WILL GERMANY HAVE THE FIRST GREEN GOVERNMENT

Germany's Greens ahead of Merkel's CDU/CSU in new poll

The Greens have recorded their best polls in history, surpassing the ruling conservatives. The development sparked accusations that the party's candidate for chancellor, Annalena Baerbock, lacks experience.


Five months out from federal elections, the Greens are polling ahead of Merkel's conservatives. GREEN LEADER  Annalena Baerbock SPEAKIN G

Germany's Green party is more popular than German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU/CSU bloc, according to a new opinion poll published on Sunday.

The Greens polled at 28%, up 6 percentage points, according to the Kantar research group's Sunday trend poll carried out on behalf of tabloid Bild am Sonntag.

The newspaper reported that this was the Green's highest-ever poll rating in the history of the Sunday trend polls.

Watch video00:33 Baerbock: We must make changes to create a fair country

Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) fell two percentage points to 27%.

The Social Democrats (SPD), who share power in a coalition government with the conservatives, also lost two points, slipping to 13%. This was their lowest result since August 2019.

The socialist Left party polled at 7%, and the far-right, populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) recorded 10% — both down one point.

The pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) remained at 9%.

Kantar surveyed 1,225 people for the poll between April 15 and 21.

WHO COULD SUCCEED ANGELA MERKEL AS GERMAN CHANCELLOR?

Armin Laschet

CDU chairman Armin Laschet, a staunch supporter of Angela Merkel, heads Germany's most populous state. Conservatives routinely underestimated the jovial 60-year-old, famous for his belief in integration and compromise. But recently, his liberal non-interventionist instincts have led to him eating his words more than once during the coronavirus crisis. PHOTOS 123

New chancellor candidate

The poll results come after the Greens appointed Annalena Baerbock as their chancellor candidate for the September elections.

The CDU/CSU bloc has chosen Armin Laschet to be its chancellor candidate, rejecting Bavarian Premier Markus Söder, who is more popular with voters. The center-left SPD put forward Olaf Scholz, who is currently serving as vice-chancellor.

Germans will head to the polls in five months for national elections to replace Merkel, who has held power for more than 15 years.

SPD's Scholz points to Baerbock's inexperience

Baerbock would have a strong chance in a head-to-head battle for the chancellory, according to another survey published by Bild.

Talking to Bild's Sunday edition, however, Scholz claimed the race was still open to him despite trailing the two top candidates.

"Germany is one of the world's biggest and most successful industrial countries. It should be run by someone who has experience in governing, who not only wants to govern, but can actually do it," Scholz said.

"I am the candidate for chancellor who has the necessary experience and knowledge for this task," he added.
Greens welcome new members

Meanwhile, Green party membership has surged, with a record 2,159 people signing up in the past week, according to party officials.

The Greens recently appointed Annalena Baerbock as their chancellor candidate for the September elections

"Recently, the Greens have managed to win over voters from the CDU/CSU, the SPD, the Left party, but also non-voters," Kantar researcher Torsten Schneider-Haase said. "They're taking on topics that are currently booming."

He said Baerbock had also benefited from the weaknesses of her two competitors.

Party official Michael Kellner told the dpa news agency: "Now is the right time for a new departure in this country, to protect the climate, reduce inequality and start a new Europe."

CSU leader Söder said he expects the CDU/CSU to win more than 30% of votes in the September elections.

"It has to be a result that is clearly above 30% — closer to 35%," the Bavarian premier told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

In the 2017 election, the sister parties won a combined 32.9%.

VIDEOS

Germany′s Greens ahead of Merkel′s CDU/CSU in new poll | News | DW | 25.04.2021

Germany: Greens' Annalena Baerbock urges hard line on Russia, China

The Greens chancellor candidate for the upcoming federal elections has said she wants a tougher stance from Germany to address Russian aggression in Ukraine and China's global ambitions

On the controversial Nord Stream 2 Russian gas pipeline across the Baltic seabed to Germany, Baerbock said that political support for the project must be "withdrawn." 

Annalena Baerbock has said she wants a foreign policy based on toughness combined with dialogue

Five months ahead of Germany's federal election, top Greens candidate Annalena Baerbock is arguing for a tougher German stance toward Russia and China.

