RIP
CANADIAN Ivan Reitman: Ghostbusters director dies aged 75

Mon., February 14, 2022, 

Reitman at the premiere of Ghostbusters: Afterlife in 2021

Film-maker Ivan Reitman, who directed blockbuster comedies including the original Ghostbusters, has died at the age of 75.

After his family fled Communist oppression in post-war Czechoslovakia, Reitman grew up in Canada, where he trained in film-making.

His big break came when he produced the 1978 frat-house comedy National Lampoon's Animal House.

His other films as director included Twins, Kindergarten Cop and Junior.

He died peacefully in his sleep at his home in California, his family said.

"Our family is grieving the unexpected loss of a husband, father and grandfather who taught us to always seek the magic in life," his children said in a statement.

"We take comfort that his work as a film-maker brought laughter and happiness to countless others around the world."

Reitman on the set of Animal House in 1978

Film industry figures have paid tribute to Reitman's achievements.

Paul Feig, who directed the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot, wrote on Twitter: "He directed some of my favorite comedies of all time. All of us in comedy owe him so very much."

Knocked Up and The 40 Year-Old Virgin writer and director Judd Apatow said Reitman was "a true legend" who "influenced everything we all love about film comedy".

The Big Sick actor and writer Kumail Nanjiani agreed that he was "a legend" and added: "The number of great movies he made is absurd."

Mindy Kaling, who apprared in Reitman's 2011 film No Strings Attached, said he "was old school in the best way, and kind", adding: "I loved working with him."



Born in Komarno in what is now Slovakia in 1946, Reitman's mother had survived the Auschwitz concentration camp and his father was the owner of the country's biggest vinegar factory.

The family later settled in Toronto. Reitman went to McMaster University in Hamilton, where he made short films and encountered the likes of future Ghostbusters star Rick Moranis.

After producing two of director David Cronenberg's early horror films, his work on National Lampoon's Animal House launched a career that would see him create some of the biggest comedies of the 80s and 90s.

He directed Bill Murray in his first starring role in the 1979 firm Meatballs. He also made Arnold Schwarzenegger a comedy star with Twins (1988). They worked together again on Kindergarten Cop (1990) and Junior (1994).

But Reitman's was best known for 1984's Ghostbusters. The supernatural comedy hit grossed over $200m worldwide and earned two Oscar nominations.

It also spawned a franchise that included a 1989 sequel and two new instalments. Reitman produced last year's Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which was directed by his son Jason.

On the continuing appeal of the film, he told AP: "I always had a sort of sincere approach to the comedy. I took it seriously, even though it was a horror movie and a comedy, I felt you had to sort of deal with it in a kind of realistic and honest way."

FEMICIDE IS LEGAL IN PAKISTAN

Brother who strangled 'Pakistan's Kim Kardashian' to death in honour killing is FREED following just six years after their mother pardons him

Qandeel Baloch shot to fame for her provocative selfies and videos in Pakistan

She was strangled in July 2016 and brother Muhammad Waseem was arrested

He later said 'of course' he murdered her because of her 'intolerable' behaviour

Waseem was pardoned by his mother on Monday and released, his lawyer said

By LAUREN LEWIS FOR MAILONLINE and WIRES
PUBLISHED: 14 February 2022 |

The brother who strangled a Pakistani social media star dubbed the country's 'Kim Kardashian' to death in an honour killing was today freed following just six years behind bars after he was pardoned by his mother.

Qandeel Baloch, 26, became famous for her suggestive and defiant posts which flew in the face of the nation's deeply patriarchal mores before her death in 2016.

Her brother Muhammad Waseem was arrested and later sentenced to life in prison for strangling her, brazenly telling the press he had no remorse for the slaying because her behaviour was 'intolerable'

He appealed against the 2019 murder verdict and life sentence and today a court in the central city of Multan struck down the conviction after major witnesses retracted their testimony.

Waseem's mother Anwar Mai had also submitted a statement in the court that she had pardoned him, his lawyer Sardar Mehboob said, though it was not clear whether the court considered the mother's statement in its decision.


