DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Indonesian Islamists rally in Jakarta in a show of force Thousands of people marched in Indonesiaʼs capital Jakarta on Sunday as the countryʼs Islamists seek to topple President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in next yearʼs presidential election. The rally also marked two years since the toppling of Jakartaʼs Christian exgovernor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. The 2016 Islamist demonstrations against Purnamaʼs alleged blasphemy forced him to resign from his post. The former governor was laterjailed for two years. Sundayʼs demonstration was attended by former general and ultranationalist politician Parabowo Subianto, who has strong links to Islamists and is seeking to win the April 2019 poll. Subianto was narrowly defeated by the incumbent president in the 2014 vote.
Georgia protests decry presidential ʼelection fraudʼ More than 20,000 protesters on Sunday gathered in the Georgian capital Tbilisi to protestthe run-off presidential election, saying the vote had been rigged. Earlier this week,Georgia elected its first female president,Salome Zurabishvili, beating out opposition candidate Grigol Vashadze, who enjoyed the backing of former president and fugitive,Mikheil Saakashvili. "People took to the streets today because the elections were rigged," said one protester identified as Gia. Some protesters accused Georgian billionaire and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili, of stealing votes. "I am here to protest against election fraud," said a 63-year-old demonstrator. Vashadze addressed the protesters in the capital, saying the election was a "criminal farce." The opposition "demands an early parliamentary election to be held in Georgia," Vashadze said, referring to the legislature.
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Merkel calls on Putin to free Ukrainian sailors G20:
On the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, the German chancellor called for the release of Ukrainian sailors seized by Russia last weekend. Putin called Kyivʼs ruling party a "party of war."
Amazon investigated for ʼabuseʼ by German antitrust authorities After logging "numerous" complaints from sellers on Amazonʼs marketplace, Germanyʼs competition watchdog is now taking aim at the e-commerce giant. Itʼs the latest blow to Amazon, which already faces a similar EU probe. Germanyʼs competition watchdog, the Bundeskartellamt, launched an investigation on Thursday into alleged "abuse" bye-commerce giant Amazon. Citing "numerous complaints" from third-party sellers on Amazonʼs German website, amazon.de, the Bundeskartellamt said it would be looking
into whether the company was exploiting its market dominance to obstruct competition. "Its double role as the largest retailer and largest marketplace has the potential to hinder other sellers on its platform," the authorityʼs president, Andreas Mundt, said in a statement. The list of complaints against the US giant is long — with the German watchdog saying it would look into complaints of delayed or withheld payments and blocked accounts. The probe will also look into the siteʼs product rating system as well as the companyʼs shipping conditions.
An Indianʼs first German Christmas market Moving to Germany from India, I anticipated that I would hate the harsh winter weather which would be a complete contrast to what I was used to from the tropics. What I couldnʼt have predicted however was how much I would fall in love with wintertime in Germany. The love affair started on a fateful November day as I stood in the middle of a Christmas market in Cologne. Wearing my warm boots, woolen gloves and thick scarf, I was all set to dive into the wonderful thrills a Christmas market
has to offer. Christmas is not a festival celebrated by Hindus, but since some of my closest friends are Christians, I grew up singing carols and taking part in the traditions. Christmas in India is a simple affair with small parties, a few shops in the market selling ornaments, bakeries preparing lots of rich plum or traditional fruit cake. The highlight is always the midnight mass at church on the eve of Christmas. By comparison, these elaborate German markets add a whole new dimension to Christmas.
German police stop far-right concert over Nazi chants German police shut down a far-right concert Saturday after members of the crowd started chanting "Sieg Heil" (Hail Victory), a Nazi-era victory slogan. German law forbids the use of any kind of Nazi slogan or symbol, such as displaying swastikas. The concert, which took place in Ostritz, a small town in the eastern state of Saxony, had drawn several hundred people, police said. "Two far-right bands played in front of several hundred participants," Saxony police said in a statement. "Around 11:20 p.m. (local time, 2220 GMT), the policemen guarding the event heard ʼSieg Heilʼ chants. Several locals also reported to police about it.""Police ended the concert around 1:10 a.m. and all participants left the area," the statement added. Officials have opened an investigation into the incident.
Egypt charges actress Rania Youssef with ʼinciting debaucheryʼ A Cairo court over the weekend charged Egyptian actress Rania Youssef with"inciting debauchery"for wearing a black lace dress to the 40th Cairo International Film Festival. At least three lawsuits were filed against her, including one by Egyptian attorney Samir Sabri, known for taking celebrities to court. Youssefʼs appearance "did not meet societal values, traditions and morals and therefore undermined the reputation of the festival and the reputation of Egyptian women in particular," Sabri told the Agence FrancePresse news agency.
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