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DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE Newsletter
English Service News
11.05.08, 16:00 Uhr UTC
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Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Divided Over Kosovo and EU, Serbs Take to Polls
The Serbian people started voting on Sunday in snap elections that
give them the choice of pursuing EU membership or turning their back
on the West out of nationalist defiance over the loss of Kosovo.
To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evye0fI4501ileI0&req=l%3Devye0eI4501ileI0
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UN fears 100,000 dead in Burma
The United Nations humanitarian agency estimates that more than
200,000 people are missing after Burma was devastated by Cyclone
Nargis eight days ago. Official figures issued by the ruling
military junta say that around 28,000 people lost their lives in the
Irrawaddy Delta region in the south of the country, but the UN fears
the actual death toll could be over 100,000. Meanwhile the regime
faces further international criticism for holding a meaningless
referendum on constitutional reform and for refusing to allow
foreign relief co-ordinators into the country to oversee the
distribution of much needed aid to the million or so people who
have been affected by the aftermath of the cyclone.
Fighting continues near Beirut
Arab foreign ministers in emergency session, have appealed for an
immediate ceasefire between Lebanon's political rivals to end the
country's worst civil strife since the end of the 1975-1990 civil
war. 46 people have been killed and 128 wounded in recent fighting
when Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah briefly seized control of
Beirut after the pro-Western government's decision to target its
military communications network. Despite relative calm returning to
the capital Beirut after the army overturned the government's
strategy, violence later erupted in mountains east of the city
between Hezbollah fighters and supporters of the pro-government
Druze sect leader, Walid Jumblatt.
Sudan cuts Chad ties after Darfur rebel attack
Sudan has severed diplomatic relations with Chad, accusing its
neighbour of supporting a Darfur rebel attack on the capital,
Khartoum. Sudan's government said it had beaten back the assault by
the Justice and Equality Movement rebels on Saturday. The insurgents
reached Khartoum's outskirts, where they briefly held some suburbs,
after threatening to overthrow the government. A curfew on the city
imposed overnight has been partially relaxed. Sudan and Chad accuse
each other of backing rebels seeking to topple their respective
regimes.
No date set for Zimbabwe runoff
Zimbabwe's electoral commission says that the presidential runoff
election cannot take place in the time allotted by law. It rejected
calls by opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, that the vote should
be held within 21 days of the May 2 announcement of the results from
the initial vote. Tsvangirai, who is expected to return soon from
his self-imposed exile in S. Africa, has set out his conditions for
participation in the poll, including the presence of international
peacekeepers, election monitors, and a free media. Meanwhile, 58
opposition activists have been arrested in a farming town north-east
of the capital, Harare, on charges of public violence. The
opposition says this is further evidence of government intimidation.
Sri Lankan govt. claims election victory
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa says his party's election
victory in the country's war-torn Eastern Province on Saturday is a
clear mandate to push ahead with his war against the Tamil Tiger
rebels in the north. The region, once home to several Tamil Tiger
enclaves, was brought under government control after heavy fighting
last year. Opposition parties and monitoring rights groups
complained of widespread irregularities, including harassment by
Tamil Tiger defectors. But the government boasted that the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who are fighting for a separate
state in the north and east, had suffered a major blow by failing to
derail the elections.
Nepali police arrest hundreds of Tibetans
Police in Nepal have arrested than 550 Tibetan demonstrators, most
of them women, during anti-China protests in the capital Kathmandu.
The demonstrators, including Tibetan nuns, were arrested as they
tried to march towards the Chinese visa office, which has been the
target of protests for the past four days. Nepal considers Tibet
part of China, which is a key donor and trade partner, and has been
cracking down on protests by the exiled Tibetans against Beijing.
Police said the protesters would be freed later in the day.
Serbians begin voting
Serbs have begun voting in parliamentary elections that are expected
to determine the course of the Balkan nation's foreign policy.
Opinion polls show it will be a close race between the ultra-
nationalist Radical Party, and President Boris Tadic's Democratic
Party. Whichever party wins will likely have to form a coalition
with smaller parties. The poll will be a test of whether the lure of
European Union membership outweighs anger over the Western-backed
secession of Kosovo. The West has made clear it hopes the Democrats
will win.
3rd Turkish Grand Prix victory for Massa
Brazil's Felipe Massa has won the Turkish Grand Prix for the third
time. The Ferrari driver beat Britain's Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren
by 3.7 seconds. Closely behind in third place came Finland's
reigning champion, Kimi Raikkonen, in the other Ferrari.
Safina wins German Open
Tennis: Russia's Dinara Safina has won the German Open women's
singles in Berlin after fighting back from a set down. She beat
seventh-seeded compatriot Elena Dementieva, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
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For more information please turn to our internet website at
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evye0fI4501ileI1&req=l%3Devye0eI4501ileI1
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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