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Syrian chemical weapons plan behind schedule
The US is renewing pressure on Syria to turn over all of its chemical weapons after missing multiple deadlines. Damascus and some experts blame the civil war. Others see a move by Assad to make himself indispensable.
Doubts held by many experts regarding the timetable for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons have turned out to be true. According to the plan drawn up by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), all of the Assad regime's poison gas should have been shipped out of Syria by the end of last December. That deadline expired without a single container of chemical weapons leaving the country. A second deadline on February 5, 2014 was also missed. All chemical materials used to produce the weapons should have been transported out of Syria by that date. So far, only 18 containers have been shipped from the Syrian port city of Latakia. Thus far, only 50 tons of chemical weapons out of a planned 1,300 have been loaded for transport. That's just four percent of the Assad regime's total stockpile. If the operation continues at this rate, it will take three years for all of the chemical weapons to be removed from Syria. Yet according to the OPCW's plan, the country's entire stockpile is to be destroyed by June 30. The Syrian government blames the security situation in the war-torn country for the delays. Additionally, bad weather, logistical problems and a lack of equipment have slowed the process. Damascus is now calling for additional war-related equipment like bomb detectors to clear roads of explosive devices. Idle ships Syria has already received equipment to transport its chemical weapons. Russia, for example, has delivered off-road SUVS and armored vehicles into the war-zone. Other countries are also making contributions to this historically one-of-a-kind mission. Denmark and Norway have stationed two cargo ships near the Syrian coast. The ships have been tasked with transporting chemical weapons and their constituents from Latakia across the Mediterranean to southern Italy. Those freight vessels are being protected by warships from Denmark, China, Great Britain, Norway and Russia. According to the plan, the chemical weapons will then be transferred to "Cape Ray" at the Calabrian port of Gioia Tauro. The specialized US ship will then destroy most of the chemical weapons in international waters. Many of the chemical constitutents and byproducts will be destroyed by several states on shore and in an environmentally friendly manner. "Certainly, all of the arrangements that have been made by OPCW member states - [which] are all contributing to this extraordinary mission to remove and destroy the elements of Syria's chemical weapons program - are ready to go," said Michael Luhan, press spokesman for the OPCW, in an interview with DW. But right now, the ships in the Mediterranean are still waiting. And the costs of the mission are rising with every delay. The Norwegian Defense Ministry told DW that the charter for just one of the two cargo ships has already cost nearly five million euros ($6.8 million). The defense ministry remained diplomatic, however, saying that it's aware of the mission's extraordinary nature and the difficult security situation on the ground. All of the partners involved should continue to demonstrate their engagement, and further delays should be avoided, the ministry says. OPCW patience, US pressure The coordinator of the mission, Sigrid Kaag, reportedly told the UN Security Council behind closed doors that it's unlikely the Syrian government is intentionally delaying the transport of its chemical weapons. Meanwhile, OPCW spokesman Michael Luhan maintains that the final date for the destruction of all of the stockpiles would not be changed at this time. "There's no discussion or suggestion at this point of moving that 30th of June deadline," he said. "In our assessment, it is still possible to reach that deadline." But the OPCW's view is not shared by all of those involved in the mission. The US raised the pressure when its State Department made public on its website an OPCW assessment of the mission. "We know the regime has the ability to move these weapons and materials because they have moved them multiple times over the course of this conflict," said Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the UN. "It is time for the Assad government to stop its foot-dragging, establish a transportation plan, and stick to it." Syrian government playing for time? Some commentators suspect that Assad is using his chemical weapons as a bargaining chip. As long as he still possesses the weapons, he can make himself an indispensable negotiating partner and thereby win time to improve the regime's military position in the civil war. This assumption is supported by the Syrian military's refusal to destroy special hangars and subterranean facilities in which chemical weapons were once manufactured or stored. But it's questionable whether all of the blame can be laid at the feet of the Syrian government. The OPCW and its planners likely underestimated the difficulty of transporting and accessing the chemical stockpiles across the frontlines of Syria's civil war. The OPCW still has yet to inspect one of the 23 storage and production facilities declared by Damascus. The mission, however, has achieved one concrete success: The Syrian government no longer has the capability to deploy chemical weapons. Just a few weeks after the mission began in October, the OPCW reported that the production equipment, filling stations and combat munitions had been completely destroyed under its watch. | [
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Obama in Mexico for trade talks, calls for dialog in Venezuela and Ukraine
US President Barack Obama in Toluca for trade talks with Mexico and Canada proposed an expansion of trade agreements for the Americas into Asia. Obama also spoke out on the unrest in Venezuela and Ukraine.
Obama spent a day south of the US border with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper with a focus on trade discussions around the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade bloc of 12 countries in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific. "We are wanting to see and committed to seeing a good, comprehensive Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. I think it's in all of our interests," Harper said. Obama said the North American partners must maintain their "competitive advantage" on trade, in part by expanding into the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region. Obama acknowledged that "elements in my party" oppose the TPP deal, but said: "We'll get this passed if it's a good agreement." At issue between the US and Canada, has been the US review of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil from tar sands in western Canada over a thousand miles to Nebraska, where existing pipelines would then carry the crude to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. Environmental groups have opposed it, and Obama has said he won't approve it if it increases greenhouse gas emissions. For Mexico, the focus is on an overhaul of US immigration laws and Obama said immigration reform remained one of his highest priorities. But Republican opposition in Congress is likely to prevent new laws being passed this year. The North America Leaders' Summit - also known as the "Three Amigos" meeting - coincided with the 20th year of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among the three countries. A third of US exports go to Mexico and Canada and the trade supports 14 million jobs on US soil, US officials say. But NAFTA has been criticized within the US for its effect on jobs and environmental protection. Pena Nieto heralded the "innovative spirit" that spurred NAFTA and said new trade agreements were: "bound to go beyond the progress that each one of our countries has made." Venezuela and Ukraine Speaking about unrest in Venezuela and Ukraine, Obama denounced the "unacceptable violence in those two countries which the United States strongly condemns." Obama called on Venezuela's government to release protesters detained in recent demonstrations and address the "legitimate grievances" of its people. He said: "along with the Organization of American States we call on the Venezuelan government to release protesters it has detained and engage in real dialogue." On Sunday, left-wing President Nicolas Maduro ordered the expulsion of three US diplomats, accusing them of meeting student leaders under the guise of offering them visas. On Ukraine, Obama gave a cautious welcome to the truce announced between government and opposition on Wednesday. "My hope is at this point that a truce may hold but ... ultimately the government is responsible for making sure that we shift toward some sort of unity government, even if it's temporary, that allows us to move to fair and free elections so that the will of the Ukrainian people can be rightly expressed without the kinds of chaos we've seen on the streets," Obama said. jm / crh (AFP, AP) | [
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French President Emmanuel Macron signs controversial anti-terror law
The new law gives French police permanent powers to shutter places of worship and conduct on-the-spot identity checks. Critics have decried the measure for its restriction of civil liberties and for targeting minorities.
French President Emmanuel Macron signed a controversial raft of anti-terror legislation into law on Monday, ending the two-year state of emergency enacted after the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. The new measures give security services permanent authority to shut places of worship deemed to be fostering extremism, confine the movements of terrorism suspects and search their homes without necessarily seeking the approval of a court first. Police are also allowed to demand identity documents from anyone they deem suspicious at border areas, ports, train stations and airports. "This law will allow us to end the state of emergency from November 1 while fully ensuring the security of our citizens," Macron said as he signed the document, which was approved by a parliamentary majority earlier this month. Debate over basic freedoms The bill sparked considerable debate over the past two weeks in French parliament, with critics arguing that it will be used to persecute minorities, particularly Muslims, with impunity. Macron has promised that the law will be reassessed in two years for its effectiveness. According to a poll by Le Figaro newspaper, 57 percent of the French public backs the measures, although 62 percent agreed that it was a restriction of basic freedoms. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb defended the laws, saying that "everyone noticed we needed a fair balance between security and freedom, and I believe this text meets this need." Under the state of emergency, 11 religious centers have been shuttered "for incitement to commit terrorist acts" and 41 individuals have been placed under house arrest for harboring extremist sympathies. es/jm (AP, AFP) | [
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HSBC roars back from costly write-downs
London-based banking giant HSBC has said its huge restructuring drive is finally bearing fruit. The behemoth has seen its profit rise in recent months thanks first and foremost to its brisk Asia business.
Pre-tax profits at HSBC leapt fivefold in the third quarter, the company reported Monday. The massive jump came weeks after a new chief executive was unveiled as part of a management overhaul that has seen the banking behemoth deal with costly write-downs. John Flint, head of retail banking and wealth management, will take up his position in February next year when current CEO Stuart Gulliver steps down in a bid to "accelerate the pace of change." The Asia-focused lender has been on a recovery drive to streamline its business and slash costs since 2015 when it set out a plan to axe 50,000 jobs and exit non-core markets as it also navigated a series of damaging probes. Among other things, HSBC was fined by US prosecutors for failing to enforce anti-money laundering rules, exposing it to exploitation by drug cartels and terrorist organizations. Uncertainties remain "HSBC has had to spend a lot of money to hire more lawyers to help it fix legal problems and enhance its compliance department," said Kingston Securities Executive Director Dickie Wong, adding that it may still feel the effects of legal challenges and expenses. But given the lender's third-quarter performance, Wong insisted HSBC was "one of the best international banking stocks at this moment." Q3 net earnings also rose to $2.96 billion (2.55 billion euros), up from a loss of $617 million in the same quarter a year earlier. "Our pivot to Asia is driving higher returns and lending growth, particularly in Hong Kong," CEO Stuart Gulliver said in a statement Monday. hg/jd (AFP, Reuters, dpa) | [
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Republican Senate candidate Moore faces underage sex allegations
Republican candidate for Attorney General Sessions' seat in the US Senate, Roy Moore, faces allegations of sexual contact with minors decades ago. A month to go before the special election, his race may already be run.
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Alabama woman Leigh Corfman said the now 70-year-old Moore, then a 32-year-old assistant district attorney, had had sexual contact with her when she was 14. Moore has denied the accusations against him, calling them politically motivated. The Alabama special election on December 12 is to fill the vacancy created when Trump picked Senator Jeff Sessions to serve as attorney general. The Republicans have a majority of only two in the Senate as President Donald Trump embarks on a key piece of legislation on tax reform. Since news broke of film producer Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual misconduct over the last few weeks, many allegations have been made against public figures and celebrities. In the primary contest between Luther Strange and Moore in September much of the Republican establishment — including President Donald Trump and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell — backed Strange. The GOP's more conservative wings, including former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, backed Moore. Moore won despite being outspent by a margin of 10-to-1 by Strange. Moore will run against Democrat Doug Jones on December 12. In a short campaign statement, Jones said, "Moore need to answer these serious charges." The allegations The Washington Post reported that Moore first approached then 14-year-old Corfman in early 1979 outside a courtroom in Etowah county and after phone calls and meetings, he drove her to his home and kissed her, Corfman told the paper. Alabama law lists the legal age of consent as 16. Three other women also interviewed by the paper said Moore had approached them when they were between the ages of 16 and 18 and he was in his early 30s. Two of the women spoke of Moore giving them glasses of wine when they were under the legal drinking age of 19. The state's statute of limitations for bringing felony charges involving sexual abuse of a minor in 1979 would have run out three years later and Corfman never filed a police report or a civil suit. 'Fake news'? Moore's campaign denied the report and said it was "the very definition of fake news and intentional defamation." "After over 40 years of public service (by Moore), if any of these allegations were true, they would have been made public long before now," the Moore campaign said in an email to supporters. Moore also issued a fundraising appeal asking for emergency donations in a "spiritual battle." "I believe you and I have a duty to stand up and fight back against the forces of evil waging an all-out war on our conservative values," he wrote. "I will NEVER GIVE UP the fight!" Moore or less gone? Senior Republicans have called on Moore to step aside from the Senate race if the allegations are shown to be true. "The allegations against Moore are deeply troubling," said Colorado Senator Cory Gardner, who leads the Senate GOP campaign arm. "If these allegations are found to be true, Roy Moore must drop out of the Alabama special Senate election." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell added, "If these allegations are true, he must step aside." Arizona Senator John McCain said, "He should immediately step aside and allow the people of Alabama to elect a candidate they can be proud of." There were, however, some Republicans willing to see Moore see out the rest of the race — and the allegations against him. "Take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus," Alabama state Auditor Jim Ziegler told The Washington Examiner. Strange days indeed Strange has reportedly left open the possibility he may re-enter the campaign. Moore's name cannot be removed from the ballot before the special election even if he withdraws from the race, according to John Bennett, a spokesman for the Alabama secretary of state. Moore made his name in the Republican party through his devotion to hardline Christian conservative positions. He was twice removed from his Supreme Court position, once for disobeying a federal court order to remove a 5,200-pound (2,360-kilogram) granite Ten Commandments monument from the lobby of the state judicial building. jbh/sms (AP, AFP) | [
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Venezuela meets international creditors as debt default looms
Following months of violent protests, Venezuela is meeting with creditors to discuss ways out of what seems to be inevitable default. Meanwhile, the EU slapped a new set of sanctions on the South American nation.
Venezuela started meeting a host of its creditors in Caracas to discuss government proposals to restructure at least 60 billion dollars of junk bonds in a bid to ease the country's massive debt burden. Some investors have, however, expressed concern in advance that the meeting was only a ruse for President Nicolas Maduro to seek longer repayment periods for the bonds. This could lead to Venezuela's eventual debt default, with the country's total debt estimated to be at least $150 billion (€130 billion). Maduro said that 414 investors and representatives of investment banks, which amounted to 91 percent of holders of Venezuelan bonds, would attend the meeting near the presidential palace. However, there had been earlier reports that some of the creditors would not be able to attend the meeting amid concern that the delegation of Venezuelan negotiators could include people who are presently under US sanctions. Venezuela has been in a massive recession since Maduro succeeded the late president Hugo Chavez in 2013. A drop in oil prices has contributed to a galloping shortage of basic goods in the cash-strapped country, where inflation is expected to reach 1,000 percent this year. Meanwhile, a default declaration of the PDVSA state oil company is seen as almost inevitable. The committee of the Internal Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), has agreed to reconvene on Tuesday to determine PDVSA's fate. Persona non grata The head of the committee charged with negotiating a deal, Vice President Tareck El Aissami, is one of the politicians targeted by US sanctions, with Washington accusing El Aissami of drug trafficking. To encourage attendance, Venezuela has reportedly said that Vice President El Aissami won't physically attend the meeting — despite being put in charge of the restructuring the country's debt. It was unclear whether Venezuelan Finance Minister Simon Zerpa, another individual targeted by US sanctions for alleged corruption, would be present. The prospects for reaching any agreement are complicated by the sanctions imposed on Venezuela and on many senior officials, which prohibit any US person or bank from buying the country's debt. About 70 percent of Venezuelan bondholders are North American, according to government figures, while China and Russia also hold a considerable share. During his weekly television speech on Sunday, President Nicolas Maduro insisted his country would "never" default on the country's debt, adding that Venezuela's strategy is to "renegotiate and refinance all the debt." He highlighted talks with allies China and Russia — Venezuela owes China $28 billion and Russia $8 billion. Russia has already agreed to restructure $3 billion in loans. EU sanctions The meeting started just after the European Union adopted its own set of targeted sanctions earlier in the day targeting "those involved in the non-respect of democratic principles or the rule of law." The sanctions include a ban on arms sales as well as travel restrictions and asset freezes on individuals deemed to be in violation of human rights. Caracas has meanwhile criticized the sanctions as "illegal" and "absurd." The EU sanctions came after the bloc declared that it would not recognize Venezuela's Constituent Assembly, a chamber of loyalists appointed by Maduro in August designed to usurp parliamentary powers. The EU said that its creation had "further eroded the democratic and independent institutions." Amid all the international pressure, thousands of Venezuelans have fled to neighboring countries and more than 120 people have been killed in anti-government protests so far this year. ss/dv (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters, EFE) | [
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Kuwait Airlines and limited Israeli mobility in Middle East
A German court's ruling that allowed Kuwait Airlines to deny an Israeli travel has focused attention on an enduring multination boycott of Israel. Kuwaiti law prohibits companies from doing business with Israelis.
Critics are accusing a German court of endorsing anti-Semitism following a ruling on Thursday that permits Kuwait Airlines to refuse to transport Israelis because of their citizenship. Though this is the first time a German court has ruled to allow a company to enforce such a specific travel ban, the case casts light on Israelis' long-term lack of mobility across the Middle East. As with most of the Arab League's 22 members and several other Muslim-majority states that do not recognize Israel, Kuwaiti law prohibits companies from doing business with the country's government and citizens. The passenger sued the national carrier for discrimination after it refused to fly him from Frankfurt to Bangkok via Kuwait City in 2016. The airline offered him a seat on a flight by another airline, but he refused. The court ruled that it could not evaluate the laws of a foreign country and that the airline was following Kuwaiti law. It also found that German law prohibits discrimination because of race, ethnicity and religion, but not based on citizenship. Arab League boycott With the notable exceptions of the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Egypt, which have diplomatic relations with Israel, most Arab League members and several Muslim states have long boycotted the country and plan to continue doing so until its conflict with Palestine is resolved. More than two dozen countries have barred Israeli citizens, declaring that they do not recognize Israel as a nation. Saudi Arabia, like Kuwait, does not allow Israelis to board national planes or transit through the country's airports. Kuwait and about a dozen other Arab and Muslim states go even further, preventing people of any nationality with an Israeli stamp in their passports from entering. To circumvent this, Israeli authorities offer the option of stamping a piece of paper. The travel restrictions that many Middle Eastern nations have imposed do not apply to Jews in general. Most of the countries will not accept Israeli passports because they do not recognize the nation's right to exist, which officially invalidates the travel document. Israel's national carrier, EL AL, is also restricted from flying within the airspace of several Arab and Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran. This forces the airline to take longer routes in some cases, such as when flying to Asia. Citizens of most states that impose a boycott are also banned from visiting Israel by their governments. The US Congressional Research Service has found that the Arab League's nearly seven-decade boycott is "sporadically applied and ambiguously enforced.” Within and near the Middle East, Israelis may travel to Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, as well as non-Arab Turkey. In 2015, the United Arab Emirates, home to the major airlines Emirates and Etihad, changed its laws to allow Israeli citizens to transit airports and people with Israeli stamps on their passports to enter the country. 'Any applicable laws' The case in Frankfurt follows a similar discrimination suit against Kuwait Airways in the United States, where the court ruled against the company. In the US case, however, the defendant was not allowed to fly from New York City to London, where he was to disembark, on a leg of a flight to Kuwait City. According to the International Air Transport Association's guidelines, a carrier can refuse any passenger if "such an action is necessary to comply with any applicable laws, regulations or orders of any state or country to be flown from, into or over." The US Department of Transportation found the airline's policy discriminatory because the man had the right to travel to the UK. The ruling did not address direct flights from the United States to Kuwait. The airline responded by ending flights from the US with a stopover in London. Israel's own maneuvers In March, Israel's parliament passed a law barring foreign activists who support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement from entering the country. BDS is a global effort to put international pressure on Israel for its policies toward Palestinians and illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel regularly denies entry to critics of Israel and supporters of BDS, which has raised concern among some liberal Jewish organizations in the United States. In July, five members of an interfaith delegation of Jewish, Christian and Muslim activists were prevented from boarding a Lufthansa flight from Washington to Israel after authorities told the German national carrier to not to allow them on board. Three of the activists, including a rabbi, were from Jewish Voice for Peace, which supports BDS. A Lufthansa spokesperson told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the airline had no indication of why Israel's government did not want the activists to enter. "We simply have to abide by the rules and regulations of every country in which we operate," he said. | [
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Charles Manson dies aged 83 after decades in prison
Notorious cult leader Charles Manson passed away on Sunday evening in a hospital in Kern County, California. Manson directed a series of gruesome murders, including that of Hollywood star Sharon Tate.
After half a century in prison, the hippie cult leader died on Sunday evening, local time. He became a face of evil across America after organizing the horrific murders of pregnant Hollywood actress, Sharon Tate, and six others during the summer of 1969. Debra Tate, Sharon Tate's sister, told celebrity website TMZ that she had received a call from prison officials telling her that Manson had died on Sunday evening, following a long illness. California prison officials later released a statement confirming Manson's death. Shocking brutality The murders horrified the world and, together with the violence that marked a 1969 Rolling Stones concert at California's Altamont Speedway, showed the violent, drug-fueled underbelly of the hippie counterculture movement, and seemed to mark the end of the era of peace and love. Read more: - Manson follower Leslie Van Houten denied parole for 20th time - Charles Manson receives license to tie the knot behind bars "Many people I know in Los Angeles believe that the Sixties ended abruptly on August 9, 1969," author Joan Didion wrote in her 1979 book "The White Album." A life of criminality Manson had been in and out of jail for petty crimes since childhood. He moved to San Francisco during the so-called "Summer of Love," busking on the streets with his guitar. But he quickly established himself in a hippie commune, surrounded by mostly female followers he referred to as his "Family." The commune later moved its base to a ranch in California's Death Valley. Manson had at least one child with one of his followers. Manson became fixated on the Beatles, and created a bizarre philosophy inspired by a twisted interpretation of the band’s song lyrics. In particular, he was obsessed with the song "Helter Skelter", the title of which was scrawled on the walls in his victim’s blood, and which he believed could lead to triggering a race war. Maintained his innocence Despite the evidence against him, Manson claimed throughout his trial in 1970 that he was innocent and that society itself was guilty. "These children that come at you with knives, they are your children. You taught them; I didn't teach them. I just tried to help them stand up," he said in the courtroom. After the almost year-long trial, Manson and three of his cult members — Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten —were found guilty of murder and given the death sentence. Another defendant, Charles "Tex" Watson, was later convicted. After the California Supreme Court struck down the death penalty in 1972, they all had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. Atkins died in prison in 2009. Krenwinkel, Van Houten and Watson are still behind bars. During his jail term Manson applied for parole 12 times, most recently in 2012. On the last occasion, he apparently told the court he was "a very dangerous man." He was not eligible to apply again until 2027. In a 1981 interview in jail, Manson claimed that he felt at home behind bars after spending most of his life there. cl/rt (AFP, AP) | [
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Mexico's murder rate rises to 20,000 in ten months; worst in 20 years
A human rights ombudsman, a media executive and two men in a bitter union dispute are just the latest victims of Mexico's rising murder rate. October was the worst month for murder in 20 years.
Silvestre de la Toba Camacho was driving with his wife and two children in Baja California Sur on Monday night when a vehicle pulled alongside and gunmen began firing. De la Toba Camacho and his son died at the scene, his wife and 18-year-old daughter were wounded. Human Rights Commission director in the state of Baja California Sur since 2015, and a former deputy in the State Congress, de la Toba Camacho and his son added to the record statistics in Mexico for murder. In the first ten months of the year, 20,878 murder investigations have been opened, according to the Interior Ministry. That is more than the 20,547 murders reported for the whole of 2016. The unsolved crime rate in Mexico rose to 96 percent earlier this year. The Canadian Embassy in Mexico was among those to condemn the killing: Vice president of the Televisa media giant, Adolfo Lagos Espinosa, was bicycling in a rural area near the ancient pyramids of Teotihuacan close to the capital on Sunday when a gunfight broke out between two assailants and two of Espinosa's bodyguards. He died in the attack. Deadliest year since records began Nationwide, 2017 is on track to be the deadliest year since the government began collecting this data in 1997. On average, 69 murders are committed every day in Mexico — an increase from the average of 63 per day six years ago. While the country's rampant illegal drug trade and criminal gangs are at the center of the murders, other causes contribute. A bitter union dispute at a Canadian-owned gold mine in southern Mexico, along with a dispute between two vigilante groups have left state prosecutors unclear on the motives for two killings in the area over the weekend. El Limon Guajes mine has been closed by road blockades since the start of the month. Some reports suggest gunmen drove up to one of the barriers and opened fire. But on Wednesday, the state prosecutor's office suggested the deaths may have resulted from a dispute between two vigilante groups in the Guerrero Gold Belt, 180 kilometers (112 miles) southwest of Mexico City. The most violent state in Mexico Guerrero, which includes the resort city of Acapulco, has become the country's most violent state. In 2014, 43 teaching students disappeared and were presumed murdered after the intervention of police officers and the local mayor. In October, political and social leader Ranferi Hernandez Acevedo, his wife, mother-in-law and chauffeur were reported missing before their remains were recovered from a burning vehicle on a rural state highway. The Mexican war against drug criminals began in 2006 when President Felipe Calderon said his government and security forces would fix drug trafficking and drug-related violence. Instead, nearly ten years later 150,000 people have died and at least 28,000 people have disappeared. President's reputation undermined Current President Enrique Pena Nieto admitted earlier this year that: "Confrontations between members of different armed groups have really become an everyday scenario in many parts of the country." Pena Nieto's political reputation was undermined in the wake of the 2014 disappearances of the Guerrero students and he risks ending his six-year term as one of the least popular presidents of the last 20 years. According to a poll in June, 60 percent of respondents blamed his administration for the rise in violence. Only 3 percent believed him to be trustworthy. jm/se (EFE, Reuters) | [
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'The DFB has lost touch with the fans'
The DFB has introduced plenty of things to upset the fans: varying kickoff times, VAR and China's U20s playing in the country's fourth tier. Fan researcher Harald Lange told DW that the fans have every right to be angry.
DW: Professor Lange, has the German football association (DFB) lost touch with the fans? Harald Lange: This has been true for some time now. This is because fans are not usually the center of attention for the league and club executives. They are perceived as paying customers, as consumers, rather than as passionate, proud fans who contribute to football's culture. Is the DFB actually after a different target audience than the supporters that one usually sees on the terraces? They have a very different view of the fans on the terraces. The DFB tends to perceive them as a disruptive factor, when they protest, when they cross the line, or because they just don't fit into their aesthetics. The belief is that when the fans that create the atmosphere stop attending games, others will replace them. But this won't work in the future. Two weeks ago, there was a meeting between DFB President Reinhard Grindel and representatives of Ultras and other fan groups. The DFB later stated that an open and frank discussion had taken place, but there was no comment from the fan groups. Is this a symptom of the problem? The fans are very distrusting. On the one hand, Mr. Grindel has made concessions and seems to have reached out to fans by doing things like suspending collective punishments. However, the fans don't know how to take this. They don't know whether the DFB has done this simply to curb the criticism of it that was seen in the stadiums in the first few games, or whether it is genuinely interested in building an idea of fan culture that is shared by supporters. The list of complaints against the DFB is long. For one thing, the fans complain about the changing game times and increasing prices. Isn't it understandable for the fans to be skeptical? Of course it is. The underlying question is: What is so special about our fan culture? And above all, who does football belong to? Everybody involved is claiming ownership. The fact of the matter is that without the fans, football as we know it wouldn't exist. You wouldn't be able to earn a single euro anymore, because without the fans you would not be able to attract advertizing. The DFB doesn't take this fact seriously. They think they can compensate by attracting spectators who are into events; people who would go to football one day, handball the next and to the opera the day after that. You've been able to observe this at national team games for the past several years. The atmosphere is staged, as DFB workers attempt to whip-up enthusiasm. However, whenever a match is close, the supporters of the German national team will always be out-sung by the fans of their opponents. That's because what's behind the national team's "fan club" is a highly commercialized aparatus that decides who gets into the stadium and how. This has nothing to do with fan culture. Let's talk more about the commercial side of things. The fans are also upset about the introduction of friendlies between Regionalliga Südwest sides and China's under-20 team. A meeting between the DFB and the fans was canceled because, according to the fans, the DFB refused to allow journalists to be present. Does this not demonstrate that the differences between the two sides are nearly impossible to overcome? The gap is so great because their basic positions are so far apart and there's no real attempt to mediate. Instead, they isolate themselves from each other. Journalism would be a great vehicle to find out: What is the fan thinking? How did fan culture develop into what it is today? Why is it different here from those in Spain, Italy or England? The DFB's general line is pretty well known, but a fundamental understanding does not exist. That's why there are these turf wars, both sides dig their heels in instead of opening up to each other. Another bone of contention in recent weeks has been the implementation of VAR (video assistant referees). The way decisions are being made is utterly opaque for the fans. Is this causing further alienation between the fans and the DFB? I think the system has failed so far,making football more complicated and opaque. You can't say that the fans are being played-off against the executives, but it certainly does not serve to highlight football at its core. Technology is pumped in from outside and then it takes a couple of minutes to find out: Was it a foul or not? Was it a goal or not? That is a killer for the atmosphere in a sport that lives on spontaneity. So even wrong decisions contribute to the atmposphere and the emotions. This is being reduced to some extent. Do you think football as we know it is in the process of dying? (Laughs) That's too extreme. But what you can say is that for years, football has been undergoing some very rapid changes. Depending on your position, you can see this as a good or bad thing. From the point of view of an economist, I would say football has turned into a wonderful business, and many people make a lot of money out of it. On the other hand, if you look at it from the perspective of the real fans who have deep ties to their club through tradition, their city or their region, they have lost a great deal, as others earn a lot of money using the object of their identity, their emotions and their commitment. They feel massively betrayed. That is the breeding ground for protests, but also for conflicts. Professor Harald Lange is the head of sports science at the University of Würzburg. He is an avid football fan and he established Germany's first institute for fan culture in 2012. | [
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UK: Prince Harry gets engaged to actress Meghan Markle
Britain's Prince Harry is engaged to his US partner Meghan Markle, his father Prince Charles has announced. The wedding is due to take place in the spring of 2018 and the couple are to live in Kensington Palace.
"Thrilled, over the moon," Harry remarked as the couple posed for photographs in the grounds of Kensington Palace where they will live in a cottage. Markle's three-stone engagement ring was designed by Harry with a diamond from Botswana and two diamonds taken from the personal collection of his late mother Princess Diana. Clarence House — the residence of Prince Harry's father Prince Charles — released a statement on Monday announcing the engagement. "His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms. Meghan Markle," the statement read. It said the couple had become engaged earlier this month. The wedding will take place next spring, and the couple are to live in Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace. Prince Harry tweeted thanks to those who wished the couple well: Speculation had been rife that 33-year-old Harry would propose to the 36-year-old divorcee Markle, who is best known for her role in the legal drama series "Suits." The couple have been together since June 2016. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Harry's older brother Prince William and Kate Middleton, congratulated the couple. "We are very excited for Harry and Meghan. It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together," Clarence House said in a tweet. Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, who recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary, also said they're "delighted" for the couple. Harry is Queen Elizabeth's grandson and fifth-in-line to the British throne. Read more: The House of Windsor turns 100 Markle's parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland said in a statement: "We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry. Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person." Markle, an Emmy-award winning lighting director, is of Dutch, English, Irish and Scottish descent, while his wife of African-American heritage works as a psychotherapist and yoga instructor. Harry spent 10 years in the army and has this year, with his elder brother William, promoted mental health strategies for armed forces in a joint initiative between their Royal Foundation and the Ministry of Defense. His comments on social issues, including respect for women, have also become more pronounced. The last major royal wedding took place In 2011, when Kate Middleton and Prince William were married in London's Westminster Abbey. | [
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SPD denies 'green light' for new German government, but keeps options open
Social Democratic Party leader Martin Schulz has refuted reports that his party was ready to start coalition talks with Chancellor Merkel's conservatives. But he stopped short of a categorical no.
A visibly irritated Social Democratic chairman Martin Schulz took to the podium in Berlin on Friday to deny that his party was ready to officially begin talks with conservatives toward forming a new grand coalition government. "I can completely repudiate the rumor that any green light has been given," Schulz said. "It is simply false and unacceptable. The way that erroneous reports are circulated destroys trust." Schulz's statement came the day after he met with conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, Bavarian conservative leader Horst Seehofer and German President Frank Walter Steinmeier to discuss the possibilities for a new German government. Germany's Bild newspaper and the news agencies Reuters and DPA reported earlier on Friday that a deal had been reached to pursue the grand coalition option. Read more: AnotherMerkel-led grand coalition in Germany: What you need to know Schulz said reports to that effect were the result of leaks from the conservative sources, adding that he had called Merkel to complain about the confidentiality of Thursday's meeting being violated. At the same time, he didn't slam any doors on the eventuality that Germany's two largest parties could form another new partnership. "There was a broad consensus about not closing down any options concerning the formation of a new government," Schulz told reporters. Earlier on Friday, SPD politicians said they would not be rushed into joining a new grand coalition. Speaking after Schulz's statement, CDU chief executive Klaus Schüler said his party respected what the SPD chairman had to say and would wait for the Social Democrats to make a decision about whether to officially pursue talks. Lots of opposition to talks within the SPD The unusually testy tone Schulz struck is a reflection of the differences between conservatives and Social Democrats not just over the policies of a possible grand coalition, but whether even to try to form one at all. Merkel would have few problems getting her parliamentary group to go along with talks about extending their current collaboration with the Social Democrats, as there is broad consensus among conservatives that a grand coalition is the only way forward. But for the SPD the situation isn't nearly as clear. On September 24, the Social Democrats under Schulz took only 20.5 percent of the vote. It was their worst-ever election performance in post-war German history, and many Social Democrats blamed the compromises the party made as part of the grand coalition that has governed Germany for the past four years. Opinion surveys suggest that the SPD rank-and-file have decidedly mixed feeling about a new edition of the grand coalition, and the party's youth organization, the Jusos, are dead set against it. By contrast, Steinmeier — himself a former SPD leader — is known to favor the grand coalition option. Schulz said the SPD executive committee would continue to discuss the party's options next week. He added that all alternatives would be left on the table at the Social Democrats' party conference from December 7 to 9 in Berlin. A renewal of the grand coalition that currently forms the caretaker government emerged as the most likely path to a new German government after the Free Democrats (FDP) withdrew from talks about forming a three-way coalition with conservatives and the Greens. The other options would be for the conservatives to form a minority government or for Germany to hold a snap election. But both are considered extremely problematic. | [
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Germany coach Loew could end 'special relationship' with Podolski
As Germany try to keep their perfect Euro 2012 qualification record intact against minnows Kazakhstan on Tuesday, the mood in the squad is buoyant. But not everything's hunky-dory in the House of Loew.
