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DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
29.12.07, 17:00 Uhr UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Germany Underscores Nuclear Threat in Pakistan Crisis
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has voiced concern
that nuclear weapons could fall into the wrong hands if instability
in Pakistan worsens in the wake of Benazir Bhutto's death.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evx920I4501ileI0&req=l%3Devx91zI4501ileI0
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Bhutto body can be exhumed, says government
The Pakistani government has said it will let the body of former
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto be exhumed for inquiry if her party
requested it to clear up conflicting reports as to how she died. A
government spokesman said Bhutto died when her head slammed against
her vehicle after a bomb blast while members of Pakistan People's
Party say Bhutto died from bullet wounds in Thursday's assassination
attack. In a news conference on Saturday, an interior ministry
spokesman repeated earlier statements that it holds Al Qaeda
responsible for Bhutto's killing and that it had intercepted a
message from a militant leader congratulating insurgents. Al Qaeda-
linked Pakistani militant Baitullah Mehsud however has denied any
involvement. Protests that sparked following Bhutto's death have
left at least 38 people dead.
Tensions rise as Kenya vote counting halted
Kenyan election officials have called a halt to vote tallies on
Saturday, leaving the result of a cliff-hanger presidential vote in
the balance. With 86 percent of constituency results in, President
Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga were neck-and-neck.
Kibaki is now trailing Odinga by less than 40,000 votes. Thursday's
presidential election is the first in Kenya in which an incumbent
has faced a credible challenge. There are fears more violence could
erupt as tensions have been high already due to earlier delays in
vote counting. Police say several people have been killed, while
protestors looted shops and burned down homes.
2,000 Gaza pilgrims stuck on ferries
Hamas has called on Egypt to open its border crossing with the Gaza
Strip to let more than 2,000 Palestinians returning from the haj
pilgrimage in Mecca to go back to their homes in the Gaza Strip. The
pilgrims have been stuck on two ferries off Egypt's Red Sea port of
Nuweiba since Friday. They are refusing to return to Gaza via Israel,
fearing harassment from Israeli security forces. Israel tightened
its military and economic cordon of the Gaza Strip since the
Islamist Hamas group seized control of the territory last June.
Croatia interior minister resigns after seen with war crimes suspect
Croatia's interior minister Ivica Kirin has resigned aftera
photograph was taken of him last week while on a hunt with a key war
crimes suspect. Kirin's forces were in charge of controlling the
movement of Mladen Markac, who is to go on trial for war crimes
dating back to 1995 including murder, inhumane acts and cruel
treatment. Markac was granted conditional release in 2004. Croatian
police detained him on Saturday on the request of International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague. He is
expected to be handed over to a UN detention unit in the Netherlands
on Sunday.
30,000 opposition protesters march in Georgia
Around 30,000 opposition supporters rallied in Tblisi, the capital
of Georgia, on Saturday, ahead of next Saturday's snap presidential
election. They accuse the government of manipulating the poll, which
President Mikheil Saakashvili is expected to win. He called the
early election in the aftermath of November clashes which erupted
following the arrest of former Georgian defence minister and
opposition politician Irakli Okruashvili. Okruashvili was charged
with corruption. He has fled to Germany while on bail. Okruashvili
has told the news magazine der Spiegel that he fears being killed if
deported back home.
Supporters of ANC leader cry foul
Supporters of Jacob Zuma, the new leader of South Africa's ruling
party ANC, protested Saturday that new corruption charges against
him were part of a politically inspired vendetta. South African
prosecutors have slapped Zuma with a host of new charges, including
money laundering, racketeering and tax evasion, along with original
corruption and fraud charges from last year. Zuma's supporters have
cried foul over the timing of the charges, a little over a week
since he was elected leader of the African National Congress, which
may damage his hopes of becoming South Africa's president in 2009.
Lack of democratic reform angers Hong Kong residents
Hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators gathered in central Hong
Kong on Saturday to protest against a decision by Beijing rejecting
calls for full democracy for the enclave by 2012. Hong Kong's chief
executive Donald Tsang said the territory's residents would have to
wait until 2017 to directly elect their leaders and until 2020 to
choose their lawmakers. Despite the delay, Tsang called the later
timetable an important step for Hong Kong's development.
Iraq says much of al Qaeda is destroyed
Iraq's interior ministry spokesman said on Saturday that 75 percent
of the al-Qaeda terrorist network in the country had been destroyed
this year. General Abdul Kareem Khalaf said the disruption of the
terrorist network was due to improvements in Iraqi security forces,
and also cited the rise of anti al-Qaeda groups among Iraqi citizens.
The top American commander in the country, General David Petraeus,
said, however, that the terror group would remain his chief concern
in the coming year.
Indian Christians take shelter in camps
Nearly 700 Christians fearing attacks by Hindu nationalists have
taken shelter in government-run relief camps in eastern India after
clashes this week left at least four people dead. Authorities are
providing food, medicine and security to Christians in four camps in
the rural district of Kandhamal. Two police officers have been
suspended for failing to prevent attacks after long simmering
tensions between Hindus and Christians erupted into violence on
Christmas Eve.
Chinese human rights activist arrested
A leading Chinese human rights activist has been arrested in Beijing
and charged with "inciting subversion of state power". According to
the Chinese Human Rights Defenders group about 20 police officers
raided Hu Jia's home. The human rights activist had already been
living for more than six months under house arrest. Hu was known for
speaking out for AIDS patients and human rights abuses and had been
very critical of the Chinese government in the run-up to the 2008
Olympic Games being held in Beijing.
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For more information please turn to our internet website at
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evx920I4501ileI1&req=l%3Devx91zI4501ileI1
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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