Turkey has fought many internal political battles over the past few years.
Now, it's at a new crossroad. Last week Turkey's top state prosecutor,
Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya, launched a court case against the ruling AK Party.
The prosecutor claims the AK Party is trying to build an Islamic state
within secular Turkey. If successful, the AK Party would be banned, and 71
party members including the Prime Minister and President, face the risk of
being banned from politics for 5 years.
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Angela Merkel this week became the first German Chancellor to address the
Israeli Parliament. Merkel's three day visit aimed to upgrade ties between
Israel and Germany and was described by both countries as exceptional.
Seven German ministers also accompanied the Chancellor for a joint sitting
with the Israeli cabinet - a level of consultation Germany usually
reserved for a small number of EU states. Paying tribute to the "special
relationship" between the two countries Chancellor Merkel said the
genocide by the Nazis filled Germans with shame. However, more than sixty
years after World War two an address in German in the Israeli parliament
remains controversial.
Crossing borders - something very easy to do in Europe. It's now three
months since nine new EU member states entered Europe's border free travel
zone, known as the Schengen area. Back in December last year border
checkpoints were ceremonially decommissioned and there was a sense of
optimism and excitement about what Schengen might bring for trade, tourism
and stronger links between countries. But have things really changed?
On Thursday the Francophone world celebrated the day of "Francophonie" - a
celebration of the French language wherever it's spoken. Within the EU no
one plays up their language as much as the French. And of course France is
famous for trying to resist the encroachment of the English language and
American culture in particular. Strict rules for example regulate the
amount of French music that has to be played on the radio, and there's
even a special department within France's Ministry of Culture devoted to
the French language. But what is the status of French in the world today?
Every year the Eurovision song contest captivates millions of viewers
around Europe - and is famous catapulting bands like Abba or some one hit
wonders to the top of the charts. For hopeful bands, a Eurovision campaign
begins way before the finals that the world sees on television. In Sweden
the selection took 6 weeks, 32 songs and millions of TV viewers and their
votes. Last Saturday saw the final of Sweden's Melodifestival to select
their entrant for Eurovision 2008 in Belgrade. Radio Sweden's Kris
Boswell has all the details.
Here's the third clue to help you identify our mystery film producer and
director. He's French and he celebrated his birthday on March the 18th. So here's the clue, an excerpt from one of his films.
Most of the film's action takes place in the underground world of the
Paris metro. Do you know who we're looking for? Email your answer to
contact@networkeurope.org.
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