 | | | | | | | Newsletter | 12.01.2009, 17:15 UTC | | | Newsline | | | World news: international | | | | | | | | | News | | | | | Current Article | | | | RWE to acquire Dutch power company Essent
German energy giant RWE says it will buy the Dutch power company Essent NV for 9.3 billion euros. Essent is the Netherlands' second-largest utility company. RWE said the acquisition of Essent's gas and electricity operations would make it one of the leading energy suppliers in Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. The two utility companies have already reached agreement on terms and conditions. |  | | Russian gas to start flowing Tuesday
European Union officials say deliveries of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine will resume on Tuesday. Russia, Ukraine and the EU have signed a deal, which will allow international observers to monitor the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine. Russia cut all gas to Ukraine after accusing the country of siphoning off supplies earmarked for other countries. The dispute has heavily disrupted Europe's gas supply for nearly a week amid particularly cold winter temperatures. EU energy ministers have been holding an emergency meeting over the row in Brussels. | | | Israel sends reservists into Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says his troops are close to meeting their objectives in Gaza. However, Olmert stopped short of giving a timeline for ending the conflict, which is now in its third week. A number of Hamas rockets were fired into Israel on Monday morning, as Israeli ground troops edged closer to the strip's densely populated urban areas. The Isreali Defence Force says thousands of reservists have now joined the campaign, which is aimed at stopping Hamas rocket fire and preventing the organisation from rearming. The conflict has so far claimed the lives of around 900 Palestinians, and 13 Israelis. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he saw chances for a "humanitarian truce" after his talks with Egypt and Israel. | | | Bush expresses admits to "disappointments" over Iraq
US President George W. Bush has used his farewell press conference to say that Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel in order for an effective ceasefire to take hold in the Gaza Strip. He also told reporters at the White House that Israel should avoid harming innocent civilians. Asked about whether he had made any mistakes during his eight years in office, Bush said that although he had made the best possible decisions with the information he had, the war in Iraq in particular had produced disappointments. The outgoing US president also conceded that it had been a mistake to hang a banner saying "mission accomplished" behind him on an aircraft carrier in 2003 as he declared major combat operations in Iraq over. And he said the greatest threat that President-elect Barack Obama would face was a possible terrorist attack on the US. Obama is to take office in just over a week's time. | | | ANC presidential candidate Zuma to face charges
A South African appeal court has paved the way for prosecutors to pursue a corruption case against Jacob Zuma, the leader of the ruling African National Congress party. The Supreme Court of Appeal overturned an earlier lower court ruling that threw out the case against Zuma. A judge described the original ruling as “riddled with errors.” Prosecutors say they will now seek a date for Zuma to stand trial. The ANC said the latest court ruling would not affect the party's decision to nominate Zuma as its presidential candidate. Jacob Zuma is the leading candidate ahead of elections expected in March or April. | | | Daimler implements shortened work weeks
Tens of thousands of Daimler workers are beginning shortened work weeks as the German carmaker reacts to dramatic drops in world-wide car sales. Employees at five factories are affected. Just in its main Stuttgart and nearby Sindelfingen plants, 30,000 workers are to work three- and four-day weeks until the end of March. Volkswagen is also considering reducing working hours and Germany's GM subsidiary, Opel, is negotiating with union representatives over shortened work weeks. A sharp fall in global auto sales has hit automakers on all continents, leading to the loss of jobs for hundreds of thousands in the industry. | | | Search continues for missing after ferry capsizes
Some 250 people are still missing and feared dead from an Indonesian ferry which sank in heavy seas over the weekend as bad weather continues to hamper rescue efforts. The ferry, which had 250 passengers and 17 crew on board, was travelling from the west coast of Sulawesi island to Samarinda city on Indonesia's side of Borneo island when it ran into bad weather on Sunday and capsized. Indonesia's transport ministry says at least 21 people – 18 passengers and three crew members - have been rescued so far.
| | | Rush hour bomb blasts kill seven in Baghdad
In Baghdad, a spate of rush hour bomb blasts have killed at least seven people and injured another 25. An interior ministry official said three civilians were killed and 10 wounded in a roadside bomb attack early Monday that was immediately followed by a car bomb blast in an eastern neighbourhood of the city. In Baghdad's central commercial district a roadside bomb killed at least two people and injured three. One civilian was killed and another wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near a police checkpoint in north Baghdad. | | | "Slumdog Millionare" wins four Globes
Top place in the movie industry's Golden Globes awards has gone to the Indian-based drama "Slumdog Millionare." At the ceremony in Los Angeles it swept four categories, including best director for Danny Boyle. "Slumdog" features a young Indian man in Mumbai who's looking for love and competing for money on a television game show. Kate Winslet won two awards for best dramatic actress for her role as a frustrated housewife in "Revolutionary Road" and a German woman in "The Reader." The Globes are a precursor to Hollywood's Oscar awards. | | | | | |  | | |  Up-to-date news at DW-WORLD.DE | | | | | | |  | | | Note
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Russian Gas Supplies to Resume Tuesday, EU Says