Muhammad Waseem, the brother who strangled a Pakistani social media star dubbed the country's 'Kim Kardashian' to death in an honour killing was today freed following just six years behind bars after he was pardoned by his mother


Qandeel Baloch, 26, became famous for her suggestive and defiant posts which flew in the face of the nation's deeply patriarchal mores before her death in 2016




Baloch's brother Waseem was arrested and later sentenced to life in prison for strangling her, brazenly telling the press he had no remorse for the slaying because her behaviour was 'intolerable'

Waseem's mother Anwar Mai (left) had also submitted a statement in the court that she had pardoned him, his lawyer Sardar Mehboob said, though it was not clear whether the court considered the mother's statement in its decision

Mehboob said Waseem 'has been fully acquitted' by a court in the eastern city of Multan today, without giving further details.

The court order has yet to be made public but a government prosecutor confirmed the acquittal.

The case became the most high profile 'honour killing' of recent years - where women are dealt lethal punishment by male relatives for purportedly bringing 'shame' to the reputation of a family.

Under a recent Pakistani law change, perpetrators are no longer able to seek forgiveness from the victim's family - sometimes their own family - and to have their sentences commuted.

However, whether or not a murder is defined as a crime of honour is left to the judge's discretion, meaning killers can theoretically claim a different motive and still be pardoned.

Waseem had admitted in a 2016 media conference organised by police that he strangled his 26-year-old sister due to her social media activities.

Brother on Qandeel Baloch killing says 'I have no regrets' in 2016


A selfie of Baloch with the Muslim cleric Mufti Qavi taken a month before her murder resulted in the religious leader being sacked

In Baloch's (pictured) case, her parents initially insisted their son would be given no absolution. But they later changed their minds and said they wanted him to be forgiven

In Baloch's case, her parents initially insisted their son would be given no absolution. But they later changed their minds and said they wanted him to be forgiven.

A lawyer for the siblings' mother said she had given 'her consent' to pardon him, according to her lawyer Safdar Shah.

He is expected to be released later this week.

'Waseem may now walk free while Qandeel was condemned for stepping outside the bounds of what is deemed 'acceptable' behaviour for women in Pakistan,' biographer Sanam Maher told AFP.

'After today's verdict, we may ask, who killed her?' she added.

Baloch had posted Facebook posts in which she spoke of trying to change 'the typical orthodox mindset' of people in Pakistan.

She faced frequent abuse and death threats but continued to post pictures and videos seen as provocative.

She had built a modelling career on the back of her social media fame, but drew ire from many Pakistanis.

Her killing sent shockwaves across Pakistan and triggered an outpouring of grief on social media, spurring the government to tighten laws dealing with men who would kill a close relative in the name of family honour.

Three months after Baloch's murder Pakistan's parliament passed new legislation mandating life imprisonment for honour killings.

Hundreds of women are killed each year in Pakistan by family members over perceived offences to honour, including elopement, fraternization with men outside marriage or other infractions against conservative Muslim values on female modesty.


Baloch attracted criticism and threats but was perceived by many, including young people, as breaking new ground

Three months after Baloch's murder, parliament passed new legislation mandating life imprisonment for honour killings

Pakistani celebrity Qandeel Baloch shares raunchy videos

UN climate chief says stakes ‘never been higher’ in fight against global warming


Tourists walk on the Perito Moreno Glacier at Los Glaciares National Park, near El Calafate, Argentina, on November 2, 2021. Experts say the amount of energy unleashed by planetary warming could melt much of the planet's ice, raise global sea levels and increase extreme weather events. © Natacha Pisarenko, AP

Text by: NEWS WIRES|

Video by: FRANCE 24Follow

Issued on: 14/02/2022 

The stakes in the fight against global warming are higher than ever, the UN’s climate science chief said Monday as nearly 200 nations met to finalise what is sure to be a harrowing report on climate impacts.

“The need for the Working Group 2 report has never been greater because the stakes have never been higher,” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chair Hoesung Lee said in a live videocast.

Species extinction, ecosystem collapse, mosquito-borne disease, deadly heat, water shortages and reduced crop yields are already measurably worse due to rising temperatures.

Just in the last year, the world has seen a cascade of unprecedented floods, heatwaves and wildfires across four continents.

All these impacts will accelerate in the coming decades even if the carbon pollution driving climate change is rapidly brought to heel, the IPCC report is likely to warn.

A crucial, 40-page Summary for Policymakers – distilling underlying chapters totalling thousands of pages, and reviewed line-by-line – is to be made public on February 28.

