Germany in Brief

Missing European tourists kidnapped by bandits

A French radio channel has reported that 31 European tourists, who have been missing in the Sahara Desert for months, have been kidnapped by smugglers and are being held in southern Algeria. Algerian police are said to be negotiating a ransom of several million dollars with the smuggler group. The channel RFI said that a planned military action by Algerian authorities had been put on hold on account of the wishes of the German government. Fifteen of the kidnapped tourists are German nationals. A high-ranking Algerian politician told the The Associated Press news agency that all the tourists were alive and doing well. The bandit group are said to be specialists in trade with weapons, stolen vehicles and cigarettes. Links between the smugglers and Islamic networks have been ruled out. Algerian police chief Ali Tounsi was in Berlin earlier this week to discuss proceedings with the German government, which has insisted on negotiating with the kidnappers in order to avoid endangering the lives of the tourists.

Airbus under pressure to favor European engine makers

European aircraft maker Airbus has once again postponed its decision on the billion dollar contract to supply engines for the A400 European military transport aircraft. Airbus Chief Noel Forgeard said this week in Toulouse that though the company was in favor of a reasonable price quoted by the Canadian subsidiary of U.S. aero engine maker Pratt & Whitney, he wanted to give the rival consortium of European engine makers -- which includes Snecma of France, Rolls-Royce of Britain and Germany’s MTU -- another week to rethink their offers. Amid intense lobbying by European engine makers to keep the lucrative contract within Europe, French President Jacques Chirac threw his weight behind the European bid. On the fringes of a defense summit called by Germany, France, Luxembourg and Belgium, Chirac made it clear to German Chancellor Schröder that he considered only European-built engines acceptable for the A400. Germany, the biggest single backer of the A400 program with orders for 60 aircraft, has caused major delays in the project because of a lack of funds. Budgetary approval for the purchase is expected next month.

Beckenbauer threatens to quit World Cup committee

German soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer has threatened to step down as president of Germany’s 2006 World Cup organizing committee over a dispute with FIFA one day before its executive body meeting in Zurich. Beckenbauer, president of Bayern Munich, accused soccer’s world ruling body of being chiefly interested in making money and of wanting to set unreasonably high ticket and hotel prices for packages for VIPs. "FIFA’s main goal is to make money and all the rest is secondary," Beckenbauer told Friday’s issue of football magazine Kicker. "We will not let that happen. I will not. I would rather quit. I would make my position available, this is a warning to Zurich," he said. Of the 3.2 million tickets for the World Cup, FIFA has said that up to 15 percent or 480,000 tickets will be reserved for VIP’s and their accommodation. "If you calculate it with each single person, you come to fantastic sums that can never be paid in Germany," Beckenbauer said.

U.S. cabinet minister says U.S. hurt by German stance

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, the first American cabinet member to visit Berlin since deep divisions between the two countries over the Iraq war surfaced last year, said on Friday the U.S. felt deeply hurt and betrayed by the row. "There’s no denying how deep a sense of disappointment and hurt there is," Zoellick said. "When the chips are down, we’d like to able to count on our friends and it’s difficult when our friends are against us," Zoellick said with reference to Chancellor Schröder’s anti-war alliance with France and Russia. Zoellick also told journalists in Berlin that he believed mutual German-U.S. interests, especially in business, would bring the world’s first and third largest economic powers together again. "I’m here to extend my hand," he said.

Compiled with information from wire services.