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Nearly 10,000 migrants rescued on Mediterranean in two days
Italy witnessed a surge of migrant arrivals at the end of August amid favorable weather conditions on the sea. Rome has warned would-be migrants of the perils of the deadly voyage after 3,000 died this year.
The Italian coastguard on Tuesday rescued some 3,000 migrants in the Strait of Sicily with the aid of the EU's border agency Frontex and humanitarian organizations, bringing the total to nearly 10,000 in two days. Italy has witnessed a surge in migrant arrivals due to favorable weather conditions on the central Mediterranean Sea, with Monday marking one of the highest single-day rescue operations. "Nearly 7,000 people in a day is really quite a lot. If it's not a record, then it's close to it," said International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokesman Flavio Di Giacomo. More than 100,000 migrants have made the perilous journey across the central Mediterranean in 2016, many of them fleeing conflict and extreme poverty in Africa and the Middle East. Some 3,000 of them are estimated to have died during the journey this year. However, the number of migrants arriving to the EU has fallen compared to the same period last year. IOM said some 12,600 people made it to the bloc in August, down from 23,500 in the same month last year. In July, Italy's interior ministry launched a media campaign in partnership with IOM in a bid to dissuade African migrants from making the deadly journey across the Mediterranean. The "Migrants Aware" campaign featured content in English, Arabic and French, and targeted 15 countries in North and sub-Saharan Africa. However, thousands of migrants continue to make the voyage since the campaign was launched. More than 1 million migrants fled to Europe in 2015, according to IOM figures, prompting a political crisis among EU member states as to which countries will host them. ls/gsw (Reuters, dpa) | [
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Millennia-old skeleton discovered in Mediterranean shipwreck
Archaeologists have discovered the 2,000-year-old skeleton of a man in a Mediterranean shipwreck. They hope to extract DNA from the skeleton and determine who he was.
Archaeologists discovered a 2,000-year-old skeleton in a shipwreck off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera. If they are able to extract DNA from the remains, they can get an accurate genetic profile of the man who was on the ship, including hair and eye color and ancestral origin. It is very rare to find a skeleton in the sea, as human remains are usually eaten by fish or swept away over time. It is especially rare to find a well-preserved skeleton, including a partial skull, two arm bones, several ribs and two femurs. "It doesn't look like bones that are 2,000 years old," said Hannes Schroeder, a DNA analysis expert from the Denmark Museum of Natural History. "Archaeologists study the human past through the objects our ancestors created," said co-director of the excavation, Brendan Foley, a marine archaeologist with Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. "With the Antikythera shipwreck, we can now connect directly with this person who sailed and died aboard the Antikythera ship," Foley said. The Institution is working on the excavation with the Greek culture ministry. The Antikythera shipwreck was first discovered by in 1900 and is believed to be the first wrecked ship ever investigated by archaeologists. The first major find in the ship was the "Antikythera Mechanism," an item from 2nd century BC and is occasionally referred to as the world's oldest computer. It modeled the motions of the sun, moon and planets and is composed of many cogs and gears. The ship also contained marble statues, tableware, and thousands of other artifacts. There were other skeletons found in the ship, but they were discovered before DNA testing was available. kbd/jm (AFP, AP) | [
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Opinion: A disgrace for Europe
An incapable government in Athens, and unhelpful Europeans. The fire on Lesbos shows: It's not just a refugee camp in ruins, but also the EU's entire refugee policy, says Bernd Riegert.
If it was an act of arson on the refugee camp in Moria on Lesbos, then it must be denounced. The perpetrators must be punished. But the aid organizations and the health authorities in Greece have long been warning us that the overcrowded "hot spot" camps are ticking time bombs. It was just a question of when the untenable circumstances there would lead to an explosion of violence and chaos. The European Union's restrictive refugee policy has resulted in migrants being held at registration camps on the Greek islands. Most of the migrants are destined to be deported to Turkey. They wait in deplorable conditions while their asylum applications are processed - something that, contrary to the original plans, can take months. The Greek government and the EU are unable to organize a quick, orderly, and humanitarian process. Still waiting for promised solutions It's a disgrace for the extreme left-right coalition in Athens, but it's also a disgrace for all the EU heads of state and government, who promised to resolve the refugee crisis following the deal agreed with Turkey in March. Around 60,000 migrants are stuck in Greece. The EU continues to send money to the Greek government, but officials there seem unable to accept the assistance and organize proper accommodation and a better registration process for refugees. Other member states promised to send people to help out at the camps in Greece, but only a small number are actually being deployed at the "hot spots." At the same time, the redistribution of asylum seekers from Greece and Italy to other EU states is repeatedly being blocked and pushed aside. Over the summer months, the EU made a concerted effort to look the other way when it came to refugees and migrants. And yet it's not just in Greece that the camps are overflowing. The same thing is happening in Calais in France, along the French-Italian border and the Swiss-Italian border. Along the Balkan route, desperate migrants continue to form unofficial camps. It's not just in Greece that the official registration centers have reached capacity; the same is happening in Italy, where, for purely geographical reasons, it's not as easy to restrict people's movements as on a Greek island. They move northward in the vague hope of somehow reaching Germany or the United Kingdom. No change in Italy In Italy, the number of new arrivals via the Libya route is almost the same as last year. Every week, thousands are rescued from the Mediterranean. And thousands have also drowned this year - more than ever before. One out of 89 migrants will drown on the way to Europe. Last year, it was one out of 276. The Mediterranean has become a mass grave. That's also a disgrace. It's a disgrace for the EU's humanitarian values, and yet something that no one seems to get upset about anymore. A veil of silence has fallen over these daily tragedies. Interest is only stirred when, as is now the case in Moria, we are once again confronted with aberrations and terrible images of violence and fire. Our politicians are ducking their heads, acting as if they have the refugee crisis under control, but they don't. On a European level, there's no sense that "we can do this." The only things that are more effective now are the deterrents keeping migrants from setting out, and the closure of our borders. The processes for asylum application and for a fair distribution of migrants in Europe are just as badly organized as they were a year ago when Chancellor Angela Merkel first uttered her now famous catchphrase. It's a phrase she now likely regrets, for a multitude of reasons. The EU hasn't managed to take control of the refugee crisis. Moria is the latest sad symbol of that failure. Would you like to add your comments? You can do so below. The thread stays open for 24 hours after publication. | [
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Syria at 'make or break moment,' Steinmeier calls for no-fly zone
The UN is to begin an investigation into the attack on an aid convoy, as Germany suggests a no-fly zone over Syria. Tensions remain high between the US and Russia following the airstrikes, which killed 21 people.
Leaders met in New York on Wednesday for a crisis meeting of the UN Security Council, as Washington and Moscow traded accusations over an attack on an aid convoy that has left the future of the ceasefire in doubt. "We are at a make or break moment," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told members of the council, as he announced plans to carry out a "vigorous" independent investigation into the air raid. The 31-truck convoy was pounded by airstrikes near Aleppo on Monday, leading to the deaths of at least 21 people. The incident prompted the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (IRC) to initially suspend all aid deliveries to the country. However, the UN said later on Wednesday that it would resume aid convoys. The International Syria contact group was due to meet in New York on Thursday, which could offer a chance for the US and Russia to overcome their differences and salvage a ceasefire. Ahead of those talks, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier proposed a temporary no-fly zone over Syria to save the virtually failed truce. "The situation is now on a knife edge," Steinmeier said on Wednesday evening (local time) in New York. "If the ceasefire is to have a chance at all, the only path leads towards the creation of a temporary but complete cessation of all military aircraft movements over Syria - at least for three, but even better for seven days." The German minister said the short-term arrangement would enable the restarting of aid deliveries to civilians. The trucks targeted in Monday's bombing, belonged to the UN and Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), and were delivering aid for some 78,000 civilians in the town of Urm al-Kubra in Aleppo Governorate. The ceasefire that had been brokered by Washington and Moscow had already virtually collapsed prior to the attack amid violations throughout the week. The US and Russia were both in attendance at the UN meeting. "Supposedly we all want the same goal [for Syria]," Secretary of State John Kerry said. "But we are proving woefully inadequate in...making that happen." Tit for tat The talks came the same day Russia said a US drone had been operating in the same area where the airstrike occurred, though the Pentagon has denied this claim. Washington and Moscow have been engaged in a tit for tat for the past several days, with Washington accusing Moscow of changing its narrative about what happened on the day of the convoy attack. "All of our information indicates clearly that this was an airstrike," White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said on Tuesday. "That means that there only could have been two entities responsible - the Syrian regime or the Russian government." US officials told Reuters news agency that two Russian Sukhoi SU-24 warplanes had been detected in the skies above the convoy at the moment the attack happened. Both Moscow and Damascus have denied responsibility for the strike. blc/jil (dpa, AP, AFP) | [
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DW Business (02/24/2016)
Airbus profits soar - Iran's construction industry booming after sanctions lifted - 5G technology set to revolutionize wireless communication
DW Business (02/24/2016) | [
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Studying in Goettingen: In the footsteps of Nobel winners
In Goettingen, you can study almost anything while balancing university and private life. The two campuses outside the city center house most of the university's institutes, but students aren't cut off from Goettingen.
Georg August University was opened in 1737. It is the largest and oldest still-surviving university in Lower Saxony. In the 2009-2010 winter semester, there were 24,000 students enrolled here. Since 2007, the university's concept for the future has been based on Germany's Initiative for Excellence. One important component of this is creating a connection between the university and other research institutes in the city. This involves the Goettingen Academy of Sciences, the five Max Planck institutes, the German Aerospace Center and the German Primate Center. Tradition and variety What was unusual at the time of the university's establishment is today the norm: thinking for yourself and doing your own research. The 13 faculties offer almost all courses of study except for engineering. Some of the main focus points in research include chemistry, solid-state physics, materials science, biodiversity and mathematics, as well as German language studies, oriental studies, archaeology and theology. The university places a lot of value on having a broad curriculum. Books, books, books A great treasure of the "Georgia Augusta," as the university is sometimes called, are its books. The old library contains some of the most important collections of German science literature from the 18th and 19th centuries. The books are accessible to all students, although they cannot be borrowed. And while this library reflects the glory of the university's early years, the Goettingen State and University Library, located on the humanities campus, shows the university's modern side: well-arranged and spacious. The Nobel Prize wonder So far in history, 12 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to researchers who made outstanding discoveries during their time at Goettingen. Among them is Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976), who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932 for his work in quantum mechanics. There is also Bert Sakmann (born in 1942), who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1991 for his findings related to ionic channels within cells. Renowned abroad Goettingen University doesn't only enjoy a good reputation in Germany, but also abroad. This is why each year more than 2,500 foreign students come here to study. Most of them are from China, Poland and Turkey. Mathematics, forestry and philosophical subjects are especially popular among these students. Author: Anna Grabowski | [
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EU to slap fresh sanctions on Belarus
Relations between the EU and Belarus have reached a new low point because of continuing repression in the country. German politicians are calling for fresh sanctions, aimed at increasing pressure on the leadership.
After the controversial execution of two men in Belarus, the European Union is likely to step up sanctions against the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko. Diplomats believe that at their meeting in Brussels on Friday, the bloc's 27 foreign ministers are set to add more people, nine of them in the judiciary, as well as some 30 companies to its blacklist. Some 200 Belarusians are already targeted with a travel ban and asset freeze over Lukashenko's continuing repression of civil society and the political opposition. Executions have caused criticism The latest EU action was sparked when Belarusian state media reported the execution of Vladislav Kovaljov and Dmitry Konovalov last weekend. The two 26-year-olds were found guilty of a bomb attack in April 2011 in the Minsk underground system, killing 15 people and wounding an additional 300. Civil rights activists and trial observers doubt that the men were guilty. The execution of the two alleged culprits is further straining the already difficult relationships between Brussels and Minsk. Ruprecht Polenz, chairman of the German parliament's foreign affairs aommittee, strongly condemns the execution. “Belarus is the only country in Europe that still applies the death penalty," he said. "The verdict in this case was based on an arbitrary trial with considerable flaws, which went completely against the rule of law.“ Markus Löning, the German government's human rights commissioner, stresses that the trial did not meet international standards. There is a good chance, he says, that the two men were not behind the attacks. During the trial, one of them said that he had made the confession under torture. “President Lukashenko has himself to blame if the relationships between Belarus and European countries are at a very low point," Löning told DW. "Of course they are low when he is committing crimes against humanity and against human rights in such an obvious way.“ Sanctions targetting the regime, not the population The relationship between Brussels and Minsk turned colder in late February. In a move to hit back at the EU for its latest round of sanctions, Minsk withdrew its EU and Poland ambassadors and brought them back “for consultations.” In response, the EU withdrew all its diplomats from Belarus. At Friday's meeting in Brussels, foreign ministers are set to discuss if and when the ambassadors will return to Minsk. The EU has been trying for years to step up pressure on the regime in Minsk through sanctions. Sanctions are the most effective way of telling Lukashenko that his politics are not acceptable in Europe, says Polenz. But it's just as important that sanctions do not increase the population's suffering. After all, the people are already suffering the most under Lukashenko. “It's not the Belarusian people who are responsible for what Lukashenko is doing to them,“ says Polenz. On the contrary, the idea is to open doors for Belarusians and to ease visa regulations. “We want to give young Belarusians the possibility to study in Europe and get an education here.“ Löning agrees that the EU sanctions should only be targetted at those responsible for the repressions in Belarus. According to Löning, the message to the people is “we are by your side, we stand ready to help you, to free you from this dictator." "We are still calling on the president to give his people the rights they deserve: they need to be a free people and live lives like those in their neighboring countries,” says the German human rights representative. Minsk: a burden for Moscow Of course, the Europeans only have a limited influence – Minsk simply has to make the right decisions itself, Polenz believes. Belarus depends heavily on Russia's gas and oil exports, and the EU's sanctions threaten to push Belarus even further towards Moscow. “That's not the goal of the sanctions,“ Polenz stresses, adding that the EU always sends out two messages: “First, we want the country to be governed in a different way, and secondly, we invite it to cooperate with Europe and to develop in a way that brings it closer to Europe.“ Minsk is increasingly becoming a burden for Moscow, says Polenz – economically, politically, and morally. One example: Belarus pays only a third of the gas price Russia gets from countries like the Ukraine. Russian media also criticized the execution of the two suspected bombers. “That's why we're hoping that Russia – for all its interest in strengthening the bond with Belarus – thinks about what kind of a Belarus it wants to work with," says Polenz. "Russia also has to find an answer to the question of whether it's acceptable to be a direct ally and friend of a country regardless of the state it's in and of how it's being governed.” Author: Markian Ostaptschuk / nh Editor: Ben Knight | [
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Opinion: Gauck, the 'people's president'
Joachim Gauck, Germany's newly inaugurated president, is a firm believer in the freedom of the individual and the duty of accepting responsibility. This is a promising start to a presidency, writes DW's Marcel Fürstenau.
"What should our country look like? This country, which one day our children and grandchildren will call 'theirs'?" Joachim Gauck began his first speech to the nation with a question for which there will and can never be an answer. The worlds that have come to being in Germany and other places have become too complex and multifarious to be solved with any simple recipe. In his speech Gauck listed off a litany of concepts that, to be true, could easily lead to confusion: Separation, globalization, minorities, Europe, Middle East, fanaticism. The new president said he's aware of how perplexing this world can be and at the same time offered hope that he would work to establish a sense of orientation while in office. Gauck expressed his understanding for the disheartened and downtrodden - those overwhelmed by social, ethnic, religious and political tensions - and insisted that his first speech was meant for all Germans both "in the country and abroad." These words come across as neither ceremonial nor stilted: Gauck, a former Lutheran pastor, is out to reach people with his words and win them over for his ideal of freedom, responsibility and trust. Gauck demonstrated with his first speech in office that he is capable of achieving this. Remembrance as 'source of strength' The 72-year-old said he wanted to combat the fear of the present and future with the means of remembrance, something he described as a "source of strength." He is able to reconcile the differing social systems - still present in Germany over 20 years after being reunified - and put a positive spin on those separations that still exist. He said he was more impressed by the "miracle of democracy" in Germany than the "economic miracle" that made West Germany famous in the years after World War II. Gauck's acknowledgment and praise of the 1968 social liberation movement were widely applauded by the members of the German parliament present for Gauck's speech. This applause, which came from all factions of parliament and was anything but mere polite clapping, is a testament to Gauck's ability to integrate. He was even able to garner support from the Left Party - who initially went against his nomination - after praising the peaceful revolution that brought down the Berlin Wall and the German Democratic Republic in 1989 and 1990, respectively. Past, present and future "We are the people," the motto of that revolution in the former East Germany (where Gauck grew up), is as relevant today as it was back then, he said. "Two decades later this means - more than ever - that freedom is the necessary condition of justice and trust in democracy."Gauck's mission statement, one he wants to function as a kind of anchor, is that the differing people in Germany should strive to establish a common society. And that not only from the German perspective, but also - and equally - from the European perspective, one encompassing the views of Jews, Christians and Muslims alike. That Gauck took this opportunity to praise the services of his predecessor Christian Wulff, was appropriate and respectful. It was a gesture that could be appreciated by the millions of people living in Germany who are immigrants or whose parents come from other countries. Gauck asked these people in particular to have faith in their new president, faith in the politicians of Germany, and faith in themselves. Based on the impressions of his first speech, one can conclude that the new federal president will do everything to be perceived as one thing: a president of the people. Author: Marcel Fürstenau / glb Editor: Andreas Illmer | [
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High expectations for Germany's new president
Joachim Gauck's election as new German presidant was no surprise. But politicians and religious leaders are optimistic that his term in office will be marked by honesty and tolerance.
There was a strong sense of satisfaction and relief in Berlin after Joachim Gauck was voted in as Germany's new president on Sunday. Politicians from almost all parties where pleased with the result - Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was glad that Gauck received an overwhelming majority in the Federal Assembly. Her conservative Christian Democrats initially had been hesitant to back Gauck as a candidate but eventually did throw their weight behind him. Merkel said that Gauck's acceptance speech made it clear he'd be a president with the people's concerns at heart. But also that he held high respect for politicians. "I think, we'll be working together very well," Merkel said. Germany's image abroad The chancellor said she'd be in dialogue with Gauck just as she'd been with his predecessors. And should there be disagreements, that'd just be something that will strengthen democracy, she added. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle was optimistic that Gauck would improve the image of Germany abroad. He told DW that it was especially Gauck's personal history and his struggle against the East German communist regime that could play a vital part in this. Gauck's story, Westerwelle said, was his struggle for freedom and the sense of responsibility borne from that. The new president could therefore become an example for those around the world who are still struggling for freedom and liberation. President, not king The opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens had already backed Gauck in the previous presidential poll in 2010. "Gauck is the right man at the right time," SPD parliamentary leader and former Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said. He said that Gauck, who is not affiliated with any of the political parties, might not always be an easy president to get along with, in that he would not hesitate to stand up to the political mainstream. But he certainly would be a president who'd be honest and independent. Jürgen Trittin of the Greens said that while he expected differences in opinion between his party and the future president , he still looked forward to constructive debates and discussions with Gauck. The president is not a king, Trittin said, adding that "if you're president of Germany, you don't have to compromise your opinion just to please others." Other candidates It was just the Left party that remained more hesitant to welcome the new president. The party had fielded their own candidate, Beate Klarsfeld. Left party floor leader Gesine Lötzsch cautioned that Gauck might have a lot to learn to fill his new post and might have to alter some of his views. But she conceded she was impressed that he did pay the Left party a visit to talk to the parliamentarians. Ahead of the vote, the government had explicitly excluded the Left party from talks on who to nominate. The Left party is still seen in association with its predecessor, the communist party of former East Germany. Religious tolerance Religious leaders also sent their congratulations to Gauck who himself was once a Lutheran pastor. The head of Germany's Lutheran community, Nikolaus Schneider, said he was looking forward to fresh impulses coming from Gauck. After the scandals and criticism surrounding his predecessor, Christian Wulff, Gauck was expected to lead the presidency back into calmer waters. The head of the Catholic bishops' conference, Robert Zollitsch, said Gauck was marked by a high level of credibility and broad acceptance among the population. Germany's Muslim community also congratulated Gauck, expressing hope that he would work towards more acceptance and tolerance for Muslims in Germany. The head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Dieter Graumann, said he hoped Gauck would take a strong stance against racism and anti-Semitism. First comments Gauck himself said after the vote that he'd be cautious about the high expectations that the public had about him taking office. "People have to accept me the way I am. I am a person with rough edges." He said he was happy about the overwhelming result of the vote and about the fact that he's the first president from what used to be communist East Germany. His first trip abroad is scheduled for neighboring Poland, a country which shared his experience of the struggle against dictatorship. The new president dismissed accusations that his concept of freedom was one-dimensional, only formed by his experiences in East Germany but not informed by current social problems in modern-day Germany. Social justice was a central concern for him, Gauck said. Yet the new president did not go into too much detail on politics in his comments after the vote. His first major speech is expected at his swearing-in ceremony next Friday. Author: Bettina Marx / ai Editor: Darren Mara | [
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Lukashenko protesters return to Belarusian streets
Over 2,000 people staged a protest in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on Sunday, in the first opposition demonstration since Alexander Lukashenko banned such gatherings following his disputed election win in 2010.
Participants waving the red-and-white flags of the historical republic as well as flags of the European Union gathered under the watchful eyes of a large contingent of riot police, singing songs and holding up signs with names of opposition figures who have been imprisoned. No arrests were reported in the protest that was unexpectedly allowed to take place by authorities. The march took place on Belarus's 'Day of Freedom,' an unofficial holiday that marks the day an independent state of Belarus was created in 1918. A number of prominent leaders from the opposition were on hand for the demonstration, including Vital Rymasheuski, who ran in the 2010 presidential election. "The Lukaschenko regime has only one weapon: fear," he said at the rally, adding a call to boycott the next election. Relations between the EU and Belarus have reached a new low point because of continuing repression in the country, and the EU has been trying for years to step up pressure on the regime in Minsk through sanctions. On Friday, the EU agreed to expand these sanctions by freezing the assets of more companies and expanding a list of officials who are banned from entering the EU. Lukashenko has led the country since 1994, and has retained Soviet-style control, cracking down on opposition politicians and independent media. mz/tj (AFP, dpa) | [
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Business 03/16/2016
E.ON, RWE and Vattenfall sue German government - At the CeBIT: 3-D scanning opens up a whole new digital world - Anti-Uber protests by taxi drivers in Bogota
Business 03/16/2016 | [
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US rebukes Israel's Netanyahu over 'ethnic cleansing' remark
Israel's prime minister has compared Palestinian criticism of settlement activity to "ethnic cleansing." The US has described the premier's language as "inappropriate and unhelpful," saying it undermines peace efforts.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday equated Palestinian criticism of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank to "ethnic cleansing," drawing sharp criticism from Washington, its key ally. In a video disseminated on social media platforms, Netanyahu said he had "always been perplexed" by the claim that settlements are an "obstacle to peace." "The Palestinian leadership actually demands a Palestinian state with one pre-condition: No Jews. There's a phrase for that: It's called ethnic cleansing," Netanyahu said. US State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told reporters on Friday that "type of terminology is inappropriate and unhelpful." "We obviously strongly disagree with the characterization that those who oppose settlement activity or view it as an obstacle to peace are somehow calling for ethnic cleansing of Jews from the West Bank," she added. Trudeau said Israel's expansion policy raised "real questions about Israel's long-term intentions in the West Bank." Last week, the US took a stronger tone on Israeli settlement expansion after a military committee approved hundreds of complexes in the West Bank, which the Palestinians hope will form part of an independent state. The international community maintains that settlement activity in the West Bank is illegal and counter to peace efforts aimed at ending the conflict. However, the Israeli government rejects such claims, saying Jews have lived in the territory for thousands of years and that settlements do not undermine a peaceful resolution. ls/cmk (Reuters, AP) | [
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Euroskeptic authors ask: Does Germany need therapy?
In their new book, authors Hans-Olaf Henkel and Joachim Starbatty claim that by trying to save the world, Angela Merkel is ruining a country that "belongs on the couch" - an image that sells, but which is damaging too.
"Germany belongs on the couch!" is the direct translation of the book written by Hans-Olaf Henkel and Joachim Starbatty, released in German as "Deutschland gehört auf die Couch!" Its subtitle provocatively states, "Why Angela Merkel is saving the world and ruining our country." The authors decided to turn into Germany's psychotherapists and diagnosed it as affected by "helper's syndrome," a phenomenon described by German psychoanalyst Wolfgang Schmidbauer in the 1970s. According to Schmidbauer's theory - which was never empirically proven nor picked up by the English scientific community - people affected by the "syndrome" have such a low self-esteem that they exaggeratedly help other people, underestimating what can be possibly achieved and often neglecting their own family to do so. Building on this model, Henkel and Starbatty claim that Germany feels so guilty about its Nazi past that it is trying to compensate by acting like Mother Teresa to try to save the world, at the expense of its own economy. Merkel's series of good-looking measures Their book starts by hitting Angela Merkel's policies - and not only because she decided to open the country's doors to refugees. She also took on a leading role against climate change and stepped up the country's planned nuclear power switch-off after the Fukushima disaster. Even though these measures could turn the country into a renewable energy trailblazer, the authors see them as economic mistakes that would rather lead Germany to become more dependent on countries where carbon emissions are not well controlled and on unsafe nuclear power plants in neighboring countries. Merkel's bailouts during the eurozone crisis are another aspect harshly criticized by Henkel, a former top manager at IBM, and Starbatty, an economist; the duo likewise plead in their book for Greece's exit from the EU. AfD's non-Islamophobic offshoot Well-known in Germany, Hans-Olaf Henkel and Joachim Starbatty are two Euroskeptic politicians who were elected Members of the European Parliament in 2014, initially belonging to the party Alternative for Deutschland (AfD). When Frauke Petry assumed leadership of the party in 2015, a move seen as a shift to the right for the party, Henkel and Starbatty were among the MEPs to leave the AfD and form a new party, called the Alliance for Progress and Renewal (ALFA). ALFA's program distances itself from the xenophobic and Islamophobic views of the AfD to focus on economic liberalism and conservative family values, topics that are also part of the populist party's program. Dealing with refugees While the refugee debate remains the dominant national issue in Germany, the AfD has been obtaining increasingly strong results in elections; it recently claimed the second-highest polling at the recent Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election, Angela Merkel's home state. This book tackles another issue that the AfD has taken on as it explores ways to speed up the integration of refugees. The authors avoid extreme Islamophobic views even though they do mention some political and social shortcomings of Islam, such as the involvement of religious leaders in state affairs and restrictions on women's rights. They do see a direct correlation between the AfD's current popularity and Merkel's refugee policies, which they call "catastrophic." Therefore, as a prescription to solve Germany's leadership problems, the therapists Henkel and Starbatty come up with a manager's solution: fire the CEO who hasn't been providing expected results. They then turn into headhunters to find the person who's in their view best qualified to replace Angela Merkel: Friedrich Merz, former CDU politician and now chairman of the board of the German operations of BlackRock, the world's largest asset management corporation. Germans also have the 'helper's syndrome' Merkel is not the only one to have Germany's "helper's syndrome" and to demonstrate their point, the authors add a series of miscellaneous arguments to demonstrate this. "It was a concrete decision, we didn't want just the head, but the whole body laying on the couch," Henkel told DW. The authors see this as a recurring theme in Germany, but coherence is missing in their case history. One chapter focuses on the country's strong anti-TTIP position, or how Germans are trying to save the world from globalization; the next one explores how Germans are trying to save Poland's democracy. From there, Henkel and Starbatty offer some observations on Germany's "herd journalism," claiming that there are few right-wing liberal voices to be heard in the country's media, and calling the controversial author and politician Thilo Sarrazin, invited to accompany the authors at their book presentation, the "most spectacular victim of German herd journalism so far." Their list concludes with a chapter on how Germans are trying to save the Italian lizard, referring to environmental issues that stalled the construction of the controversial train station project, Stuttgart 21. The provocative title of their book achieved its main goal: to grab the attention of the "herd media," as the room at their book presentation was filled with journalists. However, the scattered ideas of this work will fail to provide a clear remedy for the patient, who might not even be as sick as they claim. More dangerous still, it is spreading the idea that doing good and leading with progressive views is a mistake. | [
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German lawmakers agree on inheritance tax compromise
A parliamentary mediation committee has clinched a long-awaited deal on a required reform of Germany's inheritance tax system. The agreement ended a bitter political dispute that lasted almost two years.
The governing parties of Germany's grand coalition government on Thursday agreed to crack down on tax breaks for people inheriting companies. A parliamentary mediation committee representing both houses said heirs should in future still be able to get a 100-percent tax break, if they kept the firm going and preserved the previous employment level. But the committee made it clear that exemptions for businesses worth more than 90 million euros ($100 million) would be done away with, while preferential treatment for those worth more than 26 million euros would be reduced tangibly. The compromise deal is likely to be passed by the Bundestag lower house on September 29 and comes after the country's supreme court rules the previous inheritance tax regulations breached the principle of equal treatment. Not everyone is amused In December 2014, the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe demanded tighter restrictions for small and medium-sized firms to qualify for generous tax breaks. Germany's DIHK Chambers of Commerce welcomed the compromise, saying it would give family-owned companies more security as they made investment and hiring decisions. It warned, though, that the tax burden for heirs of many bigger firms would rise significantly. With some of the stipulations in the deal leaving room for interpretation, the head of the Ifo economic think tank in Munich, Clemens Fuest, criticized the agreement, describing it as an "employment program for tax consultants." hg/uhe (Reuters, dpa) | [
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Ivory seizure demonstrates challenge of protecting elephant populations
Authorities in New York have seized $4.5 million (4 million euros) worth of illicit elephant ivory in one of the largest busts in the state's history. This comes as southern African countries want the total ban lifted.
