DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter English Service News 26.12.06, 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=evu595Ifcha79I0&req=l%3Devu59kIfcha79I0 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Asia Marks Tsunami Anniversary, Still Struggles to Rebuild Aid from the West, including Germany, is helping Asian countries come back from the deadly tsunami of 2004. But the effects of the giant waves are still being felt. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evu595Ifcha79I1&req=l%3Devu59kIfcha79I1 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Pipeline blaze in Lagos kills hundreds A vandalised fuel pipeline has exploded in Nigeria's largest city Lagos, killing at least 200 people and the local Red Cross says the toll will rise. Emergency workers are trying to identify hundreds of bodies at the scene in Lagos' heavily populated neighbourhood of Adule Egba. The blaze began as residents were scooping up fuel using plastic containers after thieves had punctured the pipeline. Fuel theft is common in Nigeria where most people live in poverty despite the country being the world's eighth largest oil exporter. Saddam death sentence upheld An Iraqi appeals court has upheld last month's death sentence against ousted dictator Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity. Appeals court judge Arif Saheen said the court had approved the November 5 verdict to hang Saddam, and that the sentence will be carried out within 30 days. The former Iraqi dictator had been condemned to death for the 1982 killings of 148 people in a single Shiite town after an attempt on his life there. Two co-defendants - Saddam's half-brother, Barzan al-Tikriti, and former chief judge Awad Hamed al-Bandar - were also sentenced to death. Bombings in Baghdad kill 30 Car bombings in Baghdad have left dead at least 29 people. The latest bombing near a mosque in the mainly Sunni district of Adhamiyah followed three simultaneous blasts near a busy intersection in the mainly Shiite district of Bayiha. Security and medical sources said a further 100 people were wounded in the four attacks. The US military says that six of its soldiers have been killed by roadside bomb attacks. Three were killed on Monday and three soldiers die on Tuesday. Ethiopia advances on Somali Islamists Islamist forces based in Somalia's main city of Mogadishu say they are in tactical retreat as Ethiopian troops advance on three fronts. This follows a third day of bombing by warplanes sent by Ethiopia to support Somalia's fragile government based in Baidoa. Its ambassador to Addis Abeba claimed that Ethiopian forces were 70 kilometers from Mogadishu. Spokesmen for the Council of Islamic Courts have threatened prolonged guerrilla warfare. The International Red Cross says more than 800 people have been wounded and thousands displaced since clashes began a week ago between pro-government forces and the Islamists. They have sought to restore order after years of anarchy. Diplomats say Kenya is trying to broker a ceasefire amid fears that an all-out war could draw in Eritrea on the side of the Islamists. Indian Ocean tsunami - two years later Two years after the Indian Ocean tsunami, survivors and relatives of those killed have been revisiting coastal areas to mourn. Giant waves killed 230,000 people on December 26, 2004, after an undersea earthquake off Sumatra. In the worst-hit tsunami region of Aceh in Indonesia, rebuilding has been set back in recent days by fresh floods from heavy rains. At the Thai town of Bang Muanga a cemetery for 409 unidentified tsunami victims has been dedicated by Buddhist monks, Catholic priests and Muslim clerics. On India's Andaman and Nicobar islands residents have lit candles for the 3,500 people they lost. Sri Lanka has held two minutes of silence, with its main ceremony in Galle, a port city devastated in 2004. Quakes off Taiwan A series of earthquakes has struck off southern Taiwan, triggering fears of a tsunami. The jolts from the quakes, the most powerful of which measured around 7.0 on the Richter scale, were felt throughout Taiwan and on Japan's southern island of Okinawa. Media reports from Taiwan say at least one person has been killed in a building collapse. Japan's Meteorological Agency had warned of a possible tsunami, but an official has said the danger has now passed. Turkmen election set for February 11 Turkmenistan is to hold a presidential election on February 11 to replace Saparmurat Niyazov, its longtime authoritarian leader who died of a heart attack last week. The date has been set by the country's top legislative body, the People's Council. The session was attended by Turkmenistan's acting president and deputy prime minister, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov. Berdymukhamedov was also approved by the Council as one of more than ten candidates proposed to run in the election. Opposition Turkmen leaders living abroad have demanded democratic reforms and say they'll submit an election candidate. Niyazov was buried on Sunday, leaving a power vaccuum in the gas-rich central Asian nation. Castro "making good recovery"- surgeon A leading Spanish surgeon who has just examined Cuban leader Fidel Castro has said he is making a good recovery from intestinal surgery and could return to governing his country. Jose Lusi Garcia Sobredo also said that Castro was not suffering from cancer, as had been widely speculated in the media both in Cuba and abroad. The 80-year-old Castro has not been seen in public since the end of July. His younger brother, Raul, has temporarily taken over running the country. Jordon will host Fatah, Hamas peace talks A Hamas spokesperson has said that Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has accepted an invitation to attend talks in Jordan with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Jordan's King Abdullah offered to mediate after a surge in violence between the rival Palastinian factions of Fatah and Hamas. They have failed to agree on forming a government. In other developments, Israel's cabinet has approved the removal of at least 16 roadblocks in the occupied West Bank, which will allow people and goods to be transported more freely. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' 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=evu595Ifcha79I2&req=l%3Devu59kIfcha79I2 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' For more information please turn to our internet website at http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evu595Ifcha79I3&req=l%3Devu59kIfcha79I3 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=900001049&sig=AALOCPOEFCMLLGMF Copyright Deutsche Welle 2006 Serbian News Network - SNN [email protected] http://www.antic.org/
