European languages

Here's our presentation of Catalan.

Let's Travel

We're going to Amsterdam!

How the EU works: a video guide

BBC Europe correspondent Matthew Price has been exploring the corridors of power in Brussels, and here he explains what each EU institution does. Come on a video tour with him.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23488006

EU quiz - or, how big is your deficit?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21040566

Scottish independence: What would it mean for the rest of the UK?

Would the Labour Party in the rest of the UK struggle?
Would Wales move towards independence if Scotland leaves the UK?
Would the EU have a new member and what about the Eurozone?
How would the national debt for the rest of the UK be affected?
Would Team GB be no more?
Would a passport be required to cross into Scotland?
Would people in the UK need to use an international dialling tone to ring Scotland?
Would the UK lose oil revenue?
Where would the UK station its nuclear weapons?
Would UK citizens get seamless medical care in Scotland?
Would Northern Ireland's position be changed?



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25035427

England vs. Germany

Just saw the replay of the match on "BBC iplayer". It's funny because I was watching it while I was posting things on the blog (which remind me of English and German).

Fresh effort to clone extinct animal

Scientists in Spain have received funding to test whether an extinct mountain goat can be cloned from preserved cells.

The bucardo became extinct in 2000, but cells from the last animal were frozen in liquid nitrogen.

In 2003, a cloned calf was brought to term but died a few minutes after birth.

Now, the scientists will test the viability of the female bucardo's 14-year-old preserved cells.

The bucardo, or Pyrenean ibex, calf born through cloning was an historic event: the first "de-extinction", in which a lost species or sub-species was resurrected.

The Aragon Hunting Federation signed an agreement with the Centre for Research and Food Technology of Aragon (CITA) in Zaragoza to begin preliminary work on the cells from the last animal, named Celia.

One of the scientists behind the cloning effort, Dr Alberto Fernandez-Arias, told BBC News: "At this moment, we are not initiating a 'bucardo recovery plan', we only want to know if Celia's cells are still alive after having been maintained frozen during 14 years in liquid nitrogen."

In addition to this in vitro work, they will also attempt to clone embryos and implant them in female goats.

"In this process, one or more live female bucardo clones could be obtained. If that is the case, the feasibility of a bucardo recovery plan will be discussed," Dr Fernandez-Arias, who is head of the Aragon Hunting, Fishing and Wetlands Service, explained.

Consultant biologist Juan Seijas (L) and Alberto Fernandez-Arias (R) obtain tissue samples from Celia on 20 April 1999

The bucardo (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) was a sub-species of ibex, with distinct physical and genetic characteristics to other mountain goats inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula. It was perfectly adapted to life in its mountain habitat, and to survive the extreme cold and snow of winter in the Pyrenees.

However, its population had been declining for years for several reasons, including hunting. In April 1999, researchers captured the last animal, a female named Celia. They obtained skin biopsies and froze the tissue in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196C (-321F).

The following year, Celia was killed by a falling tree in the National Park of Ordesa in north-east Spain. But a team including Dr Fernandez-Arias, Jose Folch and others were able to inject nuclei from Celia's preserved cells into goat eggs that had been emptied of their own DNA.

Then they implanted the eggs into surrogates - hybrids between Spanish ibex and domestic goats. Of 57 implantations, seven animals became pregnant and one was carried to term.

The baby bucardo was born in 2003 - the first successful "de-extinction". But the clone of Celia died a few minutes later due to a defect in one of its lungs. Earlier this year, Dr Fernandez-Arias related the story in a TEDx talk, as part of a meeting on de-extinction.

Even if the new effort succeeds in producing healthy clones, any future recovery plan for the bucardo would be fraught with difficulty - especially given the only frozen tissue is from a lone female.

One possible approach for bringing back the bucardo might be to cross a healthy female bucardo clone with a closely related sub-species - such as the Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispanica) or the Gredos ibex (Capra pyrenaica victoriae) - and then selectively breeding the offspring to enhance traits typical of the bucardo.

Several other possibilities could also be explored. For instance, researchers have been able to reverse the sex of female mouse embryos by introducing a key gene that makes them develop as males.

German rap

I heard this song the other day on the radio and I couldn't understand a single word he was saying.

