Chilean Interior Minister Likely to Head OAS
SANTIAGO, Chile -- The Chilean interior minister, Jose Miguel Insulza, was assured Friday that he would be elected as the next secretary-general of the Organization of American States following the withdrawal of Luis Ernesto Derbez, the Mexican foreign secretary, from the race.
The announcement was made by Carolina Barco, the Columbian foreign minister, following intense discussions involving Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Insulza, Derbez and other Latin American diplomats.
At a foreign ministers' meeting in Washington last month, Insulza and Derbez were deadlocked at 17 votes each, an outcome that remained unchanged after five ballots.
The United States backed Derbez but said either candidate would make an excellent secretary-general.
Rice and the other diplomats were here for a meeting of the Community of Democracies, an organization of 108 nations that seek to promote democracy worldwide.
The election will take place Monday, when the OAS reconvenes in Washington.
EUROPE
• BERLIN -- German police have arrested the export chief of a company suspected of supplying foreign states with missile development equipment, prosecutors said.
The firm supplied the countries since at least 2001-2002 "through spy organizations involved in procurement, with vibration-testing equipment that was needed for developing missile technology," the federal prosecutor's office said.
A spokeswoman confirmed that more than one country was involved but declined to comment further.
In a statement, the Federal Court of Justice identified the man as 64-year-old Peter K., a German from the Suhl area of Thuringia.
• LONDON -- High-level European and Iranian talks aimed at convincing the Mideast nation to scrap its nuclear program ended in a deadlock, officials said.
Closed-door sessions between Iran and senior British, French and German officials failed to resolve Western demands that Iran end efforts to enrich uranium, the key element in building nuclear weapons.
ASIA
