DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Venice imposes entry fee for day-trippers There are 25 million visitorsto the city of Venice in northern Italy each year. Of these about 14 million stay just for a day, and often bring their own picnics. With no visible benefit for local restaurants and bars, and costs of cleaning up after the visitors growing every year, councilors have decided to put a price on entry. From May, visitors will pay an entry fee of €3 (about $3.50) for this year, and a planned €6 in 2020. Plans also include a variable fee depending on the number of visitors in the city at the time, on a range of €3 to €10 for entry. "This is unique in the world, the first time that anyone has dared to do anything this important to help manage a city," said Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro after the council decision late on Tuesday.
Japan: Worldʼs smallest baby leaves hospital The smallest surviving male baby, born weighing just 268 grams (9.45 ounces), has been sent home after months in a Toyko hospital. The boy was delivered at 24 weeks through Caesarean section in August after he failed to gain weight during the pregnancy and doctors feared his life was in danger. After five months of treatment in intensive care, he now weighs 3.2 kilograms (7.1 pounds) and is feeding normally, Keio University hospital said. "I am grateful that he has grown this big because, honestly, I wasnʼt sure he could survive," the boyʼs mother said. The previous record for smallest baby was held by a boy in Germany who, in 2009, was born weighing 274 grams, according to the University of Iowaʼs Tiniest Babies registry. The previous record for smallest baby was held by a boy in Germany who, in 2009, was born weighing 274 grams, according to the University of Iowaʼs Tiniest Babies registry.
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Canada’s Justin Trudeau refuses to resign over claims of interference in bribery trial Trudeau has rejected calls to resign over the scandal
Canadaʼs former justice minister has said the prime ministerʼs inner circle wanted her to help a Montreal-based firm accused of corruption.
France and Netherlands quarrel over Air France-KLM France has called on the Netherlands to clarify its intentions after it raised its stake in the holding company Air France-KLM. The Dutch made the moves without telling their French counterparts. Speaking in Paris alongside Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron said the Dutch government must clarify why it bought 12.7 percent of shares in Air France-KLMʼs holding company. "The government was not informed of this decision, nor its implementation," Macron said at a press conference in Paris. "I take note of it. Itʼs now up to the Dutch government to clarify its intentions." Later Wednesday, the Dutch government said it had in-
creased its stake even further — to 14 percent — which nearly matches the French state holding of 14.3 percent. "The Dutch state has bought a 14 percent stake in Air France-KLM," the Dutch government said in a statement, adding that the "buying of Air France-KLM shares has been halted." Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra announced the initial purchase of the 12.7 percent stake late Tuesday for €680 million ($774 million). He said then that the government aimed to eventually match the French governmentʼs 14.3 percent holding in the airline. Air France-KLM shared plunged 11.7 percent on Wednesday after the Dutch governmentʼs announcement.
We need men to talk about periods: Oscar winner Guneet Monga Period. End of Sentence is a documentary
about the deep-rooted stigma attached to menstruation in the village of Hapur in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. For generations, women here did not have access to sanitary pads, leading to health issues and girls dropping out from schools. Directed by award-winning Iranian-American filmmaker Rayka Zehtabchi, the film is created by The Pad Project, an organization established by a group of students at the Oakwood School in Los Angeles and their teacher, Melissa Berton. The movie has been produced
by 34-year-old Guneet Monga (pictured above), who was born in Delhi and heads the production company, Sikhya Entertainment. She has been involved in several critically acclaimed Indian movies, including Lunchbox, Gangs of Wasseypur and Masaan, which won the International Jury of Film Critics Prize at Cannes in 2015. Monga is brimming with ambition and confidence after her Oscar victory and hopes the movie will help change mindsets and hard-wired attitudes, especially among males, towards menstruation.
India-Pakistan tensions force airlines to cancel and reroute flights Dozens of flights between Thailand and Europe have been canceled after Pakistan closed its airspace in response to soaring tensions with India, with both states claiming to have shot down each otherʼs jets. Thai Airways canceled 27 flights on Wednesday and Thursday, mostly to and from Europe, because they had been scheduled to fly over Pakistani airspace. Nearly 5,000 passengers are stranded in Thailand. Read more: Nuclear fears abound after India-Pakistan military escalation "There are 4,000 from European flights and 700 to 800 from flights to Pakistan," a Thai Airways spokesperson said. Thailandʼs flagship carrier said it was requesting to fly over other countriesʼ airspace.
Australian journalists accused of violating Cardinal Pell suppression order Up to 100 journalists in Australia could face jail time for their coverage of the Cardinal George Pell trial. Local media reported they received letters from the Victoria stateʼs director of public prosecutions, Kerri Judd, threatening them with contempt of court charges. The accused include individual publishers, editors, broadcasters, reporters and subeditors at media giants News Corp Australia, Nine Entertainment, the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC), Crikey and several smaller publications, the Guardian and Sydney Morning Herald reported. Nineʼs Melbourne newspaper The Age alone received more than 30 letters.
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