 | | | | | | | Newsletter | 05.02.2009, 17:15 UTC | | | Newsline | | | World news: international | | | | | | | | | World News | | | | | Current Article | | | | Deutsche Bank posts record loss
Germany's largest bank has posted a record loss for operations last year. Deutsche Bank made a net loss of 3.9 billon euros in 2008, compared to a record profit of 6.5 billion euros the year before. The company's boss, Josef Ackermann, described the result as "disappointing," but insisted his bank would not need to resort to government assistance to overcome the financial crisis. Ackermann told a press conference that the banking industry faced a tough future as the global economy worsened, and that his company's investment banking arm would be restructured for this reason. He also confirmed that he intended to step down as planned in May next year. |  | | German industrial orders plunge
New economic data suggests Germany is in a far deeper recession than previously believed. The German economics ministry has revealed that industrial orders fell more than a quarter last year. The results for December alone were twice as bad as anticipated. The sharp drop was mainly the result of falling demand from other countries that use the euro currency. Germany's recession is expected to last well into this year. | | | Iraqi election results give boost to PM Maliki
Iraqi election officials have released the results of last weekend's provincial elections. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's allies won the most votes in Baghdad as well as eight of the country's nine Shi'ite provinces. al-Maliki's nearest rivals included a Sunni party, backers of the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the biggest Shi'ite party – the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. al-Maliki, whose stature has grown with the drop in sectarian violence and a firm date for the withdrawal of US troops, now has a stronger mandate to govern. His Dawa party is also now well positioned for the country's parliamentary elections at the end of the year. | | | 15 die in suicide bombing in Iraq
At least 15 people have been killed in a suicide attack in northeastern Iraq, shortly before election authorities announced the first results of last week's provincial elections. The suicide bomber blew himself up in a popular restaurant in the Kurdish town of in Khanaqin on the border with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. Early results from 14 of Iraq's local council showed gains for the law-and-order bloc of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, giving him a boost ahead of a parliamentary election scheduled for later this year.
| | | India says Pakistan ISI linked to Mumbai attack planners
India's Foreign Secretary has indicated that Pakistan's intelligence service (ISI) was linked to the masterminds behind the Mumbai attack that killed more than 170 people. The announcement was the first time New Delhi has directly named the organisation in connection with November's deadly raids. In a speech to a foreign affairs conference in Paris, Shivshankar Menon said the perpetrators planned, trained and launched their attacks from Pakistan, and the organisers were and remain clients and creations of the ISI military spy agency. Islamabad has rejected allegations by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last month that the attacks were supported by members of Pakistani intelligence services. | | | Sri Lanka rejects international calls for ceasefire
The Sri Lankan government says it will not suspend an offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels despite reports of a growing number of civilian casualties in the northern war zone. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse said he would only accept complete surrender by the Tigers. The government has offered an amnesty to rebels who surrender, but has rejected calls for a cease-fire. The United Nations and other aid agencies say some 250,000 civilians are trapped in the war zone, and suffering a high number of casualties. The United States and Britain have called for a truce and a negotiated end to the conflict over a separate Tamil homeland on the Indian Ocean island. | | | Somali pirates release Ukrainian arms ship
Somali pirates have released a Ukrainian ship loaded with weapons, which has been held off the coast of Somalia for the past four months. The pirates were reportedly paid a three-million-dollar ransom. A Ukrainian government statement said the ship was now under the protection of the US navy and would head next to the Kenyan port of Mombasa. The MV Faina was captured in September with its 20-man crew and a cargo of 33 Soviet-era T-72 tanks plus other weapons. Its seizure sparked a regional controversy, not just over the dangerous nature of its cargo, but also over the ultimate destination of the weapons. | | | Zimbabwe parliament meets on unity deal
Zimbabwe's parliament has convened to debate constitutional amendments that will pave the way for a unity government next week. The amendments will create the new position of prime minister, which Morgan Tsvangirai is set to assume. Under the unity accord, President Robert Mugabe will remain head of state, and his ZANU-PF party and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) will divide the cabinet posts. Approval will mark a key step towards ending the political crisis that started when the MDC won a parliamentary majority last March and Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in a first-round presidential vote. Post-election violence left more than 180 people dead. | | | Sweden reverses nuclear phase-out
Sweden has reversed its nearly 30-year-old policy of phasing out nuclear power. The centre-right government says it intends to lift a ban on the development of new nuclear reactors in order to replace 10 aging reactors currently in use. The plants account for nearly half of Sweden's energy supply. Public support for nuclear energy has grown amid concerns over meeting the nation's energy needs without resorting to technologies that contribute to climate change. The government said it would present the policy in mid-march in an energy bill which would include a target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020. | | | | | |  | | |  Up-to-date news at DW-WORLD.DE | | | | | | |  | | | Note
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Merkel Faces Party Backlash Over Vatican Criticism
