Global News Post: Germany

Global Warming: In Geoengineering We May Trust

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By <a href="http://www.groundreport.com/Stephen"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">David Stephen</span></a>  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.groundreport.com/Media_and_Tech/Global-warming-In-geoengineering-we-may-trust_1/2947148"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">GroundReport</span>-</a>-- At least, there is reason to believe in a short-term source for respite, geoengineering, if a feared level of climate change is about. Geoengineering is now likely for large scale-deployment more than ever, as weather anomalies globally have become a serious cause for concern and news of rising levels of carbon emissions continue to come.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Geoengineering is the scientific answer to the tepidity of world leaders, towards a global agreement to mitigate global warming-causing greenhouse emissions. Geoengineering (or climate engineering) is a general name for certain technologies aimed at reducing solar radiation available to the earth, or at removing carbon dioxide (a major greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Geoengineering technologies range from simple to complex, with a technology as ‘simple’ as afforestation, and another as complex as putting giant reflectors in space to return inbound solar radiation. Geoengineering technologies have their controversies, as their effects can be tied to international conflicts; or threats to biodiversity & urbanization; or further weather catastrophe, and unknowns.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Geoengineering is also expensive and will have to be sustained for a number of years after initial deployment. All these worries are there, but are placed a little less than the good it will do as an alternative. Geoengineering had a big week, with two major announcements. The bigger one, a carbon dioxide removal test, reported findings from a research on iron fertilization, conducted in 2004, that showed the ability of phytoplankton to sequester carbon at sea depths.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The other announcement, a solar management one, is an intention to test the effects of injecting sulphate particles to about 24km above sea level, to know their effects on ozone chemistry. These steps-forward in geoengineering, point to form. Geoengineering is gradually taking shape, and as time goes, most of the several questions asked in the 2009 UK’s Royal Society Report on geoengineering, will find a home.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Geoengineering research is advocated, and the plea is for more public funds to come in. The US government via the National Science Foundation is involved, and the British government recently supported a proposed research on geoengineering. Geoengineering research in Canada, Europe and Australia is getting some support from the government, and the subject in these places is rising.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Several other governments who can support too are probably waiting on their scientists and local researchers to work. Russia had a test some time ago, and China may be looking at a right time to do something. Field tests will hew new observations and are superior to lab tests in this respect.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Season and geography is known to differentiate climate at locations, and tests or finding somewhere may require expansion somewhere else or may allege ‘effects here’. This may lead to new interests in research that may not be guided by the carefulness with previous ones.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Geoengineering tests will eventually go around, since pat locations to deploy it would (or maybe) be needed in future. But how is this to be regulated and centered on the objective? A US scientist gave a hint this week, he said, it must be publicly funded and must be approved by government agencies.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This, a possibility in the States, may not be the same elsewhere, which possibly may spark new controversies. Regulating geoengineering research, even though scientists have asked about what may be classed as geoengineering or not, is necessary. Outlining the ways a research should go, making it public and inviting colleagues to join the discussion is an ethics part that should be attended to, quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This conversation will also be boosted if ‘pioneering’ tests follows the ‘guideline’. Scientists have the might to shape geoengineering, to avoid it becoming another small ball of global disagreement, even at this research stage. It may also be necessary for scientists leading geoengineering research, to clear the air about myths that may limit government funds available for their work.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the developing world, especially Africa, usually bashed by climate change, it is possible for activists to presume that big economies are sponsoring geoengineering instead of mitigating emissions. Supporters of this and, haters of geoengineering in these big economies may further loud it and cause a furor that may limit or intermit geoengineering funding by the government.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Addressing this ‘myth’ may still not prevent this, but will be the case to be evoked while defending the move. A point that may be used in defense is “We are researching geoengineering as a possible alternative, as the world may need to cap rise in the average temperature of the earth; because of its controversies, government funding is preferred for outdoor experiments against individual or corporate funding. And government ‘token’ on this does not affect their mitigation commitment, which is the main solution, not geoengineering”.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Geoengineers have some work to do, to give the subject shape, aside increased studies and reports. Those that don’t even believe in anthropogenic global warming may support geoengineering, but not substantially,  in an unshaped state. Many who already know about geoengineering are coming to trust its temporal ability, and many more around the world likely will, if bad weather events suddenly line. We can be afraid of rise in the average temperature of the earth, and resulting effects, but geoengineering may get us to trust it, for reprieve, if scientists decide to give it shape.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This work is licensed under a </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></div></div>