Law enforcement officials put seized ivory contraband on display with scores of statuettes, a carved column, two pairs of tusks and a chess set carved from the tusks of a dozen slain elephants. "We are going to dry up... a market that only fuels the slaughter of elephants," New York City's chief prosecutor Cy Vance told reporters Thursday. "It is inexcusable, it is immoral." New York City is a hub of illegal elephant ivory trade, ahead of California and Hawaii, said Basil Seggos, head of the state's Department of Environmental Conservation which cooperated in the investigation that involved undercover officers posing as buyers at a Manhattan art and antiquities shop. "This type of behavior will no longer be tolerated," Seggos said. It is illegal to sell elephant ivory without a special license. But New York's rules were tightened so much in 2014 that they effectively banned ivory sales except under extremely limited circumstances. The US and China, among the world's biggest ivory consumers, have agreed to enact near-total bans on their domestic markets. A ban on the international ivory trade was enshrined in law under the UN's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) signed in 1989. But even as poaching of endangered elephants for their tusks persists at dangerous levels, some African states are seeking a partial overturn of the global ban. In Namibia, where villagers and elephants are competing for scarce water in remote parts the country, the government is part of a host of countries pushing for the right to sell millions of dollars' worth of ivory at a CITES annual summit that opens this weekend. "We at times have to go without water when the elephants are at the water points and wells the whole day," villager Iningirua Musaso told the Namibia Press Agency this month. Namibia is one of several southern African countries that want to sell their ivory stockpiles argue that it's OK to profit from elephants so that their people see wildlife as a natural resource worth protecting. Cash-strapped Zimbabwe has a 70 ton ivory stockpile worth $35 million. It says ivory trade is the only way to pay for protecting its elephants and to give rural communities an economic incentive for living near the animals which it argues that in some places populations are increasing. But they are opposed by about 30 nations that want to tighten an international ban on the ivory trade, including leading ivory consumer China which says it will close its domestic market. Conservationists alarmed "We do recognize that Zimbabwe and Namibia's elephants populations are in better shape than those elsewhere in Africa," said Susan Lieberman, vice president for International Policy at the Wildlife Conservation Society. "But it's rather short-sighted and a bit selfish for them to request to sell their ivory, knowing full well that it will further stimulate poaching and trafficking from other populations. The global community needs to see this as an Africa-wide issue." Frank Pope, operations manager at Save the Elephants, a Kenya-based group, says it's vital that protections for elephants are not watered down which he predicts would undermine the success of international cooperation in clamping down on poaching. "If one of the nations that wants to sell ivory decides to sell ivory and manages to put that onto the market, that creates a smoke screen for an illegal trade to flourish across the whole of the rest of the continent," he said. The countries' formal request to sell stockpiles, collected through seizures of contraband, natural mortality in the wild and the shooting of problem animals, will be considered at a meeting of the UN's CITES meeting in Johannesburg from September 24 to October 5. jar/jil (AFP, AP, Reuters) | [
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Baseball star Jose Fernandez dies in boat crash
Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez has died in a boating accident off Miami Beach. The 24-year-old ace was one of the brightest stars in the game.
Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, a two-time All-Star selection and winner the National League Rookie of the Year Award, died in a boating crash early Sunday in Florida. He was one of three men killed when a 32-foot boat collided with jetty off Miami Beach, the US Coast Guard said. The right-hander, who was the team's first round draft pick in 2011 and made a debut in April 2013, was a hero in the Cuban-American community. "He was one of our game's young stars who made a dramatic impact on and off the field," Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. Fernandez was born in Cuba and, after three attempts, made it by boat to the United States with his mother at the age of 15. He became a naturalized US citizen. With his steaming fastball, Fernandez had an average 12.49 strikeouts per nine innings, the best in both the National and American leagues. He pitched a career 38-17 in four seasons with the Marlins. Adding to the tragedy, Fernandez posted pictures on Instagram last week of his girlfriend, saying they were expecting a baby. Fernandez's death drew shock and tribute across baseball. The Marlins team gathered at the ballpark wearing black jerseys. "A lot of words were said - meaningful words and emotion and prayer," team president David Samson said. "Jose is a member of this family for all time." Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Lorenzo Veloz said it was believed that the boat's speed contributed to the accident. He said drugs or alcohol were not believed to be a factor. "It does appear to be that they were coming at full speed when they encountered the jetty, and the accident happened," he said, adding the star pitcher died from trauma and not drowning. None of the three were wearing life jackets. The names of the other two on the boat were being withheld pending notification of family. cw/rc (Reuters, AP) | [
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Gruyere dominates Switzerland's Swiss Cheese Awards
Cheesemakers have competed in a delectable competition to determine the nation's best cheese. The awards' president said there were "some surprising things" in the innovation category.
Swiss Cheese Awards kicked off over the weekend with more than 140 judges taking part to determine the best strain of Switzerland's delectable food product. The competition included more than 700 cheeses from 350 cheesemakers, who examined the taste and consistency in accordance with strict regulations. However, Swiss cheese was not the sole variant to be examined by those determining the competition's winners. "We are witnessing a diversification and - very interestingly - there is an innovation category in the contest," said Jacques Gygax, president of the Swiss Cheese Awards. "This is for products that have been on the market for less than two years or not yet even on the market, and there were some surprising things, a lot of creativity. We cannot reinvent cheese, but there is a great diversity in this cheese world," he added. The judges, considered "significant players of the Swiss and international cheese industry," chose Jean-Claude Pittet as the grand-prize winner with a gruyere. Pittet's strain was created in the Alps, according to local media. ls/ (Reuters, 1815) | [
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Why Kristalina Georgieva is the best choice for UN secretary-general
Kristalina Georgieva has finally convinced her prime minister she stands the best chance to be UN secretary-general. Max Hofmann and Barbara Wesel think the EU Vice President from Bulgaria might be just the ticket.
Because of her personality Having experienced her in official and unofficial situations both in meetings and conferences from Prague to Brussels, one thing becomes clear: What you see is what you get. Georgieva is authentic. She's always lively and outspoken, yet listens carefully to whomever speaks with her. At times she is funny, her quips in discussions are guaranteed to provoke giggles, even with the most serious of Eurocrats. She has been known to provoke laughter in budget negotiations. It's safe to say that she would add some new wrinkles to UN communication, including effortlessness and humor. But Georgieva is also hard working and tough as nails. People who work closely with her in Brussels describe her as relentless. All the people in her cabinet are younger than her but still have to work in shifts to keep up with her. She'll visit seven different time zones in two days and never miss a beat. Not a bad quality for a secretary-general. Because she's from Eastern Europe The obvious argument here is that the region never had a UN secretary-general. It's a valid one but not the only one. The region is connected to many of the problems not only Europe but the whole world is facing. Georgieva's home, Bulgaria, is on the front line of the refugee crisis, a neighbor to Turkey and a mere 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away from Aleppo in Syria, the symbol of one of the most terrifying conflicts in the world. Bulgaria is also very close to Ukraine and Moldova, two countries locked in a frozen conflict with Russia. Georgieva brings the experience of having seen the Iron Curtain fall and the subsequent changes in Eastern Europe. She has the support of many countries in the region. And she might even be acceptable to Moscow: Georgieva lived there for two years during her time at the World Bank, she speaks good Russian and knows who is who. She has met with President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and if they should really want an Eastern European in the job, she is the candidate with the best shot at uniting the geographical camps in the UN. Because she is a woman It's time for a woman at the top of the UN. A third of member states and numerous civil society groups have already pushed for the first woman secretary-general. There is a difference between a suit and a trouser suit. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is said to be one Georgieva's political sponsors. And the Bulgarian is a candidate who brings some of the most-needed qualities to the table: She has international and financial experience from her time at the World Bank. But she has remained practical, results-driven and shows little personal vanity, which distinguishes her from rather a lot of men in the field. At the same time the EU Commissioner is charming enough to foster compromise between opposing political factions and everybody still likes her afterwards. Apart from her ability to bring people together, her friends praise her noted short-windedness. Kristalina Georgieva begins most of her speeches with the remark: "I have only three very short things to say…" And she even sometimes sticks to that. Because she will be a breath of fresh air Kristalina Georgieva knows international institutions, but she is not part of the UN machine, as opposed to her greatest rival Antonio Guterres, who was until recently the UNHCR High Commissioner for Refugees. She will certainly bring a fresh eye to the job. In the European Parliament Georgieva carries the nickname "action-woman." She can talk to everybody: From representatives of the left to the euro-sceptic Conservatives, people will engage with her. She is decidedly unstuffy and likes pragmatic solutions. In her world, problems should be solved not along ideological divides but by what brings results. Debates about political theories and left or right don't interest her. At the same time Kristalina Georgieva confronts the political issues head on: "What I see is an issue of human security today," she said in a recent interview. "People are anxious everywhere. Today, our crises overlap. Even the young, educated, urban and wealthy are anxious." In the face of that analysis, the Bulgarian politician herself is a fearless person, which makes her particularly suited for the job of UN secretary-general. Because of this story In 2010, when Georgieva was EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, she was on holiday when Pakistan got hit by heavy floods. Her staff recalls hesitating to contact her but ended up calling anyway. The Commissioner interrupted her vacation and flew to Pakistan via Brussels. The plane was scheduled to land around midnight but got delayed because of weather. Eventually Georgieva landed around six in the morning. People who were with her then remember how they were planning on delaying the whole program so she could get a couple of hours of sleep in the morning. She would have none of that. "Sleep is a renewable energy," she is quoted as saying. "We use the energy now and will renew later." Despite the delays, Kristalina Georgieva was one of the first to arrive in the area. Interestingly enough one of the few who got there before her was current UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. | [
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Investigators: Russian missile downed MH17
Investigators have released initial findings into the MH17 aviation disaster. It confirms earlier reports that a BUK mobile launcher fired the fatal missile from separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine.
The doomed flight MH17 was shot down by a BUK surface-to-air missile trucked in from Russia, investigators said Wednesday. All 298 aboard were killed and evidence from communications intercepts, radar data and other material points to a military ground-to-air missile as the cause. The investigation has been headed by the Dutch prosecution service, but includes teams from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine. They publicly revealed their initial findings at a news conference in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands on Wednesday. Moscow has consisently denied allegations that pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine were responsible. On Monday, the Russian military said it has new radio-location data that show the missile that downed the Boeing 777 did not originate from rebel-controlled territory, and said it would turn that data over to investigators. "First-hand radar data identified all flying objects which could have been launched or were in the air over the territory controlled by rebels at that moment," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "The data are clear-cut … there is no rocket. If there was a rocket, it could only have been fired from elsewhere," he added. However, Ukraine's foreign ministry described it as an "important milestone," claiming that it discredits Moscow's narrative of the event. "It is important to underline that the preliminary results of the criminal investigation have confirmed the findings of the technical report published last October by the Dutch Safety Board, namely, that the crash was caused by the explosion of a warhead launched from a 'BUK' anti-aircraft missile system," the statement said. "This puts an end to all of Russia's attempts to discredit activities of the Joint Investigation Team and conclusions by spreading distorted or fabricated information," the ministry added. 'We want an answer' A separate inquiry led by the Dutch Safety Board (OVV) found the airliner was hit by a BUK missile fired from an area most likely held by separatists during the summer of 2014. It said that the BUK mobile launcher then returned to Russia. The criminal investigation is expected to shed light on the exact type of BUK missile used; the anti-aircraft weapon is manufactured by Russia, but stockpiles exist in the Ukrainian military as well. Relatives of the victims have long pushed for answers and transparency, and have been angered by the slow pace of information. "Apart from wanting to know exactly what weapon was used and where it was fired from, we also want an answer as to where we go from here," said Evert van Zijtveld, chairman of the foundation that supports families of MH17 victims. Zijtveld lost his teenage son and daughter in the air disaster. Hostile working conditions The international investigation team faced extraordinary challenges throughout the probe: the crime scene in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk Oblast, where the plane crashed on July 17, 2014, was located in an active war zone, and during the days following the crash pro-Kremlin militants limited access to the site. Since then 11 containers crammed with debris from the jetliner were ultimately brought to the Netherlands. A research team took soil samples in eastern Ukraine and established the location of cellphone towers and the layout of the local telephone network. Forensic samples were taken from passengers' and crew members' bodies and luggage, and satellite data and communications intercepts were scrutinized. The team also appealed for information from witnesses who may have seen the missile launch. About two-thirds of the passengers aboard MH17 were Dutch nationals; the crew were Malaysian nationals. Malaysia had proposed setting up an international tribunal to try those responsible for the plane's destruction, but Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution in favor of such a tribunal The United States has welcomed the preliminary results of the inquiry into the downing of the flight. US State Department spokesman John Kirby said the inquiry left "no doubt that MH17 was shot down by a BUK surface-to-air missile fired from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists." Kirby said: "We also note the joint investigation team's finding that the missile launcher was first brought into Ukraine from Russia and then moved out of Ukraine and back to Russia after the shoot-down." ls,jar/kl/jbh,kms (AP, AFP, dpa) | [
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World leaders gather to honor Shimon Peres at Jerusalem funeral
Dignitaries from around the globe have converged on Jerusalem for the funeral of Israel's former President Shimon Peres. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who signed a peace accord with Peres, was among the guests.
Police closed roads in central Jerusalem ahead of the Friday funeral, as Peres' coffin made the journey from Israel's parliament, the Knesset, to the National Civil Cemetery at Mount Herzl. The ceremony was Israel's largest since that of Peres' former partner in peace negotiations Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, with some 3,000 set to attend. Israel's foreign ministry said 20 presidents and 15 foreign ministers were invited, with Germany represented by President Joachim Gauck. Among the attendees were US President Barack Obama and a Palestinian delegation including President Mahmoud Abbas. In a 20-minute eulogy, Obama said that Abbas' presence at the funeral was a reminder of the "unfinished business of peace" in the Middle East. The US president went on to praise Peres for always striving for a equal resolution of the Israeli-Palestian conflict. "Even in the face of terrorist attacks, even after repeated disappointments at the negotiation table, he insisted that as human beings, Palestinians must be seen as equal in dignity to Jews and must therefore be equal in self-determination," Obama said. 'A great man of the world' Addressing the congregation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also hailed his former political rival. "Shimon lived a life of purpose," Netanyahu told world leaders and other mourners. "He soared to incredible heights. He was a great man of Israel; he was a great man of the world. Israel grieves for him, the world grieves for him, but we find hope in his legacy, as does the world." While the two men had major differences in terms of policy, they enjoyed a strong personal relationship. "I loved you," said Netanyahu. "We all loved you. Farewell Shimon. Dear man. Great leader." Peres' casket had lain in state on Thursday, with thousands of people visiting to pay their respects. Former US President Clinton lauded Peres' optimism. "His critics often claimed he was a naive, overly optimistic dreamer. They were only wrong about the naive part," said Clinton, who led the US administration during Middle East peace efforts in the 1990s. Mediation on hold Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have been frozen since 2014, with Netanyahu and Abbas deeply-divided over Jewish settlements in the West Bank, as well as other issues. The pair, who have not held face-to-face talks since 2010, shook hands at the ceremony, which Abbas said he wanted to attend as a mark of respect for Peres' commitment to peace. Peres - who was a joint Nobel Peace Prize winner after negotiating the Oslo peace accords with the Palestinians in the 1990s - died on Wednesday, aged 93. He had suffered a major stroke two weeks earlier. In a political career spanning seven decades, Peres filled nearly every position in Israeli public life. He was credited with steering the country through many of its most defining moments. Since the Oslo accords were agreed in 1993, the peace process went into decline and eventually collapsed entirely. ksb, rc/kl (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters) | [
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EU to sign off on 1-billion-euro aid pledge to Afghanistan
Representatives from 70 countries are set to attend a two-day summit in Brussels to agree on a new aid package for Afghanistan. Ahead of the meeting, the EU sealed a deal to return failed Afghan asylum seekers.
The two-day international aid conference in Brussels, which kicks off on Tuesday, is expected to see the EU pledge a total of 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) a year to Afghanistan until 2020. Ahead of the summit, the European Commission said it would commit an extra 200 million euros ($224 million) a year to strengthen state structures in the war-ravaged country. In a statement, the Commission said the funds could be used by the Kabul government "to finance their own strategic development priorities." Dozens of other countries - including the US, Russia, China and India - are also expected to increase their aid commitment to Afghanistan, which is not able to fully support itself after four decades of conflict, and amid a resurgence of the Taliban. As well as seeking a total of 2.68 billion euros a year for the next four years, EU leaders said the meeting would also push for a realistic time frame for a peace process. That fundraising figure is lower because Afghanistan has begun raising its own revenues, but also due to so-called donor fatigue amid multiple high-profile conflicts. Deal to return failed asylum seekers Earlier Monday, the EU sealed a deal with the Afghan government to speed up the deportation of Afghan citizens who do not qualify for asylum in the bloc. Under the plan, the EU will bear the costs of returning the migrants, including travel expenses and re-integration programs, while Kabul has promised to readmit citizens and supply travel documents for migrants without papers within a month. The EU said special cases, such as single women, unaccompanied minors, the old and the sick can only be deported if they have families to return to and their safety can be guaranteed. Germany, which has accommodated more Afghan migrantsthan any other European country, signed a similar deal with the Kabul government on Sunday that will see thousands of failed asylum seekers return home. Observers said the larger EU aid package did not appear to be conditional for accepting the return of migrants. Around 1.2 million Afghans are living as refugees in their own country and another 3 million are living in Iran, Pakistan or seeking asylum in Europe. mm/cmk (AFP, dpa, Reuters) | [
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Böhmermann: How a German satirist sparked a freedom of speech debate
How free is speech in Germany? After a satirical TV show targeting Turkey's President Erdogan, German comedian Jan Böhmermann faces legal action - and has sparked a massive debate on freedom of speech in Germany.
In the ZDF television show, "Neo Magazin Royale," Jan Böhmermann recently presented a snide, satirical poem in which he criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's limitations on freedom of speech in Turkey, while also making personal jabs at the president, including references to child pornography and sex with animals. As a result, Erdogan has filed a defamation claim against Böhmermann. The case has stirred up discourse over the state of freedom of speech in both Germany and Turkey and the boundaries of satire. Click through the articles and videos below for background on the case, opinions and reactions. | [
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Mario Götze impresses, but lack of goals holding him back
Germany’s machine rolls on and shows no signs of stopping after another victory in World Cup qualifying. Mario Götze’s performance was intriguing, but a lack of goals is holding him back.
Aided by a rapturous Hamburg crowd happy for a change of scenery from their domestic disappointments, Germany showed that all the spokes of their tactical wheel were functioning in a dominant display against the Czech Republic on Saturday night. From defenders conducting to Thomas Müller's clinical finishing, it was another evening of expectations met from Joachim Löw's men. Mario Götze, who has struggled to hit the heights expected of him since his return to Borussia Dortmund, probably should have had a goal in both halves. He probably should have had an assist as well, but he showed flashes of the understanding that has recently been lacking at club level. Perhaps leading the line for Germany – rather than playing as a No.10 – is a role he's grown more comfortable with recently. The display against the Czech Republic certainly seemed to suggest as much. The only thing he lacked on the night was a goal. Nevertheless, with Götze clearly enjoying his role as a false nine, Germany flooded the opposition half when in possession. Both Jonas Hector and Joshua Kimmich were so wide and high up the pitch that Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels were left to instigate many of Germany's attacks, with the former spreading passes like a quarterback at times. With Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos occasionally sweeping into the defensive line, it was clear why the driving midfield presence of Ilkay Gündogan was a luxury surplus to requirements until late in the second half. It should be noted that with a head coach not long in the job and Tomas Rosicky and Petr Cech now retired, Czech football's rebuild is clearly still in its infancy. There wasn't even a hint of a reminder that Germany's last competitive defeat on home soil came against the Czech Republic. The usual second-half dip came just after the hour mark, but by then the result had long been decided and the Mexican waves were well and truly rolling around the Volksparkstadion. Much of Germany's team is already in place for the tournament they are currently looking to qualify for. It's Götze's role that remains the most intriguing, though. With Mario Gomez unlikely to keep his form and fitness, the role of leading the line is Götze's position to lose. With Julian Brandt, Max Meyer and Leroy Sane breathing down his neck though, Götze knows that sooner rather than later he'll need to do more than just flash his brilliance. Northern Ireland on Tuesday would be a good place to start. | [
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Thailand faces uncertain political future after king's death
With the death of King Bhumibol, Thailand's fragile political truce could fast unravel. The military junta will no doubt seek a quick succession, but a possible revival of pro-democracy activism has unnerved the markets.
The king, who had been the world's longest-reigning monarch and who died in Bangkok on Thursday aged 88, was widely seen to have been a key legimational figurehead overseeing the often fragile political truce in Thailand since the advent of the pro-democracy movement at the start of the decade. Revered as semi-divine by many in the country, the figure of Bhumibol held together an often fractious coalition of Bangkok business elites, a new middle class and its Thai Democrat party, and the royalist military to prevent the return of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra or the electoral dominance of his party. Experts on the Thai royal family note that the country's strict lese-majeste laws muffle detailed discussion of the sensitive succession issue. "We maybe shouldn't read too much into (the delay)," David Streckfuss, an expert on the Thai monarchy, told the AFP news agency. "But we have already departed from what should have been a normal succession process. An element of ambiguity has been injected into the situation." Tens of thousands pay last respects Meanwhile, throngs of Thai citizens lined the streets of the capital Bangkok Friday as a royal procession carried the late monarch from Siriraj Hospital to the Grand Palace. Many people had secured their positions on footpaths along the route the night before, shortly after the king's death was announced, and camped out there overnight. They were sitting on mats, with many holding small yellow flags bearing the king's emblem. The convoy, which included heir apparent Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, moved slowly through Bangkok's ancient quarter past mourners dressed in black, many of them holding aloft portraits of the king. Woraporn Jukkhom said she travelled to Bangkok from Lampang province, 600 kilometers (372 miles) north, as soon as she heard the news. "I just had to be here," she told the DPA news agency. "This is our last chance to say goodbye." Tradition calls for the bodies of Thai royals to be placed in a golden urn. But in a nod to modernity, palace officials said the tradition was no longer upheld and the king's body would be placed in a coffin with a symbolic royal urn near it. Military looks to cement its political role The military - which seized power in a May 2014 coup after months of street demonstrations against the elected government - will likely retain a firm grip over the country in the immediate term to ensure that the royal succession proceeds smoothly and does not become politicized. It has promised an election in 2017 and pushed through a constitution this year to ensure its oversight of civilian governments, but few hold their breath. The last election, in February 2014, was blocked by anti-government groups, and former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was removed from office by the Constitutional Court. Popular among rural voters who supported her brother - former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra - she led protests in 2013 against a bill that intended to absolve Thaksin, a billionaire tycoon-turned-politician, of corruption charges. The urban middle class and royalist elite have resisted ceding control after Thaksin drew rural voters to the polls. It's all about succession All eyes are now on the succession, after the junta leader said Thursday that Vajiralongkorn had asked for time before being officially proclaimed the next monarch. Vajiralongkorn, 64, does not command the same respect that his father earned over a lifetime on the throne, but Thailand's laws limiting public discussion leave little room for public debate. Vajiralongkorn was named the heir apparent in 1972 by the king, and according to the constitution should ascend the throne as the constitutional monarch after approval by the National Assembly, which is a formality under the constitution. Since Bhumibol's reign began in 1946, Thailand has fluctuated between military backed bureaucratic authoritarianism and brief periods of constitutional semi-democracy. After a coup in 1957 by the nationalist General Sarit Thanarat, the monarchy was rehabilitated in the shape of Bhumibol as the symbolic focus of Thai Buddhist loyalty. Market indicators unclear The Bangkok stock market and baht currency have fallen in the last few days and some analysts predict further jitters. "The death of Thailand's highly revered king will plunge the country into a state of mourning, and also deep political uncertainty," Capital Economics said in a note. "The period of (relative) political calm since the 2014 coup has helped the economy recover... But renewed political instability could quickly derail this recovery." The Thai government declared Friday a national holiday of mourning, although the stock exchange and other financial institutions were to stay open as usual. OANDA said in a statement said that although the Thai baht and the stock exchange index will remain under pressure, much of the uncertainty premium is already built into the price of both, thus losses will be limited. jbh,jar/rc (AFP, AP, Reuters) | [
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Prague seeks to calm China over Dalai Lama visit
The Czech president has tried to limit damage to his country's efforts to coax Chinese investment, after the Dalai Lama met with officials. The Tibetan spiritual leader arrived in Prague on Monday.
Czech President Milos Zeman, the prime minister and two parliamentary speakers sought to reassure China, after the exilted Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama met with politicians in Prague. In a joint statement on Tuesday, the group said the Czech Republic "respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of China, adding that: "we consider the relationships between our countries and their remarkable development in recent years most beneficial for both parties. "The private activities of some Czech politicians do not signal a change in the Czech Republic's official policy and we would consider it unfortunate if someone perceived them as such," said the leaders. The Dalai Lama arrived in Prague on Monday to attend the pro-democracy Forum 2000 conference, co-founded in 1996 by the late Czech president Vaclav Havel, who had close personal links with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The 80-year old met politicians from the small centrist Christian and Democratic Union party, the junior partner in the leftist-led coalition government: Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Belobradek, Culture Minister Daniel Herman and the deputy speakers of both houses of parliament. Before coming to Prague, the Dalai Lama met Slovak President Andrej Kiska in Bratislava, a visit that also angered Beijing. Money talks Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Prague with a business delegation in March and subsequently China's CEFC - one of the country's top 10 private firms - recently spent around a billion euros on stakes in a Czech airline, a brewery, two media groups and a top football team. Beijing maintains that the Dalai Lama supports separatism and violence in Tibet, a region China has ruled since 1951. The Dalai Lama fled to India after a failed uprising in 1959, but is still deeply revered by many Tibetans in China and beyond. jbh/jr (AFP, Reuters) | [
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Saudi-led warplanes pound Yemen after ceasefire ends
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition has resumed airstrikes in Sanaa, hours after a three-day truce expired in Yemen. The ceasefire was declared in order to supply crucial humanitarian aid to civilians.
Yemen's government continued to blame Shiite Houthi rebels for not upholding the 72-hour truce, forcing the Saudi-led coalition to strike targets in the capital, Sanaa. "The [Houthi] coup militias deliberately thwarted the truce, and that further convinced our military and political leadership of their unwillingness to accept peace," Yemen's army chief of staff Mohammed Ali al-Miqdashi told reporters. Airstrikes were reported from military sites near Sanaa, in the Hafa camp towards the east and the Nahdein area in the south. Planes also targeted the Houthi-controlled city of Hodeida and Taiz, the Reuters news agency reported residents as saying. Fierce fighting was also reported in the country's northern regions along the border with Saudi Arabia. Ten rebels and four Yemeni soldiers were killed over the weekend, media agencies reported. The strikes occurred hours before UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmad, arrived in Sanaa for talks with Houthi representatives. Ahmad had earlier appealed for an extension of the truce to enable humanitarian aid to reach war-ravaged areas. "We noted over the last days that food and humanitarian supplies were provided to several affected neighborhoods and that UN personnel were able to reach areas that were previously inaccessible," Ahmad said on Saturday. He had appealed to parties to extend the ceasefire, which began on Wednesday, for another 72 hours. But Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdulmalek al-Mekhlafi said the call was "useless" because rebels were ignoring the truce. "We respect the UN envoy's call for an extension, but in effect, there was no truce due to the violations" by the rebels, Mekhlafi told the Agence France-Presse news agency. Nearly 7,000 people have died since early last year, when Saudi Arabia formed a coalition to prevent Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels from deposing President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and taking over the country. Hadi is now in exile in Riyadh. The war has plunged the country into chaos, with millions facing starvation and an acute shortage of medical supplies. mg/jlw (AFP, Reuters) | [
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Click on the Link - Ep 03: Looking for Clues!
The police suspect Matu of stabbing his girlfriend Zawadi. But the victim’s best friend, Kendi, thinks otherwise.
Kendi has started her own investigation. She’s asked Tembo, an IT expert who works at the police station, to help her. Together, they take a closer look at Zawadi’s social media page. | [
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Syrian forces counter major rebel assault with airstrikes
Syrian government forces backed by airstrikes have launched a counteroffensive to repel a major assault by opposition fighters in the northern city of Aleppo. The rebels are battling to break a lengthy regime siege.
Much of the fighting on Saturday was concentrated around Aleppo's western fringe where a coalition of rebel groups had gained ground on Friday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Britain-based monitoring group said insurgents were able to capture the neighborhood of Assad as part of a large-scale ground attack launched there on Friday. Backed by Russian and Syrian airstrikes, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad's regime responded Saturday with an offensive of their own, but it was not clear whether they had managed to retake any lost ground. The Syrian army command said troops and their allies were pounding insurgent positions with rockets, adding that "all kinds of weapons" were being used in the fight for the Assad district. Civilians under siege Yasser al-Yousef of the Nour el-Din el-Zinki rebel faction said fighters had also launched an attack on Aleppo's western Zahraa neighborhood in a push to open up supply lines to the beleaguered eastern side of the divided city. The Syrian army said the troops were repelling the assault, which began later Saturday with a massive car bomb explosion near government positions. As many as 300,000 civilians are believed to be trapped in the rebel-controlled east, surrounded by government troops and with limited access to food and medical supplies. "In just a few days, we will open the way for our besieged brothers," rebel commander Abu Mustafa told the AFP news agency Saturday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebel bombardment had killed at least 21 civilians since Friday. It was unable to provide a death toll for the rebel side. Air campaign Aleppo, Syria's largest city, has been devastated by some of the fiercest fighting seen in nearly six years of war. The rebel coalition has controlled many of the city's eastern districts since mid-2012, and government forces have been battling to retake them ever since. Russia, a key Assad ally, began providing air support to Syrian regime troops in 2015. Moscow implemented a three-day halt to bombing in Aleppo last week to allow civilians to leave the besieged east. Few managed to get out, however, and a UN evacuation plan failed because security could not be guaranteed. The United States on Friday rejected claims that attacks on Aleppo had stopped. "The regime has rejected UN requests to deliver aid to eastern Aleppo - using starvation as a weapon of war," a US official told AFP. More than 300,000 people have died in Syria since the conflict broke out there in 2011. nm/sms (AFP, AP) | [
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Vatican-backed Venezuela crisis talks to resume Friday
Venezuelan government and opposition leaders prepared to resume talks on the country’s crisis Friday. Neither side is expecting a positive outcome.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leaders will meet Friday to ease the political standoff and economic crisis gripping the South American nation. Neither Maduro nor Jesus Torrealba, Executive Secretary of Venezuela's coalition of opposition parties (MUD) seemed optimistic heading into the Vatican-backed talks. Both sides declared a delicate truce at the previous meeting on October 30, which required opposition leaders to suspend protests and moves to hold a political trial against Maduro, but insults lobbed by both sides continued. For dialogue to continue, the opposition is demanding the release of more than 100 activists in jail, access for international humanitarian assistance, and the naming of a new board of directors to the elections council. In response, Maduro demanded Congress respect a court sentence that effectively stripped the opposition of a super majority won last year, a sentence the opposition considers fraudulent. Government and opposition forces did not appear optimistic going into the talks scheduled for Friday afternoon. Torrealba has warned that his side will seek early elections, if Maduro refuses a referendum over a possible presidential recall. "The MUD is seeking an electoral solution to this crisis through the negotiating table,” said Torrealba. "Venezuela is a pressure cooker. The recall vote was an escape valve, and the government sealed it up." Torrealba added the truce was "over." Analyst Luis Vicente Leon said he did not believe Maduro would go through with a referendum. "The likelihood that the government, in negotiations, will accept a referendum or early elections is practically zero," said Leon. If Maduro agreed to a referendum, Leon said, it "is absolutely certain that would mean handing (the opposition) his head." Venezuelan constitutional rules dictate the opposition must secure a referendum before January 10 if it wants to rid Maduro of his duties. If that does not happen, Maduro and his coalition will stay in power until 2019. Mediators at the talks include Vatican envoy Claudio Maria Celli and former Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. "We need a spirit of respect and coexistence. Dialogue is not only a means for reaching agreement - it is an end in itself," said Zapatero. There is a risk of violence surrounding the talks. Anti-government riots in 2014 left 43 dead. Protestors have taken to the streets in protest of Maduro in recent weeks. Maduro has low approval ratings according to recent polls. kbd/rc (AFP, Reuters) | [
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German intelligence agency reconsiders surveillance of right-wing 'Reichsbürger'
Following a rise in prominence of the anti-government 'Reichsbürger' movement and the death of a police officer in October, Germany's intelligence agency is believed to be tightening surveillance on the group.