In an interview Sunday with Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) newspaper, Baerbock said "increasing the pressure on Russia" over its recent military maneuvers near Ukraine should be a priority for Germany.

Baerbock added that that ensuring stability immediately between Ukraine and Russia should take priority over Ukraine's ambition to be included in the EU and NATO.

On the controversial Nord Stream 2 Russian gas pipeline across the Baltic seabed to Germany, Baerbock said that political support for the project must be "withdrawn." The Greens oppose the gas pipeline project, which critics say will weaken Europe and Germany's energy security.

Watch video 00:33 'We must make changes to create a fair country'

After Baerbock's candidacy for chancellor was announced last Monday, she said that Germany needs a "clearly guided foreign policy" with "authoritarian forces" that focuses on "dialogue" but is "tough" at the sameompetition with China

Baerbock said German and European relations with China are a "competition of systems" that place "authoritarian forces versus liberal democracies." She described China's ambitious "Belt and Road" projects as part of "hardcore power politics."

She added that China is too big to simply cut off ties, but emphasized that liberal democracies must uphold their values.

On security concerns with Chinese technology, Baerbook said she would support Europe limiting cooperation if Beijing were to require Chinese suppliers, such as Huawei, to tap into European data. "We cannot integrate products from such manufacturers into European infrastructure," she said.

On China and the plight of the Uyghur ethnic minority, Baerbock said Europe must ensure that "products from forced labor do not come onto our market."

Baerbock was referring to recent controversy over the sourcing of cotton from China's Xinjiang region, which human rights groups say is harvested using Uyghur slave labor.

Italian star singer Milva dies aged 81

The genre-crossing Italian chanteuse, known for her vocal range and red hair, took Europe by storm in the 1960s and '70s. Her career spanned decades.

Singer Milva passed away aged 81 on April 23, 2021


Milva, an Italian chanson and pop music singer popular in the 1960s and 1970s, passed away Friday at her home in Milan, Italy, aged 81. Born Maria Ilva Biolcati, the singer was often referred to as "La Rossa," meaning "redhead" in Italian, for the color of her fiery red locks.

With an active career spanning decades, Milva was a musical great in her home country. Italy's Minister of Culture, Dario Franceschini, called her "one of the strongest interpreters of Italian songs." Her voice awakened "intense emotions" in entire generations and upheld the reputation of Italy, he said Saturday after news of her death broke.

Yet her fame was not limited to Italy. Her penchant for singing in foreign languages led to her success around the world — she released songs in English, German, French, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese and Japanese.

Milva collaborated with tango music great, Astor Piazzaolla

She had an especially large fan base in Germany, where she gained fame with sophisticated easy listening tracks. Her song "Hurra, wir leben noch" ("Hurray, we're still alive"), was an especially big hit. A fan of collaborations, Milva recorded songs with Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, as well as famed film score composer Ennio Morricone.

Milva sang with Argentine tango music composer Astor Piazzolla, who died in 1992, and began a long-lasting collaboration with her compatriot, the innovative singer-songwriter Franco Battiato with whom she recorded an album.  

A career to envy

Maria Ilva Biolcati was born on July 17, 1939, to a dressmaker and a fisherman in the small town of Goro in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region on the Adriatic coast. As a child, she worked to support her family, which experienced economic hardship.

Eventually, she moved to Bologna, entered a singing competition and received vocal and acting lessons. From then on, her career was enviable. She recorded dozens of albums, went on tours and appeared on the stages of theaters and concert halls around the world. Between 1961 and 2007, she performed 15 times at Italy's most important pop festival in San Remo, but never won it.

Milva sang a variety of musical genres throughout her long career

For over 50 years, Milva worked tirelessly, recording 173 albums that spanned a wide range of repertoire. Her daughter Martina was born in 1963 but Milva had little time for family life and her daughter often had to go without her famous mother.

Milva had no qualms about breaking away from chanson and commercial music. She toured the world's opera houses and theaters with performances of songs by Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht. Her rendition of the role of Pirate Jenny in Brecht's "Threepenny Opera" helped make her an icon in the world of musical theater. She gave concerts at the Scala in Milan, the Paris Opera, London's Royal Albert Hall and the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. She alsosangin operas by avant-garde composer Luciano Berio and even dabbled in work as an actress. She landed a supporting role in Wim Wenders' 1987 masterpiece "Wings of Desire

Seeing red

The singer was open about her leftist political views and charmed the working-class milieu with her political chansons, including the famous partisan hymn "Bella Ciao," which was a constant in her repertoire. Her nickname "La Rossa" was also an allusion to the color associated with her political commitments.

