| SPIEGEL ONLINE | INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER |
| Compiled on August 17, 2012, 06:46 PM CET |
|
Hard Line Could Backfire
Kremlin Sows Hate with Harsh Pussy Riot Verdict The three members of Pussy Riot on trial in Moscow have received sentences of two years in jail. With the harsh verdict on the harmless artists, Russian President Vladimir Putin has committed a serious mistake: He is provoking the opposition to more aggression toward the state. |
|
Too Punk for Putin
Moscow Court Finds Members of Pussy Riot Guilty After an eight-day trial, a Moscow court found three members of protest punk band Pussy Riot guilty on Friday. The judge, who has received death threats, handed down the sentence of two years as groups of protesters gathered outside the court. Supporters of the anti-Putin activists held rallies in various countries. |
|
The End of Reason
What Potatoes Say about the State of US Democracy The debate in the US Congress last winter over whether potatoes should be curbed in school lunches is emblematic of the modern-day crisis in US governance. Lobbyists and other powerful interest groups dominate the tenor of the debate. Unsurprisingly, most Americans have lost confidence in their leaders. |
|
Peugeot on the Brink
How Paris Is Killing French Industry French carmaker Peugeot is fighting for its survival. But, by keeping its plants in-country and supporting wage hikes, the government is ignoring the rules of survival in the age of globalization. In the end, the workers it is trying to help might be the biggest losers. |
|
The GEMA Grinch
New Fees Could Destroy Famed Berlin Club Scene Whether it's in music clubs, churches or video porn stalls, wherever music is played in Germany, fees must be paid for its use. Authorities claim they are just making sure artists get their due, but many worry that new music fees for clubs will spoil the party. |
|
Immigration in Germany
Young Turks Increasingly Favor Integration and Religion Hardly a year goes by in Germany without a shrill debate on immigration and Islam. Despite the public hand-wringing, however, those in the country with a Turkish background are increasingly eager to integrate, according to a new survey. But younger Turks are also becoming more religious. |
|
Spiralling Costs
Airport Delays Threaten Air Berlin's Survival Air Berlin, Germany's second-largest airline, has been slashing costs, cutting routes and doing everything it can to get back in the black. But repeated delays in the opening of Berlin's new airport have thrown it into a downward spiral from which it may never recover. |
|
The World from Berlin
Assange Case Exposes 'International Hypocrisy' Ecuador may have granted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange asylum, but it seems unlikely that he will ever make it to the South American country. More to the point, say German commentators, is the fact that both Ecuador and Britain have granted Assange an even larger soap box. |
|
Picture This
A Maze in Color |
