Back to newsletter list
DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
20.03.08, 17:00 Uhr UTC
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
If you like our newsletters, you will love our new web features like
RSS feeds, widgets and social bookmarking. Click on the link below
and jump into the world of DW-WORLD.DE 2.0!
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evxywnI4501ileI0&req=l%3DevxywhI4501ileI0
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
US Subprime Tremors Continue to Rock Germany's IKB Bank
With fears of another downturn in the US economy gripping European
financial markets and institutions, the continued knock-on effects
of last year's subprime mortgage crisis are still being felt by
Germany's IKB bank.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evxywnI4501ileI1&req=l%3DevxywhI4501ileI1
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
China maintains hard line on Dalai Lama
The exiled spiritual leader of Tibet says he is willing to meet with
Chinese leaders in a bid to end the crisis in his homeland. The
Dalai Lama told reporters at his base in northern India, that he
would even be willing to travel to Beijing to do so, although he
acknowledged that this would not be practical at the moment. The
Chinese government though, appeared to rule out any talks with the
Dalai Lama. A foreign ministry spokesman told reporters in Beijing
that Tibet's spiritual leader would first have to give up his
separatist position. The Dalai Lama says he doesn't seek outright
independence, but instead favours greater autonomy for Tibet within
China. Meanwhile Chinese authorities in Tibet say they have arrested
24 people in connection with protests against Chinese rule that
began last week. Tibetan activists say more than 100 people have
been killed in the police crackdown.
Two German journalists expelled from Tibet
China has ordered two German journalists out of Tibet. They are
believed to have been the last foreign journalists in the region.
Georg Blume, told Deutsche Welle that he and his colleague had been
told that they would face major consequences if they did not leave
Tibet immediately. They had remained in the region for several days
following an earlier warning. Before leaving, Blume reported that
tension in the Tibetan capital was growing by the day. He said he
observed around 6,000 Chinese troops entering Lhasa in military
vehicles.
Zimbabwe's opposition fears elections will be rigged
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader and presidential candidate in
March 29 general elections has condemned plans to count presidential
ballots centrally, saying this would help rig the election. Morgan
Tsvangirai is demanding that all votes be counted at polling
stations. He also said that the voters' register was filled with
tens of thousands of ghost voters. The complaint comes a day after
Human Rights Watch said that Zimbabwe's elections would neither be
free nor fair. The New York-based organisation accuses the
government of President Robert Mugabe of vote buying and
intimidating opposition supporters. Almost six million Zimbabweans
are registered to vote in this month's presidential, parliamentary
and local elections. The 84-year-old Mugabe is seeking to extend his
28-year leadership by five years.
Bid to reconcile Fatah and Hamas fails
The first face-to-face talks aimed at forging an agreement to end
the rift between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and President
Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party have failed. A spokesman for Abbas told
reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah that the two delegations
would be leaving the Yemeni capital, Sanaa without a deal. The
spokesman said the Hamas delegation had refused to accept the terms
of an initiative proposed by the Yemeni government. Among other
things, the proposal called for Hamas to give up its hold on power
in the Gaza Strip, which it has controlled since it violently ousted
Fatah from the territory last June. Hamas has blamed Fatah for the
failure of the talks.
New Belgian government sworn in
Belgium's King Albert has sworn-in Prime Minister Yves Leterme,
ending a nine-month political deadlock that followed last June's
parliamentary elections. The Flemish Christian Democrat, heads a
five-party coalition, which says it will attempt to bridge the
country's political and linguistic divides. The cabinet is to be
made up of 15 ministers and seven state secretaries and is largely
similar to the interim government that was led by caretaker Prime
Minister Guy Verhofstadt. A pressing task now facing the government
is to agree by July on how to devolve powers to the country's
regions. That's one of the obstacles that had made forming a
coalition government so difficult.
Bulgaria recognises independent Kosovo
Bulgaria has formally recognised Kosovo's independence. Prime
Minister Sergei Stanishev said his country would establish
diplomatic relations and back the international military force in
Kosovo, KFOR. Belgrade has warned that any country recognising an
independent Kosovo could not count on good relations with Serbia.
Serbia on Wednesday recalled its ambassadors from Croatia and
Hungary after they recognised the breakaway Serbian province. Over
30 nations including Germany have recognised Kosovo since its
unilateral declaration of independence last month.
UN Security Council extends UN mandate in Afghanistan
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously agreed to extend
and strengthen the UN mandate in Afghanistan until March 2009. The
resolution calls for more support for the Afghan government as it
confronts increasing insurgent activity and terrorist violence. UN
officials recommended increasing coordination between the
international community, aid agencies, Afghan government and NATO-
led ISAF forces, and expanding UN activities across Afghanistan.
Turkish rights campaigner sentenced for criticising military
A court in Turkey has sentenced a prominent human rights campaigner
to six months in prison for criticising the Turkish military. Eren
Keskin was convicted of violating article 301 of the country's penal
code, which makes it a crime to insult Turkish identity. She was
charged after telling a German newspaper in 2006 that the Turkish
military interfered too much in the country's politics. Keskin has
indicated that she will appeal the verdict. Meanwhile, the European
Union has repeated its call for Turkey to repeal article 301. The
law, which Ankara has often promised to change, has been a stumbling
block for Turkey's bid to join the EU.
ECB injects 15 billion euros into banking system
The European Central Bank is making up to 15 billion euros available
to banks. The move is aimed at offsetting a projected liquidity
shortage in the money market during the four-day Easter holidays.
The central bank for the 15-nation euro zone said that current
demand far exceeded supply, with banks submitting bids worth more
than 65 billion euros. Money market tension has risen again owing to
renewed uncertainty over banks' financial positions in the wake of
US economic woes. In a separate move, the ECB announced a three-year
cooperation programme with Russia's monetary authorities aimed at
maintaining stability of the Russian banking system. The European
Union has set aside three million euros for the programme, which
will kick off on April 1.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
If you like our newsletters, you will love our new web features like
RSS feeds, widgets and social bookmarking. Click on the link below
and jump into the world of DW-WORLD.DE 2.0!
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evxywnI4501ileI2&req=l%3DevxywhI4501ileI2
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
For more information please turn to our internet website at
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evxywnI4501ileI3&req=l%3DevxywhI4501ileI3
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.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Copyright Deutsche Welle 2008
We're sorry to hear that you want to cancel your newsletter subscription.
nla_internal_2698112.jpg
