Al Jazeera: Populism and the fight for the soul of German churches

Dozens of people - Germans, Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans and emigres from across Europe - meet here each Wednesday for Meet 'n Eat, a project that brings them together to cook and eat with the aim of fostering a sense of community between newly arrived asylum seekers and other residents of the neighbourhood. [...]

Jens Hanke, a 34-year-old member of the church's council, says that contributing a space to Meet 'n Eat and other projects, such as the establishment of an interfaith preschool, are part of the Christian community's efforts to prevent the rise of the anti-refugee sentiment that has taken root in some parts of German society. [...]

"The middle of society doesn't have answers to all the questions, so it's important that the church creates platforms for a dialogue toward a better understanding between citizens, immigrants and refugees," he explains.

"We especially invite people who have no relation to refugees and who have questions [to participate in such dialogue]," he continues, adding that Meet 'n Eat has been so successful that its weekly participation of around 60 to 80 people is "more people than the church has on some Sundays". [...]

Gesticulating, and pointing the occasional accusatory finger, she decries far-right groups like Alternative for Germany (AfD), an anti-refugee political party expected to enter the German Bundestag later this year.

For Radosh-Hinder, the AfD, which claims to fight for "traditional" Christian values, doesn't believe "that people are equal, [and is] denying the truest values of our faith and Biblical scriptures".

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Architectural Digest: 17 of the Most Beautiful Bridges in the World

In the world of architecture, perhaps nothing is more utilitarian than a bridge. Indeed, not only do these spanning structures allow us to safely pass over a gap, but unlike some skyscrapers and homes, everyone has access to using a bridge. And just because they are functional does not mean they have to be ordinary in design. In fact, it's in bridges that some of the world's biggest architects show what their creative minds are capable of. From the Zaha Hadid–designed bridge in Abu Dhabi, to perhaps the lesser known Khaju Bridge in Isfahan, Iran, AD rounds up 17 of the world's most beautiful bridges. In function, they allow us to reach the other side of the divide. In form, however, they do something else entirely.

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JSTOR Daily: Why does Oklahoma have the Panhandle?

What’s up with Oklahoma’s salient? More popularly known as the Panhandle, the three counties extending in a row west of the rest of the “pan” of the state are one of those geographical quirks of history that really jump off of the map. The Panhandle is also the location of the only county in the country with four states on its borders: Cimarron County, the westernmost part of the state, borders Colorado, Kansas, Texas, and New Mexico.

Today fewer than 1% of Oklahomans live in the 168 x 34 mile-wide strip. It was Spanish territory until 1821, when it became part of independent Mexico. The Republic of Texas claimed it when declaring independence. But then, upon entering the Union as a slave state in 1845, Texas surrendered its claim to the region because slavery was prohibited north of 36°30′ latitude by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. 36°30′ became the Panhandle’s southern boundary. Its northern border at 37° was set in 1854 by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves if they would be slave or free. [...]

Finally, in 1890, this orphan rectangle of land was incorporated into Oklahoma Territory, and in 1907 it became part of the state of Oklahoma, which also included the former Indian Territory. Indian Territory had been the end of the Cherokee Trail of Tears, and then the progressively reduced promised homeland for many tribes.

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Al Jazeera: What is fuelling Yemen's cholera epidemic?

More than 20 million Yemenis require humanitarian support, with nearly half of those in acute need of assistance, according to the United Nations. This year, a new wave of cholera cases further devastated the population, infecting hundreds of thousands of people and killing more than 2,000. Aid agencies have warned that without urgent action, the situation will continue to deteriorate.

Analysts have described the Saudi-led offensive in Yemen as a strategic failure, but although Saudi's crown prince recently expressed his desire for an exit strategy, there is no immediate end in sight - and the humanitarian consequences will endure long after the bombs stop falling. [...]

There has been a gradual disintegration of the municipal water infrastructure and systems in a context where few civil servants are being paid, and a relatively small trigger like a period of heavy rain or burst pipes creates a backflow of sewage into water pipes, an overflow of latrines and septic tanks, etcetera. [...]

In a roughly three-month period following the cholera outbreak in October 2010, Haiti had 50 percent more cases on a per population basis and over 200 percent more deaths.

Yemen's current cholera outbreak is the largest in terms of scale of suspected cases at the current time, though not necessarily the largest historically. In any case, these comparisons are not meaningful. Comparing Haiti and Yemen is not helpful in describing either epidemic. What matters is the impact on the country, and we can see this is a heavy burden to bear.

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Politico: Juncker slaps down Orbán over border funding request

In a letter obtained by POLITICO, Juncker wrote that during the migration crisis in 2015 Hungary declined “the possibility to benefit from [the] relocation of up to 54,000 persons and decided to return nearly €4 million of EU funds pre-paid by the Commission to Hungary.”

The Hungarian premier wrote to Juncker on August 31 requesting the Commission reimburse his government for half of its spending in managing its border — some of which is an EU external border — in recent years. [...]

Juncker said three emergency grants totaling €6.26 million were made available to Hungary, which failed to complete the necessary paperwork to access most of the money. [...]

Juncker also bluntly noted that Hungary receives EU subsidies amounting to more than 3 percent of its GDP each year, the highest percentage of any EU member country.

“Solidarity is a two-way street. There are times in which member states may expect to receive support, and times in which they, in turn, should stand ready to contribute,” Juncker said.

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