DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Italian Wikipedia shuts down in protest of proposed EU copyright law The Italian version of Wikipedia will be shut down for two days, a spokesman confirmed on Tuesday. The move came as a protest ofa planned new European Union copyright directivethat would implement new rules about licenses for content and, according to critics, places a heavy burden on IT companies to police what users upload. "Freedom of internet at risk," reads the message now posted on the site. Deputy prime minister and leader of the antiestablishment Five Star Movement (M5S), Luigi Di Maio, said he wholeheartedly supported the protest. "We welcomed the support of the government," Maurizio Codogno, a spokesman for Wikipedia Italia, was quoted by Italian news agency ANSA as saying. "We hope that the M5S members of the European Parliament are in line with Di Maio (when the directive is voted on in the European Parliament on July 5)."
Amid asylum row, EU looks to Hungaryʼs transit zones The transit zones that German Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) sister partyagreed to after a heated debate over asylum policyalready exist in Hungary. Asylum-seekers there arenʼt allowed to enter the country directly, but are stopped at two crossing points along a border fence with Serbia. They are then sent into the transit zone, a closedoff container village. According to the Hungary Helsinki Committee (HHC) aid group, only one person per crossing point is allowed to enter the transit zone each day, a figure denied by a spokesperson for Hungaryʼs government.
150/2018 • 04 JULY, 2018
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz calls for stronger EU border after German migration deal The deal ended a bitter German government crisis
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has warned that Germanyʼs new migration deal could force the Alpine country to impose stronger border checks on Italy and Slovenia.
German carmakers confident despite trade and diesel worries A lobby group for the German car industry has said it expects car production and new registrations to increase again in 2018. Its optimistic forecast came despite concerns over current trade frictions with the US. The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) said Tuesday the domestic car industry would grow this year despite the impact of several automakersʼ involvement in a largescale emissions-cheating scandal and worries over a widening trade spat with the United States that might see the US president slap higher import tariffs on cars from the European Union. Following a strong perfor-
mance in the first six months of the year, the association expects new registrations across Europeʼs powerhouse to grow by 1 percent to 3.5 million vehicles for the whole of 2018, following a 3.5-percent increase in the previous year. VDA officials added that German carmakerswere on track to globally produce a record of 16.7 million vehicles this year, marking a 1-percent pickup. Some 76 percent of all cars produced in Germany itself would be exported, the industry group said, with every second car made by German automakers in the US also to be shipped to other nations this year.
Nazi-looted Cezanne painting to be shared between Swiss, French museums The Bern Museum of Fine Art in Switzerland will retain ownership of a Paul Cezanne painting found ina Naziera trovein 2014, the artistʼs heirs confirmed on Tuesday. They also said that the museum had agreed to regularly exhibit the work in Cezanneʼs hometown of Aix-en-Provence, France. "This solution in the spirit of the Swiss-French friendship and partnership allows two great museums, Bern Museum of Fine Art and the Musee
Granet in Aix-en-Provence, to show a masterpiece by our grandfather Paul Cezanne for the benefit and enjoyment of a great audience," said Philippe Cezanne (pictured above), greatgrandson of the master painter. The painting was found in the nowinfamous Gurlitt collection, originally amassed by German art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt under direction from the Nazis to sell or get rid of "degenerate" art seized from museums.
Hamas tried to hack Israeli soldiers with World Cup app, Israel says The Israeli army accused Islamist militant group Hamas on Tuesday of having attempted to hack into its soldiersʼ phones through the use of a World Cup-related app. Two dating apps were also involved, Israeli officials said. "No damage was done, as we stopped it in time," the military said of its counter efforts, codenamed "Operation Broken Heart." The alleged attack mimics the onereported by the Israeli militaryin January 2017, when the cellphones of dozens of soldiers were hacked by Hamas militants posing as attractive young women. The Gaza strip-based Palestinian militant group declined to comment on the allegations. The Israeli military did not disclose how it knew of Hamasʼ involvement.
Jordan launches aid drive for Syrian refugees trapped at its border The United Nations on Tuesday urged Jordan to open its borders to Syrians fleeing Daraa, where President Bashar Assadʼs government is currently in a fight against rebels to take back the city. "We call on the Jordanian government to keep its border open and for other countries in the region to step up and receive the fleeing civilians," UN human rights spokesperson Liz Throssel said. The Jordanian government at present has closed its border to Syria, leaving civilians attempting to escape the violence in Daraa stranded.
