DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter English Service News 07. 10. 2006 16:00 Uhr UTC ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Merkel: EU's Door Closing for Near Future The European Union does not intend to admit new members "in the foreseeable future" other than those who have already begun adhesion discussions, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hlzkrIfcha79I0&req=l%3D1hlzkqIfcha79I0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Click Back is waiting for you! DW-WORLD invites you to participate in the October version of our monthly quiz and win a great prize. To play, go to: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hlzkrIfcha79I1&req=l%3D1hlzkqIfcha79I1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- World powers to discuss Iran sanctions Six world powers trying to persuade Iran to halt its uranium enrichment activities have agreed to discuss possible punitive sanctions. British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett made the announcement after hosting a meeting in London of the foreign ministers the four other permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. The move comes more than a month after Iran failed to comply with a UN Security Council deadline to stop enriching uranium. Some Western nations fear Iran is seeking to produce nuclear weapons. Iran insists that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only. NKorea may test nuke this weekend The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved a joint statement urging North Korea to refrain from carrying out its first nuclear weapons test. Japanese officials say they believe North Korea could conduct the test as early as this weekend. North Korea such the test is necessary to act as a deterrent to US military and economic aggression. North Korean troops cross into DMZ South Korean soldiers have fired warning shots after five North Korean soldiers briefly crossed into the southern side of the de-militarised zone that separates the two countries. South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said in a statement that the North Koreans had climbed over the military demarcation line despite several warnings issued by loudspeakers. The statement said they went about 30 metres over the demarcation line but returned after the shots were fired. No injuries were reported. Over 150 rounded up in Kirkuk Thousands of Iraqi police and soldiers swept through the northern oil city of Kirkuk on Saturday, searching homes for weapons and insurgents. At least 150 people were rounded up and over 220 rifles were seized in the search. All residents were ordered off the streets as an indefinite curfew remains in force. In northern Tal Afar, northwest of Kirkuk, a suicide car bomber killed 14 people including four civilians in an attack on an Iraqi army checkpoint. 2 DW freelancers killed near Kabul A prominent Russian investigative journalist has been found murdered in Moscow. Russian news agencies say Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in her apartment. She was known for her critical coverage of the Kremlim and the war in Chechnya. Meanwhile Afghan authorities say two German journalists were killed in their tent about 120 kilometers north of the Afghan capital Kabul. The two are freelance reporters for Deutsche Welle who were carrying out private research at the time. The German Foreign office is yet to confirm the deaths and the identity of the two. Violence has increased markedly across Afghanistan this year, mostly in the south and east where Taliban insurgents have been battling foreign and government troops. NATO has 33,000 in its ISAF Afghan mission.That number includes 2,750 German troops. Germany probes terror prison claim Federal prosecutors in Germany are investigating a claim that terror suspects were illegally detained and possibly abused at a US military prison in Mannheim in Germany's south. A spokesman for the prosecutor's office said the probe follows claims by the British Human rights group "Reprieve". The group says it has testimony from three inmates who knew of suspects being held or transferred via US bases in Germany. Last month, US President George W. Bush admitted that the CIA had interrogated dozens of suspects at secret overseas locations, but did not say where. The German government denied the existence of CIA operated secret prisons in Germany. Merkel calls for EU expansion halt German Chancellor Angela Merkel has spoken out against a rapid expansion of the European Union. Merkel made the announcement in a statement on her website, in which she outlined Germany's priorities when it takes over next year as rotating president of the EU. Merkel said that after Bulgaria and Romania join next year, no other members ought to be accepted in the foreseeable future. Croatia and Turkey are keen to join the EU, but Merkel, who has just returned from a two-day official visit to Turkey, said that Europe should firmly delineate its borders and not increase bureaucracy. Turkey's potential membership is a divisive issue within the 25-member bloc, and some countries are sceptical about admitting the large and populous Muslim state. Thousands of Poles call for snap polls More than 20,000 Poles in pro-and anti-government marches took to the streets of the capital Warsaw on Saturday. Opposition supporters of the Civic Platform Party are calling for new elections and the resignation of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's government. The prime minister in turn spoke to a crowd of thousands of supporters saying that life was improving under his government. The embattled right-wing Law and Justice minority coalition is currently seeking a a parliamentary majority after dumping its populist Self Defence farmers' party coalition partner last month. Polls open in Latvian general election Voters in Latvia are going to the polls this Saturday to elect a new parliament. Recent opinion polls predict a victory for the centre-right parties which make up Latvia's current minority government. These are Latvia's first parliamentary elections since the Baltic nation was admitted to the European Union two years ago. Smoke from fires plagues Southeast Asia Hundreds of forest fires in Indonesia re continuing to send smoke across Southeast Asia. Singapore has recorded its highest pollution reading in nearly a decade, and has issued its first haze-related health warning this year. In Central Kalimantan, on the Indonesian side of Borneo, visibility in some places has plunged to 50 metres. Hundreds of people sought medical help for respiratory problems. Malaysia also reported unhealthy levels of smoke in many areas. Timber and oil palm plantation companies as well as farmers are being blamed for lighting fires to clear land for planting on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Schumacher in front row at Japanese GP In motor racing: Ferrari driver Felipe Massa will start from the pole position in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix after finishing first in qualifying. His Ferrari team-mate, Michael Schumacher, will start beside him in the front row. The German is chasing his eighth drivers' championship in what he has said will be his final season. Schumacher leads the standings, ahead of the defending champion Fernando Alonso. Both have 116 points but Schumacher has won one race more than the Spaniard. Alonso will start the Japanese Grand Prix from fifth place in the grid. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bundesliga is in full swing again! 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