DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
10. 11. 2006 17:00 Uhr UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
German Navy Escorted Warships Headed for Iraq
The German government has admitted being indirectly involved in the
Iraq war by having its navy escort American and British warships. On
Friday, Germany's parliament voted to continue its navy presence in
the region.
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Germany extends troop role in mission
Germany's parliament has voted to extend by another year the German
military's participation in the US-led anti-terror operation
"Enduring Freedom". It spans waters off the Horn of Africa, and
Afghanistan. The extended German mandate does, however, trim the
number of Bundeswehr troops foreseen from 2,800 to 1,800. Germany
currently only has 330 troops assigned to the mission, patrolling
sea routes off countries such as Somalia and Yemen. Chancellor
Angela Merkel's conservatives and their coalition partners, the
Social Democrats, joined the opposition FDP liberals to pass the
extension by 436-101. The Greens and the Left Party tried to block
it, citing alleged breaches of the Geneva Convention.
Democrats win control of Senate
In the US state of Virginia, incumbent Republican Senator George
Allen has conceded Tuesday's mid-term election to his Democratic
rival Jim Webb. The move formally clinches the final seat that
Democrats need to win control of the Senate. The Democrats will have
the right to hold hearings and approve presidential appointments,
including those to the Supreme Court. The election victory completes
the Democrats' takeover of both houses of Congress, following their
triumph earlier this week in the House of Representatives.
Californian Democrat Nancy Pelosi is tipped for the powerful post of
Speaker.
Israel increase police presence in Jerusalem
Israeli police have deployed additional
security forces due to an increased threat of
attacks by Palestinian militants. A total of
2,500 police have been sent to the Temple
Mount in Jerusalem's Old City to prevent an
outbreak of violence after Friday Prayers at
the al-Aqsa Mosque. Palestinian miltant
groups, including the armed wing of the ruling
Hamas movement, have called for a resumption
of suicide bombings to avenge the deaths of 18
Palestinians killed in Gaza on Wednesday.
Haniya hints he may step down
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of
the ruling Hamas movement has suggested he is
willing to resign if this will end a Western
aid boycott. His comments came after talks on
forming a unity government with Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Haniya
said discussions were yielding results and
that he hoped a new cabinet could be in place
within three weeks. Israel and Western nations
imposed sanctions on the Palestinian
government earlier this year in response to
Hamas' refusal to recognise Israel, renounce
violence and respect previous
Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
More casualties after attacks in Kashmir
At least five people were killed and 22 injured when unidentified
militants hurled a grenade near a mosque during Friday prayers in
India's northern state of Jammu and Kashmir. Police said the attack
took place in Tahab village, about 35 kilometres south of the
state's summer capital Srinagar. There has been no immediate claim
of responsibility of the attack. In a separate attack four people
were killed in Srinagar. India and Pakistan are to resume peace
talks on Tuesday. They were cancelled after suicide bomb attacks in
Mumbai in the summer of 2005.
Indian forces kill 11 Maoist rebels
Indian security forces have killed 11 Maoist rebels in two separate
gunbattles in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Police
said a patrol killed nine members of the outlawed Communist Party
of India during fighting in a forest in Kadapa district. A separate
gunbattle in the nearby Warangal district saw another two rebels
killed.
Britain faces 30 terrorism plots: spy chief
The head of Britain's intelligence agency says that at least 30
major terrorist acts are being planned in the United Kingdom. The
director general of MI5, Eliza Manningham-Buller, said her agents
were tracking some 1,600 suspects, most of whom were British-born
and linked to al-Qaeda in Pakistan. She said so-called "martyrdom"
videos showed that suicide bombers were partly motivated by anger at
what they saw as anti-Muslim policies, such as Britain's involvement
in Iraq and Afghanistan. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the
MI5 chief was right to say the threat would last a generation. The
British Intelligence Agency has foiled five major plots since the
July 2005 bomb attacks on London's transport system, which killed 52
people.
