DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter English Service News 16. 10. 2006 16:00 Uhr UTC
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To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hm1maIfcha79I1&req=l%3D1hm1muIfcha79I1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- North Korea conducted nuclear test: US US intelligence officials say that US tests of air samples confirm that North Korea conducted a nuclear test on October 9. In a short statement the US Intelligence Agency also confirmed that the size of the explosion was less than 1 kiloton, a comparatively small nuclear explosion. Meanwhile Australia has said it will ban North Korean ships from entering its ports. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the move shows Australia's clear commitment to implementing the financial and weapons sanctions passed on Saturday by the UN Security Council. Meanwhile US envoy to North Korea, Christopher Hill, has arrived in Tokyo for talks on how the sanctions can be imposed. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is also due in the region on Wednesday to garner further support for the UN resolution. Sri Lankan attack kills at least 95 In Sri Lanka, a truck packed with explosives has rammed into a convoy of buses carrying naval personnel. The military says at least 100 people were killed and more than 150 others wounded. Government officials blamed Tamil Tiger rebels. The attack at a camp near Habarana in Sri Lanka's northeast is one of Sri Lanka's deadliest since a 2002 ceasefire between the government and rebels. Violence has spiralled since the truce began to fall apart in July. Last week dozens of troops and rebels were killed. Monday's truck bombing came as a Japanese peace envoy began talks with top Sri Lankan government officials. Mounting death toll in Iraq The death toll from a spree of sectarian shootings and bombings in the Iraqi city of Balad over the past three days has risen to at least 91. The bloodshed between Sunni and Shiite groups began on Friday in Balad and other regions north of Baghdad. In further violence at least 31 people were killed in the capital Baghdad. The US military says three more of its troops have been killed in action across Iraq, raising American losses for this month alone to 53. US media say a US Congress panel plans to propose major changes in America's strategy for Iraq early next year in reaction to the increasing violence. Brother of Saddam prosecutor shot dead The brother of the chief prosecutor in the genocide trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has been shot dead in Baghdad. Imad al-Faroon was murdered by gunmen outside his home. His brother is Muqith al-Faroon, who is leading the prosecution of Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity. Israeli PM ready to meet Abbas Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has told parliament that he's prepared to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas immediately. This comes a day after he was quoted as saying that his efforts to set up a meeting had come to a standstill. In his speech to the Knesset, Olmert also appealed to his Lebanese counterpart Fouad Siniora to agree to face-to-face talks that could lead to peace between the two sides. Meanwhile Israeli President Moshe Katsav stayed away from the parliamentary session a day after police recommended that he be charged with rape, sexual assault and fraud. Police say they have gathered enough information to indict Katsav, however the final decision rests with the country's Attorney-General. Katsav has denied any wrongdoing. Trial begins of Dutch suspected Islamist militants The trial of six Dutch Islamists charged with membership of a terrorist group has begun in Amsterdam. The group is suspected of having links with the so-called Hofstad Group and are acused of planning attacks against politicians and government buildings. Dutch prosecutors say they have gathered fresh evidence and can now use tougher laws in trying to secure convictions. The defendants were found in possession of automatic weapons and manuals explaining how to turn mobile phones into detonators. One of the accused, Dutch-Moroccan Samir Azzouz, was first arrested in a police crackdown which followed the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004. Car bombing near Kabul Afghan police say a suicide attacker has detonated his car bomb in Kabul after being surrounded near the city's international airport. Initial reports say the detonation wounded at least three people, including a child. In a second attack a suicide car bomber blew himself up near a Canadian convoy in the southern city of Kandahar, killing four Afghans and wounding a Canadian soldier. The blast struck a resupply convoy that suffered minor damage. Germany leads UN patrols off Lebanon Germany's navy has taken command of patrols off Lebanon as part of the United Nations peacekeeping mission UNIFIL which is overseeing the ceasefire between the Hizbollah militia and Israel. Currently eight German navy vessels with 1,000 personnel are offshore, together with ships from Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden. Their task is to prevent weapons smuggling to Hizbollah. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos who visited Damascus on Sunday says Syria has reacted positively to UN Resolution 1701 by offering to cooperate in defusing tensions. Hostilities in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hizbollah were ended on August 14. UN agency commemorate World Food Day The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN has called on the world's rich nations to do more in the global fight against hunger. To commemorate World Food Day, the agency stressed that its goal for the millenium is to cut in half the number of people starving by the year 2015. Worldwide 850-million people suffer from malnutrition and hunger-related disorders, more than half of them are children. German President Horst Koehler has called on Germans to also do their part in the struggle against world hunger. The aim in marking World Food Day on October 16th is to heighten awareness of the world food problem and strengthen solidarity in the battle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bundesliga is in full swing again! 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