Deutsche Welle English Service News 14. 06. 2005, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD:
The Mini-World Cup Kicks Off Hundreds of thousands of fans will follow the fortunes of eight teams at five stadiums across Germany over the next two weeks. German organizers hope they like what they see. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1616195,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DW-WORLD values your opinion: We look forward to hearing from you about stories we write and regularly post your letters in our reader response section. Check them out at: http://www.dw-world.de/english or write us an e-mail yourself: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mbeki sacks deputy Zuma South African President Thabo Mbeki has fired Deputy President Jacob Zuma. Mbeki told a joint session of parliament that he made the decision in the interests of Zuma, the government, and South Africa's young democracy. This comes two weeks after Zuma's former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, was convicted of corruption and fraud by Durban's High Court. The ruling also implicated Zuma and said his relationship with Shaik was "generally corrupt." Zuma, though had rejected calls for his resignation. Differences over EU budget plan British Prime Minister Tony Blair is in Paris for talks with French President Jacques Chirac. The trip is part of Blair's tour of the capitals of the Group of Eight industrialised nations, ahead of the G-8 summit in Scotland next month. Britain currently chairs the G-8. But the two leaders were also expected to discuss a major dispute over the European Union budget for 2007 to 2013. In an earlier meeting with Luxembourg's prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, Blair rejected a proposal to freeze Britain's 4.6-billion-euro annual rebate. Britain instead has called for major cuts in EU farm subsidies. This has been rejected by Germany and France. EC says constitution on hold The vice president of the European Commission says there is no way the European Union's constitution can come into force as planned in 2007. Guenter Verheugen of Germany told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that several countries needed more time for discussion to re-establish public trust in Europe. The ratification process was thrown into turmoil when French and Dutch voters rejected the treaty in referendums last month. Britain responded by cancelling its planned referendum. All 25 EU countries would have to ratify the treaty for it to come into force. EU leaders are to meet in Brussels later this week, in part to discuss how to move the process forward. Schroeder favours stem-cell research Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has called for Germany's laws on stem cell research to be relaxed. The current legislation bans the cloning of human embryos for research purposes. Speaking at the University of Goettingen, Schroeder said Germany was falling behind in the fields of biotechnology and genetic engineering. The chancellor's announcement has been met with criticism from members of the opposition, the junior partners in his coalition, the Greens, and even some members of his own Social Democratic Party. The main points of criticism have to do with ethical questions and concerns over the possible misuse of such technology. Three suspected militants detained Three Iraqi citizens living in Germany have been arrested on suspicion of supporting a terrorist organisation. The men were taken into custody after early morning raids in three different locations. Police have also searched more than 20 properties connected to the men and other alleged supporters of the organisation. Prosecutors said the men were suspected of supplying funds to Ansar al-Islam. That's a Kurdish guerrilla group that operates in northern Iraq. The group is believed to have links to Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Musab al Zarqawi. The three suspects are to appear in court on Wednesday. Twenty dead in suicide attack in Iraq At least 20 people have been killed and dozens of others wounded in a suicide bombing at a crowded market in the northern Iraq city of Kirkuk. Police said the bomber walked up to people shopping at the market and detonated his explosive device. In a separate incident, a suicide car bomber has killed five Iraqi soldiers in an attack near Baquba, north of the capital, Baghdad. Ex-Daewoo boss returns to South Korea The fugitive business tycoon who founded South Korea's Daewoo Group, which collapsed in a corporate scandal, has returned home to face fraud and embezzlement charges. Kim Woo-Choong ended six years on the run when he turned himself over to prosecutors near Seoul after arriving on a flight from Hanoi. He was immediately arrested and questioned about his role in the 80 billion-dollar bankruptcy of the Daewoo conglomerate. Prosecutors accuse Kim of having inflated the group's assets to obtain billions of dollars in illegal bank loans. He is also suspected of diverting 20 billion dollars abroad. 8 dead in powerful Chile earthquake A powerful earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale has hit a northern mining region in Chile. At least eight people are reported dead and hundreds of residents have been driven from their homes. Authorities said the quake could also be felt in Bolivia and Peru. ElBaradei wants access to Iran site The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has urged Iran to allow a team of experts to return to Parchin, an Iranian military site. Mohamed ElBaradei said he also wanted access to the Lavizan Shian site. The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency made the statement in a speech to the agency's 35-nation board in Vienna. The United States suspects that Iranian scientists have conducted research related to the development of nuclear weapons at these sites. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Place your bets on the World Cup qualifiers at DW-WORLD in our multilingual betting game, where you can win attractive prizes. Whether you want to compare your soccer knowledge with fans worldwide as an individual or in a team, this is the right address. Plus, DW-WORLD provides the results and tables for all continental groups: http://www.dw-world.de/qualifiers ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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