In 2010, Milva left the stage and said farewell to her fans in a letter posted on social media. "I did my job gracefully and probably well," she wrote. Milva said she decided to take this step because she was no longer able to continue her career "in the best way possible."

Milva is survived by her daughter Martina.

Fact check: 5 myths about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster

Monday marks the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. What happened in the former Soviet Union on April 26, 1986, is no longer a secret.


The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is off-limits to most people

Is Chernobyl the biggest-ever nuclear disaster?

The 1986 nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near the city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine is often described as the worst nuclear accident in history. However, rarely is this sensational depiction clarified in more detail.

The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) does classify nuclear events on a scale of zero to seven, breaking them down into accidents, incidents and anomalies. It was introduced in 1990 after being developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (NEA/OECD). Level seven denotes a "major accident," which means "major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures."

Watch video 01:59 Ukraine still dealing with Chernobyl aftermath

Both the Chernobyl and 2011 Fukushima disaster have been categorized as such. But INES does not allow for nuclear events to be classified within a level.

If the term nuclear disaster is not only used to describe events, or accidents, in nuclear reactors but also radioactive emissions caused by humans then there are many occasions when human-caused nuclear contamination has been greater than that of the Chernobyl disaster, explained Kate Brown, professor of science, technology and society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Let's take the production of plutonium," she told DW, referring to the American and Soviet plants that produced plutonium at the center of a nuclear bomb. "Those plants each issued as part of the normal working everyday order at least 350 million curies [a unit of radioactivity — Editor's note] into the surrounding environment. And that was not an accident.

Some parts of the exclusion zone will continue to be contaminated for some 24,000 years

"Let's look at, even more dire, the issuance of radioactive fallout in the detonation of nuclear bombs during the periods of nuclear testing ground, which were located throughout the world, " she continued. "Those just take one isotope, one radioactive iodine, which is harmful to human health because it's taken up by the human thyroid, causing thyroid cancer or thyroid disease.

"Chernobyl issued 45 million curies of radioactive iodine just in two years of testing, in 1961 and 1962. The Soviets and the Americans issued not 45 million curies, but 20 billion curies of radioactive iodine," she said. And these tests, she added, were by design — not due to an accident or human error.

Are there mutants in the exclusion zone?

One of the most popular questions for tour guides in the , the area around the former nuclear reactor, is whether there are mutants. Computer games, horror films and books have propagated this notion, but it is misguided.

Denis Vishnevsky, head of the department of ecology, flora and fauna of the Chernobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve, reassured DW that he had never seen any two-headed wolves or five-legged rodents.

Animals living in the exclusion zone may have a lower life expectancy

"The influence of ionizing radiation may cause some restructuring in the body, but mostly it simply reduces an organism's viability," he explained, giving the example of high embryo fatalities in rodents due to genomic defects that prevented the organism from functioning. Those animals that survive the womb sometimes have disabilities that prevent them from staying alive in the wild. Vishnevsky and his colleagues have conducted research into thousands of animals in the exclusion zone, but have not found any unusual morphological alterations.

"Why? Because we were always dealing with animals that had survived and had won the fight for survival," he said. He added that it was difficult to compare these animals with creatures that scientists had deliberately exposed to radiation in laboratories.
Has nature reclaimed the site of the disaster?

Reports entitled "Life Flourishing Around Chernobyl" and photo series suggesting that the exclusion zone has become a "natural paradise" might give the impression that nature has recovered from the nuclear disaster. But Brown, who has been researching Chernobyl for 25 years, is adamant that this is "not true."

"That's a very seductive idea, that human messed up nature and all they have to do is step away and nature rewrites itself," she said. In reality, however, biologists say that there are fewer species of insects, birds and mammals than before the disaster. The fact that some endangered species can be found in the exclusion zone is not evidence of the area's health and vitality.

Watch video 03:45 Nature is taking back Chernobyl

On the contrary: there has been a significant increase in the mortality rate and a lowered life expectancy in the animal population, with more tumors and immune defects, disorders of the blood and circulatory system and early ageing.

