Monaco: Albert II annonce ses fiançailles
LE FIGARO: Le prince Albert II de Monaco, 52 ans, a annoncé aujourd'hui ses fiançailles avec la sud-africaine Charlene Wittstock, 32 ans.



Le prince Albert II, né le 14 mars 1958, est le fils du prince Rainier III et de la princesse Grace, née Kelly. Il a succédé à son père le 12 juillet 2005. Charlene Wittstock, de nationalité sud-africaine, est née le 25 janvier 1978 à Bulawayo au Zimbabwe. Avant d'arriver à Monaco, elle était éducatrice pour enfants, et a été championne du 100 mètres dos du Commonwealth.



Le prince et la nageuse, qui se sont rencontrés il y a plusieurs années, faisaient fréquemment des apparitions publiques ensemble, dans des événements sportifs et culturels, ou au Bal de la Rose qui ouvre chaque année la saison monégasque. Ils avaient accordé il y a quelques mois une séance de photographie privée au magazine "Point de vue", ce qui pour les observateurs du protocole des cours royales et princières était la pré-annonce officielle des fiançailles. >>> AFP | Mercredi 23 Juin 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Prince Albert of Monaco to marry Olympic swimmer: Prince Albert of Monaco is to marry his long-term girlfriend, the South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock. >>> Fiona Govan | Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Despite Progress, Former East Germany Still Lags Behind
Wittstock, East Germany. Photo: Spiegel Online International
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Billions have been pumped into the former East Germany, but 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, its economy has not caught up with the West. A new report praises the progress so far but warns that the region needs well-educated young people and an influx of immigrants if it is to thrive.

When the Berlin Wall finally fell in November 1989, a wave of hope and optimism swept across Europe -- perhaps nowhere more so than in the once divided Germany. Hope, however, soon gave way to disillusionment as the collapse of the Socialist planned economies saw millions of people lose their jobs and many became nostalgic for their old way of life. In Germany, despite the pumping of massive funds into the former Communist East, the stark divisions in income and employment between the two halves of the country rapidly undermined the initial wave of enthusiasm for reunification.

Now, 20 years on, a new study on the economy in the former East has shown that while there has been huge progress in bridging that chasm, a significant gap still remains. While in the 1990s the two halves of the country saw their economies slowly converge, stagnation set in at the turn of the century and since 2008 they have actually begun to drift further apart again. The report by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) has found that there are still significant structural problems to be overcome. In particular the region has to battle a demographic slump and is in need of better qualified young people and immigrants to keep its economy growing. 'Exuberant Expectations' in 1989 >>> smd -- with wire reports | Friday, August 28, 2009