DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter English Service News October 11th 2006, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Putin Seeks German Help to Modernize Russian Economy Russian President Vladimir Putin sought the assistance of Germany on Wednesday in helping to modernize his country's expanding economy via closer cooperation in the fields of advanced technology and science. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hm0o0Ifcha79I0&req=l%3D1hm0nrIfcha79I0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Need a good laugh? Then check out DW-WORLD.DE'S From the Fringe Special, which regularly brings you quirky stories from and about Germany. To find out more, go to http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hm0o0Ifcha79I1&req=l%3D1hm0nrIfcha79I1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- President Bush says US will not attack North Korea US President George W. Bush has called for tough sanctions on North Korea in reaction to its reported nuclear test. Bush told reporters at the White House that the United States remains committed to diplomacy, but also reserved all options to defend our friends in the region. He also vowed increased military cooperation with allies, including bolstering ballistic missile defenses in the region and increased efforts to prevent Pyongyang from importing missile and nuclear technology. Bush said that Pyongyang had reneged on a agreement reached at six-party talks last year that was in North Korea's own interests. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged the United States to hold one-on-one talks with North Korea, something the US has refused to do. UNSC discusses sanctions on Pyongyang The United Nations Security Council is meeting to consider a package of sanctions against North Korea after it claimed to have conducted an underground nuclear test. A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman has said that Pyongyang would consider any introduction of sanctions against it as an act of war. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on Pyongyang to exercise restraint. Meanwhile Japan has banned North Korean ships from entering Japanese ports and imposed a total ban on imports from the communist state. The additional sanctions were approved after an emergency cabinet meeting. In a statement the cabinet office said North Korean nationals are also prohibited from entering Japan, with limited exceptions. Merkel sets agenda for EU constitution German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she wants to see the stalled European Union constitution ratified in time for the next European elections in 2009. At a cabinet meeting attended by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Merkel said Berlin would introduce a clear time schedule for the ratification process after it takes over the EU's rotating presidency in January. But she said it would be unrealistic to try to get the treaty ratified within Germany's six month-term. Merkel said the plan was to work closely with Portugal and Slovenia, the next two countries scheduled to hold the EU presidency, to get the constitution ratified. At least 12 die in France train collision At least 12 people have been killed and many others injured after a passenger train collided with a freight train in north-eastern France. The regional express train was travelling from Luxembourg to the French city of Nancy when it crashed at Zoufftgen. That's on the French side of the border. A spokesman for French rail operator SNCF said the line the passenger train was travelling on was being repaired, so it switched to a second track, where it hit the oncoming freight train. Britain vows to adhere to N.Ireland deadline Britain has vowed to stick to a November deadline for reaching a power-sharing deal in Northern Ireland as it prepared to host crucial talks with the province's politicians. Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said he believed a deal was possible but stressed that London was serious about closing down Northern Ireland's Stormont assembly if the politicians did not reach a deal by November 24. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern will launch three days of talks later today with Northern Ireland's parties in the Scottish town of St. Andrews. Airbus denies plant closings in Germany The European aircraft company Airbus has denied a newspaper report that it intends to sell five German factories with a combined workforce of 6,600 employees. A German Airbus spokesman called the report "pure speculation." It has been rumoured that the production plants could be sold to private investors and continue to supply Airbus with parts but at lower cost since workers would be forced to take pay cuts to keep their jobs. In the meantime, Spain is reportedly considering increasing its shares in EADS, the airplane maker's mother company, in order to ensure the jobs of Spanish workers employed by Airbus. Russian banker shot dead in Moscow Another banker has been shot dead in an apparent contract killing in Moscow. Alexander Plokhin, the director of the Vneschtorgbank, was shot in the head outside an apartment block late on Tuesday. The state-owned bank is due to be floated soon. The killing of the 58-year old former Moscow city council member is the latest in a spate of apparent contract murders. Last month, the deputy central bank chief Andrei Kozlov was killed in a gangland-style assassination. Czech government resigns Czech President Vaclav Klaus has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's minority government. He said he would now meet with the leaders of all five political parties in the lower house to look for a way out of the current parliamentary deadlock. Topolanek's minority government was ousted in a no confidence vote last week. The lower house has been at a stalemate since an inconclusive general election last June that left leftist and centre-right parties with 100 seats each. Klaus said the cabinet would stay on in a caretaker capacity until he appoints a new prime minister and government after municipal and senate elections are completed at the end of this month. Sri Lanka fighting kills dozens Dozens of troops and rebels have been killed in a fierce battle in Sri Lanka's far north. Each side has accused the other of launching offensives. The Tiger rebels said they had recovered the corpses of at least 38 soldiers who had pushed into their territory, and were ready to hand them over to the Red Cross. They said 10 of their own fighters were killed. The military said the Tigers provoked the fighting by firing artillery and rocket-propelled grenades and trying to infiltrate government areas. It said 22 of its soldiers were killed and more than 100 others were injured. They said troops saw many dead Tigers near rebel front lines. DRC failing to act on child soldiers: Amnesty The human rights group Amnesty International has published a report about the continued use of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), accusing the government of failing to act. According to the report at least 11,000 children in Congo are still in the hands of armed groups who are ready to return to war if peace efforts fail. The London-based organisation said the release, protection and re-integration of child soldiers into society should be the first priority of the Democratic Republic of Congo's new government. The 1998-2003 conflict triggered a humanitarian crisis estimated to have killed nearly 4 million people. Sturanovic named as new Montenegrin premier Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic has named outgoing Justice Minister Zeljko Sturanovic as the new prime minister and asked him to form a cabinet. Sturanovic replaces Milo Djukanovic, who announced his resignation last week after 16 years in power. Djukanovic will remain leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). He has served as justice minister since July 2001. Last month the DPS and their junior allies, the Social Democratic Party, won 42 seats of the 81 seats in parliament in national elections. In June the people of Montenegro voted for independence from Serbia. German High Court to hear 9/11 suspect's appeal Germany's High Court is due to hear the appeal of Moroccan Mounir al-Motassadeq, one of only two people convicted of a role in the September 11, 2001 attacks. Motassadeq, who was arrested after the attacks on New York and Washington, has been tried twice on terrorism charges. He was sentenced in 2003 to 15 years in prison for providing logistical support to three suicide pilots involved in the 9/11 attacks, but then had the verdict overturned and was released on bail. In August 2005 at a retrial he was jailed for seven years, but released on bail six months later pending the outcome of his second appeal. At both his trials, judges said it was inconceivable he did not know what his associates were plotting. Politicians challenge transparency law Germany's highest court has begun hearing a legal challenge to a law that requires members of the Bundestag to disclose income earned from sources other than their jobs as parliamentarians. The challenge has been brought before the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe by a group of nine members of the Bundestag. The law was introduced by the centre-left government of former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder last year in an effort to increase transparency in government. The nine plaintiffs argue that it violates their right to privacy. A ruling isn't expected for several months. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bundesliga is in full swing again! Follow all the German soccer action with DW-WORLD.DE in our special section: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hm0o0Ifcha79I2&req=l%3D1hm0nrIfcha79I2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information please turn to our internet website at http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hm0o0Ifcha79I3&req=l%3D1hm0nrIfcha79I3 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. 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