Âu

[Triển]

Khi cần phải quỳ, thì cũng phải nên quỳ. Phải nên nhớ rằng
thắng được người khác đã khó, thắng được chính mình càng
khó hơn.

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Poland and Germany: 50 years since Willy Brandt's historic gesture

On December 7, 1970, German Chancellor Willy Brandt fell to his knees at the memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto. The "Warsaw Genuflection" opened the way to reconciliation, but some today dismiss it as an "empty gesture."



Willy Brandt's genuflection in Warsaw was a moment that made history

On the morning of December 7, Chancellor Willy Brandt laid a wreath at the memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto. It commemorates the courage of the thousands of Jews who lost their lives in the ghetto in a desperate bid to free themselves from their German oppressors. Brandt straightened the ribbon attached to the black-red-gold funeral wreath. He took a couple of steps back. Seconds passed.

And then he fell to his knees, his head tipping forwards slightly. Remaining still on the cold granite. The photographers gathered closer, knowing the image they captured would go around the world.
'When words fail '

"Faced with the abyss of German history and the burden of the millions who had been murdered, I did what we humans do when words fail us," was how Brandt put it in his memoirs.

He went down on his knees like a sinner, in a reference to Christian imagery. He prayed, that Germans might be forgiven.

Willy Brandt, a Social Democrat who had been part of the resistance against the Nazis, was praying for forgiveness for his people. So, was the gesture planned? "No, it was not," insisted Brandt. "My close aides were no less surprised than the reporters and photographers who were standing right next to me."

The Polish government was also taken by surprise, says Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, professor of history at the University of Wroclaw: "Until then it had always been the 'evil Germans.' They were seen as revanchists and warmongers," he explains. "And then there was suddenly a German chancellor, who knelt down signaling an openness to atonement."

Poland's government understood the gesture as a step towards reconciliation. "But there was party propaganda that resisted any move to accept it as an opportunity to revise the negative image of Germany."


Willy Brandt signed The Treaty of Warsaw in 1970, accpeting the loss of former German territories that had become part of Poland after World War II

No majority for Brandt's gesture

What ordinary people made of it all, says Ruchniewicz, is difficult to say. "A lot of Poles probably didn't have the slightest idea of what was going on." Photos of the famous genuflection were not printed in Polish newspapers. It was only later that Brandt's policy of reconciliation began to have an impact.

And in Germany? "Brandt's gesture breached a taboo," says historian Kristina Meyer from the Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt Foundation. "You could call it a game changer in terms of German society's efforts to come to terms with its Nazi past. After all, there was still no majority of Germans who were ready to ask for forgiveness for the crimes committed by the Nazis. A survey from 1970 indicated that every second West German rejected Brandt's gesture, seeing it as an exaggerated act.


'Ostpolitik' — In 1971 Willy Brandt met Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev in Crimea about ways to promote peace in Europe

'Milestone towards reconciliation '

During his 1970 visit to Germany's eastern neighbor, Brandt also signed the Treaty of Warsaw. By signing it, the West German chancellor accepted the loss of former German territories in Eastern Europe that had become part of Poland after World War II. This was rejected by opposition conservative parties in the then-West German capital, Bonn. Some far-right extremists even vilified Brandt as a "traitor."

With hindsight, most historians agree: what became known as Brandt's "Ostpolitik" — which aimed to gradually improve relations with Eastern Europe — was a key step on the road to German unification in 1990.

"The de facto recognition of the Oder-Neisse line [today's border between Germany and Poland: Eds.] provided a shared foundation for political rapprochement," argues historian Meyer. "And in this way, Brandt's Ostpolitik was a milestone on the difficult road to reconciliation between East and West in the Cold War." It was, she says, the starting point for developments that first led first to the peaceful revolutions in Poland and East Germany, then to German reunification, and finally to a real partnership: "Partnership between Germany and Poland in a united Europe."


In 1990 German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher and his counterpart Krystof Skubiszewski signed the German-Polish border treaty

Shadows once again gathering

That, at least, was the mood on both sides of the border until relatively recently. But after six years with the ultra-nationalist Law and Justice Party (PiS) in power in Warsaw, many people now tend to see both the Polish-German partnership and Brandt's genuflection in a very different light.