Scientists have attributed the apparent natural diversity to species migration and the vastness of the area. "The exclusion zone comprises 2,600 square kilometers [about 1,000 square miles]. And to the north are another 2,000 square kilometers to the north is Belarus' exclusion zone," said Vishnevsky. "There are also areas to the east and west where the human population density is extremely low. We have a huge potential for preserving local wild fauna." That includes lynxes, bears and wolves which need a great deal of space.

But even 35 years after the disaster the land is still contaminated by radiation, a third of it by transuranium elements with a half-life of more than 24,000 years.
Is it safe for tourists to visit Chernobyl?

The exclusion zone was already a magnet for disaster tourists, but in 2019 annual numbers doubled to 124,000 after the success of the HBO miniseries Chernobyl. The State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management has set up a number of routes so tourists can visit the region by land, water or air. It has also drawn up a number of regulations to protect visitors, stipulating that people must be covered from head to toe. They shouldn't eat any food or drink outside, and they should always follow official paths. It's estimated that the radiation dose received over a one-day visit does not exceed 0.1 millisievert (mSv) — roughly the same dose that a passenger would be exposed to on a long-distance flight from Germany to Japan, according to Germany's Federal Office for Radiation Protection.

Some medical uses might expose a patient to much higher doses. Sven Dokter, the spokesman for the German nuclear safety organization Global Research for Safety (GRS), said that the dose of an effective pelvic X-ray ranged from 0.3 to 0.7 mSv, while a CT scan of the chest ranged from 4 to 7 mSv.

Watch video 05:23 Chernobyl as a tourist attraction

Dokter said a visit to the exclusion zone would not cause any undue harm if visitors paid attention to the rules and took an official tour.

"We're a long way off from the doses needed for a warning against such visits to be issued," he told DW. "On average in Germany a person receives a radiation dose of over 4 mSv per year. Half of this is from the natural radiation that we're always exposed to and the other half comes from standard medical procedures and flights."

The IAEA also has no qualms: "One may certainly visit the Chernobyl area, including even the exclusion zone, which is a 30-kilometer radius surrounding the plant, all of whose reactors are now closed. Although some of the radioactive isotopes released into the atmosphere still linger (such as Strontium-90 and Caesium-137), they are at tolerable exposure levels for limited periods of time," said the organization's website.
Are there people living in the area?

Today, Pripyat, the closed city built to serve the nuclear plant and house its employees, is often described as a ghost town, as is the nearby city of Chernobyl.

However, neither has been entirely empty since 1986. Thousands of people, usually men, have stayed there, often working two-week shifts and ensuring that the crucial infrastructure in both cities continues to function. After the explosion in reactor No. 4, reactors 1, 2 and 3 continued to operate, closing down only in 1991, 1996 and 2000. Special units of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry police the zone. There are also stores and at least two hotels in Chernobyl, which are mainly for business visitors.

There are also a number of unofficial inhabitants, including people who used to live in the area and have chosen to return. They have settled in villages that were evacuated after the disaster. The exact number of people is unknown: when DW asked the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management how many people lived in Chernobyl, the official answer was "nobody."

In 2016, about 180 people were thought to be living in the entire exclusion zone. Because they tended to be older, this number may well have fallen. Even though these locals are officially only tolerated, the state does support them in their everyday lives. Their pensions are delivered once a month, and every two to three months they are supplied with food by a mobile store.

This article has been translated from German.

CHERNOBYL: THE PEOPLE WHO'VE STAYED

The contagious optimism of Baba Gania

Baba Gania (left) is 86 years old. She survived her husband who died a decade ago. For the past 25 years, Gania has taken care of her mentally disabled sister Sonya (right). "I am not afraid of radiation. I boil the mushrooms till all the radiation is gone!" she says proudly. Photographer Alina Rudya visited her several times over the past years: "She is the warmest and kindest person I know."  PHOTOS 12345678910

Indonesia: Submarine wreckage located on seafloor

Indonesia's military says there is no hope of finding survivors from a submarine that sank last week with 53 people on board. President Joko Widodo has sent his condolences to the crew's families.


The submarine has broken into at least three pieces


Rescue teams located the missing Indonesian submarine on Sunday, authorities said.

Navy Chief of Staff Yudo Margono said the submarine had been broken into three pieces.

