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Harsh working conditions drove 13 iPhone workers to commit suicide
in China. But the world’s urbane elite have no intention of giving up
their status symbols – By Hannes Koch
We are so closely intertwined – and yet so very far apart. We, the purchasers of Apple products like the iPhone and iPad. And they, the workers who assemble the devices in the factories in the megacities of Shenzhen and Chengdu.
I didn’t think about it. I was in a good mood strolling down
Friedrichstrasse in Berlin. Now I had an iPhone with a two-year contract
– but asked myself with a certain amount of shame how that could
happen. The media reports about the suicides of Chinese iPhone workers
in the first half of 2010 didn’t prevented my purchase. Thirteen
employees of Foxconn International, which manufactures the phone on
behalf of Apple, took their own lives – the majority jumped to their
deaths from the upper stories of the factory building. Another four
survived their attempted suicides.
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 Despite the crisis, Greece also offers business opportunities like this busy café at the foot of the Acropolis. The Greek economy is on the move. But small individual successes are not enough to beat the recession – By Jerry Sommer
Nikos is standing proudly behind the glass counter of his new diner close to Omonoia Square in the center of Athens. He has just opened – right in the middle of the Greek economic crisis. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” the balding 46-year old says with a laugh. For him the crisis proved to be an opportunity.
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 Even though the Portuguese are working hard, productivity is so poor that even low wages cannot boost exports. Europe is still discussing Portuguese debt relief. But Spain could be the next victim of the eurozone crisis – By Ulrike Herrmann
A third eurozone country is insolvent: after Greece and Ireland, now Portugal requires assistance from the EU Rescue Fund. The Portuguese will need about €80 billion to avert national bankruptcy.
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The consequences of the catastrophe hit the global economy – By Michael Winckler
The toll from the triple catastrophe in Japan is huge. The Japanese
government puts the number of dead and missing at 30,000 and more than
250,000 are homeless. The damage to buildings and the country’s
infrastructure adds up to around €208 billion, more than double that of
the major earthquake that hit Kobe in 1995, which caused around €90
billion in damage. According to the rating agency Standard & Poor’s,
the reconstruction could cost between €250 billion and €414 billion.
Japan’s economy has been severely affected. Its national budget was
already substantially in the red prior to the earthquake, tsunami and
nuclear disaster; its national debt stands at around 220 percent of GDP.
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Decommissioning nuclear power plants is easy but where will the electricity come from? – By Wolfgang Mulke
The German nuclear power phase-out has been agreed, although the exact timeframe is still up for discussion. Electricity supplies will continue to be provided by the fossil fuels coal and gas. But it is likely that these sources will also be dispensable toward the middle of this century. Then renewable energy will have its turn. A centralized electricity production system will be replaced by a varied mix of small and large power plants and a blend of energy sources.
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