METRO Tuesday, November 10, 2009 D A line of artist-designed dominoes fall to trace the path of the old East-West barrier at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin Pictures: AP/ Reuters/Getty Accents and where you live boost job search ALMOST one in three Irish people believe accents and addresses can make a difference during job applications. A new Euro-barometer survey revealed 36 per cent of Irish people believe a candidates accent or way of speaking was important during interviews, compared with a European average of 30 per cent. Discrimination remains a problem across Europe, said Equal Opportunities Commissioner Vladimr Spidla. One area of concern is the rise in age discrimination as a result of the recession. We still have a long way to go in making people aware of their rights to equal treatment, particularly at national level, and ensure that equality becomes reality. When it comes to reporting discrimination, Irish people seem to be more comfortable going to their trade unions (Ireland 45 per cent, EU 27 per cent) than to the police (Ireland 43 per cent, EU 55 per cent). Nevertheless, only one in nine Irish people claim to experience discrimination compared with the European average of one in six. Also only 20 per cent of Irish people feel gender discrimination is widespread, the lowest in the EU. This is half the EU average of 40 per cent. When asked how they would feel about working with a disabled person, a homosexual, a person from a minority religion or a person under 30, Irish people are more accepting than the European average. Online threats: Smith Life ban for Facebook web stalker A CYBER stalker who bombarded a college student with up to 30 threatening messages a day has been hit with a lifetime restraining order. During a 14-month campaign, Jason Smith terrorised his 20-year-old victim on her MySpace and Facebook pages. In one exchange Smith, 23, who believed he was in a relationship with Alexandra Scarlett, said he would slash her face, rape her mother and aunt and also threatened to shoot her father. Miss Scarlett tried to block his Facebook page 40 times but he set up new ones and posted further messages. After Smith met Miss Scarlett in a nightclub and she gave him her phone number, he began calling and texting her, up to 30 times a day, Manchester Crown Court in the UK heard. Smith, of Manchester, was banned for life from contacting Miss Scarlett after a judge said he needed treatment for an erotic mania psychological disorder. He also received a suspended 12-month prison term for harassment. Merkel says fall of wall was an epic momentBy kirStEn GriEShABEr Germany marks 20 years since barrier torn down Prodigy: Selvi Girl, 7, aims to be worlds youngest doc A GIRL could become the worlds youngest doctor at the age of seven. Selvi Bakkiashree can already recite names of 1,000 medicine brands including betamethosone and filgrastrim. She can also prescribe the correct medicine for ailments such as pneumonia and leukaemia. Selvis medical talents first came to light aged six when she began reading medical books for fun. It gives me a lot of pleasure to know them perfectly, she said. Doctors, including Indias director of health, questioned Selvis knowledge and were stunned. Selvi plans to sit a medical exam within three years to enter a private medical college. If she succeeds, she would be the youngest doctor in the world, said Selvis watchmaker father, Baskaran, from Ariyankuppam in southern India. Selvi said it did not bother her that she doesnt have many friends. These dictionaries and journals are my best friends, she said. A re-creation of the wall made from ice blocks in London yesterday Mikhail Gorbachev, right, ex German minister hans-Dietrich Genscher and Bob Geldof Solidarity: Lech Walesa pushes the dominoes over yesterday THE moment the Berlin Wall came crashing down was re-enacted by top- pling 1,000 graffiti-adorned eight- foot-tall dominoes, to the cheers of thousands of Germans, celebrating 20 years since the country was reunited. Chancellor Angela Merkel the first east German to hold the job called the fall of the wall an epic moment in history. For me, it was one of the happiest moments of my life, she said. Ms Merkel praised former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for his role in pushing reform in the Soviet Union. You made this possible you coura- geously let things happen, and that was much more than we could expect, she told him in front of crowds at a bridge crossing which had once formed part of the border. She also recalled the tragic side of November 9 71 years ago the Nazis Kristallnacht or Night of Broken Glass when 91 German Jews were killed in state-sanctioned riots. Ms Merkel, who was one of thou- sands to cross that night, recalled that before the joy of freedom came, many people suffered. Within hours of a confused an- nouncement by a senior communist official on November 9, 1989, that East Germany was lifting travel re- strictions, hundreds of East Berliners entered West Berlin. Facing huge crowds and lacking instructions, bor- der guards opened the gates, marking a pivotal moment in the collapse of communism in Europe. Ms Merkel also welcomed Polands 1980s pro-democracy leader Lech Walesa saying that his Solidarity movement provided incredible en- couragement to East Germans. Music from Bon Jovi and Beethoven recalled the borders opening, and candles were lit in memory of the 136 people killed trying to cross. The leaders of all 27 EU countries and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev were also in Berlin for the ceremonies. Angela Merkel greets hillary Clinton index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html