DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter English Service News May 11th 2006, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
German Parliament Begins Intelligence Service Inquiry While celebrating its 50th anniversary, Germany's foreign intelligence agency was distracted by the start of an inquiry into its role in the Iraq war. Chancellor Angela Merkel came to the body's defense. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hld42Ifcha79I0&req=l%3D1hld41Ifcha79I0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Kicking News" -- DW-WORLD's Soccer Newsletter goes weekly: Get all the news about the World Cup and Germany's Bundesliga on DW-WORLD.DE every week before the World Cup. To subscribe, go to: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hld42Ifcha79I1&req=l%3D1hld41Ifcha79I1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jordan airs confessions of Hamas plotters Three members of the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas have confessed on Jordanian television of plotting to kill senior officers of Jordan's intelligence service. The suspects said they were recruited by operatives from the Syrian office of Hamas and were trained in Syria. The three men were among 20 people arrested in a police raid last month that also turned up caches of Iranian-made Katyusha rockets, as well as rocket launchers, detonators and explosives. The arrests prompted Jordan to cancel a planned visit to Amman by Mahmud al-Zahar, foreign minister in the new Hamas-run Palestinian government. Residents flee Mogadishu clashes Thousands of residents have fled parts of Somalia's capital Mogadishu during a fifth day of fighting between an Islamist militia and warlords widely thought to be backed by the United States. Witnesses and medics said 17 people were killed on Wednesday night. That lifts death toll estimates since Sunday to 140. Medicines are running short. The United Nations and Somalia's transitional government have called for calm. UN experts say 80 percent of Mogadishu is controlled by the Islamist militia. The clashes are the heaviest since Somalia collapsed into anarchy 15 years ago. Sri Lanka bombs rebels after attack on navy Sri Lanka's air force has bombed Tamil Tiger positions in retaliation for a rebel attack on a naval troop transporter. A flotilla of Tamil Tiger boats had first attacked the ship with hundreds of servicemen on board and then sank two fast attack vessels that were escorting the transporter. In response, the air force scrambled fighter jets and helicopter gunships to the area. The naval battle was around 50 km from the Tamil Tiger's northern stronghold. Initial reports are saying 15 sailors and 30 rebels were killed. Rebels, policemen freed in Nepal Nepal's new government has freed a senior communist rebel leader and Maoists have freed five policemen they were holding hostage. The reciprocal moves are the latest sign that the Himalayan nation's peace process is moving forward. Maoists are demanding the release of 1,200 rebels jailed across Nepal. Earlier on Thursday, Maoist rebels announced they had formed a three-member team for peace talks with the government in hopes of ending a decade of fighting that has killed more than 13,000 people. Last month, King Gyanendra was forced to drop 14 months of autocratic rule amid mass protests. Foreign oil workers kidnapped in Nigeria At least two foreign oil workers have been kidnapped from a car under police escort in Nigeria's oil capital, Port Harcourt. The incident comes a day after a U.S. oil executive was shot dead in the same city. Industry sources said the foreigners were employees of Italian oil contractor Saipem - one of them an Italian, the other an Indian. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, whose attacks against the world's eighth largest oil exporter have cut output by a quarter, said it was not responsible. Report exonerates British police An inquiry into last year's London transport bombings has exonerated British security services on the grounds that they lacked resources and information to thwart the suicide attackers. Fifty-two people were killed on July 7 when four bombs exploded, in Underground trains and on a double-decker bus. The report, by parliament's intelligence committee, says two of the four bombers had been under surveillance but only as peripheral terror suspects and their identities were only confirmed after the attacks. The committee says agencies and police should work closer together. Home Secretary John Reid told parliament there would be no public inquiry. German inquiry begins into spy role in Iraq A German parliamentary panel has launched an inquiry into the conduct of the country's security services during the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The panel will look into allegations that Germany's BND foreign intelligence service passed on sensitive information to the United States, including bombing targets, prior to the invasion. Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended the need for security cooperation with the United States. The government is concerned that the inquiry could damage the trust of foreign partners in Germany's security services. Air-crash damages trial in Constance A German court has begun hearing a Russian airline's claim for 2.6 million euros in damages from Germany for a mid-air collision over Lake Constance, near the Swiss-German border, in 2002. Bashkirian Airlines claims that Germany's aviation authority was deficient. It had contracted control in southern German air space to a Swiss firm Skyguide. A German inquiry found that Skyguide's controller was overworked. Bashkirian's Tupolev collided with a DHL Boeing cargo plane, killing 71 people, including 52 Russian school children. DHL has also filed for 35 million euros in damages from Germany. Six dead in Pakistan blasts In Pakistan, at least six policemen have been killed and as many as 13 other people injured in a series of bomb blasts. The explosions occured at a police training school in the southwestern city of Quetta. Police said the total of five blasts were likely caused by landmines. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Egyptian treasures on show in Berlin An exhibition of sunken treasures found by divers off ancient Alexandria in Egypt has been opened in Berlin by President Hosni Mubarak and his German counterpart Horst Kohler. The 500 artifacts includes the world's oldest known astrological calender. The finds date back to the Pharoahs, Romans, and up to the 8th century A.D. Experts, led by the French unterwater archeologist Franck Goddio, located the artifacts on the Mediterranean seabed. The Berlin display opens to the public on Saturday and runs until September. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information please turn to our internet website at http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hld42Ifcha79I2&req=l%3D1hld41Ifcha79I2 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. 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