Global Warming: In Geoengineering We May Trust

By David Stephen GroundReport - -- At least, there is reason to believe in a short-term source for respite, geoengineering, if a feare...

German President Announces Resignation

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">German President Christian Wulff has resigned amid allegations he accepted favors during his time in a previous political post.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The announcement comes a day after prosecutors requested Mr. Wulff's immunity be lifted so they could investigate whether he abused his position as governor of the state of Lower Saxony.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Wulff faces multiple allegations including allowing a film producer friend to pay for his bills from two hotel stays and accepting a large loan from a wealthy friend's wife.   <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Chancellor Angela Merkel, who handpicked Mr. Wulff for the primarily ceremonial job in 2010, issued a short statement expressing what she said, was “deep regret” at the president's resignation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Chancellor Merkel says she wants to seek a consensus from main political parties on a new president. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">She postponed a trip to Italy Friday, in anticipation of President Wulff's resignation.  ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

German President Announces Resignation

German President Christian Wulff has resigned amid allegations he accepted favors during his time in a previous political post. The annou...

Hitler's Mein Kampf Back in Print in Germany

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</b></span></div><h5 style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">MOSCOW</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> (RIA Novosti) -</span> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">German weekly "Zeitungszeugen" magazine will start publishing excerpts from Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" next week, a move that has already caused criticism in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region></st1:place>, French daily Le Figaro reported on Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></h5><h5 style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Peter McGee, the British-born publisher of German paper Zeitungszeugen, which has reproduced excerpts from Nazi newspapers Der Angriff and Völkische Beobachter, said he plans to start publishing excerpts of Hitler's book. The Mein Kampf texts will be published as an insert to magazine, with accompanying comments by historians, Le Figaro said.<o:p></o:p></span></h5><h5 style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">"We're not publishing 'Mein Kampf,' we're publishing ... some excerpts of 'Mein Kampf' with some critical commentary," McGee told the Associated Press.<o:p></o:p></span></h5><h5 style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Bavarian Finance Ministry which holds the Mein Kampf’s copyright until it will be lifted in 2015, told the Associated Press on Tuesday that McGee’s move may violate the law since “the segments are too long to be considered excerpts not covered by copyright.”<o:p></o:p></span></h5><h5 style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">U.S.-based Holocaust survivors’ organization called on Bavarian authorities to prevent the publication in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>, saying that it is a "crass commercialism" and "a moral offense to the memory of all Nazi victims," Associated Press said.<o:p></o:p></span></h5><h5 style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">The president of the Central Council of Jews in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Dieter Graumann, told the Jerusalem Post that he would prefer Germans read annotated excerpts from the book, but not online versions on extremist web sites.<o:p></o:p></span></h5><h5 style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">"I can truly do without the publication of this hate-filled book,” Jerusalem Post quoted Graumann as saying. "If one must actually read it, then rather in the framework of a critical commentary."<o:p></o:p></span></h5><h5 style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Mein Kampf, written by Hitler after he was jailed in a failed putsch in <st1:state w:st="on">Bavaria</st1:state> in 1923, is currently banned in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>. It is widely available, however, on nationalist websites based outside <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></h5></div>

Hitler's Mein Kampf Back in Print in Germany

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - German weekly "Zeitungszeugen" magazine will start publishing excerpts from Adolf Hitler's "Me...

