World News Forecast
Sun, Feb 12 2012
Europe's oldest film studios, Babelsberg, are gearing up for a birthday party in February to celebrate their centenary. German and international filmmakers, as well as numerous other people who have worked both in front of and behind the cameras at Babelsberg, will be honored at the event. The studios, in Potsdam, can count on plenty of interest as it coincides with the Berlinale film festival, when the who's-who of the international film world will be in nearby Berlin.
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Thu, Feb 9 2012
The pulse of the global movie industry is often taken at the Berlinale because it is the world's first major film festival of the year. The global economic downturn hit the industry hard, but organizers of the 61st Berlin Film Festival in 2011 reported a significant upturn. The number of film entries for Golden and Silver Bear awards, the number of visitors and movie sales at the Berlinale's European Film Market will be watched at the 62nd festival to see if the trend continues.
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Tue, Feb 7 2012
Charles Dickens (born 7 Feb 1812 in England-Died 9 Jun 1870) is generally considered the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. His graphic imagery stems largely from personal experience of grim times. Dickens 2012 is an international celebration of his life and work. The BBC plans special programs, and The Royal Mint will produce a Special Edition Dickens 2012 coin. In being featured on British currency, Dickens joins Charles Darwin and Florence Nightingale.
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Tue, Feb 7 2012
Maastricht created the European Union but split European governments and popular opinion right down the middle. The Treaty led to the adoption of the Euro, the world’s second most traded currency but its most problematic, with fiscal chaos looming in Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy. Technically titled the Treaty on European Union, its legacy is still controversial.
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Mon, Feb 6 2012
The Vatican has invited bishops and the leaders of religious orders around the world to a conference, called "Toward Healing and Renewal," on ways to prevent and respond to abuse of children by clergy members. Held at Rome’s Jesuit University, It represents the Vatican's response to the disapproval and anger among Catholics and others after revelations of widespread abuse of children and adolescents around the world.
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Mon, Feb 6 2012
The year 2012 is a crunch year for the Church of England. It must vote on divisive issues such as the ordination of women bishops and the proposed Anglican covenant, a set of principles intended to bind the Anglican Communion amid differing viewpoints on human sexuality and biblical interpretation. Long-standing divisions between liberals and conservatives are fragmenting the 77 million-member worldwide Anglican Communion, and the vote could cause further fragmentation.
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Mon, Feb 6 2012
Elizabeth II ascended the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1952, following the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 Feb 1952. The February anniversary serves as a warm up for the main event, the celebration in June of the coronation anniversary, and could be a convenient date for an announcement about the Royal succession. Prime Minister David Cameron wants a change in the ancient rules that restrict the chances of female royals inheriting the throne.
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Wed, Feb 1 2012
The Ocean Health Index, envisaged as a new world standard for gauging ocean health, is being assembled by experts around the world with the aim of guiding decision markers in the actions they take and raising global public awareness and support for ocean conservation. The team sees the Index as a measuring stick to show whether efforts to improve ocean governance and health are successful.
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Wed, Feb 1 2012
New restrictions on visitors to Ecuador's Galapagos National Park, Charles Darwin's living laboratory, start on Feb 1. Experts see an impending threat to the islands' unique species from the growing tourist numbers and other ecological pressures. The regulations are aimed at protecting native animals at sensitive sites. They will affect some 50 cruise companies operating in the marine park. The new system forbids ships from visiting most island sites more than once in a 14-day period.
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Wed, Feb 1 2012
Daniel Pearl, an American and the South Asia Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal, was killed in Karachi on 1 Feb 10 years ago, following his abduction by extremists on 23 Jan 2002. The 10 years has seen a dramatic deterioration in United States-Pakistan relations, and a spread in the hatred that took Pearl's life. Daniel Pearl World Music Days, in October each year, was founded to address the causes of that hatred and to promote a tradition of fearless journalism.
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