DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
01. 06. 2006 16:00 Uhr UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
German Parliament Approves DR Congo Mission
The German parliament officially approved the deployment of troops to take
part in a European mission in DR Congo during planned elections there. It
will be the Bundeswehr's first presence on African soil in 12 years.
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Bundestag authorises DRC mission
The German parliament has approved a plan to send nearly 800 German troops
to help safeguard next month's elections in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. The Bundestag passed the motion with 440 votes for and just 135
against. Under the plan, German soldiers are to be sent to the central
African region as part of a 2,000-strong European Union force next month.
They're to provide security for Congo's presidential and parliamentary
elections, which are to be that country's first multi-party polls in 40
years.
Germany takes command of ISAF
Germany's armed forces, the Bundeswehr, have taken command of the NATO-led
ISAF peacekeeping force in northern Afghanistan. Between now and the end of
the year the number of soldiers stationed at the German base camp at
Mazar-i-Sharif is to climb to 1,700. This will make it the Bundeswehr's
biggest base outside of Germany. Defence Minister Franz-Josef Jung has
expressed concern about the safety of German troops in Afghanistan. Speaking
to German public television though, he said the deployment was vital to
Afghanistan's stability.
Bush "troubled" by Haditha allegations
US President George W. Bush says he is "troubled" by allegations that US
Marines killed 24 unarmed civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha last
November. Bush promised that if crimes had been committed, those guilty
would be punished. The US military is conducting twin probes. Iraqi police,
meanwhile, say US soldiers shot dead a pregnant woman about to give birth
and her female cousin at a checkpoint in Samarra on Tuesday night. Their car
was rushing to hospital and took a wrong turn. The US military said it
regretted the deaths. Troops had fired when the car failed to stop. Iraq's
new Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says his cabinet will consult
multinational forces about the killings and reveal other incidents.
Iran rejects US offer of direct talks
Iran has rejected a US proposal for direct talks on its nuclear programme.
Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki told reporters in Tehran that Iran was
unwilling to freeze its nuclear programme. This comes a day after US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced that Washington was prepared
to enter direct negotiations if Iran suspended all uranium enrichment
activities. Washington has had no diplomatic relations with Tehran since
1979. The United States and the European Union fear Iran may be seeking to
produce nuclear weapons. Tehran insists that its nuclear programme is for
peaceful purposes only.
German mother jailed for 15 years
A court in the eastern city of Frankfurt an der Oder has convicted a German
mother for killing her eight newborn babies. She received a 15-year prison
sentence. It's the worst case of infanticide in Germany's criminal history.
The court convicted 40-year-old Sabine Hilschenz of eight counts of
manslaughter. Prosecutors had demanded a life sentence on murder charges.
The defense team had argued that Hilschenz, an unemployed dental hygienist,
was mentally disturbed and should only serve three and a half years for
manslaughter.
New twist in El Masri case
Germany's BND foreign intelligence service has admitted that the
2004 detention in Macedonia of a German-Lebanese who ended up in CIA
detention was known to a BND officer four months earlier than assumed. The
BND says its officer in Skopje heard about Khaled el Masri's detention in
January of 2004, just days after it happened.
Germany's then-Social Democrat-Greens government is supposed to have been
officially notified in May of 2004, about the time el Masri was returned to
Germany after being interrogated in Afghanistan by the CIA. Several parties
in Germany's parliament want explanations about the four-month delay. The
BND says there was an information failure.
Java hospitals overwhelmed by quake
Five days after a major earthquake struck Indonesia's island of Java,
hospitals and clinics are overwhelmed with the injured and homeless. The
official death toll from last Saturday's 6.3-magnitude tremor is now over
6,200, with thousands more wounded. Aid from the Indonesian and foreign
governments, the United Nations, and private agencies has been flowing into
the region in increasing amounts, although many survivors still complain of
a lack of critical help.
East Timor violence continues
Gang violence and arson attacks have erupted again across East Timor's
capital, Dili. Street fighting is continuing despite the presence of more
than 2,000 international troops sent to stop the unrest. At least 27 people
have been killed over the past week in gang battles sparked when Prime
Minister Mari Alkatiri fired almost half of the country's military force.
East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao walked through Dili's streets on
Thursday, pleading with the country's feuding security forces to show
national unity.
S. Korean conservatives win local polls
Official results show that South Korea's main conservative party has scored
a landslide victory in local elections. The vote outcome deals a major blow
to President Roh Moo-hyun and his liberal Uri Party. It also puts the main
opposition and conservative Grand National Party in the driver's seat ahead
of the December 2007 election for South Korea's next president. Roh's
popularity has steadily eroded on public perceptions his government has
failed to boost the economy and mismanaged foreign affairs.
Spain acquits 9/11 suspect of conspiracy
Spain's High Court has acquitted a man accused of conspiring to help commit
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Judicial sources said the man, known as Abu Dahdah, would serve 12 years in
jail for leading a terrorist group rather than the full 27 years to which he
had been sentenced. Abu Dahdah, whose full name is Imad Eddin Barakat
Yarkas, was accused of being an al Qaeda member.
The court said that while he was absolved for the crime of conspiracy other
convictions of Abu Dahdah still stood.
Volkswagen raises layoff offer
The carmaker Volkwagen has increased its offer of redundancy payouts to
workers at its six assembly plants in Germany in a bid to save on labour
costs. A previous offer was only taken up by a few hundred workers. The
latest offer is worth up to 139,000 euros - after tax - for each long-term
employee if he or she quits voluntarily by September. It's part of
Volkswagen's plan to reduce its workforce by 20,000 over the next three
years. That's one in every five jobs.
Volkswagen sales slowed in May after growth early in the year. The concern
has already offered 16,000 older staff early retirement. On Monday,
Volkswagen signed a deal to build its first plant in Russia.
Podolski to move to Bayern Munich
In sports: German national soccer team striker Lukas Podolski is set to
leave his current club, FC Cologne, to join Bundesliga champions Bayern
Munich next season. FC Cologne President Wolfgang Overrath has confirmed a
report in the mass circulation newspaper Bild.
Overrath said the two clubs still had reached an agreement in principle but
still had to tie up some lose ends. Overrath refused to comment on how much
Bayern would pay for the 20-year-old Podolski, but observers say it is
likely to be in the 10-million-euro range.
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