 | | | | | | | Newsletter | 19.02.2009, 17:15 UTC | | | Newsline | | | World news: international | | | | | | | | | World News | | | | | Current Article | | | | Russian jury acquits defendants in Politkovskaya murder trial
A Moscow jury has acquitted three men charged in connection with the killing of journalist and Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya. It found the defendants Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov not guilty of acting as accomplices in the murder, and a former police officer not guilty of organising the contract-style killing. The 48-year-old Politkovskaya, who published scathing exposes on official corruption and rights abuses, was shot dead outside her Moscow apartment in October 2006 after returning home from the supermarket.
|  | | Hypo Real Estate needs 20 billion euros more in guarantees
Troubled German lender Hypo Real Estate needs further loan guarantees of up to 20 billion euros in the next few weeks in order to stay afloat. That's according to a report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The newspaper also reports that the bank needs a fresh capital injection of around 10 billion euros. This comes a day after the German cabinet approved new legislation that would pave the way for Hypo Real Estate to become the first bank in modern German history to be nationalised. HRE has already received more than 100 billion euros in public funds since October. Half of this has been in the form of loan guarantees. Government officials say they fear a chain-reaction on financial markets in Germany if the bank is allowed to go under. | | | No decison on possible Opel plant closures in Germany
General Motors has not yet made a decision on whether to shut down any of its Opel plants in Germany. That's according to the premier of the western state of North Rhein-Westphalia, Jürgen Rüttgers. He was speaking following talks with General Motors chairman Rick Wagoner in Detroit. Opel has been directed to draw up a plan over the next few weeks to implement long-term cost savings. Earlier this week, General Motors announced plans to cut 47,000 jobs worldwide by the end of this year, with 26,000 of those cuts slated for GM facilities outside of the United States. Opel has factories in Rüsselsheim, Bochum, Kaiserslautern and Eisenach. | | | NATO defence ministers discuss Afghan strategy
Defence ministers from member states of the Western military alliance NATO are gathering in the Polish city of Krakow to review strategy on Afghanistan. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has told reporters travelling with him on the flight to Poland that he will ask NATO allies to send more troops to help boost security ahead of Afghanistan's general elections to be held in August. He is also expected to use the two days of informal talks to call on US allies to send more soldiers and civilian staff to help combat the insurgency by Taliban militants. The meeting comes just days after Washington announced that it would send an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan. Germany has around 3,500 Bundeswehr soldiers in the country as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. It has also agreed to send 600 additional troops to provide extra security for the elections. It is one of the few member states to have done so. | | | Clinton continues Asian tour with stop in Seoul
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in the South Korean capital, Seoul. That's the latest stop on her current Asian tour. She arrived there from Jakarta, where she held talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Neither Clinton nor Yudhoyono commented on their talks, but a spokesman for the Indonesian president said he had stressed the need for closer economic co-operation in this time of crisis. Clinton's visit to Indonesia was seen by many as an attempt to forge better ties with the Islamic world, in line with US President Barack Obama's approach to foreign policy. Clinton's first trip abroad since becoming secretary of state has also taken her to Japan. She is to wrap up the tour with a visit to China. | | | Trial of shoe-throwing Iraqi journalist adjourned
The trial of an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former US President George W. Bush during a Baghdad news conference last year has been adjourned, shortly after it opened. One of the three presiding judges at the Iraqi capital's Central Criminal Court said the trial would resume on March 12. If found guilty of the charge of assaulting a foreign head of state, Muntazer al-Zaidi could face up to 15 years in prison. Zaidi has been in custody for more than two months and his family says he has been beaten by security guards. | | | Kyrgyzstan parliament votes to close US base
Kyrgyzstan's parliament has voted to close a US military base on its territory that serves as a key supply staging point for coalition forces in neighbouring Afghanistan. The motion to close the air base at Manas passed by an overwhelming vote, with 78 of the 81 lawmakers present in the chamber voting in favour. The closure could strain US supply lines at a time when President Barack Obama is preparing to send an extra 17,000 troops to Afghanistan amid increasing attacks on supply routes through Pakistan. | | | | | |  | | |  Up-to-date news at DW-WORLD.DE | | | | | | |  | | | Note
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Russian Court Acquits Suspects in Politkovskaya Murder