Words like mistrust, alienation, or paralysis feature in many current headlines when it comes to Polish relations with Berlin. All too often, it seems the shadows of the past are again gathering. The latest bone of bitter contention is a planned memorial center in Berlin for German crimes against Poland during World War II.

"From the perspective of the last few years, I can only see the genuflection as an empty gesture," PiS politician Arkadiusz Mularczyk tells DW. "It means nothing. What sort of an apology is that for crimes that were committed, when there has been no compensation for Poland?"

Mularczyk, a member of the Polish Parliament, heads a commission tasked with formulating reparation claims that will be put to Germany for crimes that took place during World War II.


Polish President Andrzej Duda is supported by the nationalist PiS and has been very critical of Germany

"For years now, there have been such German gestures in relations with Poland. But as far as I'm concerned, it is all just a sham," Mularczyk believes. "In the Second World War, nearly as many Poles were killed as Jews. Still, Jewish citizens living in the USA or Israel are eligible for compensation. But not the Poles."

Of the estimated 6 million Polish citizens who were killed during World War II, 3 million were Jews. A total of 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

"The Germans only want to give the impression that they are willing to apologize. But it all comes to nothing," says PiS politician Mularczyk.

This narrative has become a powerful force in today's national-conservative Poland, as has the widely held opinion that Berlin's gestures are really designed to benefit Germany's image of itself and its standing abroad, and not the people of Poland.

In a statement to DW, the Polish Foreign Ministry was more diplomatic: With Willy Brandt's spontaneous gesture in 1970 Germany accepted its responsibility for the war crimes it committed in Poland. But "if we want to remember such gestures today, we should also talk about concrete steps for reparation, which is necessary on the path towards real reconciliation," the statement from Warsaw reads.


Brandt inspires

"When I look at how relations currently stand between Germany and Poland, it reminds me of 1970," says Polish historian Ruchniewicz. "Of course, that was a different time. Today, there are no border disputes; we are both part of the European Union; Poland and Germany have signed treaties with each other. But the symbolic components that Brandt's gesture of reconciliation brought with it don't run very deep."


At Warsaw's Willy Brandt Square there is a memorial plaque to the genuflection of 1970

In Germany, there is a two-euro coin to commemorate the genuflection. There is also a commemorative postage stamp, and conferences and speeches will be held. The anniversary will also encourage historians like Ruchniewicz to discuss the achievements, or shortfalls, that the Treaty of Warsaw brought with it.

As for the Polish government? Ruchniewicz says nothing is planned.

But does that moment of dramatic political symbolism inspire people today? At Warsaw's Willy Brandt Square, just 200 meters from where history was made, there is a memorial plaque to the event of 1970. The bronze has acquired a patina. But Brandt's face shines as if it were freshly polished. There is no doubt about it: Many of the people who come here feel a strong need to touch the kneeling chancellor.

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[ốc]

Sợ rắn báo oán?

Lizards and snakes bring halt to work on Tesla plant near Berlin
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...nt-near-berlin

Tesla has been forced to suspend forest clearing for a new German plant after environmentalists won an injunction over threats to the habitats of resident lizards and snakes.

Among the concerns was the destruction of habitats of protected species of sand lizards and smooth snakes in the area, or disturbing them during their winter hibernation.

“Tesla cannot and must not place itself above the law,” said Heinz Herwig Mascher, the chairman of the Green League in Brandenburg, in a statement.

Đức chắc không có hãng xe nào tốt nên Tesla phải xây xưởng sản xuất xe ở bển?

[Triển]

Sợ rắn báo oán?

Lizards and snakes bring halt to work on Tesla plant near Berlin
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...nt-near-berlin



Đức chắc không có hãng xe nào tốt nên Tesla phải xây xưởng sản xuất xe ở bển?

Phải chọn quốc gia nào có nền chính trị và kinh tế ổn định
mà cắm dùi làm ăn. Ngoài ra dân Đức mua Tesla nhiều hơn
dân Cali.
"Buy American"?

[ốc]

Thả cửa:

Details revealed of secret deal that gave Chinese spies free rein in Switzerland
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...in-switzerland

The full text of a secret deal between Switzerlandand China that allowed Chinese security officials access to the country at Swiss taxpayers’ expense has been revealed for the first time as the government pushes to renew it.