A month after a so-called "Reichsbürger" fatally shot a policeman near the southwestern city of Nuremberg, Germany's "Verfassungsschutz" intelligence agency may be one step closer to tightening surveillance on the right-wing group. This was the latest development on Saturday, according to information presented to the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa). In a reply to a question submitted by the Green party, the Interior Ministry said it has asked Germany's intelligence agency to review its previous assessment of the Reichsbürger scene. The review has not yet been finalized, however. The Reichsbürger movement has gained greater attention since October, after one member in Nuremberg wounded three police officers and killed another in a shootout. Responding to the possibility of stricter surveillance, Green party politician Irene Mihalic on Saturday told dpa: "This terrible event in Bavaria wasn't necessary to recognize that the Reichsbürger are a dangerous right-wing movement." Possible police links Spates of Reichsbürger-related crimes have continued, with one member on Thursday injuring six officers with pepper spray at his flat in the northwestern town of Sögel. Authorities estimate the movement has a few hundred members across the country. Last week, in the eastern state of Saxony, State Premier Stanislaw Tillich also confirmed reports of three police officers with "possible connections to the Reichsbürger" movement. The group rejects the authority of the German Federal Republic, including its laws, borders and institutions. Instead, members believe in the continued existence of the German Reich and its 1937 borders. They refuse to pay taxes, do not comply with regulations and move around using homemade IDs and registration plates. 'Enemy of the constitution' Asked why the group was not under observation, the Interior Ministry reportedly argued as recently as September 2015 that a unified Reichsbürger movement did not exist, but instead that it was fragmented. It was decided that activities should be examined case by case. Even earlier, in 2014, the head of the "Verfassungsschutz," Hans-Georg Maaßen, had warned the internal affairs committee of Germany's lower house of parliament about the "seriousness of the Reichsbürger movement," according to dpa. Several individual states have already been surveying the Reichsbürger, but each state handles the movement differently. Earlier this week, the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt announced that the Reichsbürger group was now considered "an enemy of the constitution." In Hamburg, too, the movement's adherents have been declared anti-constitutional. Further south in Thuringia, the state intelligence agency has so far only kept an eye on groups with links to anti-Semitism or the extreme right-wing scene. However, in light of recent events, a spokeswoman for Thuringia's intelligence agency said it "seems advisable to extend the scope of observation." | [
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Storms lash western France, southern England
Bad weather overnight to Sunday left thousands of homes in the French region of Brittany without power. In the English Channel, a cargo ship and its crew were rescued after it hit a barge.
Strong winds that lashed France's western and northwestern coast overnight to Sunday left nearly 70,000 homes without power, according to the national electricity grid Enedis. France's national weather agency, Meteo France, said winds that reached up to 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour battered the Breton peninsula and the Normandy coast, and that two other regions also remained under a storm alert. Power was off in the morning hours in 33,000 homes in Normandy, 18,700 in Brittany and 16,500 in the Loire-Atlantique region south of Brittany, according to Enedis. Local officials said a woman suffered serious injuries when she ran into a fallen tree in her car in Brittany's Cote d'Armor department. Meteo France said the stormy conditions resulted from a rare combination of bad weather in the northeastern Atlantic and a strong airstream directed at northwestern France. The winds were expected to die down on Monday. Media reports said that many trees and roofs were torn down in the violent winds. Ship in distress On the other side of the English Channel, a storm affecting England's south coast has brought a cargo ship into difficulty, British coast guards said on Sunday. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the 650-foot (200-meter) vessel, carrying 23 people, lost power near the southern port city of Dover, causing it to drift into a rock-laden barge. The agency said a tug was being sent to tow the leaking ship to safety, and that 11 crew members were evacuated by helicopter. Local media reported the name of the ship as the Saga Sky. The storm, called Angus, is the first big one of the autumn-winter season in Britain. Forecasters said the southern coast had been hit by 110 kph winds, with one offshore gust reaching 156 kph. The government issued at least 20 flood warnings. The port of Dover earlier said ferry movements had been temporarily suspended owing to "very high winds." Weather warning in Germany The German Weather Service (DWD) issued a level 2 significant weather warning for the north and northwest of the country valid for Sunday evening and early Monday. DWD warned of squalls packing winds of between 85 and 110 kilometers per hour in parts of Lower Saxony and Schleswig Holstein, as well as the city states of Bremen and Hamburg. On the coastal islands and inlets of the Wadden Sea, the DWD issued a level 3 severe weather warning with wind gusts of up to 100 kilometers an hour. tj/jlw (AP, AFP, Reuters) | [
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EU takes an ethical stance on buying gold from Africa
Raw materials from African conflict regions will no longer be able to be imported into the EU without controls on ethical standards. But changes will not be implemented immediately. Bernd Riegert reports from Brussels.
After years of negotiation, the European Parliament, the European Commission and EU member states have finally agreed on creating laws to regulate metal imports hailing from African conflict regions. At least if the plan works, then the sale of gold, coltan, tin and tungsten, particularly from the Congo and the Great Lakes region in eastern Africa, should no longer be allowed to finance rebel groups and parties to civil war. Judith Sargentini, a Dutch parliamentarian for the Greens party, has expressed her relief over this development. "For the first time there are binding laws on the import into the EU of minerals from conflicts areas. The European Parliament - working with the Commission in Brussels and cabinet ministers from member states - pushed for the regulations to be legally binding. Until now, Europe had only a voluntary self-regulatory system involving participating import companies. The regulations will not only be imposed on mining companies, brokers and importers of raw materials but also manufacturers of motor vehicles, electrical machinery and industrial tools. In future, proof will have to be provided that the raw materials being used have not been obtained or sold under inhuman conditions. However, it is not intended that finished products sold in shops will have special labeling indicating that human rights standards have been met. 'High time for action' For years now, the EU has implemented existing standards from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its commercial dealings with gold, coltan, zinc and tungsten. Since 2010 a law has been in force in the US that prohibits the import of so-called "blood" metals and ores, particularly from the Congo and the Central African Republic. As the largest importer of African minerals, the EU is able to exercise substantial influence over the market. According to Bernd Lange of the Social Democrats, who is chairman of the European Parliament's trade commission, "It is high time we took action and stopped turning a blind eye. But this is not the end of the road. In order to achieve success we have to be continually learning and staying flexible, so that the commercial chain, from the mine to the forge, can be monitored." However, Franziska "Ska" Keller, European parliamentarian for the Greens, is critical that the new law will not provide customers buying laptops or cell phones with information about whether "blood" minerals have been used in production. Only importers of raw materials are required to provide certification, not the processing factories. Exemptions are also provided for small companies. Further, gold need only be declared if amounts exceed 100kg (220 pounds) - currently worth in the region of $390,000 (369,000 euros). Raw materials that are re-used, or are already warehoused in Europe, will not fall under the new regulations. Many human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have been calling for controls on the use of raw materials from conflict zones. A spokesperson from Amnesty has said that the organization is pleased at these recent developments in the EU, but by no means delighted: "It is a positive, but half-hearted step. There are too many loopholes." Five more years During negotiations about the new law, EU member governments stressed the importance of not burdening small importers, dentists or jewelers with new bureaucracy. The European Commission has agreed to carefully observe developments in the gold market and provide warnings if irregularities occur. It will also assess whether the new laws are in fact diminishing the financial resources of rebel groups and warlords in the Congo and Great Lakes area. It is expected to be some time before the regulations come into force and make an impact in Africa. It is only in 2021 that it will become mandatory to provide proof of the origin of gold, coltan, zinc and tungsten. The sale of diamonds, perhaps the most famous of the raw materials that can be used to fund wars, are expressly not covered by the new laws. | [
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Why Little Red Riding Hood is caught between innocence and sexuality
Is Little Red Riding Hood just a naive little girl? Only in the tale by the German Brothers Grimm. In older versions of the story, she flirts and the wolf seduces her. Here's a look at various Little Red Riding Hoods.
Little Red Riding Hood has always put me off - that dumb, innocent little girl who surrenders to the big bad wolf, only to be devoured by him. And then there's the manly, courageous hunter who heroically rescues her and her grandmother by cutting them out of the wolf's belly. And of course, though it defies logic, they both emerge totally unharmed. Obviously, the Brothers Grimm didn't mind the inconsistencies in the story. They were more interested in scaring children. They wanted to teach kids good behavior: Listen to your mother and don't talk to strangers. But today we would call that xenophobia and cowardice. Nevertheless, when I heard about an exhibition exclusively about Little Red Riding Hood, I was curious. What is it about the fairytale girl that can fill an entire exhibition? The Bilderbuchmuseum - the picture book museum - in Troisdorf is housed in a red manor house in a small town close to Bonn and holds Europe's largest collection on the Little Red Riding Hood. Dozens of girls with red hoods reside side by side over two floors in the house. On the ground floor of the museum, there is a play area for young visitors. Through a crack in the door, I see a child dressed as Little Red Riding Hood whistling and walking around paper trees. Upstairs, the exhibition is more geared toward adults. There is no artificial forest there, but only display cases with books and pictures on the walls. It's not particularly creative. The many faces of Little Red Riding Hood In each display case, a different Little Red Riding Hood encounters a different wolf - and not all of the images are G-rated. As curator Bernhard Schmitz tells me, the unusual collection was given to the museum by a Swiss couple. For over 30 years, Elisabeth and Richard Waldmann collected Little Red Riding Hoods wherever they went, gathering 800 books written since the end of the 18th century, as well as countless dolls, puppets, toys, flatware, ads, and all kinds of knickknacks. How on earth can anyone be so obsessed with a fairytale figure? Looking through the wooden display cases looking for the Little Red Riding Hood that I know - the sweet dumb little girl - I come across many others sitting next to her. One of them has bare breasts. Another one has a Mohawk, and yet another looks quite lascivious. Still others are wicked or sardonic. This girl seems to have many different faces. An erotic fairytale The very first one, the French "Petit Chaperon Rouge" is anything but innocent. An adolescent, she obviously enjoys alluring the wolf. And when he invites her to come to bed with his ("Viens te coucher avec moi"), she undresses and lies down naked next to the beguiling wolf. Clearly a case of coquettish seduction. Then I notice a comic from the 1990s depicting an erotic version of Little Red Riding Hood. Obviously, the sexual aspect of the original tale hasn't gotten lost over time, despite the prudishness of the prudish Brothers Grimm. An entire room in the picture book museum has been devoted to artist Burgi Kühnemann and her very special Little Red Riding Hoods. She is standing in front one of her works - a hunter's vest with numerous pockets filled with booklets. "The wolf is a traffic victim" is written on the dirty green fabric. Little Red Riding Hood and the Nazis Burgi Kühneman takes a booklet from her right breast pocket. In it, a youthful Little Red Riding Hood is sitting behind the steering wheel, about to run over the poor wolf. "Once there was a report about a wolf that got run over on the freeway," she says. "That's when I thought, people used to be afraid of wolves, but now they stuff them." Burgi Kühnemann's voice is hoarse and a subdued, but she enjoys talking. She introduces me to her next version of the Little Red Riding Hood: "I'm giving it a political dimension. For example the Nazi era provides a lot of material. Adolf Hitler liked being called 'Uncle Wolf' by little girls." So the blonde and naïve Little Red Riding Hood is only one of many red-hooded girls. It's the German version for young children. Once again, I walk by the display cases and think, Little Red Riding Hood was clearly schizophrenic. | [
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UN expert: Torture and abuse 'widespread' in Turkey following July coup bid
The UN's Nils Melzer has said that torture and other forms of ill-treatment seem to have been widespread following the failed coup attempt. The findings echo previous claims from leading rights groups.
The UN's special rapporteur on torture, Nils Melzer, told reporters in Ankara on Friday that measures taken in Turkey following the July coup attempt had created an "environment conducive to torture." "Testimonies received from inmates and their lawyers suggest that in the days and weeks following the failed coup torture and other forms of ill treatment were widespread," he said. Melzer's made the comments after a six-day tour of Turkey to investigate allegations of torture. His visit comes one month after US watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Turkish police of torturing detainees arrested in connection with coup attempt. The UN rapporteur also cautioned that Turkey's prisons and holding cells were often overcrowded: "Most facilities visited were overcrowded, with occupancy ranging from 125 to more than 200 per cent of the actual capacity." However, Melzer also noted that, after visiting facilities in Ankara, Diyarbakir, Sanliura and Istanbul, the overall conditions were generally satisfactory. Recent legislation and statutory decrees passed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had created a "climate of intimidation," he said, discouraging victims from filing complaints or speaking out about their abuse. "Holding cells, currently keeping individuals for up 30 days without any access to fresh air, are not suitable to detain anyone for more than 48 hours," Melzer said. Sweeping security measures adopted as part of Turkey's state of emergency, which was extended by 12 weeks in October, mean that people are held in custody without judicial review for up to 30 days and without access to a lawyer for five days, according to Melzer. "Worldwide experience shows us that it is precisely in the first hours and days after arrest that the risk of abuse, including torture and other forms of ill-treatment, is highest," he said, urging the Turkish government to live up its declared "zero-tolerance" policy on torture. Turkey's post-coup crackdown Since July, more than 100,000 people in the judiciary, military, media, civil service and education sector have been detained, dismissed or suspended. Most of them are accused of some connection to the coup attempt, which the government blames on followers of Fethullah Gulen, a US-based preacher. Around 37,000 people remain under arrest, some of whom claim to have been tortured, according to human rights groups. Just over a week after the coup bid, human rights NGO Amnesty International said it had "credible evidence" of detainees suffering abuses and torture. "Ahead of the coup we were already receiving very serious reports of torture and ill-treatment, mostly in the southeast of Turkey," Amnesty International's Turkey researcher, Andrew Gardner, said. "But what we saw after the violent coup attempt of July 15 was an explosion in the number of cases." There is also concern that opposition groups are being targeted, including Kurdish groups and independent media outlets. Erdogan has justified the purge as targeting terrorism. Concerns over human rights abuses have damaged relations with the European Union. In November, the European Parliament voted in favor of freezing membership talks with Turkey. Turkey's Ministry of Justice did not immediately respond to Melzer's comments. However, last month it responded to the HRW report, saying "there is not even a small doubt that all the allegations of maltreatment or torture are being actively investigated by an independent and objective judiciary." Other Turkish officials have dismissed allegations made by rights groups as propaganda. dm/msh (AP, dpa, AFP) | [
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Jammeh defeated in landmark Gambian election
Longtime strongman Yahya Jammeh has lost Gambia's presidential election to businessman and political newcomer Adama Barrow. Jammeh has now formally conceded defeat in the polls.
In a shock result, Gambia's president Yahya Jammeh has conceded defeat after 22 years in power to political newcomer Adama Barrow, the head of the country's electoral commission said Friday. "It's really unique that someone who has been ruling this country for so long has accepted defeat," Alieu Momar Njie told reporters ahead of the release of the results of Thursday's presidential election. Jammeh has staunchly held onto power since he staged a 1994 military coup that ousted Dawda Jawara, who himself had been president since 1970, just five years after the country's independence from Britain. A little known businessman, the 51-year-old Barrow was picked by a group of political parties to head the opposition ticket under his United Democratic Party. The electoral commission said Barrow received 263,000 votes to Jammeh's 212,000, giving him a five year mandate in the poor country of some 890,000 people. Mama Kandeh, a third candidate of the only opposition party not to join Barrow's coalition, got 102,969 votes. The longtime head of state, who represents the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction party, was expected to make a televised address later in the day. Jammeh, who has previously said that with the will of God he could rule for a billion years, has been accused by rights groups of abuses, including killing political opponents and clamping down on journalists and gays. During his reign he swung the country in an Islamic direction, last year declaring the country an Islamic Republic. Previous elections since he came to power have been marked allegations of rigging. Thursday's election was impacted by an internet backout and a heavy security presence that extended into early Friday. The United States said the voter turn out appeared to be high and took place under "generally peaceful conditions." But the State Department voiced concerned about the arrest of opposition supporters, the internet blackout and disruption of phone services. If Jammeh concedes, it would be remarkable transition in the West African country and the continent, where few leaders step down through elections. cw/kl (Reuters, AFP, KNA) | [
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EU wants states to return migrants to Greece
The EU executive has recommended member states resume returning migrants to Greece next year. The aim is to restore the Dublin accord which fell apart due to Athens' money troubles and an influx of people seeking asylum.
The new policy would only apply to newcomers leaving Greece after March 15, 2017, the European Commission, the EU executive, said on Thursday. According to their recommendation, the change would not affect unaccompanied minors and vulnerable groups of migrants. Italy and Greece are by far the main entry points for migrants from outside the EU. Under the Dublin accord, countries are obligated to process asylum requests for all who enter the EU through their territory. If the asylum seeker later leaves the "country of first entry" and travels to other EU states, the first country is obligated to take them back. However, Greece was made exempt from this rule in 2011, when a court decided that conditions for migrants were "degrading" in the debt-ridden country. The Dublin accords were also deeply undermined by the unprecedented arrival of about a million people seeking refuge in 2015. Overwhelmed by the influx, Greek authorities started waving the migrants through their territory and toward richer EU countries like Germany and Sweden, which were also the destinations of choice for the migrants. This eventually led the countries north of Greece to close their borders and put the passport-free travel policy of the Schengen zone at risk. EU commissioner praises Greece With the EU-Turkey deal slowing the flow of migrants to Greece, Brussels is seeking a way to resume its former policy. "We are recommending the gradual resumption of Dublin transfers of asylum seekers starting next year," EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told a press conference on Thursday. Greece would also need to provide guarantees that every individual migrant would receive proper treatment, EU officials said. Avramopoulos, who once served as Greek defense minister, said he wanted to praise Athens' progress "under very pressing, very difficult conditions to put in place a fully functioning asylum system" in recent months. Amnesty slams Brussels The European Commission also called on other countries to step up their involvement with the troubled relocation scheme, that aimed to resettle 160,000 people from Italy and Greece to other EU countries. Various members of the bloc refused to take part altogether. Commenting on the Thursday's recommendation, Amnesty International's Iverna McGowan said it was "outrageously hypocritical" of the commission to "insinuate that Greece alone is to blame" for the bad conditions in which migrants live. The troubles are caused by the EU-Turkey deal and the "lack of solidarity from other EU countries to relocate people," she said. dj/se (AFP, Reuters, dpa) | [
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Russia, Brexit and Aleppo loom over year-end EU summit
EU leaders are facing a "minefield" of crises in their final Brussels summit of 2016. Leaders appear split on extending sanctions against Russia, approving a Ukraine deal, responses to Aleppo and Brexit negotiations.
European Union leaders and heads of state gathered in Brussels on Thursday for a one-day summit to discuss what European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has dubbed the bloc's "poly-crisis" - or several interlinking crises. "This time we are dealing with a poly-crisis," Juncker told German public broadcaster ZDF on Wednesday ahead of the summit. "It is burning all over the place - not just in European corners." The EU leaders are set to discuss extending sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine, as well as a contentious deal with the Ukraine which is opposed by the Netherlands. "We are treading on a minefield, there are so many issues on the agenda that still can go wrong," a senior EU official told news agency AFP ahead of the summit. Brexit talks In the evening, 27 EU leaders will hold an informal working dinner without British Prime Minister Theresa May where they will try to present a united front on negotiations for the United Kingdom's departure from the EU. Prior to that meeting, May will join the other leaders to discuss the other contentious issues. "We want that to be as smooth and orderly a process as possible. It is not just in our interests, it is in the interests of Europe as well," she said on Thursday as she arrived at the summit. EU leaders have insisted that there can be no Brexit discussions with the UK until May formally starts the divorce process, slated to last two years. She has said Britain intends on triggering Article 50 by the end of March next year. Split on sanctions extension The bloc is expected on Thursday to renew sanctions against Russia over its actions in eastern Ukraine and the stalled implementation of the Minsk peace deal. Some EU leaders, however, have criticized the extensions, with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico calling the plan "senseless." The Slovakian leader, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said that both Russia and Ukraine have been delinquent in fulfilling the peace accord. "Both states still have a lot to do. Our black-and-white view is dangerous and bad," Fico said before parliament in Bratislava on Wednesday. Earlier this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande said they support sanction extensions. Juncker also opposed instating new sanctions against Moscow over its actions in Syria, saying the move would "not influence" Russia. Concerning the current humanitarian crisis in Aleppo and the situation in Syria, Juncker also deflected criticism that the EU should have sent soldiers to intervene, adding that he did not believe "that there are many Europeans who want to die because of Syria." However, Juncker expects European leaders at the summit to examine "all available options" for a humanitarian solution to the deadly conflict. EU-Ukraine deal on thin ice One of the most urgent issues facing EU leaders is a stalled agreement for political and commercial ties between the bloc and Ukraine. Without agreement at this summit, the deal is in danger of falling through. Dutch voters rejected the so-called association agreement with Kyiv at a referendum back in April. As a result of this, the Netherlands is the only EU member state that has not yet ratified the agreement and wants to clarify that the deal does not put Ukraine on the path to EU membership. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he was "a bit more optimistic" on Thursday that his fellow leaders would back proposed amendments to the deal. "I'm motivated to get this done," Rutte told reporters. "I do this because we are deeply convinced that we cannot risk European unity towards Russia." rs/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters) | [
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The New York Wheel is growing
Construction on the world's tallest observation wheel is progressing in New York City. The gigantic attraction will, however, be significantly more expensive and its completion delayed.
On a tour of the site in the borough of Staten Island, spokeswoman Tiffany Townsand said that the budget is currently 590 million dollars (about 555 million euros). That would make the New York Wheel more than twice as expensive as originally planned. At first its developers announced total costs of 250 million dollars and an opening date in 2015. Now the wheel is expected to start turning in spring 2018. A shopping mall, hotels, public parking garage and green areas will surround the planned attraction. The project's developers hope it will enhance the most suburban and least populated of the city's five boroughs. To this day, many tourists take the free ferry ride to Staten Island in order to enjoy the view of Upper New York Bay, the Statue of Liberty and the city skyline, but they usually go straight back to Manhattan. It's hoped that the New York Wheel will attract three million visitors annually and that they will spend time on the island's north shore. Right now, it would be the tallest observation wheel in the world, but because several similar projects are in the planning, its height could be exceeded before it's finished. At present the record-holder is the High Roller Ferris wheel in Las Vegas, Nevada, at just under 170 meters. The New York Wheel is expected to take 38 minutes for one rotation and accommodate up to 40 passengers in each of its 36 transparent capsules. Three capsules will have built-in bars and one will be a dining capsule. The new attraction was designed by Starneth B.V. - the company that built the London Eye in 1999. The 135-meter-tall wheel in the UK capital is visited by 3.5 million tourists a year. is/cho/ms (dpa, afp, newyorkwheel.com) | [
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Turkish economy on shaky ground
Turkey's tainted image in the wake of its crackdown on opponents after the failed putsch in the country has had a negative impact on the economy and development prospects. Daniel Heinrich reports from Istanbul.
Hasan Selamat is perplexed. For 35 years, he's run a small jewelry shop in a backstreet near a bazaar in Istanbul. He's never experienced anything like the present situation some months after the failed coup in mid-July. "In the first days after the putsch, it hadn't been so obvious at all," he said. "But in the process, we witnessed more and more customers staying away. I can personally understand the tourists as many live in fear and do not want to travel to Istanbul because of the recent political events." Tourism accounts for roughly 13 percent of Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP). Since the beginning of 2016, revenues from the sector have shrunk by 40 percent, also hitting Hasan Selamat. "My business is ruined," he said. "In a cautious estimate, my revenues have declined by 80 percent, compared with last year's figures." The Turkish economy is hurting. GDP decreased by 1.8 percent in the third quarter, marking the first contraction since 2009. According to US ratings agency Moody's, the domestic economy will only grow by 2.7 percent in the next three years, way below the average 5.5 percent logged between 2010 and 2014. Red herring policy A half-hour ride from the bazaar, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek is welcoming reporters in one of Istanbul's poshest hotels. He wants to talk about the country's economic prospects. But he starts with a broadside against the EU. "From a distance, our European friends are advising us to do this and do that," He said. "But they never come here and listen to us to understand the traumatic events we've been going through; they just keep talking about raids and arrests. He said that was an outrageous behavior as the Europeans insinuated there were no legal controls in place in the country anymore. Omnipresent putsch attempt Even Istanbul's stock exchange has stopped being a place of sobriety where numbers rule. Two people lost their lives in the night of the failed coup, with a memorial stone commemorating the victims. In Turkey, you cannot simply separate economic and political events, said the stock exchange's chairman, Himmet Karadag. "The Istanbul Stock Exchange had been infiltrated by the Gülen movement long before the attempted coup." What about the lira's downward spiral? What about consumption shrinking by 3 percent? Karadag prefers to skirt all those issues and keeps lashing out at the Gülen supporters. And he had this to add. "Just look at the PKK terrorists and their Syrian sister organization YPG," he said. "There's no justification whatsoever that the European Union keeps viewing a terror organization like the PKK as an alternative cooperation partner." Europe most important partner? Ege Yazga, an economics professor at Bilgi University in Istanbul, doesn't think much of such talk. He's more concerned about the halving of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Turkey in the first six months of the year. "Europe is Turkey's most important export market and plays a huge role as a financial hub," he said. "Turkey badly needs more foreign investment as we can't plug all the holes on our own." Carmaker not worried Despite all the problems at hand, carmaker Ford Otosan tries to look on the bright side of life. The company belongs in equal parts to the Koc holding firm and US automaker Ford. The Gölcük facility west of Istanbul is the biggest producer of the Ford Transit globally. Everything in here is export-oriented. Although overall Turkish exports dropped by 7 percent in the first half of the year, Deputy Managing Director Oguz Toprakoglu seems unfazed. "We aren't worried at all about the political situation in the country," he said. "Some 80 percent of our cars go to Europe. And we're the market leader when it comes to producing light and heavy duty vehicles; that's why we shouldn't be too concerned about the domestic market either." "We had a bumper year in 2015 when we produced 1 million vehicles, and the odds are we'll be able to achieve the same again this year," he added. Presidential system a blessing? Such optimism is alien to Hasan Selamat near the bazaar in the old city center. Since the summer months, 600 of a total of 2,000 stores have had to close down. Selamet deplores that the West's media coverage of events in Turkey has been so negative. "I'm not saying our government isn't making any mistakes; I'm a Social Democrat and have not voted for it," he said. "But I expect Europe to treat us fairly; and as soon as our image improves, tourists are bound to come back in droves." Meanwhile in that posh hotel, Mehmet Simsek insists that political stability is what matters most. "I think we'll win back stability with a presidential system." Simsek argued such a system would strengthen the executive powers as the president would be able to act independently of any parliamentary infighting. At the same time, he came out in favor of abolishing the 10-percent hurdle in parliament to ensure fair representation of all groups of the population. Analysts at Moody's have long made it abundantly clear what they make of the recent developments, sending Turkey's creditworthiness down to junk level, based on the political response to the failed coup. | [
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Rebels shell government controlled Aleppo just day after evacuation
Casualties have been reported in Aleppo a day after the Syrian army reclaimed the city. Meanwhile, experts have warned that the battle for Aleppo has left other areas more vulnerable to Islamic State aggression.