With one exception, Joachim Loew's pulse probably remained pretty even as he watched his squad beat Turkey 3-0 last Friday. In the 70th minute, the Germany coach hammered a stray football into the stands after witnessing one of his players miss a sitter in front of the Turkish goal. The culprit was Lukas Podolski. The Cologne attacker was one of the few members of the squad not to impress against the Turks, and that must have been particularly irritating to Loew, who's stayed loyal to Podolski despite his anything but stellar form in the Bundesliga. It wasn’t just that Podolski squandered the chance to seal the match, in which the score at that point only stood at 1-0. He was also generally ineffective on the left side, failing to execute simple passes and lacking the sort of inspiration shown by his counterpart on the right, Thomas Mueller. Podolski - once one of German football's most promising youngsters - was also pretty bland at the 2010 World Cup, raising the question of how long Loew can stick with him. And the intensity with which such questions will be asked is likely to rise and rise since Germany is currently enjoying a golden generation of attacking midfielders-wingers. Bidding for spots One player who definitely did impress on Friday was Toni Kroos. The Bayern midfielder did an admirable job filling in for the injured Bastian Schweinsteiger in a defensive, holding role. The 20-year-old was playing out of position, but you wouldn't have known that, as he combined perfectly with Real Madrid's Sami Khedira to disrupt the Turks' faltering thrusts forward. With Khedira, Mueller and Mesut Oezil having cemented their places in Germany's starting eleven, Schweinsteiger's return will mean someone will have to yield. After Friday's match, it was easy to see Kroos, who's good with both feet, being moved further upfield - and Poldi being switched to the bench. Making matters worse for the player formerly known as Prince Poldi, there are a host of youngsters who just missed out making the squad this time, but who could command a look next March, when Loew will nominate a new team. Midfielder Lewis Holtby and winger Andre Schuerrle are currently ripping the Bundesliga apart with Mainz and have been mainstays of Germany's under-21 team. Loew boldly promoted youngsters like Mueller and Holger Badstuber ahead of Germany's World Cup campaign, and it would be in keeping with the coach's stated philosophy, if he bet again on youth for Poland and Ukraine. Other problem areas Germany's international matches in the coming months are about more than just qualifying for Euro 2012. Loew also has to put together a team capable of beating Spain, the nation that has dumped the Nationalelf out of the previous two major tournaments. As good as Germany's midfield is, the squad won't be able to better the Spaniards in this area as the latter are blessed with extraordinary talents such as Xavi and Iniesta. If the Germans are to put this bete noire -- or perhaps better still bete rouge -- behind them, they will have to excel all over the pitch. And the squad still has some notable weaknesses. Heiko Westermann did an okay job at left back against Turkey, but that's clearly not his natural position. The same applies to Badstuber and Jerome Boateng, who's only starting to recover his form after injury. That problem dogged Germany at the World Cup, and inability to build up pressure on the left was one reason Loew's men came up short against Spain. Another potential concern is center-forward. Despite a prolonged goal drought in the Bundesliga, Miroslav Klose continues to be in the right place at the right time whenever he dons a national team shirt. But Klose will be 34 years old by the time the ball gets rolling in Poland and Ukraine, and it's unclear who could replace him if he got hurt. Cacau is a different sort of forward, while Stefan Kiessling is injured long term, and Mario Gomez seems to have completely lost the plot. And a big target man is crucial to the 4-2-3-1 system Loew employed to such effect in South Africa. Unfortunately for Loew, there aren't any hot young talents making waves in these positions in the Bundesliga. If that situation doesn't change, Germany's embarrassment of riches in midfield might not be enough for Loew to achieve his stated aim for 2012 - leading the team to their first major international title since 1996. Author: Jefferson Chase Editor: Rob Turner | [
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Christmas market in Germany begs visitors to stop coming
Thousands of visitors caused chaos as they flocked to the idyllic forest market in Velen near the Dutch border, a village of only 75 people. Some 85 million people visit Germany's Christmas markets every year.
A Christmas market in the German town of Velen has had to implore visitors to stop coming after a heavy influx of tourists descended on the tiny village near the Dutch border. "As a result of the massive rush of visitors we must cancel this event!" organizers from Velen's small hamlet of Landgut Krumme wrote on Facebook, "the Christmas market in the forest remains a market for visitors from the area!" The post asked that people from outside the region find another place to get their mulled wine and holiday handicrafts: "Thank you for understanding." Tourists from all over Germany and neighboring countries, especially Belgium and the Netherlands, flock to the country's December markets to enjoy drinks, treats and the festive atmosphere. Looking at the pictures both on social media and those promoted by the tourism board of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Velen lies, it is not difficult to see why people would converge on the community's Christmas market. Tucked inside an idyllic forest northwest of Dortmund, the market also boasted a "living Nativity" scene and locally-made delicacies. But this proved too popular for Landgut Krumme, which local newspaper Westdeutsche Allegemeine Zeitung wrote has only 75 inhabitants. On the first weekend of advent, thousands gathered in the hamlet, blocking the small streets for several kilometers in every direction. According to the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, a daily from Cologne – the site of Germany's most-visited Christmas markets – the number of foreign guests to the markets more than doubled over the past few years, and each year a total of about 85 million visitors make their way to the holiday staple. The tradition of Christmas markets in Germany-speaking countries dates back to the Middle Ages, with the oldest thought to have started in Vienna in 1298 and the most famous being Nuremberg's "Christkindlmarkt." | [
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Bangladeshi man faces state and federal terror charges in New York
The suspect was the only person seriously injured in the blast, but he is expected to appear in court. Meanwhile President Donald Trump seized on the attack to call for stricter immigration rules.
New York City police and federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged a Bangladeshi man with terrorism, in connection with his attempt to blow himself up inside the city's crowded subway network during Monday morning's rush hour. Police charged 27-year-old Akayed Ullah with supporting an act of terrorism, making a terrorist threat and criminal possession of a weapon. These charges fall under New York state law. Federal prosecutors charged him with providing material support to terrorists and using weapons of mass destruction. Ullah is accused of detonating a crudely made pipe bomb that was strapped to his body. The blast occurred in an underground warren of pedestrian tunnels that connect the Port Authority Bus Terminal with the subway network. Four people were injured in the blast but only Ullah was seriously wounded. The three wounded victims had relatively minor complaints such as ringing in their ears and headaches. Ullah was hospitalized with burns to his hands and stomach but he is expected to appear in court to answer the charges. The blast, which clearly did not have the lethal effect that was intended, nonetheless created short term panic and snarled public transit traffic as key subway stations were temporarily closed off during the morning rush. Mayor Bill de Blasio called the blast an attempted terrorist attack, and officials said it appeared to be a rare if not unprecedented attempt at suicide bombing on U.S. soil. Trump seizes on attack Law enforcement officials said they had found evidence that Ullah was inspired by the "Islamic State" (IS). Ullah had no direct contact with IS, but police said they had found evidence that he watched IS propaganda online. Ullah taunted US President Donald Trump on his Facebook page Monday, writing, "Trump you failed to protect your nation." Ullah entered the country legally in 2011, based on a visa program based on family connections in the US. Trump seized on the news to renew his call for greater immigration restrictions. "Today's terror suspect entered our country through extended-family chain migration, which is incompatible with national security," Trump said in a statement that called for various changes to the immigration system. Earlier, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump's proposed policies "could have prevented this." Meanwhile, police in Bangladesh have questioned Ullah's wife, according to multiple officials who declined to give their names as they were not permitted to discuss the matter publicly. "We have found his wife and in-laws in Dhaka. We are interviewing them," said one local police official. Ullah last visited Bangladesh in September to see his wife and newborn baby. bik/msh (AP, Reuters, AFP, dpa) | [
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The Roaring Twenties — an illustrated trip through an eventful decade
Illustrator Robert Nippoldt and author Boris Pofalla have published a fascinating book about Berlin's golden era, the Roaring Twenties. It reflects the interest now taken in the art scene of the Weimar Republic.
It stands a good chance of becoming a cult book. Illustrator Robert Nippoldt, born in the Lower Rhine region in 1977, started working on this book about Berlin during the Weimar Republic several years ago. Publishing such a splendid work that contains drawings and graphics does take time. "Es wird Nacht in Berlin der Wilden Zwanziger Jahre" (Night Falls in Berlin of the Roaring 20s) can truly be considered a complete work of art. You can even "listen" to the book ... On more than 200 pages, the author has depicted Berlin during the Roaring Twenties in black-and-white images, tinged with a light bronze color. The beautiful, large-sized book has been enriched by texts by art critic Boris Pofalla. It also contains a CD with sounds of the time, including songs by Renate Müller and Ernst Busch, Lotte Lenya and Claire Waldoff, as well as music by other renowned musicians of the time. Book artist Nippoldt has experience depicting particular cultural eras, having already published books on Hollywood during the 1930s, and the New York jazz scene in the 1920s. Now, this latest book on Berlin in the Weimar Republic touches on a trend. Renewed interest in the Weimar Republic Why has 2017 seen a renewed interest in the Weimar Republic? It was the era that immediately preceded the rise of National Socialism. Critics described its art scene as extremely liberal, with some even calling it "hedonistic," warning that the pendulum might suddenly swing in the other direction. Tragically, those fears weren't unfounded. Soon, the Weimar Republic became shaken by severe economic problems. Some observers saw this as a consequence of the Treaty of Versailles that, in their view, was an unjust punishment for the First World War that Germany lost. One of the provisions of the treaty required Germany to take responsibility for damages and pay reparations. In addition, the growing weakness of crumbling mainstream political parties during this period paved the way for the rise of extreme political parties, the Communists on the left, and the National Socialists on the right. We all know what followed. So why the renewed interest in this period? Some observers have claimed that we might be heading back into a Weimar Republic-like era. What they have in mind is the reawakening of extreme political forces in Germany after decades of almost legendary political stability. Thank God the country hasn't gone that far yet. Besides, if there's something in 20th-century German culture worth being celebrated, then it's the myth of Berlin during the Weimar years. Film, music, dance, theater, cabaret and art of this era remain unforgettable, and have been commemorated over and over again during past decades. The "Roaring 20s" period, closely associated with the city of Berlin, is world-famous. "Berlin shines in a glamor that Paris doesn't know" A quotation from the book of Nippoldt and Pofalla says it all: "Seen from the Kurfürstendamm, the city looks to me like a scintillating gem. In the evenings, the city shines in a glamor that Paris doesn't know. I'm totally fascinated, these big coffeeshops are like ocean steamers, and the orchestras are their machines that resound all over the place, keeping it in motion. The music is everywhere." That's how superstar Josephine Baker described her feelings for a city in which she only spent two months in 1926. But it was an impression that was to last for a long time with a star who, in turn, was never forgotten by Berliners. Also "Berlin Babylon" looks back to the roaring 20s Music is also everywhere in one of the biggest film events of 2017, namely the German series "Berlin Babylon," which has already been shown in theater previews and broadcast by pay-television channel Sky. It will be broadcast to a larger audience in the new year, on German public television channel ARD. The series has garnered tremendous international attention, not only because it was produced by several renowned directors and producers, but precisely because it conjures up this German cultural myth of Berlin during the 1920s. Museum presents "Splendor and Misery of the Weimar Republic" Throughout 2017, Germany's art scene has commemorated what is seen as an outstandingly creative decade, honoring it with one of the most beautiful exhibitions of the year, namely the show "Splendor and Misery of the Weimar Republic" at the Frankfurt-based museum "Schirn." The show that runs through February 25, 2018 presents artists who have captured the Roaring 20s in their paintings. Among them are Georg Grosz, Otto Dix and Christian Schad, but the exhibition also reveals female artists who have not stood in the limelight until now. Readers of Robert Nippoldt's book likewise will come across some famous names, among them, of course, Josephine Baker, as well as painter Jeanne Mammen, and dancer Anita Berber. Coincidentally, the chapters in the book resemble the chapters in the Frankfurt exhibition: Vice and sex, the new woman, prostitution, as well as the devastating aftermath of the First World War in Germany, resulting in astronomical debts, mass impoverishment and political upheaval. The Nazis finished off the cultural boom And then, it all leads to the fateful year of 1933. The television series "Babylon Berlin," the Frankfurt exhibition "Glamor and Misery of the Weimar Republic," and the Berlin book by Nippoldt and Pofalla alike lead viewers, audiences and readers to the abrupt and very bitter end of an incredibly rich cultural era. The National Socialists did everything they could to finish off what they saw as decadence and hedonism. After the Nazi seizue of power, gone was the freedom in which literature, film, music, art, dance and theater could flourish. The only thing that has remained is the recollection of a golden decade during which Germany's then, and now-again-capital Berlin culturally overshadowed even Paris, New York and Hollywood. The German version of "Es wird Nacht im Berlin der Zwanziger Jahre," 224 pages, illustrated by Robert Nippoldt and written by Boris Pofalla, accompanied by a CD, was published by Taschen Verlag. With its ISBN number 978-3-8365-6319-2 the German version can also be ordered by bookstores outside of Germany. The book will be translated into English by late summer or fall of 2018. | [
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Israel bombs Syrian military sites in Golan retaliation
Israel's military has launched airstrikes on the Syrian-held side of the Golan Heights. The strikes are in retaliation for a roadside bombing on Tuesday.
According to statements from the Israeli military, the targets in Wednesday's air force attacks included a Syrian military center, a training facility and artillery batteries. "The IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] targeted several Syrian army positions which aided and abetted the attack against IDF personnel yesterday," a statement said. Syria's military said the attack killed one soldier and injured seven. A statement from the military read "these desperate attempts... endanger the security and stability of the region." Tuesday's bombing wounded four Israeli troops in the occupied Golan Heights. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel would act "forcefully" to defend itself against such an attack. A military spokesman said on Tuesday that Israel viewed "the Syrian army as responsible for this incident," but could not confirm the involvement of Hezbollah, a militant group from Lebanon fighting alongside Syrian government troops. mz/jm (Reuters, AFP, AP) | [
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German foreign minister Steinmeier warns on Crimean fallout
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned that the crisis in Crimea could escalate. He threatened Russia with further sanctions if it tried to claim more Ukrainian territory for itself.
Steinmeier, who visited Ukraine on Saturday, told the weekly "Welt am Sonntag" newspaper that he feared widening consequences of the crisis in Crimea, which on Friday was finally annexed by Russia. "I am very worried that the attempt, contrary to international law, to correct the internationally recognized borders in our European neighborhood 25 years after the end of the Cold War could open a Pandora's box," he told the paper. He said he also wondered whether Russia, which itself includes many different ethnicities, had thought through the possible consequences of its actions. Steinmeier said that although the planned mission of observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) was a first step towards de-escalation, the situation, especially in eastern Ukraine, was "still anything but stable." More sanctions threatened The German foreign minister also threatened Russia with more severe sanctions should it attempt to claim territory beyond Crimea's borders. "If Russia reaches beyond Crimea, we in Europe will decide on radical measures, even if we have to accept economic disadvantages by doing so," he said. He also rejected criticism from some quarters that the West was not being firm enough in its measures against Russia. "I can detect no weakness in our policies," he said. "It is good and important that Europe and the USA act in close accord in this crisis. We are sending clear messages and we are reacting quickly and decisively," he added. Ukraine visit On Saturday, Steinmeier met with Ukraine's interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Kyiv, pledging German support to his pro-European Union government. He also traveled to the eastern city of Donetsk, where there is strong backing for a move toward Moscow, to hold talks with local officials. Steinmeier's remarks were published a day after pro-Russian troops seized the last major military facility still under Ukrainian control in Crimea, the Belbek air base near the western port city of Sevastopol. Two people were reportedly injured during the seizure. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed legislation to absorb the Ukrainian territory into the Russian Federation, after Crimean residents voted in a referendum to split from Ukraine in favor of Moscow. The referendum and the consequent annexation of Crimea by Russia have been met with widespread international condemnation, particularly from the West. The crisis in Crimea is likely to overshadow a two-day summit on nuclear terrorism starting Monday in the Netherlands. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to hold talks there with his US counterpart John Kerry. tj/se (Reuters, dpa) | [
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New floating objects spotted as stormy weather grounds aircraft searching for MH370
Thailand has said its satellite images showed 300 floating objects near the search zone in the southern Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, thunderstorms and strong winds have forced search teams to temporarily suspend operations.
Thailand said on Thursday it could have a lead on possible wreckage from missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, according to media reports. Its latest satellite images revealed roughly 300 floating objects, ranging from two to 15 meters (6.6 to 50 feet) in size. The images pointed to an area some 2,700 kilometers southwest of Perth, within the zone where officials believe the plane crashed after losing contact with air traffic control on March 8. Search halted Earlier Thursday, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) cancelled reconnaissance flights to Thursday's search zone in the southern Indian Ocean after severe weather forecasts proved too dangerous. The suspension grounded six military planes and five civilian aircraft participating in the search and rescue operation for the missing Boeing 777. The aircraft were in the air "maybe two hours," ASMA spokesperson Sam Cardwell said. "They got a bit of time in, but it was not useful because there was no visibility." Five ships would remain out at sea for the time being, ASMA confirmed. Rescuers on Thursday had been scheduled to reach the search zone where satellite images had spotted 122 "potential objects," which Malaysian officials said they believed could be wreckage from MH370. AMSA had issued a similar suspension earlier in the week, a move which sparked protests in Beijing. Distraught family members of the missing passengers marched on the Malaysian embassy, demanding more answers from officials. Two-thirds of the passengers on board MH370 were Chinese nationals. Logistical problems The international search team - relying on logistical support form the US, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand - is tasked with searching an area of 1.6 million square kilometers (622,000 square miles), which is roughly the size of Iran. Not only have poor weather conditions impeded search efforts, but the remoteness of the area has also made the recovery of any possible debris extremely difficult. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott described the search area "as close to nowhere as it's possible." Experts have moreover warned that the unchartered terrain in the southern Indian Ocean could also prove dangerous to the crew. "This is a really rough piece of ocean, which is going to be a terrific issue," the director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, Kerry Sieh, told news agency AFP. "I worry that people carrying out the rescue mission are going to get into trouble." kms/msh (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa) | [
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Do Possessions Make Us Happy? - Taking Stock in an Affluent Country
What have researchers found out about the relationship between happiness and possessions? And what about those people who live prosperous lives - and those who have consciously turned their backs on material wealth?
The average German hoards nearly 10,000 things in his or her home - an unimaginable number. We have never possessed so much and bought so much as we do today. But does that make us happy? Scriptwriter János Kereszti wants to find out and his quest for answers brings him into contact both with people who enjoy the consumer society – and with those who consciously reject it. He meets a rich businessman's wife from the Allgäu, drops in on dropouts in the Uckermark region, visits lottery millionaires and a talks to a female student in Frankfurt who dreams of making it in high finance. He also interviews economics professor Niko Paech, who says you have to have enough time to enjoy your possessions: A music lover, for example, won’t be ten times happier buying a hundred CDs a week instead of ten because he just won’t have time to listen to them all. He also asks celebrities such as actor Peter Lohmeyer and top model Sara Nuru what their personal angle on prosperity is. What do these people dream of? How much property makes them happy? His film is a philosophical road movie painting a picture of the material desires and consumer dreams of Germany’s rich and poor. Broadcasting Hours: DW SUN 20.04.2014 – 22:15 UTC MON 21.04.2014 – 06:15 UTC MON 21.04.2014 – 13:15 UTC MON 21.04.2014 – 17:15 UTC TUE 22.04.2014 – 04:15 UTC TUE 22.04.2014 – 10:15 UTC Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8 San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4 DW (Europe) MON 21.04.2014 – 04:15 UTC MON 21.04.2014 – 17:15 UTC TUE 22.04.2014 – 06:15 UTC TUE 22.04.2014 – 13:15 UTC London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +4 DW (Arabia) MON 21.04.2014 – 04:15 UTC Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4 DW (Amerika) MON 21.04.2014 – 06:15 UTC Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3 | [
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Schalke and Bremen limp into Champions League fixtures
Two of Germany's Champions League representatives are beginning to fray at the edges at home. Both Schalke and Werder lost last weekend, but they may have different approaches to European competition.
The Champions League is meant to separate the men from the boys. Football connoisseurs enjoy pointing out that it is superior in quality to the World Cup, and no less an authority than Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has said it is the best competition in the world. But then he would, seeing as how he’s won it twice. But in the group stages at least, the gulf between Europe's rich and poor leagues often belies this claim, and Germany's representatives in this season's Champions League seem to be finding Europe's best of the best a lot easier to cope with than unglamorous mid-table sides like Nuremberg. Bayern Munich, last season's Champion's League finalists, have only just broken into the top half of the table, but they are three from three in their easy European group. But it is Schalke, led by veteran coach Felix Magath and spear-headed on the pitch by Spanish star Raul, who are best at showing up what a questionable test the Champions League group stages really are. Schalke are second from bottom in the league, having scraped together six points from 10 games - the exact same total they have notched up in their three Champions League matches, thanks to routine wins against Portugal's Benfica and Israel's Hapoel Tel Aviv. Another win in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and they will be well on their way out of the group. Superficial glory But there are of course many other factors at play. As Magath never tires of pointing out, Schalke are struggling with new signings and a new system, and somehow the glamour and much-mooted 'magic' of Europe seems to lift veterans like Raul, the Champions League’s all-time top scorer. The short-term glory of a much-needed win in Europe is a balm for many sorrows. After Raul put two past Hapoel a couple of weeks ago, there was much optimistic talk of "transferring" that form to the league, but Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to local rivals Leverkusen ended with the players being booed off the pitch, and now Schalke face the real prospect of replacing their dead title dreams with a relegation battle. That is not much fun for internationally experienced stars like Manuel Neuer, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Christoph Metzelder, and Magath sounded pessimistic after the game. "We have players who are used to playing for the top. That's why they can't cope with the situation," newspaper Bild quoted Magath as saying. "The performance didn’t match our current position in the standings. We have to try to avoid a tight situation at the bottom of the table." Mid-table struggle For Werder Bremen, the problem is more subtle. Their league form is not good either, and they also just lost at home, to a solid but average Nuremberg. But their attacking line-up featuring the likes of Claudio Pizarro, Hugo Almeida, and Marko Marin are always good for a few goals, and they have at least consolidated mid-table status. In Europe, though, they face a scrap. Tuesday sees them host Dutch champions FC Twente, and the match is pretty much a do-or-die tie for both teams - they are both on two points, behind second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who have four. A defeat would signify pretty much the end of the competition for Werder, and a draw does neither team much good. Werder's frame of mind going into the match is pessimistic. "The only chance we still have is getting three points," Marin said after Saturday's game. "But that will be difficult. The mood in the dressing room is not good." Team captain Torsten Frings was livid after the defeat on Saturday. "We're just being too careless with the situation," he said, after railing against his team-mates as the final whistle went. But he does not see the Champions League match as a distraction, but a chance. "It’s a good opportunity to take a big step forward," he said. The combination of having a fight on their hands, along with the fact that they will have something to prove to the Weserstadion faithful, means they may well pull off a win against Twente. Werder have more European experience, and home advantage should see them get past the Dutch side, whom they held to a 1-1 draw in the Netherlands. For Schalke, meanwhile, the Champions League needs to be an afterthought. Author: Ben Knight Editor: Matt Hermann | [
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On centennial of Tolstoy's death, exhibition reveals his ties to Germany
A century ago, Leo Tolstoy - perhaps the greatest novelist of all time - died at a remote train station. He had embarked on a journey to find the simple life he believed in - partly due to early German influences.
"A light rose up within me," wrote Leo Tolstoy in German in his diary of his encounter with the German-Jewish author Berthold Auerbach in Berlin in 1861. It wasn't unusual for Tolstoy to express himself in a foreign language: Many of the Russian writer's handwritten notes were in German. Tolstoy's diaries, currently part of an exhibition at the Literaturhaus in Munich, bear testimony to his interest in the German language. "There are German expressions throughout [the diary]," said curator Johanna Doering-Smirnov. "And the crazy thing is that 20 or 30 years later they turn out to be important for some of his works." Copies of Tolstoy's travel journals from 1857-1861, excerpts from correspondence with some of his 2,000 German readers and other valuable historical documents are on display at in Munich through January 2011. They reveal just how familiar the Russian literary legend was with Germany. "He loved Germany: He loved German music, Beethoven, Bach, the philosophers and the German writers whose works he could read in German," explained Svetlana Novikova from the Tolstoy Museum in Moscow. Developing his character Tolstoy has his German tutor, Friedrich Roessl, to thank for his language competency. "He was a deserted soldier and a cobbler - a relatively simple person," Doering-Smirnov said of the German tutor, "but with traits that Tolstoy apparently picked up from him: compassion and empathy." It was another German who helped develop young Tolstoy's strong sense of justice while he was studying at Kazan University. Professor Meyer gave the then 17-year-old Tolstoy the assignment of comparing Russia's German-born Empress Catherine the Great to the 17th-century French Enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu. The latter is known for developing the theory of separation of power in government, prohibiting any one from having more power than the others. "That impressed Tolstoy so much that he became a critic of the tsars," said Doering-Smirnov. "But, most importantly, he learned about social responsibility from Meyer and that it's important not just to philosophize but that philosophy also has to be practically implemented." After dropping out of the university, Tolstoy returned to his family's estate in Yasnaya Polyana in central Russia and attempted to put his new ideas about ruling with a social conscience into practice. He was particularly interested in educating the peasant population. On later trips to Germany, he sought examples in vain and complained in his travel journals about the harsh discipline and rote learning he observed in German schools. Defining freedom from within Tolstoy's connection to Germany grew even stronger in 1862 when he married German-Russian Countess Sophia Andreyevna Behrs, 16 years his junior. They would have 13 children, five of whom died before reaching adulthood. The marriage is said to have begun strong but disintegrated when Tolstoy's beliefs became more radical and he chose to renounce his wealth and even his copyrights and lead a peasant life. At the age of 82, Tolstoy was unhappy with the strife at home and left, despite being in poor health. He died several days later, on November 20, 1910, at a train station not far from his home. According to his wishes, he was buried in an unmarked grave in his birth town, Yasnaya Polyana. "What we can learn from him is that freedom is not something that is defined by external circumstances, but is an internal spiritual development," commented the director of Moscow's Tolstoy Museum, Vitaly Remizov. Author: Anila Shuka (kjb) Editor: Sean Sinico | [
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Water Festival kicks off in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh has launched its annual Water Festival, the biggest event of the year and at least two million people have descended on the Cambodian capital to watch the boat races on the river.
The taxis, trucks and minibuses have been rolling into Phnom Penh for days, bringing some two million people into the capital for Cambodia’s biggest event that ends on Tuesday. Among them are the racing crews for more than 400 longboats from across Cambodia, here to compete in a festival that marks a 12th century naval victory. These are not your average canoe: Each one requires up to 70 men or women to paddle. A few carefree days in the capital The attraction of the Water Festival is easy to understand – life in Cambodia’s countryside is difficult, and this holiday represents a rare chance for people to enjoy a few carefree days in the capital. My Seyhang came his team from Kratie province in the remote north-east to take part in his sixth Water Festival. He told me what it would take to win: "It all depends on the amount of practice, and we have to make the boat go as fast as possible. We need a strong boat with a good spirit so that we will win easily. It's the same with the boxers – if they don't practice enough, they will lose." 5,000 sex workers expected But it’s not just crowds and competitors who have come to Phnom Penh - sex workers have also made their way here. The head of one collective expected 5,000 prostitutes to turn up since they can earn 100 dollars a day during the festival, five times more than they normally make. While the authorities promised to arrest sex workers, teams from organizations such as WorldVision were distributing condoms and advice to competitors. WorldVision’s Ruah Saran said that although most competitors were embarrassed to discuss the subject, "some men are happy because our message is: 'Don’t forget about HIV if you are in Phnom Penh to enjoy the Water Festival. And don’t take HIV home to your wife.' And that is a message they are happy to hear." A practice run down the Tonle Sap River Down on the river a team from Kampong Chhnang province in central Cambodia allowed me on to their canoe for a practice run down Phnom Penh's Tonle Sap. Team boss Rong Chhun sounded confident: "This year, I personally selected all the men on the team – they are all very, very strong. I removed the weaker men, because they have not enough strength and they look thin so we let them rest. I found very strong paddlers, so I hope we will win." While the 40 men line the gunwales and churn up a spray, I lay as low as possible in the canoe avoiding the oar handles that are rowing back and forth just above my head. Under human power we sped down the centre of the river, which is about 400 meters wide here. It took about three minutes to cover the course. The team gave it a final burst as we come up to the finishing line – the Royal Palace. It seemed to me that they were in with a very good chance. Author: Robert Carmichael (Phnom Penh) Editor: Anne Thomas | [
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EU Commission caves in to Germany on coal subsidy deadline
The European Commission has caved in to German pressure over a 2014 deadline for subsidies for failing coal mines. The Commission said Wednesday it would delay the cancellation of subsidies until 2018.
Germany has won concessions from the European Union on coal subsidies paid out to loss-making mines. The EU Commission said Wednesday it would push back a phase-out date on subsidies by four years to 2018. The Commission had said in July that failing mines would have to be closed by 2014, arguing that subsidies were bad for the environment and promoted unfair competition. But Germany fiercely protested, saying that the subsidies kept its coal industry afloat, and that a 2014 phase-out would endanger too many jobs. Job security for some 25,000 workers employed at five mines around Germany would have been threatened by a 2014 deadline. Berlin welcomed the Commission's decision as "a great success," government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Wednesday. The extension of coal subsidies to 2018 would enable Germany to meet its social obligations to the country's miners, he added. The premier of Germany's Saarland state, which is home to one of the country's largest mines, welcomed the EU decision to yield to German pressure. Peter Mueller said the continuation of subsidies until 2018 was a "socially acceptable solution for miners without redundancy deals." The four-year moratorium on mine closures should also be long enough to allow Germany to restructure its coal industry without sustaining considerable losses. Of the 26 other EU member states, only Romania and Spain will be directly affected by the new subsidies deadline. The deal is to set to be endorsed by EU competition ministers on Friday. Environmental group Greenpeace's energy policy expert, Frauke Thies, said that in 2008 the German government had subsidized each individual job in unprofitable coal mines to the tune of 235,000 euros ($311,000). Author: Darren Mara (dpa, Reuters) Editor: Susan Houlton | [
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Bavarian premier pledges better relations with Prague
Horst Seehofer, the premier of Bavaria, has been in Prague to meet with Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas. The visit marks the first such trip by a Bavarian leader since World War II.
Horst Seehofer, premier of the German state of Bavaria, wrapped up talks with Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas on Monday by pledging future cooperation between the neighbors. Seehofer was in Prague for the first official visit by a Bavarian leader to the Czech capital since the end of World War II. He has suggested the leaders now meet regularly. "We want to open a new chapter in our relationship, and we've taken the first step towards that", Seehofer said, after more than an hour of conversation with the Czech prime minister. Relations between the Czech Republic and the border state of Bavaria have been strained by the expulsion of ethnic Germans from the former Czechoslovakia in 1945. Many of the expellees, known as Sudeten Germans, ended up in Bavaria. "What we could not avoid were differing views about the past," Seehofer said. "We are united in wanting to focus on the future together." Touchy subject Prime Minister Necas said his country had a "huge interest" in future cooperation, which is likely to include closer energy links and travel connections. Seehofer, head of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) party in Bavaria, had dinner with Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg on Sunday evening. Czech and Bavarian leaders did not discuss the controversial postwar decrees under which Sudeten Germans were deported from Czechoslovakia and had their property seized. Although Bavaria has long wanted them abolished, the decrees remain valid today, as Czech leaders fear removing them would give expellees or their heirs property claims. The Bavarian delegation included Bernd Posselt, a representative of the Sudeten German deportees, who has been critical of Prague. He did not take part in Seehofer's talks with Necas. Author: Martin Kuebler, Thomas Sheldrick (dpa, Reuters) Editor: Nancy Isenson | [
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Power to the people: Have your say
What is the essence of democracy? Should each country strive for its own democratic reforms? What role does the West play in initiating political change? Share your opinions with us and find out what others say.
[View the story "Power to the people " on Storify] | [
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Climate lab - a lake within a lake
The lake laboratory - or LakeLab - at the Stechlinsee is said to be the only one of its kind in the world.
Located some 91 kilometers north of Berlin, it’s composed of a series of large tubes made of synthetic material reaching down into the lake bed. At about nine meters in diameter, the cylinders are like enormous test tubes. They have developed a lamp which uses no mercury, but rather less toxic metal compounds - the exact combination of which is a well-kept secret. Microwaves activate the substances inside the lamp which then emit light. Electrodes and filaments are likely to be a thing of the past if the lamp is as marketable as its inventers hope! | [
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+++ Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg in EU Parliament: As it happened +++
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced a row of questions from the leaders of the European Parliament over the social media giant's privacy polices and a data leak scandal. Read how it unfolded here.
Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg faced a barrage of questions from European Parliament leaders in a live-streamed meeting on Tuesday. Although Zuckerberg apologized for a data leak scandal and said Facebook will comply with the EU's tough new data protection law, he still left many specific questions unanswered, including on the use of targeted ads. MEPs appeared displeased with Zuckerberg's answers and the time limit on the meeting. All updates in Central European Summer Time 19:45 Verhofstadt pushed back against Zuckerberg's answers, saying that he hadn't delivered adequate answers. The Facebook CEO says he will follow up with a written response in the coming days before adjourning the meeting. Multiple MEPs voiced their dissatisfaction with Zuckerberg's responses. 19:43 Zuckerberg sidesteps MEPs calls for more concrete answers on their specific questions, asking: "Are there any other themes that we should cover?" 19:40 Addressing Farage's question about Facebook's alleged anti-conservative bias, Zuckerberg became more animated when he urged: "We have never and will not make decisions about what content is allowed or how we do ranking on the basis of a political orientation." 19:37 On the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Zuckerberg says the site "expects to be fully compliant" when the law comes into effect on Friday. 19:33 Addressing Europe's staunch regulatory agencies, Zuckerberg said he wasn't necessarily opposed to increased regulation: "I don't think the question here is whether there should be regulation, but what kind of regulation there should be." He also brushed off accusations that Facebook is a monopoly, saying the company needs to remain competitive. He also alleged that the platform enables small business to reach their customers. 19:30 Zuckerberg broke down the issue of fake news into three areas: Spammers, fake accounts, and people sharing false information. He says less than 1 percent of accounts on Facebook are fake. 19:26 Getting a chance to respond to questions, Zuckerberg first tackles the issue of "inappropriate content" on the platform — including hate speech, terrorism and bullying — saying they have "no place on our services." "We will never be perfect on this," he admits, but says Facebook is transitioning from community flagging to using artificial intelligence tools to identify content that violates the site's standards. 19:13 Zuckerberg takes a sip of water, looking more ashen and grave as the list of questions from EU lawmakers piles up in his notes as time ticks down on the session for his answers. Read more: Cambridge Analytica: The devil in the detail 19:10 Nigel Farage, the co-head of the euroskeptic Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy party, alleged that Facebook is biased against conservative views, asking for more transparency in the process of removing flagged content and accounts. "I'm beginning to wonder if we need a social media bill of rights," he said. 19:00 Along with asking what Facebook's concrete plans are for reducing the spread of "fake news," a German member of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left, Gabi Zimmer, asked what Facebook will do to reduce violence against women — noting the site's beginnings as a "hot or not" rating site. Earlier, the head of the center-left Socialists and Democrats Group, Udo Bullmann, asked Zuckerberg what he plans on doing about the number of fake Facebook accounts, asking for concrete numbers. 18:52 Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the liberal ALDE political group, delivered a fiery address, questioning Zuckerberg's sincerity in his pledge to adhere to the new EU data protection law. He noted that Facebook has now started transferring data to servers based outside of Europe, which would violate the new rules. "I really think we have a big problem here," Verhofstadt said, asking if Zuckerberg wants to be remembered as an internet giant "or a genius that has created a digital monster." 18:40 Manfred Weber, a German MEP who is the leader of the center-right European People's Party, told Zuckerberg: "To apologize is a good thing ... you know this is not enough, but we need more action." He also asked Zuckerberg whether other firms other than Cambridge Analytica have abused Facebook user data. Weber also asked Zuckerberg "to convince me" why he shouldn't break up Facebook as a monopoly. 18:35 Zuckerberg vowed to make advertising "more transparent" on the site, including making it harder for fake news sites to profit from ads. He also said that Facebook plays an important role in elections, noting that he worked with the German government to prevent tampering during the 2017 general election. 18:31 In addressing the EU's tough new data protection law, Zuckerberg said that the social media company is going even further than the law — including letting people delete data gathered by the site. 18:29 Dressed again in a suit and tie, Zuckerberg addressed EU lawmakers — admitting that he's made "mistakes." "We haven't done enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm as well. We have not done enough to prevent misuse." 18:20 President Tajani opened the meeting sitting next to Zuckerberg, saying that EU citizens deserve a detailed explanation concerning the Cambridge Analytica data leak scandal. "Democracy should never become a marketing operation where anyone who buys our data can buy political advantage," he said. 18:15 Zuckerberg has arrived in Brussels and shaken hands with European Parliament President Antonio Tajani. MEPs are taking their seats ahead of questioning the embattled head of the social media giant. German Green MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht and one of the driving forces behind the EU's new data privacy law will soon get his turn to question him. | [
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Canada: Bomb blast injures over a dozen at Indian restaurant
At least 15 people were injured in an explosion at an Indian restaurant outside of Toronto. Police are searching for two men suspected of setting off the bomb in the Bombay Bhel restaurant before fleeing the scene.
Several people were injured during a blast at an Indian restaurant in the Canadian city of Mississauga on Thursday night, local authorities said. Two men are suspected of setting off an explosive device in the restaurant, with authorities asking for information about their identities and whereabouts. What we know so far: The blast took place around 10:30 p.m. local time (0230 UTC) at the Bombay Bhel restaurant in Mississauga, Canada. Paramedics took 15 people to the hospital — three sustained critical injuries while the others were less severely injured. Police sealed off the shopping plaza where the explosion took place. Authorities said there were no indications that the bombing was an act of terrorism or a hate crime. Two suspects on the run Peel Regional Police said on Twitter that they were looking for two male suspects who are believed to have set off an "improvised explosive device within the restaurant." Both were wearing dark zip-up hoodies and one appeared to be carrying an object. Both men were described as having light or fair skin, with one of them believed to be in his mid-20s. "We have no indication to call it a hate crime or any kind of terrorism act," Peel Region Sergeant Matt Bertram said. "Nothing was said by these individuals," Peel Region Sergeant Matt Bertram said. "It appears they just went in, dropped off this device, and took off right away." Where did the blast take place? Mississauga is Canada's sixth-largest city, located around 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Toronto. The three people who were critically wounded were taken to a trauma center in Toronto. Shortly after Toronto attack: Thursday night's blast comes one month after a man drove a white rental van into a lunch-time crowd in Toronto, killing 10 people and injuring 15. Although police have not disclosed a motive, the attacker referenced a misogynistic online community in social media posts prior to the attack. Most of the victims were women. rs/sms (dpa, Reuters) | [
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UNESCO World Heritage, an award that commits
42 World Heritage Sites in Germany invite you to guided tours and events on UNESCO World Heritage Day on 3 June. Soon there could be two new UNESCO sites.
Forty years ago, Aachen Cathedral was named Germany's first World Heritage Site. This year's World Heritage Day will open with a festive service in the thousand-year-old Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Charlemagne, the German Emperor. The Zollverein colliery, the city of Regensburg, the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz and the Bauhaus in Weimar - they all belong to the heritage of mankind and offer snapshots from a history spanning more than 6,000 years. The first pile dwellings on Lake Constance were built as early as the Stone Age. The Romans left their traces in Trier and at the Limes borders. The memory of the reformer Martin Luther lives on in Wittenberg. Weimar, the place of work of Goethe and Schiller, exudes the spirit of German Classicism. The Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth, which only reopened in April after five years of renovation, is hosting a festive concert to mark World Heritage Day. Monasteries, castles, museums and gardens invite you to discover the cultural diversity of Germany. Old towns like Bamberg and Lübeck with their historical architecture, alleys and squares are attractive for modern people and places with a high quality of life. Nature lovers and technology fans will also find places of interest, as the selection ranges from the Messel Pit Fossil Site to the Völklingen Ironworks. Candidates number 43 and 44 The World Heritage title is a special distinction. It attracts international attention and noticeably boosts tourism. That is why new sites are always striving for the coveted title. This year the Viking sites Haithabu and Danewerk in Schleswig-Holstein and the Naumburg Cathedral in Saxony-Anhalt are applying to become the German World Heritage Sites No. 43 and 44. This will be decided by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which will meet in Manama, Bahrain, at the end of June. The two German candidates have been in the race for some time. The Viking town of Haithabu near Schleswig was one of the most important trading centers in Northern Europe from the 9th to the 11th century. The Danewerk, an early medieval fortification wall, is considered the largest ground monument in northern Europe. The present, revised application has already been certified as World Heritage worthy by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an international non-governmental organization for the preservation of historical monuments, which prepares expert opinions for the World Heritage Committee. The chances of Haithabu and Danewerk becoming a world heritage site are therefore very good. The attempt to elevate the Naumburg Cathedral and the High Medieval cultural landscape at Saale and Unstrut to the status of a World Heritage site has so far failed. The Naumburgers have now followed the committee's recommendation and have submitted a new application for the cathedral only. So in a new attempt they could become a World Heritage site. The German government had also submitted the Jewish cemetery in Hamburg Altona to UNESCO for the World Heritage title. It would be Hamburg's second cultural world heritage after the Speicherstadt. The cemetery for Sephardic Jews, built in 1611, is considered to be the oldest cemetery of Jews who immigrated to northern Europe as a result of the expulsion from Spain. But after a negative assessment by ICOMOS, the Hamburg-based company has withdrawn the application for the time being. They are now working with partners to resubmit it in the coming years as part of a transnational application. Criticism of new development plans in Potsdam A World Heritage title is a great distinction, but also an obligation. In Potsdam, a new building project is causing a stir. ICOMOS Germany has criticized the plans and threatened that the city could be included on the list of endangered world heritage sites. In the worst case, Potsdam could lose the World Heritage status it was granted in 1990 for its park and palace landscape. The planned dense development is too close to the World Heritage Site and impairs an important axis of vision. However, this year's meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Bahrain will not be addressing this issue. But if the Potsdamers cannot get a grip on the problem, the Potsdam Committee could put Potsdam on the Red List in the coming years and formulate measures that it believes must be implemented in order to maintain its status. If these are then ignored, the World Heritage title may actually be withdrawn.So far, UNESCO has only taken this step twice: in 2007, the title of a nature reserve in Oman was revoked, which was to be reduced by 90 percent for oil and gas production. And in 2009, Dresden had to give up the award again after the city did not let itself be dissuaded from building the Waldschlösschenbrücke bridge over the Elbe. This four-lane bridge irreversibly cuts up the Elbe Valley and thus destroys the cultural landscape worth preserving, which is how UNESCO justified the denial of the World Heritage title for Dresden at that time. | [
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Eurozone inflation still in 'danger zone' in June
Annual inflation in the 18-member eurozone has remained at levels far too low to disperse protracted deflation worries in the bloc. Adjusted ECB forecasts see the problem lingering on for years.
Annual eurozone inflation remained at just 0.5 percent in June, initial figures from the EU statistics office, Eurostat, showed Monday. The figure marked the ninth consecutive month that consumer prices stayed well below what the European Central Bank had called a "danger zone" of under 1 percent. Rises in energy and services costs were easily offset by falling food, alcohol and tobacco prices, Eurostat noted. No reason to panic The ECB insisted that despite the June stagnation there was no acute risk of outright deflation in the 9.6-trillion euro ($13.1 trillion) economy, although three individual member countries had experienced deflation in May. Analysts had penciled in a slight rise in the annual cost of living after the ECB cut interest rates to an historic low in an effort to tackle low inflation. The bloc's central bank had lowered its long-term forecast for eurozone inflation, predicting that it would reach 1.4 percent in 2016, still off the bank's own target of below, but close to 2 percent. hg/rs (dpa, Reuters) | [
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Three key points about Argentina: a sputtering favorite
Argentina may have a perfect record at this year's World Cup, but their game has been anything but perfect. There are good reasons why the Gauchos are just barely getting the job done.
Barca and Real a difficult mix You can divide up Argentina's torturous 1-0 win over Switzerland on Tuesday into three distinct phases. In the first half, the Gauchos tried to play a short passing game reminiscent of Barcelona, only with Lionel Messi in the role of playmaker, not forward. That didn't work at all. In the second half, Argentina reverted to medium-distance crosses aimed at Real's Gonzalo Higuain. That worked somewhat better, although their best chance came after a Messi solo. Then in the dying minutes of extra time, "The Messiah" alertly pounced on an errant pass and fed Real's Angel di Maria for the out-of-the-blue game-winner. In terms of individual quality, it was a potent demonstration of what can result when players from the two great Spanish rivals hook up. Unfortunately, for the Gauchos, it was just one moment. For Argentina to live up to their status as favorites, they will have to harmonize better as a team. Otherwise they will continue to struggle against switched-on defenses like Switzerland's. Uncertainty between the posts Against Switzerland, Argentina were just a few minutes away from a penalty shootout. You wouldn't have bet on Albiceleste, if it had come to spot kicks. As loaded with intoxicating talent as the squad is, Argentina's goalkeepers are hardly top-shelf material. Sergio Romero isn't even the number one keeper for his club AS Monaco, and despite keeping two clean sheets in this World Cup, his international performances have hardly been unblemished. In Argentina's match with Germany at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, he had to fish the ball out of his net four times. And as if to remind fans of his vulnerability, early in the second half against Switzerland Romero contrived to bobble the ball four times within seconds and almost ended up with it in his hands outside the area. Argentina would be well advised to not let games get to penalty shootouts. Rojo a no show In their quarter-final, Argentina are going to be without one of their few players to unequiviocally exceed expectations. Sporting Lisbon's 24-year-old left-back Marcos Rojo has been a standout performer at this most difficult position, not only locking down his side of the defense but getting forward at key times as well. Rojo forced Argentina's first goal of this World Cup - an own goal by Bosnia-Herzegovina's Sead Kolasinac. And he scored the game-winner in the Gauchos' 3-2 win over Nigeria in the group stage. Rojo now has an involuntary day off after picking up a second yellow card. The men who replaced Rojo when he was substituted off in minute 105 against Switzerland, José María Basanta, is a 30-year-old center back who played his club football for Monterrey in Mexico. Rojo's absence could reveal a fatal lack of depth at Argentina's back. | [
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Russian Bomb Claims Questionable, Expert Says
The Russian military said Tuesday, Sept. 11, that it successfully tested a vacuum bomb it described as the world's most powerful conventional weapon. It's a claim arms expert Sascha Lange said is disputable.
Sascha Lange, an expert in the analysis of arms development at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said a Russian video showing a massive explosion is not solid evidence that the country has developed the "father of all bombs." DW-WORLD.DE: The Russians announced they detonated a new vacuum bomb, saying it was the world's most powerful conventional weapon. What do you doubt about their claims? Sascha Lange: I doubt that everything took place the way the Russians claim. The pictures that were shown on state television do not clearly show what is claimed. For example, a Tupolev 160 "Blackjack," a strategic bomber, is shown opening its bomb hatch in the pictures, but you do not see the weapon fall out of the plane. A cut is made and then a body falls out of a different plane. You can recognize this because there is a different weapons bay and the bomb releases differently than it would from a "Blackjack bomber." Are there additional inconsistencies? Yes. You can see the weapon in free fall and you can see an explosion. But as big as the explosion in the pictures is, you cannot tell if it was caused by the bomb that has fallen. This large explosion could also have been carried out on the ground and not have resulted from the dropped bomb. When you examine the explosion, you see it happens on a completely level plain. Then pictures are shown with buildings and vehicles that are supposed to have been destroyed by the bomb. But they are not at visible before the explosion. There are several points where all the pictures don't entirely fit together and the claims are not at all supported by these pictures. The bomb is also not shown dropping from the "Blackjack bomber's" weapons bay. The pictures imply what is claimed in the Russian media, but they don't show it at all. You are referring to the video shown on Russian state television? Yes, exactly. They were also shown in the news media here [in Germany] with the headline "Russia has new bombs." The arms technology is not fundamentally new. The exact terminology for it is a thermobaric weapon. The Americans used them in Vietnam War as well as in the last Gulf War. The concept was even considered by the Germans in World War II. The Russians have now simply issued a news report saying, "We have the biggest bomb." I think it is mainly driven by domestic, political concerns -- for the Russian population to see that Putin is the strongest and now we also have the strongest bomb. Can you say whether Russia is actually in a position to build a bomb that has four times the power of the MOAB, the Americans' strongest known conventional weapon? Fundamentally the Russians could do it. They've constructed other munitions with these warheads, such as their artillery rockets. But I would not assume that the weapon shown has four times the explosive force of the American MOAB. It doesn't match up. For optical reasons? Right. The size is not big enough. The MOAB is a large bomb with a mass of 10 tons -- that's really something completely different. The dropping that was shown on Russian television reminded me much more of an older American thermobaric weapon, the "Daisy Cutter." Russia claimed that it developed this weapon for the fight against terrorism. Is the bomb suitable for that? That is just as far-fetched as the claim that the Americans want to use nuclear weapons in the hunt for terrorists. The weapon is not suited for the fight against terrorism. It's just the opposite: in operations like in Afghanistan and Iraq, militaries are using the smallest munitions possible. The trend is going in a very different direction toward the smallest possible munitions with smaller explosive radii rather than to large bombs with as much explosive force as possible. Then how would the Russians' weapon be used? Psychologically, first of all. The Americans used this type of weapon in Vietnam to make clearings for helicopters in the jungle. In Iraq, they were used to detonate minefields. In Afghanistan, these bombs have been used extremely seldom, as far as I know. There, and also in Iraq, they would more likely be used for psychological warfare. They produce an incredible explosion, even if it is a conventional weapon. But from a military point of view, it's a very rarely used weapon. Where does Russia's military stand in international comparison? Not where it would like to see itself. The Russian armed forces suffered heavily at the end of the Cold War. Planes and tanks are gradually beginning to be built again, but they cannot replace what has aged away. The level of training has severely dropped over the past 15 years. There is a gradual upward trend now, but it is starting from a very low level. The Russians have a very long way to go before their armed forces really are taken seriously. | [
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Berlin Philharmonic Examines Nazi Past on 125th Birthday
The world-famous Berlin Philharmonic celebrated its 125th anniversary with a free music marathon on Sunday -- and a look at the role it played in Nazi propaganda.
Retirees, students, and parents with children filled the Philharmonie in Berlin to the fire limit on Sunday, Nov. 4. They were there to watch legendary British conductor Sir Simon Rattle, the orchestra's music director since 2002. Many also came, however, the get a glimpse into the dark side of the orchestra's history, as the Berlin Philharmonic used the anniversary as an opportunity to uncover its Nazi ties. Hitler's orchestra One of the last major German institutions to do so, the Philharmonic has opened up a significant part of its past to the public with a documentary film, an exhibition on "degenerate" music during the Third Reich and a book detailing the orchestra's operations in Nazi Germany. As the national Reichsorchester, the ensemble regularly performed for Hitler's birthday under director Wilhelm Furtwängler. It was the only active orchestra during the war, and its members were exempted from military service and enjoyed a sense of prestige and normality despite the terror happening around them. Facing up to the past Both the film and the book by Misha Aster, available in English under the title "The Berlin Philharmonic and the Third Reich," take closely examine the orchestra's role in Nazi propaganda and its activities as Nazi Germany's flagship cultural ambassador from 1933 to 1945. "The solution offered by Goebbels in 1933 meant material and financial security for the orchestra and consequently acted as an insurance against bankruptcy," Aster wrote of a deal crafted by Joesph Goebbels, the head of Nazi propaganda. "That naturally meant a major compromise." Part of the reason for the long overdue examination of the orchestra's role under National Socialism, said Aster, appears to stem from its post-war domination by the conductor Herbert von Karajan, a former Nazi Party member. But since Karajan's death in 1989 the orchestra has been through a major generational change with the average age of its members now about 41. The exhibition focuses on music that was banned during the Third Reich, either for being politically unacceptable or for having connections to Jews. It is a reconstruction of a Nazi propaganda exhibit from 1938, which had condemned works by celebrated composers like Paul Hindemith, Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky and Kurt Weill. In a symbolic gesture, Stravinsky's "Le sacre du printemps" was performed the Philharmonic and Rattle on Sunday evening at the conclusion of the anniversary concert. Looking forward -- musically Under Rattle's direction, the Berlin Philharmonic has been changing its staunch traditionalist image as a bearer of German musical tradition. "It's no longer the glamorous diva at the edge of the city," Rattle told the German DPA news agency. "An orchestra can't just live in the past, it has to look forward." The conductor has stirred up controversy himself during his five years as musical director for allegedly deviating from the German orchestral tradition -- both in terms of the sound of the orchestra and its target audience. He has pushed for performing contemporary music and made efforts to win a younger audience. "The audiences don't always come to us - we have to go to them," he said. | [
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Close Relationship Between China and Iran
The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council agree that Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. The West is ready to impose strict sanctions but Russia and China disagree. They want to use diplomacy. China, which holds the rotating presidency in January, is a strong supporter of the regime in Tehran. However, Chinese dissidents are showing their support of the opposition movement on the Internet.
China thinks that the nuclear row with Iran can be resolved with dialogue and negotiations. It says more time and more patience is needed. Moreover, it seems less certain than the West about Tehran’s nuclear intentions. Beijing believes that the nuclear programme is only being developed for civilian purposes, says German Iran expert Udo Steinbach. “China does not share the international community’s dramatic interpretation of the programme,” he says, “which presumes that Iran is working on a bomb.” Three UN resolutions against Iran However, to prevent Tehran from building a bomb in the future, Beijing has already supported three UN resolutions against Iran. These allow sanctions to be imposed on organisations and individuals that develop nuclear weapons. But China does not support stricter sanctions. China has massive economic interests in Iran, from which the energy-hungry country imports some 15 percent of its oil. Chinese companies have invested millions to tap into the country’s oil and gas reserves. The two regimes are also linked by a similar attitude to the international community. Neither government likes it when the West interferes with what they call their domestic affairs. They are both extremely intolerant of opposition and ready to use repression to keep it under control. “We can assume that the Chinese leadership approves the Iranian government’s measures against the demonstrators,” says Steinbach. “The Beijing system is still prepared to beat down any resistance.” The Iranian opposition website www.rahesabz.net, which translates as the Green Path, thinks that the Chinese government is actively helping the Iranian authorities to repress protests by providing weapons and vehicles. Bloggers have posted photos to illustrate these allegations, which Tehran has rejected as being Western fakes. Chinese dissidents support Iranian opposition Whilst the regimes are thought to be working together, dissidents in both countries are also connected by the Internet. The Iranian opposition movement has received many messages of support via the Twitter-based “China4Iran” group for example. “Since June, we’ve been following really closely because we feel the Iranian people are in a similar position as the Chinese,” explains one activist, who refused to be named. “What they did is very courageous -- they showed us courage by being willing to stand up to the regime and demand what they actually want. They want to be fully represented in this country. That’s what we want here exactly in China.“ A spokesperson from the Chinese foreign ministry said at the beginning of China’s UN Security Council presidency that the government hoped Iranian society would remain unified and stable. In January, there is likely to be little talk about international negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme. Tehran has more pressing things to attend -- it hopes to get Iran's opposition movement under control. Author: Christoph Ricking/Anne Thomas Editor: Thomas Bärthlein | [
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Continental denies responsibility for crash as Concorde trial begins
US airline Continental denied responsibility for a deadly Concorde crash that spelt the end of supersonic travel as its mechanics went on trial in France on Tuesday. The accused face five years in jail.
Judge Dominique Andreassier opened the trial by reading out the names of the 113 people who died in 2000 when the Air France jet smashed into a hotel in a ball of fire just after take-off from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. She then read out the charges against the US airline Continental and two of its technical staff who are accused of the manslaughter of 109 people on the plane - most of them German tourists - and four hotel workers on the ground. "There is an attempt to protect the Concorde and the image that it projected of France," said Continental lawyer Olivier Metzner as he arrived at the court in Pontoise, near Paris. Suspected six John Taylor, a welder who worked for Continental at the time of the crash and his supervisor, Stanley Ford, face involuntary manslaughter charges. Henri Perrier, the head of testing of the Concorde programme before becoming its director and Jacques Herubel, the plane's former chief engineer, are also accused. The sixth defendant is the former head of France's civil aviation body Claude Frantzen. Continental faces a maximum fine of 375,000 euros ($525,000) if found guilty. The individuals, who all deny the charges, face up to five years in jail and a fine of up to 75,000 euros. Small metal strip The court will decide whether to agree with the findings of a 2004 accident enquiry which concluded the crash was caused by a 43-centimeter (17-inch) strip of metal that fell off a Continental DC-10 that took off shortly before the Concorde on July 25, 2000. The Concorde, carrying nine French crew and mainly German passengers heading to New York to board a Caribbean cruise ship, ran over the super-hard titanium strip, it said. The strip shredded a tyre, causing a blow-out and sending debris flying into an engine and a fuel tank and setting it on fire, according to investigators. Metzner disputes these findings. "Are you going to ask me to believe that this object could have caused the crash?" Metzner told the court as he held up a metal strip similar to the one retrieved from the pile of debris the Concorde was reduced to after the crash. Metzner promised to present witnesses - including firemen based at the airport - who would testify that the New York-bound plane was on fire well before it reached the metal strip. Most of the families of the people who died in the crash agreed not to take legal action in exchange for compensation from Air France, the EADS aerospace firm, Continental and Goodyear tyre maker. But the mammoth criminal trial is expected to last four months and cost more than three million euros ($4.2 million). Illustrious history that ended in tragedy The Paris disaster was the first and only Concorde crash, but during their 27 years of service for Air France and British Airways, the jets suffered dozens of tyre blowouts or wheel damage that in several cases pierced fuel tanks. The Concorde made its maiden commercial flight in 1976. Only 20 were made, six for development and the remaining 14 for flying mainly trans-Atlantic routes at speeds of up to 1,350 miles (2,170 kilometers) an hour. Air France and BA grounded their Concordes for 15 months after the crash and, after a brief resumption, finally ended the world's only supersonic commercial service in 2003. glb/AFP/Reuters Editor: Andreas Illmer | [
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Cologne considers emergency plan for Rose Monday holiday
Just over a year since the collapse of the Cologne archives building, authorities have expressed concern over ongoing underground subway work in the city, German media says.
Concerns over underground subway work in the western German city of Cologne prompted city authorities there to consider evacuation plans for the upcoming Rose Monday public holiday festivities, German media reports. The precautions come less than a year after the Cologne City Archives building collapsed into the ground, along with an apartment building, killing two people. The collapse occurred during building work aimed at expanding Cologne's underground train network. The buildings were above one of the construction sites. However, city manager Guido Kahlen said party-goers and locals were safe on Cologne's streets during the carnival festival. "There is no danger of collapse," Kahlen told a news conference on Friday. "Even during the festivities, we will be able to react quickly." The Rose Monday festival see hundreds of thousands of Germans descend upon Cologne, placing a huge strain on the city's streets and public transportation network. Extra precautions Cologne public prosecutors said they had communicated their concerns over the upcoming public holiday to the city's public transport authority, the KVB, which is overseeing the ongoing underground work, German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported. City chiefs then reportedly consulted specialists to create an emergency plan for the area around Cologne's Waidmarkt tram stop. However, after further examination of the danger posed by the mass crowds the plan was reportedly dropped. Meanwhile, Cologne city authorities said Thursday they had learned that less than one-fifth of the steel brackets purchased for the underground line beneath the Heumarkt tram stop were in place, the daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger reported. The paper said that upon investigation it was found that 83 percent of the brackets, purchased to reinforce the concrete walls of the underground tunnels, were used during construction. Der Spiegel reported that the site's foreman and several employees were believed to have stolen many of the brackets and sold them to a scrap metal merchant. dfm/dpa/AFP Editor: Rob Turner | [
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Swiss politician threatens to expose German officials over tax-dodging
A Swiss parliamentarian said he would aim to expose German public figures over alleged tax manipulations, if Berlin goes ahead with plans to buy stolen data on tax-evaders with Swiss bank accounts.
Alfred Heer of the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) told the German daily Bild on Saturday that he and his party would aim to have the law changed so that names can be published. According to the Heer, financial sources in the Alpine republic have evidence that politicians and judges from Germany keep accounts in Switzerland and Liechtenstein for the purposes of evading tax. "If Germany buys stolen bank data, we will work for a change in the law so that the complete Swiss accounts of German people holding public office have to be disclosed," he said. Heer is head of the right-wing SVP in the canton of Zurich and president of the Switzerland's taxpayers' federation. Thousands of names Switzerland is concerned about Germany's intent to buy a stolen disc containing names of 1,500 people with Swiss accounts who may have evaded German taxation. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said at the beginning of February that Germany was prepared to pay 2.5 million euros ($3.5 million) for the disc. The German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg has been offered a second disc containing 2,000 names, which according to German daily newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau includes information from bank groups UBS and Credit Suisse. Rising tension The tax data affair has soured relations between Germany and its Alpine neighbor, which sees the purchasing of the disc as another attack on its cherished banking secrecy. "Here we have a new form of bank robbery," Swiss lawmaker Pirmin Bischof told Germany's Deutschlandfunk radio earlier this month. "Before, you had to go to the bank and get hold of the money with a weapon. Today you can do it electronically by stealing data." But Schaeuble has said that the government would be legally justified in buying the stolen data. Chancellor Angela Merkel is also in favor of acquiring the CD. "In principle, the decision was made two years ago," Schaeuble told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper, referring to a similar case in 2007, when the government handed over as much as five million euros for stolen tax data from Liechtenstein. rc/AFP/Reuters/dpa/AP Editor:Toma Tasovac | [
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CeBIT attempts to regain former glory
Google, cloud computing, 3D computer screens and intelligent houses that can tell you how to live and how to save money: CeBIT 2010 is a technophile's playground. Deutsche Welle takes a look around.
The world's largest IT and telecommunications trade fair, CeBIT, has opened in the northern German city of Hanover. More than 4,000 companies from 68 countries are on hand to showcase their wares. Among them, for the first time ever, is the American internet giant Google, which has been causing some controversy in Germany with its plans to launch Street View. Sam Edmonds, Deutsche Welle's business editor and host of European Business Week, is in Hanover, and had a look around. Google's debut Google is basically here at CeBIT to fly the flag. It's been under a lot of pressure, not just from the German government, but the French government as well, due to the library plans Google has for digitizing all kinds of books and making them available online. So basically they're using CeBIT as an opportunity to put themselves out there and explain what they see as the benefits of Street View and other products like that. CeBIT strives to regain its status I think to bounce back this year CeBIT is actually looking to get consumers back into the fairgrounds, i.e. private people just interested in the latest gizmos. CeBIT began as a very expert-oriented computer and information technology fair and it was only around the late 90s as we were getting into the dot com boom at the turn of the millennium that CeBIT really grew into this massive monster. At its height, there were 800,000 people visiting the fairground. They've now done a 180 degree turn. They're trying to get consumers in, but instead of calling them consumers, they figure that if they call them prosumers – i.e. very discerning consumers who are quite knowledgeable about the equipment they're looking to buy – that perhaps it won't be as bad as it was in previous years. Futuristic housing There are quite a few things I'm eager to check out personally. I'd say one of them would definitely have to be a futuristic apartment, which they've got set up in Hall 9. It's about 400 square meters (4,300 square feet) with a living room, a kitchen and even a gym. It's really looking at using computer systems and IT for better living in the future, which includes greener living. There's a computer system that optimizes your lighting and heating to try and be as efficient as possible in energy terms. In the kitchen there's a digital kitchen hand that will give you advice on what you're cooking and whether it's healthy and part of a balanced diet. If that doesn't work, there's a digital fitness trainer that will basically tell you to go to the gym, and will give you some advice on what you should be doing to get those pounds off. The future of 3D technology There a quite a few companies and manufacturers that are releasing 3D screens for their laptop and desktop computers. They have a special coating, so if you do have 3D glasses on, you can get a very different feeling of depth perception. This laptop technology isn't anywhere near what you're going to see if you watch movies like Avatar but it's not too bad. What is particularly interesting is that gamers will be looking at this technology as a way of intensifying their gaming experience. This technology, especially for home computers, is only being rolled out now. I know from cinemas that a lot of people say that for the first 10 to 20 minutes it's a bit difficult to get used to but I guess time will tell with what will happen to the computers. Author: Sam Edmonds (mrm) Editor: John Blau | [
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Indo-Pakistani author Aatish Taseer’s journey to the Islamic world
What does it mean to be a Muslim? The question made the British journalist Aatish Taseer undertake a journey through the Islamic world. In his book “Strangers to History”, Aatish Taseer has penned down his experiences on this journey. But it is also about his unusual Indo-Pakistani family history.
"When the past could be seen as a whole, when my father could cast painful bridges over history, I felt a great sympathy as I watched the man I had judged so harshly for not facing his past when it came to me. Muse on the pain of history in this country. And maybe this was all that the Gods had wished me to see, the grimace on my father's face, and for us both in our own ways, strangers to history, to be together on the night when Benazir Bhutto was killed." 30 year old Aatish Taseer describes his complicated relationship with his father in his book "Strangers to History". Encounter with his father Aatish was born in 1980 in Delhi out of an affair between Salman Taseer, the current governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, and India's renowned journalist Tavleen Singh. After Aatish's birth Salman returned back to Pakistan to his wife and three children. Aatish was brought up by the Sikh family of his mother. In 2005 Aatish, meanwhile a journalist in London, received a letter from his father, in reaction to an article he had written about the 7/7 terrorist attacks. His father accused him of spreading anti-Muslim propaganda and having very superficial knowledge of the Pakistani ethos. "It was a very strong reaction, very forceful," Aatish recalls. "He as a Muslim was very upset by what I had written and it was interesting to me, because my father was no Muslim at all - by his own admission, he wasn't. And although I wasn't able to formulate it at that point, but the thing that was really at the back of my mind was the question of what despite his lack of faith made him a Muslim." His father's stature made the understanding of the historical and political attitudes, as he puts it, all the more important for him. Understanding Islam His quest took him to Iran, Turkey, Syria, Saudi Arabia and finally to Pakistan, where he met his father. For Aatish, it was extremely important to understand Islam, because without the knowledge of it he could not get close to his father. It turned out to be not an easy task. Aatish Taseer went on the pilgrimage to Mecca; in Istanbul, a young theologist explained to him that being a Muslim means to stand above history; and in Syria, he experienced the controversy over the Danish cartoons of the prophet Mohammad. "Slowly the understanding began to develop of being a cultural Muslim, which I had always taken to be a benign term, a term that I thought it was just adhering to festivals, wearing a certain kind of dress, perhaps liking Urdu poetry," he says. "I didn't think of it as having the kind of meaning that it later showed itself to have; that it was these issues – this stuff that was contained in cultural Islam – that were more important than the faith itself." Aatish Taseer's book has found a wide global audience and was recently also published in a German translation. Author: Isha Bhatia Editor: Thomas Baerthlein | [
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Astronomers discover Jupiter-like planet in a galaxy far, far away
Scientists have discovered a new planet 1,500 light years away. Moderately cool and roughly the size of Jupiter, CoRoT-9b is a gem for researchers studying planets outside our solar system.