“This is a real moment of reckoning,” said Rachel Cleetus, climate and energy policy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

“This not just more scientific projections about the future,” she told AFP ahead the two-week plenary. “This is about extreme events and slow-onset disasters that people are experiencing right now.”

The report will also underscore the urgent need for “adaptation” – climate-speak which means preparing for devastating consequences that can no longer be avoided, according to an early draft seen by AFP in 2021.

In some cases this means that adapting to intolerably hot days, flash flooding and storm surges has become a matter of life and death.
‘Doping the atmosphere’

“The growth in climate impacts is far outpacing our efforts to adapt to them,” said Inger Andersen, head of the UN Environment Programme, noting that climate change threatens to become a major driver of species loss.

IPCC assessments – this will be the sixth since 1990 – are divided into three sections, each with its own volunteer “working group” of hundreds of scientists.

In August 2021, the first instalment on physical science found that global heating is virtually certain to pass 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), probably within a decade.

Earth’s surface has warmed 1.1C since the 19th century.

“We have been doping the atmosphere with fossil fuels,” World Meteorological Organization chief Petteri Taalas said Monday, comparing the result to the “enhanced performance” of Olympic athletes who used banned substances.

The 2015 Paris deal calls for capping global warming at “well below” 2C, and ideally 1.5C.

This report is sure to reinforce this more ambitious goal.

It will likewise underscore that vulnerability to extreme weather events – even when they are made worse by global warming – can be reduced by better planning and preparation, according to the draft seen by AFP.

This is not only true in the developing world, noted Imperial College professor Friederike Otto, pointing to massive flooding in Germany last year that killed scores and caused billions in damage.
Tipping points

“Even without global warming there would have been a huge rainfall event in a densely populated geography where the rivers flood very easily,” said Otto, a pioneer in the science of quantifying the extent to which climate change makes extreme weather events more likely or intense.

The report will zero in on how climate change is widening already yawning gaps in inequality, both between regions and within nations.

The simple fact is that the people least responsible for climate change are the ones suffering the most from its impacts.

The report is also likely to highlight dangerous “tipping points”, invisible temperature trip wires in the climate system for irreversible and potentially catastrophic change.

Some of them – such as the melting of permafrost housing twice as much carbon as in the atmosphere – could fuel global warming all on their own.

“There is a finite set of choices we can make that would move us productively into the future,” said Clark University professor Edward Carr, a lead author of one of the report’s chapters.

“Every day we wait and delay, some of those choices get harder or go away.”

(AFP)

Ancient mummies of children who were likely sacrificed found in Peru



Archaeologists discover Incan tomb in Peru
The mummified children were unearthed in the grave of a supposed nobleman, believed to have likely been "sacrificed to accompany the figure to the underworld".

The head of the dig said the mummies were about 1,000 to 1,200 years old. (AFP)

Six mummified children thought to have been sacrificed hundreds of years ago, apparently to accompany a dead nobleman to the afterlife, have been unearthed in a tomb near Lima, archaeologists reported.

The tiny skeletons, wrapped tightly in cloth, were found on Sunday in the grave of an important man, possibly a political figure, discovered last November at the dig site of Cajamarquilla about 24 kilometers (15 miles) east of Lima

"The children could be close relatives and were placed…in different parts of the entrance of the tomb of the (nobleman's) mummy, one on top of the other," archaeologist Pieter Van Dalen, in charge of the dig, said.

"The children, according to our working hypothesis, would have been sacrificed to accompany the mummy to the underworld," says Van Dalen.

Van Dalen said the mummies were about 1,000 to 1,200 years old.

READ MORE: Sleep well, oh king: pharaoh remains undisturbed by CT scan technology

The pre-Inca period

Cajamarquilla was a city built out of mud in about 200 BC, in the pre-Inca period and occupied until about 1500.

It could have been home to 10,000-20,000 people.

Nearby the dig site of Cajamarquilla, the team also found the bones of seven adults who had not been mummified as well as the remains of llama-like animals and earthen ware.

The remains of the supposed nobleman were found last year in a tomb some three meters (9.8 feet) long and 1.4 meters deep in Cajamarquilla, one of the largest archaeological complexes near Lima.

