Turkish President Erdogan has criticized Israel's offensive in Gaza, while calling Hamas "liberators." German Chancellor Scholz has called the comments "absurd." The two leaders are meeting in Berlin for talks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday. This is the Turkish leader's first visit to Germany since 2020. He arrived at a military airport on Friday afternoon for a visit that is expected to last only several hours. In a joint press conference on Friday evening, German Chancellor Scholz stressed that Israel's right to self-defense must "not be called into question," whereas Erdogan continued his sharp criticism of Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza, condemning "shooting hospitals [and] killing children." Scholz said it was "no secret"  that he and the Turkish president had "very different views on the conflict." "This is precisely why our talks are important, especially in difficult moments we need direct dialogue with each other," Scholz said.  The chancellor added that "Israel's right to exist is irrefutable" for Germany. "There is no place for antisemitism in our country, regardless of whether it is politically motivated or religious, whether it comes from the right or the left, whether it has grown here for centuries or comes into the country from outside," he said.  Erdogan added that if Germany joined Turkey in calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, there is a chance it could be achieved. Disagreements on Israel-Hamas war The Israel-Hamas war has been a major point of contention between Germany and Turkey.  Erdogan has heavily criticized Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip, and accused Israel of committing war crimes. Israeli authorities have said the offensive aims to root out Hamas in Gaza in response to the October 7 terror attacks. The Turkish president has also referred to Hamas militants as "liberators." The group is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, Germany, the United States and the EU, along with other countries.  Scholz on Tuesday called Erdogan's accusations "absurd," adding that Israel is a democracy and "a country that is bound to human rights and international law and acts accordingly." Before meeting with Scholz, Erdogan met with German President Frank Walter-Steinmeier before talks with the chancellor. A spokesperson for German President Steinmeier said he had stressed Germany's position, which highlights "Israel's right to exist as well as its right to defend itself" during talks with Erdogan.  What else is expected during the talks? Scholz said ahead of the meeting that Sweden's accession to the NATO military alliance would also likely come up in talks with the Turkish president. Turkey's government had raised objections to Sweden's bid to join NATO because it allowed residency for groups Ankara has classified as terrorists, including Kurdish groups and people allegedly tied to a failed coup attempt in 2016. Erdogan has since dropped the objections, but parliament has yet to ratify a bill for the approval of Swedish NATO membership. Also likely to be discussed is migration. The EU considers Turkey to be a key ally in efforts to stem arrivals at the bloc's external borders. Turkey is set to hold municipal elections early next year. Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) hopes to retake the capital, Ankara, and the most populous city of Istanbul. While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.  

Scholz has called for pauses in fighting in the Gaza Strip to allow humanitarian aid, but defended Israel's right to take action against the militant group Hamas. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday emphasized the importance of Israel as a safe space for the Jewish people worldwide. "And it is important, worldwide, to know that this place exists," he said on the sidelines of a two-day congress of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in the Spanish city of Malaga. "That is why our solidarity with Israel must be clear. The terrible, barbaric attack by Hamas on Israeli citizens, on children, on the elderly, on young people taking part in a festival, the humiliations that were filmed there, that is something we will never accept," the German chancellor said. He also called for pauses in fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip to allow humanitarian aid, but defended Israel's right to take action against the militant group. The Malaga Congress, which was hosted by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, also a member of the PES, said on its website that its mission for the year was "to engage with Europeans — especially young people — and talk about how to strengthen democracy and ensure the future is based on progressive values." Borrell criticizes Israel's actions The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has once again sharply criticized Israel's actions in Gaza. It was "not acceptable" to cut off the supply of water, food, electricity and fuel to the entire population of Gaza, he said in a video message that was broadcast at the Malaga congress. It's clear "that we must support Israel in view of the terrorist attacks it has suffered," Borrell said. He added, however, that the country must "respect international humanitarian law and try to minimize the number of civilian casualties." It's in Israel's own self-interest, Borrell said, as "a strategy that ignores the human losses will not work in the end. And peace is the best and perhaps the only guarantee of security for Israel." Ukraine war also high on the agenda Russia's war against Ukraine as well as the issue of migration have also been high on the agenda of the Socialist politicians gathered in Malaga. Scholz emphasized the need to continue supporting Ukraine in its defense against the Russian war of aggression. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin had broken the decadeslong agreement that national borders would not be altered by force. This is why "Putin cannot win," Scholz said. To achieve this, the German chancellor argued, not only must Ukraine be helped, but EU defense capabilities have to be strengthened and relations with the emerging nations worldwide and the countries of the so-called Global South also have to be improved. What did Scholz say about Italy's migration deal with Albania? On Saturday, Scholz also signaled an openness to study Italy's deal to hold migrants in Albania as the European Union struggles to curb illegal immigration. Rome this week agreed with Albania on the building of two reception and detention camps for illegal migrants arriving on boats. "Bear in mind that Albania will quite soon, in our view, be a member of the EU, implying that we are talking about the question of how can we jointly solve challenges and problems within the European family," he said. "Such deals, that have been eyed there, are possible and we will all look at that very closely," he said. Scholz said a clear EU course on migration policy was needed. He called for an overhaul of the bloc's asylum and migration rules to be completed during the current term of the European Parliament.

