In a broad-brush speech, which frequently touched on the topic of freedom and Berliners' resilience, he could not fail to mention the concern felt across Europe about more modern-day encroachments on individual liberty, the recent revelations of internet surveillance and US drone warfare – issues which dominated his 25-hour visit to the German capital.
But now, through a new community initiative that aims to reclaim public spaces in Mumbai swallowed by motorists, hawkers and illegal encroachments, no cars are allowed on one 6.5-kilometre stretch just to the north of the old centre of the city between 7 and 11 am on Sundays.
For decades the concrete army had been allowed to commandeer all open spaces, and illegal encroachments had done the rest.
I arrived in a remote quarter in the middle of Paris, a kind of solitary oasis which the river encircles in its arms on both sides as though to defend it against the encroachments of civilisation.
However, some neighbourhoods such as Shivaji Nagar in Govandi, where our office is located, were never illegal encroachments to start with.
In all, there are to be some 350 kilometres of fence, running roughly along the 1967 border, but with encroachments into the West Bank to take in some of the Israeli settlements.Once the fence is up, say some defence officials, and if it is effective in keeping out all or most of the suicide-bombers, the army will be able to ease its grip on the Palestinian territories.
Either way, Mrs Chan's departure means one check fewer against the centralisation of political power in Hong Kong, and against mainland encroachments on its way of life.
The British text would be a red rag to American conservatives already incensed by perceived encroachments on American sovereignty by the world body.
Punting Poles The wheels on the bus Award Reprints Related items Canada: A practical manMay 4th 2006This was a blow for the British government, which is trying to protect its revenue base from the encroachments of European integration.
It was outraged earlier this month when Benigno Aquino, the Philippines' president, compared the world's passivity in the face of Chinese encroachments in the South China Sea to the territorial appeasement of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
Other technologies, such as internet wiretapping and the ability to track the location of mobile phones, will arguably make much more substantial encroachments on privacy over the next few years.However, in the long term, biometrics, by their very nature, will compromise privacy in a deep and thorough fashion.
