BERLIN Nike Air Max 90 Off White UK , Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming Sunday will see Germans cast their ballot for the next federal parliament at nearly 70,000 polling stations across the country. Amid strained security situation in Europe and reported loopholes in the election software, Germany faces challenges to keep sabotagers and hackers at bay.


Apart from alert due to terror attacks occurred lately in other European countries, controversies surrounding this year's election, concurrent events such as the Berlin Marathon and Munich's Oktoberfest, as well as feared cyber attack further strained security situation in the country in the lead up to the federal election.


CONTROVERSY SPARKED OFFENSES


Controversies surrounding certain political parties lead to election related offenses. Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has reported 2,250 offenses in connection with the federal election campaign as of Sept. 13, 54 cases of which were acts of violence such as bodily harm, according to a BKA situation picture.


Victims of attacks during the election campaign are more often representatives or helpers of the far-right Party AfD. "Especially the candidates of the AfD and their events are increasingly affected by the reports of material damage and disturbances", according to the BKA situation picture.


One of the most frequent offenses is the damage to election posters. In Saxony-Anhalt, according to police, significantly more posters were destroyed than during the last federal election in 2013. The provincial council office in Magdeburg counted 1,238 damaged or stolen posters, the AfD being particularly affected with 867 destroyed posters, followed by the CDU with 121 and the SPD with 95.


In Dresden, a man attacked an election information stand of the AfD and injured a 72-year-old helper of the party.


CONCURRENT EVENTS


More nerve-wracking for law enforcers of the country is the fact that the election will be held concurrently with the Berlin Marathon and Munich Oktoberfest.


On Sunday, in the German capital, the 44th Berlin Marathon will take place with its various individual competitions. This year more than 60,000 participants are expected to attend the event, according to the Berlin Police.


Amid a spate of terrorist attacks that struck Europe in the recent past, including one truck attack that killed at least 12 in Berlin last December, a big event like Marathon demands strong security presence.


"Hosting federal election on the same day of the Berlin Marathon is not optimal," Stephan Mayer, the CDUCSU interior affairs spokesman, was quoted by RP online as saying. Meanwhile he was convinced that the authorities and the organizers were doing everything they could to ensure optimum security.


SPD faction leader Thomas Oppermann defended the event by saying major events must be possible even if it poses a logistic challenge, the RP online reported.


In Munich, the federal election is concurrent with the all-popular folk festival, Oktoberfest. This year, too, an "abstractly high threat situation" would have to be assumed, but there are no concrete threats, Werner Feiler, police chief of Munich, was quoted as saying by local media Sueddeutsche Zeitung.


Munich geared up security measures for the Oktoberfest, including applying loudspeaker system and body cameras, according to Feiler. However, the police chief believed the upcoming federal election does not present any particular threat.


HACKING RISK


Security experts have long warned that German authorities did not have a sound plan for hacking-proof election security, but officials said that a hand-counted result could not be manipulated.


In the nearly 70,000 polling stations in the country, electoral volunteers will hand out the votes on the evening of Sept. 24 and write their results on paper. Everything else runs on computers.


German media Zeit Online reported that a Dortmund computer scientist and analysts of the computer security society, Chaos Computer Club (CCC), showed that the software used in election, PC-Wahl, is outdated, with deficiencies to be exploited by attackers, and in the worst case, the counting on the election evening might be manipulated.


However, the CCC has already taken actions to address the weaknesses of the software. Still, fingers have to be crossed for a safe election day.


China Focus: Beijing-Shanghai railway speed rises to 350 kph


Autumn senery of Huma County in NE China's Heilongjiang


Zhoushan Int'l Sand Sculpture Festival held in E China's Zhejiang


21 pairs of newlyweds attend group wedding ceremony in N China's Hebei


Highlights of 10th China Acrobatics Golden Chrysanthemum Awards


Wildlife paradise: Changtang National Nature Reserve in China's Tibet


PLA Navy frigates introduced to visitors at Port of Antwerp, Belgium


Aviation Expo China 2017 held in Beijing


Dogs of different ages require different sets of caring routines. But as a whole, what every dog needs are attention, affection, nutrition, and passion. If your dog does not get enough of these, his health along with his well being might regress. But in terms of canine’s particular needs, it differs depending on age.
With older dogs, health above all is the one thing that needs most attention. Because the strength of their body is inversely proportional to their age, dog owners must make it to a point that their dogs’ health are given enough attention. to make sure that you give your dog quality life that reaches its optimum potential, here are some helpful tips you can follow:
Diagnosis of Arthritis
Arthritis is a very common issue in older dogs. If you see your pet having a hard time moving and getting up, have him checked, it might be caused by arhtritis. Common arthritis medicine is the etodolac 400 mg tablet.
Regular Vet Check up
If your dog gets regular vet check up, . Custom MLB Jerseys China Cheap Authentic NFL Jerseys Custom NFL Jerseys Wholesale Custom Soccer Jerseys Online New NHL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale MLB Jerseys Wholesale Retro Jerseys Wholesale Adidas NHL Jerseys