Astronomers are thrilled with a new discovery: a planet the size of Jupiter and similar in structure to some of those orbiting our sun. The new orb has been dubbed CoRoT-9b, and lies 1,500 light years away from our solar system, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Berlin told the DPA news agency Wednesday. The newly discovered planet – named after the CoRoT space telescope that first discovered it – takes about 95 days to orbit its star, CoRoT-9, in the Serpens constellation. By comparison, it takes Mercury 88 days to orbit our sun. "It's the first extrasolar planet where we are quite sure it is fairly similar to one in our own solar system, and it's the first extrasolar planet where we can test models that we have developed for solar system planets," lead researcher Hans Deeg of the Institute of Astrophysics on Spain's Atlantic archipelago of the Canary Islands, told AFP. However, those hoping the newly discovered sphere is a small, rocky planet with a breathable atmosphere and potable water are out of luck. CoRoT-9b is a giant gas ball with a mass about 80 percent of Jupiter. There is good news. Most "Gas Jupiters," as they are known, have surface temperatures that can reach up to 1,800 degrees Celsius, due to their proximity to their suns. CoRoT-9b, on the other hand, has a relatively cool surface temperature of between -20 and 160 degrees Celsius, research published by the journal Nature states. "This is the first (exoplanet) whose properties we can study in depth," Claire Moutou, one of 60 astronomers who took part in the discovery, told the AFP news agency. She added that "it is bound to become a Rosetta Stone in exoplanet research." Research continues Researchers will likely continue to gather information about the planet, as it is one of only 70 such exoplanets that transit directly between the star and the telescope. This allows the star's light to pass through the planet's atmosphere, transmitting the telescope information about the planet's size and chemical composition. Something already discovered from such planetary observation, Deeg said, is that the variation in the types of planets that orbit close to their star is quite large. "For instance, Venus was probably apt for life in its early phases before a greenhouse effect set in and elevated temperatures by several hundred degrees," he said. With this new discovery, understanding of the chemistry of low temperatures may grow so much that it could open up a completely new research field on atmospherically cool and moderate planets, Didier Queloz, co-author of the study, told DPA. "Our explorations have yielded more information about CoRoT-9b, than ever discovered about any other exoplanets," Queloz added. An exoplanet is the name scientists give to planets outside our solar system. The first such planet was discovered in 1995, with more than 400 others found in the years since. ad/dpa/afp Editor: Mark Mattox | [
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Klitschko knocks out Chambers to keep heavyweight crown
World heavyweight boxing champion Vladimir Klitschko has knocked out US challenger Eddie Chambers to retain his three titles.
Vladimir Klitschko knocked out US challenger Eddie Chambers to retain his three heavyweight boxing titles late Saturday in front of 51,000 fans in Duesseldorf's soccer stadium. The 33-year-old Ukrainian boxer saved the best for last, landing his knockout punch five seconds before the end of the 12-round fight to defend his WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles. After a furious final round "Fast Eddie" Chambers slumped to the canvas, finally succumbing to Klitschko's poweful punches. Chambers needed a few minutes to recover from the pounding he received at the end of the title bout. Klitschko dominated the fight and ended it with a left hook to score his 48th KO in 53 professional fights. Ahead of the bout he had promised to "make a statement." "Eddie Chambers was damn quick, but without the support by the fans in Duesseldorf, the 12th round wouldn't have ended like it did. Thank you," said the former Olympic boxing champion as he celebrated in the ring with a bottle of local beer. Klitschko, weighing in at 111 kilograms (245 pounds), had a chance of knocking down Chambers early on in the second round with a combination of solid jabs and straight punches, but Chambers, who weighed in at 95 kilograms (209 pounds) stood his ground. This was Chamber's second defeat in 37 fights with 18 knockouts. nrt/dpa/Reuters Editor: Holly Fox | [
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EU agrees on details of Greece rescue plan, sources say
EU leaders have thrashed out the details of an EU-IMF rescue deal that was announced on March 25, according to news agencies quoting unnamed sources. European markets ended the week up on hopes of a detailed rescue plan.
European Union member states are said to have reached consensus on the details of a rescue plan for Greece that would allow the debt-laden eurozone member to borrow money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as from individual member states, according to news agencies quoting unnamed diplomatic sources. The EU-IMF plan to help Greece tackle its huge budget deficit was announced on March 25, but details on the financing of the loans envisaged in the deal have yet to be revealed. The agency reports suggest that the EU has agreed on the conditions of any loans made available to Greece, should it ask for them. "A deal has been reached," a source with close knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. "It is almost a carbon copy of International Monetary Fund terms." "There is agreement on the interest rate which will be applied for Greece, should it call for an aid plan," one diplomat told the AFP news agency. "It is lower than the current market rate for Greek debt," another diplomat told AFP. Reassurance Earlier on Friday, several EU leaders reiterated that they were ready to help Greece resolve its massive debt problem. "The Greek government is courageous and is breaking with the past. We would be ready to intervene if the Greeks ask us to," EU President Herman van Rompuy told several European newspapers. French President Nicolas Sarkozy also reaffirmed his commitment to help Athens. "We are ready to take action at any moment to come to the aid of Greece," Sarkozy said after talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Germany more cautious Germany also said that the EU-IMF rescue scheme could be activated quickly but government spokesman Michael Offer again stressed that Greece could solve its problem by focusing on budget cutbacks. "We believe Greece will be able to achieve its objectives by its own means," Offer said, pointing to "encouraging signs" such as a reduced Greek public deficit in the first quarter of this year. Athens had earlier said that, at this stage, it did not need to activate the rescue deal. Markets react positively After a massive sell-off of Greek bonds and shares on Thursday, European markets ended the week on a high on Friday, in anticipation of a deal. The euro also rose sharply against the US dollar and Greek government bonds reversed some of their losses from Thursday, although spreads to German bunds, the benchmark bonds in the euro zone, remain high. The higher the spreads, the higher the risk for the investor. On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) extended a helping hand to eurozone member Greece, announcing that government bonds would be exempt from tougher penalties when banks use risky collateral. The move increases the incentive for banks to hold Greek bonds, although ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet stressed the rule was not specifically designed with Greece in mind. Athens has promised to slash its deficit by almost one-third, to 8.7 percent of gross domestic product this year. But the government is wary of public opinion after austerity measures prompted a slew of riots and strikes across the country in recent months. Greece's Adedy union has announced another public sector strike for April 22. ng/Reuters/AFP/dpa Editor: Kyle James | [
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Economic summit places euro recovery at heart of Greek bailout
At the Munich Economic Summit, the head of the ECB called for a strong sense of direction to lead Europe out of dire financial straits due to debt trouble in Greece.
The head of the European Central Bank (ECB), Jean-Claude Trichet, said the key to sparing other European nations from further collateral damage from Greece's financial troubles is getting a rescue package to Athens as soon as possible. "What we need most at this time is a strong sense of direction," said Trichet in a speech at the Munich Economic Summit on Thursday. "We need a sense of direction that can guide us on how we can emerge from these turbulent events and how we can return to the path of economic stability." Trichet added that returning stability to Greece depended on three steps. The first is the ongoing meetings in Athens between the Greek government, the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the ECB. The goal of the meetings is to come up with a concrete plan for Greece to rein in its spending to help get its debt under control. The second step toward regaining financial stability in the eurozone and in Greece is a financial aid package of 45 billion euros ($60 billion) for Athens that is currently under debate in the German government. Germany is being asked to contribute 8.4 billion euros. Finally, Trichet called for "a giant step forward in our own framework of surveillance, peer pressure and policy adjustment within the [European] monetary union." He added that he hoped Germany would play a leading role in policy surveillance and adjustment. 'Help to help themselves' German President Horst Koehler also spoke at the Munich summit, and echoed Trichet's sentiment that a financial lifeline should be thrown to Greece. "Greece must take responsibility," said Koehler, referring to the ongoing negotiations to reduce the country's spending. "But it's understandable if they expect help so they can help themselves. Germany should, in its own interest, do its part to contribute to stability." Many German politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, cite protection of the euro as the main reason for contributing to a bailout for Greece. Koehler added his support for Europe's common currency. "So far, the euro has served Europe well," he said. "As long as we don't make any serious mistakes, it will continue to serve Europe well and provide an anchor of stability in the world monetary system." Regain the upper hand Regarding future financial policy in Germany and Europe, Koehler advocated tougher rules and more transparency in the banking sector. "Government must win back the upper hand over the financial market," he said. "Too much room with no rules was given to the interests of protagonists in the financial market. That's one of the reasons the financial crisis was able to happen in the first place. It also led to a situation where the government was backed into a corner during the crisis, and that must not be allowed to happen again." Koehler said banks and financial institutions can no longer become too big to fail, and should have enough capital on hand to cover all kinds of investments, including hedge funds. He also called for an end to the existence of "shadow banking entities." mz/AFP/Reuters Editor: Susan Houlton | [
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Eurozone wants tough mechanism to defend stability of the euro
European Union leaders are working around the clock to create a new measure to defend the euro before financial markets reopen on Monday. EU finance ministers will meet on Sunday to discuss the plan.
European Union leaders are working overtime to construct new crisis defense mechanisms to safeguard the euro currency and crack down on market speculation before the Asian financial markets reopen on Monday. On Sunday, European Union finance ministers debated proposals to set up a 600 billion euro ($765 billion) rescue fund for member countries states that fall into financial trouble, said diplomats in Brussels. The package would consist funds raised by the EU's executive, the European Commission, loans from eurozone states; and money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), diplomats said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was holding a crisis cabinet meeting in Berlin late Sunday, to deal with the consequences of a prospective rescue system being negotiated in Brussels,officials said. A clear signal "Taking into account the exceptional circumstances, the European Commission will propose a European stabilization mechanism to preserve financial stability in Europe," Herman Van Rompuy , the president of the EU, said in a statement released in the early hours of Saturday morning. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the move will send "a very clear signal" to market speculators by creating a common fund to support economies in difficulty. The European portion of the bailout will amount to some 80 billion euros ($102 billion) over three years, with Germany set to provide the lion's share.The IMF has approved 30 billion Euro loan for Greece. Despite the 110 billion euro bailout, financial markets reacted negatively to the continued uncertainty, prompting EU leaders to consider new steps to prevent similar financial chaos from spreading to other member states. The unprecedented Greek bailout is due to be transferred to Athens within days. Greeks oppose cuts The emergency summit in Brussels coincided with ceremonies to commemorate the end of World War II in Europe, forcing some European leaders to cancel their plans to attend the events. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi have both pulled out of Sunday's war commemorations in Russia to deal with the financial crisis, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in Moscow and will attend the ceremonies. Investors are keeping a close watch on Greek opposition to Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou's austerity plans, concerned that prolonged protests could weaken his resolve to push through the cuts passed by the Greek parliament on Thursday. On Saturday, opinion polls showed a majority of Greeks support further protests against the austerity measures. smh/AFP/AP/dpa Editor: Rick Demarest | [
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German parliament approves eurozone rescue package
Following a fiery debate, Chancellor Angela Merkel's plan to throw 148 billion euros into a new eurozone rescue package was approved by parliament on Friday. Opposition parties, however, withheld their support.
Both houses of parliament have approved Germany's portion of a 750 billion euro ($920 billion) rescue package from the European Union and International Monetary Fund for struggling eurozone economies. The result of the vote in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, reflected a heated debate, with 319 "yes" votes, 73 "no" votes and 195 abstentions. The abstentions came from the center-left opposition Greens and Social Democrats (SPD). Leaders of the SPD had said they would vote for the plan only if Chancellor Angela Merkel's government agreed to support a tax on some international financial transactions. Merkel strongly supports the rescue package, calling it necessary for a "culture of stability" in the eurozone, and told parliament earlier this week, "If the euro fails, then Europe fails." During the parliamentary debate, Sigmar Gabriel, party leader of the SPD, sharply criticized Merkel's handling of the euro crisis, saying her indecision has isolated Germany in Europe. "You were only a courageous chancellor as long as you were protected by the Social Democrats," he said directly to Merkel, referring to the previous "grand coalition" government of the SPD and Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU). Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle shot back at Gabriel, saying his opposition was motivated by party politics. "Do you think Europe should stand, or that it should fall?" he said. "Abstention [on this vote] is not principled, it's inconsistency." Speaking on the proposed international transaction tax, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told lawmakers that anticipation of the tax was pushing markets down, and that only prompt action on the tax decision will stabilize the markets. "The reality is that the markets look more at Germany than at Cyprus or Malta," he said. "So it is right, in order to win markets' confidence, that we decide so quickly." Inter-party divisions Germany would provide 148 billion euros ($186 million) to finance the bailout, and while the SPD has said it is not ideologically against the plan, the center-left party thinks the financial sector should pay its share to resolve the crisis many believe it helped create. Although Merkel's coalition was able to pass the bailout without opposition votes, cross-party support was expected to smooth over fierce opposition among Germans who see themselves as footing the bill for other countries' mistakes. The smaller opposition Greens also abstained from the vote, while the Left Party voted against it. The CDU and coalition Free Democrats have a majority in the lower house, the Bundestag, but their majority in the upper house, the Bundesrat, was scuppered after last week's election in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. acb/dpa/apn Editor: Martin Kuebler | [
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Six volunteers begin 520-day isolation for Mars experiment
In Moscow, six men have volunteered to live isolated in a special simulator for a year and a half as part of an experiment analysing the physical and psychological effects of a possible trip to Mars.
On Thursday, the hatch closed behind six volunteers who entered a model space ship in Moscow, where they intend to stay until late 2011. As part of an experiment to study effects of long term isolation that would come with a manned mission to Mars, the men have begun a 520-day period of isolation in a special facility in Moscow. Three Russians, along with one man each from France, Italy and China, have entered the 550-cubic-meter facility where they will spend the next year and a half of their lives. The length of the trip is designed to simulate the amount of time it would take to travel to Mars and back. The Russian commander Aleksei Sitev said he was taking part because it was "interesting" and "beneficial." "I'm taking part in a unique experiment, and in an interesting adventure," Sitev said. Physical and psychological challenge Inside the facility, the men's time will be divided into three eight-hour blocks - one for sleeping, one for working, and one for leisure. One of the crew members, Frenchman Romain Charles told journalists what he was packing for the mission. "Some pictures, books for my leisure time," Charles said. "Trying to keep busy during those times, not to think too much about what is outside the module, trying to be focused on the trip." The men will only be able to communicate with the outside world via email, which would also be the case on a real trip to Mars. The model space ship The flight simulation takes part in the Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow, which has taken part in the preparation of most Russian space flights. A model space ship has been built, with limited living space for each crew member, equipment for numerous experiments to be carried out on board, as well as a greenhouse. The experiment is being jointly conducted by Russia, China and the European Space Agency and is designed to analyse the psychological and physical effects of such a long term trip into space. The volunteers will live exactly like real astronauts, except that they won't experience weightlessness and there is no cosmic radiation to deal with. All the food for the 520-day experiment had been given to the participants in advance, and it is up to them to ration it accordingly. Goodbye real world The hatch that closed behind the 'space explorers' will not be opened again until the experiment ends or one of the participants is forced to drop out. This is something that project director Boris Morukov hopes will not happen. "Every crew member has the right to stop and quit the experiment... we have had such a negative experience in the past," Morukov said. "I hope it won't happen again during this experiment." The crew members themselves are convinced that it will not be necessary. According to Russian team-member Sukrob Kalamov, there is at least one thing that unites them all: they have all been foolish enough to take part in this experiment. Author: Geert Groot Koerkamp/cb Editor: Rob Turner | [
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Public sector workers in Spain strike against austerity measures
In a test of the Spanish government's resolve to push forward with tough austerity measures that include cuts to civil servant pay, about three-quarters of Spain's public sector workers have gone on strike.
Civil servants in Spain began a one-day strike Tuesday to protest the government's plans to reduce the country's massive budget deficit by cutting their salaries. Strikers included workers in cleaning, postal and health services, educators, firefighters, doctors and transportation workers. Union sources put participation at around 75 percent of the country's approximately 2.3 million public employees, and said Spain's most recent austerity package, totaling 15 billion euros ($18 billion) would give civil servants a 5-percent wage cut in 2010 and a wage freeze in 2011, the first public wage reduction in 30 years. The government's aim is to reduce Spain's public deficit from 11.2 percent in 2009 to 6 percent in 2011. It hopes to reach the eurozone's 3-percent limit by 2013. Ignacio Fernandez Toxo, leader of the CCOO trade union, said Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government has "uncritically" accepted European Union recommendations, acting "without any other horizon than cutting costs." Unions are typically close to Zapatero's Socialist Party, which has been losing popularity amid gloomy economic forecasts and 20 percent unemployment, the eurozone's highest. Labor market reform Tuesday's strike is a potential preview of a full-fledged general strike that unions are threatening if government plans to enact labor market reform curtail workers' rights. Unions, employers and government officials have been negotiating what the reform might entail for months. UGT union confederation leader Candido Mendez has called the discussions "difficult." The government says it will enact the reforms by decree if it cannot reach an agreement through negotiations. The reform would loosen restrictions on severance pay for permanent workers, who have become prohibitively expensive to lay off. These conditions have created a two-tier labor market where about a quarter of workers are left with temporary contracts that provide few rights. Most economists agree that reforming the labor market - together with restructuring banks and reducing the deficit - is necessary to remedy Spain's chronic economic problems. Author: Andrew Bowen (dpa/AFP/AP/Reuters) Editor: Nancy Isenson | [
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India to push US to extradite former Union Carbide chief
A ministerial panel has presented several recommendations to the government after a court sentenced former Union Carbide employees to only two years in jail earlier this month, prompting widespread public outrage.
Ever since a lenient verdict on the 1984 Bhopal disaster earlier this month, the Indian government has faced mounting criticism. Victims and activists called the Bhopal ruling a travesty of justice because of the paltry sentences, the long delay in bringing justice and the inadequate clean-up of the disaster site. On Monday, a group of survivors from the Bhopal gas tragedy staged a demonstration in front of India's Home Ministry in New Delhi demanding adequate compensation for the victims. So as to mitigate people's anger, which has been exacerbated by the fact that the current ruling party was already in power when the world's worst industrial disaster happened, the government had formed a panel of senior ministers to draw up recommendations for fresh action. Panel urges government to make great efforts In its report, presented on Monday, the panel recommends that the government make strong efforts to seek the extradition of the ex-Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson, who has been classified as an absconder. "India will make vigorous efforts" to have Anderson extradited, the Indian Minister for Urban Development, Jaipal Reddy, told the AFP news agency. Anderson, who is now retired, was arrested after the gas leak but he then fled the country. Opposition parties accused the ruling party of letting Anderson escape Bhopal on a government plane. Repeated requests by the Indians for his extradition turned out to be in vain. Enhanced compensation for victims and relatives The ministerial panel has also finalized a package worth rupees 1,500 crore, or nearly 325 million US dollars, for enhancing compensation for the relatives of those who died and those who were debilitated by the disaster. The gas leak at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal claimed an estimated 15,000 lives. Many thousands were permanently disabled or are still suffering from critical ailments. According to Reddy, as cited by AFP, the government has recommended the setting up of a federal medical research facility in Bhopal to monitor the health conditions of survivors and newborns. The ministers have also recommended that the government help clean up the site and bury toxic material. Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said the panel's report would be discussed at a cabinet meeting on Friday. du/AFP/Reuters/PTI Editor: Anne Thomas | [
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Suspected terrorists arrested in Germany, Norway
Police say three men were arrested in Germany and Norway who are thought to be linked with the terrorist organization al Qaeda. The detainees are reported to have been planning a bomb attack in Oslo.
Three suspected al-Qaeda members have been arrested for allegedly preparing a major bomb attack, Norway's Police Security Service (PST) said Thursday. "Three people suspected ... of preparing a terrorist act and who have links to al-Qaeda have been arrested today," Janne Kristiansen, the head of the PST, confirmed reporters in Oslo. National prosecutor Jan Glent told the press conference that the three had been "charged with having entered into a partnership to commit a terrorist act." "We also think they have links to al-Qaeda and to similar attempts [at terror attacks] in New York and Manchester," he added. Kristiansen said that two of the men had been arrested in Oslo and one in Germany after an extensive investigation lasting over a year. The police force would not give details as to the men's suspected plans, but reports say they were preparing a bomb attack in the Norwegian capital using portable bombs similar in design to those used in recently-thwarted attacks in New York City and Manchester, England. Police refused to give the names of the suspects, but Kristiansen said one was a 39-year-old Norwegian citizen of Chinese Uighur origin. Another was a 37-year-old Iraqi Kurd and the third had come to Norway from Uzbekistan as an asylum-seeker. Both foreign nationals, she said, were legal residents of Norway. Kristiansen said the international arrests were the result of cooperation between Norwegian and other European intelligence agencies, although she would not say which. Europe's war on terror Terrorism expert Rolf Tophoven of the Institute for Terrorism Research and Security Policy, told Deutsche Welle that Thursday's arrests were "evidence" that Europe's intelligence agencies were on "highest alert." Tophoven likened the fight against terrorism to an Olympic marathon that never ended, with both intelligence forces and terrorists constantly gaining speed. He added that, because of interagency communication, he believed the fight against terrorism was more effective in Europe than in the United States, where intelligence agencies like the FBI and the CIA notoriously compete with each other. Terrorism expert David Schiller agrees. "There's much more sharing of information and intelligence than there was in the 1980s and 1990s," he said. "[September 11] did bring home the lesson that one nation alone can not stand up against that type of threat, so we have to cooperate and we have to share information." Europe needs united policies Norwegian authorities stressed that the threat of terrorism in Norway was normally low and remained low. Schiller believes that to truly fight terrorism, Europe must have stronger, more united policies on its handling of the nations that support terrorists. These arrests, he said, are a "tactical event" but "in the long run, [arresting people alone] is not a strategy." Author: David Levitz Editor: Martin Kuebler | [
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Russia sees positive effects of a less confrontational foreign policy
Nuclear deals, trade agreements, signatures on international treaties: Russia has been in a cooperative mood since the turn of the year. Moscow has discovered the benefits of a less confrontational foreign policy.
As recently as the end of 2009, it looked as though the Russia of old was rising anew. Moscow seemed intent on promoting itself as a global power in the mould of the former Soviet Union with its own interests at the heart of all its foreign policy decisions and the right to walk away from any international agreements if they failed to satisfy the Kremlin's demands. In President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia looked to have a leader who smiled warmly but still shook hands with the iron grip of his predecessor Vladimir Putin. Far from being the youthful reformist unencumbered by a KGB past, Medvedev was beginning to act more like the hardened Putin than the Russian prime minister himself. After fighting a war with Georgia – viewed by many observers as an overly aggressive and disproportional exhibition of Russian military power – Medvedev seemed emboldened. He kept the Russian stance firm on issues such as Iran, issued warnings over the proposed US missile shield and NATO's eastern expansion, and while agreeing to President Barack Obama's calls for a re-setting of relations, he made it clear that Russia would resort to the default position of suspicion if it wasn't happy with the results. While it was nowhere near the level of Moscow's Cold War rhetoric, there was a definite chill blowing out of Red Square. Fast forward to July 2010 and Russia seems to be a very different animal. The snarling bear with a sore head has been replaced by a more placid beast and while it may not be ready to roll over and have its tummy tickled just yet, Russia certainly seems less likely to take a bite out of its rivals than at any other time in the past year. Medvedev pursues new alliances with US, EU Last week, Medvedev gave one of his boldest foreign policy statements since becoming president by calling for the formation of new alliances with the United States and the European Union. Focusing on trade and investment, the Russian president called for US and EU cooperation in making his vision of a modernized Russia come to fruition through the exchange of capital and technology. His speech, which came just days before German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Yekaterinburg to sign off on a raft of new trade deals, is just the latest sign of Moscow's new softer foreign policy towards the West, reversing the earlier trend of issuing Cold War-era anti-Western threats in an attempt to get what he wanted. There has been a growing rapprochement since the turn of the year with Medvedev reaching out to the United States, Britain and many of the other leading European Union member states on issues such as trade, security and economic affairs. The Russian president appears to have changed tack after realising that Russia can more efficiently satisfy its needs through cooperation than it can through confrontation. "Medvedev recognizes that Russia can only develop as a major power when it modernizes," Margarete Klein, an expert on Russian foreign and security policy at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told Deutsche Welle. "In order to modernize Russia's economy and industry, Russia needs cooperation partners from abroad – and those modernization partners are to be found mostly in the West. That's the logic that lies beneath Russia's new softer foreign policy towards the West. It shows that external policy is seen as an instrument for internal development and modernization." "Russia had to learn hard lessons from the global financial crisis," she added. "It had to learn that its economic policy is to a great extent connected with developments outside of Russia. In order to modernize, Russia desperately needs Western investment. Therefore, a policy of confrontation would be counterproductive." New policy apparent in Russia's stance on global issues In May, a leaked foreign ministry document that was published by the Russian edition of Newsweek magazine detailed Moscow's desire to pursue a less confrontational foreign policy and named 61 countries with which it wanted to improve relations, including key EU business partners Germany, Italy and France, a number of Baltic republics, and Russian arms clients such as India, China and Venezuela. "Leaks often happen in the West but it is unusual in Russia," Asher Pirt, a specialist and researcher on Russian and Central Asian affairs for the British East West Center, told Deutsche Welle. "It appears clear that it is an official document but it is unlikely to have been leaked without a decision made at a high level. Russia does want to have good relations with the West in order to achieve its foreign policy goals and wants to convince the West that Russia can be trusted. Sadly Russia's critics in the West will demand more evidence than a leaked document." In an attempt to show it is willing to embrace a softer policy with the West, Russia appears to have changed its stance on Iran. For a long time, Moscow was against further international sanctions against Tehran over its controversial nuclear program but in the last round of UN Security Council discussions, Russia was among those nations which agreed to an extension of the measures. This support of sanctions prompted anger in Iran but praise from the United States. Medvedev then announced that Russia believed that Iran was moving closer to having the potential to create nuclear weapons, one of the first times the Kremlin had recognized in public that Iran may be moving toward a nuclear weapon. The US warmly welcomed the statements. "There seem to be two reasons for Russia's new stance on Iran," said Klein. "On the one hand, Russia is getting more dissatisfied with the Iranian government. On the other hand, Moscow knows that it has to deliver something in order to keep the reset with the US moving forward. And agreeing to a new round of UN sanctions was a clear implicit benchmark for further Russian-American engagement." However, Asher Pirt believes that Russia is still trying to balance its new policy with the West with its older policy of engagement with the Iranian leadership. "The significant change in Russian thinking has been the realisation that the threat from an Iranian Nuclear weapon is not far away," he said. "This is a threat to Russian as well as Western security, as it is the ultimate deterrence from military action. The problem is that the West and Russia have had nuclear capability for sometime but have always been reluctant to use nuclear weapons but Iran might not have such qualms." Pirt added that despite Russia's recent move towards the US, its stance is still not as strong as that of the US and that Moscow continues to support weak sanctions. "The recent signing of the 'roadmap' on long-term cooperation in the energy sphere with Iran shows that Russia has not completely closed its ties with the Iranian regime." New cooperation with US, EU faces challenges ahead Still, Russia's change could not have happened without some reciprocation coming from the West. In the past year, the external setting for Russia's foreign policy has improved with the Europeans and US becoming more engaged in cooperation with Russia. Russian-American relations continue to improve within the 'reset' context while Russia and NATO have eased tensions after agreeing a 'new beginning' in relations. Each situation allows Russia to feel valued as a partner and gives it a momentum to pursue better ties. However, there will undoubtedly be challenges ahead to test the new Russian policy. Russia's position in regard to Iran has not changed fundamentally and Moscow is still reluctant to further, harder sanctions despite agreeing to the last round. While NATO's eastern expansion may be on hold, there are still issues over Georgia's wish to become a member of both NATO and the EU. Both may test Moscow's new softly-softly approach to the US and Europe. "It is clear that Georgia is unlikely to become a member of the EU as long as its territory is in question in regard to the existence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia," said Pirt. "It would be unpopular with a number of groups in Russia if Georgia became a member of the EU or even NATO. Russia wants closer ties with the EU. However, Russia considers it has interests in Georgia." Moscow would definetely prefer a Georgian membership in the EU rather than NATO, said Klein. "Georgia's membership in NATO is a clear red line for Russia. Such a step would not only worsen the relationship with Tbilisi, but also put an end to the 'new beginning' in its relations with NATO." Author: Nick Amies Editor: Michael Knigge | [
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German ISAF general calls Wikileaks document release 'a crime'
Brigadier General Josef Blotz has criticized the recent online leak of 92,000 mostly classified documents on the Afghan conflict. He said the information could put soldiers and civilians in danger.
A top German general and ISAF spokesman blasted the whistle-blowing 'Wikileaks' website on Thursday for last week's publication of thousands of mostly classified files on the conflict in Afghanistan. "I take this opportunity to criticize the release of these documents," Brigadier General Josef Blotz said in a video conference transmitted to journalists from Afghanistan to the Bundeswehr Operations Command Center near the German city of Potsdam. "It was extremely irresponsible and, basically, it was a crime." Blotz didn't directly contradict earlier military statements suggesting that the documents would have little impact on current operations because they are all at least seven months old, but he did said that they could pose a danger to individual soldiers and civilians. "The classified material - now made available to the general public - can indeed jeopardize the lives of our ISAF troops," he warned from the ISAF base in the Afghan capital Kabul. "Moreover, they can endanger the lives of many ordinary Afghans who in some way or another have cooperated with ISAF forces or Afghan security troops, and whose names are explicitly mentioned in the documents." However, the general also insisted that the news value contained in the files was actually very limited, saying the information released "would only bowl over people who hadn't picked up a newspaper for the past three years." Armed and ready? Blotz also praised the levels of equipment provided to German troops on the ground, saying provisions had improved markedly in the past couple of years and that only a few minor shortfalls remained. The general dismissed claims from the German parliament's commissioner for Bundeswehr affairs, Helmut Koenigshaus, that the equipment levels for German soldiers had become "a drama." Koenigshaus spoke of shortfalls including furniture for the barracks, camp beds, as well as live and blank ammunition, saying some troops were feeling neglected. Blotz described this assertion as "at least completely disproportionate," saying that while soldiers would always like more, the situation "in no way warrants jumping to the kind of conclusions which I have seen in the newspapers in the past few days." However, the criticism has become reciprocal, with Koenigshaus' Free Democrat party coming to the defense of the man charged with fighting the Bundeswehr's corner in Berlin. "The job of commissioner for Bundeswehr affairs is anchored in our constitution; it's to address the soldiers' concerns and make them common knowledge in parliament and in public," Free Democrat defense expert Elke Hoff said after the video conference. "However, it is not part of ISAF's job to publicly criticize the commissioner's important work. Our defense minister (Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg) should make this crystal clear, and should perhaps consider personal consequences." "Deliberate progress" Blotz also told reporters that the ISAF mission in Afghanistan was progressing well. Even if no major breakthroughs are currently on the horizon, he spoke of "deliberate progress", military terminology for piecemeal improvement, in the country. He also said the impression of a growing Taliban insurgency was somewhat artificial, because most of the attacks are sustained in highly hostile areas which the NATO-led forces didn't always patrol. "We simply had to move into such areas, there was no alternative to it," Blotz said. "And because you have more combat action now, the media often concludes that we're confronted with a Taliban offensive, but that's not the case." Blotz said the fighting had intensified in particular trouble-spots, with the country as a whole gradually pacifying. He pointed out that seven of every ten ISAF losses are incurred solely in the Kandahar province. In the long term, he said, the target is still to hand over security tasks to the Afghan military and police. "Building up the Afghan security forces is without doubt the number-one priority for the ISAF command," he said. "We need to be successful in this so we can prepare the withdrawal of our own troops. From what we see right now, it should be possible to complete this task by 2014, due to the remarkable progress already made in this field. However, Blotz added that the date 2014 was first floated by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, not ISAF, and also said that even after a security handover took place, some western troops would stay in Afghanistan for non-combat purposes. Author: Hardy Graupner (msh) Editor: Rob Turner | [
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Arctic ice keeps seeds safe from climate change, catastrophes
More than half a million seeds have been put into a deep freeze in Norway to protect them from wars, climate change and unforeseen catastrophes. In its second year of operation, the vaults still have space.
