DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Far-right group patrols German city after migrant assaults A German far-right group has carried out street patrols in the Bavarian town of Amberg where four asylumseekers allegedly attacked a dozen passers-by over the weekend. The Nuremberg branch of the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) posted pictures on its Facebook page of people wearing red vests with the words "Weʼre creating safe zones" on them, walking through the streets of Amberg. The townʼs mayor, Michael Cerny, expressed "shock" to learn the NPD was trying to create "safe spaces" in Amberg, where he said there was no far-right scene. "I can understand the uncertainty seen in some of the reactions of some Ambergers, but the hatred and the threats of violence from all over the country go way too far," Cerny told the local daily Mittel‐ bayerische Zeitung.
German government cagey on spy cooperation in Pinochetʼs Chile The German government has offered only cagey responses to questions about cooperation between the German secret service, the BND, and military dictatorships in Chile and Greece in the late 1960s and early ʼ70s. The socialist Left partyʼs Jan Korte submitted 68 questions to the German Foreign Ministry late last year, and the incomplete answers he got irritated the Bundestag member so much that he filed an official complaint about the noncooperation of the government. "These answers are an unparalleled insult," he told DW. "And, by the way, that is no way to treat the parliament." The Foreign Ministry did admit that the administration of Chancellor Willy Brandt knew in advance about theimminent putsch being planned by Chilean military leaders under General Augusto Pinochet in September 1973, but offered few details on exactly how.
3/2019 • 4 JANUARY, 2019
Tourists flee as Thailand braces for Storm Pabuk Thai authorities have begun evacuations in the provinces expected to be the hardest hit
The storm — feared to be the worst to hit Thailand in decades — is expected to pound the countryʼs famed southern beach resorts.
Germanyʼs welfare experiment: Sanction-free ʼbasic securityʼ Fear of sanctions is demotivating the unemployed from getting a job, a new study aims to show. Meanwhile, Germanyʼs political left is mulling a welfare reform to refit the system for 21st century work. A basic principle of social security in Germany is this: The best incentive to get people into work is to cut their payments if they miss an appointment, or fail to finish a training course, or refuse to sign an "integration agreement" in which they pledge to do all they can to find a job. But this simply doesnʼt work, says the Sanktionsfrei ("sanction-free") organization. Not only does the pressure created by the threat of sanctions lead more people to fall out of the system completely, it even demotivates those
who arenʼt even being sanctioned. To prove its point, the organization launched a study on Thursday to find out what effect sanction-free support has on people. Starting in February 2019 and for the next three years, 250 randomly-chosen recipients of Hartz IV financial assistance — the system of German long-term unemployment benefits or welfare support — will get any sanctions immediately reimbursed by the organization, no questions asked. The scheme is called HartzPlus. The organization will then record the psychological effects of this newfound security in periodical questionnaires that the participants fill out. A control group of another 250 Hartz IV recipients will get no such safety net, but still out the forms.
Cornelia Funke at 60: Why the star childrenʼs author distrusts words She launched to fame with "Dragon Rider" in 1997 and has since become one of Germanyʼs most successful authors. In an interview with DW, star kidsʼ author Cornelia Funke spoke about why words can be challenging. Cornelia Funke cheerfully answers the phone at 9:30 a.m. California time. She had already been to the ocean, written a bit, made a few calls,
and drunk her coffee. Every workday begins with a good cup of coffee, she says. Funke laughs sincerely and frequently, then speaks thoughtfully about her life, her work with words and pictures, and her relationship to fantasy and reality. Her childrenʼs fantasy novels, which she illustrated herself, have sold 20 million copies and been translated into 37 languages.
US Congress reconvenes with record number of women In Washington DC, the House and the Senate have convened for the 116th Congress. As its first order of business the clerk of the House rapped the gavel to signal the chamber was in session, with 235 Democrats and 199 Republicans reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker of the House 220-192, making her third in line to the presidency. In her first speech she said the work ahead would be tough. "We have no illusions that our work will be easy, that all of us in this chamber will always agree," Pelosi said after accepting the speakerʼs gavel. "But let each of us pledge that when we disagree, we will respect each other and we will respect the truth," she said. Pelosi also touched on the economy and health care.
Paul Whelan: US citizen charged with spying in Russia The former US Marine detained in Russia has been charged with espionage, the Interfax news agency said on Thursday. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison. Paul Whelan, 48, was detained by Russiaʼs FSB state security service in Moscow last Fridayon suspicion of spying, in a case which threatens to aggravate diplomatic tensions with the United States. The FSB opened a criminal case against Whelan but gave no details of his alleged espionage activities. According to Interfax, the Russian authorities had brought formal charges against Whelan on Thursday, citing what it described as an informed source.
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