Three civilians were reportedly killed Friday as Syrian rebel forces launched the first wave of rocket fire into Aleppo on Friday, just a day after insurgents finished withdrawing from the last rebel-held pocket of the city. Ten rockets hit the southern district of Al-Hamdaniyeh, wounding nearly a dozen people. On Thursday, 35,000 civilians and fighters were bussed out of the city following a landmark evacuation agreement brokered by Russia and Turkey. The deal effectively handed control of Aleppo over to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his regime. The Syrian military's recapture of the country's largest city and former commercial hub, made possible by military support from Russia and Iran, marked Assad's most significant victory in the nearly six-year civil war. Friday's offensive is unlikely to be the last, as rebel forces still control much of the territory along the western and southern outskirts of Aleppo, as well as other large areas of the country. Investigating Aleppo's abandoned neighborhoods The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Friday reported that the Syrian army and its allies began searching the abandoned districts of the city, clearing explosives and other traps left behind by rebels. Syrian television also broadcast footage of troops seizing crates piled with ammunition, rifles and at least one Russian-made grenade launcher stored in a school basement in the neighborhood of Zaydiyeh. Syrian officials also reported alleged "criminal acts" carried out by rebels before they fled eastern Aleppo. These include reports that rebels had killed dozens of prisoners before evacuating the city. Rebels have strongly denied these accusations. 'IS' also make gains Experts warned Friday that the Syrian regime's all-out assault on Aleppo enabled the self-proclaimed "Islamic State" (IS) jihadist group to recapture territory elsewhere, including the historic Syrian city of Palmyra. Charles Lister of the US think-tank Middle East Institute told news agency AFP that the " resources deployed (by Damascus and its allies) to retake Aleppo have allowed IS to claim a series of opportunistic victories" in Syria. Jonathan Mautner of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote on the think-tank's blog that "Russia and Syria prioritized the defeat of the opposition in Aleppo city over the defense of Palmyra from IS, ultimately enhancing the threat posed by Salafi-jihadist groups in both northern and eastern Syria." The recapture of Palmyra, which IS reclaimed on December 11 after losing it in March, highlighted "the inability of pro-regime forces to establish security across the entire country without sustained support from Russia and Iran, notwithstanding their recent success in Aleppo city," Mautner said. Despite its recent gains, IS still only controls half the area it seized in Syria and Iraq in 2014. However, some officials expect Moscow to only support the Assad regime in recapturing the "useful" territories, leaving the fight against other IS-occupied areas to the West. The biggest challenge, however, remains the recapture of Raqqa, the jihadists' Syrian "capital." From there they have orchestrated terror attacks on Europe and Arab countries. The Syrian Democratic Forces, an Arab-Kurdish alliance backed by the US, launched an offensive to take the base in early November, but has yet to capture it. dm/kms (AFP, AP, Reuters) | [
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Trash crisis forces Lebanon's environmental awakening
With Lebanon's garbage crisis in its second year, regular citizens are taking the problem of the ever-growing piles of trash into their own hands. This shift in consciousness represents a new reality for the government.
When Kassem Kazak had the idea to start a recycling company with a friend in Lebanon, he didn't expect the extent to which his initiative would strike a nerve. Recycle Beirut, which Kazak launched at the end of 2014, was meant to provide an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional waste disposal, as well as create job opportunities for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. No one at Recycle Beirut had any experience in waste management; Kazak himself is an IT engineer. "We became friends with the people who collect the trash at night," Kazak said. "They showed us how waste management in Lebanon works." The team at Recycle Beirut quickly realized that the concept of recycling was little-known in Lebanon, and that recycling plants simply didn't exist in the country. "There is not much sorting from the source, because there are not many efforts to collect the recycled trash. And this is where the problem lies," Kazak said. Here's where Recycle Beirut stepped in. Since early 2015, trucks from the company have driven through the streets of the Lebanese capital, collecting recycled waste from private households. The waste is collected in a warehouse and eventually brought to the individual waste processing plants. Kazak soon realized that, in addition to the logistical hurdles, their main challenge was to introduce recycling culture to Lebanon. Events in the summer of 2015, when trash began piling up on the streets, played a major part. Grassroots campaign Up until 2015, waste disposal was mainly taken care of by a private company, Sukleen. Collected waste was briefly processed, if at all, then dumped in a landfill near the city of Naameh, south of Beirut. Sukleen kept using the site near Naameh even after capacity was reached. When protesting residents managed to close the landfill in July 2015, Sukleen - in the absence of an alternative plan - simply stopped collecting garbage, and trash began piling up in the streets of Lebanon. A month later, the You Stink! grassroots movement brought more than 200,000 people to the streets to demand that the government come up with an economical and ecological plan to dispose of the waste. More than a year later, the government still hasn't found a solution. But this inaction has spurred citizens to act, and Recycle Beirut has consequently seen its business grow. Today, the company employs 17 Syrian refugees and sends out three trucks every day to pick up 2 to 3 tons of pre-sorted waste. This new focus on recycling is also reflected in the number of households who have signed up with Recycle Beirut, which has risen from a dozen to more than 1,100. Consciousness shift Journalist Kareem Chehayeb, who has actively participated in the garbage protests, has noticed increased awareness among the Lebanese population when it comes to environmental issues. This has been especially visible in the reactions from politicians. "For the first time, we see politicians from both sides becoming active and discussing their solutions in the media," said Chehayeb. Another sign of the consciousness shift has been reflected in the business world. "Every company brags about how green they are," he told DW. "True or not, it shows that there is a demand." This new awareness is also reflected in the many environmental movements and nongovernmental organizations that have emerged in the course of the protests, especially at the universities. Chehayeb, however, is critical of this development. "This commitment is nice, but a lot of NGOs do what the state should be doing," he pointed out. "My concern is if more NGOs become active, they will do the job that the government should be doing. "We pay taxes for it, and the taxes shouldn't channeled away from that. The government has a responsibility." Financial incentives bring about change Environmental engineer Ziad Abichaker has chosen to throw in his support with the community activists. With his organization, Cedar Environmental, he has been building recycling plants since 2009. "The only way you can convince [the government] is with results, and showing that they make good financial sense for the municipality," he explained. In September, Cedar Environmental launched a new zero-waste facility in Beit Mery, 15 kilometers (around 9 miles) east of Beirut. The facility processes about a ton of municipal waste for $62 (around 58 euros); Sukleen processed the same amount for $130. "We offered a solution where they not only get the garbage off the street, but also save 50 percent," said Abichaker. In the end, Lebanon's waste crisis has forced municipalities to introduce recycling. "Nobody accepts the old practices any more," said Abichaker. Private citizens have woken up and discovered the alternatives - and the government will have to get used to this new reality. | [
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Kim Jong Un says ICBM testing in 'final stage'
North Korea is close to developing an intercontinental ballistic missile after several nuclear tests, said the state's leader Kim Jong Un. He also urged the US to stop their "anachronistic" policy towards his country.
The isolated state has "soared" as a nuclear power, Kim Jong Un said in his New Year's address on Sunday. North Korea was now a "military power of the East that cannot be touched by even the strongest enemy," said Kim. The nation was preparing a test launch of an international ballistic missile, and the process has already "reached the final stage," he insisted. Pyongyang has far conducted five nuclear tests, shrugging off international sanctions which aggravated the already poor economic situation in a tragically impoverished country. North Korea claims one of those tests was for a hydrogen-based weapon. Many experts dispute the claim, saying that all weapons tested were comparably less destructive atom bombs. There have also been contrasting reports on Pyongyang's ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead and mount it on a missile. An ICBM projectile, armed with a small nuclear warhead, could potentially be used by North Korea against targets on US soil. In the address broadcast on Sunday, Kim praised "marvelous feats" aimed at boosting the North Korean military power. At the same time, he said efforts should be made to defuse the possibility of another Korean war between Pyongyang and Seoul. He also stressed the importance of building the economy under a five-year plan first published in May. Commenting on the US, Kim he called on Washington to make a "resolute decision to withdraw its anachronistic hostile North Korea policy." Despite President-elect Donald Trump saying he might consider meeting with the communist leader, such a move seems unlikely. North Korean defector Thae Yong Ho, who served as deputy ambassador in London before defecting in 2016, has said that Kim was preparing a "prime time" nuclear weapons push to take advantage of leadership changes in Washington and Seoul. dj/rc (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters) | [
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Second Chord Sounds in 639-Year Long Concert
A new chord sounded Thursday in the world's slowest and longest lasting concert of a piece of music that is taking a total 639 years to perform in its entirety.
The abandoned Buchardi church in Halberstadt, eastern Germany, is the venue for a mind-boggling 639-year long performance of a piece of music by US experimental composer John Cage (1912-1992). Entitled "organ2/ASLSP" (or "As SLow aS Possible"), the performance began on September 5, 2001 and is scheduled to last until 2639. The first year and half of the performance was total silence, with the first chord -- G-sharp, B and G-sharp -- not sounding until February 2, 2003. Then in July 2004, two additional Es, an octave apart, were sounded and are scheduled to be released later this year on May 5. New chord will be held down by weights for years But on Thursday, the first chord progressed to a second -- comprising A, C and F-sharp -- and is to be held down over the next few years by weights on an organ being built especially for the project. Cage originally conceived "ASLSP" in 1985 as a 20-minute work for piano, subsequently transcribing it for organ in 1987. But organizers of the John Cage Organ Project decided to take the composer at his word and stretch out the performance for 639 years, using Cage's transcription for organ. The enormous running time was chosen to commemorate the creation of Halberstadt's historic Blockwerk organ in 1361 -- 639 years before the current project started. That original organ, built by Nikolaus Faber for Halberstadt's cathedral, was the first organ ever to be used for liturgical purposes, ringing in a new era in which the organ has played a central role in church music ever since. New pipes added in time for new notes As part of Halberstadt's John Cage Organ Project, a brand-new organ is being built specially, with new pipes added in time for when new notes are scheduled to sound. Cage was a pupil of one of the 20th century's most influential composers, Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951). Cage's avant-garde oeuvre includes works such as the notorious "4'33", a piece for orchestra comprising four minutes and 33 seconds of total silence, all meticulously notated. The organizers of the John Cage Organ Project say the record-breaking performance in Halberstadt also has a philosophical background -- to "rediscover calm and slowness in today's fast-changing world." | [
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US prepares for fight over EU subsidies to Airbus
EU subsidies for Airbus have long been a source of tension with the United States. Despite EU claims to have ended the financing, a skeptical Washington is now preparing for a fight at the World Trade Organization.
United States trade officials said Friday that they were asking the World Trade Organization to sanction the European Union for alleged subsidies to aircraft manufacturer Airbus. Washington said the EU claimed in December 2011 to have removed all subsidies to Airbus that broke the WTO rules, but that the 27-member bloc never provided evidence. The US complained that not only have the subsidies continued, but that new subsidies have been introduced. "We refuse to stand by while American businesses and workers are disadvantaged," US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a statement. "By taking this action today, we are reiterating the Obama administration's commitment to ensuring that every one of our trading partners plays by the rules, and that American companies can compete on a level playing field," he added. The formal complaint to the WTO is to be submitted at a meeting of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body on April 13. EU 'regrets' action The WTO ruled last June that the EU and four member states had provided more than $18 billion (13.5 billion euros) in unfair subsidies to Airbus - an amount the EU disputes. The US and the EU began talks in January on compliance with the WTO order, but both sides held their ground. "We regret that the US has chosen to take this step, since the EU notified its compliance with its WTO obligations in the package of steps taken at the end of 2011, and the US has yet to do the same in the Boeing case," said the European Commission's trade spokesman John Clancy. The WTO has also found that the US government paid $3 billion to $4 billion to domestic aircraft maker Boeing in the form of research grants and tax breaks. The US has argued that the EU had made Airbus dependant on its financing for "every model of large civil aircraft," while no similar conclusion was found in the US-Boeing relationship. acb/msh (AFP, Reuters) | [
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Fuel prices weigh heavily on German spending
Retail sales in Germany fell for the fifth consecutive month in February - against expectations of a rise on the back of positive economic data. But year-on-year figures remain fine.
February retail sales data for Germany showed a drop of 1.1 percent compared with the previous month, according to figures published by the federal statistics office, Destatis, on Friday. It's the fifth consecutive month that saw sales drop and has surprised analysts, who had expected an increase of 1.2 percent for February in a survey carried out by Dow Jones Newswires. Annalisan Piazza, an analyst for Newedge Strategy, says the drop is only a "sign of caution" in the current, uncertain retail environment - rather than a "symptom" of German domestic demand actually "collapsing." Compared with figures from February 2011, Destatis says German retail sales rose by 1.7 percent. Confidence vs. concern German consumer confidence has edged higher since the beginning of 2012, supported by a strong labor market and signs that the Germany economy is picking up speed again. But rising oil prices are "taking their toll" and diminishing "spending power," according to Stefan Schilbe, an analyst with HSBC Trinkhaus. "Concern over higher fuel prices will continue for a while because the Easter holidays will definitely bring higher prices again," he added. Christian Schulz of Berenberg Bank says sluggish retail activity can also be attributed to Germans not being "convinced that the eurozone debt crisis is over." Combined with higher prices at the pump, Schulz says ongoing fears about the debt crisis will weigh heavily on people's willingness to spend. According to indicators published by market research group GfK earlier this week, consumer confidence in Germany is expected to stagnate next month due to high oil prices. But it is thought that household spending will be robust enough to prevent Europe's biggest economy from falling into recession. uhe/za (Reuters, AFP, dpa) | [
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Tuaregs continue their advance in Mali
Tuareg fighters have now captured three major cities in Northern Mali and now control almost the entire region. The country's military seem powerless to halt the advance of these nomadic fighters.
Issa Dicko runs a writing course in the Malian capital of Bamako. He is a native of Timbuktu, the ancient city 800 kilometers (498 miles) northeast of the nation's capital. Following Gao and Kidal, Timbuktu is the latest major city to be captured by Tuareg forces, the MNLA. Dicko says his people are fighting for more autonomy. "The Tuaregs used to control the whole Sahara and were organized in confederations, each with its own government. Every organization was politically and socially autonomous," he said. With this unique form of self-governance and their traditional nomadic lifestyle, the Tuaregs have struggled for generations under the influence of the state, and the demands placed on them. The low point was the forced settlement of Tuaregs which started shortly after Mali achieved independence in 1960. A history of uprisings Tuaregs first rose up against the state in 1990. Back then the MNLA rebels were powerless against a much better equipped national army. Yehia Ag Mohamed Ali is the national coordinator of a German government-run project to develop the region around Timbuktu. He can remember those times well. "Back then a peace pact was agreed with the military, but no actual conditions were put in place. In 2006 there was a second revolt. And now we have a new rebellion, the likes of which we haven't seen before." One thing seems clear about this new conflict, though - the Tuareg army is much stronger than Mali's military forces. In fact, the March military coup came about for exactly this reason. The soldiers were angry at being sent to the north as cannon fodder and turned on the government. The military also have obsolete equipment and are poorly trained. That isn't the case with the MNLA troops. Yehia Ag Mohamed Ali is uncertain who is giving the Tuaregs their financial backing. "Does the money come from drug dealing? Does it come from the Libyan government? That's also possible," he thinks. The Tuaregs and al Qaeda Some even think the MNLA's financing could come from al Qaeda. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is certainly increasing its presence in the Sahara. The group is believed to have kidnapped a number of Europeans last November. Still, Issa Dicko doesn't believe that there is a link between the two organizations. Mainly because their goals are so different. "What benefits does al Qaeda get from partnering up with the Tuareg?" he asks. "The Tuareg are a nomadic people with camels and goats. The Tuaregs have never fought a battle to convert others to Islam." The overthrow of the Malian government could ultimately help the Tuaregs. Ousted Malian president Amadou Toumani Toure didn't pay much attention to the fate of this minority group, which makes up about one tenth of the country's population of 14 million. With the coup leaders now in power, the Tuaregs may well have more chance of getting what they want. After all, the new regime in Bamako is no doubt keen to see an end to the conflict. Author: Katrin Gänsler / al Editor: Susan Houlton / rm | [
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Nigeria hit by fatal bomb attacks
Bomb blasts in two Nigerian cities on Sunday have killed at least 38. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks in Kabuna and Jos, one of which detonated near a church holding Easter services.
A car bombing near a church in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna killed at least 38 people and injured dozens more on Sunday morning as churchgoers attended Easter services, officials in the West African nation said. Most of the fatalities were believed to be motorcycle-taxi drivers and beggars. It is thought the bomber was also among the dead. The All Nations Christian Assembly Church, which appeared to have been the target of the blast, was also severely damaged. "We were in the Holy Communion service and I was exhorting my people and all of a sudden, we heard a loud noise that shattered all our windows and doors," Pastor Joshua Raji said. Second blast Hours later an explosion hit the city of Jos, around 200 kilometers (124 miles) to the south-east, injuring several people. Though no group immediately claimed the Kaduna attack, suspicion immediately fell on the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram, which had reportedly been planning a strike during the Christian festival. The Kaduna bombing was reminiscent of a series of deadly strikes on churches and other locations carried out by Boko Haram on Christmas Day. The bloodiest attack took place outside a church in Abuja, where 44 people died. Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege," is seeking the introduction of strict Shariah law across the country and the release of all imprisoned followers. Its increasingly bloody insurgency has left more than 1,000 people dead since mid-2009. An attempt to hold indirect talks between the sect and Nigeria's government failed last month. Both Kaduna and Jos are situated along the dividing line between the mostly Muslim north and largely Christian south. The region has been the scene of religious tensions. Hundreds of people have died as a result of religious violence in Kaduna over the past few years. Jos was hit by acar bomb outside of a Catholic church just over a month ago, on March 11, killing at least 10. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. Pope sends message Hours earlier Pope Benedict XVI had condemned ongoing religious violence in Nigeria during his Easter speech at the Vatican. "To Nigeria, which in recent times has experienced savage terrorist attacks, may the joy of Easter grant the strength needed to take up anew the building of a society which is peaceful and respectful of the religious freedom of its citizens," he said. ccp, ncy / ai (AFP, AP, dpa) | [
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Bahrain hunger strike activist refused transfer to Denmark
Bahrain has rejected a request from the Danish government to transfer a jailed activist who has been on hunger strike for almost two months. The Danish citizen has been detained for his role in an anti-regime uprising.
A Danish request to transfer an anti-regime activist, currently on hunger strike in Bahrain, was rejected on Sunday, state news agency BNA reported. The handover of accused and convicted persons to foreign countries takes place under specific conditions ... This does not apply in Abdulhadi al-Khawaja's case," BNA quoted a Supreme Judiciary Council official as saying. Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who is a Danish citizen, has refused food since Feb 8. He is serving a life sentence over an alleged plot to topple Bahrain's Sunni monarchy during a month-long uprising by the island nation's Shiite majority one year ago. Danish Foreign Minister Villy Soevndal issued the request to his Bahrain counterpart to transfer Khawaja to Denmark for treatment amid heightened fears over his declining health, BNA reported on Saturday. Al-Khawaja has shed some 25 percent of his body weight and was "at risk of organ failure," Front Line Defenders, an Ireland-based non-governmental organization, said Tuesday after a visit to Bahrain's capital Manama. The organization warned that the 52-year-old activist could die in jail. The Bahraini authorities have confirmed that he had lost some 10 kilogram's (22 pounds), while his lawyer said that he was weak but conscious on Friday, when he visited him in hospital. Defending human rights Al-Khawaja is a former Middle East and North Africa director of Front Line Defenders and has documented human rights abuses in Bahrain for international rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Having lived in exile in Denmark for several decades he returned to Bahrain in 2001. Last April he was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment alongside six other opposition figures in a special security court, which was set up after Bahrain imposed martial law last March to quell political unrest. Opposition supporters have staged daily rallies in Bahrain calling for his release which have often sparked clashes with security forces. With tensions still high, former Formula One champion driver Damon Hill has demanded a rethink of the contentious Bahrain Grand Prix which is due to take place in two week's time. The premier international event was cancelled last year as a result of political unrest. ccp/pfd (AFP, AP) | [
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Learning the safety lessons of the Titanic
Even 100 years after the Titanic, there's still no such thing as an unsinkable ship. Modern cruise-liners are in fact more vulnerable to capsizing, but there is much that engineers can do to make ships safer.
The Titanic was famously said to be "unsinkable" – a boast that was exposed as an illusion in an accident that cost the lives of around 1,500 people. It was a disaster that shook the governments of the world's most important countries to take action, and in direct response, they adopted the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) in 1914. The building and operating of ships still adheres to SOLAS today, and the agreement has been continually updated to keep up with the technology. But the problems of ship-building have remained the same. Ship disasters generally have one of three causes. Either the ship collides with something - an iceberg or it runs aground where the hull is breached and water floods in. Or there is a fire or an explosion on board. Or a huge wave capsizes or damages the ship. Double-hull For all three scenarios there is one main solution - the consequences can only be brought under control if the ship has been divided into as many different closed, water-tight compartments as possible. If the hull is torn open, this means the flooding can be limited. "That means dividing the ship lengthwise, from side-to-side, and vertically, effectively creating a double-hull, which is absolutely necessary," says Peter Bronsart, professor of ship-building at the University of Rostock. Between the individual divisions, there need to be doors and gates, so-called bulkheads, but these have to be centrally controllable from the bridge. There were 15 bulkheads on the Titanic, and so 16 separate compartments. The front five were flooded in the collision with iceberg. Since the ship began sinking at the bow, and the separating walls were not built high enough, the water got into the other compartments. This separation of the ship's hull into various compartments also helps to prevent the spread of fire. "You divide the ship into individual fire zones, which helps organize fire extinguishing and evacuation operations," says Bronsart. Despite the now standard sub-division of ships, there are still many weak points in modern vessels, says Olle Rutgersson of the Chalmers University in Gothenburg, Sweden. His biggest concern is the danger of capsizing. "My personal opinion is that the cruise-liners we have today are probably not as well-built and safe as the Titanic was," he says. "But of course, on the Titanic they made the big mistake of not building the separating walls higher. If they had done what is done today, it would probably have survived the accident." Panorama windows or safety? But he says the case of the Costa Concordia, which hit rocks in the Mediterranean on January 13 and capsized, shows that modern cruise-liners are more unstable than the Titanic was. "But as we saw, cruise-liners also have difficulty surviving a breach in the hull," says Rutgersson. "If fact, the [Costa Concordia] sank much quicker and in a more dangerous way than the Titanic, because it capsized." Rutgersson is appealing for ship's sides to be built higher, and for the outer sides of ships to be made of detachable, floating units. But economic interests certainly stand in the way of such a plan. Shipping companies want plenty of rooms with large, panorama windows on the outside of their cruise-liners. And on cargo ships, they fear such plans would reduce capacity. Shipping safety begins a long time before an accident even happens. Because of modern navigation technology, and global weather predictions, ships usually don't even get into dangerous situations anymore. Indeed, ships are considered among the safest means of transport there are. According to Bronsart's estimate, around 80 percent of accidents are down to human error. Computer-aided safety systems Dirk Dreissig, of the Rostock-based Engineers Society for Maritime Safety Technique and Management (MARSIG), is developing a computer system to help officers and crews make the right decisions in an emergency. It collates information from various sensors, cameras and measuring devices throughout the ship and calculates what is likely to happen next after an accident. "What do we do when there is a fire in the machine room? Or a fire in the storeroom? Or on the car-deck?" says Dreissig. "There are modules that calculate the stability of the ship when the body of the ship has been damaged – if this or that compartment is opened and water gets in, what happens to my ship? Then there are modules for evacuation. Which way should people run?" The computer system then passes on the advice to the bridge, but only the captain can make the final decision to start a sprinkler, or alert passengers to an evacuation, or to close the bulkheads. "International maritime law dictates that the captain always has ultimate authority on board," says Dreissig. "He has to decide everything and carries the final responsibility if the decision goes wrong afterwards." Author: Fabian Schmidt / bk Editor: Gregg Benzow | [
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Breivik boastful in Norway massacre trial
Anders Behring Breivik has defended his massacre of 77 people in and around Oslo last year, admitting he would 'do it again.' The right-wing extremist returns to the witness stand on Wednesday on day three of his trial.
Norwegian extremist Anders Behring Breivik returned to the witness stand on Wednesday a day after declaring he would repeat the killings of 77 people if he had the chance. Breivik showed no remorse for the July massacre on Tuesday as he took the stand for the first time. "I have carried out the most sophisticated and spectacular political attacks committed in Europe since the Second World War," Breivik told the court, reading from a prepared statement. Detailing his anti-Islam, anti-multicultural ideology, he claimed to have acted out of "goodness, not evil" to prevent a wider civil war in Europe, insisting "I would have done it again." "The attacks on July 22 were preventive attacks, and I can therefore not acknowledge criminal guilt," Breivik said as the almost hour-long statement came to an end. Judge dismissed Breivik's testimony was delayed on Tuesday after one of the five judges in the trial was dismissed over revelations that he had posted a comment on Facebook saying Breivik deserved the death penalty. "The death penalty is the only fair outcome in this case!!!!" citizen judge Thomas Indreboe wrote a day after the July 22 attacks. After a 30-minute recess to reach the decision, Indreboe was replaced by backup lay judge Elisabeth Wisloeff. Breivik, 33, pleaded not guilty on Monday to setting off a car bomb at government headquarters in Oslo before embarking on a shooting spree at a youth summer camp organized by the ruling Labor Party. He claims to have been acting in self-defense to protect Norway from Muslims by attacking the left-leaning political party he blamed for the country's immigration policies. The trial is expected to last up to 10 weeks, with the next five days set aside for Breivik's testimony. ccp/acb (AFP, Reuters, dpa, AP) | [
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FAO: World food prices 'stabilizing at high level'
The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has registered the first drop in global food prices in April after months of increases. Record crops this year are expected to meet rising global food demand.
World food prices were stabilizing at a "relatively high level" in April, after they had been steadily rising in the first three months of the year, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Thursday. FAO's Food Outlook - a twice-yearly global market analysis - said food prices fell by 1.4 percent from March to April this year, driving down the organization's Food Price Index to 214 points from 217 points registered in the previous month. The FAO index measures monthly price changes for a food basket containing cereals, oilseeds, dairy products sugar and meat. "Although the index is significantly down from its record level of 235 points in April 2011, it is still well above the figures of under 200 which preceded the 2008 food crisis," FAO said in a statement. In its forecast for the coming 12 month, FAO predicts generally higher food supplies, but also rising demand for various agricultural produce. Unstable prices The FAO wouldn't rule out that in spite of expected record crops for the 2012/2013 harvest season, prices could rise again because strong demand would fall on low initial stocks. While 2012 cereals production was forecast to reach a new record with 2.37 billion tons, wheat production - a part of the cereals sector - is expected to fall 3.6 percent due to large declines in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, China, Morocco and the EU, the FAO report said. In addition, global soybean prices, which are already at their highest since July 2008, are likely to "rise further" as a result of tight supplies on the back of "continuous purchases" from the world's biggest buyer China, FAO analyst Abdolreza Abbassian told Reuters news agency. Abbassian added that further support for higher soybean prices would come from a 9.5 percent drop in output predicted for 2012 as soybeans would have to compete with maize for cropland especially in the United States. The FAO reports said that higher prices in the coming months were also due for oil crops and derived products which had been rising since the beginning of the year, facing an "increasingly tight" supply and demand situation. Steady or even falling prices the FAO predicts for rice, sugar and meat production as well as for milk and fishery products - sectors which are all in for substantial production growth in the coming months. uhe/gb (dpa, Reuters) | [
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Nowitzki and Dallas swept aside in NBA playoffs
German basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki has failed to lead his Dallas Mavericks to back-to-back NBA titles in the US. The defending champs were utterly floored at the first hurdle against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The NBA champion Dallas Mavericks were swept out of the NBA playoffs in the first round over the weekend, losing their seven-game series against the Oklahoma City Thunder 4-0. Playing with home-court advantage in their last-chance-saloon fourth game late on Saturday, the Mavericks led by 13 points early in the fourth and final quarter - but could not hold the advantage and lost 103-97. Nowitzki, Dallas' most influential player for years and the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winner of last season's finals against the Miami Heat, led his team even in defeat, notching up 34 points. Another veteran superstar on the Dallas roster, point guard Jason Kidd, bagged 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in an impressive all-round performance. The 33-year-old German, for whom time is starting to run short where silverware is concerned, lauded the young Oklahoma victors. The Thunder had racked up a far superior record to Dallas in the regular season, which is used as a basis to decide how US basketball's top sides will be seeded in the all-important playoffs. "I just thought they had more weapons than us," Nowitzki said after the game. The Mavericks - led by Nowitzki, 18-year veteran Kidd, and 34-year-old livewire Jason Terry - are the oldest team in all the NBA. The new order rises Rising star Kevin Durant led the Thunder throughout the four-game series, also scoring 24 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's encounter. But another of the young Oklahoma stars, James Harden, did the real game 4 damage, going on a late scoring tear to eradicate Dallas' advantage. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle praised the team that vanquished his side, hinting that the Thunder might be the surprise package of the entire playoff campaign - not just of the first round. "They're a great young team," Carlisle said. "And the thing that impressed me most about them is that they have a certain look in their eye right now; not just that they belong, but that this could be their time." The result was sweet revenge for the Oklahoma troupe, who lost out to the Mavericks last year as Nowitzki and co. swept towards their first ever championship. Nowitzki is the most successful German basketball player of all time by a wide margin. In 2006, he became the first ever European to win the coveted Most Valuable Player award for regular season performance; he's still the continent's only NBA MVP. He is also the highest scoring player in Mavericks history, by a whopping 4,000-point margin, and he's the 19th-most prolific basketball player in NBA history - with a realistic chance of climbing several more places before he bows out of the game. In his 2006 MVP season, "the Mavs" went into the playoffs as the top seeded team in all of basketball, only to crash out in the first round to the Golden State Warriors. For all his success, veteran Nowitzki is no stranger to this weekend's sadness either. msh/sej (AFP, AP, dpa) | [
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Sarkozy leads VE Day ceremony in Paris
In one of his final official duties before he hands over power to Francois Hollande, outgoing French President Nicolas Sarkozy has lead commemorations in Paris marking the end of World War II in Europe.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy laid a wreath Tuesday at the statue of Charles de Gaulle, to begin VE Day celebrations in the French capital Paris. Known around the world as VE Day, the 8th of May marks the surrender by Germany to Allied forces 67 years ago at the end of World War II. In what is set to be one of the final official ceremonies of his single five year term, Sarkozy then inspected French troops at the Arc de Triomphe war memorial. The Arc de Triomphe has a special significance for World War II since Adolf Hitler marched his Nazi troops through the iconic monument when Germany took over France in 1940. "Issues that unite us all" In his first official function since winning the election on Sunday, President-elect Francoise Hollande then joined Sarkozy at the Arc de Triomphe to take part in a wreath laying ceremony for World War I veterans. Sarkozy and Hollande stood side-by-side as a military band played the Marseillaise and the Chant des Partisans, the anthem of the French Resistance, before both shook hands with veterans. "There are issues that unite us all, beyond the person of Nicolas Sarkozy or of me," Hollande told journalists in a brief statement after the ceremony. The 57-year-old Socialist won elections on Sunday, ousting right-winger Sarkozy, and is due to take office formally on May 15. al/mz (AP, AFP) | [
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Lyon win women's Champions League
Olympique Lyon's women have won the Champions League final for the second time in a row, again beating German opposition, and again by a margin of 2-0. Lyon have further cemented their place as the best in the world.
