[SNN] News, 24.09.2004, 16:00 Uhr UTC
Deutsche Welle English Service News 24. 09. 2004, 16:00 UTC -- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: The Chancellor's Long Road Back Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has come up to the halftime of his second term as the country's leader. The road so far has been extremely rocky - is a turnaround in sight? To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1337988,00.html -- Are you mad about soccer and betting? DW-WORLD's new betting pool lets you match your wits against experts and soccer fans from around the world, game by game. You can play individually or as part of a team. You can test your ability to determine winners and losers, the up-and-coming and the has-beens as well as your general soccer expertise with friends and colleagues. Best of all: We'll be awarding fabulous prizes after each game. http://bundesligatip.dw-world.de/english.do -- Two Egyptians seized in Iraq The Iraqi Foreign Ministry says two Egyptians working for a telecoms company in Baghdad have been kidnapped from their offices. The two men have been named as Mustapha Abdel Latif and Mahmoud Turki. So far no word has been heard from their captors. Meanwhile, the fate of a British man abducted in Iraq one week ago is still unknown. The kidnappers are threatening to behead Kenneth Bigley unless all Iraqi women are freed from US-run jails. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the United Nations in New York that the government was doing all it could to gain his release. But he said it would never negotiate with terrorists. Two Americans, Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley, who were abducted with Bigley, have since been killed by their captors. Rumsfeld doubts full Iraqi elections US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has cast doubt on whether Iraq's interim government will be able to hold full elections in January. Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington, Rumsfeld said unless the security situation in Iraq improved significantly by then, some parts of the country may have to be excluded from the vote. Rumsfeld's comments came just hours after Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi reiterated a pledge to hold general elections next January as planned, despite the ongoing violence in the country. Allawi also used his speech to a joint session of the US Congress to thank the United States for toppling former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Musharraf says no Pakistani troops in Iraq Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has ruled out sending troops to help restore stability in Iraq. His decision comes despite pleas from the Iraqi interim government and the United States. Musharraf said Pakistani troops did not want to be seen as occupation forces in Iraq. He also noted that no Muslim country had so far been prepared to contribute troops to the US-led force in Iraq. Musharraf is later due to meet with India's new prime minister, Manmohan Singh, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The leaders are expected to review the peace process between their two countries. Israeli woman killed in Palestinian mortar attack An Israeli woman has been killed and another wounded in a Palestinian mortar attack in the southern Gaza Strip. An Israeli army spokesman said the mortar fell in the Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim. It was the first fatality in the hundreds of Palestinian attacks on Jewish settlements in Gaza over the past four years. The militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes as Israel goes on a high alert ahead of the Jewish holy day, Yom Kippur. In response, Israeli tanks fired on the nearby Palestinian town of Khan Younis, injuring two people. The army said it was targeting the source of the mortar fire. Germany seeks Security Council seat Germany's bid to be granted a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council has been given a boost by two of its permanent members. In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said London backed a joint bid by Germany, Japan, India and Brazil to be given permanent seats. He said Britain favoured this as part of an expanded Security Council. French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier pledged France's support for the four applicants, saying Africa should also be represented. Earlier, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer used his speech at the General Assembly to make Berlin's case for a permanent seat. He said Germany was ready to take on the extra responsibility.