He had been about 20 when he died and was entombed with his hands covering his face and tied up with rope.

READ MORE: Mummies in Anatolia: Expect the unexpected

YOUTH AND WOMEN LEAD THE PROTESTS
Sudan: Two protesters killed in crackdown on anti-coup rallies
Thousands demonstrate in Sudan against military rule and arrest of several former government officials

Thousands rallied in the capital Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman on Monday

 (AFP) By MEE and agencies
Published date: 14 February 2022 

Sudanese security forces fatally shot two protesters on Monday as they cracked down on thousands marching against last year's military coup and the arrest of several former government officials.

According to the independent Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, one protester was killed after being shot in the neck and chest by security forces while another was killed by a bullet to the left shoulder, elevating the total death toll to 81 since last October's military coup.

The Sudanese police meanwhile said one protestor was killed, while 102 policemen were severely injured, according to the police’s media office on Facebook.

The police did not explain how the protestor died, but said the demonstrations went awry with protesters encroaching on important strategic buildings and institutions, smashing glass windows and buildings' fronts.

Thousands rallied in the capital Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman on Monday, while protests also took place in the eastern city of Port Sudan and in the western Darfur region.

Sudan: Two prominent critics of ruling military arrested

Read More »

In the capital, demonstrations began with crowds waving national flags and carrying red balloons, while some protesters shouted slogans demanding the authorities release activists and former government officials who have been arrested in recent weeks.

"We are demanding the release of resistance committee members and politicians who were unjustly arrested, and some of whom are facing fabricated charges," Khaled Mohammed, one of the protesters, told AFP.

On Sunday, Sudan's military authorities arrested Mohammed al-Faki Suliman, a former member of Sudan's ruling Sovereign Council, who was the deputy head of a government-run agency tasked with dismantling the legacy of former autocratic president Omar al-Bashir.

Authorities also arrested two former members of the agency, a security official told the Associated Press.

Suliman was detained in the coup and released a month later as part of a deal between the military and then-prime minister Abdalla Hamdok.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who in October 2021 derailed a power-sharing transition established in the wake of the overthrow of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir, appointed Lieutenant-General Yassin Ibrahim Yassin as acting defence minister, a statement by the Transitional Sovereign Council said late on Monday.

'Arbitrary detentions'

Regular mass protests have rocked the country since a 25 October military takeover led by Burhan.

The power grab derailed a fragile power-sharing agreement between the army and civilians that was negotiated after the 2019 removal of Bashir during mass protests.

In addition to the military cracking down on demonstrations, security forces have also arrested a series of former government officials and activists in recent weeks, as military rulers stepped up their campaign against anti-coup groups.

Last week, authorities also rearrested Khalid Omar Youssef, a minister in the ousted transitional government, and Wagdi Saleh, another committee member.

Saleh and Youssef were previously involved in a task force that seized property and fired bureaucrats linked to Bashir's regime.

The detentions have intensified in recent weeks as Sudan plunged into further turmoil, with near-daily street protests since the coup.

"The number of people detained arbitrarily and without criminal charges has exceeded 100," the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) said on Monday.

The SPA, which also calls for anti-coup protests, said the detainees are aged between 16 and 60.

Meanwhile, in Khartoum's Soba prison, detainees launched a hunger strike to protest against prison conditions, the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said.

"Some have been detained without facing charges, and others still await investigations," the medics said in a statement.

The crackdown by Sudan's military authorities has been condemned by countries including the US, which warned that it would result in "consequences".

Earlier this month, US lawmakers pressed President Joe Biden to impose personal sanctions on the military leaders of the 25 October coup, MEE reported.

"Security forces continue to attack civilians, arrest civil society actors and engage in sexual violence with impunity," Senator Robert Menendez, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said during a hearing.

Refugees protest in Tunisia, demanding evacuation

African migrants are pictured at a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camp in the southern Tunisian port of Zarzis, near the Libyan border, during a protest demanding their resettlement, on February 14, 2022 

- FATHI NASRI Agence France-Presse

February 14, 2022 — Zarzis (Tunisia) (AFP)

Dozens of refugees from Sudan and sub-Saharan African countries protested in Tunisia on Monday, complaining of "marginalisation" and demanding their evacuation from the country, an AFP correspondent said.