It was the result observers of the women's game expected. Olympique Lyon went into Thursday's Champions League final in Munich as defending champions. They were also the champions of the French first division for the past five consecutive seasons, with a very real chance of making it six this year. The club is the highest-ranked in the women's game, and won the final at Munich's Olympic Stadium 2-0. German first division side FFC Frankfurt, meanwhile, finished a disappointing season in fourth place, and were something of a surprise entry in the final. Heavy favorites Lyon did the damage in the first half. Striker Eugenie Le Sommer opened the scoring from the penalty spot on 15 minutes. The French international stepped up and placed the ball calmly in the top-right corner. Abily scores in style Just before the half-hour mark, a poor bit of goalkeeping led to a sublime piece of attacking. Frankfurt goalie Desiree Schumann came out of her penalty area and sought to use her head to clear a dangerous long pass. Schumann's header, however, was weak; it fell to veteran French international Camille Abily, who side-footed a beautiful volleyed lob over the stricken Schumann and into the wide open net. Abily's impressive shot was taken from at least 25 meters out. Last season, Lyon dispatched Turbine Potsdam - German league champions for two consecutive seasons now - 2-0 in the final at Craven Cottage in London. An impressive 50,212 fans turned up to watch the match at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Bayern Munich's former home before moving to the Allianz Arena. Last year's Champions League final drew a crowd of just 14,303. Women's football enjoys a loyal following in Germany - one of the traditional powerhouses of the sport. The 2011 World Cup, held in Germany, broke a string of all-time attendance records for the women's game. Author: Mark Hallam Editor: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill | [
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Schäuble receives Charlemagne Prize
German Finance Minister and veteran of several governments Wolfgang Schäuble is seen as a man for tough jobs. On Thursday, he received the prestigious Charlemagne Prize in Aachen.
Ever since the election in fall 2009, Wolfgang Schäuble has been the most important minister in Angela Merkel's government. He's the one with the most weight in political affairs, and, as the government's real number 2, is deeply involved in international politics - a constant presence at every important international gathering. On Thursday he received the Charlemagne Prize in Aachen for his service for European unification, an honor previously bestowed on the likes of Winston Churchill, Bill Clinton, Pope John Paul II, and indeed Merkel. The crowning of his political career Schäuble, a lawyer who hails from the Baden region of south-western Germany, is one of the most important players in the current efforts to rescue the euro. He's seen as an eminence grise - both in Brussels and Berlin. Many of the measures that have so far been adopted carry his signature - for example, he played a central role in negotiations over the EFSF and ESM rescue funds and worked closely with the German chancellor on the European fiscal pact to impose budget discipline. Now he's being asked to take on a key formal position in solving the crisis by becoming head of the eurogroup - even though he's no longer young and anything but fit. He'll be 70 in the fall, but the new job would crown his long career in politics. The "old fox," as he's sometimes known, has been in the business for over 40 years. As he says, "Anyone who has dedicated his professional life to politics wants to determine the way things happen. And in a democracy, one calls that power." He obviously enjoys the challenges of the current crisis; as he told a German paper just last week: "The chance of determining how things should be is still something that fires my imagination." A life like a political thriller Schäuble's political biography is a bit like a thriller, with intrigue, hard knocks and scandals - there have even been suitcases stuffed with cash. Schäuble graduated from high school just as the Berlin Wall was going up in 1961, and he decided to join the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In 1972, under the chancellorship of Social Democrat Willy Brandt, Schäuble made his first try at a seat in the German parliament. He won his constituency and has remained the member for Offenburg, on the border with France, until today. Ten years later, in 1981, he started his long intense relationship with Helmut Kohl. In 1984, Schäuble became Kohl's chancellery minister. As the man who stood at the levers of power in the old Bonn republic, he was known throughout the country. Then when the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, Schäuble became West Germany's negotiator with the former communist East Germany over the Reunification Treaty. In less than twelve months, on October 3, 1990, unity had been achieved. Attack on home territory But only a few days later, Schäuble was the victim of an assassination attempt. On October 12, in a public house in the town of Oppenau near his home in Baden, a psychopath shot him, injuring him severely. His life suffered a drastic change: from then on, he was confined to a wheelchair. Schäuble is a public servant with a strong, almost Prussian sense of duty. What followed was the fight of his life. He refused to give in, and took up his duties as interior minister after just six weeks. Relationship with Helmut Kohl The following summer, on June 20, 1991, Schäuble made one of his most important speeches in the German parliament, which helped to convince the members to vote in favor of moving the seat of government from Bonn to Berlin. But in 1998, he failed to convince Kohl not to stand again for chancellor. Kohl lost, dragging Schäuble down with him. A CDU scandal and a career setback In January 2000 Schäuble had to admit that he accepted a DM 100,000 donation for his party from an arms trade lobbyist. Schäuble didn't tell the whole truth to parliament: it's an error for which he has never forgiven himself and for which he has publicly asked for forgiveness. As a consequence, in February 2000, he resigned as head of his party's parliamentary group. He and Kohl became bitter enemies; in a television interview in April, Schäuble spoke of "an intrigue with criminal elements," and "a campaign to destroy me personally." The pupil broke with his mentor - for good. Checkered relations with Merkel At that time, Angela Merkel was CDU secretary general. In December 1999 she wrote her now famous article in which she advised her party to "emancipate" itself from Helmut Kohl. Kohl believed that Schäuble was behind the move, but in fact he was as surprised as Kohl was. Nowadays he says he doesn't feel bad about it any more. Schäuble and Merkel were never a team, though it was he who made her secretary general in 1998. In 2000, she overtook him to become party leader and in 2002 Schäuble said he didn't think she'd make a good candidate for chancellor. Once she became strong enough, she called him back into government. In 2005, he became interior minister in the grand coalition with the Social Democrats, and in 2009 he was unexpectedly given the finance ministry. European from conviction Schäuble is passionate about Europe, and is committed to greater integration. The Franco-German alliance is particularly important to him. Whether it was the European single market in 1986, the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, the Stability and Growth Pact in 1996 or the Lisbon Treaty in 2007 - Schäuble was there. He is highly respected in the EU, and across party lines in Germany. He's flattered when people call him the last convinced European in Berlin, and he certainly doesn't look tired of his job. He continues to repeat that the euro "is a stable currency, and, so long as we don't make any serious mistakes, it will continue to be so." He blames "a lack of financial market regulation" and "an excess of state indebtedness" for the currency's current problems. But, he adds, one can learn from a crisis. "Europe has always emerged strengthened from every crisis. It'll be the same this time," he insists. "In ten years we will have a structure that will be much closer to what one calls a political union." That's his aim. Schäuble has had many jobs, and he's often aimed high: in 1998 he wanted to be chancellor, and in 2004, he would have liked to have been president. But as one commentator said, "Whatever he does, he wants to do it better than anyone before him. That's the only vanity that he allows himself." Author: Iveta Ondruskova / mll Editor: Ben Knight | [
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Iran Issues Enrichment Threat But Considers Russian Proposal
Iran said Monday that it would restart uranium enrichment work despite international objections. At the same time, Tehran indicated that negotiations were still possible and that Russian options were being considered.
Iran said Monday that large-scale uranium enrichment work, the focus of fears it is seeking nuclear weapons, will begin in "due course" in response to the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) decision to report the clerical regime to the UN Security Council. "The order from the president lifts the voluntary restrictions and Iran will resume its work," government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham told reporters, referring to an order from hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But when asked to say what specific work had already resumed -- and if that included enrichment equipment being put into action -- he replied that "technical issues are the concern of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran." "They will follow the directive and they will resume their technical work. The Atomic Energy Organization will give its order in due course," Elham said. Enrichment is a process that involves feeding uranium gas through cascades of centrifuges. When purified to low levels the result is reactor fuel, but the process can be extended to make the fissile core of a nuclear bomb. Iran had agreed to suspend this work, as well as centrifuge assembly, as part of a 2003 and 2004 deal with Britain, France and Germany. The current crisis was sparked by Iran's decision last August to resume uranium conversion -- which makes the gas fed into centrifuges -- and start laboratory-scale enrichment on Jan. 10. Enrichment announcement in retaliation to IAEA decision The kick-starting of full-scale fuel cycle work comes in retaliation against Saturday's vote by the IAEA's 35-nation board to report Iran to the UN Security Council, a turning point in the long-running nuclear dispute that exposes Tehran to the threat of sanctions. The country, which maintains it only wants to generate atomic energy, announced Sunday that it will also no longer allow reinforced inspections of its nuclear facilities. "We are now at the end of one phase where the Islamic republic was building trust, going beyond its Non-Proliferation Treaty commitments and cooperating within the framework of the additional protocol," Elham explained. "There has been a good chance for our negotiation partners to reach a good result. But now the door for voluntary measures has been closed. What remains open is the door of negotiation," he added. "Our use of nuclear technology is very transparent, and as the president has said, we will continue our nuclear program within the framework of the NPT. Iran dos not have any plans to get out of the NPT." Iranian president laughs at "idiots" behind UN resolution Ahmadinejad has laughed off the resolution and branded Iran's international opponents as "idiots," while Elham insisted the resolution was a "victory" for the Islamic republic. "From our position it was a victory. The government and people are hand in hand and that is a victory. The breaking of the consensus on the IAEA board was a victory. And the position of the West shows the second and third generation of the Islamic republic that they don't want Iran to progress, and that too is a victory," he insisted. He also asserted that oil-rich Iran still had the upper hand when it came to enduring any eventual sanctions. "Energy is a matter for the West, and we are not interested in causing problems for them. Any decision in this regard will not hurt us. It will hurt the consumers and not the producers. We are in a position of power when it comes to energy, and it will not have any affect on our budget," he said. The spokesman also dismissed rumors of fierce divisions within the regime -- dominated by hardliners but featuring some more pragmatic conservatives -- on how to handle the escalation crisis. "We deal within the framework of the regime, and on the matter of foreign affairs the government implements this policy. Nothing special has happened in this regard," Elham said. Iran ready to negotiate with Russia over enrichment offer However, in what was interpreted as a sign that Iran was still ready to negotiate, Tehran said that Russia's offer to shift Iran's uranium enrichment to Russian territory was still up for discussion. Before IAEA voted to report the Iranian nuclear program to the Security Council on Saturday, Iran had threatened to walk away from future talks with Moscow on a proposal which was seen as a means of assuring the world that the process would not produce materials that could be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran on Sunday indicated it remained ready for talks on the Russian proposal. Steinmeier: Russian proposal a way back to diplomacy German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday urged Iran to accept the Russian proposal, saying it "can be the key to a negotiated solution." The decision taken by the IAEA to report Iran to the UN Security Council "a show of international unity", Steinmeier said. "It was a very strong and determined signal to the Iranian leadership that is should fully suspend its nuclear program." Germany's top diplomat said the Iranian nuclear issue was the most important task facing the world. "Solving the Iranian nuclear issue is the key task for the immediate future unless we want an arms race in the Middle East," Steinmeier said. | [
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One Million Revelers Line Streets of Cologne for Carnival
The World Cup was the theme, but revelers also poked fun at the bird flu crisis as one million people took to the streets of Cologne on Monday for the biggest carnival of the season in Germany.
The Rose Monday parade is the high point of a week of festivities which sees Germans letting down their hair, donning silly costumes and consuming liberal quantities of sweets and beer. People braved freezing temperatures in Cologne to line the seven-kilometer (four-mile) route of the parade to catch a glimpse of the 96 floats which began rolling at the traditional time of 11:11 am. "Carnival is part of life, like eating and drinking. You should never miss carnival, even if there is rain and snow," said Gisela Gehlen, 66, who was part of a group of women waiting to see their grandchildren on one of the floats. The nearby cities of Düsseldorf and Mainz also held carnival parades on Monday, attended by hundreds of thousands. No bird flu blues in Cologne In line with the generally irreverent atmosphere, some revelers in Cologne donned face masks and what appeared to be white chemical protection suits marked with the words "I will survive H5N1" to poke fun at the stringent measures introduced following the recent outbreak of bird flu in several German regions. One man dressed as a bird wore a notice saying "I have been vaccinated". With the World Cup kicking off in just over 100 days, many revelers wore football jerseys or black and white hats to resemble balls. Wolfram Teggen, a 46-year-old reveler from Cologne, went one step further, dressing in an oversized green tunic made to look like a soccer pitch. "I am not even a football fan. I'll just be glad if Germany gets through the first round, but I don't think they'll reach the final," he said. Pure fun Sweets and chocolates rained down on the crowd from the floats, as marching bands played music that was upbeat if not always in tune. Carnival is a tradition stemming from Catholic regions in the west and south of Germany, but it is rapidly being adopted by cities in the north and east, such as in Berlin where half a million people gathered for a parade on Sunday. It is held before the Christian season of Lent, which starts on Wednesday. | [
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Germany, France at Helm of EU Constitution Makeover
Sold to the public as an "EU constitution" the first time around, the document meant to structure and streamline the bloc failed to fly. Now, France and Germany are hoping a repackaged treaty might prove more marketable.
The EU Constitution is being dusted off and given a whole new image in an attempt to make it more palatable to a skeptical public. Overseeing the makeover are German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Jacques Chirac. Critics claimed that the idea of a constitution was too formal and threatening to many voters, especially those in France and the Netherlands, whose populations rejected the draft document when it was put to a referendum last year. The aim now is to give the document a name that more accurately reflects its purpose. According to the Financial Times, one alternative being floated is "institutional treaty." While that may not be a particularly sexy label, it does describe one of the main reasons why the text was conceived -- to streamline and reform the bloc's institutions so that it is better able to cope with enlargement. With Paris and Berlin overseeing the document's future, though, conflict is bound to occur. Berlin has said it prefers to revive the text more or less in its entirety but tinker with the passages that caused concern to make them more acceptable. Paris has indicated that it is reluctant to put the charter to voters a second time, preferring to adopt single elements instead. Reports of a rapprochement between the two positions started to surface earlier this month, however. The German newsweekly Der Spiegel said that, according to plans, the charter would be reduced to its first two parts which set out the EU's competences and the fundamental rights of the union. The third and largest part of the treaty, which focuses on condensing and re-ordering existing EU treaties, would be handled separately. The operation to revive the charter is expected to begin in earnest under the German EU presidency in the first half of 2007. | [
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Creators Praise Popularity of Berlin Holocaust Monument
As the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin nears its first anniversary, initiators looked back at a year of controversy -- and success.
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews in Europe in Berlin was visited by 3.5 million people in its first year, organizers said, but nonetheless it remains controversial. Even today, the response to the site is divided, acknowledged Lea Rosh, the activist who fought for years to establish a German memorial to European Jews killed by the Nazis. Looking back at the year, Salomon Korn, a member of the memorial's board of trustees, admitted the memorial was not to everyone's liking. But, he said, the number of visitors attested to the monument's power. The memorial, not far from the Brandenburg Gate, consists of an open space covered with 2,700 gray cement columns of different heights, and an underground Information Center. Uwe Neumärker, who heads up the foundation that created the memorial -- officially the Foundation for the Memorial to the Murdered Jews -- acknowledges that the 3.5 million visitor number is just an estimate. Still, the underground information center had 490,000 registered visitors, making the site a "tourism magnet," he said. Respectful treatment Despite fears of vandalism, the monument has been treated with respect, Neumärker said. And in the underground documentation center, which contains historical information on the genocide perpetrated by the Nazis, the people are "well behaved and quiet, without us having to tell them," he added. The monument was designed by US architect Peter Eisenman, at a total cost of 27 million euros ($35 million). It opened with a ceremony on May 10, 2005, in the presence of 1,200 guests. Two days later, it was opened to the public. This year, on May 13 a "long night of memorial," with readings, discussions and theater performances, is planned. The association's Korn, speaking on Germany's national Deutschlandradio, said the strength of the field of pillars is that it doesn't have a single given message, but rather is open to interpretation from everyone. And criticism of the plan -- for instance, that it is unfair to have a monument only to murdered Jews and not to other groups that were persecuted by the Nazis, like the Sinti-Roma or homosexuals -- has died down somewhat, acknowledged initiator Rosh. "It is wonderful for us to see so many people going there," she said. And, she noted, visitors did not seem to have an attitude that the Holocaust was something no longer important and best left in the past. Little vandalism Up to now, there have been five cases of swastikas being painted on the memorial's pillars, and one star of David. Neumärker discounted the vandalism, calling it "basically, nothing." During the creation of the monument, Rosh set off an outcry when she said she planned to bury the tooth of a Holocaust victim under one of the columns. There was also a discussion over appropriate monument behavior, given the penchant of certain younger visitors to hop from pillar to pillar. A sausage stand at the monument's edge (it is accessible from all sides, and open around the clock, seven days a week) also came under heavy fire. Now, a private builder has set up a disputed pavilion that houses a café, bookstore and snack stand. "There is always debate over this monument. And that's a good thing. As long as people are talking about it, it will stay alive," Neumärker said. | [
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Eastern German Town Boasts Cutting-Edge Technology
There's more to eastern Germany than just chronic joblessness and neo-Nazism. The state of Thuringia is the nerve center of sophisticated and innovative optical technology.
Former Communist East Germany may today be associated with renovated prefabricated housing blocks and empty city centers. But the city of Jena in the eastern German state of Thuringia effortlessly defies that image. The place is a hive of activity these days. Not only is it a major center for the optics industry there is also a technology and innovations park with around 60 firms and several research centers on the campus of the University of Applied Sciences. One of the most innovative companies is Jenoptik which focuses on six areas of expertise. According to Jenoptik's Norbert Thiel, lasers and particularly diode lasers are an important focus of attention and will continue to be so in the future. "It's very clear the laser processing material markets will be one of our main investments in the future. A huge market which is coming up is the laser soldering and laser welding," said Thiel. "And the second point of diode lasers is the medicine market. For example, hair removal is a huge market for laser diodes." Aerospace and back to earth Another area that Jenoptik is increasingly trying to gain a foothold in is aerospace. The famous multi-spectral camera was developed in Jena for the Russian Mir space project. Norbert Thiel points out that today Jenoptik is very active in a current aerospace project called Rapid Eye. "We analyze with this camera from space the chlorophyll content of the earth so we can make direct earth observations," Thiel pointed out. "We are a market leader in the field of sensor technology. We aren't intending to assemble and design satellites but we are very much focused on this technology in the future." Back on earth, life is destined to get difficult for speeding motorists following the work done by Jenoptik together with its partner company Robot. Jenoptik has developed a speed measurement system based on lasers. And, says Thiel, the future will be in digital speed cameras. So there will be no film to replace and a speeding motorist won't even know he's been caught. "We have a lot of expertise here. If you measure a distance five times in very short pulses you get the velocity, you get the speed of a car. We developed a speed measurement system based on lasers. So digital camera, the future will be an infrared flash." Cures for cancer and multiple sclerosis Jena is also home to a range of top-notch research institutes such as The Institute for Physical High Technology which performs research and development projects in the areas of magnetics, quantum electronics, micro-systems and laser technology. A further top address for cutting-edge research is the renowned Beutenberg Campus in Jena. It includes several research institutes which link the fields of physics and optics to new applications in the life sciences. Wacker Biotech is a prominent example. Its core focus is in the manufacture of so-called biologics. "These are active ingredients for pharmaceuticals. This is a new class of molecules which developed during the last, I would say, 30 years and what we normally know is so called small molecules," explained Wacker's Anke Suter. "They're used in the treatment of cancers, multiple sclerosis and because they are proteins they can act in a way that synthesized molecules can't currently. This is a new market and it is strongly growing with an average growth rate of 16 per cent," Suter added. "Software is the key driver" Another big name on the Jena research landscape is Carl Zeiss, which was founded in 1846 as a workshop for precision mechanics and optics in Jena and quickly gained a worldwide reputation for the high quality of its products. "I think innovation is the key of what our business is all about," said Ulrich Simon, president and chief executive of Carl Zeiss Micro Imaging in Jena. "Innovation is the core driver. We generate a lot of patents, roughly two patents a day over the entire organization," he added. It's obvious that the future for Carl Zeiss lies in automation and miniaturization. "To really turn data in information knowledge -- I think that will be the key driver for the future business," said Simon. "Software is one of the key drivers. What you want to do in the end is you just put a sample into the laptop and get out the information, by just hitting one button. This will be our vision." | [
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Iran Tops Agenda at G8 Ministers' Meeting in Moscow
Foreign ministers of the Group of Eight countries are holding talks in Moscow Thursday that are expected to raise pressure on Iran over its nuclear program.
The meeting at a mansion in central Moscow was seen as one of the last opportunities to iron out differences ahead of the July 15-17 summit in Saint Petersburg of leaders of the G8, which comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. Moscow, by focusing on Iran's nuclear intentions, may seek to prevent next month's G8 summit becoming a magnet for criticism of its democratic credentials. Arriving at the talks, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he would meet Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, probably next Wednesday, to discuss proposals by the UN Security Council members plus Germany, aimed at allaying Western concerns about Tehran's nuclear program. Iran has still not said whether or not it will accept a package of incentives proposed on June 6 in Vienna by Germany, the U.S., Britain, France, China and Russia. The incentives are conditional on Iran forgoing large-scale uranium enrichment and answering questions about its program. Iran has a two-week deadline French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said that Iran must reply to the international plan before the July 15-17 G8 summit. "It seems clear to me that Iran must say yes. Then there will be negotiations," Douste-Blazy said. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice earlier said the ministers would talk about Iran, about how to deal with the Palestinians' Hamas government and about democracy in Russia and Belarus. "We should also talk about democracy," Rice told the broadcaster CNN, expressing a desire for Russia to "enhance its commitment to democratic development" as well as referring to Belarus and other "places that have yet to see a democratic future." Russia has played a significant role in the standoff over Iran's nuclear program, being a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a close ally of Tehran. President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday again underlined his differences with the West on the Iran issue, saying Russia did not intend "to join any sort of ultimatum, which only pushes the situation into a dead end." Amid reports that Moscow wants to limit discussion of its human rights record or commitment to democracy at next month's summit, a senior Kremlin official defended Russia's role in neighboring parts of ex-communist Europe. "Moscow has done much more for democracy in central Europe than Washington or London," said the deputy head of Putin's office, Vladislav Surkov, at a briefing Wednesday. "It's Moscow which democratized this immense space." But if Russia hopes to avoid discussion of accusations that it is backsliding on democracy and media freedom, the British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett reiterated that Britain had concerns about human rights and the rule of law in Russia. Beckett, in an interview with Russia's Kommersant broadsheet, also said she hoped next month's summit would give a signal about the importance of competitive and open energy markets. "Russia's actions are inconsistent with G8 democratic norms" Four prominent U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday urged President George W. Bush to rebuke Putin over the "deterioration of democracy" in his country. It is important that the other G8 heads of state "make clear that Russia's actions are inconsistent with G8 democratic norms," read a letter signed by Democratic Representative Tom Lantos and Republican David Dreier, together with senators John McCain, a Republican, and Democrat Joe Lieberman. Earlier, an analyst close to the Kremlin, the head of the Moscow-based Institute for Political Research, Sergei Markov, said he expected Thursday's meeting to be "rather tense." | [
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The "Californication" of European Cities
Marathons, Love Parades, World Youth Day, Christopher St. Day, World Cup, Carnival of Cultures: The European city has become a stage for fleeting productions. But does all that partying have consequences?
Marathons: These days there are over 200 every year in Germany alone. There is hardly a day without "Detour" signs on the roads because the people of small, medium or large cities have taken over the streets to celebrate something. Christopher Street Day, Love Parade, Carnival of Cultures, not to mention the Pope's visit and the most recent World Cup festivities -- the European city has become a stage for a continually rotating series of parties and festivals. The production of events that permeate the entire city for just a few days is a phenomenon that's been given a name: The "Californication" of European cities. Urban bodies In his book "Urban Bodies -- A Breakdown of the Problem" (2002), Claus Dreyer, a professor of architecture in Detmold, explains the relationship between the human body and the architecture in a city. According to Dreyer, the "rhythm of life" during a given epoque can be interpreted both in the movements and gestures of the people and in the arrangement of elements in the cities. Charles Baudelaire's immortalized bourgeois pedestrian, who walked along slowly and carelessly, was dubbed an urban prototype by German philosopher Walter Benjamin at the beginning of the 20th century. The passageways and boulevards of Belle Epoque Paris correspond to him, Dreyer said. Botho Strauss's pedestrian in "Paare, Passanten" (1981) replaced Baudelaire's around the turn of the millennium. "Disoriented and apathetic, he crosses through foyers, underpasses and shopping centers that all look the same and don't allow for boredom or communication," wrote the architecture professor. "Californication" in Europe Increasingly, disinterest in the urban unit is juxtaposed with a new "body cult" in cities, which manifests itself in events like the Love Parade, Christopher Street Day or Carnival of Cultures. These "body cult" events lead to a loss of reality in the city by dressing it up for the temporary festivals, Deyer wrote. The phrase 'Californication' -- an intentionally vulgar compound of "California" and "fornication" -- was first used in the 1970s and 1980s by Oregon residents to spurn the massive influx of Californians moving across the northern border of their state. As far as Europe is concerned, "Californication" is used in the context of mass sport events (city marathons, for example), numerous festivals, performances, and shows that enliven the urban body, Dreyer found. But the term's allusions to sexuality and imposition are hardly lost. It could be, he added, that the "Californication" of the European city is a final protest against ever-increasing digitalization and virtualization, which is, in a sense, stealthily dismembering the city. The film "The Matrix" is a portrayal of such urban disintegration. Renewed religiosity and patriotism? Observations like Deyer's may be useful in answering the questions specialists and journalists pose every time a religious, sporting or other kind of event draws hundreds of thousands of Europeans onto the streets of their city. When the Pope visited Germany in 2005, many spoke of a new religiosity among the people. Recently, the World Cup sparked talk of renewed patriotism. It seems as if the people who called "Benedict, Benedict!" last year are the same ones who hoisted their flags and shouted "Deutschland, Deutschland!" last week. Dreyer is not the only one who fears that the festival -- the incarnate metaphor of public life -- could become the doom of the very thing it represents. The rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers criticized urban superficiality and the decline of Western civilization in their 1999 song "Californication." And Berlin philosopher Dietmar Kamper (1936 - 2001) agreed with Deyer already in 1976 when he wrote: "As soon as society renews its demand for 'games', it will become unreal and abstract and will accelerate its own self-destruction." | [
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US Blog That Holds Government Responsible Wins Weblog Award
From pushing people to live for the moment to protecting bears, from bicycle activism to holding politicians accountable, the 2006 Best of the Blogs Weblog awards (BOBs) showed the variety of the blogosphere.
For the first time in the three-year history of Deutsche Welle's Best of the Blogs awards, an American blog, the Sunlight Foundation, received the competition's Best Weblog honors. PaidContent.org received the award for Best English Weblog. "The Sunlight Foundation blog is a group of people who are not only writing about transparency in American politics, they are helping motivate their audience to uncover wrongdoing and shine a light on how the US Congress operates," said US jury member Mark Glaser. "Not only are they fighting corruption, but they are also creating tools so that average citizens can become watchdogs on their own." Recently the group's "Is Congress a Family Business?" project uncovered 19 members of the US Congress who paid their spouses a total of $636,000 (495,250 euros) in 2006. Blog encourages involvement in politics "The winning blog pushes for active public involvement across party lines and takes an exemplary stand for democracy in the blogosphere," said Uta Thofern, editor-in-chief of DW-WORLD.DE, Deutsche Welle's Internet presence. "The group also pulled off one of the coups of the American blogosphere this year by bringing together liberal and conservative bloggers in its 'Exposing Earmarks' project," Glaser said, adding that the project exposed 1,800 cases of hidden funding in a legislative bill and led to a new transparency law in the United States. Weblogs of all types, including a Russian blog focused on fighting corruption in soccer and another by a Dutch journalist in Belgrade, were also named winners in the competition's 15 categories and 10 languages. Two Persian blogs share Reporters Without Borders award The Reporters Without Borders Award, which has become an integral part of the BOBS, was shared by two Persian-language bloggers. "The pair of Iranian winners defends free expression in a country that extensively censors the Internet and jails bloggers who are too critical of its government," said jury member Julien Pain of Reporters Without Borders. The first blog, "Kosoof," is a photoblog that proves that pictures sometimes do more for freedom of expression than words by publishing photos of Iranian dissidents with their families after release from prison. The second, "Tanine Sokut" by Hamed Mottaghi, denounces human rights violations in Iran and reports on issues that aren't covered by the national media. PaidContent.org best English blog The Jury Award for the best English-language Weblog in 2006 was given to paidContent.org. The jury said it respected the blog's ability to move quickly in breaking news stories and commenting on developments in the digital media industry. "If only all industries were covered as exhaustively as Paidcontent.org covers for-profit media," said US jury member Lisa Stone. "Nobody -- no newspaper, program or Web site, indeed few analysts -- covers the space as well as the paidContent.org team." Awards ceremony in Berlin All of the BOBs awards were announced at an awards ceremony Saturday in Berlin. The BOBs' jury of bloggers, independent journalists and media experts engaged with the audience in a discussion about trends and development in each language's blogosphere. Over 5,500 blogs and podcasts were submitted to the third annual Best of the Blogs, twice as many as in 2005, and over 100,000 votes were cast online to award a Users' Prize to the public's favorite blog in each of the BOBs' 15 categories. Blogopedia The 2006 Best of the Blogs competition ended when the doors were closed Saturday night at Berlin's Museum for Communication, where the ceremony was held, but the Blogopedia, the Deutsche Welle's Weblog catalog, is still open for suggestions for next year's contest as well as to provide a source for unique and interesting blogs to promote themselves. Whether the blogs lists 1,000 ways to open a beer bottle or contains the daily thoughts of Iran's former vice president, the Blogopedia has something you'll want to start reading. The Blogopedia also makes it possible to search for blogs and podcasts according to type, topic and language and then rate and comment on what you find. | [
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It's a Dog's Life
Hmm, a mint biscuit or a garlic cookie? There are some difficult culinary decisions facing pampered pooches in Germany.
