| SPIEGEL ONLINE | INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER |
| Compiled on September 24, 2012, 06:34 PM CET |
| 'Innocence of Muslims' Governments and Islamists Exploit Film Protests The protests against "Innocence of Muslims" are not just spontaneous outbreaks of rage. Radical Islamists and governments are exploiting the unrest for their own ends. In the process, it is hard for moderate Muslims to make their voices heard. By SPIEGEL Staff |
| Threat of Violence Ban on Showing Anti-Islam Film Unlikely A right-wing populist group in Germany has sparked a heated legal debate with its plan to show the anti-Islam film that has inspired protest across the Muslim world. Despite a real threat of Islamist violence, experts say precedence indicates a ban on the event is unlikely. |
| Salman Rushdie on Life Under a Fatwa 'I Insist on the Right to Freedom of Expression' For over a decade, author Salman Rushdie had to live in hiding from Muslim extremists intent on assassinating him in accordance with an Iranian fatwa. SPIEGEL spoke with Rushdie about the trying experience and why he has now chosen to write about it in his new memoir. |
| 20 Billion Euro Gap Troika Nearly Doubles Estimate of Greek Shortfall Greece's budget shortfall now totals 20 billion euros, according to preliminary estimates by international lenders, SPIEGEL has learned. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has asked public-sector creditors to forgive some debt. Meanwhile, Berlin and the European Commission are divided over when the decision on Greece's fate should be taken. |
| Up to Two Trillion Europe Plans to Leverage Euro-Zone Bailout Fund Officially, the ESM permanent euro-zone bailout fund is worth 500 billion euros. That, though, might not be enough, which is why euro-zone governments are now planning to introduce levers that could mobilize up to 2trillion euros, SPIEGEL has learned. Finland, though, is skeptical of the idea. |
| Senkaku Islands Dispute Former Owner Criticizes Japanese Government The Senkaku Islands are at the center of a conflict between Japan and China, which both lay claim to the tiny outcrops. The islands used to belong to a rich Japanese family, who recently sold them to the government. One of the members of the family told SPIEGEL that Tokyo should have done more to defend Japan's sovereignty. |
| Fading Opposition Parliamentary Vote Leaves Belarus Despot Stronger Before the ballots had even been counted, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko presented himself as the winner of Sunday's parliamentary election. The man dubbed "Europe's last dictator" is benefiting from the deep divisions among his opponents, and has even enjoyed increasing public support. |
| The World from Berlin 'Benghazi's People Have Earned Our Admiration' Libya has cracked down on its powerful militias following a mass protest against the armed group believed to be behind the deadly attack on the US mission in Benghazi earlier this month. German commentators on Monday praise the development, but question what it will mean for the country's future. |
| Fewer Visitors, More Beer Guests Defy Rain for Oktoberfest Opener Rainy weather discouraged visitors as taps opened at Oktoberfest this weekend, but it didn't diminish their thirst. Though there were fewer revellers than usual at the world's largest festival, they drank just as much beer, despite yet another price increase. |
| Helmut Schmidt and the SPIEGEL Affair 'I Would Storm the Barricades Myself' Helmut Schmidt is one of the last living protagonists in the SPIEGEL affair. At an event in Hamburg marking the 50th anniversary of the biggest government scandal in Germany's postwar history, the former chancellor discusses the events and how he himself came under investigation. |
| A Palace for Poets and Thinkers Germany Considers New Cultural Institute in US A proposal by the Foreign Ministry in Berlin for a German American Forum on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan is proving controversial. The project's detractors say it would create unnecessary competition for existing institutions that are already struggling to make ends meet. They also warn of staggering costs for the building on one of New York's most famous streets. |
| Boom Goes the Dynamite Hapless Robbers Blow Up German Bank Thieves in Germany would seem to have been a bit overeager in their attempt to crack open a cash machine using explosives on Sunday night. The resulting blast destroyed the entire bank branch, causing hundreds of thousands of euros in damage. |
| Picture This For the Birds |
