DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Fact check: As Brexit looms, how dependent is Ireland on British trade? A recent interview on BBC radio between Helen McEntee, the Irish minister for Europe, and John Humphrys, the veteran presenter, provided a stinging insight into why frustration over Brexit is gradually turning to anger in Dublin. After probing McEnteeon the Irish governmentʼs attitude to the question of the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, he moved on to the overall Irish-British relationship. "Britain is hugely important to your economy obviously," he said. "It accounts for 50 percent of exports from the Republic. "Therefore, there has to be an argument, doesnʼt there, that says, instead of Dublin telling this country that we have to stay within the single market, within the customs union, why doesnʼt the Republic of Ireland leave the European Union and throw their lot in with this country?"
World Cancer Day: German health minister defends setting ʼbig goalsʼ German Health Minister Jens Spahn has defended his comments that advances in cancer research mean thedisease can be wiped out in the next two decades. "We want to defeat cancer by controlling it. That will not be easy. But thatʼs why we have to try it, with courage and ambition," he told the Rhein Neckar Zeitung newspaperʼs February 4 World Cancer Day edition. "Itʼs important that we set ourselves big goals." The minister stressed that there had beensignificant advances in cancer diagnosis, therapy and research in recent years, drawing parallels with the fight against HIV/AIDS. "Who would have thought 30 years ago that life expectancy with a well-treated HIV infection would be as high as without an infection?"
31/2019 • 6 FEBRUARY, 2019
Is Indian PM Modi staging a ʼcoupʼ in West Bengal? The Saradha ʼchit fundʼ scam
West Bengalʼs chief minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that Modi is interfering in the affairs of her state. Critics claim that the premier is using intelligence agencies to harass opponents ahead of general elections.
Berlinʼs Germania airline files for bankruptcy, halts flights Berlin-based Germania airline has stopped all flights and applied for bankruptcy after failing to cover a "short-term liquidity problem." The carrier had been transporting over four million passengers a year. Germaniahad "no other option" but to file for bankruptcy following financial trouble, the airlineʼs CEO Karsten Balke said on Tuesday. The Berlinbased company cancelled all flights and advised passengers to contact their travel agents about alternative ar-
rangements. People who bought their tickets directly from the company "unfortunately have no claim to alternative trips," the company said. Balke blamed "unforeseen circumstances" for the bankruptcy, such as the rise in kerosene prices, the devaluation of the euro against the dollar, and unexpectedly high maintenance costs. "Unfortunately we were ultimately unable to successfully conclude our financing efforts to cover a short-term liquidity problem," he said.
Spainʼs vast network of illegal wells exposed after death of toddler Rescue teams dug for two weeks in the Andalusian countryside to try to save a boy who fell down one of Spainʼs many illegal wells. The 2-year-old Julen Rosello was found deadin an open borehole in the town of Totalan, near Malaga. Based on surveys of known illegal wells, researchers have estimated there are over one million of these unauthorized wells dotting the country. They are known locally as pozos luneros or "moonshine wells" because they are often dug by the light of the moon
when authorities are not watching. Illegal wells are not a new phenomenon. Farmers have been using them for decades to irrigate their crops, as water gets harder to come by. Along with the rest of Europe, Spain experienced a heat wave in the summer of 2018. Rain was already scarce in the region even before last year. Between 2016 and 2017, rainfall was down 12 percent. In 2017, a quarter of the nationʼs districts were considered to be in an "emergency situation" due to a lack of water.
EU nations get behind Venezuelaʼs Juan Guaido as acting president What started as a trickle has turned into a flow of EU countries who have now officially declared Guaido as interim president. However, according to diplomatic sources in Brussels, Italy has blocked an EU-wide statement of the blocʼs support for Guaido due to conflicting interests within the Italian coalition government. The coordinated move to recognize Guaido by France, Spain, Germany, Britain, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Luxembourg comes after the expiry of an eight-day ultimatum for Maduro to call a new election. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is on a twoday visit to Japan, said at a news conference that "we recognize Juan Guaido as interim president of Venezuela, tasked with starting the political transition and leading the country to free, transparent and credible elections." She added that she hoped Guaidowould initiate those electionsas "quickly as possible."
Venezuelaʼs foreign journalists hamstrung by visa problems Venezuelaʼs Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jorge Arreaza, was visibly angry. "It is outrageous and irresponsible that the [foreign] media send journalists without fulfilling the minimum conditions required by Venezuelan law, then construct a media scandal out of it," he said. "This is another aspect of the media campaign against our country," he tweeted on January 31.
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31/2019 • 6 February, 2019
Remembering last Berlin Wall victim Chris Gueffroy Thirty years ago, border guards gunned down Chris Gueffroy as he attempted to flee across the Berlin Wall into West Germany. The 20year-old was the last person to be shot trying to escape the East German dictatorship. The Berlin Wall Foundation held a ceremony on Tuesday to remember Chris Gueffroy, a young waiter who wasshot dead as he attempted to flee East Germanyon February 5, 1989. Following a prayer service at a church on the former death strip, local dignitaries laid a wreath at the site where the 20-year-old launched his escape attempt 30 years ago. The Berlin Wall separated communist East Germany (GDR) from West Germany between 1961 and 1989. In that period, at least 140 people were fatally shot as they tried to leave the GDR illegally via the notorious border fence. Gueffroy was the last of those victims. "Their fates show how great the suffering and how strong their desire for freedom must have been," Axel Klausmeier, the director of the Berlin Wall Memorial, told DW.
Dirk Nowitzki: A down-to-earth superstar It was exactly 20 years ago, on February 5, 1999, that Dirk Nowitzki played his first game in the National Basketball League. It was a shortened season that started several months late because of the third lockout in NBA history, but the lanky 20year-old from the southern German city of Würzburg played well enough in the 47 of the Mavsʼ 50 games to earn consideration for the rookie of the year award. In his sophomore season, he was in the frame to be named the NBAʼs most improved player. A year later he was the Dallas Mavericksʼ top point scorer, a title he would hold for the next 13 years.
Germanyʼs budget hole casts doubt over eBay sues Amazon defense spending goals for allegedly Germany is reportedly expected to poaching its sellers collect less tax revenue over the next five years. The shortfall casts doubt on whether the government can meet NATO defense spending goals and avoid the ire of its allies.
Germany will meetits pledge to boost military spendingto 1.5 percent of economic output by 2025, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Monday, following reports that a budget gap could undermine that goal. The Finance Ministry estimates that Germany would need to allocate far more money to defense spending than it already has in order to raise the defense budget to 1.5 percent of economic output by 2024, according to an ministry analysis
seen by Reuters and DPA news agency. The analysis reportedly also predicts a €25 billion ($28.6 billion) shortfall in tax revenues up until 2023 due to a slowing economy. Germany is under pressure from the United States and other NATO allies to increase spending to 2 percent of GDP in line with an alliance agreement struck in 2014. Last year, the government promised NATO allies that it would meet 1.5 percent by 2024.
Is your pig whistling? Itʼs the Chinese Year of the Pig — time to let out the sow, as they say in Germany. From whistling pigs to the sowʼs claw, the German language has many quirky idioms featuring this porky animal. The pig, one of mankindʼs oldest domestic creatures, is omnipresent in Germany, a nation with almost 27 million of the animals in 2018 — near one third of the human population. No wonder: pork schnitzel is a national dish in Germany and is widely consumed by locals and tourists alike. But much more than sausage and schnitzel, swine have at-
tained deep cultural significance in Germany and have long been seen as a lucky charm, for instance. In the Middle Ages, a farmer who had lots of pigs was obviously wealthy and did not want for food. Still today, little pink marzipan pigs are a popular German gift on New Yearʼs Day to wish people good luck for the coming months. Predictably, Germans have plenty of sayings and idioms revolving around pigs. Click on the gallery above to discover some swine allegory that Germans use to call out a disgusting meal, or to describe the outrageous and extraordinary.
Múzeum+ February at Museum of Fine Arts The February edition of monthly event series Múzeum+ is being held on the 14th at the Museum of Fine Arts. For each of these events, besides interactive workshops and concerts, an English-language guided tour also features. This time the theme is German Renaissance Art, starting at 7pm. For the complete schedule, check the museum website.
Hotel Azúr Prémium H-8600 Siófok, Erkel Ferenc u. 2/c. Telephone: 06 86 501 450 premium@hotelazur.hu http://www.hotelazur.hu/hu/premium
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Online retailer eBay filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against its competitor Amazon, accusing the Seattle-based giant of using eBayʼs own messaging system to steal sellers. eBay described Amazonʼs scheme as an "orchestrated, coordinated, worldwide campaign" to "illegally lure eBay sellers." While both eBay and Amazonʼs revenue is boosted by independent sellers, the group has become a greater part of Amazonʼs recent growth. In 2017, more than half the items sold on Amazon came from third-party sellers. In eBayʼs lawsuit, Amazon representatives are accused of creating eBay accounts and then messaging sellers to persuade them to take their goods to Amazon.com instead. eBay argues that the move violated its user agreement. The plaintiff claimed that Amazonʼs "abuse" was systematic and had the sole purpose of harming eBay.
Airbnb cuts listings in Israeli West Bank settlements Home-rental platform Airbnb announced Monday it would no longer offer its service in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, drawing an angry response from Israel. Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War, but most countries consider the Jewish settlements there to be illegal. The company said in a statement the decision would affect about 200 properties "in the occupied West Bank that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians." "Our hope is that someday sooner rather than later, a framework is put in place where the entire global community is aligned so there will be a resolution to this historic conflict and a clear path forward for everybody to follow," it added. Palestinian and human rights groups had long called on Airbnb to remove the settlement listings from its site. Waleed Assraf, head of a Palestinian anti-settlement group welcomed the development, saying if more companies followed it would "contribute to achieving peace." Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin condemned the move as "the most wretched of wretched capitulations to the boycott efforts." "Our ministry has started to prepare immediate measures to limit Airbnbʼs activities" in Israel, he said, adding that the government was prepared to back lawsuits launched by affected property owners against Airbnb in US courts.