English Service News May 12th 2006, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
Carbon Emissions Traders Carefully Optimistic in Cologne It's been a year since the EU launched its first carbon trading market and things are looking up in spite of a recent plunge in prices, experts say. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hld8bIfcha79I0&req=l%3D1hld8aIfcha79I0 --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Kicking News"" -- DW-WORLD's Soccer Newsletter goes weekly: Get all the news about the World Cup and Germany's Bundesliga on DW-WORLD.DE every week before the World Cup. To subscribe, go to: http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hld8bIfcha79I1&req=l%3D1hld8aIfcha79I1 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Lagos oil pipeline explosion kills 150 Police in Nigeria say between 150 and 200 people have been killed by an oil pipeline explosion near the main city of Lagos. Dozens of charred bodies were seen lying around the pipeline. Early reports suggest that people got caught in flames after the pipeline ruptured at Ilado, on Lagos' outskirts. Poor residents of Nigeria, Africa's oil giant, often tap fuel from pipelines for cooking or for resale on the black market. In September 2004, a similar explosion near Lagos killed 50 people. EU, Latin American leaders in trade talks EU and Latin American leaders are holding 3-day trade talks in the Austrian capital Vienna. The 60 heads of state and government called for more balanced trade relations between the two regions. Observers say there's little hope of the two regions reaching an agreement on a trade association deal which has been the subject of protracted negotiations. Some EU officials issued a veiled warning to countries such as Bolivia and Venezuela over their protectionist moves to keep foreign oil producers away. The summit will also focus on the global oil crisis and human rights. Five ministers in Nepal are arrested In Nepal, five ministers who served in the cabinet of the ousted government of King Gyanendra have been detained for 90 days. State radio reports that they are being held for alleged human rights violations during last month's anti-monarchy protests. The ministers of the king's regime have been blamed for ordering a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in which at least 17 people died last month. The protests ended when the king gave up his dictatorial powers. Suharto charges to be dropped Indonesia's attorney general has decided to drop corruption charges against the former dictator Suharto. Abdul Rahman Saleh cited ex-president Suharto's poor health. The 84-year-old recently underwent stomach surgery in a Jakarta hospital. He was accused of amassing wealth during his 32-year rule. Suharto stepped down in 1998 amid mounting unrest. The final decision on the case rests with Indonesia's current President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Finnish parliament backs EU charter Finland had decided not to hold a referendum on the EU's controversial constitution. Instead, parliamentarians voted in favor of ratifying it in a 104-to-24 vote. The vote comes despite a petition signed by 50,000 treaty opponents. With the charter's passage, Finland would become the 16th EU nation to ratify the constitution which French and Dutch voters rejected last year. The charter needs backing from all 25 EU nations for it to be adopted. Estonia ratified it on Tuesday. Finland says it will host an informal summit of European leaders in October during its term as EU president. Red Cross slams US access refusal The international Red Cross has demanded that the United States grant it full access to detainees at secret US-run locations. Red Cross president Jakob Kellenberger, who's visited Washington, said he "deplored" the US government's refusal for the past two years to disclose the whereabouts of those held at sites other than Guantanamo, where the Red Cross has had access. The US is holding detainees as part of its "war on terror" launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York's twin towers and the Pentagon in Washington. Under the Geneva conventions the Red Cross is allowed to visit prisoners of war. Congress wants probe into phone spying Members of the US Congress intend to launch hearings into allegations that the National Security Agency has been tracking phone records of tens of millions of Americans as part of anti-terrorism surveillance measures. The newspaper USA Today reports that the country's three biggest phone companies have been handing over phone records to the agency since 2001. President George W. Bush insists that privacy is "fiercely protected" under his administration and refuses to confirm or deny the existence of the programme. The report comes at a sensitive moment for the administration after it emerged that General Michael Hayden, who's just been nominated to take over the CIA, was NSA chief when the alleged wire-tapping operation was launched. Annan says US must talk directly with Iran UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called on the United States to hold direct talks with Iran over its nuclear programme, something the White House has so far refused to do. Annan said he believed little would be achieved until the Americans got directly involved. The US has said it would give EU negotiators two more weeks to persuade Iran to stop its nuclear activities before calling for tougher action including possible sanctions. Meanwhile UN nuclear inspectors say they've found traces of highly enriched uranium on equipment at the Lavizan site in Tehran. The inspectors took samples from machinery there earlier this year. Italian football referee scandal widens Three more football teams are being investigated in a refereeing scandal that has rocked Italian soccer. In addition to Juventus, prosecutors will also question AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina. 41 individuals are formally under investigation, including referees and Football Federation officials for the rigging of 19 Serie A matches from last season. The general manager of Juventus, Luciana Moggi, who is at the center of the affair, will be formally questioned on Monday. The scandal erupted last week, when newspapers published transcripts of tapped telephone conversations between Moggi and Football Federation officials regarding referee appointments. The entire board of the Italian football club Juventus resigned yesterday. Zimbabwe inflation hits 1000 percent Zimbabwe's inflation rate has hit a record 1000 percent, the world's highest. The country is in its eighth year of recession, and has the fastest shrinking economy of a country not at war. Some analysts say the situation is bad enough to trigger a revolt against President Robert Mugabe's government. Mugabe's policies has seen many white farmers evicted from their properties which were given to blacks. Since 2000, the country agricultural output has fallen to less than half. German doctors' wage negotiations fail In Germany, negotiations to end a strike called by university hospital doctors have collapsed. After the break-down of talks in Dresden, a spokesperson for the Marburger Bund union, which represents 22,000 doctors, said that the wage contract offered by the German states was too low. Doctors are demanding a 30-percent pay increase to compensate for hours of unpaid overtime. Union leaders have said further large-scale strikes would begin on Monday. Belarus opposition leader released In Belarus, opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich has been released from jail after serving a 15-day sentence for leading an anti-government protest rally. Milinkevich and two other leading opposition figures were arrested two weeks ago during protests in the capital Minsk against President Alexander Lukaschenko, the winner of elections in March which the opposition and international observers say were severely flawed. Clone expert Hwang charged Prosecutors in South Korea have indicted the disgraced cloning expert Hwang Woo-suk and five other scientists over faked human stem cell research. Hwang was expelled from Seoul National University in March after a panel concluded that claims in published research papers were bogus. Prosecutors say Hwang faces charges of fraud, embezzlement and breaches of bioethics. His lawyer has denied the charges, saying Hwang was the victim of a scam by a team member. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DW-TV: Enhanced Media Streaming via P2P technology Larger image, higher resolution: DW-TV's program is now available in an optimized version on the Deutsche Welle Web site, DW-WORLD.DE. http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hld8bIfcha79I2&req=l%3D1hld8aIfcha79I2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information please turn to our internet website at http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=1hld8bIfcha79I3&req=l%3D1hld8aIfcha79I3 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. And of course the DW website also has information about DW-RADIO and DW-TV programmes: topics, broadcast times and frequencies. 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