The snow cover on the mountainside above the settlement of Longyearbyen, around 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from the North Pole, melts to a large extent in summer. But much of the earth below remains frozen. The permafrost is one of the main reasons why this spot, 130 meters above sea level, was chosen to house the planet's "deep freezer" for crop seeds. In 2008, the bunker in the frosty interior of this Arctic mountain, christened the "Global Seed Vault," initiated by the Norwegian government and now run by the Global Crop Diversity Trust, was officially opened. Since then, more than half a million seed samples have been stored in what the organizers consider to be the "safest place in the world." Though workmen are drilling inside the 100-meter long tunnel, which leads down to the triple-vault, and shifting permafrost has damaged the facility's entrance, there's no danger to the hundreds of thousands of seeds stored inside, according to Roland von Bothmer, a professor of plant breeding and plant genetics at the Swedish University of Agriculture. Safe from catastrophes, wars and climate change The information about the seeds stored here is generally available on the Internet. The seeds themselves remain the property of whichever body has sent them in, normally a national or regional seed bank or agricultural organization. "They have been dried to just around 5 to 6 percent water content," von Bothmer said, holding vacuum-packed seed samples from Denmark and India. "They are brought here in a 'black box.' We register them and put the box in the seed vault." It's important for the vault to protect duplicates, which could be returned to their owners if the originals were to be lost in the event of a disaster, von Bothmer said, pointing out that landslides, earthquakes and civil war could all result in the loss of important crop material. Refrigeration equipment inside the central storage hall works to push the temperature down to -18 degrees Celsius (-0.4 degrees F) - the ideal temperature to preserve the seeds for hundreds of years. Seeds of more than a third of the world's existing varieties of cultivated plants have already been deposited in the vault. "We have around 520,000 seed samples in this vault," von Bothmer said. "The chamber is not even half full. That means, when we have all three chambers in operation, we can easily store everything we need." Noah's Ark for plants But the work carried out by von Bothmer and his colleagues could bear fruit for humanity even without a world-threatening catastrophe. Genetic erosion, the loss of biodiversity in agricultural crops, is already happening at a worrying rate, according to von Bothmer. "Natural and human selection have been working for 10,000 years and wherever it got adapted, it developed new landraces," he said. "And we lose that variation a lot in the field because farmers in most areas prefer to cultivate modern varieties with a very narrow genetic background." He added that the FAO World Food Summit last year said world food production would have to be increased by more than 70 percent by 2050. At the same time, the area available for agriculture is declining. That means we need more efficient and sustainable farming, with plant breeding and plant genetics playing an important role, von Bothmer said. Climate change poses another challenge. "It will be drier in many areas, there will be more rain in others. There will be a new spectrum of diseases, new pests, all over the world. And we need to have genes that are resistant, for example, in order to cope with these new conditions coming in. Some areas will be winners, others losers. We don’t know where and we don’t know the speed of this.” Author: Irene Quaile Editor: Sean Sinico | [
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Germany's young female soccer stars lift World Cup at home
Germany has won the U-20 Women's World Cup on home soil after beating Nigeria 2-0 in the final. For star-player Alexandra Popp there was the double glory of being recognized as both top scorer and best player.
The German women's Under-21 side lifted the World Cup on home soil after beating Nigeria 2-0 in the final on Sunday. Tournament top scorer Alexandra Popp netted the opening goal at Bielefeld, where the match took place, with teammate Kim Kulig sealing the win in injury time. "We deserve to be World Champions," said team coach Maren Meinert. "Everything that we dreamed about has come true." Indeed, the game opened in fairytale style for the Germans in front of a crowd of 24,633. Just eight minutes had been played when, after a cross Bianca Schmidt, Popp held off two Nigeria defenders to shoot past Nigeria keeper Alaba Jonathan for the first goal. The goal was Popp's tenth of the tournament. The 19-year-old from Duisburg finished as top scorer on 10 goals - hitting the net in all six of Germany's tournament wins. Fighting Falconets Nigeria's young "Falconets", the first African women's team to reach the final of any FIFA tournament, tried hard to get back into the game with Germany keeper Almuth Schult tested more than once. The game lost pace in the second half and, although both teams had their chances, Germany looked the more likely to score. The team sealed a victory in the 92nd minute, courtesy of 19-year-old Kulig's header. For Popp, there was the double honor of winning the tournament Golden Boot for scoring the most goals, as well as the best player award for her consistency. "It was the best day of my football career so far," said Popp. In the earlier third place play-off, South Korea defeated Colombia one-nil to take third place. Almost 400,000 fans attended the tournament's 32 games, with Germany set to host the next Women's World Cup in 2011. Author: Richard Connor (SID/dpa) Editor: Nigel Tandy | [
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Poland swears in Komorowski as new president
Bronislaw Komorowski has been sworn in for a five-year term as Poland's president, promising greater inter-party cooperation and improved relations with the European Union, the United States and Russia.
One month after winning a runoff snap election, liberal Civic Platform leader Bronislaw Komorowski took the oath of office for Poland's presidency in a ceremony at parliament in Warsaw on Friday. In his inauguration speech, the 58-year-old said Poland needed more cooperation between the various branches of government as well as among political parties. "Only we can determine if the inevitable disagreements dig valleys between us, or if we lead a democratic debate while upholding mutual respect and concern for priorities," he said. He promised to modernize Poland's infrastructure and to improve ties with the United States, NATO, the European Union and EU hopefuls like Ukraine. Addressing Poland's relationship with Russia, which has worsened since the signing of a missile defense shield deal between the United States and Poland, Komorowski said "there will be no stable development of our region without working together with Russia. Rival a no-show Notably absent from the ceremony was Komorowski's rival Jaroslaw Kaczynski, identical twin to late president Lech Kaczynski, whose death in a plane crash in April caused the snap election. Kaczynski's absence drew criticism from several politicians, including former center-right prime minister and current European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek. "There are certain events in a democratic state when all should be present, and when their absence is regarded as a deliberate protest," Buzek said. A spokesman for Kaczynski's conservative Law and Justice party defended the party leader's absence. "Civic Platform politicians made brutal verbal attacks on President Lech Kaczynski when he was alive, and some continue to do so even after his death," Mariusz Blaszczak told AFP news agency. Komorowski is Poland's fourth democratically-elected president since the fall of communism in 1989, an event which he worked toward as part of the pro-democracy Solidarity movement. Author: Andrew Bowen (AFP, Reuters, dpa) Editor: Nancy Isenson | [
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In Rwanda, stability trumps democracy as nation goes to polls
Rwandans voted Monday in presidential elections, but the outcome is already all but certain. Critics of the government say the country may be stable but has moved far away from being a real democracy.
Rwandans went to the ballot box on Monday to vote for a new president, although no one was biting their nails over the outcome - the country's sitting president, Paul Kagame, was expected to win with some 90 percent of the vote. Critics say despite its democratic appearance, the election represents just another seven-year extension of Kagame's iron-fisted rule during which Rwanda's economy has flourished, but any political opposition has been ruthlessly suppressed, turning the East African nation into what amounts to a one-party state. "After the genocide there was the appearance to a certain extent of a liberal system, but for many years one can clearly see that it's a de facto one-party state," Denis Tull, an Africa expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told Deutsche Welle. "There are a few political parties allowed, but those represented in parliament can't be considered a real opposition," he said. Monday's vote is the second presidential election since the country was rocked with genocidal violence in 1994 that killed some 800,000. While the country has not seen a repeat of that horror, this election run-up has been marked by a spate of arrests, mysterious killings and restrictions on the free-speech rights of critical opposition figures that could well affect the nation's long-term stability, and reopen the wounds left over from the genocide. Growth and stability Kagame's supporters, including many in the West, can point to a string of accomplishments during his 16 years at the top - 10 as president - beginning in those dark days in 1994, when he helped end the wave of killing that had wracked the country. After the genocide, the country was in ruins, today Rwanda is the safest, cleanest country in Africa, with no slums and almost no begging or street crime. Its economy is expected to grow 6 percent this year and tax revenues to increase by 12 percent. Kagame has positioned himself as a foe of corruption which has attracted donors and private investors, including big names like Starbucks and the Gulf investment firm Dubai World. Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International ranks Rwanda as the least corrupt country in East Africa. The World Bank puts the country among the top five most attractive African nations to do business. Kagame's popularity with foreign donors has meant the country's food stocks are swelling, the Chinese have built a basic road network and South Korea is laying a fiber-optic system across the country. His ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front party has overseen a trebling of household incomes and today citizens have access to universal health insurance and the country's parliament has a higher percentage of female members than anywhere else in the world - 56 percent. "I will continue to work as hard as I can till the day we can speak of a Rwanda that has achieved the kind of prosperity that leaves no one behind and everyone proud of who they are," Kagame wrote in a letter to supporters posted on his website Friday. The other side of the coin But there is a dark side to Kagame's rule, critics say, charging that all the stability has came at a high price - human rights. Over the last few months, a string of attacks on Rwandans with whom the president has fallen out has raised eyebrows and suspicions. Opposition politicians and independent journalists have been harassed, arrested, or worse. Police have arrested two aspiring presidential candidates and opposition supporters have been detained for holding an illegal rally. Victoire Ingabire, a Hutu politician who had hoped to stand against Kagame, must face charges of "denying the genocide" while in exile. General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, a critic Kagame, fled his homeland in February and was shot in the stomach in June in South Africa. The deputy editor of a critical newspaper was recently shot and killed outside his home in the capital Kigali. Andre Kagwa Rwisereka, the deputy leader of the opposition Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, was found nearly decapitated in the south of the country. "We have stability here and you can see economic improvement. But we don't think it's sustainable, because we say stability and democracy must go hand and hand," Frank Habineza, president of Rwanda's Green Party, told Deutsche Welle by telephone from Kigali. He said he himself was threatened by unnamed men in February who he suspects of being government security operatives. "We know Kagame's party is going to win this election, because the president is very prepared and he has no competition at all," he added. "This election is an election where there is no opposition." Kagame won a 2003 presidential election with 95 percent of the vote. This time around, he faces three opponents who backed him seven years ago. Western support Despite the recent events, all of which the government denies having any role in, Rwanda still enjoys a good deal of enthusiastic Western support since the country is seen as something of a model for the continent. Kagame's list of advisors includes Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, high-profile US evangelist Rick Warren and the CEOs of Google and Starbucks. It also helps that Kagame, 52, is an elegant, charismatic figure, who speaks well and knows how to court international players. Over the past few weeks, Kagame has responded to allegations about democratic deficits by saying democracy in Rwanda takes time to establish, stability is the priority, especially given the convulsion of 1994. "Your model of democracy, why should it be suitable for me," he told Britain's Guardian newspaper. Foreign governments and advisors have been mostly quiet about the rights situation, despite the fact that Rwanda is ranked 183 out of 195 countries for freedom of the press. According to analyst Tull, that is partly due to the fact that Kagame, the rebel army leader who stopped the genocide, has successfully played on Western guilt about its non-intervention during the killing. "The government is saying, we have other goals, like stability and development, and we won't be told by others how to lead our country, especially by an international community which didn't intervene to stop the genocide," he said. "That is the message and it's getting across fairly well because we haven't seen that much criticism from outside." Author: Kyle James Editor: Rob Mudge | [
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Sri Lanka launches new port in Hambantota
The port on the southern coast is part of the Sri Lankan president's plan to transform his country into a major trading hub and rebuild the infrastructure after 25 years of civil war. It has been built with China's help.
As the new harbor in the southern city of Hambantota was flooded with sea water, President Mahinda Rajapaksa promised it would provide the basis of Sri Lanka's future prosperity. "The maritime and naval economy built up through this port will lead to industries requiring new and varied skills, professional services, banking and financial institutions, and will open new paths to take our produce to the world outside. This is a free port," he said. The port has been constructed at a cost of $360 million (280 million euros) and over 85 percent of this was loaned by the Export-Import Bank of China. China Harbour Engineering, which is part of a state-owned company, has been doing the building. "Our country was situated on the route between China and southern Europe. The offer by China to build this port on the old Silk Route reminds us again of our traditional friendship. I offer my heartfelt gratitude," President Rajapaksa said solemnly on Monday. Chinese interest is beneficial to Sri Lanka The president has said that he originally asked Indian officials to help with the project but they rejected it. China apparently then offered the best terms of all the bidders. "China has funded and developed this port and it is of great strategic interest to China to develop some sort of a foothold within Sri Lanka," said Charu Lata Hogg from Chatham House in London. "The Chinese economic interest is extremely beneficial to Sri Lanka because it takes away the pressure on Sri Lanka from being reliant either on the West or India." How worrisome is the port for India? Some security experts in India have expressed their fear that China's involvement is part of its String of Pearls strategy to build a network of ports across the Indian Ocean. Charu Lata Hogg argued that India did have reason to be concerned but said it was "hard to pinpoint how worrisome it is for India, partly because of its expansive role, not only as far as the sub-region is concerned but globally." However, she added, "it does matter to India because it tests its influence within the region. As we saw in May 2009, in the last days of the conflict, it was essentially Chinese help in terms of arms supplies that helped Sri Lanka win the war against the Tamil Tigers. Given that scenario, Sri Lanka's economic and political reliance on India has decreased." But Hogg also pointed out that the economic and strategic partnership Colombo and Beijing currently enjoyed was offset by the "cultural influence" India felt it had on Sri Lanka. 2,500 ships a year initially Officials said that the new port would start handling ships from November onwards. It will provide refueling services for ships using sea lanes nearby. The new harbor has been designed to initially handle 2,500 ships a year to take off some of the pressure from the country's only port in Colombo, which handles some 6,000 ships annually. At the end of the three phases, it is expected to be able to deal with 7,000 ships. Author: Anne Thomas Editor: Disha Uppal | [
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French traveling groups block highway after Roma evictions
Ethnic Roma and French travelers have staged a protest on a major highway after hundreds were evicted from an illegal site. The French government is cracking down, vowing to close 300 campsites.
Members of France's ethnic Roma group and members of the country's native traveler minority blocked a major highway outside Bordeaux on Sunday after being evicted from a campsite near the city. The blockade was the first major protest in the wake of a government crackdown on unauthorized sites across the country. Protesters used cars, trucks and caravans to block the Bordeaux bypass and a bridge over the River Garonne in the southwest of the country. Police and road safety officials said traffic in the direction of Paris was backed up for five kilometers (three miles) on a summer public holiday weekend. The protesters blocked the bridge for some five hours, leaving to try to gain access to a sports ground. They were stopped by riot police and reoccupied the bridge for another hour-and-a-half. Forced to leave site The group of travelers and Roma had been forced to leave a campsite in the nearby town of Anglet, and had been denied access to an exhibition ground by authorities. French President Nicolas Sarkozy last month announced plans to dismantle 300 unauthorized campsites within three months, following a clash between Roma, mainly of Bulgarian and Romanian origin, and police. The raids, being investigated by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, were met with criticism from committee members at a meeting last week. A lawmaker from Sarkozy's ruling UMP party, Jean-Pierre Grand branded the evictions "disgraceful" on Saturday, likening them to roundups of minorities during World War II. Author: Richard Connor (AFP/Reuters) Editor: Martin Kuebler | [
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Four German cities compete to host next Eurovision Song Contest
Berlin, Duesseldorf, Hamburg and Hanover have all submitted bids to host the next Eurovision Song Contest. Germany won the honor after Hanover-born Lena Meyer-Landrut swept the Grand Prix in Oslo in May.
Berlin, Duesseldorf, Hamburg and Hanover are all in the running to host the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest. The four cities submitted their bids to the German broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) on Friday, August 20. Now it's up to NDR and fellow public broadcaster ARD, in collaboration with the European Broadcasting Union, to decide which city should have the honor of hosting the popular European music competition. Germany won the chance to stage the event after 19-year-old Lena Meyer-Landrut from Hanover won the international competition in Oslo in May this year with her song "Satellite." Lena is planning to sing for her country again at next year's contest. New format for the contest The Eurovision Song Contest now takes place over three evenings of fast-paced and flashy entertainment. Smaller countries have to compete in two semi-finals, broadcast in the week running up to the grand final. "The proposals we've received are very detailed and impressive," said Thomas Schreiber, entertainment coordinator for German public television. "We're going to go through the documents carefully, to work out which place has the best facilities to produce three TV shows, which venue has the most convincing infrastructure and the best economic conditions," Schreiber said. "The cities which have applied are highly motivated," he added. The decision is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. The final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 will take place on Saturday, May 14. Author: Joanna Impey (AFP/AP/dpa) Editor: Toma Tasovac | [
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NATO Policy: A Return to Deterrence
In the Interview: NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Anders Fogh Rasmussen is just weeks away from ending his term as NATO Secretary General. The Danish politician says the alliance is stronger and better able to meet today's security challenges. But growing tensions with Russia have forced NATO to re-adapt to a renewed rivalry. | [
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Afghanistan market blast kills dozens
Officials say dozens of people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack at a busy market in southeastern Afghanistan. The blast underlines the country's fragile political and security situation.
A suicide bomber on Tuesday blew up a vehicle packed with explosives at a busy market in southeastern Afghanistan, killing at least 89 people and injuring scores more, according to a Defense Ministry spokesman. Officials said most of the victims were civilians. The explosion also damaged shops, houses and cars nearby, according to witnesses. Several people were said to be still buried under rubble, meaning the death toll could rise further. The attack in the Urgun district of Paktika province is the worst in the war-torn country in months. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Taliban insurgents often use suicide attacks as a weapon. The bombing followed just hours after a roadside bomb in eastern Kabul killed two passengers in a minivan carrying employees of the presidential palace. Five others in the van were injured. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for that attack in a statement sent to reporters. Perilous instability Attacks by the Taliban are gaining intensity as part of their annual spring offensive. The militants appear also to have stepped up their campaign ahead of the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces by the end of 2014. A UN report last week said civilian casualties in Afghanistan soared by 24 percent to 4,853 in the first half of 2014 compared with the same period in 2013. Tuesday's attacks come just days after a weekend deal between two Afghan presidential rivals brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry seemed to avert a looming danger to the country's nascent democracy. Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, who have been contending to take over from incumbent President Hamid Karzai, agreed to allow an audit of all eight million ballots cast in a runoff election in which preliminary results showed Ghani as a clear winner. Abdullah had blamed the result on massive cheating. tj/msh (AP, AFP) | [
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Hamas and Israel cling to their war aims
The war in Gaza has reached a deadlock. Israel wants to keep fighting until Hamas stops firing rockets. Hamas wants to keep fighting until its goals are reached - aims that are wholly inacceptable to Israel.
International diplomats, foreign ministers and UN representatives are frantically trying to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza war. US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon traveled to Cairo to look for ways to end what has turned into two weeks of bloodshed. A ceasefire still seems like a distant prospect. Despite the deaths of around 600 Palestinians and 30 Israelis, the attacks continue on both sides. Hamas and the Israeli government in Jerusalem want to keep fighting until they have reached their respective goals. Giving in to a ceasefire would be tantamount to defeat for them. Jordanian political scientist Hasan al-Momani says that Hamas and Israel have allowed the situation to escalate to the point that they are at a dead end - with no way out unless they achieve some of their goals. Israel says it will keep fighting until Hamas' launch pads and tunnels out of the Gaza Strip are destroyed. The Palestinian organization uses tunnels between Gaza and Egypt to restock supplies, including weapons. Al-Momani says Hamas is allowing an escalation to occur to generate enough international pressure for the sake of achieving its goals. Above all, those aims involve ending Israel's blockade of the narrow Gaza Strip. Further demands include the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons and a stop to Israel's Gaza offensive. "I think, for Hamas, the crisis provides an opportunity to end its political isolation," al-Momani says. A weakened negotiating position An initial attempt at a ceasefire with Egypt's meditation failed last week. Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades, is maintaining its rocket attacks against Israeli cities. In response, Israel's air force struck targets in Gaza. Shlomo Brom of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv argues that Egypt no longer has the trust of Hamas. Egypt, Brom says, was once able to mediate, but the new government in Cairo takes a critical stance toward Hamas. "Hamas prefers as mediators other states that are closer to it - and that is Qatar and Turkey," Brom adds, noting that Israel, on the other hand, distrusts these two as possible mediators. Brom, who is Israeli, says Hamas is too weak to be able to stop its attacks at the moment. "That may seem like a paradox, but it's not. Because when a group of people are in a very difficult situation - when they feel that they are cornered - then the feeling is that they cannot give up. If they would give up, it would be a slippery slope that would lead to their end," he explains. The INSS expert says he believes Hamas is suffering from a lack of supporters after many turned away, leaving Qatar as the sole source of financing. But money from the wealthy Gulf state can't simply be wired over. Brom says smuggling suitcases of money through the tunnels has become more difficult, and the destruction of the tunnels means Hamas also has diminished tax revenue on smuggled goods - leaving them bankrupt, according to the Israeli analyst. Ten Hamas demands As a condition for a lasting ceasefire, Hamas has set out 10 demands, including a withdrawal of Israeli troops and the opening of border crossings to Gaza. Furthermore, Hamas wants to have a port and airport under UN supervision. Palestinians are also calling for the air space over Gaza to be closed to Israeli aircraft and for the permission to travel to Jerusalem. Brom says some of these points are unrealistic, such as an end to Israeli control of Gaza's air space. "There's no chance that Israel will agree to stop this activity as long as Hamas is arming itself and depicting itself as the enemy of Israel," he says, adding that Israel needs to maintain its cover in Gaza to block attacks from the region. Brom says that he thinks the reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah could help stabilize the entire situation, however. "It can be used for a gradual return of the Palestinian Authority to the Gaza Strip. That was what actually was agreed between Hamas and Fatah," he says. Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, which is when Fatah officials were driven out. It wasn't until two months ago that the two sides agreed to form a unity government. But it was Israel, which works together in some ways with the Fatah-led government in the West Bank, that torpedoed this reconciliation. Brom says that was a mistake. Jordanian political analyst al-Momani also says Israel's opposition to the deal helps explain the current escalation in violence. One of Hamas' 10 demands ties in to that situation - Israel, it says, must promise not to interfere with Palestinian affairs. But, it's unlikely Israel would agree to such a demand as long as groups such as Hamas declare themselves enemies of the country. | [
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The naked #selfie: how safe is a factory reset on your Android phone? Not very
Antivirus and mobile security firm Avast! says it's unveiled major holes in Google's Android operating system after extracting masses of personal data from phones that had been factory restored.
Avast! bought 20 secondhand Android phones on ebay. And, using commercially available forensic tools, they recovered data that should have been deleted when the previous user wiped the phone. The antivirus and mobile security firm based in the Czech Republic found thousands of emails, contact details, SMS text messages, selfies and other photos - some of a very intimate nature indeed. "Most people don't think of their smartphone as a computer," says Avast!'s chief marketing officer, Chris Benham. "But the problem is all of us are increasingly using our mobile devices as a replacement for our traditional computers," he says. "We do online banking. We store family pictures. We store bank applications and other things that we would have used to have done on our computers, and which we're now doing on our devices." Erase all data? The problem, says Benham, is that on the secondhand phones Avast! bought, this data was still there, even though the user had selected "factory reset" which suggests everything would be erased. "By having the option of erasing all the information, it creates the perception that you have deleted it and removed it because you can't visibly see it," Benham explains. "But the reality is that all you've done is remove the pointers to the information. The information itself is still stored on the device." The phone overwrites your data in time as the new user adds their data - such as their photos and contacts. Your data meanwhile - as sensitive or embarrassing as it may be - could still be retrieved. Naked selfies "We found about 40,000 photos, about 1,500 photos of children, thousands of Google searches, thousands of contact records, emails. So a lot of personal and private information," says Jude McColgan, president of the company's mobile division. Avast! says the photos included 750 images of women in various states of undress, and 250 photos of "what appeared to be the previous owner's manhood." "The risk to individuals - who think that they're otherwise deleting all of their personal information - is that if you give it to your mother, or you sell it, somebody really has quite an easy capability to go through digital forensics and get your stuff, get your personal information," McColgan says. Google criticism Google, which developed Android, was quick to criticize Avast!'s findings. The 20 phones tested, said the company, were running older versions of the Android mobile operating system. For the last three years, says Google, Android has featured an encryption tool that renders old data unrecoverable after a factory reset. However it's not a default setting, and presupposes considerable tech savvy on the part of the user. Avast! says it was puzzled by Google's response, as some of the phones were running fairly recent versions of Android. Some critics, however, described Avast!'s "naked selfie exposé" as little more than a PR stunt. The firm is trying to make the transition from a leading antivirus software company with more than 218 million users worldwide to a mobile security firm. Publicity stunt? "I think it was a nice idea and they did a great job," says Jan Klesla, a journalist covering the IT business with the leading daily, "Hospodarske noviny". "This factory wipe is something users rely on, and now they're trying to tell people that they should pay more for their mobile security. And this PR I think will help," says Klesla. Avast! offers a mobile security app - which is free - as well as a premium service offering additional benefits, for which you pay a fee. Some of these features are pretty nifty. Their anti-theft app, for instance, will snap a photo of the thief who tries to unlock your phone - and email it to you. Sledgehammer solution But as far as protecting your data is concerned, no solution is 100 percent effective. Apple users are definitely at an advantage as iOS, unlike Android, is not an open platform - everything is encrypted. But that doesn't make your wiped data unrecoverable if you lose, sell or pass on your phone. It is merely more difficult to extract. Experts like Jan Klesla advises users to save everything on a memory card - and take the card out when you sell your phone. And of course some will resort to the ultimate security solution - a slab of concrete and a sledgehammer. | [
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EU adopts broad economic sanctions against Russia
The EU has for the first time adopted new sanctions against Russian oil companies, banks and defense firms over the Kremlin's support of separatist violence in Ukraine. Similar measures from the US could soon follow.
European Union governments imposed broad economic sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, intending to strongarm Moscow into reducing its role in the conflict in Ukraine. Aimed at Russia's energy, finance and defense sectors, the new measures will include an arms embargo, a ban on exports of some sensitive technologies and a ban on the sale of bonds and equities by state-owned Russian banks in European capital markets, diplomats in Brussels told reporters. The sanctions, designed to make Moscow's support of pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine uneconomical, are expected to come into force onThursday. Shortly after the EU's announcement, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington was also drawing up its own round of fresh sanctions against Russia. A White House spokesman said the US' response could be unveiled later in the day on Tuesday. "We have made it clear that additional sanctions and additional costs could be imposed on Russia," spokesman Josh Earnest said. A 'strong warning' After months of hesitation, the EU finally issued what the body's president, Herman Van Rompuy, hoped was a "strong warning" that would make Russia reconsider its current course. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the decision to impose sanctions was "inevitable" after European leaders repeatedly made clear to Moscow that its annexation of Crimea and financial and material support to Ukrainian separatists were unacceptable. "It is now up to the leadership in Russia to decide whether they want to go the way of de-escalation and cooperation," Merkel said in a brief statement. "The EU sanctions can be reviewed but further steps are also possible." Businesses take a tougher stance While the measures approved go beyond the EU-wide asset freezes and visa bans the bloc had imposed until now on confidants of Russian President Vladimir Putin, European diplomats noted that eight more names had also been added to that list. Those earlier measures had also targeted companies and other entities believed to have either facilitated or profited from the fighting in Ukraine. Many EU countries have close economic ties with Russia, a reality that had made Brussels reluctant to come down too heavily on Moscow. However, the alleged downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by pro-Russian rebels using a Russian-made surface-to-air missile persuaded major business lobbies, notably in Germany, to come out in favor of tougher economic sanctions. That support made it more politically feasible to push harsher sanctions to the top of the EU agenda. Putin's last chance Speaking to reporters after meeting with Ukraine's new foreign minister, Pavlo Klimkin, Kerry said he had raised the issue of Moscow's role in the Ukrainian conflict in a Tuesday phone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. "The Russians and their so-called volunteers are continuing to ship arms and funds and personnel across the border," he said. "We see this. There is clear evidence of it." He was referring to satellite imagery released over the weekend of Russian artillery firing into Ukraine from across the border. Such images, as well as reports that international investigators are being prevented from accessing the site where the Malaysian airliner went down more than a week ago, have driven Western relations with Russia to their lowest point since the Cold War. The United States has indicated that there has been "no shred of evidence" that Russia is willing to lend the international community a hand in ending separatist violence in Ukraine, but Kerry did suggest that Putin still had the chance to reverse course and avoid a new round of punitive action from Washington. cjc/kms (AFP, Reuters, AP) | [
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German experts warn against fracking
The country’s Federal Environmental Agency says the risk associated with fracking is too big. Ministries involved are pushing for an initial ban on the practice until 2021.
In their 600 page document, the agency warns of the dangers of obtaining gas from underground layers of rock. “We do not need fracking gas in Germany,” says Federal Environment Agency (UBA) president Maria Krautzberger. Krautzberger believes that the environmental risks associated with fracking are too considerable and that the process shouldn’t be banned, but instead made impossible by creating tougher stipulations. The only reason why a complete ban shouldn’t be imposed, she adds, is because it would be difficult to legally enforce. Unique technique Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, is a process whereby a mix of water and chemicals is pumped into the ground at high pressure. This technology fractures the rock, allowing the underground gas to be released. Recently, the US has seen a real fracking boom. This has allowed Americans to reduce their reliance on energy imports and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. After all, gas, when burned as fuel, produces less carbon dioxide than coal. But there are environmental concerns. Critics say that the chemicals used in the fracking process can enter the water table. New laws in the Fall The risk of water table pollution is one of the major reasons fracking is unpopular in Germany. German Economic Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks have presented a document which will be put forward in the fall. The proposed law aims to ban drilling below 3000 meters (1.9 miles) until 2021. Only in specific circumstances will it be allowed for research purposes. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU party does have a few fracking supporters in its ranks. But it’s expected the economics and environment ministries will win over the government on the matter. The depth limits have been cleverly selected. All shale gas reserves that are worth any value in Germany are situated between 1000 and 2500 meters beneath the earth’s surface. Thenew study from UBA supports the ministers’ stance. "Fracking is a risky technology, and for that reason it needs narrow restrictions to protect the environment and human health," says Maria Krautzberger. "Not a climate solution" The proposed restrictions should prevent companies from attempting to use fracking. According to the UBA, those companies using the technology in Germany have to undergo extensive environmental testing. Krautzberger believes the technique should be completely banned in water reserves, such as marshes or lakes, and protected areas. And even though it has helped the US reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, Krautzberger remains skeptical. "Fracking is not a solution for protecting our climate, which will help us move across to renewable energy. It would be better if our country concentrated on proven, environmentally-friendly forms of energy." But she also points out another environmental problem. According to UBA experts, the liquid released in the process could transport other poisonous subterranean materials "like heavy metals, aromatic hydrocarbons and, in some places, even radioactive substances." While Germany may be shifting towards a partial ban on fracking, other countries are opting in favor of the technique. Poland wants to reach its deep gas reserves as quickly as possible, so as to reduce its reliance on Russia’s gas. The British government also wants to allow fracking in some national parks. | [
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France's Peugeot 'back in the race' as profit rebounds
The French car group PSA Peugeot Citroen has turned the corner on earnings and logged its first profit since 2010. The about-face came in the wake of cost-cutting measures and a joint venture with China.
PSA Peugeot Citroen said Wednesday its operating profit in the first six months of 2014 totaled 477 million euros ($640 million), reversing a loss of 100 million euros in the same period one year ago. With 1.54 million cars sold from January to June - a year-on-year increase of 5.5 percent - revenues amounted to 27.6 billion euros. Depressed by currency fluctuations, the figure was slightly lower than last year, PSA Peugeot Citroen. Free cash flow, an important measure for auto makers, improved to 1.7 billion euros from just 203 million a year ago. "The commitment of all the partners at the group to the Back in the Race strategic plan allowed PSA Peugeot Citroen to reap the first results of its turnaround," Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said in a statement." Tavares unveiled a four-year turnaround strategy earlier this year aimed at boosting profitability by producing fewer models and expanding sales in emerging markets. In addition, the French state and Chinese carmaker Dongfeng became shareholders in PSA, effectively rescuing the company after losses of more than 7 billion euros in the previous two years. PSA's recovery was led by the group's auto division which had logged an operating profit of 7 million euros. This marked a significant improvement over a loss of 538 million euros in the first half of 2013. Sales grew mainly in European car markets, up 11.7 percent, and in China. In Russia and Latin America, losses were also curbed. uhe/cjc (Reuters, AFP, dpa) | [
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Pact with a dictator?
Syrian President Bashir al-Assad is isolated on the world stage. But now he's offering the West military cooperation in the fight against "Islamic State," painting himself as a guarantor of stability.
