SPIEGEL ONLINE
- May 23, 2012
Preparations for the first semi-final of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest on Tuesday were overshadowed by a diplomatic row between host country Azerbaijan and its neighbor Iran. The latter recalled its ambassador over accusations that Baku was planning an accompanying "gay parade." more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- May 16, 2012
Cologne-based rapper Najafi has drawn the wrath of Shiite Muslims after publishing a song that appeared to make fun of the 10th imam. Following a fatwa by an Iranian ayatollah, he has received death threats, and there is a $100,000 bounty on his head. Now he is under police protection but insists he will keep making music. By SPIEGEL Staff
more... [ Forum ]
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 16, 2012
Amid ongoing tension about Iran's nuclear program, representatives from Tehran and six global powers held talks in Istanbul on Saturday. Despite cautious optimism from diplomats, German commentators warn on Monday that the specter of war still haunts the region. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 13, 2012
Is a new war on the horizon in the Middle East? This weekend the international community will undertake diplomatic efforts to convince Iran to back down in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. A speedy agreement remains unlikely because the biggest world powers are focused on one thing -- their own interests. By SPIEGEL ONLINE Staff.
more... [ Forum ]
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 12, 2012
Israel as the aggressor and Iran as the victim? Günter Grass got his line of argument wrong in his controversial poem, argues Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn in a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview. But the poem has triggered an important debate about how Germany should approach Israel's decisions, he adds. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 11, 2012
Iran has halted oil exports to Germany, according to Iranian television, in an apparent effort to strengthen its position ahead of a fresh round of nuclear talks with Western powers in Istanbul on Saturday. It stopped crude exports to Spain and Greece on Tuesday to preempt the EU's embargo on oil imports, which come into force in July. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 09, 2012
With his controversial poem, Günter Grass has played right into the hands of the Israeli government and distracted attention from the real issues. An entry ban on the German author is absurd. The debate on his controversial views needs to take place on the culture pages of newspapers -- not in politics. A Commentary by Moshe Zimmermann more... [ Forum ]
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 06, 2012
Is Israel a threat to world peace? German writer Günter Grass has been blasted as an anti-Semite this week for making just such a claim in a new poem. But while the verse may not win any awards, Grass has kicked off an important -- and long overdue -- debate. And, he's right. A Commentary by Jakob Augstein more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 05, 2012
German Nobel laureate Günter Grass has taken to the airwaves to address the raging controversy surrounding his new poem, which is sharply critical of Israel. Yet the debate continues to broaden, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joining the fray on Thursday. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 05, 2012
In his poem about Israel and Iran published on Wednesday, German Nobel laureate Günter Grass expressed the fear that he would be labelled anti-Semitic for his anti-Israeli stance. Some commentators in Germany on Thursday say that the fear was more than justified. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 05, 2012
In the past, Israeli journalist and historian Tom Segev has defended Günter Grass from claims that he tried to portray Germans as victims in World War II. But following the publication of Grass's Israel-critical poem this week, Segev argues the German author is driven more by his silence over his SS past than concerns about the future of humanity. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- April 05, 2012
Nobel Prize laureate Günter Grass has caused a controversy with a new poem criticizing Israel's policies against Iran. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, the German historian Michael Wolffsohn accuses Grass of anti-Semitism and rehashing far-right stereotypes about Jews. more... [ Forum ]
