Agent provocateur: Inside the secret archives of East Germany’s secret police
Simon Menner spent three years trawling through millions of surveillance images in the archives of the East German secret police. What he found was often laughable. But, he tells Holly Williams, beneath the Austin Powers exterior, there was evidence of a truly disturbing machine that still has the power to break its subjects
HOLLY WILLIAMS Author Biography SUNDAY 03 NOVEMBER 2013
While the recent leaking of government-surveillance information hasn’t exactly been welcomed by the secret services behind it, an exception comes in the form of the documents obtained by the spies of the Stasi, the Ministry for State Security run by the former German Democratic Republic (GDR).
After the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, the vast swathes of material the Stasi gathered about their compatriots was archived, and opened to the public. Now, a new book by the artist Simon Menner brings many of these bizarre but sinister records to light for the first time, from photographic guides on how to apply fake wigs, to coded hand signals and even images of Stasi award ceremonies and parties.
Protest in Russia: an activity only for the brave and foolhardy
As anti-corruption protesters look set to join Pussy Riot and Greenpeace activists stuck in cells, Muscovites are growing more fearful
Shaun Walker in Moscow
The Observer, Sunday 3 November 2013Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, in a courthouse nestled amid high-rise apartment blocks in south-west Moscow, nine men are marched into a room in handcuffs and placed in metal cages. They are joined by three others who are also on trial but under house arrest or on bail, two dozen lawyers, several armed policemen with a growling alsatian and an irritable, fatigued judge.
This is the biggest of the “Bolotnaya” trials – court processes against 28 people who were arrested in the aftermath of a rally on Bolotnaya Square on 6 May 2012. It was the day before Vladimir Putin was inaugurated for a new presidential term, and the crowds chanted slogans demanding new elections and a less corrupt government. A year-and- a-half later, the protest movement has been extinguished, though it lingers in the consciousness of Moscow’s middle classes, and Putin has embarked on a more socially conservative path to consolidate his support in the heartlands.
Malaysia invests in a fresh start for business
The government wants to create its own rival to Singapore from scratch, writes Jamie Dunkley
JAMIE DUNKLEY SUNDAY 03 NOVEMBER 2013
Set in the lush surroundings of the Wiltshire countryside, Marlborough College is every bit the classic British institution. Founded in 1843, the £31,350-a-year boarding school counts Sir John Betjeman, Samantha Cameron and the Middletons amongst its alumni, yet its latest venture is more than 6,000 miles away
Marlborough is just one of the many British investors in Iskander, a 772-square mile development bordering Singapore at the southern tip of Malaysia.
The project has already attracted £25bn in investment since it was created in 2007. As well as Marlborough College, Pinewood Studios, Thistle Hotels, Newcastle University and the University of Southampton have already set up shop. Merlin Entertainments also opened Asia’s first Legoland in the area last year and more look set to follow.
Pakistan summons US ambassador over drone death of Taliban leader Mehsud
Pakistan has summoned the US ambassador to protest against the killing of Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a drone attack. It accused Washington of wrecking attempts to hold peace talks.
DW
Before the summoning of the ambassador, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar accused the United States of “scuttling” efforts to broker peace with the Taliban.
The statement said that the strike was “counterproductive to Pakistan’s efforts to bring peace and stability to Pakistan and the region.”
“The murder of Hakimullah is the murder of all efforts at peace,” said Nisar, adding that “very aspect” of cooperation between Pakistan and the US would be reviewed as a result of the strike. “Americans said they support our efforts at peace. Is this support?” added Nisar.
Kenyan press, opposition criticise proposed harsh media law
Kenyan media and opposition politicians have criticised media rules proposed by the government, saying they would muzzle the press and stunt democracy in the country.
Reuters
Kenyan members of parliament late on Thursday voted to pass a new law that empowers the government to form a powerful tribunal to draw up a code of conduct for the media.
In an African region where several nations tightly control news-gathering, Kenya’s media has enjoyed broad freedoms to criticise successive governments.
Journalists said the aim of the new rules was to stop investigative reports on corruption or that hold the government to account
Abuse video shocks Saudi Arabia
By Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN
A video that appears to show a Saudi man beating a migrant worker is causing growing outrage in Saudi Arabia.
In the amateur video, which went viral after it was posted on YouTube, a male worker in an orange jumpsuit is first seen sitting on a floor, scared and submissive.
A man who government officials believe is Saudi begins tormenting the victim, angry because he thinks the worker has spoken to his wife.
“Why did you come here when she was here?” he asks in what sounds like Saudi-accented Arabic.
Recent Comments