DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter English Service News 17.03.07, 17:00 Uhr UTC
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' See what other readers had to say about this week's news: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evuprkIfcha79I0&req=l%3DevuprjIfcha79I0 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Poland Agrees to EU Declaration and to Talks on Constitution Polish President Kaczynski told German Chancellor Merkel on Saturday his country would not block efforts to revive the European Union's constitution and would sign an EU declaration marking the bloc's 50th birthday. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evuprkIfcha79I1&req=l%3DevuprjIfcha79I1 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Palestinian parliament endorses new unity government The Palestinian parliament has overwhelmingly approved a coalition government uniting the radical Islamist Hamas movement with the secular Fatah of president Mahmoud Abbas. The confidence vote went through on a show of hands from the 87 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council attending a video-linked session in Gaza and Ramallah. Earlier Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said his cabinet would seek to broaden a truce with Israel but regarded resistance to Israel's occupation of Palestinian areas as "legitimate". President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah said he "rejected all forms of violence" and called for reinstatement of funding withheld by major powers since last year. Israel has ruled out dealing with a new Palestinian government, saying that Hamas still rejects demands to renounce violence and recognise the Jewish state. Norway recognizes new Palestinian government Norway has said it will re-establish political and economic relations with the new Palestinian government. Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Saturday the the Oslo government welcomes the formation of the Palestinian unity government, adding that the Hamas-Fatah coalition was taking steps toward complying with international demands. Villepin calls for US Iraq withdrawal French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has urged the United States to withdraw from Iraq by 2008, saying the Iraq war had "shattered" America's image. Visiting Harvard University near Boston, Villepin said the US and Europe should act together to regain the respect of other peoples, especially in the Middle East. UN chief Ban Ki-moon has proposed a five-year reconstruction plan for Iraq, saying daily violence was stretching the ability of ordinary Iraqis to cope. Meanwhile two suicide bombings in involving toxic chlorine gas has made 350 people ill in Falluja, in the western province of Anbar. The US military said another smaller bomb attack near Ramadi also released chlorine gas. Hospital sources said eight people were killed in the two bombings. Australian premier visits Baghdad Australian Prime Minister John Howard has met Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad. Australia has about 1,500 troops in Iraq, of whom about 520 are in the south, training Iraqi troops and providing security. Howard has been one of US President George W. Bush's most loyal allies, and has vowed to keep forces in Iraq "until the job is done" despite growing public opposition to the war at home. Relatives urge militants to free hostages An Iraqi man whose German wife and son are being held hostage by Iraqi militants has appealed to the kidnappers to release them. Mohamed al-Tornachi made the appeal together with his daughter-in-law in an Arabic-language video distributed on the Internet and broadcast on German television. Hannelore Krause and her adult son Sinan disappeared on February 6. Last Saturday a previously unknown Iraqi insurgent group threatened in a video to kill the two unless Berlin withdrew its troops from Afghanistan. The German government has said it is working intensively to secure the hostages' release but will not be blackmailed. Ex-CIA agent Plame chides Bush aide Former CIA agent Valerie Plame has broken a four-year silence and accused the Bush administration of blowing her cover to discredit her diplomat husband who in 2003 criticised the invasion of Iraq. Plame told a committee of the US House of Representatives that she believed that key Bush aide Karl Rove was behind the leaking of her identity to reporters. No one has yet been charged with blowing Plame's cover. But, earlier this month a former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was found guilty of obstructing an investigation into the leak. Plame said such leaks would make potential agents think twice about joining the CIA. G8 ministers link climate protection with economic growth G8 Environment Ministers meeting in Potsdam, Germany have been concluding talks with their counterparts from major developing countries on climate change measures. German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel called for a close link between combating climate change and promoting economic development. He said developing countries feared that new rules could hinder their economic growth. The head of the UN Environment Programme Achim Steiner said he was optimistic that the Potsdam Conference would send a climate signal to the upcoming G8 summit in the northern German town of Heiligendamm. Steiner stressed that he did not expect a 'major advance' at the summit, as Europe, the US and the developing countries still had much work to do. AU calls for restraint in Zimbabwe The African Union has called on Zimbabwe's government to respect human rights as pressure mounts on President Robert Mugabe over alleged police beatings of opposition activists last weekend. AU chairman Alpha Oumar Konare said the 53-nation bloc was watching events in Zimbabwe with "great concern". Britain is seeking a UN Security Council session on the crisis. Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai left hospital on Friday displaying head injuries. Mugabe's government accuse Tsvangarai's opposition Movement for Democratic Change of trying to topple the 83-year-old president. Zimbabwe is gripped by a deep economic crisis. Uproar in Pakistan over suspension Pakistan has suspended 14 police accused of ransacking a TV station that televised protest in Islamabad sparked by the recent sacking of the country's top judge Iftikhar Chaudhry. Those clashes between riot police and demonstrators erupted on Friday outside Pakistan's supreme court as Chaudhry appeared on charges of misconduct brought by President Pervez Musharraf. Chaudhry, who's refused to resign, had previously challenged Musharraf's government on several cases. Officials say the judge's confinement to his house has been eased to allow visitors. The police raid on the private television station Geo has been widely condemned. Musharraf has apologised. Eurostar trains stranded by fire Up to 24,000 Eurostar train passengers remain stranded because of a gas cyclinder fire near tracks in London that's severed rail links with Paris and Brussels. Fire crews are waiting for cyclinders from Friday's blaze to cool down. Eurostar managers says traffic should resume late on Saturday afternoon. Those affected include thousands of Scottish rugby fans headed to Paris for a match against France. Eastern parts of the United States are recovering from a severe snow storm that forced the cancellation of 1,000 flights on Friday. In New York crews are clearing snow for its St. Patrick's Day parade. Russian airline crash, seven killed A Russian airliner has crash landed at the central Russian city of Samara, killing seven people. On board were 57 people. Russia's emergencies ministry says many survivors have injuries. The Tupolev Tu-134 operated by YUT-Air broke apart after its landing gear failed to lower. Last year Russia suffered its worst-ever year for air safety, with 33 accidents that left 318 dead. Massive cash seizure in Mexico In what could be one of the biggest cash seizures ever, Mexican police say they've found 206 million dollars stashed in a house used by drug traffikkers. The find was made in a luxury suburb of Mexico City. Seven people were arrested, along with cars, weapons and machinery used to make methamphetamine pills. Mexican attorney general Eduardo Medina Mora said the alleged gang leader was in hiding. The US Justice Department recently said that Mexican makers of illicit drug methamphetamine are expanding production as police crack down on covert laboratories in the United States. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' We want to hear from you! 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