The five-year “readmission agreement”, which was signed in 2015 and expired on Monday, lay out terms for Chinese agents to travel to Switzerland and interview suspected Chinese nationals that Swiss authorities wished to deport.

Unlike more than 50 similar deals Switzerland has signed with other countries, it was never published by the government and was not even publicly acknowledged until August.

There were no provisions to supervise the agents’ activities beyond their work with Swiss authorities. What is more, because the agents’ unofficial status probably meant they were travelling on tourist visas, they could have had access to the whole Schengen area, said Peter Dahlin, the director of Safeguard Defenders.

“What they do during that two weeks is completely unsupervised,” Dahlin said. “Theoretically, the fact that it’s allowed is remarkable … If this was kept secret, that means other governments wouldn’t know.”

The agreement triggered outrage in Switzerland when its existence was first reported by a local news outlet in August, at a time of growing international concern about China’s targeting of dissidents and opposition figures.

Until then, the deal had been kept so secret that even the Swiss parliament and foreign affairs committee did not know of its existence. The committee has since voted to demand consultation before its renewal.

Nối giáo cho giặc.

[Triển]

Thả cửa

Thụy Sĩ là quốc gia sáng lập ra Hồng Thập Tự,
có lẽ vì lẽ đó đã khoan hồng cho hồng quân
kách mệnh được tự do lưu diễn?

[Triển]

EU agency assessing COVID vaccines hit by cyberattack

The European Medicines Agency did not say what was targeted in the cyberattack or when it happened — although German firm BioNTech said the hackers "unlawfully accessed" vaccine approval documents.




The EU regulator is in the process of analyzing several promising coronavirus vaccine candidates

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has launched an investigation after being hit by a cyberattack, the agency said in a brief statement on Wednesday.

"EMA has been the subject of a cyberattack. The agency has swiftly launched a full investigation, in close cooperation with law enforcement and other relevant entities," the agency said.

The EMA added that it "cannot provide additional details whilst the investigation is ongoing," but said further information would be released "in due course."

The agency, which is the EU's regulator of medications, did not provide details about what was targeted or when the attack took place.

Just after the announcement, however, German pharmaceutical firm BioNTech and US pharma giant Pfizer said some documents on their jointly-developed vaccine were accessed during the cyberattack.

In the joint statement, the companies said the EMA told them that "some documents relating to the regulatory submission for Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate [...] had been unlawfully accessed."

The companies added that the hackers did not breach BioNTech or Pfizer systems, and that there was no evidence at this time to indicate that the personal data of study participants had been accessed.

The cyberattack comes amid concerns about hackers targeting coronavirus research and other cybercrimes related to the pandemic.

The United Kingdom accused Russia-based hackers of targeting laboratories carrying out vaccine research in July. Other cybercriminals have attempted attacks on companies working to develop vaccines including AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Novavax and others.

Agency working to approve COVID vaccines

Currently, the Amsterdam-based regulator is rushing to analyze several coronavirus vaccine candidates.

A decision on the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine is set to be announced by December 29 at the latest. A ruling on Moderna's vaccine is due to follow by January 12.

The EMA is also reviewing the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine, although it's not yet known when that one could be approved.

The UK already issued emergency approval for the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine on December 2 and has started its vaccination program. Regulators in the European Union and the United States have not yet approved a vaccine.

On Wednesday, EMA director Emer Cooke voiced optimism about the bloc approving the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine soon.

"We are more and more convinced by the available test results," Cooke told Dutch news program "Nieuwsuur."

She added that experts were working around the clock to check the tests, but that "no concessions" would be made in terms of security.

rs/msh (AFP, Reuters, dpa)

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[ốc]

Đóng cửa:

Britons banned from travelling to EU countries from January 1
https://news.yahoo.com/britons-banne...235902319.html

When the UK exits the bloc on Jan 1, residents will no longer be able to freely travel in Europe under the bloc's Covid safety rules, according to the Financial Times.

Eight non-EU countries, including Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, are on the list of "safe" third nations.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 18 EU countries have higher rates of Covid-19 than Britain.
To date, individual member states have been reluctant to override the EU recommendation to prohibit entry of travellers from countries not on the safe list.