US agrees to Russian WTO membership
Russia has reached an agreement with the United States on Russian
entry into the World Trade Organization, but final details needed
to be agreed for a formal deal to be signed next week. Russia's
Trade and Economic Development Ministry said both sides would
continue talks in order to ensure the bilateral agreement was
signed at a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum
in Hanoi next week by the countries' top trade negotiators.
UN to postpone decision on Kosovo's status
The United Nations has decided to postpone a decision on the future
status of Serbia's breakaway province of Kosovo. The announcement
was by UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari after a meeting in Vienna
of the the Contact Group of six major powers guiding Balkan
diplomacy. The move came after Serbian President Boris Tadic called
early parliamentary elections in Serbia for January 21, forcing the
international community to extend its end-of-year deadline. The
ethnic-Albanian majority province has been under United Nations and
NATO control since the end of its 1998-1999 war, and was expected to
be granted a form of independence from Serbia.
Neo-Nazi unrest on Kristallnacht
The German government says it will spend more money to tackle the
far-right, including attempts by neo-Nazis to lure youngsters.
Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said young people must be
provided with more attractive recreational opportunities. On
Thursday night, police in the eastern German town of Frankfurt an
der Oder arrested 16 young neo-Nazis who disrupted Kristallnacht
commemorations. The 16 to 24-year-olds rioted around a memorial
stone for a former synagogue by throwing away candles and tearing up
floral wreaths. Hours earlier a new main synagogue was opened in
Munich. Kristallnacht recalls November 9, 1938, when Adolf Hitler's
Nazis attacked Jewish homes and businesses across Germany.
Typhoon Chebi approaches Philippines
Tropical Storm Chebi was upgraded to a typhoon on Friday, and is on
course to hit the northeastern Philippines. Approaching from the
Philippine Sea, Chebi is packing maximum winds of 120 kilometres per
hour and gusts of up to 150 kilometres per hour. The Philippine
weather bureau said it expects the typhoon to make landfall in
Aurora province on Saturday morning and then move across the
country's northern rice-growing regions. Authorities have told
residents to brace for possible floods and landslides.
Assassination, sea battle in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's navy and Tamil Tiger rebels have fought another sea
battle off Jaffna peninsula within hours of the assassination of a
Tamil parliamentarian in Colombo. Gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead
Nadarajah Raviraj as he was travelling to work. Tamil Tiger rebels
said they destroyed two navy Dvora-class gunboats off Jaffna. The
navy said it struck back by sinking two rebel suicide boats off
Trincomalee on Sri Lanka's eastern coast. Reports indicate that
losses on both sides could amount to more than 30 dead. The United
Nations, meanwhile, has condemned Wednesday's shelling of a Tamil
refugee centre by the Sri Lankan army. At least 65 civilians were
killed. UN relief coordinator Jan Egeland said there were "equally
disturbing" reports that rebels prevented civilians from fleeing.
Europe expects US Iraq changes
European politicians say they expect the United States to change
course on the foreign policy front following this week's US
elections. Elmar Brok, a German politician in the European
parliament said he expects the Democrats in the US Congress to
press President George W Bush to accept a partial withdrawal of US
troops from Iraq. Earlier, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana
called the resignation of US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld a
sign that Washington was changing its Iraq strategy.
Next UN head vows to resolve N. Korea crisis
The designated secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon,
has said he will use his influence to help peacefully resolve the
North Korean nuclear crisis. Ban's comments came in a speech to the
National Assembly in Seoul as he formally stepped down as South
Korea's foreign minister. He also vowed to carry out reforms within
the UN and tackle global issues like terrorism and poverty. Ban is
to take over from Kofi Annan as UN secretary-general on January 1.
After power blackout - new EU rules
The European Commission has compiled new regulations to force
electricity companies to work closer together in the wake of last
Saturday's blackout in western Europe. EU Energy Commissioner Andris
Piebalgs said the rules would also help internationalise the energy
market. On Saturday night ten million people were left briefly in
the dark in parts of France, Germany, Belgium and Italy. The German
utility E.ON had just shut down a high-voltage line over a canal in
Emsland to allow passage for a newly-built cruise liner. E.ON has
promised a full probe. Leading politicians have demanded that
utility companies ensure delivery and invest more in power grids.
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