Dogs in Wiesbaden -- one of Germany's most affluent cities -- have a tough life. First, there is the arduous stroll through the haute couture stores in the luxurious Wilhelmstrasse. Then there is the patient wait while owners take a flutter at the casino or a dip in the thermal springs. But, fortunately, the poor pooches have some compensation -- their very own bakery offering a choice of tuna cookies, love bones, vitality bars and other tasty creations for the affluent, urban dog. A former florist, Janine Saraniti-Lagerin, set up her "Dog's Goodies" bakery for canine customers three months ago after being inspired by a television report about similar US shops. In a stylish city where it just wouldn't do to be seen with a chubby canine, the tidbits on sale are, of course, non-fattening and sugar free. They also contain no salt or chemicals that might harm the sensitive little beasts. Pricey treats for pets Although Germans might spend the least in Europe when it comes to putting food on the table, it seems they're willing to make an exception for the chow that lands in their best friend's bowl. Business is booming at the bakery even though the prices for the tasty treats range from 19 to 32 euros pro kilo ($10.90 to $18.60 per pound). Even if not every dog owner frequents the doggy biscuit shop, the bakery is the talk of the town. "The doggy bakery is what we owners have all been talking about when we walk our dogs," said customer Jutta Schneider. Schneider said she brings her male Havanese, Amor, to the shop once a week for his favorite snack, potato balls. And in case Wiesbaden's inhabitants fail to find just the right gift for their cherished pets at the city's famous Christmas markets, the bakery will be offering Christmas stockings filled with doggy cookies during the festive season. | [
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EU Split Over Imposing Tougher Entry Conditions on Turkey
European Union leaders have divergent views on Turkey's troubled bid to join the 25-nation bloc, with Germany and France set to call for tougher conditions on Ankara. Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Poland want doors open.
Representing EU hardliners, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Jacques Chirac are meeting in Mettlach, Germany, to demand stronger action against Ankara for refusing to open its ports to Greek Cypriot vessels. Both leaders said last week's proposals by the European Commission for a partial suspension of Turkish accession talks needs to be toughened up by introducing a "review clause" allowing any EU state to veto a resumption of negotiations with Ankara. "Our goal is that the Ankara Protocol (on regular trade with the 10 new EU members) will be implemented," she told reporters. "We don't want to set any kind of ultimatum." Merkel, who opposes Turkey's full entry to the EU but supports offering the country a "privileged partnership," has said a vote should only take place after an 18-month waiting period. Differing opinions However, in comments made to the European Parliament, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said he favored the commission's call for a partial freeze in talks. Vanhanen said the commission's stance provided a "good basis for a decision" on Turkey when EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels next Monday. The commission -- the EU's executive agency -- is urging the bloc's governments to put negotiations on ice for eight of 35 policy areas covered in the talks because of Turkey's non-compliance with EU demands. The Finnish premier also insisted that he wanted discussions on Turkey to be kept off the agenda of the EU summit in Brussels on Dec.14 and 15. While admitting ties with Ankara were difficult at the moment, Vanhanen said plans for opening the European club to Turkey should be kept on track. Open door Ties between Poland and EU heavyweights France and Germany were strained further when Polish President Lech Kaczynski contradicted the Franco-German view on Turkish accession at a summit on Tuesday. "Poland is of the view that membership talks with Turkey should continue," he said. The foreign ministers of Estonia and Sweden have also cold-shouldered Merkel and Chirac's tough line. "Our relations to Turkey should be neither frozen nor should any doors for further (EU) expansion be closed," said Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet in comments published in the German daily Die Welt. Both ministers said continuing membership talks with Ankara was vital to insure that Turkey continued its democratic reforms. Bildt and Paet underlined that the division of Cyprus could only be resolved by working with the Turkish government. The island has been split since 1974 between the Greek Cypriot south, which is part of the EU, and the Turkish north which is not recognized and subject to an EU boycott. "A reunification of Cyprus will only be achieved if Turkey is brought closer to the EU --otherwise there is the apparent risk of a permanent division," the ministers said. Other countries onboard Britain and Italy are also part of the growing number of EU states opposed to an overly harsh stance on Turkey. In addition, Ankara's allies in the United States have weighed into the debate. US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burn said in Brussels late Monday that any move to close the door on Turkish membership would be a major "strategic miscalculation." The US envoy said the EU's decision last year to open accession talks with Turkey was one of the most important decisions made by Europe at the beginning of the 21st century. "Turkey is the bridge" between the West and Islam, Burn said of the predominantly Muslim country. Turkey warns of "historic mistake" In comments made in Ankara, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also cautioned the EU against making a "historic mistake." "Turkey is as important for the European Union as the European Union is for Turkey," said Erdogan, who accused "certain right-wing" parties in Europe of lacking vision. The Turkish prime minister has said repeatedly that Ankara would only move on the ports issue once an international embargo was lifted on northern Turkish Cyprus which voted in favor of a UN-sponsored reunification plan for the island in 2004. EU foreign ministers will try and clinch agreement on how to proceed with Turkey in talks in Brussels on Dec. 11. However, diplomats in Brussels concede that given the high stakes in EU-Turkey relations, EU leaders will also have to inevitably discuss the question. | [
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Court Refuses to Return Seized Art to Nazi Doctor's Relatives
A Federal Administration Court in Leipzig has decided the town of Chemnitz does not have to return confiscated art objects to the heirs of a Nazi doctor.
The Federal Administrative Court in the city of Leipzig said there were no grounds for the restitution of art which has been confiscated by Soviets after World War Two because the doctor in question had been a promoter of Adolf Hitler's ideology. "The aim of this function was to spread national socialist ideology," said the court in a statement. Hundreds of oil paintings, etchings and drawings were allegedly confiscated from Gustav Schuster, who was Director of the Chemitz Women's Clinic, during the Second World War. The artworks, which include paintings by Ludwig Richter, Max Liebermann and Max Klinger, are worth at least 500,000 euros ($662,550). The decision, had it have been different, could have opened the doors to thousands of other claims for compensation for artworks, property and other goods confiscated from 1945 to 1949 by the Soviet forces which occupied the eastern part of Germany after WWII. As it is, legal experts say the ruling could set a different precedent and negatively affect similar restitution claims that could number into the thousands, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, which quoted an official from the German Finance Ministry. Nazis aren't eligible for compensation The German "Compensation and Just Satisfaction Act" law, which was passed in 1994, exempts the state from paying compensation if the person from who the goods were confiscated "extensively" supported the Nazi regime, or had committed "crimes against humanity." This can give rise to the problem that heirs are disinclined to probe deeply into their family's background. The Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that the lawyers for Schuster's family have presented the court with documents showing that there were 14,427 senior positions in the Nazi regime at the municipal level. The family argues that as one under thousands, Dr. Schuster therefore was only responsible for 0.006 percent of what occurred. However, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, there is not doubt that Schuster was jointly responsible for deciding on, and conducting, the forced sterilization of dozens of women. The newspaper quotes the example of a similar court decision made in October when the son of a lawyer for the Nazi regime was awarded compensation for two properties confiscated from his family. Only after the court case, was it revealed that the lawyer was probably involved in the hanging of a deserter in the last days of the war. | [
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US shuts down popular file-sharing site
A number of people have been arrested in New Zealand in a US effort to crackdown on online pirated material. Among those arrested was the German former CEO of the world's most popular file-sharing site, Megaupload.
Four people have been arrested in New Zealand on US accusations of facilitating millions of illegal downloads of film and music content, costing copyright holders at least $500 million (386 million euros) in lost revenue. Among those arrested were Kim Dotcom, the founder, former CEO and current chief of innovation officer of Hong-Kong-based Megaupload. The 37-year-old man holds Finnish and German citizenship and was formerly known as Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor. Two other German citizens and one Dutch citizen were also arrested, while another German, Slovakian and Estonian are still at large. A grand jury in Virginia had indicted and charged Megaupload with racketeering conspiracy, copyright infringement and conspiring to commit money laundering. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has called it one of the "largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States." According to information provided by the FBI and the US Justice Department, $50 million were seized in the operation along with 18 domain names. Cyber war The crackdown comes just a day after popular Internet companies Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down their services to protest two bills currently going through US Congress - the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) - which aim at curbing copyright infringement by going after sites offering pirated online material. Although the company operated out of Hong Kong and its former CEO lived in New Zealand, the company allegedly used servers in Virginia, giving US prosecutors reason enough to act. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, an online freedom advocacy group, said in a statement that the indictments set "a terrifying precedent." "If the United States can seize a Dutch citizen in New Zealand over a copyright claim, what is next?" the group asked. The hacktivist group Anonymous responded to the arrests and shutdown of Megaupload by launching a cyber attack on the FBI and Justice Department websites, which were up and running again early Friday after being shut down for several hours. Megaupload was the world's largest file-sharing site with 150 million registered users, around 50 million daily hits and endorsements from music superstars. The website is said to have earned Dotcom $42 million in 2011. Author: Sarah Berning (AP, AFP) Editor: Nancy Isenson | [
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Still a long way to go for Greece
As Greece prepares to accept new austerity measures, questions have arisen about the ECB's methods. A controversial bond swap is intended to cut Greek debt, but could be a subsidy in disguise.
The measures promised by Greece in order to save an additional 3.3 billion euros ($4.3 billion) appear rather drastic at first glance. Salaries are to be frozen for several years, the minimum wage is to be reduced by 22 percent and the defense budget is to be cut by 300 million euros. Soldiers, police officers, judges, state doctors, and diplomats will face wage cuts as of July, and 15,000 civil servants will be axed at the end of 2012. Large shares of state-owned gas and oil companies, the state lottery, and the waterworks for the Athens and Thessaloniki region are to be sold off by the beginning of July. The Greek parliament is to endorse the new austerity package on Sunday. But even if eurozone finance ministers approve further funding in return, Greece is far from saved. It is still unclear whether Greece's private creditors will agree to a 70 percent haircut on Greek government bonds, currently valued at 205 billion euros. Downward trend continues Moreover, the downturn of Greece's economy has accelerated with production and employment nose-diving, according to the national statistics office. The jobless rate currently stands at about 21 percent and industrial production slumped by 11 percent in December compared to the previous month. The eurozone and IWF bailout hinged on Greece boosting its tax revenue in January by around 9 percent compared to the same period last year. In reality, it dropped by seven percent and revenues from sales tax even plummeted by 19 percent - a clear sign of a deepening recession. Officially eurozone countries are adamant the second bailout won't exceed the 130 billion euros they dangled at the end of October in 2011. But it's likely this won't be enough. Several reports suggest that some in the European Central Bank (ECB) board are meanwhile prepared to reduce Greek debt by a further 13 billion euros. The ECB would only have to pass on its Greek bonds, which it bought at a discount, to the European crisis fund EFSF. Experts believe the ECB is holding Greek bonds to the tune of 50 billion euros. ECB to the rescue? That's why after the ECB board meeting on Thursday many journalists were asking ECB President Mario Draghi whether the bank is involved in rescheduling Greek debt, such as through the sale of Greek government bonds to the EFSF rescue fund. "It depends - if you make a loss on the sales, that is monetary financing," Draghi replied. But that is something the ECB is not allowed to do. Conversely, however, Draghi's statement could be interpreted to mean that the ECB does not see the bond exchange with the EFSF as forbidden state monetary financing if it doesn't lose money doing so. Commerzbank chief economist Jörg Krämer considers this "remarkable." Many media outlets reported that the ECB would sell its Greek bonds to the EFSF at 75 percent of their nominal value and receive EFSF bonds in return. A debt swap of this kind would mean that 25 percent less money would flow back to the ECB on maturity than if the Greek bonds were serviced completely. "That means 25 percent more central bank money remains in circulation", Krämer told Deutsche Welle. "That really would be state monetary financing." But because the ECB could avoid pro forma book losses, "the probability has increased significantly that in the end they will indeed be helping to reduce Greece's debt." Author: Rolf Wenkel / sb Editor: Andreas Illmer | [
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Our guest on 20.11.2011 Jochen Zeitz, Manager
“Talking Germany” – Presenter Peter Craven speaks to Jochen Zeitz about managers, movers and shakers and monks.
Jochen Zeitz grew up in Mannheim and graduated from secondary school in 1980. He began studying business in 1982 at the European Business School in Schloss Reichartshausen in the Rheingau. After completing his education, he began to work first at the consumer products company, Colgate-Palmolive in Hamburg in 1986. He then moved to Herzogenaurach in the Franconian countryside to work for sporting goods manufacturer Puma in 1988. From there, he rose rapidly though the ranks to become head of marketing in 1991 and vice president – international and head of the global marketing and sales department. At the age of 30, he became chairman of the board of Puma 1993, making him the youngest CEO of German firms with commercially traded stock. Zeitz shifted production to China and altered the brand’s image, transforming Puma into a lifestyle product. By 2005, his efforts led to a tripling of the company’s sales. Since then Zeitz has been said to be Germany’s best paid business executive. In addition, the businessman is also dedicated to improving society. Puma was one of the main supporters of the “Together for Africa” campaign. Zeitz has also established his own foundation in Africa to sponsor sustainable business initiatives. He’s lives in Nuremberg with his wife, Birgit Jöris, and since 2005 has been going as often as possible to his 200 square meter farm in Kenya, the place he calls his “home away from home.” | [
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Thousands protest against neo-Nazis in Dresden
More than 6,000 people from across Germany gathered in the eastern city of Dresden on Saturday to protest a planned Neo-Nazi demonstration, which was canceled beforehand.
Thousands of protesters took part in an anti-neo-Nazi demonstration in the eastern German city of Dresden on Saturday. According to the organizers of the event, the left-wing group 'Nazi-free Dresden,' 10,000 people took to the streets. Police, who said the demonstrations were largely peaceful, said attendance was closer to 6,500. Protesters demanded that the right-wing NPD party be banned and that the police in the state of Saxony do more to bring neo-Nazis to book. Dresdencouncil had also organized an event at a separate location, which around 1,500 people attended, among them Saxony's state premier Stanislaw Tillich and Dresden mayor Dirk Hilbert. The demonstrations were originally intended to counteract a planned neo-Nazi march, which was called off after similar marches in 2010 and 2011 were successfully disrupted by anti-far-right protesters. An alternative neo-Nazi march in Gera, in eastern Thuringia, did not attract many demonstrators. Each February, Dresden commemorates the allied bombing and destruction of the city in World War II on February 13, 1945. Far-right groups from across Europe normally use the occasion to stage a march. Only in the last few years have they experienced large-scale organized resistance from groups like 'Nazi-free Dresden.' Dresden's mayor Hilbert said that it was no longer enough to commemorate in silence, but that it was crucial to also "send a signal" to the far-right. Sunday's demonstrations follow similar protests last Monday, when around 1,600 neo-Nazis gathered in Dresden. But the march had to be cut short because of massive counter-demonstrations. ng/ccp (epd, dpa) | [
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Estonian couple arrested for giving secrets to Russia
A husband and wife duo was arrested in Estonia under suspicion of delivering state secrets to Russia over a period of several years.
A man who worked for many years in Estonia's security police was arrested along with his wife on Wednesday for allegedly turning over state secrets to Russia. Aleksei and Viktoria Dressen were arrested at Tallinn Airport as they prepared to board a flight for Moscow. Aleksei Dressen has worked in Estonia's counter-espionage and anti-terrorism force for nearly 20 years. As a member of the security police, Dressen had access to state secrets, but prosecutors did not say what those may have been. "Dressen is suspected of collecting classified information for years and was caught with evidence," state prosecutor Norman Aas told reporters in the capital Tallinn. "His wife was also arrested Wednesday morning at Tallinn airport as the couple planned to board a Tallinn-Moscow flight." Dressen's wife does not work for the government but allegedly acted as a courier, brining classified documents to agents with the Russian security agency, the FSB. According to prosecutors, the 44-year-old Aleksei Dressen could face a prison sentence of three to 15 years in prison if found guilty of treason. Tensions between Russia and the former Soviet satellite are tense. After gaining its independence in 1991 following 50 years of rule from Moscow, Estonia joined the European Union and NATO in 2004. In 2009, Estonian Herman Simm was convicted of treason and sentenced to twelve and a half years in prison for selling NATO secrets to Russia. mz/acb (AP, Reuters, AFP) | [
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Germany honors Vettel with sports achievement award
German Forumla One driver Sebastian Vettel has another trophy to add to his collection: the Silver Laurel Leaf, which recognizes sporting achievement.
Germany's two-time Formula One champion Sebastisn Vettel was awarded the Silver Laurel Leaf on Friday, Germany's highest honor for sporting achievement. The award was given by Germany's acting president, Horst Seehofer, at a ceremony at the presidential palace Bellevue in Berlin. "Despite all the top places and trophies," Seehofer told Vettel," you've remained down to earth and modest, and millions of fans appreciate that in you." Vettel flew to Berlin from Formula One time trials in Barcelona to accept the award. "I like collecting trophies," he said "but this honor is very special, because you'll maybe only get it once in your lifetime." Vettel had last season's driver's title wrapped up with three races to go and will have no shortage of drivers chasing after him and his Red Bull car this season. In 2010, he became the youngest driver's champion ever. Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is the only other driver to receive the Silver Laurel Leaf. mz/rg (dpa, AP) | [
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Leverkusen move up thanks to Bremen loss
While the league leaders await their fate in Sunday's matches, Leverkusen made a move up the table on Saturday, beating Cologne and moving past Werder Bremen, who lost at home to Nuremberg.
In the last of Saturday's Bundesliga matches on match-day 23, Nuremberg upset Werder Bremen 1-0 in Bremen. The loss dropped Bremen down to sixth place in the table after Bayer Leverkusen won earlier in the day against Cologne. The evening game featured an hour of hard fought but scoreless soccer, but a lapse in Bremen's defense allowed Nuremberg to take the lead in the 65th minute. Nuremberg's Timothy Chandler had the ball on the right side of the area, and Bremen's back line shifted in his direction. The move left striker Alexander Esswein all alone for a long pass from Chandler. Esswein only had Bremen's keeper Tim Wiese to beat, and coolly slotted past the keeper and into the net. Leverkusen wins Rhineland derby Bremen's loss only added to Bayer Leverkusen's joy on Saturday, having previously beaten Cologne in the Rhineland derby 2-0. Their win in Cologne combined with Bremen's loss meant the two teams switched places in the table, with Leverkusen moving into fifth on 37 points, and Bremen dropping to sixth on 26. Lars Bender scored both of Leverkusen's goals. The first came in the 16th minute, and although Bender gets the goal in the scoreline, several Leverkusen players took part in setting up the goal off a corner kick. The kick first found Ömer Toprak, who headed toward Stefan Reinartz. Reinartz's header bounced off the post. Vedran Corluka took a shot on the rebound, which was headed for the goal, and Bender put an extra foot on it for good measure to keep it out of reach of any defenders. Bender's second goal was in the 51st minute and was set up by an excellent pass from Renato Augusto. For Cologne, the loss is the sixth in the last seven, increasing pressure on coach Stale Solbakken. Cologne star Lukas Podolski, back on the pitch after an injury, said it's not the coach's fault. "The coach can't be blamed," he said after the game. "He was brought here to build up a team. He should be allowed time for that." Mainzon the move Mohamed Zidan proved his value to Mainz yet again on Saturday against Kaiserslautern. Just two minutes in, Zidan had found the goal and put Mainz in the lead to the delight of the home fans. It's his fourth goal in as many games since returning to Mainz for the third time in his career - the only time a winter transfer has ever scored in all of his first four games. "We just let Zidan be Zidan," said Mainz's sporting director Christian Heidel in an interview with Sky TV after the match against Kaiserslautern. "He's a lively character." Adam Szalai followed up in the 17th minute on a play where Mainz took perfect advantage of Kaiserslautern weak back line. Elkin Soto received a pass that split the defenders before firing straight away to Szalai, who easily scored from directly in front of the goal. Nicolai Müller made it 3-0 in the 30th, taking the ball up the right side and getting off a shot despite pressure from two defenders. Credit Kaiserslautern defender Nicolai Jörgensen with an assist on Mainz's final goal in the 74th minute: Jörgensen tried to clear the ball from the area but hit it with the wrong side of his foot, allowing Maxim Choupo-Moting to pick up the misfired ball and put it in the goal from close range. Kaiserslautern's coach, Marco Kurz, was somber after the match. "This was the low point since I've been here and also of this season," he said. "It was a catastrophe. What this means for me [as coach], I can't say." Uh-oh, Otto Otto Rehhagel's debut on the bench for Hertha Berlin was not a good one, with a few minutes of poor defense costing Hertha the match against Augsburg. After a scoreless first half, Matthias Ostrzolek came quickly up the left side for Augsburg before flanking into the middle for Ja-Cheol Koo, who fed Torsten Oehrl in front of the goal to finish the play. Two minutes later, it was Oehrl again, this time taking the initiative himself and beating Hertha defenders Roman Hubnik and Felix Bastians before getting the better of keeper Thomas Kraft yet again. The goals were Oehrl's second and third of the season. Augsburgadded one more goal in injury time from Marcel Ndjeng for a final score of 3-0. The 73-year-old Rehhagel returned to the head of a German team for the first time in dozen years. He is tasked with righting a sinking ship at Hertha, who dropped to 16th in the table. "Augsburg fought like lions," said Rehhagel after the match. "Our team hasn't won a game since December, it's obvious that we can't play like FC Barcelona." First win for Babbel It only took 86 seconds for Hoffenheim to take the lead against Wolfsburg, with Roberto Firmino cleaning up a dropped save by Wolfsburg keeper Diego Benalgio. Over an hour went by, with the home team Wolfsburg looking for an equalizer to at least secure a point after last week's 4-0 against Schalke, before they caught a break. Hoffenheim's Andreas Beck fouled Marcel Schäfer, giving the Wolves a penalty which was converted by Patrick Helmes. The hope of a point was short-lived, though, as Sven Schipplock scored the game-winner in the 84th minute, nine minutes after coming off the bench. The 2-1 win is the first for new Hoffenheim coach Markus Babbel, who took over at Hoffenheim three weeks ago. The team's previous coach, Holger Stanislawski, was sackedafter Hoffenheim was eliminated from the German Cup. "I'm glad we were able to give some gas after they tied it up and get rewarded for it," Babbel said after the match. "But we need to get even tougher." Freiburg's freefall Freiburghad to be feeling pretty good about themselves after holding Bayern Munich to a 0-0 draw last weekend. But Stuttgart put an end to any positive momentum Freiburg may have hoped to carry forward, winning at home 4-1 against the Bundesliga's last place team. Stuttgart's Martin Harnik and Shinji Okazaki put the game out of reach for Freiburg in the first half, scoring in the 12th and 21st minutes. Freiburggot one back in the 27th on a goal from Fallou Diange, but that's all the offense they had in them for the day. Stuttgart's Khalid Boulahrouz added another goal in the 63rd minute, and Harnik adding the fourth and final nail in Freiburg's coffin in the 83rd minute. Gladbach slips On Friday, Borussia Mönchengladbach dropped two points on home soil against mid-table Hamburg, drawing 1-1. Gladbach, surprise challengers for the title at present, did not look their best. The draw leaves coach Lucien Favre's "Foals" second in the Bundesliga standings, two points adrift of leaders Borussia Dortmund, although either Schalke or Bayern Munich could overtake them later this weekend. Hamburg, meanwhile, continue their respectable recovery after a woeful start to the season. The side, which has rebounded strongly under the stewardship of new coach Thorsten Fink, currently sits eighth in the table. Sunday double-whammy On Sunday, Champions and league-leaders Dortmund host Hannover, who are unbeaten for the calendar year, on Sunday evening. In arguably the pick of this weekend's matches, the earlier Sunday game will pit fourth-placed Bayern Munich against third-placed Schalke on Bavarian soil at the Allianz Arena. Either side could overtake Gladbach for second spot in the table after that game - but only with the three points secured from a win. Author: Matt Zuvela Editor: Darren Mara | [
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Push to develop open source software
On December 11, Linux 3.7 was released, bringing with it additional advantages. The explosion of web platforms and business is in part due to Linux and the push to develop open source software.
On December 11, Linux 3.7 was released. It is supposed to make it easer to get Linux-based OSs running on tablet PCs and smartphones. Around two percent of smartphones use GNU/Linux (a combination of Linux and the GNU OS), a figure that is comparable to 2.6 percent for Windows, according to figures from market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC). And Samsung accounts for 80 percent of all GNU/Linux-powered smartphones, using Bada. Several companies and devices today owe their developments to GNU/Linux, a free software platform. And that includes the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Wikipedia, as well as Apple's MacOS which long used parts of GNU. Android contains Linux but not GNU. In Germany, many regional government departments use GNU/Linux as an alternative to other more mainstream operation systems – Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s OS. This year, the city of Munich announced a 10 million euro ($12.9 million) saving since changing over from Microsoft Windows based software in 2006. "It comes down to not having to pay licensing costs," Peter Hoffman, project director of Munich's LiMux Project tells DW in an interview. Its premise is to encourage software development which is to be shared amongst users. Best of all, it's free. Giving back to users Licensing costs are big money. The beauty of GNU/Linux, says Jan Richling, a post doctorate fellow at the Technical University in Berlin, is its flexibility that really gives it an edge. "More important is the total cost of ownership. You need people who will make an adaption of Linux to your needs," he says. Given the notion users with computer coding skills essentially create their own software, which they then give back, for free, to other users to use, or develop further is appealing he adds. Ease of use Software companies like Apple and Microsoft have created closed systems for their products and software. And while this gives users the advantage of synchronizing many of their devices to the same operating system, consumers are left at their mercy, Jon "Maddog" Hall, Linux International's executive director, said at a recent TedX Conference in Berlin. "With free software, you can make the decision about whether you're going to stay with the code you have running. It's not the decision of some far off company that's trying to satisfy the needs of a commodity marketplace," he added. But despite the advantages that open source platforms, they require the expertise of programmers, who understand the coding and remain up to date with the latest changes in the software. And despite the fact that they would be expected to do well in poor countries, they have so far proved to be unpopular. This is because the software requires a large bandwidth to be downloaded, and in most places people have access to pirated software – more than 90 percent of Windows software being using in poor countries is a pirate version. | [
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Press review: 'American god of arms insatiable'
Following the mass shooting at a Connecticut primary school, most commentators in Europe agree that stricter gun laws are necessary in the United States. But they also agree that such changes are unlikely to happen soon.
"The American god of arms is insatiable," the Italian newspaper La Repubblica wrote, referring to the latest massacre in the United States: the shooting of 20 children and six adults at a primary school in Newtown in Connecticut. A "shocking and horrifying" event, according to The Guardian. "The time and the place of these massacres inevitably catch us unawares." But, the British newspaper continued: "The fact that another mass shooting has occurred is not shocking, any more than the last one was, or the next one will be." Americans, the Guardian wrote, "are no more prone to mental illness or violence than any other people in the world. What they do have is more guns: roughly, 90 for every 100 people." And regions and states with higher rates of gun ownership have higher rates of homicides, the newspaper stressed. The London-based Economist agreed and drew the conclusion that the only effective gun control is "no guns." For "having few guns means that few people get shot." The Economist made a comparison with Great Britain where, following "a couple of horrible mass shootings, handguns have been effectively banned." Firearms-ownership is onerous, involving a lot of paperwork, the Economist explained, and it's hard to get ammunition. The result: "In 2008-2009, there were 39 fatal injuries from crimes involving firearms in England and Wales...In America, there were 12,000 gun-related homicides in 2008." “In the aftermath of every shooting, the debate (on more restrictive gun laws) reignites, but little will happen," the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung lamented while pointing to the influence of the National Rifle Association (NRA), a "powerful weapons' lobby." In order to safeguard its economic interests, the NRA "frames the possession of weapons as a cultural singularity, which needs to be saved and defended." And kind of reform or criticism of existing laws "is branded by the NRA as attack on civil liberties," the paper opined. The French newspaper Le Monde pointed out the fact that US President Barack Obama is unable to push for stricter laws without the support of Congress: "Up to now, Republican opposition to federal laws regulating the sale of arms has made reforms impossible." Spain's El Mundo editorialized that the "'inculture' of violence" is deeply engrained in American society "and fed by the arms' lobby which, let us be clear, has bought off three-quarters of the North American Congress, including a good handful of Democrats." The NRA is investing more money than ever, the newspaper wrote. "The 'gunpowder lobby's' guns are well oiled and for nothing in the world would they allow that laws that aim to strengthen the control of arms turn into a hot topic." El Mundo ended with the bleak conclusion that "nothing is going to change." | [
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Nearly 60 hurt in New York City ferry accident
Nearly 60 people have been injured in a New York City commuter ferry accident. The boat crashed into a pier during rush hour, leaving two people in critical condition.
The Seastreak catamaran ferry, en route from New Jersey on the East River, hit Pier 11 in lower Manhattan Wednesday morning. "The latest report we have is that 58 people were injured. Two of those were critical," coast guard spokesman Charles Rowe said, adding that an investigation would be launched. Both of the passengers in critical condition suffered head injuries, authorities said. Witnesses said the ferry was moving too quickly as it approached the pier, but Rowe said the cause of the accident was not yet known. Weather conditions were good at the time of the incident, with little wind and good visibility. "Basically, it was a hard landing," city transportation comissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said at a news conference, adding that the ferry was traveling at a speed of 10-12 knots when it missed its docking target. Most of the injured were standing near the bow of the ship waiting to disembark and were thrown back into the ferry or below deck. Nobody fell into the water. There were 326 passengers and five crew on board the vessel at the time of the accident, said Rowe. Television images showed police and firefighters evacuating the injured on stretchers, and a large gash was visible on the ferry's hull. Dozens of ferries shuttle thousands of commuters from Brooklyn and New Jersey into Manhattan every day, but accidents are rare. In October 2003, 11 people were killed and 70 others injured when a Staten Island ferry hit a pier at full speed. dr/ipj (AFP, dpa, AP) | [
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Medvedev seeks investment at Davos economic forum
More than 2,500 business leaders, lobbyists, economists and politicians have convened in the Swiss ski resort Davos for the World Economic Forum. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was among the first major speakers.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev urged foreign investors to pump more capital into Russia in his keynote speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday. Medvedev said increased external investment was crucial for the government to meet its goal of raising annual economic growth figures from 3.5 percent to Moscow's desired 5 percent. "We have very ambitious goals in the investment field, to increase the volume of investment from 20 to 25 percent of GDP, to increase investment in transportation, in energy infrastructure … and foreign direct investment would be instrumental in achieving this goal," Medvedev said. Medvedev pointed to Russia joining the World Trade Organization as a sign of progress, but also acknowledged that his country might suffer from an image problem on the global stage. 'Resilient dynamism' The Russian prime minister, whose country holds the rotating G20 presidency, was the first major political speaker at the economic summit, which runs through Saturday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to address some of the roughly 2,500 business leaders in the Swiss ski resort on Thursday afternoon, as will British Prime Minister David Cameron - who on Wednesday pledged an "in/out" UK referendum on EU membership, if he wins re-election. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and Israeli President Shimon Peres are among the other major scheduled speakers. Organizers chose the 2013 motto "resilient dynamism," saying it pointed to required improvements in the global economy so that it could better cope with issues like the ongoing sovereign debt difficulties in the eurozone. The forum officially opened with a welcoming address and party on Tuesday night, with the participants getting down to business on Wednesday. msh/dr (AFP, dpa, Reuters) | [
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Comcast to buy GE's stake in NBCUniversal
Comcast Corp. has agreed to buy the remaining 49 percent stake in NBCUniversal from its joint venture partner General Electric. The deal will give Comcast full control of the US media and entertainment behemoth.
