Young Woman's Berlin Wall Diary Revealed

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 08 November 2014 | 16.15

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Video: Remembered: The Day The Wall Fell

Anke Domscheit Berg saw a world of opportunity open when the Berlin Wall fell. In these extracts from her diary 25 years ago, when she was 21, she describes the emotional celebrations that took place across the city.

9 November, 1989

Hours ago, the news came in - the border of the German Democratic Republic has been opened.

Unbelievable. Every hour, 3,500 people are leaving the country. The Democratic Awakening (a political group formed in October 1989) stood in front of the crossing point and tried to persuade people to stay. To so many people, everything is falling apart. There are resignations all the time; everything has been turned upside down.

To America in the summer? Can I pay for the ticket? Visiting France? The Mediterranean Sea, Holland, Tunisia, Luanda? How can I have a holiday, where can I find the money? I am longing for everywhere, only to return.

Anke.

13 November, 1989

My friend walks into the bathroom and beams. He asks: "What do you think about our victory?"

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Gallery: 25 Years Since The Berlin Wall Fell

West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955

1961: Soldiers build the Berlin Wall, as instructed by the East German authorities, in order to strengthen the existing barriers dividing East and West Berlin

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Border guards on opposite sides of the wall, viewed from the western side

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Families and friends, once neighbours, wave across to each other over the wall

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I knew nothing. He is talking about wall depletion.

I run to the radio and hear it for myself, everyone can cross over as they like.

Unbelievable. I go with Gundi straight to the police and we had the visa within an hour.

Video: Sound And Vision: Berlin Wall Fall

Set off early on Saturday by car to the new crossing at Bernauerstrasse-Brunnenstrasse. Dad pushed his way through. We were standing for an hour, the queue was endless, it was moving forwards all the time. We only needed to raise up our ID. All around were broken walls, construction workers and border patrols. I beamed at one of them - even they are happy now, despite the stress.

Youths from West Berlin were sitting on the wall, clapping and waving. I had tears in my eyes. Everywhere West Berliners, laughing and waving, surrounded by innumerable camera crews. One woman handed out sweets, others red and white roses.

We arrived at midday. It was a frenzy, there were so many people. Even the buses are nicer.

Video: Sky Reports The Fall Of Berlin Wall

That evening, we ate at an Italian place. The food was heavenly. I thought I was going to burst, and I felt bad about the leftovers. Everyone had a bit of everything, and the pasta was the best. The waiters rushed and beamed. At one time we were moved to another table, it was so busy. Everything was unforgettable. Tonight, we want to celebrate.

Anke.

Video: Gorbachev's Interpreter On Wall

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Written By Unknown on Jumat, 07 November 2014 | 16.15

Berlin Wall Recreated In Lights For Anniversary

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Video: Sound And Vision: Berlin Wall Fall

A nine-mile chain of lamps will light up along the former site of the Berlin Wall today ahead of the 25th anniversary of its fall.

The 8,000 lampposts will be topped by illuminated balloons that are set to be released on Sunday - a quarter of a century to the day since the wall began to come down.

The balloons will carry messages from the public with memories of the wall.

The Lichtgrenze - or light border - traces the former wall as accurately as possible past landmarks such as Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and Checkpoint Charlie.

However, new buildings have made it impossible to recreate the path perfectly.

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Gallery: 25 Years Since The Berlin Wall Fell

West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955

1961: Soldiers build the Berlin Wall, as instructed by the East German authorities, in order to strengthen the existing barriers dividing East and West Berlin

]]>

Border guards on opposite sides of the wall, viewed from the western side

]]>

Families and friends, once neighbours, wave across to each other over the wall

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Project chief Moritz van Duelmen said: "We want to show all Berliners, but especially young Berliners who haven't experienced the wall, where it was. We also want to give visitors the chance to experience it."

Tourists from around the world are expected in the city for the anniversary.

The wall, one of the most potent symbols of the Cold War, came down on 9 November, 1989 - a pivotal day in the collapse of European communism.

From there Germany re-emerged as a major power at the heart of a reunited continent.

Video: Sky Reports The Fall Of Berlin Wall

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev - who played a key role in bringing down the wall - is among those travelling to Germany for the commemorations.

