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DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
03.03.08, 17:00 Uhr UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Porsche gets Green Light for Majority Stake in Volkswagen
Porsche's supervisory board gave the go-ahead Monday, March 3, for
the luxury German sports carmaker to take a majority stake in its
bigger rival and Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evxssvI4501ileI1&req=l%3DevxssuI4501ileI1
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Russian president-elect to stay the course
Russian president-elect Dmitry Medvedev has vowed to uphold the
policies of outgoing president Vladimir Putin. Speaking on a stage
in Red Square after official results confirmed an easy victory,
Medvedev said Russia would follow the path that Putin proposed. But
Western observer groups have said his landslide election was unfair.
The chief monitor of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe, Andreas Gross, said candidates were not allowed equal access
to Russia's media and that democratic potential was not tapped. The
European Union, however, has congratulated Medvedev on his victory.
German government spokesman Thomas Steg said Chancellor Angela
Merkel would like to meet Medvedev soon, possibly as early as this
week.
Gazprom trims gas to Ukraine
The Russian energy giant Gazprom says it has cut its gas supplies to
Ukraine by 25 percent because of a payment dispute. Ukraine is the
main transit route for Russian gas supplies to western Europe but
Gazprom says those deliveries will continue at "full capacity".
Gazprom argues that Ukraine owes it 1.5 billion dollars but the ex-
Soviet neighbour says that debt has been paid in full and that
Moscow had inflated its price for gas sourced from Central Asia.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is also demanding that
intermediary companies be removed from the delivery chain. In the
winter of late 2005 and early 2006 a row between Ukraine and Gazprom
led to a 48-hour reduction in volumes to Europe and concerns about
energy security.
Israeli troops leave Gaza
Israel has pulled its ground troops out of northern Gaza after a
five-day incursion that left dead more than 110 Palestinians and
two Israeli soldiers. Palestinian militants of the movement Hamas,
which runs Gaza, have vowed to continue firing rockets at southern
Israel. Several have hit Israel's coastal city of Ashqelon in recent
hours. Israel's military says its ready to hit back using further
airstrikes. A senior Israeli official added that there would be a
"two-day interval" for a visit starting on Tuesday by US Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice. Israel had been under pressure from its
ally the United States, the European Union and the UN Security
Council to halt the violence. Palestinian militant groups say half
of the Palestinian dead were civilians. A further 350 were wounded.
In protest Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has declared a
suspension of US-backed peace talks. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert has called for their continuation.
Ahmadinejad ends Baghdad visit
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ended an historic visit to
Iraq by calling on US-led forces to leave the country. The Iranian
leader said that without the presence of foreign troops in Iraq, the
region would live in peace. Besides the verbal attacks on the US,
Ahmadinejad signed pacts with Baghdad in the areas of trade,
industry and transport. Ahmadinejad's trip to Baghdad was the first
by an Iranian leader since an eight-year war between the Mideast
neighbours in the 1980s. He has now returned to Iran. Also on Monday,
two car bombings in Baghdad killed at least 16 people, despite
tightened security for Ahmadinejad's visit.
UN helicopter crash kills 10 in Nepal
At least 10 people have been killed in a United Nations helicopter
crash in eastern Nepal. The Russian-built helicopter crashed about
100 kilometres east of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. There were
five Nepalese nationals and seven foreign nationals on board when
the aircraft took off in bad weather. The Home Ministry said 10
bodies had been recovered and the search for two other passengers
was continuing. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
The UN mission in Nepal operates several helicopters as part of its
efforts to monitor the ceasefire between the government and Maoist
rebels.
US launches missile strike in Somalia
The United States has launched an air strike against a target in
southern Somalia near the Kenyan border. A US military official said
at least one cruise missile was fired at a suspected leader of the
al-Qaeda terror network. He did not say if the missile was launched
from aircraft or warships stationed off the coast of the Horn of
Africa. It was not reported if there were any casualties or damage.
Last year, US forces carried out similar strikes against Islamist
targets in Somalia after Ethiopia removed an Islamist government
there.
Venezuela, Ecuador deploy troops to Colombian border
Venezuela and Ecuador have deployed tanks and troops to the
Colombian borders and downgraded diplomatic ties, after their Andean
neighbor bombed FARC rebels inside Ecuador. Colombia apologised to
Ecuador for the troops crossing the frontier, but said the attack on
a FARC camp was necessary after its forces came under fire from
across the border. Ecuador's President Rafael Correa said the attack
was a calculated violation of his small nation's sovereignty.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned his air force would attack
Colombia if his neighbour carried out a raid in his country. French
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said a rebel commander who
Colombian forces killed in the attack was France's contact in
negotiations to free hostage Ingrid Betancourt.
Extreme weather kills 13 in Europe
Hurricane-strength winds howled across Europe over the weekend,
killing 13 people and leaving a trail of destruction. Winds up to
200 kilometres per hour blew cars off the road, ripped roofs off and
felled trees, cutting power and disrupting rail services. The storm,
dubbed "Emma" by forecasters, also brought heavy rains as it tore
across central Europe. On Sunday Germany reported five people dead,
Austria four, and the Czech Republic and Poland, two each. German
authorities estimate the damage to to amount to tens of millions of
euros, with the southern state of Bavaria particularly badly hit. In
Germany's north, extensive flooding also caused major disruptions.
Porsche to get majority of Volkswagen
German sports car maker Porsche has announced it will increase its
31 percent voting stake in Volkswagen to a majority. The company's
supervisory board authorised the move on Monday in Stuttgart but it
does not intend to merge the two carmakers. Porsche chief executive
Wendelin Wiedeking said the car maker's aim was to create one of the
strongest and most innovative automobile alliance's in the world.
Earlier, Volkswagen expanded its own majority holding in Swedish
truck manufacturer Scania from 38 percent to 68 percent.
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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!
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evxssvI4501ileI2&req=l%3DevxssuI4501ileI2
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For more information please turn to our internet website at
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evxssvI4501ileI3&req=l%3DevxssuI4501ileI3
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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Copyright Deutsche Welle 2008
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