| SPIEGEL ONLINE | INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER |
| Compiled on February 19, 2013, 07:24 PM CET |
| MERKEL'S RAINBOW PROBLEM On Gay Rights, Chancellor Still a Conservative Germany's Constitutional Court has further opened the door for gays and lesbians to adopt with a landmark ruling on Tuesday. Yet again the justice system has moved to bring the rights of civil unions closer to those of marriage. But the decision also underscores the deep division in Chancellor Merkel's party on gay rights. |
| COURT RULING Germany Strengthens Gay Adoption Rights A ruling by Germany's highest court bolsters gay and lesbian couples' adoption rights, with judges describing existing legislation as "unconstitutional." The decision marks a further step taken in Germany towards granting same-sex couples equal rights. |
| LOOMING ELECTIONS Berlin Warns Italians against Berlusconi Top politicians tend to remain silent on elections being held abroad. But German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle this week has issued a barely concealed warning to Italians against voting for Silvio Berlusconi. And he isn't the only one in Berlin who is nervous about a possible return of "Il Cavaliere." |
| HOW THE MOSSAD WORKS The Mystery of Israel's 'Prisoner X' An Israeli agent commits suicide in his prison cell. Was he a traitor? The mysterious case of "Prisoner X," reported to be Australian-born Benjamin Zygier, provides an insight into the workings of the Mossad. |
| ARAB SPRING AT RISK Belaïd Assassination Exposes Deep Rifts in Tunisia The murder of opposition politician Chokri Belaïd was also an assault on Tunisia's emerging democracy. It has exposed the chasm between Islamists and secularists, and threatens to plunge the nation at the forefront of the Arab Revolution into chaos. |
| POVERTY MIGRATION Berlin Urges Bulgaria, Romania to Integrate Roma With the tide of Bulgarians and Romanians flooding Germany showing no signs of abating, officials in Berlin have called on the two countries to stem the exodus by boosting efforts to integrate Roma into their own societies. Poverty migration, they argue, must be combatted at the source. |
| CEMENTING THE UNION Early US 'Attractive Precedent for Today's Europe' After the War of Independence, the United States looked a lot like the euro zone, with some states crippled by debt. In the end, under a proposal by Alexander Hamilton, the federal government assumed all the debt, securing the country's creditworthiness. A new report argues it could be a good model for Europe. |
| 'LAND GRABBING' Foreign Investors Buy Up Third World Farmland Foreign investors are buying or leasing vast amounts of farmland in Third World countries to profit from surging demand for food crops as a result of rapid population growth. "Land grabbing" amounts to a new form of colonialism that often runs counter to the interests of locals. |
| BRUSSELS HEIST Diamonds Worth 35 Million Euros Stolen From Plane An armed gang driving two cars smashed their way through the security fence surrounding the Brussels airport on Monday night and stole diamonds believed to be worth 37 million euros from an aircraft bound for Switzerland. Not a shot was fired. Police say they're looking for eight men. |
| PICTURE THIS Naked Appreciation |
