Word: germans
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Take international affairs. During the first year of his presidency, Sarkozy's frosty relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel led him to downgrade the Franco-German relationship that has traditionally been central to French policy in Europe and instead cultivate closer ties with the U.K. But in April, ahead of the G-20 summit in London, the French leader rushed back to Merkel on the issue of tougher international regulation of financial markets, and has since encouraged a tighter relationship with Berlin. Last week, Sarkozy even started a public fight with British Chancellor Alistair Darling by bragging that the appointment...
...also face some competition. Popular virtual world Second Life has let gamers visit reproductions of parts of London for several years. And German cyber-tourism site Twinty, which lets people visit a virtual Berlin and Singapore, is also preparing a London launch. But, unlike Near London, shopping isn't the prime focus of those sites. Instead they're about setting up a cyber-life for your virtual alter ego, or avatar, complete with its own apartment and wardrobe. (See a Techland exclusive: the first look at Avatar's 'Interactive Trailer...
...Sarkozy's oratorical histrionics are becoming a regular occurrence. But the French President isn't the only European David ready to stand up to the Internet Goliath and its formidable archiving project. Last October, German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated concerns held by many German publishers. The German government, she said, rejected "the scanning of books without any copyright protection like Google is doing. We refuse to permit simple scanning of books without full protection of intellectual-property rights." The French and German complaints are part of a growing move in the European Union to head off Google's mass digitization...
...controversy comes at an awkward time, with Germany under increasing pressure to contribute more troops to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Despite doubts over the German mission in Afghanistan, on Dec. 3, the Bundestag voted to extend the mandate by another year, until 2010. There are now about 4,300 German soldiers in Afghanistan - most are based in the north of the country - and Germany is the third biggest troop contributor after the U.S. and Britain. But the U.S. is looking for a bigger commitment. "More German troops would be very welcome," Richard Holbrooke, President Obama's special envoy...
...Merkel has said she won't make a decision on deploying any more German troops until after the international conference on Afghanistan to be held in London on Jan. 28. But with Horst Seehofer - leader of her Christian Democrats' sister party and coalition partner, the Bavarian Christian Social Union - already signaling his opposition to boosting German forces, it's clear that the decision won't be easy...