DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Georgiaʼs frozen conflict takes psychological toll As Ilya Bervashvili walks out onto to his corn fields, the blue circle on the map moves beyond the dotted line with him. But an app clearly shouldnʼt be trusted when it comes to this border. Things are more complicated here than they appear on Google Maps. The farmer points to the green sign just beyond his land. It says it marks a "state border" between Georgian-controlled territory and the breakaway region of South Ossetia, which is onlyrecognized as a stateby five countries worldwide — including Russia, which backs and defends it. Georgia sees this as an "occupation line." In many places, the boundary isnʼt marked at all — and it has been known to move. Here in the Georgian village of Ditsi, there is a small section of green border fencing. On either side of the fence, there is nothing.
Abortion bill galvanizes Argentinaʼs youth to fight Argentinaʼs Senate faces a historic vote to legalize abortion. Its youth have been especially vocal about it, with many young women and girls especially defying Catholic values in Pope Francisʼs home country. Julieta Poo, a 15-year-old secondary school student, is getting her face painted green outside of Argentinaʼs Congress while young women chant "legal abortion in the hospital." Poo wears a symbolic green bandana that reads: "Sexual education to decide, contraceptives to prevent abortion, legal abortion to prevent death." She has come to the march because she wants to make sure that her generationʼs voice is heard ahead of a historic vote on Wednesday in the Senate. "During the abortion debate people have been minimizing students, saying that 15-year-old girls donʼt understand anything about abortion," says Poo. "We actually have opinions, and they are just as important."
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Malaysian ex-PM Najib Razak charged with money-laundering If he is convicted he faces up to 20 years in prison for each charge
The former Malaysian Prime Minister has been hit with new charges related to a huge financial scandal.
Samsung looking for fresh growth opportunities South Koreaʼs Samsung Group has announced its investment plans for the next three years. As the company has hit a wall in the market for its smartphones, itʼs focusing on areas more likely to create future growth. South Koreaʼs Samsung Group said Wednesday it would invest $22 billion (€18.9 billion) over the next three years in cutting-edge technology including artificial intelligence, selfdriving cars and biopharmaceuticals as it searches for ways to drive future growth. The conglomerate has faced a
string of setbacks in recent years,including a fall in smartphone salesanda corruption scandal that saw its vice chairman, Lee Jae-yong, jailed last year. The planned investments will be primarily led by Samsung Electronics, the biggest maker of memory chips. "Samsung expects innovations powered by AI technology will drive the industryʼs transformation, while the next-generation 5G telecommunications technology will create new opportunities in autonomous driving, the internet of things and robotics," the company said in a statement.
Nicaraguaʼs Gioconda Belli wins prize for free speech activism Nicaraguan author Gioconda Belliwas announced Tuesday as the winner of the Hermann Kesten Prize, a prestigious literary award bestowed every two years by the German chapter of PEN International, a writers association that defends freedom of expression worldwide. The German PEN Center described Belli as one of Latin Americaʼs most important contemporary authors and "a powerful voice for freedom of speech." The centerʼs an-
nouncement also praised Belli for her activism promoting womenʼs rights and social justice over decades. Her poems, semi-autobiographical works and novels celebrate womanhood, feminism, eroticism and political activism. Her debut novel, The Inhabited Woman (1988) is particularly wellknown. Her works have been translated into over 15 languages. Belli is also the president of Nicaraguaʼs PEN chapter.
Purged Turkish NATO officer risks Erdoganʼs retaliation Former Lieutenant Commander Cafer Topkaya (above) said that he is stepping out of the shadows to tell what he experienced "for those who canʼt meet the press, who canʼt meet the journalists, who canʼt even meet their lawyers now that they are in prison and they canʼt prove their innocence." The lifelong naval officer said he is "not afraid of [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan or his partners...or Turkish intelligence" and wants the west to knowwhat is happening inside Turkey. Topkaya is one of thousands of Turkish military officers who were summarily condemned by Erdogan as being supporters of US-based Islamist cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the president blames for instigating the failed 2016 coup from his exile in Pennsylvania. In the massive purges that are still taking place in Turkey, thosemilitary personnel trained and stationed in western countriesbecame particular targets.
Saudi Arabiaʼs row with Canada: Silencing Western criticism? Saudi Arabia gave Canadaʼs ambassador in Riyadh, Dennis Horak, 24 hours on Monday to leave the country, declaring him persona non grata. The country also announced all new economic trade with Canada would be suspended. The move came in reaction to a tweet last week from Ottawaʼs foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, who said that "Canada is gravely concerned about additional arrests of civil society and womenʼs activists in Saudi Arabia including Samar Badawi."
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