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DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
30.03.07, 16:00 Uhr UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
EU Backs Britain on Iran Standoff
EU foreign ministers, meeting in Germany, will send a message of
solidarity with Britain over Iran's detention of 15 British naval
personnel, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier
said Friday.
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internet address below:
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Iran airs British sailor's "confession"
One of Iran's Arab-language television news channels has shown
footage of what it describes as a "confession" by Nathan Thomas
Summers, one of the 15 detained British Royal Navy personnel who
allegedly strayed into Iranian waters. British Prime Minister Tony
Blair condemned the footage as "disgraceful" propaganda. Blair also
said that a patient and calm approach was needed to deal with the
matter. In the meantime Iran has released a third letter purported
to be from the sole female sailor in which she claims to have been
sacrificed to the UK and US governments' policies. At a meeting of
EU foreign ministers in the German city of Bremen, British Foreign
Secretary Margaret Beckett told reporters that she saw no sign of
Iran trying to resolve the standoff quickly.
EU says Iran's actions are "illegal"
European Union foreign ministers meeting in the northern German city
of Bremen have called on Iran to immediately release the 15 British
Royal Navy personnel captured last week. In a draft statement, the
ministers described Iran's actions as "illegal." Their talks also
covered the Middle East peace process and the UN-sponsored plan to
grant Kosovo internationally-monitored independence.
Hicks sentence limited to seven years
David Hicks, the Australian prisoner being held at the US military
prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, has signed a plea agreement that
limits his sentence for supporting terrorism to seven years in
prison. Under an agreement between the US and Australia, the
31-year-old Hicks is to serve his sentence in Australia. He pleaded
guilty on Monday to the charge of providing material support to
terrorism. Hicks was detained as a suspected terrorist by the
US-backed Northern Alliance in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.
Guantanamo inmate alleges torture
A suspected Saudi terrorist has told a military hearing that he was
tortured into confessing that he was involved in the bombing of a US
warship. That's according to a US Defence Department transcript
released on Friday. Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri said he made up stories
that tied him to the attack on the USS Cole, in order to stop the
torture. Seventeen US servicemen died in the 2002 attack on the
vessel as it was docked at a port in Yemen. A Pentagon spokesman
said that any allegations of torture would be investigated.
Israeli PM ready to talk with Saudi Arabia
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said he is ready to hold
talks with Saudi Arabia and other moderate Arab states and believes
a comprehensive peace with them and the Palestinians could be
reached within five years. In interviews with major Israeli
newspapers published on Friday, Olmert said the peace plan endorsed
by Arab leaders at a summit in Riyadh could trigger new momentum in
future negotiations. The Arab plan offers Israel normal ties with
all Arab countries in return for its withdrawal from land seized in
the 1967 Middle East war, the creation of a Palestinian state and a
fair solution for displaced Palestinians.
Mugabe seeks party approval
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has appealed for unity within his
ruling party as he sought the ZANU-PF's approval to run again in
next year's polls. This comes as the country grapples with rampant
inflation and rising unemployment. Mugabe used the meeting of the
party's central committee in the capital Harare to accuse the main
opposition movement of a terrorist campaign to try and oust him from
office. The Movement for Democratic Change and its leader Morgan
Tsvangirai have been the targets of a violent clampdown by police
squads resulting in the beating and arrests of Tsvangirai and other
activists. The ZANU-PF is expected to rubberstamp 83-year-old
Mugabe's bid to stand again next year.
Left Party fails to block Tornado deployment
The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe has removed the final hurdle
standing in the way of Germany sending six Tornado reconnaissance
jets to Afghanistan. The court rejected an application for an
injunction against the planned deployment, which had been filed by
the opposition Left Party. The Bundestag approved the deployment
earlier this month. The mandate explicitly precludes German
participation in combat missions. The Tornados are to be used to
identify potential targets for members of the NATO-led International
Security Assistance Force and US-led troops. Germany already has
almost 3,000 Bundeswehr soldiers stationed in northern Afghanistan.
Schäuble launches anti-terror data-bank
Germany has launched a new terrorism data-bank which will provide
information on suspects to police and the intelligence services.
Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the data-bank was needed
to strengthen security in view of the threat posed by Islamic
terrorists. The data-bank allows police and intelligence easier
access to a host of information on suspects, including membership of
terrorist groups, firearms registration information as well as
internet and telecommunications data.
UN rights body vows to monitor Darfur
The UN Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution put forward by
European and African nations expressing its concern over the
situation in Sudan's Darfur region and saying it would continue to
monitor developments. However the text stopped short of expressly
criticising the Sudanese government for its role in the human rights
abuses there. A compromise was reached after Germany agreed to
remove any mention of Khartoum's role in the attacks on civilians
and the destruction of villages.
Fighting rages in Mogadishu for second day
Fighting has continued for a second day in the Somali capital
Mogadishu between government allies and Islamist insurgents. At
least 30 people have been killed since Thursday, including several
civilians. Scores of others have been injured but medics have been
unable to get them to hospital because of the sustained fighting.
Thousands of residents are said to be fleeing the area. The latest
clashes are the worst since Somali forces backed by Ethiopian troops
drove out Islamist militias from Mogadishu late last year. So far, a
Ugandan contingent of African Union peacekeepers has not intervened
in the fighting.
Bundestag approves retirement at 67
The upper house of the German parliament, the Bundesrat, has passed
the grand-coalition government's plan to raise the age of retirement
from 65 to 67. Under the new law, the age of retirement is to be
increased on a gradual basis beginning in 2012 and reaching 67 in
2029. The government says the move is necessary to prevent a sharp
rise in mandatory pension contributions for working Germans. The
bill still has to be signed into law by the president for it to come
into force.
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Take DW-WORLD.DE's Quiz of the Week starting each Friday! Answer a
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