"With this authentic proof, we can confirm that KRI Nanggala 402 has sunk and all of its 53 sailors have died on duty," Air Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto told a press conference.

Underwater drone images showed the wreckage on the seafloor. It was found by a Singaporean craft about 1,500 meters (5,000 feet) to the south of where it last dove.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo earlier offered his condolences to the families of those lost in a submarine accident four days ago.

He confirmed that the KRI Nanggala 402 submarine sank, and that the 53 crew members are presumed to have died.

"All of us Indonesians express our deep sorrow over this tragedy, especially to the families of the submarine crew," he said.

He said rescuers were still expending their best efforts to recover the craft and its crew. He offered his hopes and prayers, and wished the families patience and strength.


How did the submarine go missing?

The 44-year-old West-German-built submarine lost contact while taking part in torpedo drills off the coast of Bali on Wednesday.

It failed to surface and only had enough oxygen for the crew to survive up to 72 hours.

Rescue teams announced on Saturday they had found objects such as prayer mat fragments, a piece of the torpedo system and a bottle of periscope lubricant near the submarine's last known location.

This led them to believe that the vessel had broken open.

Watch video 01:15 Indonesia's navy declares missing sub as 'sunken vessel'

Navy Chief of Staff Yudo Margono later announced that sonar scans had detected a submarine-like object 850 meters (2,790 feet) underwater, well beyond the diving range of the craft.

Ships and helicopters from Australia, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia and India are helping in the search effort.

aw/mm (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)

AS A STEAM/POWER ENGINEER SUBS OF COURSE ARE IN MY FIELD AND HAVE ALWAYS FACISINATED ME SINCE VOYARE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA AND OF COURSE 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA.

  

The COVID variant from India: What we know so far

The latest variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus, dubbed B.1.617, was first found in India and then in other countries around the world. It is still unclear how dangerous it is.



There have been at least five major mutations of the COVID-19 coronavirus

The number of new coronavirus infections has continued to rise sharply in India. The country has just recorded the world's highest daily tally of 314,835 infectionsamong its total population of 1.38 billion people.

It's too early to say whether the new variant of the virus, B.1.617, is responsible for the rapid increase in infections, but it is being treated as a possible cause.
What role do virus variants play?

In many other cases and countries, new variants have played a role when infections took a sudden, upward swing.

Some experts are also concerned that the Indian variant may be turning into a type of "super mutation" that will continue to spread across the world.

Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that he is "deeply concerned" about the situation in India, the WHO tweeted.

And the Indian variant has spread to other countries. Health authorities have detected variant B.1.617 in Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the US, Australia and Singapore. The British health ministry has reported 77 cases of the Indian variant.

A new variant of coronavirus is causing concern in India
Why would the Indian variant become dangerous?

The Indian variant consists of two mutations of the spike protein of the virus.

A spike protein allows a virus to enter the body and infect it. The virus can then spread quickly through the body, if it escapes any antibodies in the immune system or those developed as a result of a vaccine — or, indeed, if there aren't any antibodies.

Experts say there is a risk that people, who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection, or those who have been vaccinated, may not be as resilient against this new variant as they may be against other forms of the virus.

What's special about the Indian variant?

The mutations found in the Indian variant are identified as E484Q and E484K.

They are known in other mutations as well — they are not entirely new. They have been detected in the South African variant, B.1.353, and in the Brazilian variant, P1.

In some cases, the Indian mutations were detected in the British variant, B.1.1.7.

There are other mutations, such as one called L452R, which is detected in a Californian variant of the virus, B.1.429. The same was found in a variant in Germany.


The Indian variant of coronavirus has already reached Europe
Of interest or of concern?

The WHO categorizes the Indian variant as a "Variant of Interest." That means the variant is being monitored, but that it is, for the time being, not of major concern.

Dr Jeffrey Barrett, director of the COVID-19 Genomics Initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK, has commented that the Indian variant has spread at such low levels over the past few months, and that makes it "likely not to be as transmissible as B.1.1.7."

But a number of other experts see the threat differently. And current developments appear to suggest they may be right.

In the Indian state of Maharashtra, over 60% of all coronavirus infections have been linked to the n.ew B.1.617 variant, based on the infections that have been sequenced for their origin.

But local authorities say the number of cases being sequenced is far too low for them to draw any clear conclusions.