“Bangladesh achieved remarkable growth during the last two decades. Referred to as the South Asian tiger, the country has strong trade relations with the EU,” said Tomáš Zdechovský MEP (EPP, Czechia) in a conference titled “Democracy and Human Rights in Bangladesh”, which took place in the European Parliament on November 7th. “A constructive and balanced partnership based on mutual trust and respect is needed between the two sides now. There is confidence that democracy will prevail in the upcoming elections in Bangladesh, which is seen as a symbol of democracy”, he added. The co-host of the event and Chairperson of Study Circle London Syed Mozammel Ali stated: “According to the 2023 Global State of Democracy Report, almost half of the 173 countries around the world suffered a decline in at least one key indicator of democratic performance in the past five years due to reasons, such as the cost-of-living crisis, climate change and Russia-Ukraine war. Bangladesh is no exception being a populous country with 112 million voters”. “Of course, there should be a balance between human rights and security, and like Western countries, the Bangladeshi government is dealing with security forces misusing their power through judiciary processes. It takes hundreds of years to install genuine human rights and democratic traditions and there is good progress in Bangladesh”, he went on. Referring to the 11 Islamic parties out of 47 political parties being registered by the Election Commission, Ali commented: “If the Western powers are not careful, they will risk pushing the country into the hands of fundamentalists”. Ending on a positive note, “the recent Global Gateway Summit was a vote of confidence in the Bangladeshi government and such assistance would not have been given if the EU didn’t have confidence in the current government”, he affirmed. Dr. Rayhan Rashid from the International Crimes Strategy Forum stressed that “Bangladesh was party to all major international human rights conventions, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, while sheltering 1.2. million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. “This demonstrates the commitment of Bangladesh to human rights, but it can also cause governance and resource-related challenges”, he said, adding “human rights should not be weaponised for political gains and used as bargaining chips for trade deals”. “Disinformation is a big challenge for democracies, which shall be countered by factchecking, engaging with all stakeholders and investigating lobbying money and the purpose behind”, continued Dr. Rashid. Next, he underlined the importance of not cherry-picking one set of human rights (i.e. political and civil rights) over another (i.e. social, economic and cultural rights, such as primary education, universal pension and maternity leave scheme, Covid-19 recovery and women empowerment) and taking a holistic approach while evaluating the human rights situation in Bangladesh. Dr. Mizanur Raman, former chairman of Bangladesh Human Rights Commission, explained that Bangladesh proclaimed its independence in 1971, in a bloody independent war where 3 million lives were lost, to ensure equality, social justice and human dignity for the Bangladeshi people. “Being a product of human rights, this country cannot be anything but human rights-friendly”, he argued. Reminding delegates of the killing of the father of the nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (pictured right), in August 1975. He also highlighted that the Bangladeshi law duly imposes content-based restrictions in line with cultural exception clauses in international conventions when it comes to disrespecting the founding father of the nation and the values of the Liberation War. Reiterating that the country upholds human rights, such as social rights, right to education and children rights dearly, which is exemplified by the free distribution of 35 million books on January 1st, he added: “Geopolitical human rights are a neo-colonial approach to pressurise smaller and weaker states such as Bangladesh, which violates the international principle of sovereign equality”. “We have problems in Bangladesh, but they cannot be comprehended in isolation, and we expect support from our friends in Europe to make our democratic infrastructure stronger, richer, and sustainable. They should abstain from killing our democracy by relying on unchecked sources, opportunism, and miscalculation as was the case in the pre-colonial days”, he concluded. “Let’s not forget that historical battles in Bangladesh are ongoing”, commented Dr.Rashid. “One side chose subjugation but the other side chose freedom. One side chose equal rights but the other side chose indignity. One side chose secularism but the other side chose a religious state. This is what the Bangladeshi voters have to choose between in the upcoming elections”. Source :  EU Today 

The European Union intends to usher in stricter rules on social media microtargeting — including tougher barriers for advertisers outside of the bloc to buy political ads aimed at residents of EU member states. Back in 2008, Barack Obama successfully deployed microtargeted social media adverts, which use personal data to precision-aim messaging at specific groups of voters, in his campaign for the presidency of the United States. Use of the marketing technique increased in the years after and ultimately gained notoriety among the wider public thanks to Cambridge Analytica, the British political consultancy that assisted Donald Trump in his successful 2016 US presidential campaign. It later emerged that the company had harvested data from tens of millions of Facebook profiles. Microtargeted political ads would no longer be allowed in the EU under a deal agreed to on Monday by negotiators representing the Council of the European Union, which brings together governmental ministers from the member states, and the European Parliament. Preventing