DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
27. 04. 2006 16:00 Uhr UTC
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On April 26, 1986, the meltdown of a nuclear reactor at Chernobyl
power plant in the Soviet Union shocked the world and reminded
people of the potential dangers of nuclear energy. Twenty years
later, DW-WORLD.DE looks back at the catastrophe with a special
section that includes flash-animated graphics, interviews and
background analysis. To find out more, please go to
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hlbtyIfcha79I0&req=l%3D1hlbtxIfcha79I0
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Merkel, Putin Hail Gas Deal, Disagree on Iran
Concluding their two-day summit in Siberia, Russian and German
leaders saw the signing of a major joint venture between companies
from both countries to develop a natural gas field. They failed
to agree on Iran.
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internet address below:
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Putin, Merkel agree energy deal
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin
have signed a major energy deal that will see the world's largest
chemical company, Germany's BASF, help develop a large Russian gas
field in Siberia. At a bilateral forum in the Siberian city of
Tomsk, Merkel said she hoped Russia would remain a reliable provider
of energy. Putin had earlier said that Russia planned to pay off its
entire outstanding debt to the Paris Club of creditor nations - just
under 21 billion dollars - by the end of this year. At a joint press
conference, the two leaders also stressed the need for a diplomatic
solution to the nuclear standoff over Iran, however they differed
over the role of the UN Security Council with Putin saying the IAEA
should play a more pivotal role.
US wants tough sanctions against Iran
The US Congress is demanding tough sanctions against Iran should the
country ignore demands to stop its uranium enrichment programme. In
a joint statement, Congress members said the United States should
use all political and economic means at its disposal to force Iran
to freeze its nuclear activities. This comes a day before a UN
Security Council deadline expires for Iran to comply with those
demands. China, a veto-holding member of the Security Council, has
warned against any rash decisions and called for a diplomatic
solution to the standoff. Meanwhile Iran's President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad has again said Tehran would not abandon its enrichment
work, adding that such a demand could not be imposed on Iran.
Rice arrives in Sofia for NATO talks
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Sofia for
talks with her NATO counterparts. The 26 NATO foreign ministers,
along with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, are supposed to
focus on issues such as Darfur and expanding the peaceforce in
Afghanistan. The talks, however, risk being overshadowed by the
crisis surrounding Iran's nuclear ambitions. Rice was greeted in
Sofia by some 2,000 Bulgarian nationalists who were protesting
against planned US military bases in the Balkan state.
Belarus opposition leader sentenced
One day after a protest rally in the capital of Belarus, the
country's main opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich has been
sentenced to 15 days in prison for organising a rally. Milinkevich
denounced the sentence as blatantly political. The government said
Wednesday's massive protest in the capital Minsk to mark the 20th
anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear explosion was unlawful. Several
other opposition leaders have also been arraigned.
Spanish court sentences Batasuna head
Spain's High Court has sentenced the head of the banned Basque
political party Batasuna to 15 months in prison. The court in Madrid
found Arnaldo Otegi guilty of glorifying terrorism but it is
uncertain if the Basque leader would have to go to jail. He is
expected to appeal the sentence. Otegi has denied the charges that
he had praised terrorism when he publicly paid tribute to a dead ETA
member. ETA, the armed fraction of Batasuna, called a cease fire in
March, and if peace talks do take place with the Spanish government,
Otegi would have a leading role in the process.
EU probes German man's CIA allegations
European members of parliament are travelling to Macedonia to
investigate the allegations of a German man who says the US Central
Intelligence Agency kidnapped him in 2003. Khaled el-Masri says he
was interrogated by the CIA in Afghanistan after being seized in
Macedonia. The investigation into the accusations comes a day after
the release of a European parliamentary report which found that
since 2001 the CIA made more than 1,000 secret flights using
European airports and airbases.
Israel's Kadima makes coalition deal
Israeli premier designate Ehud Olmert's Kadima party and the
centre-left Labour have reached a deal on forming a governing
coalition. According to reports, Labour leader Amir Peretz is set to
become defense minister in the new-look government. The seven
cabinet posts Labour is set to control includes the education
ministry. Kadima is expected to sign the agreement with Labour, as
well as with two ultra-orthodox parties later on Thursday. Kadima
won March elections, but did not obtain enough of the 120
parliamentary seats to rule alone.
German think-tanks upbeat on growth
The six leading economic institutes here in Germany are growing
increasingly optimistic about the country's economic growth for this
year. Unlike the government, which has predicted growth of 1.4
percent of gross domestic product for 2006, the six think-tanks have
pencilled in 1.8 percent for this year. The latest figure appears in
the institutes' spring report which was published earlier on
Thursday in Berlin. In last year's autumn report they had been
forecasting growth of only 1.2 percent of GDP.
Mine attack kills 3 in Sri Lanka
There have been further attacks by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels in
Sri Lanka on government forces. Three soldiers were killed and two
others wounded after a mine attack in the country's northeast. This
comes after the army stopped bombing Tamil Tiger targets and
reopened borders with rebel territory. The recent violence between
the two sides has triggered fears of a collapse of a 2002 truce and
a return to a full-scale civil war.
Chinese leader signs oil deal in Nigeria
Chinese President Hu Jintao has signed a multi-billion dollar deal
with Africa's biggest oil producer Nigeria. China will buy into an
oil refinery in northern Nigeria in return for the drilling rights
to four oil exploration blocks. Speaking to the Nigerian lawmakers
in Abuja, Hu said China wanted a "strategic partnership" with Africa
as the Asian power seeks to increase trade in Africa. After the
two-day visit in Nigeria, Hu flew on to Kenya to conclude his
three-country tour of the continent.
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