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DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
06.10.07, 16:00 Uhr UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Reports Say Would-be Bombers Smuggled in Detonators
Media reports in Germany say three Islamists arrested last month
for planning car bombs attacks on US targets had smuggled the
detonators into the country with the help of a teenager.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evwh37I4501ileI1&req=l%3Devwh36I4501ileI1
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Global protests against Burma's junta
Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in cities
across Europe and Asia to protest against Burma's ruling military
junta. This follows the violent crackdown on pro-democracy activists,
including hundreds of Buddhist monks in Burma. Protestors from
Taipei to London chanted and waved placards while more
demonstrations are expected in the US later on Saturday. The rallies
come amid calls for more international pressure on Burma's military
junta. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged tougher sanctions
from the European Union. Earlier, the UK, US and France delivered a
draft statement to the UN Security Council demanding an end to the
junta's violent oppression and for political prisoners to be
released. UN special envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari said he saw a
"window of opportunity" for possible talks between the junta and
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. This came after Gambari's four-
day visit to Burma.
Musharraf sweeps vote but court ruling awaited
Pakistan's election commission says that incumbent President General
Pervez Musharraf has swept Saturday's presidential election. However,
he now has to wait for the Supreme Court to confirm the legality of
his bid before being officially declared the winner. Chief election
commissioner Qazi Mohammad Farooq said that Musharraf bagged 252 out
of 257 votes cast in the national assembly and senate. The Supreme
Court has yet to decide whether his candidacy was legal while still
holding the post of army chief. If re-elected, Musharraf has
promised to quit the army and be sworn in as a cilvilian leader,
just over eight years after seizing power in a bloodless military
coup. Musharraf had been widely expected to win another five-year
term after 160 members of the opposition alliance resigned in
protest ahead of the vote and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's
Pakistan's People's Party abstained.
Suicide bomb explodes in Kabul
A suicide bomber has attacked an American convoy in the Afghan
capital of Kabul. Afghan officials say that at least five civilians
and one American soldier have been killed. This is the third suicide
bomb attack in Kabul in the last eight days. On Wednesday Reuters
reported that Mullah Mansour Dadullah, a Taliban leader in southern
Afghanistan, appeared in a video telling insurgents to carry out
suicide attacks to drive out foreign forces and overthrow the
government.
Chancellor Merkel meets Mandela
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has met with former South African
President, Nelson Mandela, in Johannesburg. Merkel described the 45-
minute meeting with Mandela, hero of the anti-apartheid movement, as
''very moving''. Chancellor Merkel is due to visit a climate-change
project in Cape town before she leaves for Liberia on Sunday. Merkel
also used her trip to South Africa to urge President Thabo Mbeki to
persuade Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to end human rights
abuses. Merkel's visit to South Africa is part of a three-nation
African tour.
Hamas leader urges Arabs to boycott meeting
The head of the Hamas government in Gaza Ismail Haniya has called on
Arab countries to boycott a US-sponsored Middle East peace meeting
due to be held next month. In an interview published in the pro-
Hamas newspaper, Palestine, Haniya urged Saudi Arabia and Egypt in
particular to reconsider their decision to participate in the
conference. Haniya said they did not expect the gathering to produce
any results. Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip in mid-June,
ousting forces loyal to President Mahmud Abbas. Hamas is considered
a terrorist organisation by the United States, European Union and
Israel because it refuses to renounce violence, recognise the Jewish
state and respect past interim peace deals. Haniya's comments come
ahead of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to the
region next week to add her weight to preparations for the meeting,
for which Washington is yet to announce a precise date and venue.
Russia's ex-PM Fradkov to head foreign intelligence agency
Russian President Vladimir Putin says that former premier Mikhail
Fradkov will take over as head of the country's foreign intelligence
agency SVR. 57-year-old Fradkov served as prime minister under Putin
from 2004 until last month when he was replaced by Viktor Zubkov in
a reshuffle ahead of parliamentary elections in December and
presidential polls next year. Putin made the announcement during a
visit to the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, where he is attending a series
of summits of post-Soviet states. Fradkov's predecessor as chief of
SVR Sergei Lebedev was appointed on Friday as executive secretary of
the Commonwealth of Independent States, a grouping of 12 former
Soviet states.
Arms depot blast in Mozambique
Residents of Mozambique's second largest city Beira have been forced
to evacuate after a series of explosions at a government arms depot.
Houses have been damaged but no casualties have been reported. Seven
months ago more than 105 people were killed in a similar accident in
the country's capital. The government claims it has since destroyed
400 tonnes of obsolete arms to reduce the risk of explosions.
Lewis Hamilton takes pole position for Chinese Grand Prix
Britain's 22-year-old Lewis Hamilton of McLaren Mercedes has taken
pole position in the Chinese Grand Prix. Kimi Raikkonen of Finland
took second position followed by Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa of
Brazil. Hamilton was cleared of improper conduct at last week's
Japanese Grand Prix. If he wins Sunday's race, he would become the
youngest world champion in Formula One history and the first to win
the title in his maiden season.
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Check out DW-WORLD.DE's Art & Architecture special:
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evwh37I4501ileI2&req=l%3Devwh36I4501ileI2
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For more information please turn to our internet website at
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evwh37I4501ileI3&req=l%3Devwh36I4501ileI3
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.
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Copyright Deutsche Welle 2007
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