World briefs 01/16/03

Fifth Harry Potter book to hit shelves June 21

LONDON -- Muggles mania has arrived with the publication date of J.K. Rowling's fifth book about wide-eyed junior wizard Harry Potter.

Within hours of Wednesday's announcement that "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" would be in bookstores on June 21, the book hit No. 1 on Amazon.com's best-seller list.

Much anticipated, and somewhat delayed, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is 768 pages long, and by word count one-third longer than its predecessor, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."

That's just about all that was revealed in a joint statement Wednesday from Britain's Bloomsbury Publishers and Scholastic Children's Books in the United States. Details of Harry's latest adventure remain as secret as the whereabouts of Diagon Alley, where Harry buys his wizard supplies.

German officials outlaw Islamic organization

BERLIN -- Germany's top law enforcement official outlawed an Islamic organization Wednesday, citing the spread of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel propaganda to explain the third such ban since Sept. 11.

Little is known about the organization and structure of Hizb ut-Tahrir, but German authorities say the group -- whose name means Liberation party -- advocates the destruction of Israel and has called for the killing of Jews.

In conjunction with the ban, police raided 30 properties in five of Germany's 16 states, seizing propaganda but making no arrests.

Interior Minister Otto Schily expressed particular concern over the spread of propaganda at universities, noting that several of the Sept. 11 plotters studied in Germany.

Poland bars travel for 'Schindler's List' producer

WARSAW, Poland -- A Polish film producer who helped make "Schindler's List" has been barred from going abroad after being charged in a bribery investigation, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Lew Rywin, who also co-produced Roman Polanski's "The Pianist," allegedly solicited a $17.5 million payment from a newspaper publisher last year to lobby the government for favorable media laws. He has denied seeking a bribe.

Authorities confiscated Rywin's passport after he was charged and questioned Tuesday, said Zbigniew Jaskolski, a spokesman for Warsaw prosecutors. He said Rywin refused to answer prosecutors' questions, citing his right to avoid self-incrimination.

The allegations against Rywin were published last month by the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza.

U.S. formally asks for limited NATO help in Iraq

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The United States formally asked for NATO limited help Wednesday in case of war with Iraq.

NATO officials said ambassadors from the other 18 alliance nations discussed proposals based on those presented to the allies informally last month by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.

They include:

Protecting Turkey from the threat of a counter-strike from the Iraqis.

Using NATO's planning facilities to coordinate efforts such as air or sea transport for troops and equipment, air-to-air refueling, or even air cover to ground troops.

Using collective forces such as AWACS surveillance planes, minesweepers or naval patrol ships.

Providing troops to enforce peace and help rebuild Iraq after Saddam Hussein's regime has been toppled.

NATO is not expected to play a front-line role in any possible military strike.

EU approves ban of animal-tested cosmetics

STRASBOURG, France -- The European Parliament approved a ban Wednesday on using animals to test cosmetics in the European Union by 2009.

The 626-member EU Assembly passed the final draft with a show of hands, ending years of debate about how tough to make new rules on cosmetic testing.

The ban will be implemented in phases as a compromise with cosmetic companies who said they needed time to find alternative testing methods. Where no alternatives have yet been found, in three particular toxicity test areas, a ban will be phased in by 2013.

-- From wire reports