SIx In The Morning Sunday January 11

Paris attacks: A city reeling after 72 hours which saw the staff of a satirical magazine gunned down, two police officers shot dead and two sieges end violently

Cole Moreton charts the chain of bloody events that stunned France

COLE MORETON

 

 

Sunday 11 January 2015

They got what they wanted. From the moment the Kouachi brothers climbed out of their black Citroën in a quiet street in Paris on Wednesday morning it was inevitable that they would die.

Everything they did and said in the following 48 hours suggested they wanted to be martyrs. Not for Islam, whatever they claimed, but for a corruption of that faith, a cult that takes the name of Allah but worships death and power.

"I was ready to die in battle," said Chérif Kouachi as long ago as 2007, but that sounds noble and this was not. Instead he put on military clothing and a balaclava, loaded a pair of Kalashnikovs and walked with his brother towards the office of a satirical magazine called Charlie Hebdo, in the middle of a chilly morning in Paris.

PATRICK COCKBURN

Sunday 11 January 2015

Paris attacks: Don't blame these atrocities on security failures

World View: The causes of last week's carnage are political, a blowback from wars in the Middle East

Did the massacre at Charlie Hebdo succeed, in terms of furthering the interests of extreme jihadi al-Qaeda-type Islamic movements? The incident itself is over with the deaths of the murderers, but the degree of their success will only become clear when we see how far French political leaders are lured into an over-reaction.

It was worrying to see Le Monde's banner headline: "Le 11 Septembre Français." First, it simply is not true: there were 2,977 victims of the 9/11 attacks and 17 victims in last week's shootings in Paris. The shock was far greater in the United States than in France because of the visual impact of aircraft crashing into the twin towers, and their spectacular collapse. It is important to keep a sense of proportion about such atrocities, because the perpetrators, whether linked to Islamic State (Isis), al-Qaeda or freelance jihadis, select targets that will guarantee maximum publicity. "The media is half jihad" is a slogan sometime seen on jihadi websites.

Interview with Architect Albert Speer: The Search for Sustainability at the Qatar World Cup

Interview Conducted by Maik Grossekathöfer and Juan Moreno

Does it make sense for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup? German architect Albert Speer, whose office is in charge of the project, says yes -- and is doing all he can to ensure sustainability. In a SPIEGEL interview, he says how.

Albert Speer has done much to change the world's appearance. The 80-year-old architect designed a satellite city near Cairo for 3 million people, the Chinese automotive city of Anting, a new capital for Nigeria and the 2000 Expo in Hanover. He also developed the Olympic bids for Leipzig for 2012 and Munich for 2018. Speer's stadium designs are a significant reason why Qatar was awarded the 2022 football World Cup.

Speer is a reserved, almost shy man. He hesitated for a long time before agreeing to an interview with SPIEGEL. In the conference room where the discussion ultimately took place, Speer lounged way back in his chair at a long, white table. "Large events like the Olympic Games or the World Cup make the inconceivable conceivable," he says. "There are no taboos."

AMERICAS

Haiti protesters urge president's departure

Anti-government protesters burn tyres and hurl items at police in clashes amid stalemate over long-delayed elections. Last updated: 11 Jan 2015 05:24

Protesters have burned tyres and thrown rocks and glass bottles at riot police during another anti-government demonstration in Haiti's capital amid a political stalemate over long-delayed elections.

The demonstration of mostly young men reached a peak of about 1,500 in downtown Port-au-Prince as protesters called for the departure of President Michel Martelly.

Police fired tear gas and sprayed water from an armoured vehicle, scattering the crowd at a plaza close to where the National Palace stood before it collapsed in Haiti's 2010 earthquake.

There has been no let-up in protests since last month's resignation of Martelly's prime minister, Laurent Lamothe, and other concessions aimed at resolving the stalemate holding up legislative elections.

A presidential commission had called for Lamothe's resignation, among other steps, to resolve the gridlock that has sparked protests.

China's Secretive Space Program Takes A Step Into The Open

• THE ECONOMIST

• JAN. 10, 2015, 5:51 PM

After decades hiding deep in China's interior, the country's space-launch programme is preparing to go a bit more public. By the tourist town of Wenchang on the coast of the tropical island of Hainan, work is nearly complete on China's fourth and most advanced launch facility. 

Tall new towers are visible from the road. Secrecy remains ingrained--soldiers at a gate politely but firmly decline to say what they are guarding. Visitors, they say, are prohibited. But nearby there are plans to build a space-themed amusement park. China is beginning to see new moneymaking opportunities in space.

The decision to build the base on Hainan was made for technical reasons: its proximity to the equator, at a latitude of 19 degrees north, will allow rockets to take better advantage of the kick from the Earth's rotation than is currently possible with launches from China's other bases, which were built far inland at a time of cold-war insecurity.

Another massacre? Why Nigeria struggles to stop Boko Haram (+video)

The Muslim militant group, Boko Haram, has killed as many as 2,000 people in northern Nigeria. Why can't the government stop it?

By Samantha Laine, Staff Writer

In the latest campaign by the African Islamic militant group Boko Haram, hundreds of gunmen reportedly overtook the town of Baga, its neighboring villages, and a multinational military base.

During a five-day attack in Nigeria's northeast, the heavily armed militant group descended on joint-run African military base, one of the few remaining government-run operations in the area. Upon seeing the gunmen, the military guards abandoned their posts.

In recent days, Boko Haram has attacked and destroyed 16 villages. Official death tolls have not been recorded, but reports vary widely, with anywhere from 200 to as many as 2,000 Nigerians killed, according to Amnesty International on Saturday.