"This is an exciting day for Comcast as we have agreed to accelerate the purchase of NBCUniversal," Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts said on Tuesday, ending the joint venture between his company and GE that was first created two years ago. Comcast, the largest cable TV operator in the US, now acquires full control of the NBC broadcast empire, cable networks, filmed entertainment, theme parks, regional sports networks and certain digital media properties. The deal calls for $16.7 billion (12.42 billion Euros) for the NBCU brand assets and another $1.4 billion in NBC's interest in the 30 Rockefeller Center office buildings in midtown New York City and CNBC's headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Comcast bought a 51 percent stake in NBCUniversal in January 2011, leaving the remaining 49 percent to GE. Comcast had planned to take a larger stake in it over seven years, paying from operating cash, starting in 2014. The deal is seen as beneficial to both sides. GE will get cash for its stake earlier than expected and Comcast will benefit more from the rising price of the rights to sports and other TV programs. The deal "allows us to significantly increase the cash we plan to return to shareholders in 2013, to approximately $18 billion, and to continue to invest in our industrial business," said GE chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt. "For nearly 30 years, NBC - and later NBCUniversal - has been a great business for GE and our investors," Immelt added. "We are proud of our stewardship of the business and our association with the NBCU brand." Comcast said it would finance the deal, which is expected to close by the end of March, with $11.4 billion of cash on hand, $4 billion in debt owed, $2 billion from its own credit lines and $725 million in preferred stock issued to GE. NBCUniversal is valued at around $34 billion, up from $30 billion when Comcast first acquired its 51 percent stake in the company two years ago. After the deal was announced, Comcast's stock jumped 6.4 percent to $41.46 per share, while GE shares rose 3.6 percent to $23.39. dr/jr (AP, AFP, dpa) | [
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Japan stocks surge as yen falls in G20 aftermath
Japanese shares have jumped amid a further weakening national currency after top industrialized countries approved Tokyo's aggressive monetary policy. Japan aims to beat deflation by printing money.
Japan's Nikkei stock market index surged more than 2 percent on Monday and the yen weakened further in Asian foreign exchange markets following tacit support from after the Group of Twenty (G20) nations for Tokyo's monetary policy at their weekend meeting. In a statement Sunday, the G20, which includes the world's top industrialized nations and emerging economies, pledged to refrain from competitive currency devaluation and said they wouldn't use exchange rates for gaining a competitive advantage. The G20 decided not to single out Japan for criticism although Japan's national currency has fallen 17 percent against the US dollar and 25 percent against the euro, leading to accusations that Tokyo had manipulated the yen to gain a trade advantage. Japan's newly-elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated Monday that his policy was aimed at beating years of deflation, and not at manipulating foreign exchange markets. However, Abe also warned the country's central bank, the Bank of Japan (BoJ), that he would press for a revision of Japan's central bank law if the BoJ failed to commit to the aim of aggressive monetary easing to foster growth. Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa, who disagreed with Abe on this policy, is to resign from his post next month, several weeks ahead of the end of his term in office. uhe/kms (AFP, Reuters, dpa) | [
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ICC weighs war crimes case on Ivorian ex-president Gbagbo
The International Criminal Court is weighing the prosecution’s case against the former president of the Ivory Coast. Laurent Gbagbo faces four counts of crimes against humanity for post-election violence in 2010-2011.
Former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo faced the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday, making him the first former head of state to appear before the world's permanent war crimes tribunal. A three-judge panel is considering whether or not the case against Gbagbo is enough to send the ex-president to trial. The judges have until February 28 to make their decision. Gbagbo faces four counts of crimes against humanity – including rape and murder – for allegedly fomenting violence after he refused to concede a November 2010 presidential election to his opponent Alassane Ouattara. Four months of fighting followed the contested election, leaving some 3,000 people dead. Gbagbo was ultimately ousted by French forces, UN peacekeepers and pro-Ouattara forces. Allegations of massacres The prosecutors argued that Gbagbo tried to “stay in power by all means…through carefully planned, sustained and deadly attacks” against perceived supporters of Ouattara. They accused Gbagbo forces of massacring at least 80 people in Yopougon – a suburb of the capital, Abidjan – one day after the ex-president was arrested in April 2011. But the defense called for the case to be declared inadmissible, arguing for Gbagbo to face trial in the Ivory Coast. The ICC is a court of last resort, intervening only when the local judiciary proves either unable or unwilling to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity. “Ivory Coast is neither unable nor unwilling to prosecute President Gbagbo,” defense lawyer Dov Jacobs told the judges on Tuesday. Victor's justice? Some 300 Gbagbo supporters gathered outside of the court in The Hague, calling for the former president to be freed. “We're here today because President Gbagbo is to appear before the ICC even though he's a democratically elected president and the charges against him should be for Alassane Ouattara,” Hubert Seka, who travelled from Italy, told the AFP news agency. Although the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) praised the proceedings against Gbagbo, the group also expressed concern that investigations against pro-Ouattara forces were not moving fast enough. “Holding Gbagbo to account is a critical step for victims in [Ivory Coast],”Param-Preet Singh, senior international justice counsel at HRW, said in a release. “But the slow pace of investigations against pro-Ouattara forces feeds the perception that the ICC is going along with victor's justice.” slk/dr (AP, AFP) | [
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Austrian Christoph Waltz picks up second Oscar
Christoph Waltz has won Best Supporting Actor at the 85th Annual Academy Awards, the second Oscar for the Austrian actor. Austria also won top honors in the foreign language film category with "Amour."
Waltz won for his role as a Dr. King Schultz, a German dentist-turned-bounty hunter, in Quentin Tarantino's slavery revenge fantasy "Django Unchained" at the 85th edition of the Academy Awards, held Sunday at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. It was Waltz's second time winning the award in as many nominations, having also brought an Oscar home for another Tarantino picture, "Inglorious Basterds," in 2010. In that film, Waltz portrayed wicked Nazi officer Hans Landa. 56-year-old Waltz, who also holds German citizenship, beat out Hollywood names like Robert De Niro and Tommy Lee Jones to win, and choked as he accepted his award. "We participated in a hero's journey, the hero being Quentin," he said. Prior to his US film career, Waltz worked for 30 years in German theater, TV and film. His win three years ago launched him to fame, and he has since established himself as one of Hollywood's top actors. Anne Hathaway won best supporting acress award for her role in "Les Miserables." The award for best Foreign Language Film went to "Amour" of Austria, which tells the heart-wrenching tale of an elderly couple coping with the wife's debilitating stroke. The film, directed by German-born filmmaker Austrian Michael Haneke, had dominated the awards ceremonies for months. "Thank you to my wife, she was a member of the crew," Haneke said when accepting the award. "You are the center of my life." It is the second time an Austrian film has won the award after "The Counterfeiters" in 2008. Best film, best director CIA thriller "Argo" won best picture. Directed by and Starring Ben Affleck, it tells the story of Americans working at the US embassy in Tehran, Iran, who go into hiding during the 1979 Iranian Revolution. First Lady Michelle Obama made an unprecedented appearance from the White House to declare the film the top winner of the evening. Taiwanese born director Ang Lee won the award for best director for his film "Life of Pi," a fantasy adventure based on the novel by Yann Martel, about an Indian boy who survives a shipwreck to find himself in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. Daniel Day-Lewis won a record third best actor award as President Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's historical drama, "Lincoln." Jennifer Lawrence took home the best actress award for playing a young widow in "Silver Linings Playbook." "Searching for Sugar Man" picked up the award for best documentary feature. The film follows the story of Sixto Rodriguez, a once-forgotten 1960's musician from Detroit who unknowingly rose to enormous fame in South Africa. dr,rg/jr (Reuters, AFP, AP) | [
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Myanmar opens up for foreign investors
The government of Myanmar has indicated that it plans to usher in a new era of business transparency in its oil, gas and other industries. Auctions for the rights to explore deposits are being prepared.
Myanmar's government on Monday announced a new drive to open its economy to badly needed foreign investment. Energy Ministry officials pledged a new era of transparency particularly in the country's oil and gas industry. The ministry's assistant director, Aung Kyaw Htoo, promised international standards would be upheld in auctions for the rights to explore and exploit lucrative energy reserves. "Transparency is the most important word," he said at a conference in Yangon with several major foreign oil firms attending. In January, Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, invited potential investors to tenders for 18 onshore oil blocks, with a further 50 offshore blocks expected to be opened to offers by April. Overcoming past restraints The government is under pressure to make sure its approach to natural resources will bring wider development to its people and is carried out sustainably, with all contract-related payments to be published for scrutiny. Western powers have been rolling back sanctions against Myanmar in response to political reforms. Transnational energy giants Total and Chevron were among the Western corporations represented at the conference. Myanmar theoretically produces enough natural gas to meet its domestic demand, but it has been forced to export some 80 percent of it to Thailand under contracts signed when the government was desperate for foreign currency. The pending auctions are part of an effort to help overcome an energy deficit that's a legacy of the deals made by the country's former military rulers. hg/pfd (AFP, AP) | [
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Translator pay strike at Khmer Rouge genocide trial
Translators have gone on strike at the genocide tribunal of Khmer Rogue leaders. The age of defendants such as 86-year-old Nuon Chea has raised concerns they may not live long enough for the world to hear verdicts.
Claiming they had not received pay in three months, about 30 Cambodian staff members from the translation section announced their strike just before the court was to hear testimony from a foreign expert, postponing the proceedings indefinitely, according to tribunal spokesman Neth Pheaktra. He said the giving of testimony scheduled for this week and next week will wait until the pay dispute was resolved. Pheaktra said that countries funding the tribunal had not contributed on time. The UN pays the salaries of foreign workers; Cambodian employees are paid by the government. The translators are essential staff as the hearings use English, French and Cambodian. "I appeal to the donor countries to help resolve the issue by providing more funds to the national side of the court," Pheaktra said. Pheaktra said that about $9.3 million (7 million euros) was needed for salaries and daily operating costs to fund the tribunal's Cambodian component through 2013. From 2006 to 2011, the tribunal spent $141.1 million. The total, when the tribunal concludes its work later this year, is estimated to be about $230 million, though Pheaktra said that there was the potential for shortfalls. The budgets for international staffers, adequate for now, could dry up by the middle of this year, he added. Japan has committed nearly $80 million to the trial so far. France, Germany and Britain are also major contributors. The tribunal was formed in 2006 to examine claims of atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge during its four years in power in the 1970s, when an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died from forced labor, starvation, medical neglect and execution. Only chief jailer convicted Three leaders have stood trial since 2011, charged with crimes against humanity and genocide: Khieu Samphan, the 81-year-old former head of state; Nuon Chea, the group's 86-year-old chief ideologist; and Ieng Sary, 87, the former foreign minister, who was hospitalized on Monday. "He vomited every time he was given food," his lawyer, Ang Udom, told the news agency AFP. "He is very weak now." Former Social Affairs minister Ieng Thirith was deemed mentally unfit and set free. Only the chief jailer, Kaing Guek Eav, has been convicted by the tribunal so far. He is serving a life sentence. Officials have sought to prosecute other former Khmer Rouge leaders, but Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has led Cambodia since 1985, has ruled out any more trials. Many in Cambodia's government, including Hun, are former Khmer Rouge officials. The Swiss judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet resigned last March, claiming official interference into his efforts to investigate suspects. mkg/ipj (AFP, dpa, AP) | [
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Romney wins Washington in long slog for Republican nomination
Businessman and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has won Washington state, another stepping stone in the Republicans' search for a candidate to face off against US President Obama in the November election.
Republican primary presidential contender Mitt Romney won Washington state's caucuses, giving the former Massachusetts governor renewed momentum in the run up to the 10 primary contests being held across the US on Tuesday. "I'm heartened to have won the Washington caucuses, and I thank the voters for their support today," Romney said in a posting on Twitter and Facebook, after US broadcasters CNN, ABC and CBS projected him the winner. He took 37 percent, leading the other Republican contenders by double digits with 93 percent of the vote counted. Texas Congressman Ron Paul and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum were in a virtual dead heat for second place with 25 and 24 percent respectively, while former House speaker Newt Gingrich trailed with 11 percent. In addition to Washington state, Romney bagged wins in Michigan, Arizona and Wyoming this week. In a volatile primary race, the former governor has won six states overall, compared to four victories for Santorum and one for Gingrich. Paul has not won a state yet. The four candidates are battling to clinch the Republican nomination and face off against President Barack Obama in November. The candidates now head into so-called Super Tuesday, in which 10 states are holding primary contests, with 400 delegates up for grabs. In order to win the Republican nomination, a candidate has to secure 1,144 delegates. Romney currently has 150 delegates, while his closest rival, Santorum, has 70. There were 40 delegates at stake in the Washington caucuses. slk, ncy/ai (AP, Reuters, AFP) | [
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'Land is becoming a scarce commodity'
The UN Committee on World Food Security on Friday adopted draft guidelines against land grabbing to better protect rural communities. DW spoke to the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter.
The UN's new guidelines against land grabbing came after an outcry by developing countries over the large farmland that is being bought by rich nations. DW: Mr de Shutter, in summary, what does the draft against land grabbing state? Olivier De Schutter: The draft guidelines on the responsible governance of tenures of land, fisheries and forests are guidelines that seek to clarify what states should do in order to protect land users. Essentially, in many countries land users are not legally recognized as the owners of the land. This is particularly the case in Africa - in rural parts of Africa - where land is considered to be owned by the state. And the state very often gives away this land to investors who offer to develop this land, and land users who depend on this land for their livelihoods are evicted without having access to legal remedies and without being protected from the loss of their livelihoods. And so these guidelines seek to clarify what states should do, how they should consult, which compensation they should provide in order to reduce the impacts of land grabbing on these rural communities in Africa. How has the land grabbing of large farmland in developing countries, especially African countries, violated human rights? These are very poor populations which are not very influential politically. And they have been unable as yet to mobilize and to effectively challenge this phenomenon that is called land grabbing and that is essentially the result of the growing worldwide demand for natural resources. Since 2008, and 2009 in particular, both the private sector - private companies - and governments are interested in buying and leasing large areas of land and having access to water underneath the land, because land is becoming a scarce commodity. And we are entering into a phase of repeated crisis where prices of food commodities in particular will be more and more volatile. These actors seek to protect their access to national resources by buying land which in many cases rural communities depend on. And human rights such as the right to food, right to housing, even the right to life sometimes are threatened by this phenomenon. Which African countries are most affected by land grabbing? Two thirds of land grabbing is taking place in sub-Saharan Africa. In weakly governed zones where governments are not effectively protecting the populations and where courts are not able to protect communities who depend on access to natural resources. Many of these lands are given away by governments, often unfortunately as a result of corruption and because the local elites benefit from these transactions but not the rural communities who remain underprotected. To what extent does land grabbing contribute to food security or insecurity? The land grabbing results in large-scale plantations being developed that are highly mechanized and that are relatively less-labor-intensive than the small-scale family farming that's usually practiced by rural communities in developing countries. The result of this is that, in general, less employment will be created. A large number of people may lose their livelihoods and their access to the land on which they depend for their food. And for those who do not find employment on these large-scale plantations, it will mean that they will be without revenues and without adequate livelihoods. The result is that these people will migrate to the cities in the hope of finding employment in the industry and service sectors, but in many cases, those jobs are not be easy to find. And so the result is social disruption, more poverty and inequality in the rural areas and that is what we want to avoid. How does the UN plan to ensure that human rights standards are maintained where huge lands are bought by foreigners? The work of the Committee on World Food Security today is meant to designate a set of principles that states should respect in order to better protect the land users. These principles should be implemented in domestic legislation. They should be a source of reference for courts and national human rights institutions, and states should be gradually led to report back on how they implement these guidelines. This will be supervised at international level by the Committee on World Food Security that will regularly collect information as to how these guidelines are being complied with at a domestic level. It is not enough. It is something however - it is a departure point and it is certainly important in this current context to provide some international framework to define what states are expected to do. Interview: Chrispin Mwakideu /sst Editor: Susan Houlton | [
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Lake Constance – a voyage of discovery
Sailing, swimming and cycling while admiring the Alps in the distance, or checking out the historic locations along the water’s edge: Lake Constance, crossed by the German, Austrian and Swiss borders, has it all.
It has great appeal to both culture vultures and vacationers looking for some rest and relaxation. Constanceis great for history buffs. It’s the largest town on the lake of the same name, and is famous for hosting the 15th-century church council that ended the Papal Schism. The actual site where the new pope was elected can still be seen. Then there are the Romanesque churches on Reichenau Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nature lovers will also enjoy the island of Mainau, whose parks and gardens boast over a million flowers in the summer. It’s also the site of a palace still is use as a residence. Those who want a bit more action can go cycling or sailing. The town of Wasserburg has a rather special boat to rent: the steamship Felicitas. Other sites well worth on the peninsula include the former court building with its gruesome history. As everywhere in this area, there are no shortage of options for rest and relaxation. | [
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Merkel praises Spain's bailout request
Angela Merkel has spoken out in favor of Spain's requested bailout of its banking sector for the first time, adding that Spain will face different conditions than countries who received complete sovereign bailouts.
For the first time since Spain announced it would be seeking help from the European Union for its banking sector, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has commented on the move, saying Spain had made the right decision in applying for a recapitalization of its banks. However, Merkel was clear to say that any aid for Spain's banking sector would not come without strings attached. "There will of course be conditions for Spain," Merkel said on Tuesday in Berlin at the economic council of her party, the Christian Democrats (CDU). "Namely, a restructuring of its own banking system to make it fit for the future." Different conditions This would be, according to Merkel, different than conditions applied to countries that have sought bailouts to cover an entire sovereign economy, such as Greece, Ireland, or Portugal. In the case of Spain, the bailout only applies to the banking sector. Reflecting on the European Union as a whole, Merkel said the bloc must stick by the agreed reforms until the end to make sure they bear fruit. "It would be fatal, now that some countries have started to move in the right direction, to stop halfway there," she said. The structural reforms, which would include a financial supervisory body at the European level, are seen by some European politicians as necessary to help get the eurozone out of its current crisis. "If we need European institutions that keep a better eye on things, then we have to give up some of our national jurisdiction," Merkel said, referring to concessions that would have to be made to the EU should the reforms be put into place. More than just spending Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande said in a speech to France's Social, Environmental, and Economic Council that spending alone would not be the only way to spur economic growth and bring about a European recovery. "[Growth] will not be born of supplemental public spending," he said. "It can emerge from our common European desire to put new instruments in place: eurobonds, financial instruments - we can think big." Merkel opposes the idea of "eurobonds," which would be jointly-guaranteed eurozone government debt. She favors a mix of austerity and structural reforms to pull Europe back from the brink. mz/msh (AP, AFP, dpa) | [
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German utilities demand compensation for nuclear exit
German energy suppliers are demanding billions of euros in compensation for losses incurred by the phase-out of nuclear power, according to the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).
The country's biggest utility, E.ON, alone wants at least 8 billion euros ($10 billion) in damages, the paper reported, a figure that has since been confirmed by a company spokesman in Dusseldorf. Altogether, the companies are seeking 15 billion euros ($18.7 billion) in compensation, the FAZ said. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe will examine the compensation claims in the coming weeks. Its decision is not expected until late 2013, after Germany's next federal parliamentary election. Lengthy judicial appraisal It will first consult with both houses of the German parliament as well as 63 other organizations, including Greenpeace and the Federation of German Industry (BDI). The constitutional court must then decide whether Germany's exit from nuclear energy violated the constitution before civil courts can rule on possible damages. Both E.ON and its next biggest rival, RWE, have already filed complaints with the constitutional court about Germany's energy turnaround, citing a sharp fall in their profits. The large-scale shutdown of nuclear power plants is to be completed by 2022, with renewables such as power from wind turbines filing the gap in supply. E.ON has said the complaint was not about Germany's phase-out of nuclear power as such - a move that is widely supported by Germany's population - but about the lack of compensation for companies affected by the decision to abandon nuclear energy. Last year, Germany's center-right coalition stalled over a previously legislated phase-out of nuclear power, but went ahead after Japan's reactor catastrophe in Fukushima. Eight German nuclear plants were taken from the grid straight away, and the remaining nine in Germany have had their operating lifetimes considerably reduced. tj/ipj (AFP, Reuters) | [
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Turkey accuses Syria of shooting second plane
Turkey's deputy prime minister has accused Syria of firing at a plane sent to rescue a fighter jet shot down by Syrian troops. His comments came hours ahead of a NATO meeting called by Turkey to discuss the incident.
Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told a news conference on Monday that Syrian troops had opened fire on a second aircraft, adding to a growing conflict over accusations that Syria shot down a Turkish fighter jet. Arinc did not specify when the incident occurred and whether the plane had been hit. He said it had been searching for the two missing pilots of the F4 Phantom jet, which he claimed was shot by a heat-seeking guided missile in international airspace on Friday. "To target an aircraft in this fashion without any warning is a hostile act of the highest order," he said. "Everyone must know that this sort of behavior will not go unpunished." Turkey further condemned Friday's incident in a letter to the UN Security Council on Monday, describing it as a "hostile act by the Syrian authorities against Turkey's national security." It added that it had posed "a serious threat to peace and security in the region". At Turkey's request, NATO holding an emergency meeting on the incident in Brussels on Tuesday under Article 4 of its charter. It is only the second time in NATO's 63-year history that it has convened under Article 4, which can be invoked when a member state feels its territorial integrity, political independence or security is under threat. 'Act of defense' Turkey has said the fighter jet, which was on an unarmed training mission, was shot down a mile (1.6 kilometers) inside international airspace. It has said both Turkish pilots are still missing. Syria, meanwhile, has defended its actions as an act of defense, insisting the plane was inside Syrian airspace. "The plane disappeared and then reappeared in Syrian airspace, flying at 100 meters altitude and about 1-2 kilometers (0.6-1.2 miles) from the Syrian coast," Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told a news conference in Damascus. "We had to react immediately, even if the plane was Syrian we would have shot it down," he said. "The Syrian response was an act of defence of our sovereignty carried out by anti-aircraft machinegun which has a maximum range of 2.5 km." Military intervention Makdissi went on to warn both Turkey and NATO against taking retaliatory action. "NATO is supposed to be there to strengthen countries," he said. "If their meeting is for hostile reasons [they should know that] Syrian land and waters are sacred." By invoking Article 4 of the NATO charter it would appear that Turkey is not seeking armed invention. News agency AP reported on Monday, however, that Arinc had said Turkey planned to push NATO to consider the jet's downing under Article 5, which states that an attack against one NATO member should be considered an attack against all members. But Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal said Monday that military intervention in Syria was "out of the question." He called on Turkey to show restraint in its handling of the incident. ccp/pfd (AP, AFP, Reuters) | [
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Coming Home - India
We’re hardly aware of it until it’s gone, and then we know what we’ve lost – or haven’t lost as the case may be: home. What do people feel when they return to a country they left, trading it for a life in Germany?
Harmeet Bans Success demanded a few sacrifices: Once in Germany, Harmeet "Bunty" Bans shaved off his beard, cut his hair and gave up his turban. And today, he’s the proud owner of a chain of restaurants in Berlin. But he’s never lost contact with his relatives or religious roots. This feature report follows Bunty through a land of contrasts, from the city of his birth, Bombay, now Mumbai, to Amritsar, home of the Golden Temple, the most sacred shrine of the Sikhs. From Punjab we continue to Goa, and everywhere Bunty goes, he meets friends and relatives. Broadcasting Hours: Part 1: Harmeet Bans DW-TV EUROPE/AFRICA SAT 12.11.2011 - 18:30 UTC SUN 13.11.2011 - 06:30 UTC MON 14.11.2011 - 12:30 UTC Berlin UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +4 DW-TV NORTH AMERICA SAT 12.11.2011 - 20:30 UTC SUN 13.11.2011 - 12:30 UTC MON 14.11.2011 - 00:30 UTC San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5 DW-TV LATIN AMERICA SAT 12.11.2011 - 20:30 UTC SUN 13.11.2011 - 04:30 UTC Caracas UTC -4,5 | La Paz UTC -4 | Buenos Aires UTC -3 DW-TV ARABIA SUN 13.11.2011 - 03:30 UTC SUN 13.11.2011 - 09:00 UTC SUN 13.11.2011 - 13:00 UTC MON 14.11.2011 - 01:00 UTC MON 14.11.2011 - 06:30 UTC MON 14.11.2011 - 11:00 UTC MON 14.11.2011 - 14:30 UTC Algiers UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4 DW-TV ASIA SAT 12.11.2011 - 18:30 UTC SUN 13.11.2011 - 06:30 UTC Delhi UTC +5,5 | Jakarta UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8 DW-TV ASIA+ SAT 12.11.2011 - 19:00 UTC SUN 13.11.2011 - 13:00 UTC SUN 13.11.2011 - 17:00 UTC SUN 13.11.2011 - 20:30 UTC MON 14.11.2011 - 06:30 UTC MON 14.11.2011 - 14:30 UTC MON 14.11.2011 - 21:30 UTC Delhi UTC +5,5 | Jakarta UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8 Anand Narayanaswamy This was Anand Narayanaswamy’s last visit to his old home country as an Indian citizen. He and his family now have German passports. He takes us to the scenes of his childhood and teenage years from Chennai to Kolkata, once known to the West as Calcutta. Anand shows us a country that has undergone radical changes in the past few decades - just as he has himself: an ethnic Tamil and IT specialist, he’s found a new home in Munich, where he now lives in a duplex with his wife and two children. Broadcasting Hours: Part 2: Anand Narayanaswamy DW-TV EUROPE/AFRICA SAT 19.11.2011 - 18:30 UTC SUN 20.11.2011 - 06:30 UTC MON 21.11.2011 - 12:30 UTC Berlin UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +4 DW-TV NORTH AMERICA SAT 19.11.2011 - 20:30 UTC SUN 20.11.2011 - 12:30 UTC MON 21.11.2011 - 00:30 UTC San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5 DW-TV LATIN AMERICA SAT 19.11.2011 - 20:30 UTC SUN 20.11.2011 - 04:30 UTC Caracas UTC -4,5 | La Paz UTC -4 | Buenos Aires UTC -3 DW-TV ARABIA SUN 20.11.2011 - 03:30 UTC SUN 20.11.2011 - 09:00 UTC SUN 20.11.2011 - 13:00 UTC MON 21.11.2011 - 01:00 UTC MON 21.11.2011 - 06:30 UTC MON 21.11.2011 - 11:00 UTC MON 21.11.2011 - 14:30 UTC Algiers UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4 DW-TV ASIA SAT 19.11.2011 - 18:30 UTC SUN 20.11.2011 - 06:30 UTC Delhi UTC +5,5 | Jakarta UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8 DW-TV ASIA+ SAT 19.11.2011 - 19:00 UTC SUN 20.11.2011 - 13:00 UTC SUN 20.11.2011 - 17:00 UTC SUN 20.11.2011 - 20:30 UTC MON 21.11.2011 - 06:30 UTC MON 21.11.2011 - 14:30 UTC MON 21.11.2011 - 21:30 UTC Delhi UTC +5,5 | Jakarta UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8 | [
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Leaders head to Paris for Syria talks
Leaders have headed to Paris for fresh Syria due to kick off tomorrow. But China and Russia look set to snub the event, as the bloodshed on the ground continues.
Foreign ministers headed to Paris on Thursday ahead of a Friday meeting on how to resolve the Syria conflict, although the talks look set to be boycotted by Russia and China. The Friends of Syria meeting, due to kick off on Friday, is being attended by the United States, Germany, Britain, France, and Arab nations including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, among other countries. Talks will focus on strategies for ending the violence in Syria. It follows similar talks in Tunis in February and in Istanbul in April. Leaders from Moscow do not look set to attend the event, however, as rumors circulated in the Russian press that the United States was seeking to persuade Russia to host an exiled Assad. Hosting Assad idea 'a joke' But the idea of Russia hosting Assad, which was first raised by German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a meeting in June, was dismissed as a joke by Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday. “Our side thought this was a joke and responded with a joke - how about you, the Germans, take Mr Assad instead,” Lavrov said in Moscow during a joint press conference after a meeting with his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle. Nor does Beijing seem likely to attend the Friends of Syria meeting. The foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters that his country “at present does not consider attending the meeting.” Bloodshed in Syria On the ground in Syria, at least 27 people were killed on Thursday, according to the Syrian Observatory on Human Rights, a day after violent convulsions swept through the country, reportedly killing 99 people. The figures emerged on the same day that Syrian troops advanced into Khan Sheikhoun, a rebel-held town in the country's north, killing at least 11 people according to activists. And in an attempt to add his own voice to continued political discourse on the Syria situation and remind the world of his ability to hang on to power, President Assad also spoke out on Thursday, about the rebellion and his political survival so far. “The big game targeting Syria is much bigger than we expected,” he said in an interview with Turkey's Cumhuriyet newspaper. “The fight against terrorism will continue decisively in the face of this.” sej/msh (AFP, Reuters) | [
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Financial expert: A debt avalanche is on the way
Cologne-based financial strategist Philip Vorndran says inflation is the only way out of the European debt crisis. But that would not only shrink debt, it would also slash people's savings.
