 | | | | | | | Newsletter | 24.11.2008, 17:15 UTC | | | Newsline | | | World news: international | | | | | | | | | News | | | | | Current Article | | | | Merkel rules out VAT cut for Germany
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says that Germany and France will not follow Britain's example of slashing value-added tax. London is reportedly planning to reduce VAT from 17.5 to 15 percent before Christmas to stimulate spending. Speaking at a Franco-German summit in Paris, Merkel said such a move was not the right answer for France and Germany. This year's meeting of top ministers from both countries at the Elysee Palace is to come up with concrete proposals to deal with the financial crisis. Sarkozy was expected to press Merkel for additional funds for a Europe-wide economic stimulus plan. Berlin has already committed over 32 billion euros to its own two-year stimulus package. |  | | US government to take 20 percent stake in Citibank to avert collapse
The US government has announced it will take a 20 billion dollar stake in the troubled Citibank and guarantee more than 300 billion dollars in risky assets after the bank's shares lost 60 percent in value last week.The rescue plan is intended to prevent a collapse of Citibank, the country's second largest bank, which Washington fears would wreak havoc on the crippled financial system and the US economy. The money will come from the government's 700 billion dollar financial bailout package. Citibank announced last week it would cut 53,000 more jobs on top of 23,000 jobs losses already announced. | | | German business confidence falls for sixth month
German business confidence has plunged for the sixth consecutive month. According to a key survey released by the Munich-based Ifo economic institute, business confidence slid to 85.5 points in November from 90.2 points in October, as investors continued to fear dim business prospects amid a global recession. Germany officially entered recession in the third quarter of this year. Several German industries have been slammed by the recession, with the auto, chemical and steel sectors announcing sharp production and staff cutbacks. The new data, which is based on a monthly survey of 7,000 firms, comes a few days after German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that 2009 would be year of bad news for Europe's largest economy. | | | Israel to allow some humanitarian aid into Gaza
Israel has allowed deliveries of basic humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip, briefly easing the closure it imposed almost three weeks ago in reaction to rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled territory. An Israeli defence ministry spokesman said some 45 trucks with food and medical supplies had entered Gaza through Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing. At two other crossings there had been deliveries of grain and fuel for Gaza's sole power plant. Israel's blockade has led to rising international concern over the situation of Gaza's 1.5 million inhabitants. The UN relief agency UNRWA welcomed Monday's deliveries but said far more supplies are needed. Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas has given the Islamist movement Hamas an end-of-year deadline to resume dialogue with his Fatah-led administration or face snap elections. Hamas replied that Abbas lacked the authority to call such an election. | | | Germany rejects Kosovo bomb plot allegations as "absurd"
Berlin has rejected allegations that German agents helped plot a recent bomb attack on EU offices in Kosovo. A government spokesman said the idea that Germany could be involved in a terrorist attack abroad was absurd. However, he refused to comment directly on the identity of the three Germans, whom some media have linked to Germany's foreign intelligence service BND. They were arrested last week on suspicion of throwing an explosive device at the headquarters of the EU special envoy to Kosovo on November 14. The three suspects have denied the charges. They are being detained pending further investigation. | | | Red Army Faction member to be released: German court
A former high-profile member of Germany's terrorist Red Army Faction (RAF) is to be released after 26 years in prison. The Stuttgart state court said Christian Klar would remain on five year's probation after his release on January 3. The 56-year-old, who belonged to the inner circle of the so-called Baader-Meinhof Gang, was convicted of committing or partaking in nine murders. These included the abduction and execution of top industrialist Hanns-Martin Schleyer, the assassination of federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback and the murder of Dresdner Bank chief Jürgen Ponto in 1977. | | | Ex-Siemens executive sentenced to 2 years on probation
A state court in Nuremberg has sentenced former Siemens executive Johannes Feldmayer to two years on probation and a fine for his involvement in corruption at Germany's largest industrial conglomerate. Wilhelm Schelsky, the former head of the AUB Association of Independent Employees, received a four-and-half-year prison term. Prosecutors had been seeking much tougher sentences for both men who had been on trial over illicit Siemens funds which had been paid to AUB between 2001 and 2006. The court decision comes in the wake of a wider two-year-long corruption scandal at Siemens that has already led to several resignations among top management, including former chief executive Klaus Kleinfeld. | | | Three separate attacks kill 22 in Baghdad
Three separate bomb attacks have killed at least 22 people in Baghdad. A female suicide bomber blew herself up early Monday near the Green Zone, killing seven people and wounding 13 others. The heavily fortified Green Zone is home to Iraqi government offices and foreign embassies. Thirteen people were killed and seven wounded in a second bombing on a Trade Ministry minibus in Baghdad. In a third attack on Monday, a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol near Technology University in eastern Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding four other people. | | | Chavez wins strong majority in Venezuela's elections
President Hugo Chavez's allies have won a strong majority in Venezuela's local elections, but the socialist leader's opponents have also made important gains, capturing the Caracas mayor's office and three of the most populous states. Chavez called his party's domination of Sunday's vote 'a sign for him to continue driving Venezuela toward 21st-century socialism'. With more than 95 percent of votes counted, pro-Chavez candidates held on to gubernatorial posts in 17 states, while the opposition won five states. | | | Zimbabwe's rival political leaders to meet in South Africa
Zimbabwe's rival political leaders will meet Tuesday in South Africa in the latest bid to salvage a troubled power-sharing deal. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed a power-sharing deal on September 15, but efforts to form a unity government have bogged down over disputes about control of key cabinet posts. South African President Kgalema Motlanthe said that the talks would focus on control of the home affairs ministry, which runs the police. The facilitation team is headed by former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who brokered the unity deal. | | | Congo troops seize prisoners from UN custody
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, government troops have forced United Nations peacekeepers to hand over prisoners. The government soldiers seized a group of around 20 men under UN custody at the Kibati refugee camp in the country's east. The soldiers accused the men of being rebels. An angry crowd gathered at the camp and stoned UN vehicles, accusing the peacekeepers of failing to protect them. Fighting between the government and Tutsi rebels in North Kivu province has displaced around a quarter of a million people in recent months. | | | | | |  | | |  Up-to-date news at DW-WORLD.DE | | | | | | |  | | | Note
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Merkel Rejects VAT Cuts, Calls for Calm in Financial Crisis