When the Arab Spring unfolded in Syria, it appeared that the Syrian president's fate was sealed. The heads of state of other Arab countries had fallen one by one: Ben Ali fled, Mubarak was ousted, Gadhafi was murdered. Things weren't looking good for Bashar al-Assad in the autumn of 2011. Thousands of Syrians were protesting against their president, fighting his regime with all they had. But Assad refused to be chased away. He issued continual warnings against the "Islamist terrorists" in his country, and clamped down brutally on his own people. The march of the Islamists Three years and more than 190,000 deaths later, Assad's warning looks more and more like the truth. Militants of the "Islamic State" group are advancing across the country, fighting mercilessly for a religious state. They murder anyone who stands in their way. The Islamic extremists, supported by thousands of volunteer fighters from the Arab world and Europe, have taken hold of large areas of both Syria and Iraq. In the beginning, they mainly fought against Syrian rebels, strengthening the regime in Damascus. Now, the militants are also targeting Syria's government troops. The United States, as well as many European and Arab governments, sees the caliphate as a provocation. Islamic State has given Syria and the West a common enemy - something that could play into the hands of the government in Damascus, said Syria expert Petra Becker of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin. "From the very beginning, Assad denounced the revolution - which was actually about democracy and human rights - as an insurgency of Salafist jihadists," Becker said. At the same time, Becker added, Assad granted amnesty to a number of imprisoned jihadists at the start of the uprising, in the knowledge that they would try to establish terror cells in Syria: "He stood back and watched as jihadists spread across the country. He did everything he could to radicalize the forces at play in the revolution in order to support his narrative." Secret torture methods Against the backdrop of the brutal terrorist methods the "Islamic State" uses and celebrates in the media, the torture methods used by the Syrian regime appear less drastic. The Syrian government also does all it can to keep such things shrouded in secrecy. But with the capture of the strategically important air base in Tabqa in the northern province of Raqqa, "Islamic State" has turned into a problem that is larger than the government expected. Not even Assad himself likely could have predicted such resistance. And yet his strategy appears to be working. The fear-inducing enemy in his own country could help Assad to break through his international isolation. "This is the moment for Assad to capitalize on his past policy," said Becker. "If he can manage to convince Western states to accept him as a partner in the war against terror, he will have secured his power for the years to come." Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has already floated the idea of a cooperation between Damascus and the United States. "Geographically and strategically, Syria is at the center of an international coalition against Islamic State," Muallem said. "Any states who seriously want to fight this terror should side with us." The lesser evil? On Tuesday, the US military began surveillance flights over Syria in preparation for possible air strikes. American broadcaster NBC reported that surveillance drones are being used to prepare attacks against the terrorist group on Syrian territory. Political leaders in Washington denied that the government was cooperating with Damascus. They say they don't want to strengthen the position of a dictator. But given what's known about the terrorists of "Islamic State," Assad could look like the lesser evil in the eyes of many in the West, even though he ordered the oppression and killing of his own people. | [
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Özel: 'Erdogan doesn't care about laws'
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is going to meddle with Turkish domestic and foreign politics despite his role as president traditionally being a politically neutral one, says political scientist and columnist Soli Özel.
DW: Why did Recep Tayyip Erdogan choose Ahmet Davutoglu as his successor as prime minister and chairman of his Justice and Development Party (AKP)? Soli Özel: It was Erdogan's goal to get rid of politicians who had their own power base within the AKP. Ahmet Davutoglu represents a "new generation." He doesn't have even close to the standing in the party that would allow for an unchallenged position. You can rest assured that there was a deal between Erdogan and Davutoglu. Davutoglu is going to be a far weaker prime minister compared to Erdogan. Is Erdogan going to weaken his own party in the long run by appointing Davutoglu? It would be impossible for anyone to replace someone like Erdogan. As far as next year's parliamentary elections are concerned: Since Erdogan doesn't care about laws anyway, he is going to massively interfere in election campaigns and act as if he was still the AKP's chairman. How are the new Turkish government's policies going to differ from previous administrations? Erdogan will especially be able to exert his influence when it comes to foreign policy. If Hakan Fidan, the head of Turkey's intelligence service and one of Erdogan's closest allies, becomes foreign minister, Erdogan is also going to meddle with foreign affairs - there has never been something like that! [Turkey's] foreign policy of the past years is really nothing to be proud of. Just look at how [Turkey] deals with IS fighters. At least we are giving them a hard time now to a certain extent. When it comes to Israel, there had been efforts to approach one another again. But the Gaza conflict has destroyed these plans again. Relations with the United States are tense, but one has to say that the US probably doesn't have any other choice than to work closely with Turkey. Relations to Egypt are a different story: they will probably remain damaged for the long term. Has Turkey's recent foreign policy damaged Turkey's image abroad? You can see how badly Turkey's reputation has been damaged by looking at the guest list for the president's inauguration ceremony. It really isn't the vanguard of international politics. It will take a while until Erdogan can travel to other countries. In the end, he will of course do that. Countries have relations with one another, regardless of whether the heads of state like each other on a personal level. Erdogan has managed to get on the bad side of many Arab as well as European states. On the other hand, countries are going to have to receive him. As far as relations with the European Union are concerned: Turkey's reputation resembles more that of Hungary than that of Croatia. Do you think Turkey's international image is threatened in the long run? Turkey is quite fortunate and has a unique geographical position. That's one of its biggest advantages. That means as long as Turkey remains a NATO member, and as long as there are many problems in Turkey's neighboring countries, Turkey is going to play an important role. What does the Turkish opposition do in order to stand up to the AKP? The opposition doesn't do anything. And it won't do anything until next elections are over. Maybe it's going to pull itself together after the next elections. But Turkey's political landscape won't change in the long run. I'm referring particularly to the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) - these institutionalized opposition parties. They simply don't have any meaning. How do you assess the role of the new pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP)? The HDP is still limited in its political scope of action by its political roots. I think presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas campaigned well. Despite the fact that he had very little financial resources, he managed to get almost 10 percent of the votes. That's quite impressive. This result is likely not going to be replicated in next year's parliamentary elections. But it showed that there is potential for a new political power in Turkey in the future. What do you make of the role of outgoing President Abdullah Gul in this political power game of the past months? He's missed a great chance to develop his own position in Turkey's political landscape. He is now being chased out of office in a very dishonorable way. Erdogan wanted to keep him from becoming prime minister. That's why this election was scheduled in a way that Gul wasn't able to participate, since he was still president. That's really a disrespectful treatment of a president. In the end, this only fuels my suspicion that Erdogan doesn't allow anyone who could potentially turn into a competitor near him. Soli Özel is a professor of international relations at Istanbul's Kadir Has University. He also works as a political advisor and has his own column in Turkey's daily "Haberturk." | [
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Poland's Tusk and Italy's Mogherini picked for EU top jobs
EU leaders meeting in Brussels have chosen Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk as the new European Council president. Italy’s Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini will head the bloc's diplomatic relations.
On Saturday, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy (center in photo) announced on Twitter that EU leaders had chosen Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (left) to succeed him and Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini (right) to take over from Catherine Ashton as the bloc's new top diplomat. It had been expected that the EU leaders who gathered in Brussels on Saturday would agree on key appointments to the bloc. "Elected," Van Rompuy wrote on Twitter. "The European Council has elected PM Donald Tusk as the next president of the European Council and Euro Summits." And, then, shortly thereafter: Tusk said it was possible to combine austerity and expansion in Europe. "My experience as prime minister points to the fact that fiscal discipline on one side and economic growth on the other, combining these two challenges is possible," Tusk told a news conference in Brussels. The 57-year-old career politician also said he would take on Britain's concerns over the EU: "No reasonable person can imagine the EU without the UK," he said. For his own country, Tusk said his appointment was a strong signal for Poland's future in the Eurozone, although the date and the final decision would be decided by the government in Poland. Mogherini has been Italy's top diplomat since February. The 41-year-old center-left politician said she would work to promote European projects on the international stage: "We are a dream come true, having to be careful that the dream doesn't turn into a nightmare," she said. Mogherini takes up her five-year posting in November. mkg,jm/jr (AFP, dpa, AP) | [
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Afghan unity government in jeopardy as presidential candidate rejects vote audit
Afghan candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, says he will not accept the "fraudulent" results of the presidential run-off. His announcement dashed hopes for a national unity government with his opponent, Ashraf Ghani.
The Afghan election commission is expected to announce the results of the second round of the presidential elections later this week following a vote audit monitored by the United Nations. The stalemate over alleged fraud in the June 14 vote has raised fears of renewed violence in the South Asian country. Abdullah said on Monday he believed he won both rounds of the polls. "We were the winners of the election," Abdullah told his supporters. "We do not accept fraudulent election results, and we will not accept a fraudulent government for one day," he added. While he acknowledged the "necessity" of a unity government, Abdullah said "the political process had been deadlocked" due to differences over government posts and the division of powers. Officials from both camps say there are two key impediments to forming a unity government: "The role and power of the proposed chief executive position and the manner in which the audit results are announced, these are the two issues," said Mujib Rahimi, an advisor to Abdullah. Abdullah - who won the first round of the elections but failed to win a clear majority - had rejected the initial results of the second round won by his rival Ghani. The feuding candidates agreed to form a national unity government after US Secretary of State John Kerry held separate talks with them. Kerry also brokered an agreement for a UN-supervised audit of the 8.1 million votes cast in the runoff. Ghani's camp made no immediate response to Abdullah's speech. Obama's phone call The US wants an immediate end to the Afghan political impasse. Washington hopes that the new president would sign the pending Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), which allows the US to keep some of its troops in the country after the scheduled withdrawal of NATO forces by the end of this year. US President Barack Obama telephoned the two candidates over the weekend and urged them to finalize the deal. "The president emphasized the importance of concluding a deal on the national unity government as soon as possible in the interest of shoring up international support for Afghanistan and preserving Afghan stability," the White House press office said in a statement on Saturday. shs/ksb (AP, dpa, AFP) | [
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Australia-Cambodia refugee resettlement deal slammed by rights groups
Australia and Cambodia signed a $35 million deal that will see an unknown number of refugees currently housed in Australia's offshore detention centers resettled in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation.
Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng and Australia's Immigration Minister Scott Morrison signed the agreement in Phnom Penh on Friday, September 26, in a four-minute-long ceremony that saw a tray of champagne flutes crash to the ground as they put pen to paper. After a brief round of applause from their respective entourages, both men ignored media questions and hurriedly left the room. The secretive agreement, which has been under negotiation since February, has been widely condemned by rights groups and others. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres condemned the deal to resettle refugees from the Pacific island of Nauru to Cambodia, adding that he was "deeply concerned" at the precedent it set. "This is a worrying departure from international norms. We are seeing record forced displacement globally, with 87 percent of refugees now being hosted in developing countries. It is crucial that countries do not shift their refugee responsibilities elsewhere," he said. "International responsibility sharing is the basis on which the whole global refugee system works. I hope that the Australian government will reconsider its approach," Guterres added. A joint statement handed to the media after Friday's signing ceremony shed little new light on the issue beyond noting that Cambodia would decide when and how many refugees it would take, and stating that there would be an "initial trial arrangement with a small group of refugees, which will be followed by further resettlement in accordance with Cambodia's capacity." It reiterated that settlement would be "on a voluntary basis," a condition Phnom Penh has insisted upon. Earlier Morrison told Australia's ABC network that the deal provided a regional solution to a regional problem, and met the Abbott government's pledge that "no-one will be resettled in Australia." He also said there was no upper limit on the number of refugees who might be sent, adding that it currently applies to people at the detention centre on the Pacific island of Nauru. Around 200 of the more than 1,200 asylum seekers there have been classified as refugees. Australia has agreed to pay an additional 40 million AUD (35 million USD) in development aid over the next four years to Cambodia, which is considered one of the world's most corrupt countries, with the money purportedly earmarked for projects such as electoral reform, rice milling and land-mine clearance. Australia will also fund the costs of the resettlement process. But many aspects remain unknown, including how many refugees will come, where they will be housed, whether they will be allowed to work, and how they will access services in a country where provision of services is poor and government-sanctioned corruption is rife. Controversial The deal has proved highly controversial in Cambodia and abroad. In Phnom Penh on Friday morning, around 100 protestors petitioned the Australian embassy to scrap the agreement, saying Cambodia is too poor to help others. Speaking to reporters at the demonstration, opposition chief whip Son Chhay condemned the secrecy that surrounded the drafting process, and warned against using Cambodia "as a dumping ground for unwanted refugees" by using money to buy off "a corrupt government." "We believe that this deal not just violates the Refugee Convention, but it [allows] some countries who have money [to be] able to buy off their responsibility towards refugees," he said. "And [that] could create a bad habit for many countries to follow." Protester Son Chum Chuon said he was against the agreement because Cambodia lacks the capacity to handle the refugees and needs to sort out the entrenched problems facing its own people before it can assist others. "The human rights system [and] the democracy system in Cambodia [are] still poor. That is the reason that some demonstrators want to gather in front of the Australian embassy today," he said. "In future, if Cambodia [is] stable in democracy, stable in human rights, I am happy to see all those refugees. But now [I'm] not." Top secret The deal has been on the cards since February when the visiting Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop asked Cambodia to take in refugees. Both countries subsequently maintained a near-uniform silence on the proposal until Wednesday when Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Morrison would visit Phnom Penh to sign. In the face of withering criticism, the Abbott government, which was elected in part on the promise that it would not allow more boats carrying asylum seekers to land in Australia, says it wants a regional solution to the issue of asylum seekers, and holds that many of those trying to reach its shores are economic migrants. News of the signing has caused a storm of protest over the past two days. Opposition politicians in both countries have joined rights organizations, church groups and legal experts in condemnation. Alastair Nicholson, the former chief justice of Australia's Family Court, described the deal as "inappropriate, immoral and likely illegal," and said it raised serious concerns for the welfare of refugees and their children. Nicholson, who was speaking on behalf of an alliance of organizations including Amnesty International, the Refugee Council of Australia, and Save the Children, said Cambodia's welfare sector was already struggling. "It is inappropriate because Cambodia has no capacity within its social sector to take an influx of refugees," he said. "Immoral, because these vulnerable people are Australia's responsibility and, while we await the detail, it appears illegal in contravening Australia's humanitarian and refugee obligations to vulnerable children and families." Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in the world, already relies significantly on international donors to fund its social and welfare programmes. "When you choose to place refugee children in the care of a country already dependent on the international donor community for supporting its own children, you make a clear choice to put refugee children and their families at serious risk," Nicholson warned. 'Unsafe and ill-equipped' On Thursday, Human Rights Watch warned that Cambodia's poor record on refugees and on human rights meant Australia was failing to meet its commitment that it would send people to a "safe third country." "Australia's deal with Cambodia will send people to a country that has a terrible record for protecting refugees and is mired in serious human rights abuses," said HRW's Australia director Elaine Pearson. "Despite Canberra's claims, the reality is Cambodia is both unsafe and ill-equipped to handle large numbers of refugees who will be given one-way tickets to Phnom Penh." Cambodia has a poor record when it comes to asylum seekers. In 2009, for example, the country sent a group of 20 Uighur asylum seekers back to China (where HRW said they were jailed). Within days it had received a billion-dollar package of grants and loans from Beijing. According to UNHCR spokesperson Vivian Tan, Friday's deal meant Australia's international responsibilities towards refugees "are in question," adding that people "fleeing conflict and persecution deserve compassion and help." "UNHCR has always advocated that asylum-seekers should be processed and benefit from protection in the territory of the country where they arrive or which otherwise has jurisdiction over them," she said. "They should not be transferred to another country for asylum processing, and if recognized as refugees, relocated to yet another country for permanent settlement." Services lacking Much of Cambodia's infrastructure and social services remain in disarray after the destruction of the Khmer Rouge's 1975-79 rule, civil war, and underinvestment by the government. Mental health services, for instance, are practically non-existent outside Phnom Penh. In addition, there are few jobs, and education and healthcare are poor. Sister Denise Coghlan heads the Cambodian office of the Jesuit Refugee Service, which has operated here since 1990. Although Cambodia's willingness to take in refugees was "a good thing," she said the lack of mental health services is only one issue they will face. “[Cambodia's] capacity to accept people who have been severely traumatized both by the situation in their own country and by their treatment by the Australian government – first on places like Christmas Island and then Nauru – these people have now been left in a very traumatized and psychologically weak situation," she said. "The capacity of the mental health facilities in Cambodia to really cope with this kind of situation is pretty weak." | [
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Rolf-Dieter Heuer, Director General of CERN
Physicist Rolf-Dieter Heuer is searching for "what holds the world together at its center" -- as he once described his passion for research in an interview.
As Director General of the European Organization for Nuclear Research CERN near Geneva, the 66-year-old has the best equipment to do just that: a 27-kilometer-long particle acclerator. With it, CERN is seeking the Higgs boson or Higgs particle, which is postulated as the last undiscovered building block of subatomic matter. On "Talking Germany", moderator Peter Craven explores the world of particle physics with Rolf-Dieter Heuer. Rolf-Dieter Heuer took on his post as director general at CERN in 2009, when the Swiss-based laboratory was going through a difficult phase. The Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator had broken down shortly after it going online for the first time. The financial crisis was also putting pressure on the budget at the time. Heuer, who describes himself as an incurable optimist, steered CERN successfully through its difficulties. He was born in Boll in the state of Baden-Württemberg in 1948. His gift for physics attracted notice while he was still at school. He went on to study physics in Stuttgart and got his doctorate in 1977 in Heidelberg. He worked at various institutes in Germany and taught at the University of Hamburg, concentrating on basic research in the field of physics. Although his current position at CERN is more managerial and he himself is not engaged in research there, he sees it as a high point in his career. Rolf-Dieter Heuer lives with his wife in a French town near the border to Switzerland. (First broadcast on 25.03.2013) | [
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A night of what-ifs in Gelsenkirchen
Against Ireland, Germany once again didn't gel as they should have. While coach Joachim Löw continues to say his players are not fresh enough, the fans say the reasons for the failed result are many and varied.
After drawing 1-1 with Ireland in Gelsenkirchen, disappointed Germany fans hurried along in the dark towards waiting trains, faces downturned and muttering complaints. There can be no doubting that tonight's draw feels like a loss to the home fans here. "Hummels and Kroos are the problem, they just aren't playing well enough," said one. "This team still needs to find itself," chirped one child, wearing her Germany shirt, to her father. "They wanted to just defend their way to a win, but attack is the best form of defense," quips another fan as he chats to his friends. Lacking freshness The fans are right. The reasons for Germany's failed attempt at picking up three points on Tuesday night in Gelsenkirchen are varied. Jerome Boateng after the game said it was all to do with Germany getting too frantic at the end of the game, and not clearing the ball properly. Since their World Cup final replay game against Argentina, the most obvious reason for Germany's current plight is the loss of class. With Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker and Miroslav Klose all enjoying international retirement, Germany has now permanently lost some great players in crucial positions. Lahm used to provide important attacking impetus, Mertesacker was strong and reliable in central defense, and Klose may have got Germany that crucial second goal in Gelsenkirchen. On top of that, there are a host of senior players out injured too: Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira can't be just replaced overnight. Still, Germany coach Joachim Löw defended his leadership vacuum after the game saying it's not really an issue. "We have players - Boateng, Kroos, Hummels – that are taking over the leadership of this team," he told DW. "I see these guys taking on more responsibilites all the time and they are doing it well." "But, of course, those senior players did use to help all the squad, also off the pitch," he added. Löw appears to be sticking to his main argument. In the post match press conference he said the team was still lacking a bit of fitness, and that this is one of the biggest problems. Germany frustrated while Ireland rejoices The fact that Germany is looking for so many excuses so soon after their World Cup win must surprise many outside observers. It's reminiscent of the German fans and media mood before the World Cup in Brazil. But, the mood understandably wasn't bothering the Irish players who, after the game, sung their team song raucously in the changing rooms as if they were celebrating a victory. "To be honest, I think it was because we defended well, not because Germany was lacking direction," Ireland veteran Robbie Keane told DW after the game. "Aside from the early chances and Kroos' chance, which was from a long way out, they didn't have a lot of shots." "They had a lot of possession, but didn't shoot much," he added. And, there, in principle might be the issue. Germany, deserved World Champions just three months ago, will have to get used to playing teams that stack up their back line and force them into endless passing. It is up to the Germans now to find a way around the challenge. No more excuses. | [
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German city of Essen pays addicts in beer to clean streets
A project is underway in Essen in which alcoholics are paid in beer to clean up the city's streets. The idea is to help drug addicts pick themselves up and rejoin society. DW went to Essen to see how it's working out.
"I could really use a beer right now, actually..." This is what Jürgen*, draped in a reflective orange suit with bulky black boots, said when asked how his day was going, a day he had spent picking up garbage off the streets around Essen's central train station. Pushing a cart armed with picker, broom, and two disposal bins that were full almost to the brim, Jürgen was visibly proud of the work he had done. "Not bad, eh?" He showed me the garbage he had collected as we stood on a broad, quite tidy main square in Essen, the Willy Brandt Platz. Pride and gladness, however, weren't his only emotions. Out of the blue, while discussing his reasons for taking part in the project, Jürgen's lips started to quiver. "I just want to do something good. That's all. You wouldn't think it, but this is so hard for me." PICK-UP Jürgen is one of five people in Essen taking part in a project aimed at giving severe alcoholics a chance to rejoin society by cleaning the streets around the city's central train station. It's called PICK-UP, and it and pays participants a small hourly wage - and beer. "I'm not doing this just for the beer,” Jürgen said. "I can find beer on my own. I can get drunk anytime I want. This is something that allows me to help the people around me, and it gives me a chance to give back to my city." Jürgen's workday lasts four hours. The participants change into their suits at 10:30 in the morning at Essen's Addiction Help Center (AHC) and start on their first route that takes them through to lunchtime. After a meal, the participants go out for a second route that is followed by a discussion at the AHC, where they receive their beer - up to three bottles per shift. "The beer is distributed based on the individual needs of the participants," read a fact sheet from Essen's Suchthilfe Direkt, the organization that manages the project. "Not everyone gets beer. Only the participants who aren't able to do their work without it." "PICK-UP isn't about just cleaning the streets. The project has nothing to do with exploiting people. The idea is to allow participants, who are not forced to take part, to contribute to society in a way they otherwise wouldn't," the statement read. 'No chance' The project, which is the only of its kind in Germany, is based on a Dutch model. In Amsterdam's Oost district, a comparable initiative has been in place since last year, and according to organizers, it has been a success with regard to reducing the amount of alcohol participants drink on a daily basis. "There's no way this gig is going to reduce how much an alcoholic drinks," said Simone*, who was hanging out at the station while Jürgen and two other participants passed by on their afternoon route. Simone said she'd been here in Essen for the past 18 years, a period in which the "drinking and drug scene" around the main station has steadily grown. "People that hang out here are addicts, but it's not only alcohol. Many of us are junkies. Heroin, cocaine, crystal [methamphetamine], you name it, you'll find people here that use it," Simone said, adding that alcohol abuse among drug users at the Essen station was a kind of common denominator. She doesn't, however, approve of the new project. "I don't have a job because I don't want one, and I doubt that anybody would want to hire me in my current state. But am I going to take part in a charity scheme that pays me one euro [an hour] to make a fool of myself? I can get more money begging in 10 minutes. And, quite honestly, a beer costs 25 cents here. Am I going to sweep the streets for three beers? No chance." 'Scaring people away' Simone surmised that the motivation for the project was more of a political than an altruistic nature. "It's no secret that the politicians don't want us here. Time and again the authorities force us to leave, even though we aren't doing anything wrong. It is not against the law to drink in public in Germany. We aren't in the United States yet, where you can get arrested for smoking cigarettes on the street," Simone said, smirking. Not all politicians, however, are in favor of the controversial project, which made news headlines around the world when launched last Wednesday. "I can well imagine that this project would work fine even if alcohol weren't the main incentive," said Karlheinz Endruschat, social affairs spokesman of Essen's Social Democrats. "The image of a bum and his bottle is not a stereotype we necessarily have to perpetuate to the people of our city." Among passers by at the Essen station, meanwhile, the perpetual display of public drinking isn't exactly welcome. When asked whether it was irritating, the most common answer was "yes," and the most common complaint concerned public urination. "It stinks outside the station all the time, when the smell wafts in from over there," an elderly woman said, referring to a set of steps located some 50 meters from where the group congregates (see picture). "Yeah, the guys go down there," Simone said, unbothered. "Dogs go pee-pee on the streets too, but I don't see anybody concerned about that. This is the problem with projects like [PICK-UP]; they assume we want to rejoin society so badly, that we are so utterly lost with our lot in life. The truth is: We have been severed from society, and that is just fine that way." 'Damn wrong' Later on in the day at the Willy Brandt Platz, Jürgen could be seen hanging around with Simone and around 15 other people at the station, this time dressed in jeans and a brown leather jacket. He was finished with his day's work. Beer in hand, and ostensibly unwilling to answer any more questions, he said: "You people think this is easy, don't you? That we just drink all day and watch the day go by. Well you know what, you're damn wrong, and I'm happy I'm doing what I'm doing." He also wasn't in the least perturbed that Simone and the rest of the gang were against the PICK-UP project. "What should it matter to me what they think? I know I'm doing a good thing by picking up the streets. I'm going to drink either way. At least now I've got something to be proud of when my day is through." *Jürgen and Simone requested that DW withhold their actual names. | [
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For refugees, psychological trauma doesn't end in Germany
About 30 percent of refugees and asylum seekers are considered traumatized. Unfortunately, the trauma doesn't always stop upon reaching Germany.
Ruan doesn't even notice the overcrowded dormitory in Cologne. The young man from Somalia only notices his constant inner restlessness. He cannot sleep well because of his nightmares. Again and again he watches as his family is killed in a militia attack right before his eyes. Ruan himself has experienced abuse, and his sister Marula was raped. Smugglers took the last of their money. Their papers were lost on the boat that took them to Italy. From there they continued their flight across France and Holland to Germany. They have already described their odyssey to authorities in Germany with the help of an interpreter. After probing questions and photographs taken by German authorities, they now prefer to be silent and not e photographed. Humiliating identification procedures If suspicious of illegal entry, German police are obliged to open an investigation and carry out so-called "identification measures." Pictures are taken and fingerprints are recorded. In the case of missing papers and ambiguous information, the actual age of the refugees must be determined. Tooth positions and bone structure are considered - in a few cases also the presence of pubic hair. When these steps cannot determine a person's age X-rays of bones in the hand, chest or clavicle are taken by the Institute of Legal Medicine. Medical associations, however, have called this practice "unethical" and point out that the "bone age" may even differ by several years from the actual age of a person. Moreover, X-rays may constitute a form of bodily harm. Many young refugees find the experience humiliating, as talks with the investigating authorities revealed. Often they also complain about how they are brought from one place to another. At the request of the Berlin State Parliament in April 2013, the Berlin Senate admitted that minors were sometimes handcuffed while being transported: "to avoid being hurt by other or themselves and to prevent the escape." While in custody, refugees have also been kept in open collection cells without contact to outside people while their medical data is analyzed. The Berlin Senate later said no official court order is necessary to restrict people's freedom of movement during the identification process. The nightmare of seeking asylum Ruan and Marula, like many thousands of refugees, have another problem. For each asylum application, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has to decide if the applicant meets the criteria for protection. In addition to establishing the first EU country the applicant entered, the office's examination includes information about asylum seekers' reason for fleeing their homeland. In the past, this information has frequently been rejected as "insufficient" or "unsubstantial." "What really is traumatic is the often very long asylum procedures," said Bernd Mesovic of the refugee rights group ProAsyl. The process can take up to one and a half years. Short-term visas giving applicants "tolerated" status, which allows them to stay temporarily and are often extended only at the last minute, can be especially unnerving. "The period of uncertainty feels like helplessness and increases the post-traumatic stress from experiences before fleeing," said Elise Bittenbinder, describing the situation of many refugees. Bittenbinder is an educator and psychotherapist working for the Nationwide Association of Psychosocial Centers for Refugees and Victims of Torture - an umbrella group of 25 specialized agencies address the treatment of traumatized refugees. "There has rarely been a time in history when as many people in need of treatment have come to Germany," added Bernd Mesovic, "Often, fear is all that remains." A mountain of pressure Little attention is paid to the psychological burdens of being a refugee. Depression, anxiety as well as suicidal tendencies frequently go undetected or untreated because healthcare provided under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act covers only acute diseases and pain. Psychological hardships are also lurking in everyday life, according to ProAsyl and charities such as Caritas and Diakonie. Asylum seekers are prohibited from working during the first months of their stay in Germany and access to language courses depends on the details of their residence permits and permitted length of stay. The forced idleness is reinforced as refugees are not permitted to leave their officially assigned accommodation. Concentrated living quarters lead to ghettoization and isolation. "For the purchase of food, they are given vouchers banning the purchase of consumer goods, which they feel is derogatory," Bittenbinder said after numerous discussions with refugees. Mitigating circumstances Living conditions for refugees are supposed to improve. The Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that asylum seekers and refugees are entitled to more money and that a decent living conditions should be ensured. Vouchers are seldom used in many cities and towns anymore - and compensation for services provided by the refugees will be paid in cash. The residence requirement, which restricts travel out of the state where asylum seekers are accommodated, has already been loosened in some states, could be replaced by more permissive freedom of movement regulations, according to a federal bill approved in September by the Bundesrat, Germany's upper house of parliament. But fears for their future remain for many refugees, as it does for Ruan and Marula from Somalia. | [
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Rajapaksa 'politically vulnerable' ahead of early Sri Lanka polls
Nearly two years ahead of schedule, Sri Lanka will go to the polls in January, with Mahinda Rajapaksa set to run for a third term; a move likely triggered by the President's fading popularity, says analyst Alan Keenan.
"There will be presidential elections in January," Cabinet spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said on October 20, failing to name an exact date. The move is seen as an attempt by President Rajapaksa to seek a fresh six-year mandate amid signs of fading popularity. Rajapaksa, who first came to power in 2005, scrapped the two-term limit on the presidency soon after winning re-election in 2010. The 68-year-old is under intense international pressure to probe war crimes allegations and promote reconciliation with the country's Tamil minority following a decades-long civil war. He has also been accused of rights abuses and nepotism. In a DW interview, Sri Lanka expert Alan Keenan says there is growing discontent at the high cost-of-living and lack of an economic peace dividend in Sri Lanka, with many analysts arguing that while Rajapaksa is still the clear favorite, the longer Rajapaksa delays the next election, the smaller are his chances of victory. DW: Why would President Mahinda Rajapaksa call a snap election Sri Lanka nearly two years ahead of schedule? Alan Keenan: President Rajapaksa and his advisors appear worried by the relatively poor showing of his United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in recent provincial elections. While the UPFA gained a slim majority in the Uva province in September, its share of the vote fell dramatically from preceding elections, with the main opposition United National Party running a surprisingly strong campaign. While Rajapaksa is still the clear favorite, most analysts believe that the longer Rajapaksa delays the next election, the smaller his chances of victory. Why is Rajapaksa's popularity fading? There is growing discontent at the high living cost and a lack of an economic peace dividend, despite the regime's numerous post-war Chinese and Indian-funded infrastructure projects. Corruption, including among members of the Rajapaksa family, is widely believed to have reached unprecedented levels. The president's popularity is further damaged by concerns over the rise in violent crime and abuse of power by ruling party officials at all levels of government. Rajapaksa has never been popular among Tamils, and support among Muslims is evaporating in light of the government's continued tolerance of the violent anti-Muslim campaign led by the militant Buddhist groups. There seems to be some controversy as to whether Rajapaksa is legally entitled to run for a third term. What is your view on this? According to a growing number of legal experts, the language of the 18th Amendment to the constitution, pushed through by Rajapaksa in September 2010, did not in fact remove the two-term limit for Rajapaksa, but only for future office-holders. This is despite the clear assumption by the Rajapaksa-controlled parliament of the time that the amendment would apply to the incumbent president. Regardless of the proper legal interpretation, however, no one expects the Supreme Court to void Rajapaksa's candidacy, given the proven loyalty of the current chief justice, installed in 2013 after the widely-condemned government-organized impeachment of his predecessor. Who would Rajapaksa be running against and what are his chances of winning the poll? For the first time in years, Rajapaksa appears politically vulnerable. The opposition, however, remains divided and uncertain about its strategy. Efforts have been under way to win consensus for a common candidacy that would unite the opposition on a platform of constitutional reform, beginning with the abolition of the executive presidency. The largest opposition party, the United National Party (UNP), itself badly split, appears to be planning on running its own candidate. This would likely fracture the opposition, with as many as three or four candidates running against Rajapaksa. How do elections in Sri Lanka work? Should no candidate win an outright majority on the first ballot, the top two candidates receive the second preferences from those who voted for the remaining candidates. This has never happened before in Sri Lanka, and there are worries that a second round could increase the volatility of what many expect to be a violent election campaign. A number of political observers express fears that President Rajapaksa and his powerful family members may not agree to leave power peacefully. What impact could the election have on the minority Tamil population and reconciliation attempts? Rajapaksa's campaign is likely to rely heavily on Sinhala nationalist themes, with the president claiming that only he can preserve the nation's hard-won victory over terrorism and prevent the revival of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which, he claims, is backed by local and western conspirators. The current wave of repression of independent journalists and civil society activists, especially those who work in Tamil-majority areas in the north and east, could well intensify. There is little prospect for renewed negotiations with the elected Tamil leadership or for a relaxation of military control over the north and east. Could the election affect Pope Francis' planned visit to Sri Lanka from January 13-15? To avoid the politicization of his foreign travel, the Pope generally declines to visit countries within a month of an election. With indications that the presidential election will be held around January 10 – on a date and at a time reportedly determined by the president's astrologer – it would appear the papal visit will need to be rescheduled. Analyst Alan Keenan is Sri Lanka project director at the International Crisis Group (ICG) in London. | [
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Ukraine's pro-Western parties begin talks after electoral triumph
Ukraine's pro-Western parties have begun coalition talks after securing the most votes in Sunday's parliamentary elections. The new government is tasked with quelling a pro-Russian insurgency in the country's east.