DW: You recently published a book entitled "The Debt Avalanche" - referring, of course, to the debt crisis in Europe. If we picture an avalanche, where are we right now? At the bottom of the mountain, which means the avalanche hasn't fully hit us yet, or are we in its midst already? Phillipp Vorndran: We are convinced that we are in its early stages, we feel the avalanche's suction, its air draft. But we are not yet past the most dangerous parts of the debt avalanche. You say the debt crisis - this landslide - can only be stopped by inflation, which means a drop in the purchasing power of money and rising prices. How can that function? In theory, you can reduce debt in four different ways. The Greeks have shown us the easiest way, debt restructuring. But that is unrealistic, we won't see that in the large economies because the central banks will balk at the concept. The second option is the "Swabian housewife" model: austerity. Here, unfortunately, we are all 15 years too late. If we all started saving now and putting the brakes on spending, we would quickly reach a state of economic Armageddon, comparable to the situation in the 1930s. That is something politicians certainly do not want, and it would also be a massive challenge to apeaceful social coexistence. The third theoretical option is growth - nominal growth, which is greater than the increase in debt. That is not a realistic scenario within the Western World, we have too many demographic challenges. That leaves higher inflation. If you have a look at how widely the central banks have already opened their purse strings then it is, as former ECB chief economist Jürgen Stark put it, just a matter of time. Isn't inflation unfair to people who have been saving money? Sooner or later, their assets would be considerably reduced. That is true but one should not forget: there is no painless solution to the debt crisis. I believe a political consensus has been reached - to ensure there is no threat to social peace - to get the wealthy involved rather than those at the other end of the social scale. In that scenario, people who have saved money for decades lose out. That is what happened with Germany's hyperinflation in the early 1920s when all those who had put their money in assets such as savings accounts and insurance policies were mercilessly dispossessed. If you say inflation is the only way out, what should I do now? Should I spend my money? That is a possibility. That's what you see when you look at the statistics for luxury labels in Germany and other large economies. Many people say they do not know what they will be able to afford tomorrow, so I will buy the car today that I planned to buy in three years. That is one option. The other is to think about securing one's assets as realistically as possible in such an environment. The first idea many Germans come up with is to buy real estate. That is something I can touch, an actual building. No matter what happens to inflation, no one can take it away. That is one of the reasons why real estate prices in Germany are on the rise. A word on Greece, where the arguments have started again: will the state go bankrupt? Should they leave the eurozone? Should they get more money? Is Greece a lost cause or can the country still grow out of the crisis, or cut spending enough? In 2009 we already said, Greece is bankrupt. Then German politicians criticized us for being irresponsible and unsettling Germans savers. But for us, it was a mathematical certainty: Greece does not have a business model to survive within the eurozone. Nothing has changed. It is clear that sooner or later, Greece will have to leave the eurozone. The alternative is that strong economies such as Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria agree to permanently support this hopeless case. Does Germany even need the euro? If the Greeks give up, Portugal, Spain and others might also exit the eurozone, which might eventually dissolve. The euro in its present form can not survive. Either weaker countries will leave - Portugal, Greece, possibly Spain and Italy - or we must leave. We believe the former is the more likely option. We are not convinced Germany benefits greatly from the euro. We also do not believe our economy will founder if the euro disappears. Of course there will be an appreciation of a new German currency. For a while, we will have to burden the German export industry. But Germany is more than the sum of its exports. Germany also has citizens who save money and their buying power should be heard just as loudly in the discussion as the permanent hymns of praise to the export industry. If you want to export goods, you need buyers. The debt landslide is heading not only to Europe, but to the US, Japan and other parts of the world as well. That is true. The conclusion should be close scrutiny of the German business model. Is it a good idea to live off an export industry whose goods are shipped all over the world and where payments are often made on paper only. Germany must also consider whether a policy of stimulating domestic demand shouldn't be a long term element in the political strategy. Where debt is concerned, the old economies - apart from many eurozone member states, they include Britain, the US and Japan - have problems the same as we do. In the long run, these old economies will no longer be able to buy our goods to the same extent as before. Other economies will fill the gap. A look at German exports to the eurozone since the introduction of the euro shows a clear decline. But apparently, based on quality - and despite high prices - Germany manages to find buyers for its products in emerging markets. Philipp Vorndran is a capital market strategist with the renowned Cologne portfolio management firm Flossbach von Storch. The business economist previously held the position of chief strategist for global asset management at Credit Suisse; he also worked for the Swiss private bank Julius Bär and the University of Würzburg. Vorndran is the author of "The debt avalanche". In his book, he explains why only inflation can resolve the debt crisis in Europe. Interview : Bernd Riegert / db Editor: Michael Lawton | [
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For women in sports, London 2012 sets milestone
The 2012 Olympics are historic for women in sports. Now that Saudi Arabia, Brunei and Qatar are sending female athletes for the first time, women will have competed for every Olympic country.
Saudi Arabia was the last country to give the go-ahead after Brunei and Qatar previously agreed to do the same. Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani will suit up for the 78-kilogram category in judo while Sarah Attar, 17, will run the 800 meters for Saudi Arabia. "UN Women welcomes this decision as an important step and sign of progress in the path towards greater political, social and economic status of women and girls in the region,"UN Women Deputy Director John Hendra told DW. When the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896, women were forbidden from participating. Now, 116 years later, women from every nation will have taken to the field of Olympic competition. "Even though it's a low number, [Saudi Arabia, Brunei and Qatar] are actually sending women to compete," said Lisa Maatz, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations for the American Association of University Women (AAUW), a US-based political advocacy group, in an interview with DW. "I think it's progress." Making history The achievement is a long time coming. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, 26 countries were yet to include female athletes. Twelve years later in Beijing, the number had dropped to three. The overall percentage of women participating has also increased dramatically. Just 1.8 percent of the athletes at the 1908 London Olympics were women. Of the 10,947 athletes who competed in 2008, 4,639 were women - more than 42 percent - according to the IOC's Women and Sport Commission. But it's not just where the women come from that's groundbreaking. It's also what the women will be doing. With the inclusion of women's boxing and wrestling, women will compete in every sport the men will for the first time. In fact, with men barred from synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics, women will compete in more events than their male counterparts. "It's a lot of firsts," said Maatz. Tentative progress The decision by Saudi Arabia - an absolute monarchy governed by a strict interpretation of Islamic, or Shariah, law - has been hailed as a step in the right direction for women's rights, albeit a tentative one. "It's been a long time coming," Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch, told DW. But Wilcke, a German native who has more than 15 years of experience in the Middle East, was quick to point out the country still has a long way to go in advancing women's rights - participation in sports included. Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch said that women in Saudi Arabia were excluded from the 153 sports clubs regulated by the General Presidency of Youth Welfare (GPYW), the Saudi National Olympic Committee, and 29 other sporting federations. Lasting impact While the achievements of women in this year's Olympics will be historic, many hope the impact will last longer than the July 27 - August 12 Games. Maatz, for one, said she hopes the women participating in the Olympics will serve as inspiration for girls and women. "It can inspire a lot of little girls," she said. "Hopefully more women come in 2016 [at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics]." The UN's Hendra also sees the women competing as pioneers. "Sport can also offer a forum for advocating for ending violence against women," said Hendra. "And it is so true that role models and pioneers can bring about great changes for gender equality. There has been progress in recent years, like introducing quotas for women’s representation in sports organizations." Despite this, Hendra said, gender stereotypes continue to play a major role in sports participation, structurally and in the heat of competition. About 10,500 athletes are expected to compete at the 2012 London Games, representing 204 nations. More than 40 percent of them will be women. Author: Benjamin Mack Editor: Mark Hallam | [
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Curiosity lands on Mars to cheers on Earth
NASA’s Mars rover has landed successfully after surviving a complicated landing dubbed the seven minutes of terror. It will spend one Mars year searching for evidence of life.
At 07:31 on August 6, Central European Time, after a journey of more than eight months and 500 million kilometers, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) - also known as Curiosity - landed successfully on the Red Planet. Shouts of delight erupted simultaneously from the NASA live feed and inside the European Space Agency, the ESA's operations center, where scientists and researchers had gathered to witness the event. At NASA's request, the Mars Express, which is controlled by ESA in Darmstadt, had been moved into position to observe the landing. The spacecraft has remained in orbit around Mars since December 2003, when ESA's Beagle 2 landing failed. The Curiosity landing was dubbed the "seven minutes of terror" because ground control had to endure an agonizing seven minutes of radio communication silence after the craft entered the planet's atmosphere before it knew whether it had landed successfully. Mark McCaughrean, ESA's Head of Research and Science Support, explains that touchdown is the moment when everything can go horribly wrong - and has done for other missions in the past. "Lots of money and lots of time have gone into trying to do as much testing as possible, but in the end it came down to those seven minutes," says McCaughrean. There is also a 14-minute delay relaying images back to earth, which meant that Curiosity had already been on the surface of Mars for seven minutes when NASA received the information that the landing capsule had entered the planet's atmosphere. It wasn't long, though, before Curiosity relayed its first thumbnail photo via NASA's Odyssey satellite - the first of many. The high definition picture shows the back of Curiosity, wheels down, with the horizon of Mars in the background. A second image shows the view in opposite direction, with Curiosity's shadow against the surface. Curiosity is NASA's most challenging planetary science mission to date. Weighing one ton, Curiosity is the biggest and best-equipped rover ever to head to another planet. It's packed with laboratory equipment and will spend the next 686 days - that's one Mars year - searching for evidence that there was once life on the Red Planet. Of all the planets, Mars is the most similar to Earth. But it has gained a reputation as the Bermuda Triangle of the solar system. The first attempt to explore Mars was made by the Soviets in 1960, and since then the US, Europe, Russia and Japan have between them launched a total of 40 missions. But more than half have crashed, malfunctioned, or simply disappeared. As ESA's Mark McCaughrean points out, this was a very challenging mission. "Mars has eaten up lots of spacecraft in the past with even lower technology systems," says McCaughrean. "I think we should be really proud of what they've done at NASA to put that system together, and I'm excited about what comes next, which is doing the science." Over the next two Earth-years, Curiosity will explore Gale Crater, its landing site, to determine whether the atmosphere on Mars was ever capable of sustaining life - or perhaps still is, even if only at a microbial level. The crater is 155 kilometers (96 miles) wide. Data supplied by Mars orbiters has led scientists to believe that the surface of Mars was shaped by flowing water, a prerequisite for the existence of life forms. The geology of Gale Crater with its erosion patterns also suggests traces of water. Thomas Reiter, ESA's Director for Human Spaceflight and Operations, says he believes it's just a question of time before they find evidence of life on Mars. "Hopefully [it'll be] now, with Curiosity," says Reiter. "But we can't be sure. It might be the next mission. Maybe ExoMars [ESA's own Mars exploration program] will bring the final evidence for it." Mars has two polar ice caps composed of frozen CO2 and frozen water. There are also indications that liquid water may also be present, as images from NASA's Phoenix lander have shown what appear to be droplets. Mark McCaughrean of ESA's research division says Curiosity's work at Gale Crater will be different from that of other Mars rovers - Spirit and Opportunity - which have operated in different locations. "They've gone into a very exciting place with a lot of different geology in a very small area," says McCaughrean. "Gale [Crater] has this kind of treasure chest of minerals. In the past, Spirit and Opportunity have been to locations where there was more or less one thing going on. Gale has a lot going on in one location." The new rover will be looking for organic compounds, as well as nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, sulfur and phosphorus. The scientists want to analyze isotopes and minerals on Mars to learn how the planet's atmosphere has developed over the past four billion years. McCaughrean says ESA scientists will be on the edge of their seats as they wait for the data to come in from NASA. "We've seen some of the other pictures come back already this morning," he says. "But when the science starts and the big main camera deploys and the first panoramas [come in], I think this is going to be something quite special." The rover is not due to move for another week. But Manfred Warhaut, Head of ESA's Mission Operations Department, believes the information Curiosity will eventually provide will bring the international space community closer together. "Today is a very big day for space," Warhaut said, adding that ESA feels emotionally involved in NASA's success. "We have successfully landed, but the data that we have received so far indicates that also the forthcoming science mission for the next 26 months will be more rewarding for NASA." Warhaut hopes the successful landing will encourage NASA to revive its cooperation with ESA's ExoMars program from which it withdrew earlier this year because of budgetary cuts. But as Curiosity has already cost far more than envisaged - at $2.5 billion (2.1 billion euros) - and it's likely that NASA will want to get its money's worth from the project before it shares the spoils. | [
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No letup in anti-German sentiment in Greece
During the debt crisis Greeks have been badmouthing the Germans - but the Germans have been equally critical of their EU counterparts. Some Greeks want this situation to change.
German tabloids portray Greeks as bankrupt and tell them to sell off their islands to pay their debts - and Greek cartoonists sketch German chancellor Angela Merkel in a Nazi uniform or as a whip-touting animal tamer at the circus. Negative comments by both Greek and German politicians have also not made rapprochement between the two countries easier. The sour mood is no surprise, and is just one element of the rampant populism in Europe that has only been exacerbated by the crisis, said Mary Giannakaki, deputy leader of the pro-European Democratic Left party, newly elected to the Athens parliament. She said the bleak opinion of the Greeks toward the Germans can only be thought of in a European context. "The crisis has allowed the specter of nationalism to emerge all across Europe. The idea of 'Europe' is unfairly vilified and demonized," Giannakaki, a political scientist who studied in Paris and Athens, said. She said it was clear neither Germany nor Greece was to blame for starting the current economic crisis, but this is something that needed to be explained to the people - and while that is first and foremost the job of the politicians in each country, it has been neglected: "I really cannot believe that all Greeks think the Germans are enemies and vice-versa. These are minority opinions and isolated cases," she said. Another side to the argument was shown in a survey published a few months ago in "Epikaira," a weekly Athens magazine already known for taking swipes at Berlin. Seventy-six percent of respondents said they thought of Germany as a hostile country. Only 1.5 percent had any positive feelings for it. In contrast, six years ago, surveys showed almost 80 percent of Greeks holding Germany in high esteem. Mary Giannakaki is suspicious. "I read the article and I have to say, the survey's methodology seems quite odd. We don't know even know how the questions were worded." She said many respondents apparently confused Germany with the German government or even with Angela Merkel. Giannakaki says she would like to start a comprehensive debate about Europe, giving the Greeks the opportunity to be self-critical. Misunderstandings about Greece's role in a united Europe could also be sorted out, she said. "Up till now in this country there has never been an in-depth debate about European integration or even a European federation," Giannakaki said. "I'm sorry to say it, but for many Greeks, Europe is nothing more than a jolly mother distributing money and subsidies without seeming to expect anything in return. That's the wrong approach." Angelos Koveos, political editor of the Athens newspaper "To Vima," also thinks something needs to be done in Greece. In terms of crisis management, he said, the Greeks have a lot to learn from the Germans. But he's also critical of German politicians and their preachy tone: "Sometimes attempts are made to impose a moralistic view of the economy on other countries, as if it were a question of blame and punishment," Koveos said. He says many people believed that an example was being made of the guilty Greeks. A union of states cannot work in this way, he said: "And I think all Europeans have made it clear they don't want to work this way." Koveos makes an impassioned plea for the misunderstandings between Germans and Greeks to be swept away. He's disappointed with politicians in both countries, because, he says, it appears they only wish to make their mark on the domestic level. To bring about this change, he said, reputable media outlets need to lead the way. "It's not just the job of the press to describe conflicts, but to also interpret them and, if possible, to identify solutions. Certainly that isn't easy under the present circumstances," Koveos said. | [
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US, Vietnam cooperate to clean up toxic Agent Orange
The US sprayed millions of liters of Agent Orange on the jungles of Vietnam during its war there, creating long-term adverse health effects. Decades later, the former enemies are cooperating to clean up the chemical.
The United States began helping Vietnam clean up the toxic chemical defoliant Agent Orange for the first time on Thursday, nearly 40 years after the end of Washington's bloody war with the Southeast Asian communist nation. The US and Vietnam plan to decontaminate some 73,000 cubic meters (2.5 million cubic feet) of soil surrounding the Da Nang airport in the central part of the country. American forces stored and loaded Agent Orange onto planes at Da Nang during the war, which ended in 1975. Between 1,000,000 and 2,500,000 Vietnamese died in the war and over 58,000 Americans. "We are both moving earth and taking the first steps to bury the legacies of our past," US Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear said at a ceremony at Da Nang airport on Thursday. "I look forward to even more successes to follow." Washington sprayed some 45 million liters (12 million gallons) of the defoliant during the Vietnam War in "Operation Ranch Hand," a campaign to remove the jungle canopy and expose North Vietnamese forces and their supply lines to attack. Agent Orange contains the chemical dioxin, which is known to cause cancer and respiratory problems. The Vietnamese government claims that up to four million of its citizens suffer from diseases related to Agent Orange. US soldiers were also affected by the chemical. Washington, for its part, maintains that the link between dioxin exposure and disease is "uncertain." The two former enemies are using technology that heats the contaminated soil at Da Nang to high temperatures, thereby breaking down the dioxin and rendering it into harmless compounds. According to the US embassy, the soil around Da Nang should be safe again by 2016. No compensation for victims Although the US has begun to assist in efforts to clean up Agent Orange in Vietnam, it still has not committed any money to helping the victims of the chemical. According to Vietnamese authorities, children are still being born with deformities and health defects three generations after exposure. "They have not given any money to help victims of dioxin improve their health," said Mai The Chinh, head of the Propaganda Board of the Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin. "The life of Agent Orange victims is very difficult now." The US and Vietnam are also considering a clean up at Bien Hoa, in the southern province of Dong Nai. The airport there is actually more contaminated than Da Nang, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Law newspaper. Phu Cat airport in the central province of Binh Dinh is another heavily contaminated area. The cleanup is a joint project between Vietnam's Defense Ministry and the US Agency for International Development. Work began last year with the clearance of unexploded ordinance from the area surrounding Da Nang. slk/tj (AFP, Reuters, dpa) | [
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An easy kick-off in German Cup, with scope for surprise
The first round of the German Cup generally has a bit of a pre-season feel to it. Due to the seeding, the top division giants are guaranteed to face lower-league minnows. There's one drawback though: they all play away.
A relative minnow in the top flight Bundesliga, last season's surprise package Augsburg is the first to take to the pitch in the German Cup on Friday night, traveling to lower league side Wilhelmshaven. Augsburg was the side that shocked everyone by surviving its first ever Bundesliga season last time out, then surprised them even more by ditching the majority of its coaching staff even after dodging the drop. The 17 remaining Bundesliga clubs will all travel to minnows playing below the German second division over the course of the weekend, along with 15 teams from the second division. The three sides that secured promotion to the Zweite Bundesliga last season are included in the "amateur" half of the 64-team draw. The first round of the cup is all about survival, as home crowds get to cheer on rank underdogs against their high-profile visitors. This system is not entirely designed to favor the established sides, which are hardly in need of charity; it's also meant to be a chance for tiny teams to rack up higher gate receipts at least once in a season. Upsets are rare, but by no means unprecedented. Last season, Felix Magath's Wolfsburg fell at the first hurdle versus Red Bull Leipzig, while Bayer Leverkusen lost to Dynamo Dresden and Freiburg were beaten by Unterhaching. Those results are very much the exceptions. It's more common to see a demolition job by the favorites. Schalke, who went on to secure third in the league last season, won their first round match against FC Teningen 11-1. Even a second division side, the admittedly strong Paderborn, put 10 goals past its first round opponents last time out. Potential upsets? Paderborn have a tougher draw this year for their Sunday game, facing Arminia Bielefeld - a side surprisingly relegated from the second division last season. Bielefeld were in the top German league just four seasons ago. On the subject of fallen giants, Karlsruhe now qualify for the "amateur" side of the draw and are liable to provide Hamburg with a relatively tough first round test on Sunday. These two sides last met in the Bundesliga in February 2009, with Karlsruhe winning 3-2 just a few months ahead of dropping out of the top division. Borussia Mönchengladbach, who have a tricky midweek Champions League qualifier against Dynamo Kyiv to worry about, could have drawn better too. They will travel to the Dutch border on Saturday to play Allemania Aachen, the third of a trio of shock second division rejects last season. German giants Bayern Munich take on Jahn Regensburg, one of the newly-promoted second division sides, in the last match of the weekend late on Monday evening. Augsburg's new coach Markus Weinzierl will be watching that game keenly; he led Regensburg to promotion last season. Bayern lost last year's final in Berlin, getting taken apart 5-2 by double-winners Borussia Dortmund. | [
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Merkel criticized as danger to German democracy
It's the strongest criticism of Angla Merkel's grip on power so far: A member of her own conservative party has published a book, describing Merkel as a danger to democracy in Germany.
"The Godmother" is a book that Chancellor Angela Merkel probably won't read. Rumors are circulating that the Chancellor indignantly put aside an excerpt published in the German newspaper "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" after reading just a few lines. Nevertheless, the 300-page "anti-Merkel" book penned by the 71-year-old-publicist, Gertrud Höhler, a confidante of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, has the makings of a bestseller in political Berlin. More than 80 journalists and camera teams crowded into the federal press conference on Thursday. Höhler's book is about more than the tired old allegations that Merkel, for instance, pushes all male rivals out of her way, has not internalized any values and makes decisions only when she knows which way the scale will tip. Merkel, nicknamed "Mutti" or mommy in political circles, becomes a "godmother" in Höhler's book. She establishes a "silent variant of authoritarian power that Germany has yet to experience." The author lists a number of attributes, such as stealing ideas from political rivals, leveling the party system to an all-party-state and sloppily handling legal norms, ethical standards, parliament and the constitution – and often reprimanded by the Federal Constitutional Court. In short, she points to a decline of political morals. "German-tailored suit" for Europe Perhaps all of this is linked to the 35 years that Angela Merkel lived under a dictatorial regime in East Germany. No one knows for sure what drives Merkel, who learned in the GDR to read between the lines, act silently, never say too much and be suspicious, Höhler noted when introducing her book. "How Angela Merkel is rebuilding Germany" is the subtitle of "The Godmother." In Höhler's view, other Europeans should be concerned about Merkel's thirst for power as the Chancellor is giving Europe a "German-tailored suit." The facts that the author has compiled on a creeping loss of democracy in Germany and Europe aren't new. What is new at first glance is the exaggerated role attributed to Merkel in this process. This reveals how much some conservatives in the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are challenged by Merkel's claim to power and how her "values of abstinence, coolness and dispassion have forced them into a corner," Höhler said. The sudden change of direction in energy policy that Merkel pushed through practically over night, the end of military service, the plans to lower taxes and abandon traditional views on the family by granting more rights to homosexual couples – these are all examples that have led to insecurity across the party. "Godmother" author Gertrud Höhler, long a member of the CDU, also worked as an adviser to Helmut Kohl. Biting their tongue Höhler's book has a dedication "to all who are still biting their tongue." How many of these there are in the party is not clear. The CDU, for a long time, has had the reputation of being overly submissive to their chancellor when they're in government and it is Merkel's popularity that the CDU will have to thank if it manages to remain in power past the 2013 election. Toppling the chancellor from within the party is therefore very unlikely. Whoever wants a career in the CDU avoids crossing Merkel. Only old party veterans no longer seeking new positions dare to speak out. One of them is 72-year old Josef Schlarmann, head of the party's committee on small and medium-sized companies. He recently criticized that the party was merely taking orders. Attempts to go against Merkel's course have so far failed. The most recent case was when the so-called Berlin circle of some 35 CDU politicians announced a "conservative manifesto" to criticize what it perceived as the CDU taking over too many of the center-left's policies on social issues. The politicians said that they'd been encouraged to do so by thousands of letters from party members and other citizens. But the launch of the manifesto, planned for this Friday, has been cancelled on short notice, with a new date announced for autumn. Angela Merkel – who has just been named the world's most powerful woman again – is most likely not all too worried about it. | [
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Musharraf announces return to Pakistani politics despite Taliban threat
Former President Pervez Musharraf has said he wants to "free" Pakistan from terrorism when he returns to the country after years in exile. He also criticized the 2011 US operation to kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
On Sunday, Musharraf will fly into Karachi, his hometown and Pakistan's largest city. With 18 million people, Karachi is suffering from record levels of violence linked to ethnic and political tensions. He plans to contest May's elections. "In my time, Pakistan was an emerging country with a budding economy, and terrorism was not as big a problem as it is now," Musharraf told the German news magazine Der Spiegel. "Success in these two political areas is the key to a stable and healthy Pakistan." Musharraf faces charges over the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto; the 2006 death of the Baluch rebel leader Akbar Bugti in a military operation, and the 2007 sacking and illegal arrest of judges. However, legal problems are only one challenge facing Musharraf: The Taliban have warned they have an assassination team ready to kill the one-time military strongman if he sets foot in the country. He brushed the threats off, though: "In the last 12 years, terrorists have often tried to drive me into hell. Without success." "They won't manage in the future either ..." Musharraf said. "Fortune favors the brave." 'A total failure' The former army chief of staff, Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 and left the country after stepping down in August 2008, when Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, was elected president. "The last five years ... were a total failure," Musharraf said, adding that "all the economic and social indicators showed that Pakistan was a developing country" before his self-imposed exile. "I want to put Pakistan on the road to prosperity and free it from terrorism," Musharraf said in the interview, published online Saturday. Musharraf also said that the killing of the al Qaeda leader bin Laden was "certainly a success but a success that Pakistani security forces could have achieved." He added that "no country has the right to violate the sovereignty of another like the US did there." mkg/mr (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP) | [
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Design spans generation gap in aging Germany
What would their grandparents say? That's what design students from two German schools asked themselves. They found that designing everyday objects for the elderly is both a creative challenge and a smart career move.
"In 30 years, one third of the German population will be over 60 and will still hold a considerable purchasing power," explained Lilly Bozzo-Costa Wolf, the Leipzig architect who came up with the idea for a unique design project. "I wanted to approach ageing with humour and this is something that young people can teach you best," said Bozzo-Costa Wolf, who got the Burg Giebichenstein University in Halle and the Academy for Applied Arts in Schneeberg on board, along with the Free University of Bozen in Italy. Named Über60 (Over 60), the project is an attempt to "turn design for seniors into something appealing for the next generation of designers." The architect decided to collaborate with students after seeing a student exhibition which convinced her that eastern Germany is full of young design talent. Death is age's unwanted neighbor Markus Rossnagel and Robert Jähnen were two students who took on the challenge of putting themselves in the shoes of an elderly person. But their tutors were not impressed when the young men teamed up to create a gravestone. Rossnagel and Jähnen took an entrepreneurial approach. "We were looking for some gaps in the market," they said. "We talked with our grandmothers and discovered that it is a huge burden for old people when their spouse or relatives die. They have to pay a lot for a funeral and a gravestone." So the student designed a gravestone that is affordable and practical, but also stylish. Made of steel and hollow inside, the gravestone opens at the back to reveal a storage space. Rossnagel and Jähnen added a lock because they observed that cemetery visitors, mainly elderly women, are afraid that their grave decorations may get stolen. The front of the gravestone can be engraved using laser technology. Some people were shocked when they saw their piece, "but the elderly people were very happy that we focused on this theme," said Rossnagel. "The issue is there, you can't deny it: If no one wants to think about it, the circumstances won't improve," added Jähnen. Their entrepreneurial spirit was rewarded. "I heard a man saying to his partner: If I die, buy me one of those," said Jähnen. The students are now working with a private investor who wants to launch a line of low-cost gravestones. They have also designed a light gardening trolley that can be used to transport water and gardening tools to maintain a grave. It also serves as a stool when the work becomes too strenuous. "If two people meet with a trolley, they can have a seat and talk," said Rossnagel. Removing physical limitations Carolin Schultze, a student in wood and furniture design, came up with what she calls her "mobile plant station" when she understood that physical limitations are what keep her grandparents away from their biggest passion: gardening. The mobile plant station is a combination of a double shelf and a table on wheels, with holders for pots and gardening tools. It allows the gardeners to take care of their plants without having to lean and bend their knees as everything happens at waist height. Like many of her fellow students, she designed a multipurpose product. Place a salad bowl in the flowerpot hole and some champaign glasses in the tool holders and you have a portable picnic table. "When you are old it is really important to have hobbies and to have a task. The elderly have a special relationship to plants, flowers and nature. I think that this relation with plants will grow for me as well," she said. A stick for any situation Paul Jacob was a carpenter before enrolling in design school, where he wants to learn how to give his products a creative edge. He has already established his own wood design label in Dresden. Like Schultze, he built his objects - an equipped wall and multipurpose walking sticks - with his own hands. Jacob realized that elderly people would not use a walking stick even if they need one because "it makes you look old." He wanted to offer something different by designing curved walking sticks. Inspired by a friend who has a music instrument shop, he then inserted a bass chord in the curve of the cane. By using a door or a trash bin as sounding board, the stick transforms into an easy-to-play monochord bass. For those who are more interested in security then in tunes, another version of his curved sticks can be used for self-defense. Jacob wants to work for this growing market "People who are in their 50s and 60s right now are in demand for useful and stylish objects," he said. For him, being old and feeling old are two different things: "If you stay creative there will be the physical limitation but in the end you will still be young." Preparing for the worst During their first meeting in Halle in eastern Germany, the students visited nursing homes for dementia patients and talked with health and care professionals. Project director Bozzo-Costa Wolf asked the students to think about their "aged self" and think about what it might be like if they were sick, poor or lonely. Phillip Stingl took up the challenge to its extreme and imagined the life of an elderly homeless person in a dystopian future. "Social systems will have collapsed and the elderly will have to use bins as living space," he theorized. The result was a common yellow trash bin transformed into a tiny apartment. While the upper part is still devoted to its original function of stacking trash, the body is one of the world's smallest flats. Stingl wanted to make it as livable as possible by adding a water container and emergency devices, but he also added decorations and a peephole to make it cozy and safe. His work was among those that excited the strongest reactions. Many didn't understand right away that he intended it as a critique of contemporary society. "I learned that it is a huge matter how you communicate things, especially objects that are in between art and design. If it is placed in a museum people would take it immediately as art, but if they see it in a magazine, it's taken as a realistic house for tomorrow, which it is not," commented Stingl. In April, the students who participated in the Over60 project will go to Milan to exhibit their works at FuoriSalone, a series of exhibitions that take place during the major biggest furniture fair, il Salone del Mobile. Most of the students want to continue designing for the over-60 market. As Markus Rossnagel put it, "I discovered that there is a lot more you can do besides designing stools and tables." | [
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