Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Wednesday, 31 October 2012

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER
Compiled on October 31, 2012, 06:14 PM CET
Nervous on the Nile

Minorities Fear End of Secularism in Egypt

When he took office as Egypt's new president in June, Mohammed Morsi pledged to follow a pluralist policy that respected the rights of women and non-Muslim minorities. But everything he has done since then indicates that he intends to replace the secularist dictatorship of his predecessor with an Islamist one.

Turkey and EU

Erdogan Visit to Berlin Betrays Tensions

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday he wants Turkey to be a full member of the EU by 2023. Chancellor Angela Merkel assured him the talks would be "honest.' Their meeting in Berlin once again showed that relations between Turkey and Germany have become complicated.

Obama's Hour

Chris Christie's Support Could Give President Edge

Barack Obama appears to be staking his entire campaign on his management of the hurricane Sandy catastrophe on the East Coast. He has gained a very powerful supporter, too: Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor and a leading Republican. Christie may prove more valuable to the incumbent president than any stump speech.

Nature vs. Superpower

Sandy Leaves Trail of Death and Destruction

The storm washed train cars onto highways and dragged an entire roller coaster into the sea. Hurricane Sandy revealed just how vulnerable America is to the forces of nature. Clean-up is likely to take weeks or even months in the hardest hit sections of New Jersey.

Racial Profiling in Germany

Court Rules Against Police Checks Based on Skin Color

Skin color alone is insufficient grounds for a police spot check, a German court has ruled. Human rights activists have welcomed the decision, which overturns a previous ruling in the case, but police representatives are critical, stating it doesn't adequately address the challenges faced by law enforcement.

Embracing Technology

ThyssenKrupp Steps Away from Steel

For Germans, ThyssenKrupp is synonymous with steel. For company managers, though, steel is increasingly synonymous with debt, some 6 billion euros of it. Now, the company is embarking on a major reorganization in the hopes of becoming a technology leader.

Jobless in the Crisis

Euro-Zone Unemployment Higher than Ever Before

The European debt crisis and related austerity measures continue to drive up unemployment across the euro zone. In September, according to statistics released on Wednesday, fully 18.5 million people were without work in the common currency area, more than ever before.

The World from Berlin

Social Democratic Candidate 'Showed A Lack of Judgment'

The debate over private income earned by Peer Steinbrück, the SPD's candidate to challenge Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2013, is likely to die down now that he has made a full disclosure, write German media commentators. But he may have done lasting damage to his standing within his own party.

London and Berlin Demand Cuts

Sparring Expected over Next EU Budget

Only weeks ahead of the next major European Union summit, negotiators in the member states are seeking to draw lines in the sand over the club's next budget. Both London and Berlin are demanding significant cuts, placing them on a collision course with the European Commission and many Eastern European countries.

Picture This

Honoring the Dead