Jana Hudcova` – Head of Tourism Unit ??� City of Prague ??� Prague City Hall ??� Department of Culture, International Relations and Tourism.
Euronews travelled to ITB Berlin, the world??�s leading travel trade show, to speak to representatives from countries worldwide and get a first-hand look at the latest trends in the industry.
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Ceasefire leads to questions over Gaddafi’s tactics
The speed of the ceasefire announcement has left many pondering on the tactics of Muammer Gaddafi.
Immediately after the UN no-fly declaration the Libyan defence ministry threatened to attack maritime and air traffic in the Mediterranean.
Despite the ceasefire, British Prime Minister, David Cameron remains focused on ending the violence against the civilian population: “We will judge him by his actions and not his words. What is absolutely clear is the United Nations Security Council resolution says he must stop what he is doing – brutalising his people; if not all necessary measures can follow to make him stop.”
The French, who have been most pro-active in pushing for a fly zone, believe Gaddafi cannot be trusted.
To read : Libya: a timeline of international diplomacy how-international-reaction-to-libya-evolved/
Foreign affairs spokesman Bernard Valero said: “I would recommend to anyone to be very cautious with a statement made by Gaddafi. If you remember what he has said over the last three weeks, and especially I would like to remind you of the terrible threats he has issued against his own people, it was not only words but also crimes.”
Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy head, spoke of the EU’s role in increasing pressure on the colonel.
“What is key to the EU is that we look at what we can do to strengthen the economic sanctions and intensify our humanitarian support for the people of Libya. I was extremely pleased that the resolution made an explicit mention of sanctions against Libyan oil assets,” she said in a speech in Brussels.
Uganda’s Museveni predicts fourth presidential term
Voting has ended in Uganda’s presidential poll with incumbent Yoweri Museveni widely expected to win a fourth term.
The Ugandan leader says he is confident of winning by a landslide and will clamp down on opposition protests.
The threat of violence has been raised by his arch rival, Kizza Besigye, during a bitter election campaign. He warned he would call for an Egypt-style revolt if widespread vote rigging is reported.
There have been several allegations of rampant bribery for votes and EU election observers have expressed concern that some people were being turned away from polling stations. In the past two elections, the Supreme Court ruled there had been rigging and violence against the opposition, though not enough to alter the result.
Actress Liz Taylor dies
Hollywood star Elizabeth Taylor has died aged 79. Her agent confirmed the news on Wednesday.
She had been suffering from congestive heart problems for some time.
Taylor is considered one of cinema’s greatest and most beautiful actresses. Perhaps her most famous role came in Cleopatra, where she starred alongside future husband Richard Burton. She won two Oscars for Best Actress: the first for her role in Butterfield 8 in 1960, the second for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? six years later.
Taylor was born in London in 1932 and in 1999 was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Read – Liz Taylor, actress and humanitarian
She was also well-known for her tumultuous love life. She married eight times, divorcing Burton twice. She is survived by four children, one of whom she adopted, and nine grandchildren.
Her son Michael Wilding said in a statement. “My Mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humour, and love. Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world.”
Army disperses protesters in Oman
Soldiers have dispersed a small group of demonstrators who had gathered for the fourth day of protests in the port city of Sohar in Oman.
Read our news file
One person was wounded after shots were fired into the air. The crowd dispersed only to regroup at a roundabout near the port.
They had also gathered on Monday and blocked the entrance to the port, which exports 160,000 barrels of refined oil products every day.
It is a rare outbreak of discontent in the normally sleepy country, and follows the pattern of anti-government protests across the Arab world in recent weeks.
Yesterday, the Sultan of Oman promised a raft of measures aimed at tackling unemployment and inequality.
Country music triumphs at Grammys
For the second year running a country group has stolen the show at the Grammy music industry awards in Los Angeles. Lady Antebellum picked up 5 prizes, including Best Song and Record of the Year.
Rapper Eminem, nominated in 10 categories, walked away with two awards for Best Rap Album and Best Solo Rap performance. Lady Gaga took three awards including Best Pop Album, and Canadian rockers Arcade Fire triumphed in Best Album of the Year for their record The Suburbs.
Yemen opposition reject unity govt with Saleh
Yemen’s opposition parties have said they will reject any offer from President Ali Abdullah Saleh to form a unity government.
Read our news file
The offer is expected to be made within the next 24 hours but Yemen’s opposition coalition insisted they would not compromise over their key demand that Saleh must resign.
Mass rallies against the president’s 32-year rule began over a month ago.
Saleh has already said he will not seek re-election at the end of his current seven-year term in 2013 but that promise has failed to quell the unrest.
Obama’s budget starts spending battle
President Barack Obama is proposing a budget that would cut the deficit from 10.9 percent of the US economy this year to 3.2 percent by 2015.
The deficit would rise in fiscal 2011, then fall sharply in 2012 through spending cuts and increased tax revenue.
There will now be bitter argument with the Republican opposition in Congress. The Republicans want even tougher spending cuts.