Germany's Merkel Calls for United Europe

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>By Sabina Castelfranco from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome </st1:place></st1:city></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">German Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for a stronger political union in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> to overcome the bloc’s debt crisis. She called the crisis the continent’s “toughest hour since World War II.” And, in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Prime Minister-designate Mario Monti was hard at work choosing members of his Cabinet.<span>   </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Addressing thousands of delegates of her conservative party, Chancellor Angela Merkel made clear that <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region> will have to make more sacrifices to deal with financial events in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Today, she said, <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> is in one of its toughest hours, maybe the toughest hour since World War II. It must be clear to us that we must not be discouraged by that. In 2008, she said, we managed to overcome the financial crisis with the motto that <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region> would come out stronger from this crisis than we entered it. Now we must succeed in getting <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> out of this crisis stronger than when it entered it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Merkel added that the European Union’s structure must be developed further. That, she said, means creating a <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> that ensures that the euro has a future.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The German chancellor said the euro is far more than just a currency. It is the symbol of European unification and it has become the symbol for half a century of peace, freedom and prosperity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The leader of Europe’s biggest economy stressed that if the euro fails, so will <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Prime Minister-designate Mario Monti began talks Monday to create a new government of non-political experts. The effort follows the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi and the approval by parliament of emergency austerity and reform measures. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But political analyst James Walston, at <st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city>’s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">American</st1:placename>  <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>, says the fact that Berlusconi has stepped down does not mean he has abandoned politics. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"Berlusconi made his position very clear when he left on Sunday. He sent a video message to Italy saying that he is not finished, that he was - first of all he said he was very upset in personal terms because he has been, because of the celebrations when he left - but then in terms of substance he said he would double his efforts to continue his idea of renewing Italy," said Walston. "So at the moment, he is certainly not retired, he is not the retiring type."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Monti, a 68-year-old economics professor, has pledged to act "with a sense of urgency" to identify ministers in the new government and has said he hopes to secure a strong team. He was meeting various political parties throughout the day. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">After he draws up what is expected to be a small Cabinet of technocrats and lays out its priorities, he will need to ensure that he has enough support in parliament to govern. Monti’s new government will be tasked with implementing economic reforms aimed at reviving a stagnant economy and decreasing public debt.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">German Chancellor Merkel has welcomed signs of an end to the weeks of uncertainty in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Monti could visit either <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region> or <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region> to meet Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy within a week of a new government being in place.---<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s Merkel Calls for United Europe<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sabina Castelfranco | <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span>   </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Photo: AP<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">German Chancellor and leader of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region>'s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Angela Merkel delivers a speech at a party meeting in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Leipzig</st1:place></st1:city>, November 14, 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">German Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for a stronger political union in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> to overcome the bloc’s debt crisis. She called the crisis the continent’s “toughest hour since World War II.” And, in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Prime Minister-designate Mario Monti was hard at work choosing members of his Cabinet.<span>   </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Addressing thousands of delegates of her conservative party, Chancellor Angela Merkel made clear that <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region> will have to make more sacrifices to deal with financial events in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Today, she said, <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> is in one of its toughest hours, maybe the toughest hour since World War II. It must be clear to us that we must not be discouraged by that. In 2008, she said, we managed to overcome the financial crisis with the motto that <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region> would come out stronger from this crisis than we entered it. Now we must succeed in getting <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> out of this crisis stronger than when it entered it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Merkel added that the European Union’s structure must be developed further. That, she said, means creating a <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> that ensures that the euro has a future.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The German chancellor said the euro is far more than just a currency. It is the symbol of European unification and it has become the symbol for half a century of peace, freedom and prosperity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The leader of Europe’s biggest economy stressed that if the euro fails, so will <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Prime Minister-designate Mario Monti began talks Monday to create a new government of non-political experts. The effort follows the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi and the approval by parliament of emergency austerity and reform measures. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But political analyst James Walston, at <st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city>’s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">American</st1:placename>  <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>, says the fact that Berlusconi has stepped down does not mean he has abandoned politics. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"Berlusconi made his position very clear when he left on Sunday. He sent a video message to Italy saying that he is not finished, that he was - first of all he said he was very upset in personal terms because he has been, because of the celebrations when he left - but then in terms of substance he said he would double his efforts to continue his idea of renewing Italy," said Walston. "So at the moment, he is certainly not retired, he is not the retiring type."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Monti, a 68-year-old economics professor, has pledged to act "with a sense of urgency" to identify ministers in the new government and has said he hopes to secure a strong team. He was meeting various political parties throughout the day. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">After he draws up what is expected to be a small Cabinet of technocrats and lays out its priorities, he will need to ensure that he has enough support in parliament to govern. Monti’s new government will be tasked with implementing economic reforms aimed at reviving a stagnant economy and decreasing public debt.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">German Chancellor Merkel has welcomed signs of an end to the weeks of uncertainty in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Monti could visit either <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region> or <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region> to meet Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy within a week of a new government being in place.---<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s Merkel Calls for United Europe<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sabina Castelfranco | <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span>   </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Photo: AP<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">German Chancellor and leader of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region>'s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Angela Merkel delivers a speech at a party meeting in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Leipzig</st1:place></st1:city>, November 14, 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">German Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for a stronger political union in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> to overcome the bloc’s debt crisis. She called the crisis the continent’s “toughest hour since World War II.” And, in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Prime Minister-designate Mario Monti was hard at work choosing members of his Cabinet.<span>   </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Addressing thousands of delegates of her conservative party, Chancellor Angela Merkel made clear that <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region> will have to make more sacrifices to deal with financial events in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Today, she said, <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> is in one of its toughest hours, maybe the toughest hour since World War II. It must be clear to us that we must not be discouraged by that. In 2008, she said, we managed to overcome the financial crisis with the motto that <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region> would come out stronger from this crisis than we entered it. Now we must succeed in getting <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> out of this crisis stronger than when it entered it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Merkel added that the European Union’s structure must be developed further. That, she said, means creating a <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> that ensures that the euro has a future.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The German chancellor said the euro is far more than just a currency. It is the symbol of European unification and it has become the symbol for half a century of peace, freedom and prosperity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The leader of Europe’s biggest economy stressed that if the euro fails, so will <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Prime Minister-designate Mario Monti began talks Monday to create a new government of non-political experts. The effort follows the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi and the approval by parliament of emergency austerity and reform measures. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But political analyst James Walston, at <st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city>’s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">American</st1:placename>  <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>, says the fact that Berlusconi has stepped down does not mean he has abandoned politics. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"Berlusconi made his position very clear when he left on Sunday. He sent a video message to Italy saying that he is not finished, that he was - first of all he said he was very upset in personal terms because he has been, because of the celebrations when he left - but then in terms of substance he said he would double his efforts to continue his idea of renewing Italy," said Walston. "So at the moment, he is certainly not retired, he is not the retiring type."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Monti, a 68-year-old economics professor, has pledged to act "with a sense of urgency" to identify ministers in the new government and has said he hopes to secure a strong team. He was meeting various political parties throughout the day. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">After he draws up what is expected to be a small Cabinet of technocrats and lays out its priorities, he will need to ensure that he has enough support in parliament to govern. Monti’s new government will be tasked with implementing economic reforms aimed at reviving a stagnant economy and decreasing public debt.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">German Chancellor Merkel has welcomed signs of an end to the weeks of uncertainty in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Monti could visit either <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region> or <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region> to meet Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy within a week of a new government being in place. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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Germany's Merkel Calls for United Europe