hidden influence Their agreement paves the way for a new law stipulating that personal data can only be collected if users have expressly consented for it to be used for political advertising. Data that allow advertisers to build profiles based on ethnicity, political views or sexual orientation are to be completely excluded from collection, according to official press releases from the council and the European Parliament. The law still needs to be formally approved before it comes into force. Martin Emmer, a professor with the Institute for Media and Communication Studies at the Free University of Berlin, told DW that the new rules wouldn't completely spell the end of microtargeting. Emmer said microtargeting was an important tool for political parties to reach voters over social media. The regulations are mainly about preventing hidden influence, Emmer said, including advertising in which people receive "messages tailored to their life situation in such a way that it is no longer possible to recognize any party ideology." Under the rules, political adverts would have to be clearly labeled and users will be able to find out who is behind them. The idea is to build up a publicly viewable archive of political adverts. An 'information war' The rules are also intended to reduce the influence of non-EU countries on elections held within the bloc. Three months before polls or referendums in the European Union, the financing of adverts from third countries would be restricted, according to a press release from the European Parliament. In Germany, for example, the rules could prohibit voters of Turkish heritage from being targeted on behalf of Turkish politicians. Though Russia wasn't mentioned explicitly, attempts to rein in the Kremlin's influence are also likely behind the rules. The European Commission has repeatedly warned of Russian interference in recent years. Emmer doubts that the rules would deter actors who are intent on waging an "information war." However, he said, the rules would give the European Union and its member states more control over such advertising. Emmer also welcomed the introduction of an archive to allow researchers to probe the effectiveness of the measures. Most of the regulations won't come into force in time for the June 2024 elections to the European Parliament. An 18-month transition period is planned — beginning as soon as the legislature and EU member states give their official approval.  

Black, Asian and Muslim people in Germany report they have regularly been discriminated against because of skin color, origin or religion. For white people, sexism and ageism are the big problems. Disparaging looks or insults are daily occurrences in Germany for people with dark skin, Muslim women who wear a headscarf and people who speak German badly or not at all. Discrimination in Germany has many ugly faces and is widespread throughout society. These findings are neither entirely new nor completely surprising but have rarely been determined as precisely as in the report of the National Discrimination and Racism Monitor (NaRiDa) by the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), which was presented in Berlin on November 7. Around 21,000 people were surveyed from June to November 2022. According to the findings, more than half of Black people in Germany (54%) have experienced racism at least once. Almost one in five women from this population group said they were threatened or harassed several times a year. Among the respondents, 14% of Muslim women and 13% of Asian women reported such problems. "Repeated experiences of discrimination and racism have consequences for health and are demonstrably linked to a loss of trust in state institutions — this can weaken and threaten democracy," said DeZIM Director Naika Foroutan, who wants to establish a permanent monitoring system in Germany. Forty-one percent of Black men and 39% of Muslim men reported having encountered racist discrimination when dealing with the police. These groups also experienced racism and discrimination in public offices. They also experience racism when it comes to healthcare. People of color have more difficulty getting a doctor's appointment and are less likely to feel their problems are taken seriously. Black, Muslim and Asian respondents stated that they had delayed or avoided medical treatment for fear of being treated badly or changed doctors frequently. "Our data shows that experiences of discrimination and racism are also very clearly linked to anxiety disorders or depressive symptoms," said DeZIM co-director Frank Kalter. His recommendation to politicians and society: Develop preventative measures to better support those affected and civil society organizations "that work daily for a democratic, free and peaceful society." Skin color or surname should never be the deciding factor in the quality of medical care, who gets a doctor's appointment or can start therapy, warned Reem Alabali-Radovan, the Federal Government Commissioner for Integration. Doctors, nursing staff and hospitals need "tailor-made anti-racism training and concepts," she said. Similar demands have long been made with regard to staff working in public offices. Sexism and age discrimination White people also reported having experienced discrimination. According to the study, women complained about sexist attitudes, and men because of age discrimination. This study is to be followed by others. DW has learned that, in light of the Israel-Hamas war, the next report will focus more on antisemitism. The German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), which is financially supported by the Ministry of Family Affairs, has expressly been asked to do so. "In order to be able to take even more targeted and effective measures against discrimination and racism, we need more scientific findings and regular data," wrote Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) in response to a DW inquiry.