As such, it remains unclear whether the Indian variant is responsible for the increase in infections in India

Brazil's alternative jails sans guns and violence

Brazil's APAC recovery centers focus on rehabilitation and understanding, instead of weapons and violence. An EU project hopes the idea will catch on around the world.



Sport is played in the courtyard of Colombia's Bellavista APAC: The EU finances the construction of APACs in Latin America


Marlon Samuel da Silva is wistful about his time behind bars, the daily routine, the community, the concerts he gave.

The 40-year-old spent 11 years and eight months in jail after being convicted on a drugs charge. He was only behind bars symbolically, as he spent most of his time in a special establishment where he could roam freely — with no guards or weapons. The Association for the Protection and Assistance of the Convicted (APAC), which promotes restorative justice, has set up 60 recovery centers, which currently house some 4,000 detainees.

Prisoners are not considered as criminals here. They are recuperandos, people who are in recovery, and are addressed by name. They do not wear uniforms and even help run the establishment, doing all the cooking, cleaning and washing. They do have to follow a strict routine but this is to help their rehabilitation into society.


Remembering the 'good old times' — ex-prisoner Marlon Samuel da Silva with his guitar at APAC Itauna

"It's strange to say it, but I miss the routine," said da Silva, who likes to play the guitar. "I had some wonderful times and I got around a lot." He would regularly give concerts in other APACs.

He not only misses the routine; he also misses the recognition and the feeling of self-esteem he had. "I felt valued," he recalled, explaining that this was very important for former drug addicts like him. "They can't deal with negative emotions. Positive input is very important for their recovery."

‘Even a dog wouldn't last'

Recognition and positive input are not usually part of daily life in Brazilian jails, which more often than not are associated with abuse, torture, riots and organized crime.


At APAC Piracicaba, inmates gather in a cell to pray together

Brazil has a prison population of about 760,000, which is the third-largest in the world after that of China and the US. According to the World Prison Brief, the occupancy level is 151%, compared with 121% in Colombia.

Marlon da Silva has not recovered from his experiences of the "normal system."

"I spent a year there and I suffered terribly," he said. "There are sometimes more than 30 people in a cell meant for nine. Even a dog wouldn't last."

In the APAC centers, there is no over-crowding and the recidivism rate is 15% by comparison to 85% in the mainstream establishments. The waiting lists for APAC are very long. Yet, the costs are lower. It costs the equivalent of €250 ($302) to detain somebody in an APAC for a month, as opposed to €644 in other institutions. The APACs are cheaper because there is no need to pay armed guards.


Humiliation and violence: Following a 2017 riot at Brazil's Alcacuz prison, inmates were forced to stand naked in front of heavily armed police officers

"There are no armed guards or police officers in any of the 60 APACs," said Denio Marx Menezes from the Fraternity of Assistance to the Convicted (FBAC), which runs the alternative APAC detention centers, which were set up by Catholic lawyer Mario Ottoboni in the 1970s after he became convinced that it was impossible to rehabilitate detainees in Brazil's mainstream penitentiary system. He championed the maxim: "People enter here, crimes stay outside" and opened the first APAC in Sao Jose dos Campos in 1976 in the state of Sao Paolo.

EU project to expand APACs across world

From the start, the centers were non-profits and often funded by donations. But in 2020, they were recognized by the Brazilian state and started receiving financial support. They have mushroomed around the country. "We are working with the Brazilian ministry of justice on a plan that eventually envisages a pilot unit in each Brazilian state," Denio Marx Menezes said, explaining that there were currently APACs in six of the country's 27 states and districts but that there were openings in 14 more coming up.


At APAC in the Brazilian city of Piracicaba, inmates play sports in the courtyard

Menezes is surprised by the rapid development: "When President Bolsonaro came in with a speech saying that prisoners should suffer and deserved death, we thought that a bad time was coming," he said. But not all government members agreed with this hardline, "former justice minister Sergio Moro was the first to visit an APAC center."

The APACs have also found support from the EU. In 2016, a European project looked into transposing the idea to other countries in South America as an instrument for strengthening civil society and promoting the rights of detainees. "The initiative should fight torture and all forms of abuse and promote APACs as a model that could serve worldwide as an alternative for the chaotic traditional penitentiary system."