The 83-year-old will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and greet crowds at the former Checkpoint Charlie border crossing.

A museum dedicated to the Berlin Wall, which closed in October 2013, will reopen on Sunday to coincide with the anniversary.

The new Documentation Centre of the Berlin Wall Memorial shows 500 exhibits, photographs and videos illustrating Germany's separation from 1961 until 1989.

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Written By Unknown on Kamis, 06 November 2014 | 16.15

By Sky News US Team

US President Barack Obama has said he is not "mopey" about sweeping Republican wins in Tuesday's midterm elections.

He said the conservatives had a "good night" after securing a Senate majority and tightening their grip on the House of Representatives.

Mr Obama said he looks forward to a "productive" working relationship with the Republicans during his last two years in office.

His bipartisan tone was echoed by the other side, but immigration quickly emerged as a bone of contention.

During a news conference on Wednesday in the East Room of the White House to discuss the election results, Mr Obama said: "It doesn't make me mopey.

Video: Midterms: What Happened In Colorado

"It energises me, because it means democracy is working."

He has invited congressional leaders to a meeting on Friday to discuss how they can cut through the gridlock that has paralysed Capitol Hill in recent years.

The Republican takeover will limit Mr Obama's political influence and curb his legislative agenda.

But Mr Obama warned he would use his veto if conservatives pass a bill to try to repeal his signature health law, Obamacare.

He also signalled he could take executive action to reduce deportations and improve US border security by the end of the year, with or without conservative support.

Video: All Eyes On Hillary After Midterms

Incoming Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, long a vocal critic of Mr Obama, warned any such unilateral move would "poison the well".

The veteran conservative also struck a bipartisan tone, with caveats, during his own press conference earlier in Louisville, Kentucky.

He said voters expect the Republicans and the Democratic White House to find common ground.

But he added: "We will certainly be voting on things as well that we think the administration is not fond of."

Republicans needed six Senate seats for a majority. They won at least seven, giving them 52 seats in the 100-member chamber.

Video: How The Senate Looks After Midterms

In the House, Republicans were on track to win the 246 seats they held during Democratic President Harry Truman's administration.

In the governors' races, the conservatives swept to power in the Democratic strongholds of Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts.

Republicans also chalked up gubernatorial victories in battleground states that can sway presidential races, such as Florida and Ohio.

The party made Mr Obama's unpopularity the core issue of their midterm campaign, even though he was not on the ballot.

The Democratic President cannot run for office again and American political focus will now turn to the 2016 presidential race.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Crackdown As Men Jailed Over 'Gay Wedding'

By Sherine Tadros, Middle East Correspondent

Gay rights activists in Egypt say they are facing the worst government crackdown in more than a decade.

It comes after eight men were jailed for three years by a Cairo court after video emerged of them allegedly taking part in a same-sex wedding ceremony.

The mobile phone footage shows two men exchanging rings during a private boat party on the Nile.

There is also a cake and at one point the men are seen embracing while others cheer.

While the ceremony is not legally or religiously binding, in a conservative society where homosexuality is frowned upon, the video - leaked months after the event - has sparked controversy.

Within days of its release, dozens were rounded up by police.

After a short trial, eight of the men in the video were handed jail sentences for "inciting debauchery" and other charges.

A close friend of the men in the video told us the sentencing has sent shockwaves through the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.

Kim, which is not his real name, told Sky News: "We are terrified, really terrified.

"To get to the people in the video, the police raided three parties in the space of 48 hours and made arrests. They took people from their homes."

Kim also said there is nowhere safe for homosexuals to meet or even talk now.

"There's no chatting, messaging or online dating. It feels like we are being strangled," he said.

Homosexuality has long been a social taboo in Egypt and it is not the first time the LGBT community has been persecuted.

In 2001, the famous Queen Boat trial saw 52 gay men charged with debauchery and offending religion.

But since President Abdel Fatah al Sisi took power last summer, rights organisations say there has been a sustained and co-ordinated crackdown, with more than 80 homosexuals and transexuals arrested since June last year.

Scott Long, a Cairo-based human rights activist who focuses on LGBT rights, thinks the latest arrests are part of a general crackdown.

He said: "Whether it's young atheists, or long-haired revolutionaries or even guys who sell clothes illegally on the streets downtown, there's an enormous police crackdown on any kind of behaviour the state doesn't like.