The fire on a freighter loaded with thousands of cars appears to have burnt itself out. Although the vessel seems stable, there are still concerns over potential risks. The Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management on Tuesday said the fire on board the Freemantle Highway cargo ship appeared to no longer be burning.  Salvagers say the freighter's hull, which caught alight almost a week ago, appears to be intact below water. What we now know about the ship "There are no visible signs any longer that the fire is still burning," the spokeswoman said, adding it was too early to sound the all-clear. There are still concerns that it might break up and pollute a nearby archipelago of ecologically sensitive islands in the Wadden Sea. The Panama-registered Fremantle Highway carried 3,783 new vehicles, including 498 electric cars, from the German port of Bremerhaven to Singapore.  The vessel was towed 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of the islands of Schiermonnikoog and Ameland to keep it away from busy shipping lanes. Firefighters had decided not to douse the freighter with flames with water for fear of making it unstable. The Fremantle Highway will now be towed to a port to be unloaded and have its hazardous contents removed before being broken up. However, no port has yet been identified where that will take place. "The recovery companies are working on a plan of action for towing the freighter to its final location and salvaging it," the ministry said. It's thought that the decision on a location partly depends on the condition of the vessel. The options are thought to be Eemshaven, a Dutch port on the German border, and the German port of Wilhelmshaven.

Temperatures are nearing record-breaking levels in Italy, Spain and Greece, as well as parts of the United States and Japan. Weather experts warn scorching weather will likely continue into next week. Dozens of cities across southern Europe were under heat wave warnings Saturday, as officials warn of extreme temperatures persisting over the coming days. In Italy, at least 16 cities were under "red" alerts for heat, including Rome, Florence and Bologna. In the southern Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia, temperatures were set to soar to 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit). That would make it the hottest temperature ever recorded in Europe, according to the European Space Agency, whose satellites monitor land and sea temperatures. The temperature was expected to hit 40 degrees Celsius in Rome on Monday and perhaps climb higher on Tuesday, smashing the 2017 records of 40.5 degrees Celsius in Italy's capital. In Greece, the Acropolis was partially closed for a second day, with the national weather service warning that "parts of the country could see highs as much as 44 degrees Celsius on Saturday." The service said the heat wave warnings would continue into next week. In Spain, the national meteorological service said temperatures in the eastern Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands would rise to between 40 and 42 degrees Celsius. US, Japan also face scorching weather Japan has also been experiencing extreme heat, with temperatures expected to rise to 39 degrees Celsius on Sunday and Monday. In the US, over 90 million Americans were under extreme heat advisories, watches and warnings. Experts warned that the heat would get worse this weekend for the states of Nevada, Arizona and California, where temperatures were predicted to soar above 120 Fahrenheit (48.8 degrees Celsius) in some desert locations. In Las Vegas, Nevada, an intense heat wave was threatening to break the city's all-time record high of 47.2 degrees Celsius this weekend. Phoenix, the capital city of Arizona, was set to record temperatures above 43 degrees Celsius for the 15th straight day. Meanwhile, a series of blazes erupted across California earlier this week. In Europe, a forest fire on the Spanish island of La Palma on Saturday also forced the evacuation of at least 500 people, authorities said. With some countries suffering from dangerous heat, others like South Korea and China have reported deadly floods due to unusually heavy rains, leaving several people dead. Scientists have warned that the frequency and severity of heat waves has increased steadily due to the effects of climate change.