Deutsche Welle English Service News 12. 05. 2005, 17:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
EU Warns Iran Over Nuclear Program Europe on Thursday warned Iran of "consequences" if Tehran resumed nuclear activities it suspended under a deal with EU negotiators last year, as diplomats hurried into talks to avert a fresh crisis. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1581626,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- We'd like to introduce you to our latest newsletter: "Germany Light" give you a weekly look at Germany's cultural, peculiar and sometimes odd happenings. To sign up for regular dose of fun and entertainment, please go to our Newsletter section at http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1170241,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresh bomb blasts rock Iraq Two car bombings have killed at least 15 people in Iraq. Officials say a suicide car bomb exploded on a busy main road in an eastern sector of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing 15 and wounding more than 80. A second bomb, planted in a parked car, detonated three hours later in a western area of the city as a US Army convoy was driving by, injuring five bystanders. There was no word on military casualties. Despite the ongoing insurgency in Iraq, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told a press conference in London that he was sure the country was making progress toward stability and democracy. The fresh violence follows a wave of bomb attacks in central Iraq on Wednesday which killed 76 people. Germany approves EU constitution Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, has ratified the draft EU constitution with an overwhelming majority. The treaty received 569 votes in favour, with 23 against and two abstentions. The vote makes Germany the largest nation to agree to the treaty so far. The main German political parties have indicated that the ratification will be rubber-stamped by the upper house, or Bundesrat, when it votes on May 27, just two days before France is due to hold a referendum on the issue. EU court says Ocalan trial 'unfair' The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has upheld a ruling in favour of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, saying that he had been unfairly tried by a Turkish court. The EU court said the trial was impartial, due to the presence of a military judge on the panel and the threat of capital punishment. It called on Ankara to hold a retrial of the Kurdish separatist leader. In 1999, Ocalan was convicted of treason and handed a death sentence, which was commuted to life in prison. He is currently being held on the prison island of Imrali. A senior Turkish justice official said Ankara will take steps to address the flaws found by the European court. Turkey is a candidate to join the European Union. Is "Two sides, one China" a solution? A Taiwan opposition party and China have proposed a new way of defining cross-Strait relations. Chinese leader Hu Jintao and Taiwanese opposition politician James Soong came up with a "two sides, one China" formula aimed at resuming talks between Beijing and Taipei. The bridge-building measure appears to accommodate Taipei's desire to be seen as Beijing's political equal and not just a mere province of China. But observers say that any breakthrough with the "two sides, one China" proposal will depend on Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, who rejects Beijing's "one China" principle. IAEA hopes to avert Iran nuclear crisis The European Union and Teheran are holding intense talks aimed at dissuading Iran from resuming sensitive nuclear activities that were frozen as part of a deal with the EU. A top Iranian official said that Teheran could "momentarily" announce the resumption of a significant part of uranium conversion work, a precursor to uranium enrichment. The move would violate a November 2004 deal with Britain, France and Germany aimed at easing international fears that Iran is seeking the bomb. Teheran says its nuclear programme is for strictly non-military purposes. UNESCO conference opens in Vienna The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has opened a world heritage conference in Vienna. Some 500 experts from 49 countries have gathered to discuss ways of combining the preservation of historical sites with economic development. Representatives from Germany were at the gathering to present plans for high-rise building development around Cologne's towering, 800-year-old cathedral. Last year, UNESCO put the Cologne "Dom" on a list of endangered world heritage sites, saying that new, high-rise construction around the cathedral was impairing the view of it from a distance. Names named in US Iraq oil report A United States Senate committee has judged that British Member of Parliament George Galloway and former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua had been granted permission to buy oil from Saddam Hussein under the UN's oil-for-food scheme. The report offers no evidence either man received a commission for selling oil. The committee says its findings are based on documents from the Ministry of Oil under Saddam Hussein and interviews with high-ranking regime officials. Both men deny involvement in oil sales. Galloway is due to give evidence before the committee on May 17. The oil-for-food programme, aimed at relieving the suffering of Iraqis under economic sanctions, was ended in 2003. US disciplines Abu Ghraib officer The US military has said it would not bring criminal charges against Army Colonel Thomas Pappas, a key figure in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. But officials said he would be punished. Following an administrative disciplinary hearing in Germany this week, Pappas was given a formal letter of reprimand and fined $8,000. Pappas, the former top military intelligence officer at Abu Ghraib, became the second senior officer to be disciplined in the scandal over the physical abuse and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at the jail on the outskirts of Baghdad. Germany, Israel mark 40 years of ties Forty years ago to the day, two decades after the Holocaust and during the Cold War, Germany and Israel established diplomatic relations. Speaking in Berlin to mark the occasion, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder emphasised the close relationship both countries have developed over the years. Israeli President Moshe Katzav and his German counterpart Horst Koehler stressed that the two countries would always have a special relationship due to the Nazi persecution of the Jews. German economy grows by 1% For the first time in four years, the German economy is showing strong growth. Latest figures out from the federal statistics office revealed that Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) has grown by one percent since January. The office said that first-quarter growth was driven exclusively by trade, as exports grew and imports fell. Analysts still remain cautious in their predictions about Germany's overall economic growth for the rest of the year. But the latest figures offer a positive signal for the stuttering economy which slipped into a slight recession at the end of 2004. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Send us your favorite picks for sight-seeing, museum hopping, historical edification � whatever you�ve got to share with others heading to Germany. Restaurants, hotels, back-country hideaways � write to us with your insider tips and tell us about what you liked best about traveling in Germany. For more information, please go to http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1096790,00.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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