DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Eurovision Song Contest 2018 results: Israel wins Millions around the world watched as Netta of Israel claimed victory at the Eurovision Song Contest. A dynamo in a kimono, she delivered a message that fit the Eurovision theme of diversity. Israelʼs Netta Barzilai won the 63rd Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night in Lisbon, Portugal. After the announcement and before a repeat performance of her winning song "Toy," Netta cried out to a wildly applauding audience, saying: "Thank you for accepting differences between us. Thank you for celebrating diversity!” Performers from 26 countries took the stage for the grand final of the annual music competition, which at one point was interrupted by a stage invasion. An intruder, now in police custody, leapt onstage during the performance and tried to wrest the microphone from singer SuRie of the United Kingdom. The countryʼs delegation was given the option to have her perform again, but they declined.
US border authorities block Central American migrant caravan US officials have told would-be asylum seekers at the Mexican border that the crossing is too full to process their cases. The migrants have already drawn the wrath of US President Trump during their trek through Mexico.More than a hundred migrants from Central American countries have camped out at the US-Mexican border after being told by US border inspectors on Sunday that a crossing facility had no capacity for them. It was not immediately clear whether the migrants, who have traveled 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) through Mexico to the border at Tijuana, would be turned back or allowed in later.
108/2018 • 15 MAY, 2018
Paris knife attack: Arrest made in Strasbourg The assailant was shot dead by police after killing one person and wounding four
Strasbourg police have detained for questioning a man said by a judicial source to be a friend of Saturdayʼs Paris knife attacker.
Times change but German obsession with cash endures "Do you accept cards?" If you’re asking in Germany, there’s a good chance that the answer is no. The country has a curiously low cashless rate. Can the European economic powerhouse’s aversion to plastic payment continue? If there is a place where cash truly ought to be king, itʼs in one of the ubiquitous late night corner shops (known in German as a Späti) seen on practically every street of the German capital Berlin. Yet in recent times, Türkan Dogar brought a card machine into his small shop in the south-east of the city. He has to pay a monthly fee for it, but itʼs negligible enough that he doesnʼt recall exactly how much. "Customers were asking
regularly if we accepted cards, so in the end I got it because itʼs good for business," he says. If people spend less than €10 ($11.89) in his shop, they can still pay with card but then they have to pay a 50-cent surcharge. Yet a stroll around the neighborhood quickly points to Germanyʼs somewhat complicated relationship with plastic payment. Around the corner, at Erolʼs bicycle repair shop, card bearers are given short shrift. "Cash-only here," says Erol as he stands beside an upturned bicycle in his navy overalls. "I like cash. Itʼs warmer. If people donʼt have it, they can go to the cash machine and come back. I donʼt care!" he says with a laugh. "It works for me."
German university hospital defends auto firmsʼ nitrogen dioxide test ethics No experiments on animals or humans can take place in Germany without a go from an authorized ethics committee. Dr. Thomas Kraus from Aachen University Hospital says this was the case in the most recent NO2 scandal. The European Research Group on Environment and Health in the Transport Sector (EUGT) "did not impinge in any way on the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) research it commissioned Aachen University Hospital to do," Professor Thomas Kraus from the
hospital told the German press agency DPA on Monday. The EUGT is a now defunct organization that was funded by German carmakers Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW plus partsmaker Bosch, thus raising questions of possible conflicts of interest. In 2013, 25 healthy volunteers were exposed to NO2 pollution for three hours, Kraus said. "None of them had any negative health effects," he went on, adding that the tests were meant to measure the impact of pollutants in the workplace.
Famous WWII Remagen bridge towers up for sale Buyers interested in WWII history and who arenʼt afraid of rolling up their sleeves are in luck. German authorities are selling part of the destroyed Ludendorff Bridge or "Bridge at Remagen" to the highest bidder. Two towers on the eastern end of a World War II era bridge — immortalized by the 1969 US film "The Bridge at Remagen" — are up for sale, German authorities confirmed on Monday. The Federal Railway Property Fund (BEV) is selling the ruins located on the side of where the bridge formerly stood across the Rhine from Remagen. "There are already several interested parties," BEV spokesman Jürgen Rothe told news agency dpa. The German newspaper Rhein Zeitung first reported on plans to sell the towers. The listing did not set a price for the bridge towers, rather stating that they will go to the highest bidder. Interested buyers have until May 18 to make their offers.
Catholic cardinal rebukes Bavaria for ordering crosses in state buildings Cardinal Reinhard Marx has said directing all state buildings to hang crosses amounts to "expropriating the cross in the name of the state." Bavarian Premier Markus Söder sparked nationwide criticism for the move. The head of the German Bishopsʼ Conference has sharply criticized the premier of the southern German state of Bavaria for ordering Christian crosses to be hung in all state buildings.
