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DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
24.03.08, 17:00 Uhr UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Protesters Disrupt Olympic Torch Lighting Ceremony
Human rights activists interrupted the tightly guarded Olympic torch
lighting ceremony in Greece and tried to prevent the torch from
beginning its global journey on Monday, March 24.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evxzieI4501ileI1&req=l%3DevxzidI4501ileI1
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Pakistan's parliament elects Musharraf opponent as PM
The Pakistani parliament has elected a new prime minister. Yousuf
Raza Gilani is a former parliamentary speaker and a leading figure
in the Pakistan People's Party of slain former leader Benazir Bhutto.
He received 264 of the 342 votes cast. Gilani is to lead a coalition
government made up of opponents of the president and former military
leader Pervez Musharraf. In a speech to parliament following his
election, Gilani said he would seek the immediate release of judges
detained since the president declared a state of emergency last
November. Just hours later, Pakistan's deposed chief justice emerged
onto the balcony of his Islamabad home. This was Iftikhar Mohammed
Chaudhry's first public appearance in more than four months. The
president is to swear the new prime minister into office on Tuesday.
Beijing Olympics torch lit
The Olympic torch has been lit in ancient Olympia in Greece to mark
the start of a five-month international torch relay that will end
with the opening of the summer Games in Beijing in August. Security
was tight during the ceremony, with more than 1,000 police officers
patrolling the site, fearing protests by pro-Tibet demonstrators.
But one protester briefly disrupted proceedings as China's
representative was giving a speech. Later, around 10 pro-Tibet
demonstrators held a protest in the town's main street. Activists
are demanding that China cancel plans for the torch relay to pass
through Tibet. The torch is to travel through around 20 countries on
its way to Beijing.
German Olympic Comittee opposes Beijing boycott
Germany's Olympic Committee has rejected calls for a boycott of the
Beijing Olympics because of the crackdown in Tibet. In a statement
the DOSB said its board had weighed the pros and cons of a boycott,
but came out against the idea. The DOSB said it was monitoring with
concern the events in Tibet and called the human rights situation in
China "unsatisfactory". The committee also acknowledged that both
the German government and Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama,
oppose a boycott.
Landslide election result
Voters in Bhutan have cast their ballots in the country's first
democratic parliamentary elections. The vote brings to an end nearly
100 years of absolute monarchy in the Himalayan kingdom. Election
officials estimated that the Peace and Prosperity Party won 44 of
the 47 seats available. The People's Democratic Party, which is led
by the king's uncle, won the remaining three seats. Turnout was
estimated at around 80%. The two parties' platforms are similar and
both are committed to the royal concept of prioritising "Gross
National Happiness" over Gross Domestic Product. The country's king
had ordered the transition to democracy, which many Bhutanese are
said to be reluctant to embrace.
Easter marches target German involvement in ISAF
Organisers of Germany's annual Easter peace demonstrations say
around 60,000 people have taken part in the marches held in dozens
of towns and cities across the country. The main targets of this
year's rallies were the war in Iraq and the participation of German
Bundeswehr troops in the NATO-led International Security Assistance
Force in Afghanistan. The Easter peace marches have been an annual
event in Germany for the past 50 years. Organisers says this year's
turnout was hampered by unseasonably cold weather.
Militants blow up tankers in Pakistan
Suspected Islamist militants on the Afghan border to Pakistan have
destroyed 36 tanker trucks that supply fuel for US and NATO troops.
A senior official said that up to 65 people were injured in the
attack on Sunday. The militants apparently set off two bombs in the
town of Torkham where as many as 100 oil trucks were parked. Foreign
forces fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan get many of
their supplies via Pakistan, where militants have been stepping up
attacks on supply lines.
Cheney casts shadow over Hamas-Fatah talks
US Vice President Dick Cheney has ended a tour of the middle east
after meeting top Turkish officials in Ankara. No announcements were
made about the details of his discussions. He is believed to have
discussed Washington's concerns about Turkey's recent offensive
against Kurdish separatists operating from northern Iraq. Earlier
while still in Israel, Cheney commented on a fresh attempt by the
Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah to bridge the political split
between Gaza and the West Bank. Cheney told reporters he didn't
believe President Mahmoud Abbas would agree to reconcile with Hamas
until it gave up its control of the Gaza strip.
Bush saddened by loss of US lives in Iraq
The White House says US President George W. Bush has been saddened
by the loss of 4,000 US troops in Iraq. A spokesman said Bush felt
each and every one of the US deaths strongly and grieved for the
families. The statement comes a day after the number of soldiers
killed in Iraq since US-led invasion five years ago passed the 4,000
mark. The latest to die were four soldiers who were killed by a
roadside bomb in Baghdad on Sunday. The milestone comes just days
after President Bush marked the fifth anniversary of the invasion
with a speech in which he said the US was on a path towards victory
in Iraq. There are no reliable figures on the number of Iraqis
killed over the past five years. Estimates range between 100,000 and
more than a million.
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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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