Feed aggregator

Despite the doping scandal the International Olympic Committee has decided not to exclude the entire Russian team from the Olympic Games in Rio. Only the track and field athletes are not allowed to take part, as was decided last week.

Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump: the final contenders for the US presidency have been chosen. Some commentators say the Democrats could still win if they can demonstrate unity. Others believe Donald Trump is unstoppable in his bid for the presidency.

The media reported intensively on Friday evening's killing spree in Munich despite a dearth of reliable information. At the same time all sorts of misinformation was circulating on Twitter and Facebook. The commentators all agree that traditional media must assume more responsibility for providing reliable coverage of such incidents in the future.

Agyonlőtte kedden a francia rendőrség azt a két, késsel felfegyverkezett támadót, akik valamivel korábban túszokat ejtettek egy észak-franciaországi kisváros templomában – jelentette híroldalán a BBC brit közszolgálati televízió.

A források szerint a támadók a normandiai Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray településen négy-hat embert – a Le Figaro című francia napilap értesülései szerint egy papot, két apácát és két hívőt – tarthattak fogva.

A Le Figaro úgy tudja, egy apácának sikerült elmenekülnie a templomból a támadók elől, ő értesítette a rendőrséget.
A France 3 televízió értesülései szerint több lövést lehetett hallani a helyszínen, ahova a rendőrség és a készenléti szolgálatok munkatársai is felvonultak.

A rendőrség szerint az egyik túsz életét vesztette.
Bernard Cazeneuve francia belügyminiszter úton van a településre.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on LinkedIn+var sbFBAPPID = '457641991045477';

Germany is considering the deployment of the German army following to address widespread insecurity.

Deploying soldiers to guarantee domestic security is especially controversial in Germany , given its totalitarian past. The first call for troop deployment came from Joachim Herrmann, Bavaria’s Interior Minister. Hermann is making the case that such inhibitions are historically obsolete in modern democratic Germany, he told Die Welt on Sunday; on Monday his call was echoed by the interior minister of Baden-Württemburg, Thomas Strobl.

Although both regional interior ministers come from the ranks of the senior coalition partners, the Christian Democrats, the German Interior Minister is hesitant. Thomas de Maiziere insists that internal security is first and foremost the role of the police, not the army (Bundeswehr). And the junior coalition partners, the Social Democrats, are equally reserved. The general secretary of the Social Democrats, Katarina Barley, has warned against using the general climate of fear for political ends.

Minister of Defense Von der Leyen has hinted she is considering partial deployment in the aftermath of successive terrorist attacks, especially Munich.

In recent days there has been a string of attacks that have terrorized Germany. O July 18 an 18-year old Afghan asylum seeker attacked a family of tourist from Hong Kong, killing two and wounding another two with a knife.

That incident was followed by Friday’s shooting in Munich, when an 18-years old German of Iranian origin opened fire against mostly immigrants, killing nine – among whom eight immigrants – before killing himself .

As events unfolded in Munich on Friday, before it transpired this was a lone gunman, the Ministry of Defense was ready to deploy military police.

Meanwhile, on Sunday there was a machete assault by a Syrian refugee on a bus station in  Reutlingen, near Stuttgart, killing a woman. Hours later there was  an apparently failed suicide bombing in a wine restaurant by Syrian refugee in Ansbach, near Nuremberg, in which the bomber alone died, but there were several wounded.

Political responses to this string of attacks aim mainly at reassuring the public that action is taken to limit the danger. There is talk of moving to impose further gun controls, although Germany has one of the most strict regimes of gun ownership in the world. The army would offer immediate assurances, although it is unclear how it would enhance security in German cities.

The post Germany grapples with public insecurity appeared first on New Europe.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on LinkedIn+var sbFBAPPID = '457641991045477';

Poland’s antimonopoly watchdog has reportedly said a joint venture by Russian gas monopoly Gazprom and five European companies – France’s Engie, Austria’s OMV, Royal Dutch Shell, and Germany’s Uniper and Wintershall – responsible for the construction of Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would undermine competition.

“Our prospective shareholders have to follow merger control procedures in Poland,” a Nord Stream spokesman told New Europe on July 25.

The companies involved in Nord Stream 2 said they are preparing a joint response.

Gazprom expects Poland to issue Nord Stream-2 approval on August 31.

Earlier the companies jointly applied to the Polish regulator for the approval of their joint participation in Nord Stream 2 AG. On July 19, the Polish regulator handed its statement on objections regarding the planned joint venture, according to TASS.

“Currently, the applicants are preparing a joint response to the statement. The decision of the Polish anti-monopoly regulator cannot be taken before the statutory period for the preparation of a response to the statement of objections expires,” the companies’ statement said.

