Some 150,000 to 200,000 Syrian refugees are living in Jordan, in camps and rented apartments. DW visits a soldier, a politician and a business owner who fled the violence.
Every day, hundreds of Syrian refugees reach Jordan - on some days, there are thousands of them. Zaatari, the largest refugee camp, is home to 30,000 people. But not all the refugees live in the camps; some stay with friends and relatives or rent apartments and rooms.
A home away from home
Yousof is the father of two girls. Rana is four years old and Sahar is six. He, like his father before him, used to have a shop in Damascus selling heaters. He was able to save money every month - until a tank completely destroyed his shop. "I was worried about my children and the safety of our family," he told Deutsche Welle. "So with the money I'd saved, I bribed the officials at the airport and we were able to get to Amman."
Madonna and Milk CartonsRussia's War on Gays and Lesbians Intensifies
Obscure conservative groups in Russia have intensified their fight against homosexuality, recently going after the pop-singer Madonna as well as an allegedly offensive milk carton label. The developments underscore a growing atmosphere of intolerance in the country.
Russia's self-proclaimed morality police have discovered a new danger to the people's health and values, and it is to be found in the country's supermarkets -- in the form of dairy products from the American company PepsiCo. Activists from the Orthodox group called the People's Council have even gotten Russia prosecutors involved.
"The packaging of these dairy products with the label 'Vesyoly Molochnik' have long been a thorn in my side," says Anatoly Artyuch, of the People's Council. The brand means "happy milkman" in English.
Pepsi uses the brand to sell all manner of dairy products, including milk, yoghurt and kefir. Packages portray a smiling, slightly rotund milkman wearing a chef's hat. Behind him is a green meadow with a rainbow stretching across the sky.
US pledges $58 million aid for Horn of Africa
Sapa-AFP | 23 10月, 2012 09:02
The United States on Monday announced an extra $58 million in aid for Horn of Africa countries, lamenting the region's "fragile" situation with over nine million people in need.
Archaic defamation laws threaten Caribbean media
Defamation laws have been used more in the Caribbean and Latin America than other parts of the world. Some countries are now working to overturn the laws.
By Ezra Fieser, Correspondent / October 22, 2012
SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican radio commentator Melton Pineda’s mouth rankled politicians frequently enough over the years to earn him the nickname “The Bazooka.” This month, after he was prosecuted under the country’s archaic defamation laws, it also earned him three months in prison.
A court found that Mr. Pineda slandered a politically connected former police spokesman when he accused him of ties to the criminal world. In the
United States, Pineda could have been forced to pay damages to his victim under a civil suit.
In fights over public art, supporters chalk up some victories
By Maria Recio | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — The four-story sculpture that fills a rotunda in Terminal One at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport is eye-catching, with swirling pieces of metal and suspended circular objects that create a galaxy-like effect.
But 15 years after its installation, the terminal’s owners decided that “Star Sifter” was taking up valuable real estate, and they told sculptor Alice Aycock in an email that they needed to eliminate it, the better to expand the food court.
Aycock fought back, and won: The airport agreed to move her work to another part of the terminal.
It was a rare example of an artistic victory, but one that’s beginning to be felt in other parts of the country, not just in such cultural meccas as New York. Artists are fighting back, joining forces with lawyers, community activists, cultural institutions and public officials to defend public art.
23 October 2012 Last updated at 02:12 GMT
In China a tiny number of officials make key environmental decisions. But an increasingly savvy public could take to the streets unless the government changes its approach, argues environmental campaigner Ma Jun as part of a series of viewpoints on challenges facing China's new leaders.
In August 2011 about 12,000 people in China went for a "group stroll" in the northern city of Dalian. But this was no ordinary Sunday morning walk - it was a protest by another name, in a country where dissent is controlled.
The strollers carried banners voicing their rage at a chemical plant in the area. In China these strollers eventually forced the government to announce the relocation of the 10bn yuan ($1.6bn; £1bn) plant.
China has witnessed remarkable economic successes over the last three decades, accompanied by industrialisation and urbanisation. But ordinary people are coming to understand that this comes at a cost.
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