Failure by lawmakers to agree on funding government operations after a March 4 deadline expires could result in the government shutting down.
“We’re just at the beginning of a long process,” White House budget director Jack Lew told ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’. “We look forward to engaging with the Congress and working in a bipartisan way to actually solve the problem.”
The White House sees a December tax pact forged between Obama and Republicans as evidence they can work together, but it did not sound like it from comments by US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
“The president talks like someone who recognises that spending is out of control, but so far it hasn’t been matched with action,” McConnell said in a statement.
“Americans don’t want a spending freeze at unsustainable levels. They want cuts, dramatic cuts. And I hope the president will work with us on achieving them soon,” he added.
Trial date set for beleaguered Berlusconi
The date of April 6 has been set for the trial of Italy’s scandal-hit prime minister.
It is then that Silvio Berlusconi’s lawyers will have to defend him against charges of abuse of power and paying for sex with an under-age prostitute.
The indictment sheet was issued by a court in Milan, where three female judges will examine the evidence. Berlusconi is not obliged to appear in person before the judicial panel on that day.
The case concerns allegations that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan dancer, then intervened to try to free her when she was arrested for theft.
His supporters say the whole case is politically motivated.
Analyst James Walston said that while the charges were serious, Berlusconi is not the resigning type:
“He is a fighter; he has survived many other accusations and indictments even though he has been found guilty but let off. The other point, which makes this different from the corruption charges and from the slush fund accusations, it’s a very clear and obvious charge.”
But Berlusconi’s legal team is playing down any threat and dismissing the case. His lawyer Francesco Paolo said: “I think it is really difficult to talk of an under-age prostitute, when that woman denies both the sexual intercourse and having been paid.”
Berlusconi’s term in office has been beset by scandal and corruption allegations, but this latest criticism of his behaviour recently mobilised public anger as never before.
China blocks G20 moves on how to guage economic imbalances
China has blocked moves to use exchange rates and currency reserves in the criteria of how to measure global economic imbalances at the G20 meeting of finance minister in Paris.
Still a partial accord was reached on how to gauge general economic well being.
The United States and others accuse China of keeping the yuen artificially low to boost exports and accumulate massive foreign currency reserves.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde chaired the meeting:
“One day at a time means agreeing on the indicators first. The next step will be the guidelines and the following step will be the mutual assessment test, it is a question of being focussed, determined and respectful of other people’s views. That is what we have tried to do today and what we will try to do tomorrow.”
China, the worlds second biggest economy, has long resisted Western pressure to substantially revalue its currency to help rebalance global growth.
The G20 also moved to end speculation on food prices by banks, hedge and pension funds.
Food prices are at “dangerous levels” according to the World Bank with close to 50 million people being shunted into poverty since last summer as a result.
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Protests in Tunisia continue to have an effect
Ongoing protests in Tunisia are continuing to wield an effect.
The interim government has legalised a moderate Islamist group which was banned under former President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali.
Legalisation was one of the protesters’ key demands, and paves the way for the group, Ennahda, to form a political party to take part in elections.
Meanwhile, new Prime Minister Beji Caid Sebsi is to announce the creation of a new council responsible for rewriting the constitution ahead of the next elections.
Many who helped oust Ben Ali have continued to protest, angry that some of his former allies were included in the interim administration.
Two more ministers quit on Tuesday, meaning five senior figures including the former Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi have left so far this week.
Libyans count the cost of their revolt
The violence which has accompanied Libya’s bloody revolt against the Gaddafi regime has left 300 dead, including over 100 soldiers.
That is according to the Libyan authorities but as families buried their dead at a cemetery in Tripoli, residents believing their own eyes put the toll far higher.
Human Rights Watch and opposition groups say more than twice that number have died.
In towns where Gaddafi’s grip has been challenged, locals have been tearing down symbols of the regime.
But overnight, in the town of Sabratah, large numbers of the Libyan army are said to have been deployed following the destruction of government buildings.
In the east of the country, earlier fierce battles that accounted for many of the dead were caught on mobile phone cameras.
But now Benghazi and Tobruk are reported calm and under the control of the protesters while Libya’s interior minister became the latest senior official to defect.
Rival forces exchange gunfire in Yemen
A peaceful sit-in protest ended in tragedy in Aden, southern Yemen late on Saturday after police dispersed the protesters with gunfire. A 16 year-old boy was hit by a stray bullet and died in hospital.
Earlier in the day for the first time pro and anti-government supporters exchanged gunfire in the capital, Sanaa. The flashpoint came when government loyalists attempted to storm the university campus, which has been at the centre of the week-long protests against President Saleh.
In another first, one of the leaders of the opposition has called for the president to quit. Sons of Yemen Secretary General Mohsin Fareed said dialogue had become a “waste of time”.
Protests also continued in Taiz, Yemen’s second city and flared in Karish. 50 members of the president’s party resigned in protest at the actions of the security services, but in many places they were nowhere to be seen, seemingly content to let the pro and anti-camps fight it out.