With most ballots counted, the parties in Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's bloc won around 21.5 percent of the votes in Sunday's elections. The People's Front group of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk had a slight advantage, with 21.9 percent. "Talks have already begun," said Yuriy Lutsenko of Poroshenko's party on Monday. The pro-European Samopomich (Self-Help) party came third with 11 percent. The Opposition bloc, a pro-Kremlin organization, took fourth with just under 10 percent, followed by the populist Radical Party at just over seven percent, and the Fatherland party of former premier Yulia Tymoshenko between five and six percent. The nationalist Svoboda party, with between and four and five percent, failed to clear the five percent hurdle required for a place in the country's parliament. The initial results, which only take into account party voting for half the seats in the 450-strong parliament (the other half is made up of constituency votes), are in line with pre-election expectations that a pro-Western parliament would be voted in with the aim of steering Ukraine away from Russian influence, in the first parliamentary election since the ouster of pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych in February. A 'victory of democracy' The European Union has described the elections as a victory of democracy and reforms in the ex-Soviet state. "Congratulations to the people of Ukraine! Victory of democracy and European reforms agenda," tweeted Jose Manuel Barroso, head of the European Commission, on Monday. US President Barack Obama also hailed the "successful" vote as an "important milestone in Ukraine's democratic development." "We look forward to the convening of the new parliament and the quick formation of a strong, inclusive government," Obama said in a statement on Monday. The US president criticized the Russian involvement in the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine in which armed rebels have waged a war against Kyiv's authority. "It is clear that Russian authorities occupying Crimea and Russian-backed separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine prevented many Ukrainian citizens from exercising their democratic rights to participate in national elections and cast their votes," he said, adding that the US "will not recognize any election held in separatist-held areas that does not comport with Ukrainian law and is not held with the express consent and under the authority of the Ukrainian government." Moscow has welcomed the outcome of the election as backing for "a peaceful resolution" of the conflict. There has been a lull in fighting since Kyiv and insurgents signed a Moscow-backed truce on September 5; however, ceasefire violations have been quite frequent, particularly around the Donetsk airport. A fiery reminder More fighting was reported on Monday near the government-held coastal city of Mariupol as a reminder of the challenge ahead for President Poroshenko and Prime Minister Yatsenyuk. According to the news agency AFP, the pro-Russian rebels fired dozens of rockets from the city of Donetsk towards a Ukrainian military base in the area. The Ukrainian military authorities said two of its soldiers died in a rebel attack on Sunday near Lugansk. shs/glb (AFP, dpa) | [
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Gunman kills three in shooting at South Korean store
Police in South Korea say a gunman killed three people at a convenience store then set it on fire before fleeing. He was later found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Authorities say the man shot and killed a 74-year-old man and his 50-year-old son connected to the store's owners, as well as another 52-year-old man, in the attack on Wednesday. The shop is located in Sejong City, around 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the South Korean capital Seoul. Many of the country's government offices are located in the area. In a news conference, the head of the Sejong Police Agency, Lee Ja-ha, stated that the 50-year-old gunman's body was discovered on a nearby riverbank, in an apparent suicide. One shotgun was found on the man, and another in his car. Lee described the attack as "a pre-meditated crime caused by a combination of spurned affection and a row over how to divide property." The daughter of the eldest victim told police she had been living with the gunman before ending the relationship around 18 months ago. They had recently fought over financial issues, with him claiming he had a stake in the store. The woman had since moved in with the 52-year-old victim. She was not present at the time of the shootings. The assailant had taken the guns from a police station in the nearby city of Gongju in central South Korea, about two hours before the shooting took place. South Korean citizens can acquire licenses for weapons used to hunt animals, but these must be stored in police stations during the off-season. Lee confirmed that the shotguns used in the killings belonged to the man, who had obtained the required licenses for them last year. Sejong police said the suspect shot the son as he sat in a car in front of the store, then went into a house next door and killed the father. Once he entered the store he gunned down the other man before pouring paint thinner on the floor, and setting it alight. The Asian nation's level of gun crime is extremely low, with strict laws around gun possession. Wednesday's shootings received wide coverage across news agencies nationwide. In recent years there have been several shooting deaths among soldiers, including an incident in June last year where five members of one unit were killed and seven wounded, in an attack near the border with North Korea. Under South Korean law all men have to serve two years in the military. an/sms (AP, AFP, DPA) | [
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Corporate maneuvering at Samsung in full swing
South Korean corporate giant Samsung has announced the planned merger of two of its companies. The move is widely seen as a measure to strengthen the position of the ailing chairman's son, Lee Jae-yong.
Samsung on Tuesday announced the merger of Cheil, the company's fashion business and theme park operator, with the firm's C&T construction and trading firm. News agencies interpreted the move as a step to ensure that the son of the group's ailing chairman inherited control of the conglomerate. Analysts argued the transaction would give Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong a big say in the enterprise, including its crown jewel, Samsung Electronics. Preparing the ground Lee is vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and will own 16.5 percent of the new C&T unit, making him the post-merger firm's largest shareholder. The whole family's direct stake in the combined entity, including that of Lee's father and his sisters, will amount to 30.4 percent. The merger plan comes as Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, 73, has been hospitalized for more than a year after suffering a heart attack in May 2014. Experts said the transaction would be completed by early September. Shares of Cheil and C&T soared by the daily limit of 15 percent on the announcement. hg/pad (AP, AFP) | [
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Gogarty’s Beef and Guinness Casserole
This recipe comes to us courtesy of John Howard.
Ingredients (serves 6): 1 kg cubed shoulder of beef 75g mixed mushrooms 50g silverskin onions or diced shallots 75g baby carrots 75g bacon lardons 500 ml Guinness Beef stock Flour for dusting the meat 25g sugar Salt and pepper Sunflower oil 25g butter Chopped parsley Fresh thyme, bay leaf Preparation: Pour sunflower oil and butter onto very hot sauté pan. Season beef and generously dust with flour, this will act as a thickening agent. Brown and seal meet completely. Transfer to a casserole dish. Sauté vegetables and bacon in the same pan. Add to beef. Pour in Guinness and add herbs. Add sugar to casserole, this is to counteract the bitterness of the beer. Top up casserole with beef stock. Simmer casserole for 90 minutes or till meat is tender. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with mashed potatoes, enriched with spring onions, butter and cream. | [
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Small Hands in a Big War - Four-part Documentary Series
In 1914, war broke out in Europe. Many children recorded their feelings, fears and joys in their diaries, letters and pictures. A hundred years later, our documentary “Small Hands in a Big War” brings them back to life.
Summer 1914 - a war of unprecedented magnitude changes the world. Millions of men are sent to the front, leaving millions of women and children back home alone. Many of the children write to their fathers on the distant battlefields with longing or miss their mothers as they toil long hours on the “home front.“ They speak to us in their diaries and letters. We laugh, cry and share their doubts. Their stories and the history of the "Great War" are brought to life in a totally new and touching manner. Our four-part documentary series combines animation, drama and archive footage. In the first episode, “The Attack,” is about Thierry, a young French schoolboy whose initial patriotic enthusiasm for the war quickly wanes during the Battle of the Ardennes. Meanwhile, “The Escape” tells the story of twelve-year-old Justine from Flanders in Belgium, who is confronted by the arbitrariness and injustice of wartime on the most bitter terms. Indiscriminate violence against civilians reached a new peak during the First World War, giving terms such as “war crimes” or “genocide” a whole new meaning. Part Two starts with “The Pain,” the story of Frieda, a German girl who looks after wounded soldiers in hospital and discovers they are only being treated so that they can continue to fight, not to be healed. Then in “The Lie,” we meet eleven-year-old Alison from Scotland, who learns that the war in the mind is as important as the war on the battlefield. Since the First World War, governments all over the world have been using propaganda to deceive their citizens and convince them of the necessity of unpopular measures. In Part Three, “The Mountain”tells the story of the 10-year-old shepherd Tobias in South Tyrol, who is confronted with the “anonymity” ofmodern warfare with its new weapons such as flamethrowers and poison gas. And in “The Odyssey,” we meet another ten-year old, Jessica from America, who discovers a blind stowaway aboard a cargo ship and secretly supplies him with food. When he’s discovered, Jessica's family must decide whether to stay out of the conflict or take a stand. In Part Four, “The Revolution” tells the story of nine-year-old Misya from Russia, who loses his parents in the war and learns in his struggle to survive how important social order really is. Meanwhile, “The Punishment" is about little Emilie from France, who projects her pain over the loss of her father onto “an enemy,” a German prisoner of war. The same ideology later also characterized the Treaty of Versailles as the victors took revenge on the vanquished and so only sowed the seeds of further conflict and war. Broadcasting Hours: Part 1: DW THU 20.11.2014 – 22:15 UTC FRI 21.11.2014 – 06:15 UTC FRI 21.11.2014 – 13:15 UTC FRI 21.11.2014 – 17:15 UTC SAT 22.11.2014 – 04:15 UTC SAT 22.11.2014 – 10:15 UTC Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8 San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5 DW (Europe) FRI 21.11.2014 – 04:15 UTC FRI 21.11.2014 – 17:15 UTC SAT 22.11.2014 – 06:15 UTC SAT 22.11.2014 – 13:15 UTC London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3 DW (Arabia) FRI 21.11.2014 – 04:15 UTC Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4 DW (Amerika) FRI 21.11.2014 – 06:15 UTC Vancouver UTC -8 | New York UTC -5 | Sao Paulo UTC -2 Part 2: DW THU 27.11.2014 – 22:15 UTC FRI 28.11.2014 – 06:15 UTC FRI 28.11.2014 – 13:15 UTC FRI 28.11.2014 – 17:15 UTC SAT 29.11.2014 – 04:15 UTC SAT 29.11.2014 – 10:15 UTC Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8 San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5 DW (Europe) FRI 28.11.2014 – 04:15 UTC FRI 28.11.2014 – 17:15 UTC SAT 29.11.2014 – 06:15 UTC SAT 29.11.2014 – 13:15 UTC London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3 DW (Arabia) FRI 28.11.2014 – 04:15 UTC Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4 DW (Amerika) FRI 28.11.2014 – 06:15 UTC Vancouver UTC -8 | New York UTC -5 | Sao Paulo UTC -2 Part 3: DW THU 04.12.2014 – 22:15 UTC FRI 05.12.2014 – 06:15 UTC FRI 05.12.2014 – 13:15 UTC FRI 05.12.2014 – 17:15 UTC SAT 06.12.2014 – 04:15 UTC SAT 06.12.2014 – 10:15 UTC Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8 San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5 DW (Europe) FRI 05.12.2014 – 04:15 UTC FRI 05.12.2014 – 17:15 UTC SAT 06.12.2014 – 06:15 UTC SAT 06.12.2014 – 13:15 UTC London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3 DW (Arabia) FRI 05.12.2014 – 04:15 UTC Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4 DW (Amerika) FRI 05.12.2014 – 06:15 UTC Vancouver UTC -8 | New York UTC -5 | Sao Paulo UTC -2 Part 4: DW THU 11.12.2014 – 22:15 UTC FRI 12.12.2014 – 06:15 UTC FRI 12.12.2014 – 13:15 UTC FRI 12.12.2014 – 17:15 UTC SAT 13.12.2014 – 04:15 UTC SAT 13.12.2014 – 10:15 UTC Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8 San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5 DW (Europe) FRI 12.12.2014 – 04:15 UTC FRI 12.12.2014 – 17:15 UTC SAT 13.12.2014 – 06:15 UTC SAT 13.12.2014 – 13:15 UTC London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3 DW (Arabia) FRI 12.12.2014 – 04:15 UTC Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4 DW (Amerika) FRI 12.12.2014 – 06:15 UTC Vancouver UTC -8 | New York UTC -5 | Sao Paulo UTC -2 | [
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Facing the challenge of dealing with Tunisia's past
Ibtihel Abdellatif has been dealing with the injustices of Tunisia's dictatorial past for years - first for her NGO, and now in the government's Truth and Dignity Commission. But internal squabbles are impeding her work.
"The revolution is our life. We were almost dead inside, but it has returned us to life." One of the first things that Ibtihel Abdellatif did following the ousting of longtime Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14, 2011 was to make her way to the university. There, after more than 10 years away, she completed her masters degree in religious studies. The press, speech and education were once again free after years of dictatorship. There was optimism in the air, many new organizations were established and civil society, long suppressed, was once again flourishing. Along with some fellow activists Abdellatif, 45, founded Nisa' Tounsiat ("Tunisian Women"), a non-governmental organization that helps female torture victims. They've since documented more than 200 cases, most of them among the Islamist opposition which was heavily persecuted under Ben Ali. Three years later I meet with Abdellatif in a barren, unused office smelling of stale cigarette smoke. In this disused bank, the Tunisian government set up its Truth and Dignity Committee. Its nine members share five sparsely furnished rooms on the top floor of the building. Abdellatif was chosen as representative of the civil society to take part in the independent commission. Its task: to come to terms with almost 60 years of oppression. From Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia's first president after independence, up to Ben Ali, torture, occupational bans and long prison sentences hit members of the various opposition movements over the years. From freedom to reconciliation "On January 14, when no one yet knew what had happened and we only had an old piece of bread to eat, this bread was the best I've ever eaten," said Abdellatif, describing her feelings after the dictatorship came to an end. "We were free. Dictatorship, oppression and torture are not allowed to return under any circumstances." But the path from freedom to reconciliation is long, and transitional justice remains one of the most controversial topics in Tunisian politics. That has not changed since the commission started its work this past summer. Abdellatif knows that she and her colleagues can easily become the playthings of the various parties. She squirms a bit at the question, rearranging her headscarf and jacket. She only speaks reluctantly about politics since she began her new job. More than any other, the secular Nidaa Tounes party - which brought in the most votes in the October parliamentary elections - is a particular thorn in their side. But the commission is enshrined in the constitution, and works for the Tunisian citizens and not for the politicians, Abdellatif stresses. "Any attempt to attack us would be an attack on the constitution, which of course was adopted by all the parties," she says, adding that this would be a very dangerous move. Fighting for victims' dignity Critics have called the transitional justice system a stillbirth, saying it has come too late and has become too politicized. The Truth and Dignity Commission must overcome many obstacles, not the least among them being internal squabbles. There is no consensus over which victims are entitled to reparations, leading to constant friction between the various camps. From leftist feminists to dissidents in exile and representatives who, like Abdellatif, count themselves as being closer to the Islamists, the commission is quite mixed. Two members have already stepped down, and one had to be replaced. But now work appears to be running smoothly, leaving no room for political disputes. "On the contrary. We have such a big task ahead of us that there is no time to argue about something that has nothing to do with our actual work," she says. Now, what's important is to give victims back their dignity, says Abdellatif. For those who suffered under the dictatorship, financial compensation is much less important than the recognition of their fate. Numerous calls from concerned citizens every day showed that many have high hopes, and Abdellatif remains convinced that the "commission is a symbol of dignity, for democracy and revolution." For Abdellatif, the eldest of five sisters, her work in commission is the logical consequence of her commitment to the rights of victims of the dictatorship. For her, it's also a way to refute a prevailing stereotype of Muslim women. "I am married and have three sons; I'm surrounded by men," she says. "When I said that I wanted to engage in civil society they supported me. And had that not been the case, I would have done it anyway." "I feel that I'm respected as a woman," she says - another small personal victory. | [
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Opinion: Juncker takes the bull by the horns
EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker regrets Luxembourg's tax-saving tricks for big business and wants to put a stop to them. That won't do much for his credibility, says Christoph Hasselbach.
Jean-Claude Juncker has gone on the offensive, but he left it very late. Juncker went into hiding for days, leaving his spokesperson to represent him, but he now admits it was a mistake not to comment on last week's accusations of tax evasion by multinational firms in his home country. He also regrets the tax advantages themselves. Now, suddenly, after the pressure continued to mount, the Commission is proposing an automatic exchange of information about these sorts of tax arrangements, and a uniform basis for assessment. In other words, the system Juncker spent more than twenty years building up in his homeland as prime minister and finance minister of Luxembourg is now to be combated at the European level. The initiative comes across as a clumsy attempt to draw a veil over Juncker's previous role. Entire country as a tax-saving scheme It clearly took the wily politician far too long to grasp the explosive potential of the affair, perhaps because it had become so normal. Using complicated financial constructs, Luxembourg has ensured that international firms have been able to save taxes that apparently amount to billions of euros. As Juncker was the country's finance minister for 20 years and prime minister of the Grand Duchy for almost as long - mostly simultaneously - he was intimately involved in the country's development into a financial center. The fact that the entire country functioned as a tax-saving scheme for rich foreigners and international companies contributed in large part to Luxembourg having by far the highest per capita income in the EU. But Luxembourg is not an isolated case. Ireland and the Netherlands have also made big tax concessions to big businesses. And all the governments knew it. Just a few days ago around 50 states, including Luxembourg, signed an agreement on the mutual exchange of information on bank customers. Such resolve is however still lacking where company taxation is concerned. Ordinary citizens make up the shortfall The Commission did initiate inspections of Ireland, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg in 2013; but these looked into questions of competition, not whether such tax deals were in themselves illegal. Yet this is precisely where the problem lies. Even Juncker now admits that just because something is legally permissible it doesn't follow that it is morally acceptable. If one EU country attracts business by offering incomparably low levels of taxation, it is living at the expense of others who can't afford to, or don't want to accept the loss of income. In the end, it is always ordinary citizens who have to make up the shortfall, with their taxes. This, and the fact that Europe has until now tolerated this ruinous competition, is the real scandal. It is grist to the mills of those who want to destroy the European idea. No wonder the French far-right leader Marine le Pen was the first to call for Juncker's resignation. She and all those of a similar political persuasion all over Europe are going to have a field day. Resignation unlikely Nonetheless, Juncker will almost certainly stay on as president of the Commission. The majority of his supporters in the Council of Europe and in the European Parliament will make sure of that. His election process was protracted and complicated; many other personnel decisions also depended on it, and party-political and geographical aspects had to be taken into account. Starting all over again now would open a huge can of worms. Besides, his resignation could well intensify the widespread public sense that the European elite are failing. In view of the current mood of rampant euroskepticism, Juncker spoke of "Europe's last chance" when he presented the new Commission. It must, then, have been clear to him what was at stake. What he clearly underestimated was the his personal role in whether the "last chance" will be seized or lost. One can only hope that this affair has shaken the EU awake, and that it really will put an end to minimal taxation for big businesses. It's a move that would be certain to win public approval. | [
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ABC faces job cull over budget cuts
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has warned hundreds of jobs are likely to be slashed after government funding cuts. Opposition leaders said reduced funding was retaliation for unfavorable coverage.
More than 400 jobs could be lost at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC Managing Director Mark Scott said Monday. "We anticipate that more than 400 people - close to 10 percent of our ongoing workforce - face potential redundancy as we adjust our activities over coming months," Scott said in a statement. The government currently provides the ABC and ethnic broadcaster SBS some 1.4 billion Australian dollars ($1.2 billion, 970 million euros) annually, but Canberra announced last week the budget would be cut by 254 million Australian dollars over the next five years. Scaling back infrastructure Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the ABC should be able to fund those cuts through efficiencies and without sacrificing programming. ABC Managing Director Mark Scott said the station would have to review its property holdings, with one Sydney site to be sold and an Adelaide TV production studio and five regional radio stations facing closure. Opposition leader Bill Shorten said the cuts were "retaliation for unfavorable coverage of the government." Prime Minister Tony Abbott had earlier been quoted as saying the ABC "takes everyone's side but Australia's" in its news coverage. hg/cjc (dpa, AFP) | [
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German football president Niersbach wants FIFA spot
Germany's most powerful football chief wants to become a key decision-maker at FIFA. The world's governing body continues to go under serious scrutiny around ongoing corruption allegations.
It's official: Wolfgang Niersbach, the president of the German Football Association (DFB), wants to be Europe's next representative on FIFA's executive committee when current board member Theo Zwanziger steps down next year. Zwanziger, Niersbach's predecessor at the DFB, will step down on May 24, 2015 at the FIFA Congress in Zurich. Niersbach will need to gain the support of UEFA's member countries in March to be then put forward as Europe's voice on the Executive Committee. "I'm standing for this election because I want to defend the European position (in FIFA) and I'm convinced that German football should not lose its voice on the most important decisions," the 63-year-old said in a statement on Friday. Niersbach, though, will not challenge Sepp Blatter for the main post at FIFA and Michel Platini, the president of Europe's governing association UEFA, has declined to stand against Blatter too. Loud German voice Several German football officials have been criticial of the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup, which has come under scrutiny over allegations of potential corruption and the handling of Michael Garcia's report. Niersbach has previously spoken in favor of a public release of the report, while Reinhard Rauball, president of the organization responsible for running Germany's top two divisions, the DFL, has suggested World Cup boycotts and even a potential split between UEFA and FIFA. "He (Niersbach) can be the one to fight here for transparency and clearing everything up," Rauball said. "He has outstanding international contacts and enjoys the full backing of German football." Delay the maiden Arab Cup On Friday, Zwanziger told German newspaper "Rheinische Post" that the 2022 tournament should be cancelled and spread around various Arab nations four years later in the winter. "The United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar: it's a larger area and it could be held in winter from the start," he told the paper. "That is what I would consider to be an acceptable solution, as it allows for society in the Gulf region to undergo a change." Zwanziger believes "world football will not come to peace" unless the small, oil-rich country Qatar is stripped of its right to host the tournament in 2022. rd/al (AP, dpa, Reuters) | [
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Bhopal - an endless disaster
Thousands died in the central Indian city three decades ago in one of the world's worst industrial accidents. DW takes a look at the tragedy and its impact on the local population.
"They are coming back," says the 46-year-old Rihana referring to the reporters and camera crews who regularly visit J.P. Nagar, a slum in the central Indian city of Bhopal. The world's attention is focusing again on this city, particularly on the anniversary of one of the world's worst industrial disasters. Sitting alongside other survivors, Rihana plans campaigns to mark the 30th anniversary of the gas disaster which claimed the lives of thousands. "My eyes burned as if someone had hurled chili powder," she recalls, adding that "my stomach burned as if it were on fire." Rihana suffered the whole night from acute cough. Her two elder brothers ran away and survived the tragedy. Rihana, however, decided to stay with her parents and little brother in their hut. She was the only one who survived that night. Over 20,000 deaths On that fateful night 30 years ago, Rihanna inhaled the highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, a pesticide. In humans, MIC affects the mucous membranes and causes corrosion of the internal organs. The US firm Union Carbide had produced the pesticide in its plant in Bhopal since the early 1970s until that Sunday evening in 1984, when around 30 tons of the highly toxic gas leaked from the plant. The white smoke billowed through the streets of the nearby slums surrounding the plant and exposed their residents to the deadly gas. While more than 20,000 people died, hundreds of thousands suffered from gas-related injuries or diseases such as lung diseases, eye problems and high blood pressure. To this day, many people still suffer from chronic health issues. But this is only the one side of the disaster. Poisoned groundwater The other side of the tragedy began earlier. Even before the gas disaster, Union Carbide dumped its toxic waste directly behind the factory. The hazardous chemicals seeped from the old, abandoned pesticide plant directly into the groundwater. Several tests conducted by environmental activists revealed the presence of arsenic, benzene and heavy metals that are several times higher than the World Health Organization limits. Above all, it is the residents of the slums - whose wells and water pumps are located directly behind the wall of the abandoned Union Carbide plant - who face the consequences. Most of the wells, however, are now officially closed. "My son was born in 1988, four years after the disaster," Rihana told DW, explaining that "ever since he was eight years old, he has been sick. He first contracted tuberculosis. He now suffers from serious kidney problems." He should have undergone an operation, but Rihana lacked the money to pay for it. At that time, she had no idea what would happen to them. US group sees no blame The victims have only received compensation on one occasion. In 1989, the US company and the Indian government agreed to an out-of-court settlement to pay compensation amounting to some 470 million USD. Many victims, however, complain that the money has never reached them. At that time, Rihana received 25,000 rupees – equivalent to 400 USD today – for a lifetime of suffering. While she has been suffering from breathlessness since the day of the tragedy, her husband was diagnosed of having an edema in his lungs years ago. The chemical company Union Carbide now belongs to Dow Chemical. Even 30 years after the tragedy, the US-based company argues that the plant was in Indian hands at the time of the disaster. "The plant was built and operated by Indians in India," said the company's spokesperson Tomm F. Sprick. US courts have also agreed with this view and declared that the responsibility for the tragedy lies with the Indian authorities. Sprick, however, did not respond to the question of who should be made responsible for the pollution of the ground water, and he instead referred to the website created specifically for this topic. On the website, the company cites a study that concludes that there has been no trace of contaminated ground water outside the factory premises. Furthermore, the government of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has assumed responsibility of the site since 1998, the website noted, adding that Union Carbide has nothing more to do with the issue. After years of protests by activists and a court ruling, Indian politicians have recently turned their attention to the issue. Most people living in J.P. Nagar now have access to clean drinking water. Nevertheless, legal proceedings as to whether Union Carbide should be made accountable for the contamination of the area, among other things, are still pending before both Indian and US courts. "That's already something," said Rihana. "But I cannot afford the surgery of my son," she added. A week after we met Rihana, her 24-year-old son died due to the kidney infection. For him, help came too late. | [
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Anti-Islamization protests end peacefully in Dresden and Düsseldorf
Right-wing groups have organized protests with less politically extreme citizens to voice their concern over what they see as the Islamification of Europe. A counterdemonstration, however, was also joined in droves.
Dresden had a relatively large turnout on Monday, with a PEGIDA-organized protest attracting over 7,500 anti-Islamification demonstrators. The Bild newspaper reported that over 10,000 people had turned out in Dresden to protest against the growing influence of Islam and Salafism in Germany: The umbrella group "Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West," or PEGIDA is a group led by previously apolitical Dresdeners who wish to distance themselves from right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis while protesting the perceived increasing influence of Islam and Salafism in Germany and the possible return of "Islamic State" (IS) fighters who hold European passports. On the group's Facebook page, they write: "Dear friends, dear fellow citizens, dear patriots! Monday is Pegida Day and today too we wish to show a peaceful sign. Bring your friends and neighbors and let us show the counter-demonstrators that we are not xenophobic." Counterdemonstrations Despite the group's efforts to distance itself from neo-Nazis, it has attracted a very large counter-effort, which uses the hashtag #nopegida on Twitter. According to media reports, the counterdemonstration attracted around 5,000 people in Dresden on Monday. Organizers of the counterdemonstration received support from many of the city's Christian churches, the Islamic center, the Jewish community, and the university. The city's advisory board on foreigners described it as a "march or tolerance and openness." Police prepared Dresden police were well prepared for the demonstrators and their opposition, cordoning off the area and setting up floodlights at the protest site so that no one could take advantage of the gathering darkness, reported German public news outlet MDR. Similar protests have been cropping up across Germany, beginning in Cologne on 26 October with a group of self-proclaimed 'hooligans' protesting Salafism, and continuing in Hanover, Kassel, and Chemnitz. The protesters represent a mix of hardline right-wingers and citizens concerned with the rapid rise of IS or the possibility of refugee housing being built in their neighborhoods. The presence of counterdemonstrators has always remained significant, however. Last Monday a demonstration was held in Kassel, where the 80 anti-Islamization marchers were stopped by 500 people opposed to their message. Demonstration in Düsseldorf In Düsseldorf, the turnout was much lower, with German public broadcaster WDR reporting that only 100 "dügida" - which is similar to PEGIDA - protesters showing up: PEGIDA has threatened to return again next Monday and have called for the resignation of Helma Orosz, the mayor of Dresden, despite the fact that she has already signaled that she would depart from her position in February 2015. es,sb/sb | [
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EU urges speedy reforms in Ukraine
In a flurry of diplomacy ahead of the Christmas holidays, Ukraine's leader visits Brussels while EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini heads to Kyiv. On the agenda: financial aid and reforms.
The state's tax coffers were empty, which made it time to turn to a mighty neighbor to save the country from bankruptcy: That was the state of affairs in Ukraine a year ago, in mid-December 2013, when then-President Viktor Yanukovych traveled to Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Ukraine $15 billion (12 billion euros) in loans. A year later, Ukraine again seeks help abroad - but this time in Europe. Additional funds are bound to be at the top of the agenda when Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk heads to Brussels on Monday (15.12.) for the first meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council, a body created to help implement the Association Agreement signed in June between the EU and Ukraine. The main thrust of the accord - freeing up trade between Ukraine and the 28-member bloc - has, however, been shelved until the end of 2015 due to massive Russian criticism. Sympathy, disappointment in Brussels Hard-hit by the war against the pro-Russian separatists, Ukraine's financial needs have almost doubled. Next year, Ukraine will need an extra $15 billion in addition to the loan granted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Yatsenyuk told parliament on Thursday, quoting an estimate by the "Financial Times." The IMF has earmarked a total of $16.7 billion, a quarter of which has already been transferred. Ukraine is in no position to prevent national insolvency on its own, Yatsenyuk warned, adding, "It's practically impossible without the help of our international partners." The Kyiv government hopes to collect the missing amount at an international donors' conference. No firm date has yet been set, and observers suspect the West wanted to wait for early elections and the formation of a government - a process concluded earlier this month. Officials in Brussels have said they understand the difficult situation in Ukraine, Daniel Gros told DW. "Kyiv has the huge problem that it can't simultaneously build up a big army, reform the economy and keep the population happy," the director of the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS) said. All the same, he added, Brussels is disappointed. "No one has really seen reforms being implemented," Gros said. "That's true for the economy, the police and the judicial system." The EU, the expert added, expects to see "radical reforms in those sectors." Reform package in hand Ukraine's prime minister appears to be aware of the EU's wary stance, so he isn't going to Brussels with nothing but an outstretched hand. He'll also be bringing a list of reform plans: drastic state spending and subsidy cuts; tariffs for power, water, gas and heating for private households doubled or even tripled; the retirement age could rise from 60 to 63; and there are plans to replace free medical care with an insurance system. Subsidies for small wage earners will be reduced or even completely cut. In March, the EU promised Ukraine an aid package of about 11 billion euros. Only a small percentage has been disbursed - the rest depends on the reforms. The lion's share of the foreign aid for Ukraine is bound to go right back abroad. This year alone, Ukraine repaid "debts and loans worth $14 billion," Yatsenyuk told parliament. That was a mistake, according to Gros. Ukraine, he said, should instead negotiate a deferral of debt payments. About 1 percent of the 10 billion euros from EU coffers is earmarked for humanitarian aid and economic restructuring, according to an analysis by Gros and his colleague Steven Blockmans. In the face of rampant corruption, they said, such aid programs are but a "drop in a bucket." The expert suggested the EU should take unusual measures in Ukraine. Instead of transferring money to Kyiv as usual, the EU should open a host of small offices across the country and hand out cash directly to the needy, he said. Diplomatic offensive A new anti-corruption drive in the government may help sway European donors: three foreigners have joined the cabinet, including US-born Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko and Economics Minister Aivaras Abromavicius of Lithuania. Yatsenyuk's visit to Brussels on Monday is the start of a week of concerted EU-Ukrainian relations. European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini travels to Kiev on Tuesday. Ukrainian media report that the country's president, Petro Poroshenko, may travel to Brussels on Thursday and Friday to join an EU summit there. It's likely that, again, money will be on the agenda. | [
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British air traffic disrupted by computer glitch
Flights in an out of London have been disrupted by a computer failure at an air traffic control center in southern England. Aviation officials, however, have said the problem has been resolved.
The National Air Traffic Service, (NATS) announced on Friday evening that a technical problem, which had forced it to briefly shut down the airspace over the British capital, had been fixed and service was returning to normal. NATS also said the problem had been caused by a computer failure at its air traffic control center at Swanwick in the south of England (pictured above). "We apologise for any delays and the inconvenience this may have caused," a statement posted on the NATS website said. It also advised passengers planning to fly in or out of London on Friday evening to contact their airline for the status of their flight before making their way to the airport. Heathrow Airport, which is Europe's busiest air travel hub in terms of volume of passenger traffic, reported that no flights were landing or taking off while the airspace over London was shut down. Later, the flight-tracking service FlightAware reported that it had noticed some delays but few cancellations at Heathrow. Service was also briefly shut down at London's other four airports, Gatwick, Stansted, London City and Luton. Airports beyond Greater London were not affected by the problem and both Manchester and Birmingham declared that they were prepared to receive diverted flights. No details of the nature of the computer failure that caused the disruption were immediately available. However, Reuters news agency citied an unnamed British government source who said it did not appear to be related to a security threat. Swanwick no stranger to computer glitches The Swanwick air traffic control center has experienced problems in the past. Last December, the night-operating system at Swanwick failed to properly switch over to daytime mode, causing delays for thousands of passengers. Computer problems at the Swanwick center also grounded scores of flights and inconvenienced thousands of travelers in incidents in 2004 and 2008. In the aftermath of the latest glitch, British Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin released a statement saying that he had demanded an explanation for what he termed "simply unacceptable" disruption. "Any disruption to our aviation system is a matter of the utmost concern, especially at this time of year in the run up to the holiday season," he said. "I also want to know what steps will be taken to prevent this happening again," he added. pfd/sms (Reuters, AP, dpa) | [
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Cooling interest in a warming Arctic?
Ottawa in Canada is hosting a conference on “Arctic Change”. With climate change making access to the Arctic easier, interest has increased. But the forecast boom in economic activity appears to have been put "on ice".
