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DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
27.02.08, 17:00 Uhr UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Booming Sales Don't Keep German Companies From Cutting Jobs
German workers have been buried in bad news as companies announce
major job cuts. On Wednesday, Feb. 27, BMW and Henkel joined Siemens
in slashing thousands of jobs.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evxrfyI4501ileI1&req=l%3DevxrfxI4501ileI1
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German court rules online PC searches are legal
Germany's highest court has approved the use of Trojan horse
software in terrorism investigations, but only under strict
guidelines. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe ruled that
using spy software to track information on suspects' personal
computers was constitutional where peoples' lives or government
property were at risk. However, the court struck down a law passed
by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia that gave security officials
wider scope to spy on personal computers. The ruling had been
eagerly anticipated by Germany's grand coalition government, which
has been holding a policy meeting in Bonn. Parliamentarians from
both Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and the Social
Democrats say they hope to introduce draft legislation for online
searches soon.
EU imposes record fine on disobedient Microsoft
The European Commission has fined the world's biggest software maker,
Microsoft, almost €900 million for failing to comply with a long-
standing EU demand that it offer competitors key software data at a
fair price. European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a
statement that Microsoft was the first company that the commission
had had to fine for failing to comply with an anti-trust ruling. The
fine is the biggest in European Union history and the third of its
kind to target the US software company for violating competition
laws. The case dates back to 2004, when the commission found that
Microsoft had abused its dominance of the market by refusing to give
rivals reasonable access to codes that would allow their products to
work with the Windows operating system.
German FM encouraged by progress towards democracy in Burma
German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, together with his
Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirajuda, has welcomed progress
towards democracy in Burma. Speaking in the Indonesian capital
Jakarta, Steinmeier said the two foreign ministers were encouraged
that political changes were on course under the repressive military
junta. The Burmese government announced this month that it will hold
a referendum on a draft constitution. Elections are planned for 2010.
Steinmeier added that more support for transition needed to come
from neighbouring countries like China, and appealed for the release
of political prisoners. There are believed to be around 1 800
political prisoners in Burma.
Kenya's opposition calls off mass protests
Negotiations are continuing between former United Nations Secretary-
General Kofi Annan and Kenya's rival political leaders, to try to
resolve the country's two-month-old crisis. Annan suspended talks
between representatives of President Mwai Kibaki and opposition
leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday, after a second day without progress.
At Annan's behest, Kenya's opposition has called off mass protests
planned for Thursday. Previous such demonstrations have turned
violent, and there were widespread fears that the protests would
spark fresh bloodshed. The government and the opposition have so far
failed to agree on details of a prime ministerial post in a planned
power-sharing deal.
Monaco's prince denies tax haven accusations
Prince Albert II of Monaco has dismissed accusations that his
country encourages tax evasion. The prince was speaking ahead of a
meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. Tax laws are
expected to feature in their talks, as Germany's biggest ever tax
evasion investigation, focusing on a bank in Liechtenstein, gathers
momentum. German officials have said that Liechtenstein, Monaco and
Andorra all fail to meet tax standards set by the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development. Meanwhile, Liechtenstein
prosecutors have announced an investigation into a former bank
employee and others over the alleged theft of client data that has
sparked a global tax evasion probe.
Israeli missile strikes militants' mini-van
Israeli air strikes have killed at least five Palestinian militants
in the Gaza Strip. The militants, senior members of the Islamist
Hamas movement that controls the Gaza Strip, were killed when a
missile hit the van they were travelling in. The Israeli military
has not confirmed the strikes. Later on Wednesday an Israeli man was
killed when a Palestinian rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a
college on the outskirts of Sderot. The rocket was one of at least
15 fired at southern Israel on Wednesday in what Hamas said was
revenge for the earlier air strikes. The attack brings to 14 the
number of people killed by Palestinian rockets in southern Israel in
the past seven years.
Venezuelan helicopters depart to pick up hostages in Colombia
Two Venezuelan helicopters have set off on a mission to pick up four
rebel-held hostages in Colombia, the international Red Cross says. A
spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Bogota
said the aircraft took off from the Venezuelan border town of Santo
Domingo early on Wednesday. Rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia, or FARC, have pledged to free four former Colombian
politicians. The release of the four lawmakers could fuel hopes for
a deal to free French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and
three Americans held by the FARC.
EU proposes negotiations on cooperation agreement with Libya
The European Commission has proposed talks with Libya to open up
trade and boost economic and political cooperation. The European
Union's executive branch says it hopes to begin the negotiations
this year. Such an agreement would be similar to those which the EU
has with other countries in North Africa and the Middle East. The
decision to launch talks is expected to be approved by the 27 EU
member nations. Relations between the EU and Libya have improved
since Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi announced in 2003 that he was
dismantling Libya's clandestine nuclear weapons program.
EU regulators open probe into German bank credit crisis aid
European Union regulators say they are investigating whether 26
billion euros of aid given to two German state-run banks violated EU
state aid rules. The credit lines and aid were given last July and
August to protect German lender IKB Industriebank AG and SachsenLB
bank from potential losses in the wake of the US subprime credit
crisis. A Berlin Finance Ministry spokesman said the German
government was confident the aid did not violate EU rules.
Bayern to face 1860 in Munich cup derby
In sports: There are two quarter-final matches this Wednesday in
German soccer's cup competition, the DFB Cup. Bundesliga leaders
Bayern Munich face local rivals 1860 Munich and Wolfsburg take on
Hamburg. On Tuesday, second-division strugglers Carl Zeiss Jena
advanced to the semi-finals by knocking off the defending Bundesliga
champions Stuttgart 7-6 after a penalty shootout. Elsewhere,
Borussia Dortmund eased past second division side Hoffenheim 3-1.
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Tired of flying toasters? The new DW-WORLD.DE Screensaver brings all
the day's top stories right to your desktop. Download it today!
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For more information please turn to our internet website at
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evxrfyI4501ileI3&req=l%3DevxrfxI4501ileI3
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 2008
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