Italy calls for EU aid for migrant influx
With 1000 illegal immigrants arriving every day for the last five days on the Italian island of Lampedusa Italy has declared a humanitarian state of emergency and is appealing to the EU for aid.
Italy needs extra planes and ships to patrol the Tunisian coast, as most of the migrants are Tunisians, with many complaining they have been forced to flee a country in chaos. Calm seas and fine weather means many ships have left for Europe in recent days.
“These countries: Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt, but also others, need a strategy in which Europe provides much more substantial means to them – a real ‘Marshall plan’ in order to avoide the desperation there that causes even more migration,” said Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.
Italian coastguards are at full stretch attempting to locate and then monitor the often dangerous and overcrowded vessels attempting to make the crossing. One migrant died last night and another was reported lost at sea.
The lucky ones were picked up by the Italian coastguards, but their immediate future is far from clear or comfortable, as they will be heading off to full-to-overflowing transit camps.
The King’s Speech scoops Oscar top prize
British film ‘The King’s Speech’ has scooped the big prize at the Oscars.
The historical drama was crowned as the best film at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
Its director, Tom Hooper, was named as best director while the film also won best original screenplay.
Colin Firth was named as best actor for his role as wartime monarch George VI.
Natalie Portman picked up the Oscar for best actress for her role in psychological thriller Black Swan.
Meanwhile, this year’s award for best foreign film went to Danish picture In a Better World.
The movie tells the story of a doctor who travels between his quiet home life in an idyllic village in Denmark and a refugee camp in Sudan.
Christian Bale followed up on his Golden Globes success by picking up the gong for best supporting actor for his role as former professional boxer Dicky Eklund in The Fighter.
His co-star, Melissa Leo, was named best supporting actress.
An abandoned house near Chernobyl in Belarus
Makar Krosovsky, 73, visits his abandoned in the state radiation ecology reserve in the 30 km (18 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the village of Pogonnoe, in Belarus. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko
Ben Ali’s corruption culture
Many Tunisians would like to see the former occupants of the presidential palace return to stand trial on corruption charges. The Ben Ali family robbed Tunisia of billions of euros through illegal transactions.
Gaddafi says he’s still in Tripoli
Libya’s leader has made a fleeting appearance on state television signalling his defiance over the mounting revolt against his rule.
He said he’d been speaking in front of the youth in Green Square but the rain had come…“I want to clarify,” he said, “that I am in Tripoli not in Venezuela. Do not believe foreign channels, they are dogs.”
If you are in Libya, contact us and tell us what you see and witness. witness@euronews.net, twitter@euronews or facebook
Dozens injured in Algiers as police clear slums
Violent clashes have broken out in Algiers, the Algerian capital, injuring around 40 protesters.
Eyewitnesses said about 150 people, mostly youths, confronted security forces in the poor Algiers neighbourhood of Oued Koreich after police attempted to clear out a run-down housing estate. Built around 50 years ago, the area has been earmarked for destruction.
Perhaps fearful of the recent riots that have hit Algeria and other Arab countries, police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. One young protester was reportedly hit in the eye.
The opposition continues to call for reform in Algeria, which is one of Europe’s biggest suppliers of natural gas. Unlike other countries in the region, however, the unrest in the north African state, appears, so far, to be localised rather than a mass nationwide protest.
Correct! Computerised quiz contestant takes on humans
One long-running American quiz show has never seen anything like it.
In Jeopardy, two human contestants are up against a computer called Watson.
The shows, spread over three days, are seen as a test of the ability of machines to understand what humans are asking them in natural language.
Jeopardy, broadcast on US television since 1964, gives contestants the answers and asks them to come up with the questions.
Who is Agatha Christie? said Watson, glowing green to show it was 97% sure that the crime writer had once appeared in an archaeological dig in Syria.
Correct! came the reply.
Who is Maurice Chavalier? Watson said as it guessed the question to an answer about the French actor and singers musical oeuvre.
Correct! Watson would have beamed with satisfaction, had it been able to do so.
The super-computer, designed by IBM, is powered by 10 racks of servers. It does not use the Internet but has digested a librarys worth of information from encyclopedias, dictionaries, books, news reports, movie scripts and other sources.
Why do this? asked David Ferrucci, principal investigator on the IBM Watson project. Because it was hard and difficult and challenging and because if you succeed at this, what youve done is youve created a technology that can help people sift through and understand better all the knowledge that is out there in natural language content.
One of Watsons opponents in the show, Ken Jennings, who won a record-breaking 74 successive games, said:
Its got a huge 15 trillion bite memory bank but it has a hard time understanding some simple English sentences that a human child, you know, would understand so you get funny misunderstandings. In one of the practice games I remember Watson getting Jamie Foxx confused with Ludwig van Beethoven.
Watson is said to be more advanced than Deep Blue, a machine that beat chess champion Gary Kasparov in 1997.
The winner of the quiz will get a million dollars. Watson, tied in first place after day one, will have no say if he wins: IBM has said it would give away the prize money to charity.