"But it's really easy for them to target LGBT people because they're unpopular nobody will stand up to defend them."

In the hours and days after the alleged gay wedding video emerged, the homophobic backlash played out on the airways.

One of the so-called grooms called in to a popular TV station insisting the party was for a birthday and that he is not gay.

But the host mocked him, asking him repeatedly if he was gay and whether he had a girlfriend.

Unlike other countries, Egypt does not have a law explicitly criminalising homosexuality.

Prosecutors use existing laws to do with morality and public decency to arrest those they suspect are from the LGBT community.

They are not the only ones who currently feel targeted as the state increasingly closes in on those who will not conform to its ideals - regardless of whether they pose a threat.

It is a crackdown that often seems to care more about appearances than the truth.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Philadelphia Abduction: Woman Found Safe

A woman who was captured on CCTV footage being abducted from a Philadelphia street has been found safe outside Baltimore.

Carlesha Freeland-Gaither was found in Jessup, Maryland, and her suspected abductor has been arrested, police said.

The 22-year-old was last seen on surveillance video being grabbed by a man and struggling as she was dragged towards a car on Sunday in the Germantown area of Philadelphia.

Police and federal authorities have released a series of images over the last two days from surveillance cameras in Maryland and from a Philadelphia supermarket after her abduction.

A cash card belonging to Ms Freeland-Gaither was used at a cashpoint nine hours after she was abducted.

Her glasses and cell phone were found lying on the street where she was grabbed.

The nursing assistant graduated from high school in Maryland and lived with her grandfather in Philadelphia until a couple of months ago, when she moved in with her boyfriend.

Her grandmother Ana Mulero said she has worked with cancer patients and has been pursuing a career in nursing.

She had pleaded for her safe return during a news conference on Wednesday, saying: "We love her. And we just want her to be returned to us safely. Safely. That's all we want."

And the victim's mother Keisha Gaither made a direct appeal, saying: "All you got to do is just get out. I got you. Just come home. Just come home."

The FBI had put up a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of her abductor.

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Taylor Swift Pulls All Her Music From Spotify

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 04 November 2014 | 16.15

Taylor Swift has pulled all of her songs from Spotify without giving an explanation - setting up a struggle between the industry's most popular artist and the music streaming giant.

Spotify said the singer's management asked it to take her music off the service late last week - days after the release of her new album 1989.

The move means Swift's five albums and hits including Shake It Off - the most-played song on Spotify last week - are no longer available to the site's 40 million users.

The Swedish firm tried to shake off the snub with a good-humoured statement, saying: "We love Taylor Swift, and our more than 40 million users love her even more - nearly 16 million of them have played her songs in the last 30 days, and she's on over 19 million playlists.

"We hope she'll change her mind and join us in building a new music economy that works for everyone.

"We believe fans should be able to listen to music wherever and whenever they want, and that artists have an absolute right to be paid for their work and protected from piracy.

Video: Taylor Swift Fan Jumps On To Stage

"That's why we pay nearly 70% of our revenue back to the music community."

The decision means fans can only listen to Swift's latest album - tipped to sell more than one millon copies in its first week - legally if they download it from services such as iTunes and Google Play.

Swift briefly pulled her 2012 album Red from Spotify around the time it came out, although she did not remove her entire catalogue and it eventually appeared on Spotify.

Earlier this year, Swift wrote in the Wall Street Journal that artists should fight to be paid what they are worth.

She wrote: "Music is art, and art is important and rare. Important, rare things are valuable.

"Valuable things should be paid for. It's my opinion that music should not be free, and my prediction is that individual artists and their labels will someday decide what an album's price point is.

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"I hope they don't underestimate themselves or undervalue their art."

The 24-year-old star has made £178m ($284m) since 2009, according to the Forbes Celebrity 100 list.

Music streaming services and file sharing have sharply cut into profits for artists, with album sales down 14% this year, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

Some bands, such as The Beatles and AC/DC have kept their music off Spotify and others, including Radiohead's Thom Yorke and the Black Keys have complained that the fees Spotify pays to record labels and music publishers are too small.

