 | | | | | | | Newsletter | 05.12.2008, 17:15 UTC | | | Newsline | | | World news: international | | | | | | | | | News | | | | | Current Article | | | | German upper house passes 32 billion euro economic stimulus package
The German upper house of Parliament, the Bundesrat, has passed a 32 billion euro economic stimulus package, despite hefty criticism from a number of states. The package was approved by the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, on Thursday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the rescue plan would secure one million jobs and boost consumption and investments across the country. The upper house on Friday also passed the controversial inheritance law. Properties that continue to be lived in by surviving family members, and family businesses that maintain jobs for at least ten years, will be exempt from the tax. Meanwhile the Bundestag has agreed to lower compulsory unemployment insurance from 3.3 to 2.8 percent. Health insurance premiums will go up 15.5 percent. |  | | Bundesbank says German economy to shrink by 0.8 percent in 2009
Germany's central bank has forecast that the country's economy - Europe's biggest - will shrink by 0.8 percent next year. The Bundesbank said prospects for the German economy have worsened notably since the start of autumn.The German government's official forecast, set in mid-October, foresees 0.2 percent growth next year. Deutsche Bank however predicts the economy will contract by four percent and has called for the government to immediately reduce value added tax from the current 19 percent to 16. The German economy officially fell into recession in this year's third quarter. | | | Lufthansa signs deal to buy Austrian Airlines
German airline Lufthansa has signed a deal to buy 41.65 percent of Austrian Airlines from the state holding OeIAG, creating Europe's biggest airline. The debt-ridden flag carrier is to be sold for the token price of 366,000 euros. The announcement came despite fierce protests from unions and opposition parties. On Wednesday, the German carrier announced that it planned to take over 100 per cent of its smaller Austrian rival, first through privatization, and then by buying free-floating shares.
| | | 500,000 jobs lost in US as recession spreads
US goverment data shows that US employers axed more than 500,000 payroll jobs last month, the most in 34 years. The job losses are much worse than analysts had expected. Service providing businesses accounted for two-thirds of overall job declines in November. 1.9 million jobs have been lost this year so far, 1.2 million in the past three months alone. President-elect Barack Obama has promised to introduce a massive new fiscal stimulus package after he takes office to help create 2.5 million jobs in the US. Meanwhile the Mortgage Bankers Association says a record one in 10 American homeowners with a mortgage were either at least a month behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of September. | | | Georgia fires defence, foreign affairs and other ministers
Georgia's prime minister has dismissed the country's defence, foreign affairs, education and culture ministers. Grigol Mgaloblishvili said the government needed an overhaul due to “new realities.” Mgaloblishvili was appointed in October by President Mikhail Saakashvili, whose government has come under growing pressure since the five-day war with Russia in August. Afterwards, Moscow recognised the independence of the Georgian rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abhkazia. Meanwhile the AFP news agency reports that South Ossetian rebel forces have fired at a Georgian police post near the border with heavy-calibre grenade launchers. The windows of the police post were blown out and a nearby building was damaged, but no casualties have been reported. | | | OSCE meeting ends without agreement
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, has ended its two-day meeting in Finland without a joint declaration. Conflict resolution - especially in light of the recent war between Russia and Georgia - was one of the focal points of the meeting. One of the stumbling blocks was Moscow's reluctance to allow international monitors into the breakaway province of South Ossetia to assess human rights abuses there. Russia in turn criticized the 56-member body for failing to prevent the war in Georgia and has demanded an inquiry to determine why it did not act. | | | India angry "as never before" over Mumbai attacks
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that his country is hurt and angry as "never before" over last week's attacks on Mumbai. The Indian media is reporting that there is evidence that members of Pakistan's secret service had trained those involved in the attacks which left 171 people dead. Meanwhile Mumbai's Muslim community has distanced itself from the attacks amid fears of reprisal from Hindu nationalists. India's new home minister P. Chidambaram has admitted that security lapses led to the attacks but said they would be addressed. German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble travels to India late next week for talks focussing on cooperation in the fight against terorrism. | | | Russia signs pact to build civil nuclear plants for India
India and Russia have signed several agreements allowing Russia to build four new civil atomic reactors in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and at new sites. The agreement, was signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Indian capital New Delhi and is said to mark a “new milestone” in bilateral relations. This is India's third nuclear cooperation pact with another country. It signed an agreement with France in September, another with the United States in October. | | | Congo agrees to meet rebel envoys
Congolese officials say they are willing to hold peace talks with representatives of rebel leader Laurent NKunda whose recent offensive has brought the country's eastern region to the brink of all-out war. The foreign minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo said that his government was willing to discuss a ceasefire deal with the rebels. The talks are scheduled to begin on Monday in Nairobi, Kenya. The comments have raised hopes of an end to months of fighting, which has displaced some 250,000 people in the eastern Kivu province. Nkunda, a Tutsi who claims to be defending his people against the Rwandan Hutus, has long demanded direct talks with the government to settle the conflict. | | | Head of Russian Orthodox Church dies
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II, has died, after long illness. He was 79. Alexy was head of Russia's 150 million orthodox believers and was credited with re-establishing the Russian Orthodox Church after the fall of the Soviet Union. He opposed the coup attempt against former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991 and later forged an alliance with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Within minutes of the announcement of Alexy II's death, state television broadcast video footage of him and Kremlin officials voiced their condolences. | | | 80 million euros of jewellery stoles from Paris store
Armed gunmen have broken into a jewellery store in Paris, stealing diamonds and valuables worth up to 80 million euros. If the size of the theft is confirmed, it would be France's biggest jewellery robbery. Police say at least three men – some disguised as women- walked into the Harry Winston Store near the famous Champs-Elysees on Thursday. The store was broken in to almost exactly one year ago and robbed of some 10 million euros worth of jewellery. | | | Honda F1 pullout drops Button in limbo
In what has been labelled a major blow to motor racing, Honda has announced it will withdraw from Formula 1, effective immediately. The carmaker said it was not thinking about a quick return to Formula One, either as a team or engine supplier. Honda had a poor 2008 season and has suffered a sharp decline in sales worldwide. Honda's chief executive apologised to the team's British driver Jenson Button. Button, a winner for Honda in Hungary in 2006, is now looking for a team for next season. | | | | | |  | | |  Up-to-date news at DW-WORLD.DE | | | | | | |  | | | Note
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Bundesbank Forecasts Recession Into 2009