The EU's main partner is AVSI, a Brazilian non-profit organization, while responsibility for implementing the scheme lies with the FBAC as well as the justice ministries of Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Columbia.

‘For every rehabilitated prisoner, there is 1 less gun'

Some critics have questioned the religious element, but FBAC's Menezes played this down. "APACs are not religious institutions," he explained. "However, they do not renounce their religious roots." In practice, not only are prisoners given the same religious support provided by the law to all detainees in the country, but there are also Bible interpretation classes and prayer groups, as well as courses offered by the UK-based non-profit organization Prison Fellowship.

Marlon Samuel da Silva became religious in jail. "I was led to God through a detour in crime," he told DW. "In the APAC, I saw a man convicted for murder care for somebody who was ill. That's God."


The APAC motto: 'People enter here, crimes stay outside'

Ever since his release in 2016, he has looked back on his experiences with longing. It's not easy "outside," he says. Former convicts and their families are not treated with understanding by society, he lamented, saying that some customers had stopped going to have their hair cut in his mother's salon.

"Society always thinks that prisoners should suffer because they deserve it," he said. "But they forget that for every rehabilitated prisoner there is one less gun on t

 

Pakistan: Talk show on taboo topics rattles conservatives

The digital talk show, Conversations with Kanwal, is shedding light on issues rarely spoken in public such as sex, marital rape and forced marriages. The show's host Kanwal Ahmed tells DW about her daring journey.

Pakistan: Talk show on taboo topics rattles conservatives | Asia| An in-depth look at news from across the continent | DW | 23.04.2021

Meet Akanksha Arora — the 34-year-old running for UN secretary-general

The Indian Canadian Akanksha Arora wants to become the first woman — and the first millennial — to lead the United Nations. She tells DW that it's time to shake things up

Meet Akanksha Arora — the 34-year-old running for UN secretary-general | Asia| An in-depth look at news from across the continent | DW | 21.04.2021

YOU CANNOT DOG EAR AN E-BOOK
Celebrating the history of the 'dog ear' bookmark on World Book Day
FRIDAY WAS WORLD BOOK DAY

The practice of folding the corners of one's book to mark a page has a name — and has been done for centuries.

A PRACTISE I CAN LAY CLAIM TOO DOING TOO OFTEN



This type of fold is known as a dog ear


Even as e-reading devices have gained popularity in recent years, many bookworms still prefer reading a good, old-fashioned printed book. April 23 is World Book Day and studies have shown that people are reading more than ever during the pandemic. Those who prefer to buy second-hand books may have come across private sellers' creative advertisements of the item's condition. "With a few dog ears here and a couple of torn pages, but otherwise in impeccable condition" one might read in a seller's description.

A dog ear is a colloquial term for the folded down corner of a book page — the way some of us, when we don't have a bookmark at hand might keep our place. The name, as one might guess comes from the folded page's resemblance to the floppy ears of most domestic dog breeds.

Irma Pince, the librarian at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter novels, posted an ominous warning to book defilers. "A warning if you rip, tear, shred, bend, fold, deface, disfigure, smear, smudge, throw, drop, or in any other manner damage, mistreat, or show lack of respect towards this book, the consequences will be as awful as it is within my power to make them."


Easy to see why this type of bookmark is called a dog ear

In reality, a torn page won't result in wizardly punishment, but it can come with consequences. At public libraries, book lenders who tear or rip a page, even accidentally, may be responsible for property damage and might have to provide a replacement or pay some form of compensation.

In private circles, books borrowed and returned in a damaged condition can jeopardize the continuation of friendships. Books have value, and for some, it's an emotional one.
Irreparable damage?

Unfortunately, even a smoothed out dog-ear leaves its mark on a book page for all of eternity. Are dog-ears irreparable? "In a nutshell: yes!" says Frauke Grenz from Papierwerkstatt Friedrichshagen, which restores and repairs books. "The crease injures the fibers of the paper, which unfortunately cannot be repaired."

Grenz and her team restore books, smoothing and binding pages and repairing spines. In addition to private individuals, the workshop also collaborates with libraries. They can therefore be required to restore, for example, a Bible from 1737. "With books that old, dust and dryness are aggravating factors." A dog-eared book can break when bent back if the paper is rotten, the expert told DW.


