 | | | | | | | Newsletter | 20.10.2008, 16:15 UTC | | | Newsline | | | World news: international | | | | | | | | | News | | | | | Current Article | | | | Bank rescue package to limit salaries, bonuses
In Berlin, the German Cabinet has approved the final details of a 480 billion euro rescue package for the country's banks. The government said special restrictions would apply to banks that accept taxpayer money. These include a salary cap of 500,000 euros per year for top managers, as well as a ban on executive bonuses and dividends during the recapitalisation period. Banks are also only eligible for a maximum of ten billion euros in federal aid. The public sector BayernLB bank has said it will apply for an estimated five billion euros in aid from the German government as soon as possible. |  | | Sweden next EU nation to unveil bail-out package
Sweden is the latest European nation to unveil a financial bail-out package. The Swedish government is providing 150 billion euros in credit guarantees to improve liquidity, and a 1.5 billion euro package to bail out any Swedish bank with solvency problems. Meanwhile the Dutch government is investing 10 billion euros into banking and insurance concern ING. Stocks slumped amid rumours ING was short of capital. The Dutch finance minister stressed that the bank was fundamentally healthy and that the equity stake was designed to meet "market expectations". | | | Global shares up on news of government financial summits
Share markets in Europe, Asia and the US were up on Monday, as investors appear to be encouraged by the news that world leaders plan to hold a series of summits to strengthen the international financial system. Shares on mainland China's stock exchange however fell on Monday, after Bejing announced that the impact of the global financial crisis on China is worse than expected. The government said the Chinese economy grew by nine percent in the third quarter, falling below 10 percent for the first time since 2004. Single-digit growth is expected to continue for the rest of the year. | | | Suspected coup plotters go on trial in Turkey
A Turkish court has begun hearing a case against 86 suspected members of the shadowy, ultra-nationalist network known as Ergenekon. The movement is accused of plotting to violently overthrow the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The accused include high-profile individuals including a retired top-ranking military official, a well-known author, a newspaper publisher and a university professor. The trial could revive underlying tensions between the country's ruling Islamic-rooted AK political party and the military. The AKP has Islamic roots, whereas the military is politically aligned with a powerful secular establishment. | | | German patrol attacked in Afghanistan
Afghan officials say a suicide bomber has killed two German soldiers and five children in the country's north. The governor of Kunduz province, Mohammad Omar, said another two soldiers and two children were also injured in the blast. Omar said the bomber was riding a bicycle when he attacked a patrol in the province's Chahar Dara district. The German government has confirmed the casualties. Earlier, Gunmen on a motorbike killed a foreign aid worker in the capital, Kabul. Britain's embassy said the woman was British, though it was checking to see if she also held South African citizenship. | | | EU climate talks shaky over financial crisis
In EU climate talks in Luxembourg, several nations have said EU plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions should be reviewed. Italy and Poland said industries would suffer under the weight of the current global financial crisis. Italian environment minister Stefania Prestigiacomo said the current package was untenable and needed significant changes. The three Baltic nations, as well as Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary, also raised objections. The German environment minister, Sigmar Gabriel, said the financial crisis sounded like an excuse, although Germany too is looking for a reduction in targets so as not to harm the automobile industry. The EU last year drew up plans to cut greenhouse gases by 20 percent by 2020. The deal is to be sealed in December. | | | Tsvangirai will not attend power-sharing talks
Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is absent from power-sharing talks currently underway with President Robert Mugabe in Swaziland. The opposition leader's Movement for Democratic Change party said Tsvangirai was only given emergency travel documents to leave Zimbabwe at the last minute. Swaziland is hosting a regional effort to break a five-week deadlock in forming a Zimbabwean unity-government. The summit in Swaziland was called after talks last week failed to reach an accord on the allocation of cabinet posts | | | Livni gets more time to form Israeli govt.
Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has been granted another two weeks to try to form a government. Israeli President Shimon Peres granted Livni the extension, following a short meeting with her earlier on Monday. Livni has been seeking to build a new coalition around her Kadima party, since winning a leadership ballot last month. She already has the backing of Defence Minister Ehud Barak's Labour Party, and is now reportedly seeking the support of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party to be able to claim at least half the seats in parliament. Kadima is trying to avoid being forced into early elections, as opinion polls suggest the opposition right-wing Likud party would win. | | | Obama wins Powell endorsement
Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell has endorsed the presidential candidate Barack Obama. Powell, a Republican who served in the Bush administration, is backing the Democratic contender over the official Republican nominee, John McCain. The announcement was made on the NBC programme “Meet the Press.” It comes as a blow to the McCain campaign, which is struggling to win independent voters and paint Obama as unqualified, ahead of elections on November 4. | | | | | |  | | |  Up-to-date news at DW-WORLD.DE | | | | | | |  | | | Note
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Two German Troops Killed in Afghan Bombing