By Sabina Castelfranco from Rome German Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for a stronger political union in Europe to overcome the bl...

Prosecutors: German Man Raped Daughter for 34 Years, Fathered Her 3 Sons

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<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crimes-Against-Women-Justice-Punishment/dp/0791042553?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Crimes Against Women (Crime, Justice & Punishment)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0791042553&tag=glob036-20" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0791042553" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />German prosecutors have charged a 69-year-old man with repeatedly raping his daughter for 34 years and fathering three children with her.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Prosecutors Tuesday charged the pensioner from Nuremberg in the southern state of Bavaria with 497 counts of rape. They say he is suspected of first forcing his daughter to have sex with him when she was only 12 years old and then abusing her several times a week for the next three decades. Two of the three sons he fathered with her later died.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The crime was uncovered when the daughter, now 46, was convicted of an unrelated crime and confided in her parole officer.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Prosecutors say the man, who has been in custody since March, admits to having sex with his daughter but says it was consensual.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The case is reminiscent of that of Josef Fritzl, an Austrian man who was sentenced to life in prison in 2009 after being found guilty of keeping his daughter locked up in a cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fritzl also was convicted of murder for the death of his daughter's infant son, who was not given medical care after becoming ill. (VOA News)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=crime%20against%20women" target="_blank">Search Amazon.com  for crime against women</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></div></div>

Prosecutors: German Man Raped Daughter for 34 Years, Fathered Her 3 Sons

German prosecutors have charged a 69-year-old man with repeatedly raping his daughter for 34 years and fathering three children with her. ...

France, Germany Show Solidarity on Greek Economy

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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Selah Hennessy <span class="location" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">| London</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The leaders of France and Germany signaled Friday they want to find a quick solution to the economic crisis in Greece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>In Greece, the prime minister reshuffled his Cabinet and replaced his finance minister.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Speaking in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the stability of Europe's single currency, the euro, is their top priority. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Greece, a nation in the eurozone and part of the single currency, is in major debt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>It needs a multi-billion-dollar loan from its euro neighbors in order to avoid defaulting on that debt.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">France and Germany had been at odds over whether private holders of Greek bonds should be involved in a Greek rescue package. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">But on Friday, Merkel said the two countries were on the same page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>She said that private investors should participate only on a voluntary basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>She added that mandatory participation does not have a legal basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Analysts say this is a softening of Germany's position, which they say had been leaning towards forcing losses on private creditors. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">President Sarkozy said Friday that France and Germany are committed to defending the euro.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>He added that their program has to be put in place quickly. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">It is a sign that European countries may be moving closer to a deal to help Greece out of its immediate financial straits. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">But Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the U.S.-based research group the Center for Economic and Policy Research, says a bailout in its current form is not going to help Greece in the long run.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">"Greece needs to get out from under a big part of that debt, a big part," said Weisbrot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>"Because otherwise, if you have a settlement and there is just a restructuring that allows some payments to be made later and none of the principles to be reduced, for example, then you're just going to end up in the same situation a year or two down the road."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have made tough austerity measures a condition of any bailout. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Those measures are adding to social unrest in Greece and putting major political pressure on the leading Socialist party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>On Friday, a new finance minister was appointed amid a reshuffle of the Cabinet. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And on Wednesday, tens of thousands of people turned out in the streets to protest against tax hikes and spending cuts. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Weisbrot says austerity is not the key to improving Greece's economic situation, and, in his opinion, Greek citizens are right to battle the policy. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">"I think what they're doing right now is important," Weisbrot added.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>"They're in the streets and that's where the only pressure is coming from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>And I think they should demand that their government not accept any terms that doesn't get the economy growing immediately."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The IMF said Friday that sovereign debt troubles in Greece and other eurozone countries are putting the global economic recovery at risk. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Speaking in San Paulo, Brazil, the IMF's research director, Olivier Blanchard, said policymakers have to act now to make the financial system more robust.<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">VOA News</span><o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

France, Germany Show Solidarity on Greek Economy

Selah Hennessy | London The leaders of France and Germany signaled Friday they want to find a quick solution to the economic crisis in Gr...