The Arctic has been high on Canada's agenda over the past two years, with the country at the helm of the Arctic Council, the international body which regulates and coordinates what happens in the far north of the planet. As the country prepares to hand over the rotating presidency to the USA at the end of the year, the annual conference organized by the research network ArcticNet has aroused considerable interest, with more than 1200 leading international Arctic researchers, indigenous leaders, policy makers, NGOs and business people meeting in Ottawa to discuss the pressing issues facing the warming Arctic. Permafrost not so permanent? Hugues Lantuit from Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute is a member of the steering committee. The permafrost expert told DW with the latest IPCC report projecting the Arctic would continue to warm at a rate faster than any place on earth, the region had to prepare for greater impacts. While the retreat of sea ice allows easier access for shipping and more scope for commercial activities, Lantuit is concerned about the thawing of permafrost, a key topic at the Ottawa gathering: “An extensive part of the circumpolar north is covered with permafrost. Permafrost is frozen ground, and it's currently warming at a fast pace. A lot of cities are built on permafrost, and the layer that is thawing in the summer is expanding and getting deeper and deeper, which threatens infrastructure.” Community concern People live in Arctic regions of Russia, Canada, Alaska and Svalbard, which belongs to Norway. Residents of northern communities are concerned about the impact of melting permafrost on railways, landing strips and buildings. Lantuit and his colleagues have created an integrated data base for permafrost temperature, with support from the EU. One aim of the meeting is to identify the priorities for research, taking into account the needs of communities and stakeholders in the Arctic. Another key issue on the Ottawa agenda is coastal erosion. Sea ice acts as a protective barrier to the coast, preventing waves from battering the shore and speeding up the thaw of permafrost. With decreasing sea ice in the summer, scientists expect more storms will impact on the coasts of the Arctic. “In some locations, especially in Alaska, we see much greater erosion than there was before”, says Lantuit. This creates a lot of issues: “There is oil and gas infrastructure on the coast, villages, people, also freshwater habitats for migrating caribou, so the coast has a tremendous social and ecological value in the Arctic, and coastal erosion is obviously a threat to settlements and to the features of this social and economical presence in the Arctic." Biodiversity under threat Amongst the participants at the conference is George Divoky, an ornithologist who has spent every summer of the past 45 years on Cooper Island, off the coast of Barrow, in Arctic Alaska. Divoky monitors a colony of black guillemots that nest on the island in summer. His bird-watching project turned into a climate change observation project as he witnessed major changes in the last four decades: “Warming first aided the guillemots (1970s and 1980) as the summer snow-free period increased. The size of the breeding colony increased during the initial stages of warming. Continued warming (1990s to present) caused the sea ice to rapidly retreat in July and August when guillemots are feeding nestlings, and the loss of ice reduced the amount and quality of prey resulting in widespread starvation of nestlings.” The 2014 breeding season on Cooper Island had the lowest number of breeding pairs of Black Guillemots on the island in the last 20 years, Divoky says. Reduced sea ice is increasingly forcing polar bears to seek refuge on the island, eating large numbers of nestlings. Polar bears were rare visitors to the island until 2002. The Arctic and the global climate Divoky is in Ottawa to fit his research and experience into the wider context of climate impacts in the ArcticResearching climate change and its effects are important but of little practical use if the research does not inform government officials and result in policies that address the causes of climate change, Divoky argues. Hugues Lantuit says the UN climate conference currently going on in Peru is important for the Arctic, which, in its own right, influences the whole world climate: “Permafrost contains a lot of what we call organic carbon, and that is stored in the upper part. And if that warms, the carbon is made available to microorganisms that convert it back to carbon dioxide and methane. And we estimate right now that there is twice as much organic carbon in permafrost as there is in the atmosphere”. Lantuit says reducing emissions and reducing temperature is the only way to reduce the thaw of permafrost. But there is no clear mitigation strategy in terms of permafrost directly, he argues. “You would have to put a blanket over the entire permafrost in the northern hemisphere. This is not possible.” What happened to the Arctic gold rush? Communities who live and companies that work in the Arctic have to focus on adaptation to the rapid change, says Lantuit. In his eyes, economic activity is increasing, posing new challenges for infrastructure and the environment. Malte Humpert, the Executive Director of the Arctic Institute, a non-profit think tank based in Washington DC has a different view on the matter. He says while attendance at Arctic conferences and interest in the Arctic is still high, commercial activity has actually been cooling off. “We are seeing a slow-down of investment. Up to this point there has been a lot of studying, a lot of interest being voiced, with representatives from China or South Korea, Japan, Singapore or other actors, arriving at conferences, speaking about grand plans. But up to this point a lot of the talk has been just that.” A lot of activity has been put on hold, says Humpert. He says the "gold rush mentality we saw a few years ago” has weakened. “There was a lot of talk about Arctic shipping initially, then we had oil and gas activity in 2012, north of Alaska, then we had the discussion about minerals in Greenland. The question is now, with the oil price being down below 70$ a barrel, some political uncertainties over the Ukraine, involving the EU and Russia, how will that affect Arctic development?” Humpert stresses the Arctic does not exist in a vacuum, but has to be seen within the global context. Sanctions on Russia because of the Ukraine crisis have created economic problems for Moscow and limited access to technology it might need for its Arctic activities. “Maybe Arctic development has been oversold and overplayed and will be more of a niche operators' investment. One could definitely question if there will be this global push into the Arctic.” Arctic development on ice Humpert is skeptical that any major development will take place before 2030. He says developing the infrastructure in terms of ports and communications in the remote Arctic region would require billions of dollars of investment, and would have to be a very long-term proposition. It will also depend to a large extent on exactly how climate change affects ice conditions in the Arctic. Climate change can make the climatic conditions in the Arctic more variable. This meansthat for a temporary period, there might even be more ice, which would block transport routes. The Arctic Institute says there has actually been a slow down this year in terms of navigation on the northern sea route (NSR) in particular: "The season just closed about a week ago. Last year we had 1.35 million tonnes of cargo being transported along the NSR, this year we had less than 700,000 tonnes, so an almost 50% decrease, just because there was more ice in the way", says Humpert. Whether slower development is good news or bad depends on your perspective. The lull in Arctic activity could pre-empt environmental degradation or destruction, says Humpert, and leave scope to consider development of the Arctic in what he calls a 21st century way. Instead of “old-school” thinking about extracting minerals, oil and gas and increasing shipping, there could be a focus on bringing modern, high-speed communications, fiber optics and thinking about renewables, such as wave energy. This would benefit the small populations in the Arctic, the expert argues. But from the viewpoint of a country like Russia, he adds, where 40 percent of your exports are generated above the Arctic circle, in terms of hydrocarbon resources, the slowdown in Arctic development because of the drop in oil prices and political tensions over Ukraine is very worrying. So while these developments seem to have brought the Arctic a breathing space, ultimately, the commercialization of the region could be just a matter of time. Ottawa conference organizer Lantuit argues that there has always been activity in the high North. The priority now, he says, must be to ensure international cooperation and additional investment in protecting the environment and maintaining safety in a region where rapid change seems to have become the status quo. | [
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Clashes in Nicaragua over canal construction
Nicaraguan police have used tear gas and rubber bullets to break up protesters opposed to a forthcoming $50 billion shipping canal. The government plans to expropriate land for the Chinese-built project.
Up to 21 people were injured on Wednesday in clashes between police and protesters in southern Nicaragua, over a planned transoceanic canal. The injured included 15 officers and six civilians. At least 33 people were arrested. The confrontation took place on the Pan American Highway near El Tule, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) southeast of the capital Managua. Police said authorities used force to end a blockade on the highway. The protests began following the inauguration of the canal on Monday when workers broke ground on the $50 billion (41 billion euro), 280-kilometer-long project, which could rival the Panama Canal. The canal will require the expropriation of land, displacing around 30,000 people, and protesters are concerned their homes and farming areas are under threat. It will cross Lake Nicaragua - Central America's largest lake - and run through rainforest and 40 villages. The canal is being built by Chinese firm Hong Kong Nicaragua Development Investment (HKND), owned by billionaire Beijing-based entrepreneur Wang Jing. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega says property owners affected by the canal's construction will receive a just price for their land. Although the environmental, technical and financial studies of the project are secret, it will include the construction of a railway, ports and an oil pipeline. Officials expect the canal, which will connect the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, to be operational in 2019. jr/gsw (AP, Reuters, AFP) | [
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Belarus president dismisses PM, reshuffles government amid economic crisis
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has sacked the country's prime minister and a number of top ministers in the biggest reshuffle in years. The move comes as the former Soviet republic's economy struggles.
Mikhail Myasnikovich, who served as Belarus' prime minister since December 2010, has been replaced by President Lukashenko's chief of staff, Andrei Kobyakov, the presidential press service said on Saturday, without giving reasons for the reshuffle. The president also dismissed the head of the country's central bank in what analysts say is a move to protect the country's economy. Belarus' strongman Lukashenko had warned earlier this year he would sack the administration if it failed to achieve the desired economic objectives. On Friday, the president issued another critical statement, saying the government officials might have spent too long at their posts. "That can be fixed," he said. Russian sanctions An economic crisis in Russia due to Western sanctions over Ukraine and a fall in global oil prices pose a serious challenge to Belarusian economy. Although its currency is not officially pegged to the Russian ruble, the ex-Soviet republic is highly dependent on Russia, which remains its main trading partner and political ally. Last week, Lukashenko ordered the country's transactions with Russia be settled in dollars or euros in an effort to avert worst of the crisis. Its central bank also announced a "temporary" tax of 30 percent on all purchases of foreign currency and increased interest rates to 50 percent. The government has admitted its economy has been badly hit in the recent months as around 40 percent of its exports are linked to Russia. shs/sms (Reuters, AFP) | [
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Every country fends for itself in the fight against Boko Haram
Boko Haram terrorists have become a threat beyond Nigeria's borders. The governments of the affected states say they have joined forces to combat the extremist group, but their cooperation leaves a lot to be desired.
"There is total panic" is how Danjuma Hamina from Achigachia describes what is happening in her home town in northern Cameroon. Fighters from the terrorist group Boko Haram had taken control of the town, she said, and "even hoisted their flag." Together with dozens of others, Hamina boarded a train and fled to Cameroon's capital Yaounde. Boko Haram members have been raiding villages near the border between northern Cameroon and Nigeria for several months. But this time things were different, the eyewitness told DW. "We have not seen an attack like this since the whole Boko Haram thing started," she exclaimed. According to the Cameroonian military, more than 1,000 terrorists have attacked several places in the border area in the past few days. They killed numerous civilians and soldiers. After heavy fighting on Sunday (29.12.2014), they briefly seized a military base in Achigachia. Only after Cameroon launched its first-ever air strikes against the terrorist group, did the military succeed in retaking the base. It is still unclear how many people died in the attacks, the Cameroonian military said. But what has become abundantly clear by now is that Boko Haram not only poses a threat to northern Nigeria, but to the neighboring states as well. The Islamists have been carrying out bloody attacks for five years, most of them in the Nigerian states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. They even control large swathes of the country's northeast, where they have proclaimed the establishment of a caliphate in line with their radical Islamist ideology. They have killed several thousand people and driven between 700,000 and 1.5 million from their homes. Joint declaration of war, but no consequences In the past months Boko Haram has been expanding its activities into neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger. For some time now, experts say, the extremists have maintained bases on both sides of various borders as havens to which they can retreat if attacked. The terrorists are recruiting fighters in the neighboring countries as well. Several high-ranking leaders of the group reportedly come from Chad and Niger. While the extremists have again proven that they are capable of cross-border attacks, each of the affected countries has by and large been responding to them on its own. In May 2014, the heads of state of Nigeria and neighboring Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin had declared a "war" against Boko Haram. At a summit hosted by French President Francois Hollande, they agreed on measures to tackle the terrorist threat, including pooling intelligence, joint border surveillance and an intervention force. But very little has happened since. Not long ago Cameroon again declared that it would cooperate more closely with Chad, Niger and Nigeria, according to Jesper Cullen, a security analyst for the British consultancy Risk Advisory Group. "But just [now] the Cameroonian government said one of the problems they're really facing is that the limit of their military is the border with Nigeria, and as soon as Boko Haram crosses over, Boko Haram are free to run around pretty much as they want." This shows that there is no coordination between the two armies, the expert said. Distrust between intelligence agencies Niger's south has also been massively affected by Boko Haram violence. The president of Diffa's regional parliament says his region has already accepted more than 120,000 refugees from northern Nigeria. "More come every day," Mahirou Malam Ligari said in an interview with DW. The government of Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, was doing all it could, Ligari said. "But we need more help," he stressed. The wave of refugees is not only a social challenge. Along with the refugees, Boko Haram fighters enter the country. Niger's security forces had already arrested several suspected terrorists, Ligari said. But he warned that the threat of attacks in the border region remained high. Although they have a common enemy, there is distrust among the affected countries. Nigerian media have repeatedly accused Chad's leaders of supporting Boko Haram. Cameroon also suspects that the terrorists are receiving help in other countries. "You have to ask yourself how a movement like this, whose supply lines have been cut, can continue to cause damage on this scale," Cameroonian military spokesman Didier Badjeck told DW. "This means that behind the scenes strange things are happening with respect to Boko Haram." The security forces and the governments in the region do not accuse each other openly. But the massive distrust between them also manifests itself in the lack of cooperation between their intelligence agencies, according to a statement given by Comfort Ero, Africa director for the International Crisis Group, to the news agency AP. "None of the sides is willing to share information with the other," Ero said. | [
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Opinion: Bush's Second-Term Task
Politics is about power and persuasion. Getting the mix right is part of any president's challenge, particularly if a second term is involved, comments Jackson Janes on President Bush's State of the Union address.
President Bush is beginning his second term with a lot of power. He won more votes than any other president. His party has control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives with larger majorities than during his first term. Yet his ability to persuade is more limited. He has a very low approval rating in a country which is very much divided over many issues and concerns. And second terms are famously full of examples where presidents have all too often gone wrong. That can be explained in part because of a feeling of hubris which another four years in the White House must generate. But there are also the unexpected, the uncontrolled, and the underestimated events which can sweep over the White House like a tsunami. Nixon's fate after Watergate, Reagan's Iran-Contra Affair, and Clinton's impeachment are all permanent warning signs for future presidents as well as the current one. None of that seemed to matter to President Bush as he delivered his fifth State of the Union speech. He appeared as a confident leader, convinced of his missions to make history. The State of the Union address has to be understood as the second part of his inauguration speech. When he took the oath of office on Jan. 20, he spoke about the world and what his vision of its future should be. On Wednesday, he spent more time on the agenda he envisions for the United States, focusing particularly on the future of social security. At the inauguration, he focused on international security and how the United States has a special obligation to itself and the world to provide the framework for achieving it. He stressed that the security of the United States was dependent on the security of the rest of the world. In the State of the Union speech, he argued that Americans individual social security should be less dependent on the state and more on their own decisions and choices. Focus on the future In both speeches, the president was talking about big ideas, whether it be spreading freedom around the globe or securing the future of social security at home. With those objectives in mind, he is not thinking about the next four years. He is thinking more about the next 40. George W. Bush is attacking his second term with a recipe for radical reform, at home and abroad. His decision to go into Iraq was driven as much by the mistaken belief that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction as by the belief that a change in Iraq was the key to changing the entire Middle East. This was radical surgery, even if it was elective. The Iraqi elections serve as clear evidence for the president that his decision was the right one. During the State of the Union speech, the symbolism of American security tied to establishing Iraqi democracy was dramatically demonstrated by an American woman whose sons was killed in Fallujah embracing an Iraqi woman who had just voted in her first election. If politics is also theater, that was the high point of the show. It has been President Bush's mantra that eliminating the threat of Saddam was central to the war against terrorism and to securing peace in the Middle East. He believes that setting the basis for long-term peace beginning with Iraq will be a generational task, similar to the task facing American leadership after World War II. He made that clear in his inauguration speech as well as in the State of the Union address. He will spend the next four years trying to persuade nervous Americans and the rest of the world that this is the right course, no matter how much it costs and what sacrifices are required. Difficulties ahead The president has also decided that his legacy will not only be shaped by Iraq but also by his efforts to reshape the parameters of American social security. Known as the third rail of American politics -- a dangerous issue to touch for any politicians hoping to avoid political electrocution -- social security is the keystone of the relationship between the government and the citizen. By recommending changes in this relationship, the president is again engaged in radical surgery. Like Iraq, he sees this as a necessary step for prevention and preemption of dangers in the future. And, as with Iraq, he will be facing four years of trying to persuade Americans that these dangers are imminent and threatening. It will not be an easy path and the results are unpredictable. President Bush has enormous power, but in a second term, without the possibility of being reelected, that power will gradually wane as the search for his successor begins. In order for the president to achieve even part of his agenda, he will have to rely increasingly on his power of persuasion well beyond his loyal supporters. Second terms do not make that task easy. In over half a century, only three presidents before Bush had the opportunity to try. During the first term, President Bush seemed more inclined to use power. During the second term, he will have to get along with more persuasion. Getting the mix right will be a challenge. Jackson Janes is executive director of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. | [
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A Personal Transatlantic Relationship
While President Bush's visit to Europe dominates the headlines, many people are taking cues from the transatlantic political relationship and building bridges themselves.
"In the last few years, I've really become a fan of America," said Florens Focke, a German exchange student in the United States, adding that he was more nervous about meeting his host family than how US-German politics would play out in his daily life. Focke labels himself more conservative than most Germans, but he says he doesn't always agree with his host country's foreign policy. He wants to use his year-long exchange to a small town outside Dayton, Ohio, to learn about Americans' opinions on their country's position in the world. Others, like Focke, in both Germany and the USA haven't been put off by international politics -- even when the German-American relationship was stretched to its thinnest -- but they have had an effect. Seeking dialog "Some personal relationships may have suffered so that they are not the same as before," said Michael Schuster, president of the Confederation of German-American Clubs, a group that sponsors about 30 exchanges each year. "But even when times are unpleasant, we have to work through them and seek a dialog to improve contact between people." German interest in studying in the US has fallen since the run-up to the war in Iraq. For the 2003/2004 school year 8,745 Germans chose to study there, a 6 percent drop from the previous year, according to a November 2004 report from the Institute of International Education (IIE) in New York. The decline has actually been much sharper, according to Katrin Alt-Rudin, head of the exchange and education team at the Amerika Haus in Munich. She said there have been about 30 percent fewer inquiries regarding the United States, while interest in Australia, Canada and New Zealand is growing. It's not exclusively political concerns that make students look to other English-speaking countries. Difficulties getting a visa and the high cost of education in the US also contribute to a shrinking interest in studying there, said Christian Schäfer of the German Academic Exchange Service. Bucking a general downward trend, the number of Americans who entered Germans schools or universities in 2002/2003 jumped 15 percent to 5,587, making Germany the seventh choice for Americans studying abroad, according to the IIE report. Separating individuals from policy Eric Schranz, 33, an American scientist doing postdoctoral research in plant genetics at the Max Planck Institute of Chemical Ecology in Jena, came to Germany just as the US was gearing up for war in Iraq. He had reservations about saying where he came from when he arrived in Germany, which bitterly opposed the war, two years ago. At first I thought twice before admitting my nationality," Schranz said. "Then I happily realized people universally said, 'It's not you as an American we have a problem with but the policies of the country.'" Separating people from policies is a typical German trait while Americans tend to take criticism more personally, according to John Magee of The Magee Company, which specializes in matters of transatlantic integration. "Americans feel if you criticize my country, you criticize my family," he said. Reactions in the United States were mainly positive when German exchange student Focke brought up his nationality, but he also faced questions -- though never personal affronts -- about Germany's role in the Second World War as well as its decision not to get involved in Iraq. "I explain that being German doesn't make you a Nazi, and that Germany's history with the Second World War still influences its decisions about war," Focke said. "Usually people understand." | [
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When Freedom Gets the Death Sentence
The murder of a Turkish woman and the applauding of the crime by some students have left Berlin shaken and officials pushing for ethics class. But how deep does the concept of honor run among some immigrant communities?
On a cold afternoon this week, Hatin Sürücü gazed gravely from a large poster behind a bus stop lined with flowers, cards and candles. To the people who came to this bleak part of Berlin's Tempelhof district for Tuesday's solemn vigil -- called not by the city's Muslim community but a gay and lesbian organization -- the image of the young woman in a headscarf, a baby in her arms, was familiar from newspapers and television. A few notes at the memorial read, "Hope you get a better deal in your next life," and "Live a life on your own terms." "It's a scandal," said Ali K, 33. "All Muslims in Berlin should take to the streets to protest." Yasemin, 22, said, "It's horrific. All Hatin was doing was leading her life the way she wanted." But it was a choice she paid for with her life. On Feb. 7, 23-year-old Hatin Sürücü was gunned down at the aforementioned bus stop. She died on the spot. Shortly afterwards, three of her brothers -- who reportedly had long been threatening her -- were arrested. Investigators suspect it was a so-called "honor killing," given the fact that Sürücü's ultra-conservative Turkish-Kurdish family strongly disapproved of her modern and "un-Islamic" life. Sürücü grew up in Berlin and was married off at 16 to a cousin in Istanbul. After a few years, she returned to the German capital with her young son, moved into a home for single mothers, completed school and began to train as an electrician. She stopped wearing a headscarf and was said to be outgoing and vivacious. "She lived like a German" Though not the first of its kind, the brazen shooting has sent shockwaves through Berlin, home to a large foreign community and which for years has fretted over steady ghetto-building in districts dominated by Turkish and Arab immigrants. While the incident has reopened debate on the integration of immigrants and the compatibility of Islamic values with Western ones, it’s the reaction of a small group of Turkish students to the murder that has rattled the German capital. Days after Hatin Sürücü was killed, some male students of Turkish origin at a high school near the scene of the crime reportedly downplayed the act. During a class discussion on the murder, one said, "She (Hatin Sürücü) only had herself to blame," while another remarked "She deserved what she got --the whore lived like a German." The school's director promptly dashed off a letter to parents and students, castigating the students and warning that the school didn’t tolerate incitement against freedom. "Her lifestyle didn't fit" The comments have sparked outrage and left many asking if it was just a one-off or whether such thinking is in fact not entirely uncommon among sections of the Muslim community in the city. According to some, it isn't. "There isn't a single school with a high foreign population where teachers haven't faced this kind of thing, where individual students sometimes regard murder as a just sentence," said Heinz Wagner, head of school and education policy at the VBE teachers trade union and a school director himself. Referring to the controversial remarks on Sürücü's murder, he said, "The very fact that they decided to provoke with something like that tells you that they're getting their ideas from somewhere." At Berlin's Turkish-dominated neighborhood near Kottbusser Tor in the Kreuzberg district, 17-year-old Erkan, a high school student of Turkish origin, was divided about the issue. "I'm not saying you should murder, but Hatin's lifestyle just didn't fit the way traditional Muslims live," he said. Please click on the second page to continue reading the story No regret, but pride Experts insist that the problem is in no way a purely "Islamic phenomenon" and that the remarks of a few shouldn't be allowed to taint an entire community. But, statistics in Berlin show that murders ostensibly meant to uphold the honor of the family are high among Muslims. At the juvenile prison in the Berlin suburb Plötzensee, six of the current 529 inmates are serving time of six years and more for manslaughter in so-called "honor crimes." All come from the Muslim world. Aged between 18 and 22, one of them, an Afghan national, was 16 when he helped relatives kill a widowed aunt who had refused to marry her brother-in-law. Prison director Marius Fiedler said most of the murders are often carefully plotted in the family with the support of all, including women. "Usually the patriarch selects the youngest son to carry out the crime because he knows that judges in Germany don't usually give the maximum sentence of 10 years to a minor for manslaughter," he said. Fiedler admitted that getting the inmates, who undergo psychological therapy, to reform or change their attitudes is difficult. "Many come from rural areas in Turkey or Lebanon and just don't know the concept of individualism," he said. "They don't feel any regret for what they did though some even kill their favorite sister. Instead, they're honored and feel like martyrs for having been chosen to carry out the crime." Ethics class the answer? The realization that murder and archaic concepts of honor might actually find favor with some teenagers in the city, have caused alarm among Berlin's politicians and some Muslim organizations. "It might be a minority, but even one person applauding the murder of Hatin Sürücü is absolutely unacceptable," said Kenan Kolat, head of the Turkish Association in Berlin and Brandenburg. His organization has initiated a discussion with teachers, politicians, parents and imams and is planning to work with Turkish newspapers and TV stations in Berlin to kick-start a debate on democratic values among the Turkish community. "We have to begin speaking about the role of women, about honor concepts, dignity, mutual respect and democratic values," Kolat said. In addition to city politicians' plans to introduce a mandatory ethics course in schools across Berlin, Kolat is pushing for an Islamic studies course. "The mainstream classroom has to be the place where one can get information about Islam, not in 'Islamic institutes' who have the theological upper hand in the city," he said. Some, however, are skeptical of such flash-in-the-pan plans. "Every time there's a controversial incident, politicians routinely come up with 'ethics class' as a panacea," said school director Wagner. "But the school can't be the only place for learning democratic values. You have to begin with the family." | [
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A German Visa Scandal in China, Too?
Even as the row over lax German visa policies in eastern Europe simmers, an unusually high number of Chinese travelers are flooding into Germany. Some never return home.
Last year the German embassy in Beijing issued visas for 220,000 Chinese travelers, a three-fold increase since three years ago. That's more than France, Italy and the Scandinavian EU countries taken together. Germany is keen to boost business ties with China and also lure Chinese touriststo the country. With that in mind, Beijing and Berlin agreed last year on relaxing entry procedures for short-term travel. Since then, Chinese tourists no longer need apply for a individual visas in person. They can get group visas organized by a licensed travel agency for a party of several people. And there are no checks on whether everybody who comes with a tour group actually goes back. "There are people who disappear" Klaus Schmidt of the German travel agency Caissa admitted it was a problem. "We cannot completely rule out that regulations are abused by certain individuals," Schmidt said. "And there are sadly people who disappear after their arrival in Europe. We report this to the police then. It is very rare, but it does happen." Once Chinese travelers have arrived in Germany, it is easy to move on to other EU countries given the lack of border controls. That has security experts worried. They say that since the United States has restricted its immigration procedures, Chinese criminals are flocking to Europe in gangs similar to the Italian mafia and involved in smuggling goods, drugs and people. Their activities in Europe are centered in the Netherlands, France and Great Britain, but Germany may well be turning into a major destination for transit. Employees in the German foreign ministry in Berlin received warnings of widespread visa abuse in China months ago. It's similar to the situation in Ukraine, where it has seems that a lax visa policy was exploited by criminals while foreign ministry officials appear to have ignored warnings. Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer is under mounting pressure because of the scandal. Opposition involved too? But as far as China is concerned, politicians from the conservative opposition are also coming under attack. The prominent conservative premier of the state of Hesse, Roland Koch intervened personally only last year to urge utmost lenience in granting visas to Chinese citizens, pointing to the fact that Hesse tops the list of popular destinations for Chinese tourists. The issue hasn't gone unnoticed in the current debate over massive German visa abuse in eastern Europe. A letter written by German Deputy Foreign Minister Jürgen Chrobog to the interior ministry and leaked to the press last week noted that the German embassy in Beijing issued a record 15,000 visas to Chinese nationals within a period of just a few weeks. Quick damage control Meanwhile, Klaus Schmidt predicts a further rise in numbers. "We’ve already seen a rise by 40 percent over the last year and we expect that trend to continue for Germany and from here to other destinations in Europe like Italy, France, Austria and Switzerland," he said. While these predictions may thrill German travel agents, the foreign ministry is scrambling to get things under control. In a special measure aimed at damage control experts have been dispatched to the embassy in Beijing which has reported difficulties in detecting fake passports and other documents. | [
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Germany Chooses "Culture Capital" Finalists
Two very different German cities -- Görlitz and Essen -- have been chosen as finalists from among 10 hopefuls to compete for the title "European Capital of Culture" in 2010.
The jury which made the decision said it chose Essen due to its successful transformation from an industrial hub at the heart of the Ruhr region to a center of culture and science whose influence extends beyond its municipal borders. Görlitz/Zgorzelec, a city on the German/Polish border that was split in two by political developments, was chosen because judges said it represents a spirit of reconciliation and a Europe which is growing ever closer together after a century of war, expulsion and division. Tourist magnet The citizens of Görlitz let the champagne corks fly when the news was announced on Thursday evening. The city worked hard to restore its historic city center, left intact after the war, to its former glory, and for that reason, has become a tourist magnet in eastern Germany. But beauty aside, the town has been hit hard by the unemployment, westward migration and high vacancy rates seen throughout the eastern states. City officials are counting on the title of Culture Capital to dispel some of the gloom. "We were both anxious and hopeful," said Kai Grebasch, spokesman for the city's Culture Capital office. "When the good news finally came, we were all speechless with joy." In Essen, too, the relief over remaining in the race was palpable. Faced with the decline of traditional industries such as mining, the Ruhr region is attempting to reinvent itself, in the same way that British industrial cities such as Manchester and Liverpool have transformed themselves into hip cultural centers. Whole new future "The jury picked up exactly our concern, which is to rededicate the whole region culturally, and make a whole new future possible," said North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister for Culture, Michael Vesper. The jury judged each candidate city's application on whether it presented a theme which explored ideas that were central to the European experience. And in this, Essen and Görlitz came out ahead of the other candidates Braunschweig, Bremen, Halle, Karlsruhe, Kassel, Lübeck, Potsdam and Regensburg. Germany is expected to pass on the recommendations to Brüssels in the fall, where the final decision will be made in 2006. | [
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Opinion: Transatlantic Rapprochement
March 11, 2004 was a day of shock and horror for Spain and Europe. The al Qaeda bomb attacks which killed 192 showed that Europe was a target like the US. What has happened regarding the fight against terror since then?
No doubt about it, even the sharpest critics of US President George W. Bush had to realize on March 11 of last year that the al Qaeda terror network isn't just a threat to the United States, but to Europe's democracies as well. Indeed, it is important and even necessary to denounce the military invasion in Iraq, which had no basis in international law, or human rights violations such as those we see in Guantanamo. But some voices have gone much further, and they are especially vociferous in Europe. They consider Bush's challenge to the terrorists as only a pretext to cement the global supremacy of the United States and to secure it future sources of oil. The bloody attacks in Madrid, however, set many such twisted views straight. That is because the danger that Osama Bin Laden represents is real. His terror cells are not only in Europe, preparing -- as they did before Sept. 11, 2001 -- to carry out attacks in the US. They have also long had targets in Europe in their sights. Madrid is not the first case. Even before the catastrophes in New York and Washington, an al Qaeda bomb attack on a Christmas market in Strasbourg was narrowly prevented. Those who criticize Bush's method of fighting international terrorism should have another, better concept on hand to act against al Qaeda and similar terrorist organizations. However, the Europeans have had difficulties in this regard. While EU member states did decide shortly after Sept. 11, 2001 that they wanted to cooperate more closely and effectively, today their efforts have borne little fruit. The EUROPOL police organization, the Europe-wide legal authority EUROJUST and the much ballyhooed cooperation of various secret service agencies work much better in theory than in practice, largely due to stonewalling on the national level. Even the appointment of a special anti-terror commissioner -- a direct reaction to the Madrid attacks -- has changed very little on the ground. Projects like the European arrest warrant, which enjoyed some early enthusiasm, have since lost much of their vim and vigor. Change has taken place Still, the EU has changed since March 11, 2004. On the one hand, the once frequent calls against a strong European Union have been nearly silenced, since people have realized that it is only a Europe working together that can counter the threat of international terrorism. On the other hand, the deep fractures that broke open between those against the Iraq war and those favoring the US position have finally healed. That is quite remarkable really, since Spain's Bush-friendly president, Jose Maria Aznar, was voted out of office shortly after the March 11 attacks, punished by the electorate for using all his resources to place the blame for the bloodbath on Basque separatists. His successor, Jose Luis Zapatero, then made his first official act the removal of Spanish soldiers from Iraq, thereby putting him squarely in the anti-war camp along with Germany and France. A few months later, Poland made its own exit from the "coalition of the willing." But all of that still didn't deepen the differences of opinion on either side of the Atlantic. On the contrary, both sides have come closer together. Despite its critique of the Bush administration, Germany has, for example, decided to step up its training programs for Iraqi security forces. The recognition that an instable Iraq provides fertile ground for terror organizations like al Qaeda is not new. But it did gain new prominence after March 11, 2004. And that's a good thing. | [
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RFID Chips: the Future of Security?
Radio Frequency Identification may very well be the basis of security and ID systems in the years to come, according to the technology's pioneers. Despite some problems, RFID looks set to become part of all our lives.
Wandering the cavernous halls of the CeBIT trade fair, one may walk past the future of computerized security and identification and not know it. Indeed, walking past the stand featuring the SAP/Intel RFID chip is about as close to the cutting edge as it gets. The German software giant SAP and the American chip manufacturer Intel announced a new strategic alliance at the IT trade fair in Hanover this week. They hope that the RFID -- radio-frequency identification -- technology will take the security sector by storm by offering applications for everything from cattle tagging to event ticket sales. "With RFID, you can monitor the whereabouts of products in a warehouse or the price and transmit that product information," technology expert Jürgen Kuri told Deutsche Welle. According to the manufacturers, monitoring stock would be one of the most basic applications but one of its most commercially successful. The implications for large chain stores would be immense. The US giant Wal-Mart already uses the technology in its warehouse. Stock application aids efficiency RFID technology makes scanning large amounts of stock and sorting and distributing products simpler and faster. The chip transmits information needed to efficiently locate, pack and send wares on their way quickly and easily. However, the RFID chips can do more than just help in the logging of products. "The chips can be used, for example, in electronic identity cards, biometric systems, even in tickets for the World Cup," Jürgen Kuri added. "However, if one buys a ticket or product with a chip installed, it would have to be destroyed afterwards to avoid any further information being released." It is a sensitive issue that SAP and Intel are trying to address. "For this reason we have begun an initiative with a number of organizations to secure the RFID from hackers and to protect data security and the private sphere," SAP's Christoph Lessmöllmann said Chip security open to hackers However, there remains at this time no concrete protection against hackers. It appears that vigilance, at the moment, is the best defense. "Wherever there is data stored, there is a risk of illegal practice," Jürgen Kuri commented. "Therefore, the simplest principle of modern data security is avoiding people getting to the data." Despite the work-in-progress nature of the security measures of the chips themselves, the business implications for the technology are as potentially huge as the number of applications. IDTechEX, a management consultancy from Cambridge, Massachusetts, estimates that the global RFID market by 2008 will exceed $7 billion. At the moment, the chips are still relatively expensive but SAP is working together with Intel to remedy this as fast as possible. "We hope that the massive demand for the chips will eventually help us cut the production costs," Lessmöllmann said. | [
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