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108/2018 • 15 May, 2018
Facebook bans Trump campaign data firm Cambridge Analytica The social media giant has accused the data analysis company of illegally obtaining user data. At the same time, a whistleblower has said that Cambridge Analytica illegally harvested data from 50 million users. Facebook announced on Saturday that it had suspended the data research firm Cambridge Analytica for holding onto dubiously obtained user data after assuring the social media firm that the information had been deleted. Cambridge Analytica has become well-known in political circles for its work on the election campaign of US President Donald Trump and for the pro-Brexit group Leave.eu. Facebook said it was also suspending the firmʼs parent company, Strategic Communications Laboratories (SCL). The incident revolves around an app put on the site in 2015 by Aleksandr Kogan, a professor at the University of Cambridge, that purported to be a personality test and psychological research tool. About 270,000 users downloaded it and shared their information with it, according to Facebook.
Leroy Sané honored in England, now Germany starting berth beckons Manchester City winger Leroy Sané has been named the English Professional Footballersʼ Association Young Player of the Year. His next challenge should be snatching Julian Draxlerʼs Germany starting spot at the World Cup. Germanyʼs Leroy Sané has been rewarded for a stellar season at English Premier League champions Manchester City by being recognized by his peers as the best young player in England — becoming the first German to win a PFA award.
Trolley rage: German police called over Ikea shopping cart fight What began as a normal Saturday at an Ikea in Bavaria ended with an ambulance after a fight broke out between three customers. The angered shoppers reportedly couldnʼt agree whose shopping cart had the right of way. Police and rescue services were called to an Ikea in southeastern Germany after a shopping cart scuffle left one woman with a head injury, according to media reports on Sunday. The fight broke out between three customers on Saturday as they were trying to maneuver their shopping carts at an Ikea in the town of Eching, outside of Munich. A 49-year-old woman and an 18-year-old woman began shouting and shoving each other after they couldnʼt agree on whose cart had the right of way, reported the Müncher Merkurnewspaper. The 18-year-oldʼs father then
joined the fray and pushed the 49-yearold. The woman lost her balance and fell into a metal shelf, sustaining a laceration to her head. The 49-year-old woman was taken in an ambulance to a local hospital for treatment. The angry shoppers didnʼt deny their participation in the fight when giving statements to police, but their stories diverged when it came to who was at fault. "Officers certainly had the impression that both conflicting parties contributed almost equally to the escalation of the dispute," the Echinger Zeitung newspaper quoted local police as saying.
7 million people dying yearly from polluted air Over 90 percent of people on Earth are breathing high levels of pollutants, according to a World Health Organization report. The UN body warned that toxins in the air can lead to strokes, heart attacks and lung cancer. Air pollution is to blame for around 7 million deaths around the globe each year, according to a new report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday. Nine out
of ten people globally are breathing in high levels of pollutants, according to new data gathered by the UN health body. "Air pollution threatens us all, but the poorest and most marginalized people bear the brunt of the burden," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. Over 90 percent of deaths due to poor air quality occurred in low and middleincome countries located primarily in Asia and Africa, the WHO report found.
Budapest to increase taxi fares from July Budapest’s city authorities have just announced the rise of taxi prices in the city, effective from July 1st. This increase will affect the base fare and the tariff calculated by time and distance. According to József Sipeki, spokesman for the Budapest Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BKIK), the average fare increase per journey will be around 10%. Rising insurance costs and stricter legal requirements have been given as the main reasons for the price hike.
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German metalworkers finally secure wage agreement Following weeks of bitter fighting, a wage agreement for the German metal and electrical industries has finally been struck. Employees were able to secure higher wages and more flexible working hours. A wage agreement was reached in the early hours on Tuesday in Germanyʼs metal and electrical industries. The powerful IG Metall union announced the deal initially covering workers in the southern German state of BadenWürttemberg, but expected to be eventually implemented for a total of 3.9 million workers in the sector nationwide. According to the deal, employeesare to receive a pay hike of 4.3 percent from April this year. Additionally, monthly one-off payments of €100 ($124) were agreed for January through March. Employers and trade union representatives also agreed on the possibility of workers reducing their hours from 35 to 28 hours per week for two years, should they need to look after children or care for older relatives.
Publisher slammed as Hitler appears in ʼgreat leadersʼ book The book "would bring tears of joy to neo-Nazis," a Jewish human rights organization has said. Adolf Hitler carries a certain fascination in some parts of the world that is largely untouched by his atrocities. Indian publisher Pegasus landed itself in hot water this week when it emerged that itʼs "Great Leaders" book for children included Adolf Hitler. Pictured alongside freedom fighters Mathama Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, the book chose Hitler as one of the "powerful world leaders who have dedicated their lives to the betterment of their countries and the people living in them." Also included in the book are current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, controversial Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi and former US President Barack Obama. "Dedicated to the betterment of countries and people? Adolf Hitler? This description would bring tears of joy to the Nazis and their racist neo-Nazi heirs," said Abraham Cooper of the Jewish human rights organization the Wiesenthal Center.