out of control. Six police officers are to be posted outside the Ruetli high school in the district of Neukoelln, which has a high percentage of pupils from immigrant families. A team of social workers and psychologists has also been dispatched. Teachers had complained that pupils were attacking fellow students and even teachers and had left a trail of destruction in the school. This comes as the country struggles to cope with deteriorating education standards and the smoother integration of immigrants. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- signandsight.com signandsight.com is the English version of the prize-winning online cultural magazine perlentaucher.de. Providing free access daily reviews of Germany's cultural press, it translates keynote articles and reviews the season's best publications. www.signandsight.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information please turn to our internet website at http://dw-world.de/english Here you'll find out what's happening in Germany, Europe and the rest of the world. News and background reports from the fields of current affairs, culture, business and science. And of course the DW website also has information about DW-RADIO and DW-TV programmes: topics, broadcast times and frequencies. You can even listen to all programmes as audio-on-demand. Serbian News Network - SNN [email protected] http://www.antic.org/