Hundreds of thousands march in Germany against nuclear energy

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrw-cXqbC_q38sxef_dTTbdgse6eannLnqbACtJoWKM_D1FoMuc-mT0qrAOxUHQKlu-LuwhwMU37wearIlGtaPe-jJOJhWj8DkENaKA7PiHK1y2IFCbf28C1cEDAYQ6_B_KJxz0m59XZ51/s1600/30311567-1104134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrw-cXqbC_q38sxef_dTTbdgse6eannLnqbACtJoWKM_D1FoMuc-mT0qrAOxUHQKlu-LuwhwMU37wearIlGtaPe-jJOJhWj8DkENaKA7PiHK1y2IFCbf28C1cEDAYQ6_B_KJxz0m59XZ51/s320/30311567-1104134.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Berlin-- Hundreds of thousands of anti-nuclear protesters took to the streets of Germany amidst the ongoing atomic catastrophe in Japan, demanding the permanent closures of the country's 17 nuclear plants, organizers announced Saturday.</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;"><i></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">More than 250,000 people, among them many young families, marched peacefully in </span></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">major German cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne to say 'no' to<br />nuclear energy in their country.<br />Protesters expressed deep scepticism on Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to shutdown the nuclear reactors for a three-month security check moratorium in the wake of Japan's nuclear fiasco, branding it a pre-election trick ahead of Sunday's crucial regional vote in two German states.<br />The vote in the states of Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate is also<br />widely regarded as a referendum on Merkel's policies. </span></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">(IRNA)</span></span></i></span></div></div>

Hundreds of thousands march in Germany against nuclear energy

Berlin-- Hundreds of thousands of anti-nuclear protesters took to the streets of Germany amidst the ongoing atomic catastrophe in Japan, dem...

German arms used to crush protests in Bahrain: MP

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Berlin -- German weapons are being used to suppress peaceful protests in Bahrain, said a senior legislator of the opposition party The Left (Die Linke) here Wednesday.</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsSuTpcpd3J4OeK6RjRDPZk1IH9P_blwje5ExJA2mh3yAFPt_En_w1Hd47kS0kvRWbHzw6D_3GC0FDe4ZE5_sqjziQkrZMiqj6J-FqiNzizOz1dWtr9dBZRCL4GAoMbbOvaKhQx0t24uB/s1600/Savegerman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsSuTpcpd3J4OeK6RjRDPZk1IH9P_blwje5ExJA2mh3yAFPt_En_w1Hd47kS0kvRWbHzw6D_3GC0FDe4ZE5_sqjziQkrZMiqj6J-FqiNzizOz1dWtr9dBZRCL4GAoMbbOvaKhQx0t24uB/s1600/Savegerman.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Addressing the German parliament during a live debate on the upheavals in the<br />Arab world, Wolfgang Gehrcke pointed out that part of the weapons deployed by Bahrain's security forces against anti-government protesters were supplied by Germany.<br />The foreign policy spokesman of The Left party called for an 'immediate end' to the<br />delivery of German arms to the Bahraini regime.<br />Germany's overall arms export to the Near-and Middle East hovers around 1.1 billion euros and includes other recipient countries like Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.<br />In 2009, the United Arab Emirates was among the three leading recipients of German weapons, according to the latest report released by the German government.<br />The tiny Persian Gulf sheikdom was ranked second after the US in terms of total German arms exports last year which stood at 5.04 billion Euros.<br />Germany sold around 540.7 million Euros worth of military hardware to the UAE, among them radar and steering systems, torpedoes, simulators, missiles, hand grenades, armored vehicles, tank spare parts, automatic cannons,  amphibious vehicles and trucks.<br />Meanwhile, another Persian Gulf country, Saudi Arabia, was listed sixth in the<br />overall export of German weaponry with 167.9 million Euros.<br />German military gadgetry to the Arabian country included airplanes, spare<br />parts for combat jets, missile parts, refueling aircraft, grenades, sea mine removal instruments and communication systems.<br />Critics have slammed German arms exports to the volatile Middle East region<br />since the German constitution bans the sale of weapons to a crisis area. (<b>IRNA)</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div>

German arms used to crush protests in Bahrain: MP

Berlin -- German weapons are being used to suppress peaceful protests in Bahrain, said a senior legislator of the opposition party The Left ...