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DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
28.08.07, 16:00 Uhr UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
German Court Orders Turkish "Honor Killing" Retrial
A German court has ordered the retrial of two brothers of Turkish
origin who were acquitted last year of involvement in the fatal
shooting of their sister in an honor killing that shocked the country.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evw3owI4501ileI1&req=l%3Devw3ovI4501ileI1
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Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul wins presidential ballot
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has won a third round of voting
in parliament to become Turkey's next president. He received 339
votes out of a possible 550 in the ballot, to become the first head
of state with an Islamist background. Gul's first bid for presidency
in April was blocked by the secular elite which sparked a political
crisis and triggered early parliamentary elections. Secularists,
which include the military, fear that Gul's past links to Islamic
groups could blur Turkey's strict divisions between religion and
state.
25 Iraqis dead in riots at Kerbala religious festival
The Iraqi government has sent extra troops to the city of Kerbala
in an effort to contain growing violence that has broken out among
hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who have gathered there for one
of the holiest days on the Shiite calendar. Police said heavily
armed gunmen were trying to take control of the area near two of
Shi'ite Islam's holiest shrines. At least 25 people have been
killed and dozens more were wounded in shootouts between police
and the gunmen. Police have imposed a curfew and ordered worshippers
to leave the area.
US officer found guilty in Abu Ghraib court martial
The only US officer tried over the abuse at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib
jail has been found guilty of disobeying an order but was acquitted
on three other charges. A 10-member military jury convicted army
Lieutenant Colonel Steven Jordan on the most serious charge of
disobeying a superior officer's command, which could see him go to
jail for five years. Jordan is the only US officer charged in the
scandal which emerged in 2004 when photographs of naked Iraqi
prisoners being tormented by US troops were published around the
world. Sentencing is yet to be announced.
Taliban agree to free 19 South Korean hostages
The Taliban and the South Korean government have reached an
agreement which would see the radical militant group release 19
South Korean hostages that a group of its gunmen have been
holding in Afghanistan. A statement released by South Korea's
presidential Blue House said Seoul had agreed to withdraw all of its
troops from Afghanistan and suspend all Christian missionary
activities in the country within the year, in return for the
hostages' release. It wasn't immediately clear when the hostages
would be freed. Meanwhile there has been no word on the fate of a
62-year-old German engineer who was also kidnapped by Taliban gunmen
last month.
64 dead in five days of fires across Greece
Fires across Greece have killed at least 64 people since they began
five days ago. Thousands of Greek and hundreds of foreign
fire-fighters are battling to control the blazes that have burned
nearly 200,000 hectares so far. Southern Greece is by far the worst
affected. President Karolos Papoulias said the fires were a national
catastrophe and that he has released 200 million euros in emergency
aid to help those affected. Police have charged seven people with
arson and offered large rewards for information on criminal
involvement.
Olmert and Abbas hold talks in Jersualem
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas have held talks to prepare for a US-sponsored Middle East
conference in November. Olmert hosted Abbas at his official
Jerusalem residence. But ahead of the talks Abbas warned that the
international peace conference, would be a "waste of time" if it
stuck to a "declaration of principles". The two leaders last met in
the West Bank town of Jericho on August 6 in the first such
top-level meeting on Palestinian territory in seven years, and
discussed steps towards creating a Palestinian state.
Merkel urges legal rights for journalists in China
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticised the lack of freedom
of the press in China. In a speech to the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences in Beijing, Merkel also addressed China's economic growth,
and urged Beijing to take on more responsibility in the world and to
follow the rules of the game in the global market. Copyright is a
major issue. German carmakers BMW and Smart have said they would
take legal action against Chinese companies that are planning to
unveil copies of their cars at next month's Frankfurt Car Show.
Moscow order arrest for billionaire oil tycoon
A Moscow court has issued an arrest warrant for Mikhail Gutseriyev,
the former head of Russneft, one Russia's largest oil groups, who is
accused of tax evasion. Gutseriyev resigned from Russneft a month
ago, saying he was hounded by the Russian government. His 21-year
old son died in a mysterious car accident last week which Moscow
police say they have no record of. In a similar series of events
several years ago, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of Yukos,
once Russia's biggest oil group, was also hit with backdated tax
claims that bankrupted the group and saw him thrown in jail.
German court orders retrial of two Turkish brothers for "honour
killing"
Germany's top court has ordered a retrial of two Turkish brothers
who were acquitted of fatally shooting their sister in what has been
described as an "honour killing" meant to punish the woman for her
Western lifestyle. A Berlin court last year acquitted the two
brothers of murder, citing a lack of sufficient evidence of their
involvement in the 2005 killing. It convicted their youngest brother
of murder and sentenced him as a juvenile to nine years and three
months in prison. The Federal Court of Justice said the lower court
had failed to evaluate adequately evidence given during the trial by
a friend of the youngest brother.
No rail strikes until end of Sept. during arbitration talks
Rail passengers in Germany can breathe a sigh of relief, after the
GDL train drivers union agreed not to hold strike action in
September. Sources close to arbitration talks between the union and
Deutsche Bahn said both sides have agreed to continue negotiations
that started two weeks ago in an effort to resolve a deadlock over
pay rise demands. Deutsche Bahn was hit by a series of strikes
earlier this year but struck a deal with two other rail unions
whose members accepted a 4.5 percent pay rise. The train drivers
rejected the terms of that deal.
Size of "world's largest diamond" ever to be confirmed
The mining industry is treating with caution reports of the
discovery of the world's largest diamond in South Africa. Public
radio there reported late on Monday that a 7,000 carat gem was
excavated at a mine in the country's North-West Province. The stone
is being transported to Johannesburg where it will be officially
photographed. If the reports are correct, the gem would be twice
the size of the current record holder, the over 3,100 carat Cullinan
Diamond discovered near Pretoria more than one hundred years ago.
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Check out DW-WORLD.DE's Travel Routes photo special:
nla_internal_1702271.jpg more information please turn to our internet website at
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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
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topics, broadcast times and frequencies.
You can even listen to all programmes as audio-on-demand.
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