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DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
18.03.08, 17:00 Uhr UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Merkel Addresses Israeli Parliament Amid Controversy
Chancellor Merkel addressed the Israeli parliament on Tuesday amid
controversy - some MPs boycotted the speech while Hamas slammed
Merkel for being blind to what it called Israel's "Holocaust"
against Palestinians.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evxy1vI4501ileI0&req=l%3Devxy1uI4501ileI0
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Merkel pledges continuing support for Israel
Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged Germany's continuing support
for Israel in the face of threats from Iran and the Palestinian
militant group Hamas. In the first-ever address to the Knesset by a
head of government, the chancellor said Germany was acutely aware of
its historical obligation to help ensure the security of the Jewish
state. Merkel said Palestinian militants must halt rocket fire on
Israel. At the same time, she called on Israeli parliamentarians to
be prepared to make the painful compromises needed to achieve a
peace agreement with the Palestinians. Merkel also criticised anti-
Israeli rhetoric voiced by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.
She said that should Iran be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, it
could have devastating consequences not only for the Middle East,
but also for Europe.
Dalai Lama offers to step down
Tibet's government-in-exile says 19 Tibetan protesters have been
shot dead in China's Gansu province. A spokesman told reporters in
their northern Indian base of Dharamsala that this had brought what
he described as the "confirmed" death toll from a week of unrest to
99. China earlier rejected the Tibetan exile figures, saying that
Tibetan rioters had killed 13 "innocent civilians." Meanwhile,
Tibet's spiritual leader has called for restraint and offered to
step down, if the violence in his homeland spirals out of control.
The Dalai Lama made the statement in a news conference in Dharamsala.
China has accused him of being responsible for the demonstrations in
Tibet's capital, Lhasa, which began on March 10. That's the
anniversary of the 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.
USA, Russia fail to agree on missile shield
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow and Washington
have failed to resolve their differences over a missile defence
shield that the US is planning to build in eastern Europe. Following
talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence
Secretary Robert Gates in Moscow, Lavrov said both sides continued
to stand firm on their positions. Washington remains determined to
build the facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic, while Moscow
continues to oppose the plan. However, both Lavrov and Rice voiced
the hope that Washington and Moscow would continue to work together
on a wide array of issues, including the future of the Strategic
Arms Reduction Treaty, which is to expire next year.
Iraq PM urges leaders to work for unity
Iraq's main Sunni Muslim Arab bloc has boycotted a conference to
reconcile Iraq's warring political groups, a day after US Vice
President Dick Cheney hailed what he called "phenomenal" political
and security improvements. The group pulled out, protesting it had
not been properly invited. As he opened the two-day unity conference,
Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki urged Iraq's feuding leaders to unite
for national peace. Maliki, who is under pressure from Washington
and the United Nations to unite Iraq's bitterly divided factions
said forgiveness was the only way forward. Meanwhile the death toll
from Monday's suicide bomb attack in the holy Shi'ite city of
Kerbala has risen to more than 50.
Kenyan parliament unanimously passes key bill
Kenya's parliament has unanimously approved a constitutional
amendment enshrining a power-sharing deal that is designed to end
the country's bloody post-election crisis. The bill creates a post
of prime minister and two deputies. This is a key step in the
implementation of a February 28 power-sharing deal between President
Mwai Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga. The bill requires a
presidential approval before it becomes law. Around 1,500 people
were killed in violence following December presidential elections
that the opposition claimed was rigged.
Japan recognises Kosovo
Japan has become the latest country to recognise Kosovo. It is the
25th country to do so and the move comes one day after UN police and
NATO-led forces clashed with Kosovo Serbs who had taken over a UN-
run courthouse in the divided city of Mitrovica. The NATO troops
retook the building in an assault on Monday and were met with stones,
gunfire and Molotov cocktails. A Ukrainian police officer serving
with the United Nations in Kosovo died Tuesday of injuries sustained
in the action. More than 100 people were hurt in the violence,
including 33 international security force members. Minority Serbs in
Kosovo reject its independence from Belgrade, which was declared
last month.
EU markets rebound after Tuesday's sharp drops
European stocks jumped more than 3 percent on Tuesday, amid
expectations for a steep US rate cut and better-than-expected
results from leading Wall Street investor banks, Goldman Sachs and
Lehman Brothers. On Monday, European markets fell around 4 percent
after it was revealed that Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns
was near collapse. Meanwhile French rogue trader Jerome Kerviel has
been released from prison. A Paris court ordered his release while
investigators probe a multi-billion-dollar scandal at the Societé
Generale bank where Kerviel is accused of incurring losses of 4.9
billion euros in unauthorised trading.
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For more information please turn to our internet website at
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evxy1vI4501ileI1&req=l%3Devxy1uI4501ileI1
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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