NPR's Guy Raz reports from Berlin that German foreign minister Joschka Fischer was in parliament today, defending himself in the face of calls by some opposition members for his resignation. Last week, a news magazine published photos of Fischer as a nineteen seventies street radical, beating a policeman. Yesterday, he was called as a character witness in the trial of a former comrade, accused in a terrorist attack. Today, in parliament, Fischer again admitted he had once beaten a policeman, but said he took responsibility for his actions. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder cancelled appointments to come to his foreign minister's defense.
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