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DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
30.12.07, 17:00 Uhr UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Germans Increasingly Concerned About Wellbeing of Children
A recent spate of child murders and a survey showing growing fears in
the population about the welfare of children have prompted Germany to
ask whether the state is failing to help overwhelmed parents.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evx972I4501ileI0&req=l%3Devx971I4501ileI0
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Pakistan poll delay seen, Bhutto family appointed
In Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto's party has appointed her son and her
husband to succeed her after her assassination on Thursday. Bilawal
Zardari, the 19-year-old son of the assassinated Pakistani
opposition leader, was chosen as chairman of the Pakistan People's
Party. Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, was appointed vice-
chairman, and will be in charge of daily affairs until Bilawal
finishes his studies. Bhutto's murder has stoked violence and
prompted speculation that elections scheduled for January 8 will be
postponed. A Pakistani team of police, security officials and judges
has launched an investigation into the killing. Bhutto's Pakistan
People's Party has rejected the government's contention that al-
Qaeda was responsible, saying authorities were trying to cover up
their failure to provide security.
Protests erupt in pro-opposition Kenya slum, Kibaki takes oath
Riots have broken out in Kenya following the announcement that
President Mwai Kibaki had won re-election. Protesters burned houses
and kiosks in the slum district Kibera in the capital Nairobi.
Kibaki has meanwhile been sworn in as president, after winning just
200,000 votes ahead of opposition leader Raila Odinga. Odinga's
opposition party has called the count of Thursday's election a fraud.
Chaotic vote-counting earlier sparked widespread violence.
Turkey: Five suspected al-Qaeda militants arrested
In Turkey, five people accused of being members of an alleged al-
Qaeda sleeper cell have been ordered to jail on terror charges. One
of them is also a high school teacher of English. The five were
among 19 people detained in a sweep Saturday in four cities,
including Istanbul, Ankara, Aksaray, and the southern
city of Adana. The others were released pending trial. Police also
seized firearms, bullets, fake IDs and other documents.
Tape linked to bin Laden threatens Israel
A new audiotape attributed to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has
appeared on the Internet. The voice in the 56-minute message
threatens to expand the Islamist holy war to include attacks on
Israel. The tape also warns Muslims against supporting Iraq's US-
backed government and accuses Saudi Arabia of undermining the
Palestinian militant group Hamas. Meanwhile, Iraq's interior
ministry has said al-Qaeda's influence in Iraq has fallen
dramatically, with 75 percent of its activities eliminated by joint
US-Iraqi operations.
Taiwan criticises China's Hong Kong policy
A senior Taiwanese official has said that Beijing's decision to
delay any direct elections in Hong Kong until at least 2017
underlined why Taiwan could not accept reunification with China.
Tung Chen-yuan, of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, said the move
sent a clear signal that Beijing does not allow genuine democracy.
Taiwan has been independent from China since 1949, but Beijing
regards the island as part of its territory and has threatened to
take it by force, if necessary. Taipei has consistently rejected
China's reunification overtures.
Madrid rally defends family values
Tens of thousands of Spaniards gathered in downtown Madrid on Sunday
in a huge demonstration to defend family values. The crowd roared
when Pope Benedict appeared on a giant screen in a live hookup from
St. Peter's Square in Rome. The Pope, who was holding the last
Angelus prayer of 2007, reiterated the primacy of heterosexual
marriage and Christian family values. Speaking in Spanish, the
pontiff sent his greetings to the crowd in Spain, where the Catholic
Church has bitterly contested the Socialist government's
legalization of homosexual marriage. A good society, the Pope said,
is closely linked to the good health of the traditional family.
Dozens killed in Sudan fighting
Dozens of people have been killed in fighting between Arab tribesmen
and Sudan's former southern rebels. The southern rebels accuse the
tribesmen of attacking them for the second time in a week along
their north-south border. A 2005 peace deal was supposed to end
Africa's longest civil war, but sporadic fighting continues,
especially around the disputed oil-rich province of Abyei. Meanwhile,
Sudan has accused neighboring Chad of bombing its western Darfur
region. Both countries accuse each other of aiding rebel groups
opposed to their respective governments.
Tamil rebels clash with Sri Lankan troops
In Sri Lanka, government troops moved into a rebel controlled area
in the northwest of the country over the weekend as both the
military and Tamil rebels claimed to have inflicted heavy casualties
on the other side. The military said as many as 33 rebels were
killed and 38 others wounded in clashes in Parappakandal, 320
kilometers north of the capital, Colombo. It said only six of its
soldiers were injured. But, Tamil rebels said they killed 20
soldiers and wounded 40, while claiming they lost only three of
their own. The figures could not be confirmed independently.
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For more information please turn to our internet website at
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evx972I4501ileI1&req=l%3Devx971I4501ileI1
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