In order for Britain to be added to the list of safe countries, it would need to satisfy criteria set out by the EU.

Norway has also announced that it will not allow Britons who do not live in the country to enter from Jan 1.

Britons will be allowed to travel to EU states if they are exempt from restrictions. Exemptions apply to diplomats, those travelling for "imperative family reasons" and some "highly qualified workers".

Vậy đi đá banh sao được?

[Triển]

Vậy đi đá banh sao được?

Ngoại lệ bằng cách 2, 3 thử nghiệm âm tính trong vòng một thời gian nhất định mới được.

[Triển]

Bị Ba Lan và Hung gia lợi bắt chẹt?
"Hồi sau" sẽ rõ.

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EU breaks deadlock on budget, coronavirus recovery fund

Leaders have agreed to pass the new budget and coronavirus recovery fund, including holdouts Hungary and Poland. The two countries had blocked the passage over wording that tied the funds to upholding the rule of law.


Hungary and Poland had blockaded the budget for several weeks

European Union leaders on Thursday reached agreement on a long-term budget and coronavirus recovery package, after weeks of resistance from Poland and Hungary, according to EU Council President Charles Michel.

The two countries had blocked the €1.1 trillion ($1.3 trillion) seven-year budget and €750 billion recovery package over stipulations that tie the funds to upholding the rule of law.

"Now we can start with the implementation and build back our economies. Our landmark recovery package will drive forward our green and digital transitions,'' Michel said in a tweet.

No details of the agreement were immediately available, however ahead of the summit, EU diplomats and officials said there would likely be a declaration that the rule of law mechanism would only be used after a ruling from the European Court of Justice — a process that could take a year.

Germany, current holder of the rotating European Council presidency, said it had brought Poland and Hungary on board.

"Germany has worked hard to bridge the differences and find solutions for the concerns of Poland and Hungary while at the same time upholding the rule of law mechanism as agreed with the European Parliament," Chancellor Angela Merkel said on arrival to the summit.

The EU has repeatedly accused Poland and Hungary of undermining judicial independence and media freedoms.

Ahead of the summit, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the rules could be used to target other member states in future.

"We have to avoid any arbitrary and politically motivated decisions,'' he said. "Today, we fear that we might be attacked in [an] unjustified way, but of course in the future [it can be] any country."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that they were fighting for "a victory for common sense."

"It is obvious that when our nations and so many millions of people are in real need because of (the) pandemic and the economic consequences of that, we have to behave reasonably,'' said Orban,

Both countries, accused by many European partners of sliding towards authoritarianism, are major net recipients of EU funds, whereas wealthier EU countries pay more into the budget than they receive.

The summit will now turn its attention to climate goals and potentially Brexit.

The EU is hoping to agree to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 against 1990 levels, rather than by 40% as is currently agreed, however the debate will likely be divisive.

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

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[Triển]

Record deaths in Germany and Russia


German officials had hoped to relax "partial lockdown" conditions but are now planning to tighten them

Germany is facing calls for a second lockdown before Christmas after recording 585 deaths and 29,875 new infections in one day - the highest numbers since the pandemic began.

"We have to act urgently. We have to do more than was previously planned," warned Economy Minister Peter Altmaier.

Russia and Ukraine also reported record numbers of fatalities on Friday.

However, the latest excess death statistics have cast doubt on the numbers announced in Russian updates.

Germany has been under partial lockdown since early November, shutting bars, restaurants and entertainment venues, and a relaxation had been planned over Christmas.

But the rise in infections has increasingly alarmed top officials, with Lothar Wieler, head of Germany's public healthy body, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), describing the situation as "extremely fragile". Chancellor Angela Merkel made an impassioned speech in the Bundestag (parliament) this week calling for tighter measures, saying that "500 deaths a day is unacceptable".

On Friday, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer warned that the only chance of regaining control was an immediate lockdown. "If we wait until Christmas, we'll have to struggle with high numbers for months," he told the Spiegel website.

Bavaria, in the south, has already imposed tighter measures and Mrs Merkel is reportedly set to meet all 16 state leaders on Sunday.

There are few joyful tidings for Germany this Christmas.

