| Top tips for budding games developers Newsbeat speaks to Oxford-based NaturalMotion as they capture player actions for an upcoming ice hockey video game. bbc.co.uk |
EU wants safer offshore drilling The EU plans to tighten regulations for deep-water drilling to prevent any disaster like the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. bbc.co.uk |
Economic gloom fuels far-right growth in Europe European countries need immigrants – but they have yet to come up with a satisfactory way of organising immigrationThe obituary from Angela Merkel for multiculturalism in Germany is at one with the temper of the times in Europe. From Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, the last few months have seen an increase in anti-immigrant, specifically anti-Muslim, policies and a backlash against ethnic minorities reflected in electoral breakthroughs for the far-right in the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, France, and Italy.Listening to the Zeitgeist, mainstream governments of the centre-right have been trying to curb the live-and-let-live approach by, for example, banning the burqa or minarets.Last week in the Netherlands, a rightwing minority government took office pledging to curb immigration, restricting Islamic headgear, and deporting immigrants with criminal records. The coalition depends for its survival on the parliamentary support of Geert Wilders, the anti-immigrant firebrand and perhaps the most aggressive anti-Islam politician in Europe.In Vienna, the far-right leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, more than doubled his vote to 27% following a xenophobic campaign that featured free computer games which involved firing at mosques, and calls for the city's "blood to remain Viennese". In some working-class areas of the city, Strache's Freedom party took 37%.Last month in Sweden, which has traditionally practised Europe's most open-door policy towards immigrants, a party with neo-Nazi roots, Sweden Democrats, broke through into parliament for the first time thanks to an "enough-is-enough" campaign against immigration.In France, the beleaguered Sarkozy administration has banned the burqa – a policy being emulated in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland – and fought its biggest battle in years with EU headquarters in Brussels over the summary deportation of Roma or Gypsy families.The backdrop to the backlash is economic gloom, austerity packages, and public spending cuts, with voters worried about their jobs, living standards, and children. Mainstream leaders are desperate to shore up support, and extremist populist mavericks resort to scapegoating immigrants in a time of troubles on everything from lost jobs, soaring welfare bills, social housing, and crime rates.The far-right is benefiting from the failures of mainstream politics. The perceived entrenchment of parallel societies in Europe's big cities is seen as the root of the problem as well as the failure to integrate immigrants.Wilder prophesies the "islamification" of the Netherlands. Thilo Sarrazin, whose bestselling book about Germany's kamikaze mission on immigration, warns of a Turkish Muslim takeover.When Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, visited Berlin recently, Merkel complained to him about forced marriages and honour killings among the large Turkish and Kurdish minorities.The far-right is prospering, taking the votes of traditional working class centre-left supporters while mainstream social democracy struggles.Many middle-class liberals – horrified by the implications for free speech of the Danish cartoons crisis and the Islamist murder of Theo Van Gogh in Amsterdam – are also divided over immigration and its impact in traditionally permissive societies such ss the Netherlands, Sweden, or Denmark.With an ageing population and anxious to save its "social model", Europe needs immigrants but has yet to come up with a satisfactory way of organising itimmigration.The far rightIslamIan Traynorguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Vital role for 'neglected' fish A UN study has shown the profound importance to people and economies of inland fisheries that are threatened by biodiversity loss. bbc.co.uk |
Former Argentina president Néstor Kirchner dies Contender to succeed his wife, Cristina Fernández, in Argentina's election next year, dies from heart attackThe former Argentinian president, Néstor Kirchner, the current leader's husband and a contender to succeed her in next year's election, has died of a heart attack.Kirchner, 60, was considered President Cristina Fernández's closest adviser and a major power broker in her government.He died after being taken to the Formenti de Calafate hospital while suffering a severe heart attack, the presidency said."It was a sudden death"Kirchner's doctor, Luis Buonomo, told Reuters.The former president, who underwent two arterial procedures earlier this year, died in the southern city of El Calafate. Fernández was at his side when he died, state television said.The left-leaning Kirchner from the ruling Peronist party was president from 2003 to 2007 and oversaw Argentina's recovery from a devastating economic crisis. He was famous for his fiery speeches peppered with leftist rhetoric and outspoken criticism of political rivals, private companies and the International Monetary Fund.The news immediately had great impact in Argentina."A great patriot has died," said Juan Carlos Dante Gullo, a ruling party congressman, to state TV. "This will leave a huge hole in Argentine politics. We will have to follow his example. Argentina has lost one of its greatest men."The leader of the human rights group Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, Estela de Carlotto, said Kirchner "gave his life for his country.""Our country needed this man so much. He was indispensable," she told radio Continental.Kirchner, a likely candidate in next year's presidential elections, was secretary general of the South American alliance known as Unasur and also served as a congressman and leader of the Peronist party.After meeting his wife at law school in the turbulent 1970s, the couple took turns in the political limelight. She was a close adviser during his 2003-2007 rule and he was a key economic adviser since she succeeded him in December 2007.He was seen as a key contender in next year's presidential race and his popularity closely tracked approval ratings for his wife's presidency that rebounded from lows of about 20% alongside an economic recovery.In their back-to-back tenures – criticised by some for side-stepping presidential term limits – Kirchner and his wife increased state control of the economy, intervening in financial and grains markets and maintaining price controls that analysts say have dampened investment in the energy sector.Argentinaguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |