 | | | | | | | Newsletter | 08.01.2009, 17:15 UTC | | | Newsline | | | World news: international | | | | | | | | | News | | | | | Current Article | | | | Rockets from Lebanon hit Israel amid Gaza offensive
Hezbollah has denied firing several rockets from southern Lebanon into northern Israel early on Thursday, which injured two people in the coastal city of Nahariya. Lebanese officials said the Israeli military responded with artillery fire directed at an area close to the southern Lebanese village of Marwaheen. Meanwhile in Gaza, Israel briefly suspended its offensive in the Gaza Strip for three hours to allow humanitarian supplies into the embattled enclave. Dozens of bodies were found by medics during the ceasefire. A United Nations aid agency said it has suspended its operations in the Gaza Strip because of the risk posed by Israeli forces in the territory. So far at least 700 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. Eight Israeli soldiers have died, while Hamas rocket fire has killed four Israeli civilians. |  | | Egypt to host Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks
Two senior Israeli officials are in Cairo to discuss the details of a French-Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The plan calls for a cessation of violence, allowing aid to reach civilians. It also proposes a discussion on ending Israel's blockade on Gaza. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said the proposal also called for the rival Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, to start reconciliation talks. The latest round of fighting in Gaza broke out after an Egyptian-brokered, six-month-long ceasefire between Hamas and Israel ended on December 19. Israel launched Operation Cast Lead on December 27, saying it wanted to put an end to Hamas rockets attacks from the Gaza Strip. Hamas blamed its refusal to extend the ceasefire on the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Germany and the US have welcomed the latest ceasefire initiative. | | | UN Security Council divided on Gaza peace initiative
The UN Security Council in New York has once again failed to agree on how to end the fighting in Gaza. Council members remained divided after Arab representatives insisted on an immediate ceasefire, while the US, Britain and France called for guarantees to prevent arms smuggling to Hamas. Meanwhile France and Germany have said they will work together to obtain security guarantees for Israel. Speaking at joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris, Sarkozy said both leaders were ready to undertake a joint initiative to help peace in the Middle East. | | | President-elect Obama unveils economic stimulus plan
US President-elect Barack Obama has mapped out his economic stimulus plan to fix the US economy. Speaking at the George Mason University in Fairfax near Washington, Obama warned that the US could lose a generation of potential and promise. Obama, who assumes office in 12 days time, predicted that unemployment could reach double digit figures in the near future. Obama said he would offer working families a $1,000 tax cut and improve energy efficiency in millions of American homes in order to create 3 million jobs and stimulate the economy. He said his economic recovery plan would extend jobless aid and healthcare coverage for the unemployed and include proposals to double production of alternative energy in the next three years and improve energy efficiency for millions of homes. | | | Ukraine signs deal with EU on gas monitors
Ukraine has signed an agreement with the European Commmission inviting independent monitors to verify Russian gas shipments to Europe. The deal meets a key Russian demand and clears the way for Gazprom to resume deliveries to Europe via Ukraine. It was reached after a day of high-level talks in Brussels attended by representatives from the European Union, Ukraine's energy supplier Naftagas and Russia's state monopoly Gazprom. The gas spat between Moscow and Kiev erupted over a price dispute and accusations that gas destined for Europe was being siphoned off in Ukrainian pipelines. Russia stopped all gas deliveries via Ukraine on Wednesday, despite EU criticism. The move has disrupted the gas supply in 18 countries and left hundreds of thousands of people without heating in Eastern and Central Europe. This comes as large parts of the Continent are confronted with a severe cold spell. | | | Merkel calls for creation of UN economy council
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for the creation of a global economy council at the United Nations. Speaking at an international economic conference in Paris, Merkel said that the International Monetary Fund and other existing institutions had been unable to efficiently regulate global financial markets. She said that in order to prevent a repeat of the current financial and economic crisis, nations would have to sacrifice some of their sovereignty. The basis for such a global economy council was to be a UN charta for sustainable economic management modelled on the human rights charta. | | | German government to take 25% stake in Commerzbank
The German government is to take a 25 per cent stake plus one share in one of the country's leading banks. The German newspaper Die Welt said the partial nationalisation of the Commerzbank was in return for an additional cash injection of 10 billion euros. Commerzbank, which is poised to take over rival Dresdner Bank, already requested 8.2 billion euros in capital from the government and 15 billion euros in state loan guarantees in November. It was the first major German bank to take advantage of a government fund to bail out banks hit by the global financial crisis. | | | Bank of England cuts interest rates to historic low
The Bank of England has slashed interest rates to an historic low of 1.5 per cent in a further effort to soften the impact of a deepening recession. The decision to cut rates by half a percentage point brings borrowing costs below 2 per cent for the first time since the bank was founded in 1694. The move came hard on the heels of a drastic rate cut in December. | | | German trade surplus shrinks in November
Germany's trade surplus contracted sharply in November, falling to 9.7 billion euros from 16.4 billion in October. Figures released on Thursday by the national statistics office showed that the country's current account, its broadest measure of trade in goods and services with other nations, also fell markedly to 8.6 billion euros from 14.3 billion the previous month. In October, the trade surplus had risen slightly, but the current account was already headed downwards. Germany, the world's leading exporter, has been hit hard by economic recessions or slumps in the United States, Europe and Asia. | | | Spanish court tries Basque regional president
Basque regional leader Juan Jose Ibarretxe has gone on trial in the Spanish city of Bilbao. Ibarretxe and two members of Spain's governing Socialist party, Patxi Lopez and Rodolfo Ares, are accused of meeting with leaders of the banned Batasuna party in 2006. Batasuna has been outlawed since 2003 for refusing to condemn violence and cut its links to ETA, which has killed more than 800 people in its decades old campaign for an independent Basque homeland. Five senior members of Batasuna, including veteran Arnaldo Otegi, are also on trial in Bilbao. | | | Dell axes 1,900 jobs in Ireland, moves production to Poland
US computer giant Dell says it will cut about 1,900 jobs at its main manufacturing plant in the Republic of Ireland by January 2010. That's about two thirds of the workforce at the Limerick production site. Dell is planning to transfer the entire Irish production of laptops and desktop computers to a newer Dell plant in Poland where labour costs are lower. The move is part of a $3 billion cost-reduction plan announced last year. The Texas-based company is Ireland's second-largest employer and its biggest exporter. Economists warn that each Dell job underpins another four to five jobs in Ireland. | | | | | |  | | |  Up-to-date news at DW-WORLD.DE | | | | | | |  | | | Note
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Russia Opens Gas Talks With EU in Brussels
