1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Paris OlympicsRussiaIsrael-Hamas

Germany in Brief

April 1, 2003

"Best foreign film" attracts viewers; Raid on people smugglers in Hamburg; Deutsche Post stops travel to Asia and more.

https://p.dw.com/p/3Rtq
"Nowhere in Africa" has been filling cinemas since winning an Oscar

Oscar-winning film attracts more movie-goers

Since German director Caroline Link's "Nowhere in Africa" won the Oscar for best foreign language film last week, the number of people going to see it has doubled in the United States. In Germany, viewers once again have the opportunity to watch the film -- which was first released in late Dec. 2001 -- in cinemas nationwide. According to the film's distributor, 1.4 million people have seen "Nowhere in Africa" in German cinemas so far. The film is about a German Jewish family that emigrates to Kenya in 1938.

Police crack down on people smugglers

German police in Hamburg on Tuesday arrested two people suspected of heading a ring of immigrant smugglers. The group is thought to be made up mainly of Algerians and to maintain a network with contacts in Algeria, Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Four hundred members of the German border guard took part in the raid, after investigating the gang since October 2002.

Deutsche Post bans travel to Asian countries

Deutsche Post has prohibited business travel to China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore for fear of the flu-like disease Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that originated in Asia and has killed 61 people so far. The postal services group has also advised its employees not to take personal trips to the region. Managers are expected to have video conferences instead of flying to Asia. No Deutsche Post employees have yet contracted SARS, according to a spokesman.

German navy shifts presence in Mediterranean

The German navy will shift its presence in the Mediterranean, Defense Minister Peter Struck announced on Tuesday. The German frigate "Augsburg" will move from the eastern to the western Mediterranean to continue its patrols there. Struck said that intensified terrorist activities in the region could not be ruled out as a result of the war against Iraq. The German navy is involved in ensuring the safety of commercial and civilian ships in the Strait of Gibraltar for the NATO mission "Active Endeavor". The operation was initiated in October 2001.