DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter English Service News 21.12.06, 17:00 Uhr UTC
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' 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=evu4kmIfcha79I0&req=l%3Devu4klIfcha79I0 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Germany's Foreign Minister Urges Russia to Solve Murders German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called for Russian authorities to solve the recent killings of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya and former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko as quickly as possible. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evu4kmIfcha79I1&req=l%3Devu4klIfcha79I1 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' EU urges proper Turkmen transition The European Union is urging Turkmenistan to manage the political transition following the death of President Saparmurat Niyazov "in accordance with international standards". The country's eccentric president-for-life died of a heart attack early Thursday at the age of 66. Deputy Prime Minister Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has been named interim president. The highest political body, the People's Council, is to meet Tuesday to discuss the succession following Niyazov's funeral Sunday. A presidential election is expected to take place within two months. Russia, Germany want Middle East talks At talks in Moscow the German and Russian foreign ministers have agreed that the Middle East Quartet should meet in January. Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Russia's Sergei Lavrov expressed concern over tensions, including recent clashes between Palestinian factions. The Quartet comprises the UN, the EU, Russia and the USA. Steinmeier said he also hoped for a prompt start to EU-Russia negotiations on renewing cooperation arrangements. These have been blocked by Poland in a dispute with Russia over Polish meat exports. Steinmeier urged Russia to thoroughly probe the recent murders of the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya and ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London. Lavrov warned nations in which Polonium 210 was found not to "politicize" the case. 13 Iraqi police recruits killed in attack A suicide bomber has killed 13 Iraqis arriving at a police recruitment centre in central Baghdad. Separately two civilian women were killed in a mortar strike on a marketplace in southwest Baghdad, and a bomb targeting a police patrol in the north of the city injured a bystander. Meanwhile, US soldiers in Iraq have told new Defense Secretary Robert Gates that more US troops were needed to stem the violence in the country and give local security forces time to gain strength. Sworn in four days ago, Gates is on a lightning visit to Iraq to consult with military commanders and Iraqi leaders. US President George W. Bush has said he will wait for Gates' recommendations before announcing a new Iraq strategy in January. Arms seized from Lebanese pro-Syrians Police in Lebanon have arrested four people and seized large quantities of weapons and explosives in raids on members of a pro-Syrian group. The head of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party condemned the police action, saying the party had kept the weapons cache since the early 1980s when it took part in fighting Israeli forces in south Lebanon. The SSNP is allied to the Hezbollah-led opposition, which is demanding veto power in Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's cabinet. Somali battles is 'full scale war': Islamist A leader of Somalia's Islamists has called fighting near the interim government's seat of Baidoa 'a full scale war,' blaming neighbouring Ethiopia for starting the violence. Heavy battles between the Islamists and forces loyal to the transitional government are continuing, a day after EU envoy Louis Michel met with both sides and convinced them to return to 'unconditional' peace talks. Several hundred Ethiopian troops were sent to Somalia, and are said to be training the government troops. But the Islamists claim there are thousands of them fighting alongside the government forces. The Islamists, who seek to create an Islamic state in Somalia, have vowed to wage holy war on any Ethiopian soldier in Baidoa. Bangladesh strike turns violent A strike in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka aimed at forcing electoral reforms has turned violent, with troops and riot police fighting pitched battles with protesters. Witnesses say at least 25 people were wounded in the clashes. The protest was called by a 14-party alliance, led by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, to force the interim government to implement reforms ahead of a general election set for next month. The strike has largely paralysed the capital, and has also affected business and transport across the country. No progress in North Korea nuclear talks Delegates at six-nation talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program say there has been little progress. Pyongyang has outlined a long list of hardline demands to be met before it would even consider disarming. Among the demands is an end to US financial sanctions, imposed last year for alleged money-laundering and counterfeiting. The sanctions have frozen bank accounts in the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA) that are crucial to Pyongyang's ruling elite. US envoy Christopher Hill has expressed doubt that any breakthrough is likely this week, while Japan's chief envoy, Kenichiro Sasae, said the four days of talks had achieved "no progress" due to North Korea's refusal to budge on its demands. NATO request for German planes Germany's defence ministry has rejected media claims that the government plans to send six Tornado reconnaissance jets to Afghanistan and 250 more troops. But Deputy Foreign Minister Gernot Erler said Germany is "prepared in principle" to send the planes Tornado reconnaissance planes in response to a request from NATO, but added that a decision still had not been made. Germany currently has 2,700 troops serving in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan but has resisted pressure to redeploy to the south to help overstretched forces face up to the increasingly militant Taliban. Italian doctor unplugged man's respirator The terminally ill patient at the center of a debate on euthanasia in Italy has died after losing a legal battle to have his respirator disconnected. Piergiorgio Welby, who suffered from muscular dystrophy, had been on life support since 1997. An Italian doctor said he had switched off Welby's life support system, but denied it was euthanasia, which is illegal in the predominantly Catholic country. The right to die remains a deeply contentious issue in Europe. Belgium and The Netherlands have legalized euthanasia and Switzerland allows assisted suicide. But those practices remain illegal in other European countries. Fog over Britain delays flights Persistent thick fog over southern Britain has resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations and disrupted ferry services with Ireland at the onset of the Christmas holiday season. British Airways alone has cancelled 180 short-haul flights to and from Heathrow. Flights by airlines to continental Europe and further abroad are facing delays. EU ministers agree on fishing quotas EU fisheries ministers have reached a deal regulating next year's fishing quotas. After two days of marathon talks, the ministers adopted a recommendation by the European Commission to cut the number of cod catches and the number of fishing days in 2007 by up to 25 percent. Stocks of North Sea cod have been severely depleted following years of overfishing. The ministers also agreed on a moratorium on catching anchovy in the first half of next year. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' 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=evu4kmIfcha79I2&req=l%3Devu4klIfcha79I2 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' For more information please turn to our internet website at http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evu4kmIfcha79I3&req=l%3Devu4klIfcha79I3 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. You can even listen to all programmes as audio-on-demand. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' You can cancel our newsletter at: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/public/unsubscribe.jsp?gid=90003210&uid=927954 405&mid=900000166&sig=EOPMGGCHKOCJNMEN Copyright Deutsche Welle 2006 Serbian News Network - SNN [email protected] http://www.antic.org/