Spotify insists the money for artists improves as more users sign up to premium paid-for subscriptions.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

US Midterm Elections: Bitter Fight For Senate

By Dominic Waghorn, US Correspondent

Americans are headed to the polls on Tuesday in Midterm elections that could see Barack Obama's Democratic Party lose control of the US Senate.

Unprecedented amounts of money have been thrown at campaigns fuelling a vitriolic hatefest of advertising.

In North Carolina alone, more than 10,000 ads have been produced, most of them negative and costing a record $100m. That is more than three times what was spent by all the parties in the UK's last General Election.

The entire US House of Representatives is up for re-election, and a third of the Senate as well as 36 governorships.

The Republican controlled House is not expected to change hands but Republicans need to pick up only six Senate seats to end up in control of both chambers of legislative government.

Video: Midterms Campaigns Heat Up

Their hopes are buoyed by dissatisfaction with the Obama presidency, a barely recovering economy, general anxiety about the country's direction and more specific fears about Ebola and the Islamic State.

Out of the 36 Senate races, only a handful are competitive but nearly all those "in play" races are in states that have been leaning Republican.

Despite all that, a Republican Senate takeover is still not a certainty.

Video: Why Are Midterm Polls So Expensive?

Voters fatigued with political gridlock and negative advertising appear to wish a plague on both parties, blaming the entire political class for the sense of drift and paralysis gripping America.

At a food truck rodeo in Durham, North Carolina, Americans were unsparing in their contempt for politicians and their campaigns.

"They're horrible, they're so negative," a teacher told Sky News. "They make me feel dirty when I watch them.

Video: Is Obama A Liability?

"I'll be glad when it's Tuesday and all the signs have gone away."

An Elvis impersonator told us he had given up on the entire political elite.

"I think they're equally bad, there's not a lot of integrity on either side. You can't find a particular side that has any amount of integrity."

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Gallery: Midterm Elections By The Numbers

Some 90 million voters, or about 40% of the electorate, are expected to cast ballots.
The House is expected to remain in Republicans' hands
The Senate is where the race is fought, with Republicans needing to pick up six seats to wrest control from Democrats
Three states - Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia - appear to be locks for the GOP
Republicans head into election day with poll leads in several key states

The most likely winners are the Republicans who may just clinch control of the Senate but probably only by a narrow margin.

Many disgruntled voters want to send a message to the Democrats but they are in no mood to reward the other party either.

The losers could well be the the voters, who are tired of negative campaigns, exhausted by political gridlock and almost certain to face more of the same for another two years.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ebola Victims Break Quarantine In Hunt For Food

Ebola patients in West Africa are exposing others to the deadly disease as they are being forced to leave quarantine to search for food, charities have warned.

Aid agencies working with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) are desperately trying to get food to those being monitored to stop them from leaving clinics and spreading the virus.

In Sierra Leone, a government system in place to feed those in quarantine is not working properly and volunteers are "working against the clock" to provide food to 2,100 people in Kailahun and western areas of Freetown, Christian Aid said.

Jeanne Kamara, the charity's director in Sierra Leone, said: "This is a huge concern. People infected with Ebola are desperately searching for food and are in turn exposing others to the disease.

"They are jostling with people in the market and infecting others through bodily contact. We urgently have to provide food to those who need it to prevent the risk of further spread."

Video: Why Is Ebola So Dangerous?

Travel has been restricted in parts of the country preventing trucks from freely delivering food, which has increased in price because of its short supply.

The British public has so far donated more than £5m to the DEC campaign to help people affected by the Ebola crisis

The first £5m given was matched by the Government, bringing the total to more than £10m.

Video: Sept 2: Patient Flees Quarantine

Another concern for aid workers is the impact of the disease on children's education.

Mike Noyes, ActionAid's head of humanitarian response, said: "At the moment all schools in Liberia are closed and the education of children is in danger of completely coming to a halt.

"Parents are very concerned about their children falling behind.

Video: West Africa Ebola Crisis DEC Appeal

"Many families cannot afford to hire private tutors and others are afraid to hire them because of the potential risk of contact and infection.

"Children living under quarantine in Liberia and Sierra Leone are understandably frightened and unsettled."

The World Health Organisation says the disease has killed around 5,000 people and infected more than twice as many.

Video: Ebola: Busting The Myths

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