Angela Merkel’s second victory in German elections

'
BERLIN -- Chancellor Angela Merkel claimed victory in national elections today, with projections by public television stations putting her conservative party on a path to form a new center-right government and achieve her goal of ending the country’s “grand coalition” with the Social Democrats.

If the slim lead for her conservative Christian Democrats and the pro-business Free Democrats holds after all the ballots are tallied, Mrs. Merkel will finally have the chance to enact the kind of liberalizing economic reforms she proposed when she first ran for chancellor four years ago. But the celebration will be muted by the knowledge that rising budget deficits as a result of the economic crisis have dramatically limited the kind of tax cuts the new coalition will be able to enact... Read more by Nicholas Kulish, New York Times
_

Multicultural Blogs – periodic roundup

‘
International Haplif & Haplifnet NEWS -- WordPress [introduction]

Results and Prospects of State Elections in Germany

Montessorian and Ecological Concepts ▪ Angie Cordeiro [HuffPost Blogging]

The US bailout -- and the consolidation isn’t yet over ▪ Arianna Huffington

Top Bankers' Bonuses to be curbed ▪ EU (Brussels) preparing for G20 (Pittsburgh)

US Economy facing long-term economic growth (Prof. Joseph Stiglitz)
_

Jewish Settlements & Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

'
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Iran that it could face energy sanctions if it doesn’t halt its nuclear program and pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to curb Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Merkel, speaking at a joint news conference with Netanyahu in Berlin yesterday, said the world is heading toward a September deadline for Iran to cooperate with demands to stop enriching uranium. Netanyahu called for the threat of “crippling sanctions” and Merkel said “we reject” a nuclear-armed Iran.

The U.S., France, the U.K. and Germany have been pressing Iran to drop its uranium enrichment program in return for help in developing civil nuclear power. Together with China and Russia, which both hold vetoes at the United Nations Security Council, they have voted through three rounds of sanctions in an attempt to penalize Iran for breaking its commitments under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty… Read more (Gwen Ackermann and Tony Czuczka, Bloomberg)
_

Merkel & Medvedev Met in Russia on ‘Strategic’ Economic Deals

'
"I believe that we need to use every chance that the global financial crisis offers to develop the Russian-German economic relations", stated German chancellor Angela Merkel today in Sochi, Russia.

Chancellor Angela Merkel met President Dmitry Medvedev today and both called for deeper economic ties amid talk of several major Russian-German industrial deals in the works.

Speaking to reporters as he greeted Merkel at his palm-lined residence on the Black Sea, Medvedev congratulated Merkel on news that Germany had emerged from recession and said Russia was working hard to do the same.

"We should think how, by strengthening our bilateral economic strategic ties, we could help our economies and people overcome consequences of this difficult global crisis and emerge stronger from it", Medvedev said.

Merkel replied that she had been "very happy" at yesterday’s German economic news and confirmed that her meeting with Medvedev -- their second in just a month, and third this year -- would centre on economic issues… Read more (by Ellen Hasenkamp, AFP)
_