The refugees, many of whom were rescued during attempts to cross the Mediterranean, held a sit-in in front of the headquarters of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in the southern port town of Zarzis.

"We have refugee status but this organisation (UNHCR) does not care about us," one Sudanese protester told AFP.

"We are marginalised. Our conditions are inhumane," he added.

Demonstrators, including women and children, demanded "immediate evacuation" and chanted "we do not want to stay in Tunisia".

Some of them held up placards reading: "We are in danger" and "Stop the violence against us".

Tunisia hosts a large number of migrants, predominantly sub-Saharan Africans, many of whom have repeatedly complained of ill treatment in the economically troubled North African country.

Tunisia is to hold talks with the International Monetary Fund this week over a rescue package, as its tourism dependent economy has been battered by restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Both Tunisia and neighbouring Libya have served as launchpads for migrants making desperate bids to reach Europe.

The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights says that over the first three quarters of last year, the coastguard intercepted 19,500 migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

Record-breaking 'rogue wave' spotted off the coast of Vancouver Island

Figure 1. Rogue wave recorded on Nov 17, 2020. Vertical dashed lines indicate the wave

 group containing the rogue wave. (a) Surface elevation ηη. (b) Spectrogram of surface

 elevation using the Morlet wavelet. Credit: DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05671-4

A pair of researchers at the University of Victoria, have confirmed the observation of a record breaking "rogue wave" off the coast of Vancouver Island two years ago. In their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, Johannes Gemmrich and Leah Cicon describe data they analyzed from a buoy anchored off Vancouver Island.

Rogue waves are a type of wave with a crest disproportionately higher than the waves around it. Though sometimes confused with tsunamis, rogue waves are quite different. They are thought to be generated by winds, whereas tsunamis are generally created by geologic events such as earthquakes. Also, rogue waves reach their heights out at sea, whereas the size of a tsunami is generally not seen until it encounters land. In this new effort, the research pair studied data from one of the buoys stationed off the coast of Canada near Vancouver Island. Such buoys alert ships to unusual sea conditions. The rogue wave under study had first been observed shortly after it occurred, back in November 2020. In this new effort, the researchers took a closer look at the data sent from the buoy to confirm the initial findings.

They found that the buoy had measured a wave that was 17.6 meters high, while the waves around it were averaging just 6 meters high. Records for such waves are represented as the proportion of the difference in height between the rogue wave and those around it. The proportion in this instance set a new record for largest ever observed.

Ocean scientists are still trying to figure out how rogue waves get their start, how they grow so large, and how long they are able to maintain their height. Understanding them is important because rogue waves tend to surprise crew aboard ships, which means they typically do not have time to take such actions as changing the heading of a ship to steer directly into the wave. Without such information, a large rogue wave can capsize a ship, putting its crew in serious danger.

Rogue waves hit Hawaii fishing vessel that sank, owner says

More information: Johannes Gemmrich et al, Generation mechanism and prediction of an observed extreme rogue wave, Scientific Reports (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05671-4

Journal information: Scientific Reports 

© 2022 Science X Network

Brazil 

BOLSONARO launches plan to expand mining in Amazon

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has come under fire for his plans to expand gold mining in the Amazon.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro launched a plan Monday to expand gold mining in the Amazon rainforest, drawing criticism from environmentalists for bolstering an industry accused of rampant deforestation, pollution and attacks on indigenous peoples.

Bolsonaro signed a decree creating a program to support the development of artisanal mining, a controversial activity known as "garimpo" that occupies something of a legal gray area in Brazil.

The decree says the aim is to "propose public policies and stimulate the development of artisanal and small-scale mining, fostering sustainable development for the region and the nation."

It also creates an inter-ministerial commission on artisanal mining, whose "priority region" will be the nine states that make up Brazil's 60-percent share of the Amazon.

Artisanal miners, or "garimpeiros," are divisive in Brazil.

Bolsonaro, whose father was once a "garimpeiro," defends wildcat miners as hardscrabble frontiersmen.

Critics paint a different picture.

Mining destroyed a record 125 square kilometers (nearly 50 square miles) of the Brazilian Amazon last year—more than twice the size of Manhattan.

Much of the destruction was on protected indigenous reservations.

The use of mercury to separate gold dust from soil has also left toxic pollution in rivers.

