 | | | | | | | Newsletter | 20.01.2009, 17:15 UTC | | | Newsline | | | World news: international | | | | | | | | | News | | | | | Current Article | | | | Obama arrives at the Capitol ahead of inauguration.
Barack Obama has left the White House with President George W Bush on his way to becoming the 44th US president. Earlier he attended a traditional morning worship service at St. John's Episcopal Church. Amidst tight security about 2 million people are estimated to have gathered in Washington's National Mall to watch the swearing in of the country's first black president. As welcome messages flooded in from world leaders German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was hoping for improved US-German relations under Obama's presidency. She said she expected Obama to adopt a stronger multilateral approach, especially in tackling the financial crisis. Obama inherits the worst recession in decades as well as US military engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan. |  | | Russian gas reaches Europe
The first Russian gas supplies have reached Europe via Ukraine. EU monitors report that energy is flowing normally while Slovakian authorities say deliveries have arrived at the Slovak gas border station at Velke Kapusany. After tough negotiations, Russia and Ukraine signed a price deal on Monday that paved the way for gas deliveries to resume. Russia cut deliveries to Ukraine on January 1 in a dispute over unpaid bills. One week later, all gas shipments to Europe via Ukraine were halted, with Moscow accusing Kiev of siphoning off gas destined for EU markets. Slovakia, and several other southern eastern EU nations who completely depend on Russian gas had been without deliveries since January 7. | | | UN Secretary General inspects damage in Gaza Strip
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has ended a brief visit to the Gaza Strip where he gained a first-hand look at the damage after Israel's three-week military campaign to stop Hamas rocket attacks. Ban called on both Israel and Hamas to show restraint and honor their recent ceasefire that he said remained "fragile." During the tour, Ban visited UN buildings that were struck during the Israeli offensive that caused several billion euros worth of damage and killed some 1,300 Palestinians. Ban is also scheduled to visit the Israeli town of Sderot that was the target of Palestinian rocket attacks. Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza is expected to be completed by late Tuesday. The European Union has offered to provide assistance in monitoring Gaza's border crossings with Israel. | | | Arab foreign ministers fail to agree on Gaza
Arab foreign ministers meeting on the sidelines of an Arab economic summit in Kuwait have failed to reach a consensus on a final statement on Israel's war on Gaza. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that Arab countries had been unable to so far reconcile their different positions. The crisis in Gaza has underscored the divide between those allied to more moderate Egypt and Saudi Arabia on one side, and those allied to Syria and Qatar on the other. In a statement on Gaza, Arab leaders pledged "all forms of support for the reconstruction of Gaza but failed to agree on setting up an anticipated two-billion-dollar fund for the impoverished Palestinian territory. | | | Rwandan troops enter eastern Congo to fight Rwandan rebels.
Rwandan troops have entered into eastern Democratic Congo for a joint military operation with Congolese government troops against a Rwandan Hutu militia. The leaders of the rebel group, the Liberation of Rwandan fighters, have been blamed for much of the region's instability. Analysts also say much of the fighting is motivated by the region's rich mineral resources. The Rwandan rebels are also thought to have played a major role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide where some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. There are an estimated 6000 Rwandan rebels in east Congo's Great Lakes region.
| | | EU clears €3.1bn emergency loan to Latvia
The European Union has approved a 3.1 billion euro loan to Latvia to help it weather the financial crisis. EU finance ministers in Brussels said the emergency loan was conditional on Latvia moving to stabilize its banking sector, stem liquidity problems and reduce its foreign debt. The European Commission says Latvia's economy may have contracted by 2.3 percent last year and could shrink by another 6.9 percent this year. | | | Fiat, Chrysler sign preliminary merger agreement
Italian carmaker Fiat and struggling US giant Chrysler have reportedly signed a preliminary, non-binding agreement to merge their companies. Media reports suggest that Fiat is poised to take a 35 percent stake in the US carmaker. Under the deal, Fiat would build its own small cars in the US and use the Chrysler distribution network. In exchange, Chrysler would tap Fiat's expertise to advance its own plans for smaller models with lower emissions. | | | German retail giant Metro to cut 15,000 jobs
German retail giant Metro is planning to cut 15,000 jobs or five percent of its global workforce. The move is part of a major restructuring programme designed to help Metro weather the economic slowdown. The Duesseldorf-based company intends to save costs and increase profits by 1.5 billion euros by 2012. Last year Metro posted sales of 68 billion euros. | | | Chinese Premier Wen to visit Europe next week
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will visit Europe next week in a trip expected to focus on tackling the global economic crisis. China's Foreign Ministry said Wen would go to Germany, Spain, Britain and the European Union headquarters in Brussels. He will also attend the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. It is Wen's first visit to Europe since Beijing postponed a China-EU summit last year in protest at French President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama. Beijing and Brussels are also at loggerheads over trade and broader human rights issues. | | | | | |  | | |  Up-to-date news at DW-WORLD.DE | | | | | | |  | | | Note
To unsubscribe to this newsletter, please click here.
If you have any questions or comments, please send us an email:
online@dw-world.de
For more information, please click here. | | |  | | | © 2009 DEUTSCHE WELLE | > Contact | | | |
World Looks to Washington as Obama Prepares to Take Office