These are the actual lyrics:

[Hook]
Guck mal hier dies's mein Poesielbum
Schau' mal rein in mein Poesiealbum
Schwarz auf weiss in meim Poesiealbum
Album Album Album

[1. Strophe Samy Deluxe]
Hallo Deutschland, kennt ihr mich noch?
Kennt ihr das noch, echten Hip hop
In 'nem Land wo man sogar mit nem Hit floppt
Wo der Soul keine Seele hat der Rock nicht rockt
Wo bei Funk oft der Funke nicht überspringt
Und der Reggae leider nach Schlagerliedern klingt
Und der Rap so 'ne schlecht Reputation hat
Wer kann dieses Gefühl von damals wiederbringen
Wer bitte wer wer kann es sein
Sag mir den Namen und ich nehm ihn unter Vertrag
Oder die oder sie ganz egal wer es ist
Hast du bitte mal 'ne email oder Nummer parat
Nein, es gibt kein
Denn die Sänger sing'n
Und die Rapper kling'n
Als hätten sie nie Hunger gehabt
Und sogar wenns im internet
Deine lieder umsont gäb keiner mit geschmack
Hätte die je runtergela-
Den, denn
Nun ist es da
Unmittelbar
100 karat
Warum ich das sag
Ich bin so brillant so phänomenal, fundamental, radikal sowie in jüngeren Jahren
Als ich direkt aus'm Untergrund kam
Die Position die ich mir hier erarbeitet hab'
Keine Geldsumme bezahlen
Aber ich komme nicht klar auf diese ganzen Rapper
Die scheinbar nichts wissen über diese Kunstform
Und deshalb muss ich die Massen von neuem bekehren
Und so das Verständnis für unsere Kunstform
Denn ich hab' dieses Haus hier mit aufgebaut
Ihr habts demoliert
Ich habs renoviert
Ich bin der Super-MC
Ich bin das Buch von Jay-Z
Ich hab Rap für die Massen hier dekodiert
Definiert, etabliert und noch mehr schlaue Worte mit "-iert"
Und wenn ihr vermutet ich sei hier der beste Poet
Dann vermut' ich, dass ihr euch nicht irrt
Ich bin nur ein Fremder und habe mich aus versehen hier verirrt
Ja es gibt tausende Rapper da draussen doch wen interessiert's

Guck mal hier

[Hook]

[2. Strophe Samy Deluxe]
Ich bin so Schiller so Goethe
So bitter so böse
Noch immer der größte
Poet der hier lebt
Wenn ihr jetzt noch mehr wollt
Fütter ich euch deutsche Dichterreime
Bis ihr alle Brecht wie Bertold
Das ist für mich echter Erfolg
Wenn der Text noch mehr rollt
Und ich schein' wie der Morgenstern
Hoffe dass ihr alle aus den Reim' und den Worten lernt
Meine Damen und Herren
Was würde ich bloß tun hier
Wär' ich nicht Rapstar
Wahrscheinlich wär ich der neue Erich Kästner
Lass die ganzen Neider schrein
Auf Endlich lästern
Durch euren Hass werd ich besser
Kletter hoch rauf auf der Karrieretreppe
Oh nein das heißt Karrierleiter
Wenns ein fehler war dann nur ein derbe kleiner
Und ja ich bin ein sehr gemeiner
Rapper - Der aus der Masse heraussticht
Du bist einfach nur irgendeiner was du machst interessiert überhaupt nicht
Wünscht dir dein Flow wäre mehr wie meiner
Kannst gern probiern zu kopiern, doch ich glaubs nicht
Dass du es schaffst, oder raffst was ich mach
Wie ichs mach, wenn ichs mach
Das ist einfach unglaublich
Es ist wie wenn Wilhem Tell und William Shakespeare
Auf crack wärn
Nach'n Paar Becks Bier
Nur ich bin brauner und n bisschen sexier
Check den Text hier
So flüssig und heilend nenn ihn Elixir
Das heißt Zaubertrank

Bitte merks dir (3x)

[Bridge]
Lass sie alle reden
Lass die Halle beben
Was fürn geiles Leben
Ich mache Scheine scheine
Indem ich Reime reime
Sowie Heinrich Heine
Album kommt im Frühjahr
Und meine Konkurrenz wird spätestens
Im August einen Fall erleben
Der Richter und Henker
Für Dichter und Denker
Er stürzte ab denn er war von der Dürre Matt
Und stand zu dicht am Geländer
Von meinem Hotelsuite-Balkon
Aus meinem Poesiealbum
Und darauf reimt sich grobe Viehhaltung
Punkt