[SNN] A war crimes trial in crisis
A war crimes trial in crisis Tuesday, September 21, 2004 The seminal international attempt to con vict an ex-national leader of genocide and war crimes has accomplished something important: Slobodan Milosevic's trial has shown how not to do it. More than two years into it, the Milosevic trial is faltering as the ad hoc U.N. court manages to remind everyone just how politically rigged this effort is. In the most egregious instance, a three-judge panel decided this month to deprive Milosevic of his right to defend himself just as he was about to begin his defense. In other words, at the most crucial juncture of the trial, the court changed the rules to give the prosecution an advantage. Granted, it was only the latest in a series of suspicious procedural revisions and unilateral judicial changes - including in the very composition of the three-judge panel hearing the case without a jury. A Scottish judge was brought in cold as the deciding vote - after assuring tribunal staff he'd studied up on the case - to replace a British judge who became ill and later died. In any normal court of law, that itself would have been grounds for a mistrial. Still, the trial didn't become outright farce until the latest ruling, which effectively upends the defense. Most of the defense witnesses called so far have refused to testify, among them Canada's ex-ambassador to Belgrade, who called it a Stalinist show trial. With Milosevic also refusing to talk to his lawyers and reports that more than 250 defense witnesses will refuse to appear, the trial has had to be adjourned for a month in seeming disarray. If this were all, it would be bad enough, another waste of money and black mark on international justice; despite Milosevic's many misdeeds against his countrymen and former countrymen, whatever this court adjudicates will be suspect. But the way in which the United States and other Western nations still subordinate all other aims in the Balkans to their demand for war-crimes arrests has debilitated efforts to repair the region after nearly a decade of war. Among the unwanted results: The reform political coalition that toppled Milosevic nearly four years ago is no more, while fringe ultranationalists in Serbia are gaining power. One result: A reported surge in hate crimes against minority groups. The international community remains in denial about the more than 600,000 refugees and internally displaced people in Serbia, most of them Serbs expelled from Croatia and Kosovo, who remain unable to return home. Nearly a quarter of Serbs lack jobs, stoking extremist politics, as continuing U.S. war-crimes sanctions make it difficult for Serbia to repair its damaged economy and integrate into Europe. Kosovo remains a potent flash point in the Balkans, where Serbs continue to die amid failed international efforts to create ethnic harmony and dialogue. Three days of violence in March exposed the impotence of U.N. bureaucrats and the unwillingness of many non-U.S. NATO soldiers to put themselves in harm's way to defend Serbs, Roma Gypsies and other ethnic minorities against Albanian mobs. Copyright 2004 cleveland.com. All Rights Reserved. http://www.cleveland.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/opinion/1095759007318140. xml Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ~-- $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/NfOolB/TM ~- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BalkanNews/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[SNN] Serbian Americans savor the good times, each other
Staying strong as a group Serbian Americans savor the good times, each other By VIKKI ORTIZ[EMAIL PROTECTED] Posted: Sept. 23, 2004 Each weekend, the dark-haired group of twenty- and thirtysomethings file into the downtown bars together. They pick a spot in the club and order a round of their favorite drinks - beer, red wine and Coke with no ice and maybe a shot or two of Slivo. Go Serbia! Photo/Michael Sears With St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, a focal point of Serbian American life in the background, the United Serbians soccer team plays. Todor Zezelj (3) shakes the hand of John Dizas after a great play. Dizas also gets a hug from coach Vojislav Tubic. Photo/Jim Bovin The Serbian American presence is strong as friends, family and community members gather for the opening of Moct/Cafe Fabrika, owned by brothers Nebi and Sini Torbica and husband and wife Nikola and Vesna Lakic. Tattoos with a Serbian theme are not uncommon. Zoran Micic displays one symbol of his heritage at the Moct/Fabrika opening. The nightclub/restaurant, one of two new Serbian American-owned nightspots, was filled with people and Serbian American pride on its opening night. Traditional dance is a point of pride and culture in the Serbian American community. Michael Malich puts teenagers through a vigorous practice - even though the Packers-Bears game is on TV. As dean of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, Father Dragan K. Veleusic oversees many of the cultural activities that swirl around the church. Quotable I couldn't tell you the last time I hung out with someone who wasn't Serbian. We're