Prosecutors say illegal gold miners have links to organized crime, and there have been deadly clashes between armed miners and indigenous groups opposed to them.

Artisanal mining is legal in Brazil, provided miners have environmental licenses and work on authorized land.

But many don't.

The government estimates there are 4,000 illegal miners operating on indigenous territory in the Amazon. Activists say the figure is much higher.

"What (the government) should be doing is proposing and supporting environmental licensing of this activity and monitoring its implementation," said Suely Araujo of the Climate Observatory, a coalition of environmental groups.

"Instead... the Bolsonaro administration looks set to defend the sector's 'historical values,' which is to say, environmental destruction," she said in a statement.

Bolsonaro, who has pushed to expand agribusiness and mining in the Amazon, has faced international outcry over the destruction of the world's biggest rainforest.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has surged since the far-right leader took office in 2019, to a 15-year high of 13,235 square kilometers from August 2020 to July 2021.

Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon hits January record

© 2022 AFP

Spanish film explores trauma of 2015 Bataclan massacre


The movie stars Nahuel Perez Biscayart and Noemie Merlant as Ramon and Celine

 (AFP/STEFANIE LOOS)

STEFANIE LOOS

Femke COLBORNE
Mon, February 14, 2022

A Spanish film about the aftermath of the 2015 attack on the Bataclan concert hall in Paris premiered at the Berlin film festival on Monday, with the actors confessing it was "hard" to relive the trauma.

"One Year, One Night", directed by Isaki Lacuesta, is one of 18 contenders for the Golden Bear top prize at the 72nd Berlin film festival.

The movie stars Nahuel Perez Biscayart and Noemie Merlant as Ramon and Celine, a young couple who survive the attack but struggle to piece their lives back together.

Ramon wants to talk about what happened and write everything down, while Celine wants to forget and copes by immersing herself in her job as a social worker.

From the morning after the attack when Celine coolly opens her laptop to order groceries while Ramon lies in bed, it's clear the two characters represent very different ways of dealing with trauma.

Producer Ramon Campos said Monday he was inspired to make the film after being in Paris on the night of the deadly Bataclan attack.

- 'Emotionally charged' -

"I found myself wandering alone around the city, in the streets, there was silence, there was distrust between people, and that made an impression on me," he said.

He later read a book called "Peace, Love and Death Metal" by Ramon Gonzalez, a Spanish man who was at the Bataclan with his girlfriend and other friends on the night of the attacks.

The real Ramon and Celine were involved in the making of the film, an experience that was "particularly emotionally charged", according to director Lacuesta.

They had "lived through this experience in a totally different way" but agreed about one thing, he said: "They wanted to avoid the word 'survivors' because they wanted to live, not just survive."

For Argentine actor Perez, 35, it was "hard" to immerse himself in such a traumatic story. "My body was full of emotions and sensations that were very complex," he said.

French actress Merlant, 33, also spoke about the physical toll of making the film and the "back and forth" of drawing on her own experiences to render her character.

Merlant, who was in Paris on the night of the "horrific" attack, said it was "important" to represent different ways of processing trauma.

- Learning to live -

"Some people need to talk, to share in order to move forward in life and there are others who don't want to... There are no answers," she said.

The film intersperses flashbacks of what happened on the night with scenes from the present as Ramon and Celine career through changing friendships and doubts about their own relationship.

Director Lacuesta said this structure was chosen partly to avoid focusing on the gory details of the attack. "We felt that would have been a betrayal of the people who were there," he said.

Instead, he wanted to highlight "the part that we had never seen before, how they try to learn to live again and above all how they try not to give up sex, love and rock and roll".

The attack on the Bataclan was part of a wave of shootings and bomb attacks in the French capital on the night of November 13, 2015 by gunmen who claimed 130 lives.

Twenty defendants are on trial over the massacre in France, including the only surviving attacker, Salah Abdeslam, with the verdict expected in May.

fec/mfp/ach

Karl Marx: Five reasons why the thinker was ahead of his time

How modern was Karl Marx? An exhibition in Berlin's Deutsches Historisches Museum explores why the German philosopher remains relevant to this day.

