The square, one block from Rome’s main train station, was
strewn with mattresses, overturned rubbish bins and broken plastic chairs. Hung on the building was a sheet made into a
banner saying: “We are refugees, not terrorists,” in Italian. A small fire
burned on the pavement and a sheet hanging from a first-floor window was set
alight by squatters inside. Witnesses
who arrived at the square after the clearance operation described a scene of
carnage. “When I arrived at about 9am
trash was scattered all over. About 50 people were still in the square, which
had been partially closed down to traffic in the meantime. They were sad,
frustrated and with no idea where to go,” said Francesco Conte, founder of TerminiTv,
an online channel based in Rome’s Termini train station. About 100 people had occupied the square
since Saturday, when most of about 800 squatters were evicted from an adjacent
office building they had occupied for about five years.Police said the refugees
had refused to accept lodging offered by the city and that the operation was
also necessitated by the risk presented by the presence of cooking gas
canisters and other flammable materials in the square, which is surrounded by
apartment buildings. Most of the
squatters were Eritreans and Ethiopians who had been granted asylum. Many have
been in the country for up to a decade. They ran the building as a
self-regulating commune that outsiders were not permitted to enter. The refugees have previously complained that
the accommodation offered to them elsewhere is not of a permanent nature, and
that moving would result in the community they have established being split up.
The area around the square is full of shops owned by the refugees’ compatriots.
Friday, August 25, 2017
Saturday, August 19, 2017

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Sunday, August 6, 2017
The precursor to the EU was set up in 1958, as the
continent’s leaders vowed to make another war between them all but impossible.
The euro came in 1999, when a group of 11 countries jettisoned marks, francs
and lire and turned control of interest rates over to a new central bank. The
common currency’s scale provided exchange-rate stability and better access to
world markets. It did not, however, impose uniform financial discipline; to
avoid surrendering national sovereignty, politicians largely sidestepped a
unified approach to bank regulation and government spending. To the extent that
there were rules, they were flouted. The events that brought the euro to its
knees came during the global rout in 2009, when Greece came clean and said its
budget deficit was twice as wide as forecast. Investors started dumping assets
of the most indebted nations and borrowing costs soared. The shared euro made
it impossible to devalue individual currencies of weaker economies, limiting
options for recovery. Politicians lurched through bailouts for Greece, Ireland,
Portugal and Cyprus plus a rescue of banks in Spain. The panic fueled fears of
a breakup as fragile banks and their holdings of government bonds exposed the
common currency’s vulnerabilities. The firestorm abated in July 2012, when
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to do “whatever it takes”
to save the euro.
Friday, July 14, 2017

Wednesday, July 12, 2017


Sunday, July 9, 2017
Why HAMBURG for G 20...
Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany (pop. 1.7 million), a major hub situated on the River Elbe, nestled between the states of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony. Although a major port, it lies 130km inland from the North Sea.
Why? As an outward-looking city, Hamburg is an ideal location, says Angela Merkel. It has maintained trading links around the world for centuries, and today is home to the headquarters of industrial heavyweights Airbus and Unilever, among others. It can also boast at being ranked 18th among world cities for its livability.
Famous for? A city of bridges (around 2,500), Hamburg boasts what was once the world’s tallest building, the 122-metre Church of St Nicholas. Bombed heavily by Allied forces in WW2, the city recovered to become once again an economic and cultural powerhouse, where the Beatles served their apprenticeship, and where museums and opera go hand in hand with sport and radical politics. And there’s the Reeperbahn.
Security? Some 20,000 officers have been drafted in from around Germany and beyond to address the twin challenges of potential terror attack and political protest. Temporary courtrooms and cells have been built alongside a mass holding facility for as many as 400 detainees at a time - at a cost of €750,000. A planned mass protest camp in the city’s main park has been banned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)