 | | | | | | | Newsletter | 28.11.2008, 17:15 UTC | | | Newsline | | | World news: international | | | | | | | | | News | | | | | Current Article | | | | Indian commandos in Mumbai battling to flush out terrorists
Indian commandos are battling to conclude two days of operations to flush terrorists out of occupied buildings in Mumbai. Security forces say the rescue operation at the Trident-Oberoi hotel is complete, and that 24 bodies have been recovered from the site. However, fighting is reportedly continuing at the Taj Mahal hotel, where commandos spotted up to 50 dead bodies on the premises. Security forces battling militants holed up in a Jewish centre have reportedly recovered the bodies of five dead hostages. A little known Islamist group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks, which so far have left at least 130 people dead and over 300 injured. |  | | Indian FM blames Pakistani elements for Mumbai attacks
India's Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee has blamed elements in Pakistan for the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Speaking at a press conference, Mukherjee also urged Pakistan to dismantle the infrastructure that supports militants. It is the first time the Indian government has specifically named its neighbour in connection with the attacks. Meanwhile, Pakistan's prime minister and president have called Indian premier Manmohan Singh to condemn the Mumbai attacks and offer their support to the country. | | | Thai PM sacks police chief amid protests
Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat has fired the country's police chief. A statement released by the prime minister's office did not give a reason for the sacking. Meanwhile, Thai police have told protesters to leave Bangkok's two main airports. A senior police negotiator has said they will disperse the protesters if negotiations aimed at ending the blockades fail. People's Alliance of Democracy activists have said that they are prepared for violent clashes with the police after Prime Minister Somchai declared a state of emergency at the airports. The activists, who regard Somchai as a puppet of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, are demanding that he resign. Somchai has refused to do so, saying that his democratically elected government is legitimate. Thousands of holiday makers have been stranded by the stand-off. | | | German Bundestag adopts 2009 federal budget
Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, has approved the federal budget for 2009. Total expenditure will amount to 290 billion euros. That's an increase of almost seven billion euros on this year. Parliamentarians in Berlin agreed to make 18,5 billion euros in new debt in the face of the global financial and economic crisis. That's eight billion more than originally planned. Chancellor Angela Merkel said a balanced budget would not to be achieved before 2012. Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück and Economy Minister Michael Glos said a swift reduction of taxes was the wrong approach to boost consumer spending. Germany fell into recession in the third quarter and the government recently slashed its 2009 growth forecast by one percentage point to 0.2 percent. | | | German Bundesrat blocks new anti-terror legislation
Germany's upper chamber of parliament has blocked a controversial bill that would grant police sweeping powers to monitor terror suspects. Civil liberties groups have objected to the so-called "BKA Gesetz" which would allow federal police to conduct secret online search of computers, tapping telephone calls and bugging the homes of suspects. The controversial legislation had already been passed by the Bundestag, where Chancellor Angela Merkel's grand coalition has a big majority. The government is now planning to push through the bill by referring the matter to an arbitration panel. | | | Kosovo to release German agents
A German newspaper is reporting that three German intelligence agents arrested in Kosovo are to be released and repatriated later this Friday. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung quoted Kosovar officials as saying that the BND operatives are to be freed due to a lack of evidence against them. They were detained on suspicion of being involved in a bomb attack on EU offices in Pristina earlier this month. An Albanian group, the “Army of the Republic of Kosovo”, has claimed responsibility for the attack. | | | German Bundesrat approves new VW law
Germany's upper house of parliament has approved a new draft of a Volkswagen Law that protects Europe's biggest carmaker from takeover. The text effectively maintains a veto by the German state of Lower Saxony, where Volkswagen is based and which owns around 20 percent of the company. Friday's approval in the Bundesrat is likely to increase tensions with the European Commission which has called on Germany to abolish the law. The EU's executive body regards Lower Saxony's influence over strategic decisions at VW as anti-competitive. German luxury carmaker Porsche, which is VW's biggest shareholder, also objects to the law. | | | EU gives warning to drug-makers
The European Union says pharmaceutical companies are holding up cheaper medicines for European consumers and stifling innovation. In a new report, the EU said competition among drug-makers was not functioning as it should, and that this was costing healthcare providers some three billion euros a year in potential savings. Unveiling the report's findings, Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes accused drug-makers of using a range of unwarranted measures to prolong lucrative patents. She warned that the EU would take anti-trust action against companies found to be violating the bloc's competition rules. The report follows a year-long probe of the drug industry. | | | Germany's Commerzbank accelerates takeover
Germany's Commerzbank says it will take over rival Dresdner Bank in January, around 6 months earlier than expected. Commerzbank said it had reached a deal with the major insurer Allianz, that owns the Dresdner Bank, to buy the final 40 percent stake in Dresdner for 1.4 billion euros. The new bank will have 11 million private customers and will become Germany's biggest, overtaking Deutsche Bank.
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German CO2 Emissions Fall Below Kyoto Requirements