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150/2018 • 04 July, 2018
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte dismisses Roma census proposal as ʼunconstitutionalʼ Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Tuesday criticizedInterior Minister Matteo Salviniʼs plans to create a Roma "register." "No one is planning to create files or conduct a census on the basis of ethnicity, which would be unconstitutional because it is clearly discriminatory," Conte said in a statement Tuesday. Read more: Forgotten victims of Hungaryʼs Roma murders Conte also called for checks to ensure Roma children had access to school services, as "they are often kept out of compulsory education courses." Salvini, who also serves as deputy prime minister, announced his intentions of carrying out a Roma census during a television question-andanswer session on regional television channel TeleLombardia on Monday. The far-right League party leader said the census would mean Roma who were in the country illegally could be deported, but "as for the Italian Roma, unfortunately, one has to keep them at home."
Garbine Muguruza kick starts title defense
Can Europe rescue Iran as Trumpʼs sanctions loom? As US sanctions on Iran are set to resume, Iranian President Rouhani is visiting Europe in a bid to keep his country from economic isolation. But the ability of EU partners to make a difference remains questionable. ranian President Hassan Rouhani is visiting Switzerland and Austria this week as part of an ongoing effort to ensure European support for the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers that was undermined by the USʼ withdrawal from the deal in May. The Iranian delegation is also trying to find ways to limit damage from imminenteconomic sanctions announced by the USand maintain the best possible economic and trade relationship between Iran and international partners. Austria took over the
European Unionʼs rotating six-month presidency on Sunday and the nuclear deal was signed in the Austrian capital, Vienna, in 2015. Switzerland represents US interests in Iran in the absence of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries. Time is of the essence, as the US is putting pressure on Iranʼs previous economic partners. Starting on August 6, Iran is to be barred from conducting transactions using US dollars and on November 4, it will be cut off from international payment systems.
Can bird watching help save Colombiaʼs forests? Colombia teems with birds, but until recently fighting between the government and guerilla groups scared visitors away. Now, former war zones are fast becoming birdwatching hotspots. Until recently, the Farallones National Park was a key hideout for Colombiaʼs FARC rebels. But as the guns fall silent and Colombia transitions out of five decades of armed conflict, this mountainous cloud forest is receiving
another kind of visitor. One crisp morning, a dozen tourists from China visit a small farm on the edge of the park that has set up feeding stations for hummingbirds. They fire away at the miniscule creatures with their telescopic lenses, hoping to get the perfect picture. Suddenly, the bird watchers hear the loud cry of the Toucan Barbet – a red-chested species found only in Colombia and Ecuador – and point their lenses toward the sky.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza got her title defense off to a perfect start, breezing through to the second round after defeating opponent Naomi Brady in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5. Muguruza struggled for form immediately after winning last yearʼs tournament, crashing out of the US Open in the second round and this yearʼs Australia Open in the fourth.
Nostalgia can be a powerful temptation. But the dozens who line up each morning at Germanyʼs central bank, the Bundesbank, are perhaps among the less sentimental. A smorgasbord of the elderly, young mothers with children in tow and students, they have one thing in common and more often than not itʼs hidden inside a heavy bag. Nearly 28 years after the complete demise of the East German mark and 16 years after the introduction of the euro, these people are patiently waiting to hand in some of the billions of old deutschmarks still in circulation. Read more: German banker takes 6 months to count 1.2 million inheritance pennies by hand Today German marks are travel souvenirs, bits of history forgotten at the back of a drawer or still stashed in safety deposit boxes. Most assuredly, marks are not an old-fashioned alternative to cryptocurrencies. Yet with so much of the cash still out there, many more Germans are holding onto the old currency than will probably ever own bitcoin, the most famous digital asset. It is no secret thatGermans love carrying and paying with wads of cash, and despite being branded with a dark history of super inflation they are also hoarding a currency that no store or taxi driver will accept. Amazingly, its limited practicality doesnʼt seem to bother Germans.
Yemen: Government forces storm Hodeida airport
Purple paradise: check out this lavender field just outside Budapest Forget Provence. A sweeping perfumed purple lavender field awaits just outside of Budapest. Hues of indigo and mauve mingle in the rolling rows, where an afternoon stroll is a special experience. This splendid place is by the foot of Nagy-Kevély Hill at Pilisborosjenő, half-an-hour from the capital.
The never-ending story of Germanyʼs ghost money
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Troops loyal to the Yemeni government entered the airport in the city of Hodeida on Tuesday. The move is part ofa major offensive that began on June 13 to retake the Red Sea port. "With the participation and support of the Emirati armed forces, the joint Yemeni resistance (army) entered Hodeida airport," the UAE state news agency WAM said in a tweet, backing up the reports given to DPA. Capturing the airport would mark a crucial gain in the governmentʼs struggle against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, as approximately 80 percent of imports andaid suppliesthat reach Yemen enter Hodeidaʼs port.