The country, which so successfully brought the first wave of the pandemic under control, is struggling to contain the second.

Today Germans woke up to two miserable new records. The highest daily number of infections and deaths in a 24-hour period.

A so-called "lockdown light", which includes the closure of bars, restaurants, leisure and arts facilities but is implemented to different degrees in different parts of the country, may have flattened the curve but it's done nothing to reduce the numbers.

The days when Germany's relatively low death toll was the envy of other countries are gone; it's rising fast and this week exceeded 20,000. So what's gone wrong?

Scientists say that Germans are simply not doing enough to reduce their social contacts. But many also point the finger at regional leaders, who for months have dithered, bickered and resisted Angela Merkel's calls for a tougher, countrywide response to the outbreak.

Elsewhere in Europe:

• Ukraine has recorded a record 285 deaths
• A Dutch judge has thrown out a challenge by firework sellers that bans them from selling fireworks for New Year's Eve. Anyone lighting a firework faces a fine of at least €100 (£90)
• Shopping centres, restaurants and bars in Cyprus have closed their doors until 31 December to curb the spread
• Czech officials say the pandemic is now accelerating and they will meet on Monday to discuss a response

What's happening in Russia?

Russia's pandemic task force says 613 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 45,893. Moscow and St Petersburg were worst hit.

However, official data about "excess" deaths - those above expected levels - has called this total into question. There were nearly 50,000 more "excess" deaths in October 2020 than in the same month last year.

Statistics service Rosstat said 22,761 of the October deaths were either confirmed or suspected Covid cases.

Official health figures were less than a third of that, but only count deaths listed by a post mortem examination as having coronavirus as the main cause.

Russia began using its Sputnik V vaccine on doctors, teachers and social workers last weekend and claims that some countries have been resorting to "not very pleasant" methods to discredit it. In a boost for Sputnik's producers, UK and Russian scientists are to trial a combination of the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Sputnik V vaccines to see if protection against Covid-19 can be improved.

Sputnik's backers claim it offers 95% protection against the coronavirus, but data released so far is based on interim results only. Russia previously mocked the AstraZeneca jab as a "monkey vaccine" - referring to its use of a modified common cold virus that infected chimpanzees, rather than one that affects humans, to elicit an immune response.

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Thí mạng cùi?

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Covid: Trials to test combination of Oxford and Sputnik vaccines



UK and Russian scientists are teaming up to trial a combination of the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Sputnik V vaccines to see if protection against Covid-19 can be improved.

Mixing two similar vaccines could lead to a better immune response in people.

The trials, to be held in Russia, will involve over-18s, although it's not clear how many people will be involved.

Oxford recently published results showing their jab was safe and effective in trials on people.

The researchers are still collecting data on the effectiveness of the vaccine in older age groups while waiting for approval from the UK regulator, the MHRA.

AstraZeneca said it was exploring combinations of different adenovirus vaccines to find out whether mixing them leads to a better immune response and, therefore, greater protection.

The hope is combining different vaccines will give either stronger or longer-lasting immunity to the virus.

There are reasons to think this might be beneficial for the Oxford and the Sputnik V jabs.

Both use harmless viruses to deliver the important part of the vaccine (a bit of the coronavirus' genetic code) into the body.

The risk is the body becomes immune to the "viral postman" making the second or booster jab less effective.

This is one explanation for why Oxford had better results from giving someone a half dose followed by a full one, rather than two normal doses.

Other vaccine combinations are also planned in the hope that approaching the challenge from different angles will lead to better results.

The British-made Oxford vaccine, developed in partnership with AstraZeneca, and the Russian Sputnik vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute in Moscow, are similar because they both contain genetic material from the Sars-CoV-2 spike protein.

They work differently to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has been approved in the UK, Canada, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and recommended for approval by medical experts in the US.

Early results from late-stage trials of the Sputnik vaccine have shown promising results.

Russia was the first country to register a Covid vaccine for emergency use - in August, despite only having been tested on a few dozen people. It is now being offered to Russians as part of a mass vaccination campaign.

AstraZeneca said it was "working with industry partners, governments and research institutions around the world, and will soon begin exploring with Gamaleya Research Institute in Russia to understand whether two adenovirus-based vaccines can be successfully combined".

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