Participants of the joint venture have 14 days to appeal the decision of the regulator. This period may be extended at their request for another two weeks.

The Nord Stream-2 projects includes the construction of two lines of the offshore gas pipeline with a total capacity of 55 billion cubic metres of gas a year from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, in addition to the existing two lines.

Poland as well as a number of Central and Eastern European states have criticised plans to build Nord Stream 2 and have urged the European Commission to block the project.

 

The post Polish watchdog says Nord Stream 2 undermines competition appeared first on New Europe.

Soll auch künftig der Hocherhabene, Herrliche im Morgenrot daher treten, wenn die Schweizer Nationalhymne gesungen wird? Nein, meint Lukas Niederberger, und versucht, einen neuen Text unters Volk zu bringen.

C'est le sauve qui peut général en ce moment à la devanture de la bourse du travail de Cotonou. À l'origine, une marche de protestation des étudiants vers le ministère de l'enseignement supérieur qui est dispersée par la police. En effet, les étudiants ont entrepris une marche de protestation depuis ce matin. Démarrée depuis le campus vers leur ministère de tutelle, la marche a été stoppée au niveau de la bourse du travail de Cotonou. Face à la résistance des manifestants, les éléments de la police ont été obligés de faire usage de gaz lacrymogène, pour disperser les frondeurs. Sur le terrain, on nous renseigne que les étudiants arrivés à ce niveau, ont insisté à aller au ministère de l'enseignement supérieur, contrairement à ce qui a été précédemment retenu avec le préfet du Littoral. Il faut signaler que le préfet Modeste Toboula était aussi sur le terrain et attendait déjà avant l'arrivée des manifestants. C'est la débandade dans le rang des étudiants.

Les étudiants comme des marathoniens

Face à l'intervention de la police, les étudiants n'ont pas hésité à démontrer leur capacité d'athlète. Malgré les moyens mis à contribution par la police pour mettre la mains sur quelques uns, ce sont des étudiants très en jambes et très rapides que les forces de l'ordre ont rencontré. En quelques minutes, la grande foule qui manifestait le long du boulevard de la bourse du travail a disparu laissant place aux activités habituelles de l'artère.

Par : Amir NABIL

Général : Les trois films encore en compétition pour remporter le Prix LUX 2016 ont été dévoilés aujourd’hui : « À peine j’ouvre les yeux », « Ma vie de courgette » et « Toni Erdmann » seront projetés dans toute l’Europe au cours des LUX Film Days cet automne. Décerné chaque année par le Parlement, le Prix LUX souhaite récompenser le meilleur du cinéma européen et le rendre accessible à un large public, au-delà des barrières linguistiques et culturelles.

Source : © Union européenne, 2016 - PE

General : The finalists competing for the 2016 Lux Film Prize have been announced: “À peine j´ouvre les yeux”, “Ma vie de courgette” and “Toni Erdmann”. The three films showcase a wide variety of genres, topics and artistic approaches: a testimony of a young generation in Tunisia, a stop-motion animation film portraying life in an orphanage and a political tragicomedy dealing with contemporary corporate culture.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : The finalists competing for the 2016 Lux Film Prize have been announced: “À peine j´ouvre les yeux”, “Ma vie de courgette” and “Toni Erdmann”. The three films showcase a wide variety of genres, topics and artistic approaches: a testimony of a young generation in Tunisia, a stop-motion animation film portraying life in an orphanage and a political tragicomedy dealing with contemporary corporate culture.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Allgemeines : "A peine j’ouvre les yeux", "Ma vie de courgette" und "Toni Erdmann". Das sind die drei Finalisten im Rennen um den LUX-Filmpreis 2016. Mit einem ergreifenden Porträt einer jungen Frau in Tunesien kurz vor dem "Arabischen Frühling", einem Stop-Motion-Animationsfilm über das Leben in einem Waisenhaus und einer politischen Tragikomödie im Rahmen der zeitgenössischen Unternehmenskultur sind verschiedene Genres und Themen vertreten.

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2016 - EP

Általános : A „Ma Vie de Courgette” (Életem cukkiniként), az „À Peine J´ouvre les Yeux” és a „Toni Erdmann” című film verseng 2016-ban az Európai Parlament filmdíjáért, a Lux-díjért. A három alkotás más-más műfajban és megközelítéssel dolgoz fel olyan különböző témákat, mint a tunéziai fiatalok helyzete, az élet egy árvaházban, illetve napjaink vállalati kultúrája. Idén tizedik alkalommal ítélik oda a Lux-díjat az EP-ben, amelynek célja az európai mozi népszerűsítése.

Forrás : © Európai Unió, 2016 - EP