Deutsche Welle English Service News May 1st 2004, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Celebrations Across EU Mark Historic Enlargement When the European Union welcomed 10 new members at midnight Friday, parties kicked off across the continent. From Ireland to Lithuania, celebrations marked a Europe united across the east-west divide. 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_1186681_1_A,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EU of 25 celebrates enlargement Europe-wide celebrations are underway, marking the European Union's inclusion of 10 new member nations as of midnight. Current EU President and Prime Minister of Ireland Bertie Ahern welcomed the bloc's new members at ceremonies in Dublin. At a riverside area where the borders between Germany and newcomers Poland and the Czech Republic converge, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Europe's prolonged divisions had finally been overcome. Schroeder, and the Polish and Czech prime ministers Leszek Miller and Vladimir Spidla next fly to Dublin for a symbolic raising of flags. Overnight EU Commission President Romano Prodi said he was convinced that in future even more countries would join the Union. The EU now has a population of roughly 450 million. The new members also include Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and the Greek part of Cyprus. At least six killed in attack in Saudi Arabia At least six people have been killed by unidentified gunmen in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The US embassy in Riyadh says two Americans were among those killed in the attack on a petrochemical facility co-owned by Exxon Mobil and the Saudi company SABIC in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu. Company officials and diplomats say the assailants also shot dead two British nationals, an Australian and a Saudi. The Saudi Interior Ministry said one of the attackers was shot dead while fleeing and one was wounded and is in police custody. Two assailants blew themselves up in a car. No group has claimed responsibility for the shooting, but Saudi officials have blamed it on militants associated with the terrorist network al Qaeda. Photos of abuse outrage Arab world British army chief Mike Jackson said a probe had begun over allegations that British soldiers have abused Iraqi captives. A photo had been circulated, allegedly showing British soldiers striking a detainee with a rifle butt. US President George W. Bush said he was "disgusted" by photos broadcast by a US TV network on Wednesday that showed alleged abuses by six US soldiers. Two Egyptian newspapers Akbar el-Yom and Al-Wafd said the incidents were a "scandal" and a "shame". Former Iraqi judge and now member of the US-appointed Governing Council Dara Nor al-Din said the images contradicted the occupying forces' assertions of commitment to human rights. One year to the day since Bush declared major combat in Iraq over, the US military says two US soldiers have been killed in Anbar province and two US security contractors have been killed in Mosul. Mediators revisit Sri Lanka Norway's deputy foreign minister Vidar Helgesen has arrived in Sri Lanka in a bid to restart the island nation's peace process. The Norwegian embassy in Colombo said Helgesen would meet President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Sunday while Norwegian mediator Eric Solheim would travel to Kilinochchi to meet leaders of the Tamil Tiger rebels. Their visit follow a snap election in which Kumaratunga's party was elected to govern. She had accused the former government of being too soft on the rebels. They pulled out of peace talks in April last year, accusing the then government of not helping thousands of Tamils displaced during years of war. German Chancellor not to speak at May 1 trade union event Labour unions meeting across Germany to mark the May 1 labour holiday have voiced their support for the integration of new EU-member nations. DGB trade-union federation Chairman Michael Sommer criticised Germany's coalition government as "neither social nor just", in his official May 1 address in Berlin. The union federation did not invite German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to speak at the event. Schroeder had addressed each of the annual trade union gatherings since his traditionally union-friendly Social Democrats were elected six years ago. German parties debate immigration legislation German government and opposition parties remain deadlocked over whether foreigners defined as terror suspects should be held in detention as part of legislation on immigration. Greens within Chancellor Schroeder's coalition reject such detentions as unjust. Opposition conservatives have suggested detentions of up to two years as an adjunct to a proposal from Otto Schily, Schroeder's Interior Minister. It would apply to foreigners who could not be extradited due to threats faced in their countries of origin. Demonstrators clash with police in Berlin Youths armed with stones and bottles clashed overnight with police squads using batons in Berlin's district of Prenzlauer Berg. The unrest, reminiscent of past years, coincided with Germany's May 1 labour holiday. Police said 111 people were arrested and 58 police officers were slightly injured. Ahead of official May Day events in Berlin, around 8,000 police are on duty. Werder near Bundesliga title with 6-0 rout of Hamburg In German soccer action, Bundesliga leaders Werder Bremen demolished Hamburg SV 6-0, keeping them six points clear at the top with three games left. Second-placed champions Bayern Munich, who face Werder in a potentially decisive match next weekend, beat bottom club Cologne 2-1 after scoring a late goal. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DW-WORLD.DE on Your Desktop. Keep up with events with our RSS-Feeds: http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,5069_A_1137115,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. News and background reports from the fields of current affairs, culture, business and science. 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