DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter English Service News 01.01.07, 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=evu63cIfcha79I0&req=l%3Devu63bIfcha79I0 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Russia, Belarus Sign Last-Minute Gas Deal Russia and Belarus signed a last-gasp agreement Sunday on Russian gas supplies in a deal that averts a threatened supply cut that would likely have hit deliveries to Western Europe. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evu63cIfcha79I1&req=l%3Devu63bIfcha79I1 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Germany assumes EU, G-8 presidencies The New Year has seen Germany assume the presidencies of both the Group of 8 industrialised nations and the European Union, and the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel has some ambitious plans. In her New Year's address, the chancellor said Germany would work to revive the stalled Middle East peace process and salvage the European constitution. The constitution has been on ice since it was rejected by voters in both France and the Netherlands 18 months ago. The chancellor also warned that only a united Europe could tackle the challenges posed by globalisation, terrorism and war. Bulgaria, Romania join EU The European Union has grown to 27 member states, with the entry of Bulgaria and Romania this New Year's Day. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier travelled to the Romanian capital, Bucharest, to mark the occasion. Steinmeier told reporters that the entry of the two communist nations marked an end to the historical division of Europe. Steinmeier has since flown on to the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. The New Year has also seen Slovenia adopt the European Union's common currency, the euro. That brings the number of EU nations in the eurozone to 13. Six killed in US air raid in Baghdad Six people have been killed after a US warplane has launched an air strike on a building in Baghdad. A US military statement said the attack had targeted a suspected safehouse for al-Qaeda terrorists. But a member of parliament from the Iraqi National Dialogue party said the target had been his office. The attack comes a day after the Pentagon announced that the number of US troops killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion had reached 3,000. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government has banned the private television station Al-Sharkiya, accusing it of inciting sectarian violence. It wasn't immediately clear what impact the banning order would have, since the station is based in Dubai. Search on for missing Indonesian plane Fear are growing concerning the fate of around one hundred passengers who were travelling in an aeroplane caught in bad weather flying over Indonesia. The Boeing 737-400 passenger plane, operated by Adam Air, sent out a distress signal before losing contact with air traffic controllers. The Indonesian Transport Minister, Hatta Radjasa, said that emergency crews were on their way to search for survivors near Mamuju in South Sulawesi province, 750 kilometres south-west of the plane's intended destination in the north-east of Sulawesi island. Air traffic controllers lost contact with flight KI-574, which was carrying 96 passengers and six crew, while it was flying at 35,000 feet between the Java and Sulawesi islands. Russia and Belarus sign gas deal Russia and Belarus have signed a gas price deal after last-minute negotiations beat a midnight deadline, averting potential supply disruptions to Europe. The head of Gazprom Alexei Miller said a mid-term agreement had been reached on gas prices and on transit shipments to Europe. Belarus's Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky said the former Soviet state had agreed to pay Gazprom $100 per 1,000 cubic metres of gas up from $46 -- more than twice the current rate. Russia had been pushing for $105 and had threatened to cut off gas supplies to Belarus on New Year's Day if no deal was reached. AFP photographer kidnapped in Gaza A journalist is reported to have been kidnapped by masked gunmen in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian security sources said a photographer working for the French news agency Agence France Presse or AFP was apparently abducted by five armed men outside Gaza City offices. Two confirmed dead after Madrid bombing The Ecuadorian government has confirmed the death of two of its citizens in Saturday's bombing of Madrid's international airport by the Basque separatist group ETA. At least 26 people were injured. ETA claimed responsibility for the bombing, ending a truce that had been in place since March. Thousands of people demonstrated against ETA in Madrid and other cities, some demanding that the government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero resign. Ban Ki-Moon takes the reins of UN South Korea's Ban Ki-moon has taken office as the United Nations' eighth secretary-general. The 62-year-old diplomat defeated six other candidates vying for the post and won final approval from the General Assembly in October. Ban has said he will work to build a more peaceful, prosperous and just world. The outgoing secretary-general Kofi Annan's 10-year tenure ended at midnight on Sunday. Somalia offers amnesty to rebel fighters Somalia's prime minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi, has ordered all Somalis to hand over their weapons within three days. He was speaking at a press conference in the capital, Mogadishu. Somalia's transitional government has also offered amnesty to Islamist fighters who lay down arms. Earlier, forces of the rebel Somalia Islamic Courts Council fled their last stronghold near the southern port town of Kismayu. Reports said they were headed towards the Kenyan border as government and Ethiopian soldiers advanced. The rebels fled Mogadishu on Thursday after an offensive by Ethiopian forces. Israel begins easing West Bank controls Israel has begun easing restrictions at checkpoints in the occupied West Bank. The move is part of a series of confidence-building measures promised by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at a summit with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas last month. Israeli defence minister Amir Peretz had said that Israel would dismantle 59 of about 400 roadblocks in the West Bank in two phases. Palestinians travelling across the West Bank are forced to pass through dozens of checkpoints erected to control the movement of militants. Thai military blames opposition for blasts The chief of Thailand's junta, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, has blamed politicians from the government of ousted Premier Thakshin Shinawatra for the deadly bombings that rocked Bangkok on New Year's eve. Warning that more attacks were possible, he told reporters on Monday that opposition politicians wanted to undermine national security and the economy. Eight apparently coordinated explosions in Bangkok late on Sunday left three people dead and injured more than 30 others,including nine foreign tourists. Speaking through his lawyer, Thakshin denied any involvement in the attacks. Pope urges gov't to work for peace Pope Benedict XVI has called for the nations of the world to work for world peace and human rights. In his annual New Year's speech the Pontiff wished a crowd of tens of thousands in St. Peter's Square "peace and well being" in 2007. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' 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=evu63cIfcha79I2&req=l%3Devu63bIfcha79I2 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' For more information please turn to our internet website at http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evu63cIfcha79I3&req=l%3Devu63bIfcha79I3 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=900002136&sig=JBDDADPCPNHHECFE Copyright Deutsche Welle 2007 =============== Group Moderator: [EMAIL PROTECTED] page at http://magazine.sorabia.net for more informations about current situation in Serbia http://www.sorabia.net Slusajte GLAS SORABIJE nas talk internet-radio (Serbian Only) http://radio.sorabia.net Yahoo! 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