Saturday, February 15

Day: September 19, 2016

German elections AfD surge at expense of Angela Merkel
ENGLISH, Europe

German elections AfD surge at expense of Angela Merkel

    The politician has served as the chancellor of Germany since 2005 and as the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2000. Here’s a look back at the life of the first female chancellor of the country. The Christian Democrats (CDU) polled just 17.5 per cent of the vote, a major blow to Ms Merkel's party and an indication of the uphill battle the party will have at the national elections in Germany in October 2017. Top candidate of the anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD) Georg Pazderski casts his vote. The far-right, openly anti-Muslim AfD party has made significant gains in Germany's local elections as Angela Merkel's Christian Democrat party slumped to its worst ever result. Alternative for Germany won 11.5 per cent of the vote, just three d...
London losing status as global financial hub after Brexit
ENGLISH, London

London losing status as global financial hub after Brexit

    London's position as a financial hub will be dealt a severe blow if the UK left the single market, the head of Germany's central bank has warned. Jens Weidmann, president of Deutsche Bundesbank, warned that the “hard Brexit” scenario, favoured by conservative eurosceptics behind the ‘Leave Means Leave' campaign, would mean that Britain would be stripped of the right to authorise banks and finance companies to operate across the remaining 27 European Union nations. He added that it would also allow Frankfurt to take business away from London. “Passporting rights are tied to the single market and would automatically cease to apply if Great Britain is no longer at least part of the European Economic Area (EEA),” he said in a meeting with a host of European media outlets inclu...
Europe will make Brexit very painful for the UK
ENGLISH, Europe

Europe will make Brexit very painful for the UK

    Slovakia's Prime Minister has claimed Europe will make sure leaving the European Union is very painful for the UK. Robert Fico said Britain would not be allowed to make EU workers second-class citizens while still receiving the benefits of the single market. He told Financial Times: It will be very difficult for the UK, very difficult. The EU will take this opportunity to show the public: ‘listen guys, now you will see why it is important to stay in the EU’. This will be the position. Mr Fico stressed he had personal respect for Theresa May but said he did not envy her dilemma. He added: What would you say if you were in their position? Even if it is the fifth-biggest economy in the world  I understand their financial importance  this will still be very painful for the UK....
PM May urges new approach to migrant crisis
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

PM May urges new approach to migrant crisis

    Theresa May will criticise the West's response to the migration crisis when she addresses world leaders later. At a UN summit in New York, she will call for a greater distinction between refugees and people trying to enter a country for economic reasons. The PM will also say refugees should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach and stress that nations have a right to control their borders. The UN says a record number of people have been displaced by conflict. It estimates that 65.3m people were either refugees, asylum seekers or internally displaced at the end of 2015, an increase of 5m in a year. The UN summit for refugees and migrants is aiming to agree a more humane and coordinated approach. Mrs May will warn unprecedented levels of population movement risks...
Burakini ban again heated debate in France
ENGLISH, Europe

Burakini ban again heated debate in France

    Channel 7 Image caption Sydney medical student Zeynab Alshelh wanted to show solidarity with Muslim women in France A Muslim woman from Australia has told how she was forced to leave a beach in France for wearing a burkini. Zeynab Alshelh, a 23-year-old medical student, told Australian media she had travelled to Europe to show solidarity with local Muslim women. Footage broadcast on Channel 7 showed local people saying they would call the police if she didn't leave. The ban on burkinis in several French Riviera towns was overruled in August by the top administrative court. Local mayors who brought in the laws said the full- body swimsuits were a symbol of Islam and potentially provocative after the July terror atrocity in Nice. Ms Alshelh said she and her family travelled ...