Erstellt am: 6. 2. 2013 - 15:34 Uhr

New laws, little change

Reality Check: Austrian citizensip laws, UK passes gay marriage law, a deal may be close on Iran's nuclear programme, Hezbollah and terrorism, Germany's plagiarising politicians

Proposals for changes to Austria's citizenship laws have been presented, and are coming under scrutiny from legal and human rights experts.

Radio FM4

Still one of Europe's most difficult and expensive citizenships

Many people are saying that while the new laws include some small improvements, such as residents being able to apply for citizenship after 6 years instead of the current 10, there are many key areas that have been either inadequately addressed or completely ignored.

Joachim Stern says that while there have been a great many adjustments, at the end of the day, the vast majority of people will find it no easier to apply for citizenship than it has been in the past, and Austria is likely to remain one of the countries putting up the highest hurdles against new citizens.

UK passes gay marriage law

The British parliament has voted in favour of gay marriage with a large majority. Although there was colourful debate over the issue in parliament, most British people considered it a non-issue, and expected that it would automatically pass the commons vote.

What was unexpected was how the vote would split the Conservative party. Although David Cameron had championed the gay marriage cause energetically, when it came to the vote, less than half his party members supported him.

Olly Barratt reports from London on the vote and the political fallout.

Iran nuclear talks

Iran looks set to resume talks on its nuclear programme in Kazakhstan at the end of the month, but some experts are saying a deal has already been struck, and the real question is how it can be presented to allow all parties to save face.

Out Tehran correspondent, Christian Schüller, describes the Iranian view of the talks and the way forwards.

Should Hezbollah be designated as a "terrorist group"

Israel is calling for world leaders to declare Hezbollah a terrorist entity after a bomb attack on a Bulgarian bus is traced back to the Lebanese group. Israel is also accusing Iran of involvement in Hezbollah terrorist attacks. Shashank Joshi looks at the connection between Hezbollah and Iran and the importance of the perception of Hezbollah.

Plagiarism among Germany's politicians

EPA

Education minister, Annette Schaven, has been stripped of her doctorate by the University of Düsseldorf

Political fallout for Angela Merkel after another minister is accused of plagiarism in their doctoral thesis. Gennie Johnson talks to our Berlin correspondent, Peter Fritz.

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