The librarian of Harry Potter's Hogwarts dealt swift punishment for damaging books

Her customers often come to the workshop with books that at first glance are not worth the trouble of refurbishing. She then initially recommends buying the book second-hand somewhere. "But if there's a dedication inside or it was left by someone's mother, the emotional attachment to the book is often so great that we get to work."

Fortunately, there are some tricks for those who want to smooth out their books' dog ears. "Ironing is a great idea if done carefully and with some blotting paper in between to dissipate the heat," recommends Grenz. However, no matter what one does, dog ear traces will not disappear completely. Grenz doesn't find this problematic: "It doesn't detract from the content. It's more important to me that the binding feels good in the hand and is not worn."
Dog ears in the 17th century

It's impossible to clearly date the first mention of a dog ear as it refers to a bent page in the history of literature. In 1838, the Grimm brothers began to compile terms for the German dictionary published in 1854, which included a mention of the "Eselsohr" or "donkey's ear," which is the German equivalent of the dog ear, as "a mark in a read book made by bending a corner of the page."

And as early as the 17th century, the poet Andreas Gryphius mentioned a dog ear in one of his writings. Although Johannes Gutenberg's letterpress printing technique was already widespread by the 15th century, in the 17th century, many people still could not afford to buy books. Reading meant getting an education and in those days, an education was a luxury. Even then, some well-off individuals apparently still bent the corners of their precious pages.


The dog ear was mentioned as early as the 17th century although few had books then

Not even digitization has fully eradicated the dog ear concept. As a tribute to analog reading, some e-book readers have digital dog-ears built into them. With a tap on the screen, a triangular bookmark appears at the corner of the screen.

That a bookish term presumably coined in the 17th century in Germany is still used today is something to celebrate. As difficult as it may be for book lovers and book aesthetes to accept bent page corners, the dog ear must respected as a part of centuries of reading culture.

This article was translated from German by Sarah Hucal.

'IT'S A JOKE' DEFENSE

Oklahoma state senator falsely implies VP Kamala Harris used sexual favors to get elected in official press release

WHICH IS NO DEFENSE AT ALL IT'S AN EXCUSE

Sarah K. Burris
April 23, 2021


Kamala Harris

Oklahoma state Sen. Nathan Dahm, a Republican from Broken Arrow, used his Earth Day legislation to make a false, sexist, and derogatory statement about Vice President Kamala Harris in an official press release.

Dahm announced legislation that would ban paper straws because he hates them. While most adults can manage drinking from a cup using their mouth, Dahm complained that he needs a plastic straw and that paper simply wouldn't do. What took a turn, however, is that Dahm made a veiled allegation about the vice president that's making his straw legislation look like a sippy cup.



Press statement from Oklahoma state Sen. Nathan Dahm (Screen capture)

"So, under the guise of helping the planet, they've banned plastic straws, resulting in who knows how many trees now being cut down to make paper straws," Dahm said in the statement. I've never met a single person who enjoys using a paper straw. They fall apart & turn to mush quicker than [President] Joe Biden trying to string together a coherent sentence. They collapse like [Sen.] Mitt Romney (R-UT) under the slightest amount of pressure, & even with [Vice President' Kamala Harris well, never mind."

In an interview with KTUL, Dahm is asked about the veiled comment about Harris.

"There's a lot of different things that could be said about that with her vast experience and how she got her start into politics," claimed Dahm. "In talking with some people, one thing that could be said, you know, you can't use a paper straw for a milkshake, but maybe Kamala Harris could because of her past experience."


Harris got her undergraduate degree at Howard University and her JD at the University of California at Hastings. She was hired first by the prosecutor's office before being elected as the District Attorney for San Francisco, where she worked for seven years before being elected to the office of the Attorney General and ultimately to U.S. Senator. Dahm graduated from A Beka Christian Academy Home School.

According to ethics filings, Dahm has been supported by companies like AT&T, QuikTrip, the Oklahoma Realtor's Association, Marathon Oil and Reynolds Tobacco.

When he heard criticism for his comments, he doubled down.



Dahm didn't explain how it was a "joke" since he told people to "do their own research." He was asked if the comments weren't sexist and answered frankly. There was also no laughing involved in his comments. Republicans often use "it was just a joke" to get out of being held accountable for their comments.


See the video of Sen. Dahm below: