Deutsche Welle English Service News June 16th, 2004, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Choosing a New EU Commission President EU countries and factions are lining up behind candidates they want to see head the EU Commission, the EU executive in Brussels. EU leaders are to decide at a summit this week who will be the next Commission president. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http: //www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1430_A_1237192_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Attention: Due to e-mail manipulation, many e-mails are being sent from e-mail accounts that resemble Deutsche Welle mail accounts. Many of these mails contain viruses. We would like to inform you that Deutsche Welle (DW-WORLD) is not responsible for sending such mails. We are are doing our best to put an end to external e-mail manipulation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Iraqi oil chief killed after pipeline blasts The security chief for Iraq's oil fields in the northern city of Kirkuk has been assassinated. Police said Ghazi Talabani was gunned down by a gang outside his home. One of his bodyguards was seriously wounded. Talabani was head of security for the Northern Oil Company which is in charge of Iraq's oil production in the north. The attack comes just after two explosions hit two oil pipelines in the north and south. The blasts have shut down nearly all of Iraq's oil exports which account for more than 90 percent of the country's revenues. Industry sources say the repairs could take up to 10 days, costing Baghdad nearly 60 million dollars a day. Video threat to US hostage The captors of an American hostage in Saudi Arabia have threatened to kill him unless the Saudi government releases all Al Qaida prisoners it is holding by Friday night. The group published its demands on an Islamic website which has been used by militants in the past. The website screened a video of the hostage, Paul Johnson, with his identification card for a major US weapons manufacturer for whom he was working in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government has rejected the group's ultimatum. A US intelligence official said the threat should be taken very seriously. September 11 report says no Baghdad ties The commission investigating the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US has found no "credible evidence" that Iraq helped al-Qaeda carry them out. But it did say that Pakistan had helped the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to harbour al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden before the US war to overthrow the hardline Afghan militia in late 2001. The statement was published as the bipartisan commission prepared to hold the final two-day public session. The hearings are to focus on how the attacks were planned and the federal government's immediate response. A final report on the commission's findings is due on 28 July. The 11 September attacks killed nearly 3,000 people after members of the al-Qaeda network flew hijacked planes into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. US accuses Tehran of "bullying" UN Iran has reacted defiantly to a draft resolution by the UN's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA. The resolution criticises Iran's lack of cooperation with UN inspectors who are investigating whether the country is pursuing a nuclear weapons programme. Iran agreed last year to suspend uranium enrichment in exchange for peaceful nuclear technology. But Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has said his country would have no moral commitment to halt enrichment if the IAEA persisted in its criticism. The United States in particular suspects Iran of developing nuclear weapons at civilian atomic energy sites. The US Ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna has meanwhile accused Tehran of trying to intimidate the IAEA. Iran insists that its programme is soley for peaceful purposes. Russian tycoon trial adjourned The trial of Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky on fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion charges has been adjourned for at least a week. The court adjourned proceedings to give a member of the defence legal team time to recover from eye surgery. Khodorkovsky, owner of the Russian oil giant Yukos, and a business associate also on trial could face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. Critics say the arrest and trial are politically motivated and were instigated by the Kremlin which regards Khodorkovsky as a threat to its authority. Germany to create more vocational training The German business community has worked out a deal with government officials over vocational training for the country's youth. The deal ends years of debate over cost-sharing in the vocational training system, which provides a free practical education to any young German. The agreement requires companies to create 30 thousand new training positions. Germany's vocational training system enjoys a solid reputation around the world. Young people receive on-the-job training and attend vocational schools simultaneously. This dual system ensures that new workers are already well qualified when they enter the workforce. No majority yet for new EU Commission leader European Commission President Romano Prodi has said that there is no majority so far for any of the candidates lined up to succeed him. Prodi told a news conference that his successor needed a qualified majority of EU states as well as the approval of the European Parliament before taking office on November 1. Meanwhile on the eve of the EU leaders' summit in Brussels, current president Ireland has called on EU states to agree on a constitution for the bloc. Irish President Bertie Ahern said he expected an agreement to be reached during the two-day talks. Efforts to reach agreement on a final draft have been hampered by differences over voting rights. Israeli NGO challenges Sharon bribery ruling A non-governmental group in Israel has asked the country's High Court to overturn a decision to drop a bribery case against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The petition was filed by the Movement for Quality Government a day after Israel's attorney-general ended his investigation saying there was a lack of eveidence to charge Sharon. The case against Sharon centered around allegations that a businessman had paid the prime minister's son hundreds of thousands of dollars to push through a property deal in Greece. Sharon was foreign minister at the time. Four dead in Afghan bomb attack In Afghanistan a bomb has killed four Afghans in the northern province of Kunduz. The remote-controlled bomb went off near a German military vehicle. Two children were among the dead. It comes less than a week after 11 Chinese workers were shot dead near Kunduz. Islamic nations pledge modernisations Fifty-seven Islamic nations have pledged to modernise their societies, through democratic practices and education, but they have rejected pressure from outside. The declaration by foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Conference concluded a three-day gathering of the OIC in Istanbul. Reacting to a US Middle East initiative, OIC nations said change could only "come from within". On Iraq, the OIC said it would assist to help it regain "full" sovereignty. Egyptian minister Ahmed Maher said this did not, however, extend to sending Arab troops. The world's largest Muslim forum, also elected the Turkish academic as its secretary-general. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu faced rivals from Malaysia and Bangladesh. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoy our "World News" newsletter? Why not also subscribe to "Daily Bulletin", DW-WORLD's latest daily digest of the day's top German and European stories, delivered to you around 18:30 UTC. To find out more and sign up, please go to http://www.dw-world.de/english/newsletter ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information please turn to our internet website at http://dw-world.de/english Here you'll find out what's happening in Germany, Europe and the rest of the world. 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