always together. - Jovo Acamovic,36 The friends look like any other group of young professionals hanging out on a Friday or Saturday night. But this group is much more than a gathering of colleagues, kickball team members or old high school buds. They are the young, hip generation of one of Milwaukee's oldest ethnic communities. And they're proud to be hanging out together. "People notice us," says Michael Malich, 27. "They're like, 'Look at all those Serbs.'" The Serbian community has long been an integral part of the fabric of Milwaukee. American Serb Hall is a requisite campaign stop for politicians. Three Brothers Serbian Restaurant in Bay View gets nods in travel books. Many longtime city residents know that 27th St. is lined with motels owned by Serbian Americans. But what some people may not realize is that the Serbian community also has a noticeable presence in Milwaukee's youthful nightlife. On any given Friday or Saturday night, it is not uncommon for a group of Serbian friends - as small as 3 and as large as 20 - to head out to bars and clubs together. They may start off at south side hot spots, such as Una or Dynasty Lounge, then head downtown to Tangerine, Eve and Dino's Taverna. Over the years, bartenders at Dino's have learned to stock Slivovitz, a plum brandy popular with the Serbian clientele. DJs have added Serbian music to their play lists. And recently, Serbian Americans added two of the newest spots to the downtown bar scene: Moct/Cafe Fabrika - a nightclub and restaurant serving contemporary versions of Serbian food at 240 E. Pittsburgh Ave. in Walker's Point; and LEX at 530 N. Water St. Although the owners of Moct and Cafe Fabrika are quick to note that the business is targeting young professionals of all ethnicities and backgrounds, last week at a grand opening party, the Serbian spirit was present. In the midst of invited city leaders and local business owners stood a cluster of dark-haired men raising their glasses for Nikola Lakic and his wife, Vesna, who opened the restaurant portion of the business. "There was like, an urgency - I had to
[SNN] Antique steam train carries flag for Serbian tourism revival
Antique steam train carries flag for Serbian tourism revival Fri Sep 24,11:06 AM ET MOKRA GORA, Serbia- Montenegro (AFP) - A small train climbs up the mountain of Chargan, near Serbia's border with Bosnia, fulfiling a 100-year-old prophecy in a landscape of forests and ravines, the scene of Serbia-based director Emir Kusturica's latest film, "Life is a Miracle." AFP/File Photo In Mokra Gora station two railway workers polish two antique steam locomotives, showing special care for the small German-made "Elza" before she lurches into motion in a billowing cloud of steam and gray smoke. During its 15-kilometer (nine-mile) journey, the train that can carry about 100 passengers passes through 22 tunnels, over a dozen bridges and viaducts and makes a figure-eight around the mountain. The conductor blows a powerful wistle as the train approaches each of four stations, where hotels, restaurants and cafes are under construction. The so-called Chargan Eight, reconstructed in 1999, is one of the tourist attractions the Serbian authorities are using to publicise their bid to revive the tourist industry, devastated by the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Kusturica's movie, shown in May at the Cannes film festival (news - web sites) but still not released in Serbia, may become the industry's powerful ally. "The celebration scene was filmed here," boasted the assistant conductor as Elza rumbled into Golubici station, referring to a scene in the film. A local resident, the assistant conductor watched the shooting and reminds passengers that its premiere in Serbia will be on Saturday at Mokra Gora, especially for village inhabitants. Impressed by the landscape of Chargan mountain, Kusturica has decided to move here. Just outside Mokra Gora he has built a new village made entirely of wood, including the streets. Kusturica is also the mayor and financial backer and sole resident of "Eco-selo" ecological village. The cinema, swimming pool, restaurant and library are finished, and bulldozers are working on a road to bring in tourists to rent apartments in the village. In time, it is hoped that visitors will come from neighbouring Bosnia and Montenegro as well as from Belgrade and other Serbian cities. The Chargan Eight can extend its route west to the Bosnian town of Visegrad, and south to the main road that links Belgrade with the Montenegrin port of Bar. The small train would therefore have the same mission it had when it was constructed in 1920. It was designed at the time to link different parts of what was the then the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The Tarabic brothers, sons of the region, predicted 150 years ago that a train would one day stop at Chargan mountain and that passengers would travel on it "just for pleasure". http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2u=/afp/20040924/lf_afp/afplifestyle_serbianews.yahoo.com - Sep 24 2004 11:7:56 GMT Related... Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BalkanNews/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