[Hook:]
Guck mal hier dies's mein Poesielbum
Schau' mal rein lies mein Poesiealbum
Schwarz auf weiss in meim Poesiealbum

Anything is possible

A 32-year-old from Cheltenham has become the firts person to swim from Land's End to John O'Groats. Sean Conway jumped into the sea in Cornwall on 30 June, expecting the swim to take just two months. But bad weather, the cold, and logistical issues held up progress and it was only this week, 900 miles and 135 days later, that he finally reached his destination. Along the way he suffered from seasickness, lost a stone in weight, and grew what he called a "ridiculous" beard to protect himself from jellyfish stings. He said his feat "just goes to show that if you put your mind to something anything is possible".

German business confidence improves as growth continues

German business confidence improved in November, a survey has indicated, amid rising optimism about the economy.

The closely-watched Ifo survey of business confidence revealed an above-expected rise in November, reaching its highest level since April 2012.

The index, based on a survey of 7,000 firms, rose to 109.3, compared with 107.4 in October.

The news comes as official figures confirmed that the German economy grew by 0.3% in the third quarter.

Strong domestic demand for goods helped to drive growth. A healthy labour market, moderate inflation and wage increases boosted household spending and contributed to a 0.7% increase in domestic demand, the Federal Statistics Office said.

The Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, believes the country's steady growth will be maintained as domestic demand strengthens and the global economic environment improves.

Some analysts are expecting 0.5% growth in the final quarter.

Angela Merkel's government has forecast growth of 0.5% overall for 2013, and 1.7% growth in 2014.

Rebalancing

The rise in business confidence reflects a 3% rise in capital investment in the third quarter, particularly in construction.

While weakening demand from eurozone partners has slowed Germany's traditionally export-led economy, Berlin hopes improved domestic demand will make up the difference.

The European Commission is investigating Germany's persistently high current account surplus amid criticism that it relies too heavily on exports.

"With today's data the latest criticism on the German growth model looks a bit like crying over spilled milk," said Carsten Brzeski, senior economist at ING.

"The often called for rebalancing of the economy is already taking place."

The news comes a day after Markit's preliminary composite Purchasing Managers' Index, which tracks growth in the manufacturing and services sectors, rose to 54.3 in November, up from 53.2 the previous month.

This figure was also higher than expected, and adds weight to the positive German growth story.

In graphics: Eurozone crisis

GDP, unemployment, deficit and debt: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13361934

Numbers in German

Found a perfect song to practise my numbers!

Huge Ukraine rally over EU agreement delay

More than 100,000 people in the Ukrainian capital Kiev are protesting against the government's move to delay an association deal with the EU under pressure from Russia.

The protest is said to be the largest since the 2004 Orange Revolution, which overturned a rigged presidential poll.

Police fired tear gas as protesters tried to break through a cordon around government buildings.

A pro-government rally a few miles away attracted about 10,000 people.

Kiev police said they had fired tear gas after protesters threw a smoke grenade at officers in an attempt to break into the Cabinet of Ministers building.

Ukraine made the decision on the EU deal last week, saying it could not afford to break ties with Moscow. Russia is trying to bring Kiev into its own customs union.

Many protesters carried opposition or EU flags

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the EU of blackmailing Ukraine to sign the deal during a summit in Lithuania next week.

People arrived at the rally, on European Square, with families and children, many holding banners with slogans like "I want to live in Europe" or "Ukraine is part of Europe".

"We want to be together with Europe," Volodymyr Mnikh, a 62-year-old retired chemist, told the Associated Press news agency.

"We want our children to have a future and not to be pressured by Russia."

Opposition leaders also joined the protests.

Several rallies in Kiev and other cities have been held over the last few days, but Sunday's has been the largest so far.

World heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, who leads the Udar movement, addressed the rally in Kiev saying Ukrainians would not tolerate what President Yanukovich had done to the country's prospects for integrating with the EU.

"We will fight in order for the association agreement to be signed," he said.

Mr Klitschko arrived late at the protest after his flight was delayed due to weather conditions. He had flown back from the US after celebrating his daughter's birthday.

Health commissioner asks EU governments to agree on GM crop

The EU's Health Commissioner, Tonio Borg, has said countries should be allowed to grow a genetically modified maize, if they wish.

LINK: http://www.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/europe-24838278