1. He married a partner who was his equal

Without his wife Jenny Marx (1814-1881), Marx's accomplishments would not have been possible. Born Johanna Bertha Julie Jenny von Westphalen, Marx's better half was not only a journalist but also his first critical reader. She debated with him and the publicist and philosopher Friedrich Engels and collaborated on the creation of the "Communist Manifesto." In the only handwritten version of the booklet that has survived the years, the first lines are written by her.

As a journalist, she wrote texts about the 1848 March Revolution in Germany and reviews of William Shakespeare for the renowned Frankfurter Zeitung newspaper, negotiated with publishers and spoke a number of foreign languages — better than her husband. Her skills came in handy, since the Marx family was forced to spend most of their lives in exile. Friedrich Engels called her and her husband the two "highly gifted natures" and said of Jenny after her death that "her bold and wise counsel" would be bitterly missed.

Karl Marx's success would not have been possible without his wife Jenny

2. He helped to make the eight-hour day a reality

In 1866, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels helped make the eight-hour day an official demand of the International Workers Association. As early as the 1810s, Welshman Robert Owen is said to have coined the slogan in Britain: "Eight hours work, eight hours sleep, and eight hours leisure and recreation."

The eight-hour day was introduced by law in Germany, for the first time in 1918. Since then, however, the law is changing: Six-hour days are now being tested in several European countries. 

An exhibition at Berlin's Deutsches Historisches Museum explores the legacy of Marx

3. He inspired the Occupy movement

On September 17, 2011, demonstrators brandishing the slogan "Occupy Wall Street" occupied Zuccotti Park in New York's financial district. They protested against an economic system in which a privileged few are getting richer, while the vast majority are becoming poorer. Protesters demanded greater political regulation of the banking and financial sector. The "Occupy" movement soon expanded around the globe. Protesters used a portrait of Karl Marx and, equipped with the catchy slogan "I told you I was right," made him into a modern icon.

Marx became something of an icon in the Occupy Wall Street movement

Particularly since the financial crisis, Karl Marx's writings are once again receiving worldwide attention. He is still considered one of the most important critics of capitalism. Some may consider his legacy ambivalent: Socialist dictatorships such as the Soviet Union or former East Germany repeatedly appropriated the philosopher to legitimize their unjust state. His attitude towards Jewish citizens is also controversial. His essay "On the Jewish Question" (first published in 1844) was used as anti-Semitic propaganda, by the Communist Party in Germany in the 1920s, for example.

4. He was a high-level researcher

Many economists around the world still draw on the writings of Karl Marx. For example, in 2013, French economist Thomas Piketty published his book "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," with direct reference to Karl Marx's seminal study "Das Kapital"(1867).

In "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," Piketty draws on Marx's analyses and concludes that since the mid-20th century, an increasingly small number of people in industrialized nations own the majority of the world's wealth. He concludes that an increase in inequality is part and parcel of capitalism and that this increase threatens democracy. The book sparked debates around the world about the future of capitalism.

Karl Marx worked together with Friedrich Engels

The first original edition of "Das Kapital," which belonged to Marx and contains his handwritten notes, has been part of UNESCO's World Document Heritage since 2013, following a joint proposal by the Dutch and German governments.

5. His work influenced movements around the world

Marx influenced the political debate in many countries. In the 20th century, communist thinking inspired by his texts swept through many parts of the world, triggering revolutions and installing political systems based on Marxist thought in countries like Russia, China and Cuba, among others.

However, the mastermind of the "proletarian revolution" spent almost his entire life in exile as a stateless person. After his marriage, he and his wife, Jenny, moved to Paris. There, he began to collaborate with Friedrich Engels, the son of a wealthy factory owner.

A copy of 'Das Kapital' with Marx's handwriting is part of the exhibition

When the Prussian government demanded his expulsion, Jenny and Karl Marx moved to Brussels, with Friedrich Engels following them. There, they began work on a pamphlet that would become the Communist Manifesto. It ends with the now world-famous call, "Workers of the world, unite!" The Marx family was also expelled from Belgium and finally found refuge in London in 1849 where Jenny and Karl Marx lived until their deaths. Jenny died on December 2, 1881, Karl on March 14, 1883. Nearly 200 years after his death, his work is still selling well.

The exhibition "Karl Marx and Capitalism" at the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin runs from February 10, 2022 to August 21, 2022.

This article was originally written in German.

COMMUNIST MANIFESTO

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