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Paradoxically, Merkel's life under communism may have helped when it came to starting a political career as the Iron Curtain began to crumble. She knew how to navigate around blockages and when to keep a low profile. Her rise to prominence went all but unnoticed, except by the rivals she deftly derailed along the way. Elected to the first parliament of the reunited Germany, she was appointed a Cabinet minister by Chancellor Helmut Kohl just one year later. He called her das Mädchen, "the girl." She was used to sexism. "There was no real equality...
...hardly surprising that the nation - and whoever leads it - rarely seeks to thrust itself into acrimonious global issues. German political debate overwhelmingly concerns itself with sustaining and extending the widely shared prosperity and personal security that was a hallmark of the old West Germany. When the Great Recession began at the end of 2008, Merkel initially drew fire for her handling of the crisis, and in 2009, the German economy contracted 5% overall. Critics said she was doing too little, too slowly and that her efforts were targeted at the wrong industries. She argues that her response has been vindicated...
...Thai government began forcibly repatriating more than 4,000 ethnic Hmong to their native Laos on Dec. 28, despite expressions of concern from the U.N. and foreign governments and pleas from the refugees, who say they face persecution at home. The Hmong fought on the side of the U.S. in the conflicts that ravaged Southeast Asia in the 1970s, and a handful of rebels are still waging an insurgency against Laos' communist government. Although 158 deportees are legitimate refugees, as declared by the U.N., Bangkok refused to continue providing them asylum. Some 300,000 Hmong have fled to Thailand since...
...worked - up to a point. As the treatment went on, I began to catch my first glimpses of what it might be like to live without wanting to cross the street every time I saw a stranger holding an ice cream cone. But they were just that: glimpses. The spell always faded, and I didn't know how to make it last...
...Restrictions on Gaza's economy began with Hamas' election victory in 2006, and became a full blockade after the movement's militias ejected security forces loyal to Fatah, whom they accused of plotting a coup. The Israelis hope that if they choke off the inflow of even basic goods to a bare minimum, the population will turn on Hamas. Israel has also presented most construction materials from entering the territory, which has prevented the reconstruction of thousands of homes and other structures damaged by last year's Israeli offensive aimed at stopping Hamas rocket fire. Egypt, which controls the only...