Deutsche Welle English Service News 10.06.2004, 16:00 UTC ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1432_A_1231737_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- G8 adopts Middle East initiative Leaders of the Group of Eight nations have adopted a compromise version of President Bush's plan to promote democracy across the Middle East. The G8 said it wanted to work, not only with Middle East governments, but also with local industry and representatives of civil society. Training would be provided for 100,000 new teachers over the next decade. Loans would be granted to people starting new businesses. And, help would be given to organise free elections. G8 leaders also agreed that cheaper ways must be found for immigrants to send money back home to relatives in developing nations, but under a system that dissuades money laundering by terrorists. An EU spokesman said banks must lower charges and reduce bureaucracy. Proponents say easier remittances would boost Third World economies. Bush meets with new Iraqi President At the Group of Eight summit at Sea Island in the United States, US President George W Bush has met for the first time with Iraq's newly appointed interim president Ghazi al-Yawar. Their encounter followed the United Nations Security Council's endorsement of a resolution legitimising Iraq's interim government. Yawar said Iraq was moving "steadily" toward democracy. Despite broad agreement on the revised UN plan for Iraq, Washington and Paris remain at odds. French President Jacques Chirac rejected President Bush's request that the trans-Atlantic military alliance NATO take on a role in Iraq. It was not NATO's job to intervene, said Chirac. G8 nations also debated how much of Iraq's debt of 120 billion dollars should be erased. Najaf jolted by skirmish A week-old truce in Iraq's holy city of Najaf has been shaken by a skirmish between local Iraqi policemen and Shiite militants. At least four people were killed, according to medics. Witnesses said gunmen loyal to the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr looted a suburban police station after authorities tried to arrest suspected thieves. Police said this time US troops were not involved. Last week al-Sadr agreed to remove his Mehdi militia from areas near Islamic shrines in Najaf and the adjacent twin city of Kufa. The US military also agreed to stay away to give police a chance to assert authority. A spokesman for Al-Sadr said he was still committed to the truce and was trying to convince the gunmen in Najaf to stop shooting. Eleven Chinese shot dead in Afghanistan Eleven Chinese construction workers have been shot dead in northeastern Afghanistan, near Kunduz, an area that previously had been considered safe. The Chinese embassy said up to 20 assailants stormed the workers' compound at Jalawgeer overnight. China's Xinhua news agency said the victims were working for a Chinese company on a road paving project financed by the World Bank. The attack follows last week's killing by suspected Taliban militants of three Europeans and two Afghans working for Doctors Without Borders in Afghanistan's northwestern Baghdis province. That prompted fears that militants had extended their range beyond southern Afghanistan. Kunduz is where the International Security Assistance Force or ISAF has 200 German peacekeepers stationed on reconstruction duties. Pakistani general escapes Karachi attack A senior Pakistani general has escaped unhurt following an gun attack on his motorcade that killed ten people. Gunfire from buildings on both sides of the street hit the vehicle of Karachi's corp commander, Lt. Gen. Ahsan Saleem Hayat. An army spokesman said six soldiers, two policemen and one civilian were killed in the attack. Security officials later found and defused a bomb found near a bridge. The attack happened a day after the legislative assembly of Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital, elected a new chief minister, after his predecessor resigned amid a deteriorating security situation. First phase of euro parliament election Four days of voting for the European Parliament have begun with ballots in the Netherlands and Britain. Other members of the enlarged 25-nation bloc will vote at the weekend. Thursday's opening phase in the Netherlands involves 12 million residents. In Britain 43 million voters are eligible. Some are also choosing regional and city councils. Those polls are seen as a test for Prime Minister Tony Blair. The EU commission says member nations must keep voting returns secret until the last polling stations close on Sunday. Nail bomb in Cologne causes injuries Authorities investigating a mystery nail bomb explosion in the German city of Cologne say they have no solid leads. Wednesday's blast injured 22 people and damaged the frontages of 12 shops in Muelheim, an area with many residents of Turkish origin. Cologne police and Germany's domestic intelligence service said one line of inquiry was whether it was a reprisal act involving rival gangs. Various other scenarios were being investigated. Of the 22 hurt, four people were seriously injured. Germany, like the rest of Europe, has been on alert since the Madrid train bombings in March. Arms spending 11 percent up A Swedish peace research institute says countries around the world spent 11 percent more on weapons in 2003 than in 2002. In its annual report, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said the United States spent just under half of the 2003 global total for arms expenditures of almost one trillion dollars. The institute counted 19 wars in 2003, one of the lowest figures since the end of the Cold War, and 14 new peacekeeping missions -- an all-time high. Praise for concessions to Kurds The release from jail of four Kurdish politicians and Turkey's inauguration of Kurdish-language broadcasts have been widely welcomed. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the moves would restore peace between Ankara and Turkey's Kurdish minority. One of the four freed, Leyla Zana, has called for reconciliation. A new era had begun for Kurds and Turks, she said, which would open Turkey to the outside world. A Human Rights Watch spokesman, Jonathan Sugden, said the change was "extraordinary" after years of minimal steps. Leading Turkish newspapers said two major obstacles had been removed to Turkey's bid to join the European Union. On Wednesday, a Turkish appeals court freed Zana and three other former Kurdish legislators. They were jailed in 1994 for allegedly collaborating with rebels. Thousands protest in Russia Thousands of people have taken to the streets in cities across Russia in protest of government social reform plans. The pan-Russian demonstration, organised by trade unions, was a rare display of resistance in the country. The government's reform plans includes revamping how pensioners and others who receive help from the state are to be compensated. The old system dominated by subsidies such as free travel on public transport and low-cost medicines is to be replaced by one that pays out higher single cash payments. Pensioners, workers and unions say planned cash payouts will not match the lost privileges. Jewish settlers to leave Gaza from August The planned evacuation of Jewish settlers from Gaza will begin in August according a government statement. Israel has offered compensation payments to Jewish settlers who leave voluntarily. The government timetable calls for completion of the process by Sept. 30, 2005, three months ahead of the original target date. The faster pace underscored the determination of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to push through his controversial Gaza disengagement plan, despite stiff opposition from settlers and Cabinet ministers. According to the plan, 21 settlements in Gaza and four isolated enclaves in the West Bank would be evacuated. 19 people injured in Danube boat accident A German pleasure boat has crashed into a bridge on the Danube River in Vienna injuring at least 19 passengers. The boat which was carrying American, British and Canadian tourists rammed into a piling on the Reichsbruecke bridge, one of the main bridges carrying traffic over the Danube in central Vienna. The Austria Press Agency said it was unclear how many people were on board. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Euro 2004 Tip Pool Beat the odds. Test your soccer know-how with TIP 4 THE TOP. 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