DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Malta allows rescued refugees on German ships into port Malta has allowed people on two German NGO rescue ships to enter port after they were stuck in limbo for weeks in the Mediterranean, thus ending an embarrassing political impasse for the EU. The asylum-seekers walked off boats onto Malta on Wednesday. "Let me commend Malta, our smallest Member State displaying biggest solidarity," said EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos in a statement. The Sea-Watch 3 and the Professor Albrecht Penck rescued 49 North Africans in danger of drowning on December 22 and December 29 respectively. But the ships, which sail under German flags, werenʼt allowed to land as Germany and other EU nations wrangled over where these refugees and 249 others already in Malta would be sent. "Weʼre absolutely prepared to accept these 50 people and have been for months," German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told reporters on Tuesday. "But we have set a precondition that a significant number of EU states show joint solidarity."
Doubt cast over details of attack on AfD lawmaker Magnitz Frank Magnitz, a member of the Bundestag from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), had said thathe was brutally attackedby political opponents in his home base of Bremen. However, prosecutors said on Wednesday that footage of the attack casts doubt on the lawmakerʼs version of events. According to Magnitz, 66, he was attacked from behind with a piece of wood around 5:30 p.m. while taking a shortcut behind the Bremen City Theater to his car in a nearby parking garage.He said he was kicked after he had fallen down, and then blacked out.
8/2019 • 10 JANUARY, 2019
Britain, European Union square off anew Brexit Diaries 51:
Itʼs a new year, and nothing has changed. Read all about Benedict Cumberbatchʼs Uncivil War, a taxpayer-funded traffic jam, a shady shipping deal, and more dire economic news in this weekʼs Brexit Diaries.
Whatʼs to become of Deutsche Bank? A little over a year until its 150th anniversary, Germanyʼs biggest lender is facing trying times. Still struggling to emerge from the financial crisis, Deutsche Bank canʼt find a cure to its ills, says Henrik Böhme. The picture Deutsche Bank presents these days is sad indeed. Among the 30 blue-chip companies listed in the DAX stock market index, thereʼs not a single one to be had cheaper than the once mighty German lender. The bankʼs stock barely holds its ground above €7 ($7.9) a share — what a disaster! Its market value has slumped to just €14 billion,which makes comparing Germanyʼs biggest lender to its former US rivals almost a joke. Today Americaʼs
biggest bank is worth €296 billion. In a normal world of finance, a lender of Deutscheʼs current size would merely qualify for being taken over, with the transaction easily funded out of a bigger competitorʼs pocket money. But no one wants to buy the ailing bank. Just this Thursday, Swiss bank UBS politely turned down the offer, with its chairman, Axel Weber, saying in a roundabout way that hopes for a merger were "merely part of scenarios" under discussion. Weber, the former head of the German central bank, the Bundesbank, told the Zurich-based newspaper TagesAnzeiger that speculation about a tie-up was just talk, and that UBS wanted to grow on its own, despite weighing other business options.
NASA uninvites Russian Roscosmos head Rogozin Getting uninvited from a previously arranged visit could be perceived as an impolite slight. But when the guest is the director general of Russiaʼs space agency, Roscosmos, it can become an international relations incident. Rogozin was originally supposed to visit NASAʼs Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, in February 2019, with the option of speaking at nearby Rice University as well. But the visit was a complicated affair
from the get-go. Rogozin first had to receive a special waiver, which the US Treasury Department granted in June 2018. He was on a US governmentsanctions list because of his involvement in Russiaʼs annexation of Crimeain 2014. During that time, he was a deputy prime minister within the Russian government. After several US senators voiced their criticism regarding Rogozinʼs upcoming visit, NASA rescinded its invitation.
Egypt confirms one German detained, another unaccounted for German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Adelbahr confirmed Wednesday that 23-year-old GermanEgyptian student Mahmoud Abdel Aziz (pictured above) "is in the custody of Egyptian authorities." The student was detained on December 27 at Cairo airport. The man, who hails from the northern German city of Göttingen, was traveling with his brother Malik at the time he was detained. The men are both enrolled in the Islamic studies program in Saudi Arabian Medina and were en route to visit their grandparents. Adelbahr said German authorities were "trying very intensively to get access" to Aziz, but have not yet been able to see him. Thus far, no reason has been given for the manʼs arrest.
EU lawmakers decry Washington downgrading of EU ambassador A letter published Wednesday by the 58-member EU parliamentary Delegation for Relations with the United States slammed the White Houseʼs "increasingly harmful approach" to transatlantic relations and urged Congress to help "strengthen and not undermine" ties. The European delegation slammed the demotion Tuesday of the EU Ambassador to the United States David OʼSullivan, originally from Ireland, saying neither the ambassador nor the EUʼs foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini had been "formally notified of this change" in advance.
weather today BUDAPEST
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8/2019 • 10 January, 2019
UN refers Saudi teen Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun for asylum in Australia Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun said she fears for her safety should she be returned to what she describes as an abusive family in Saudi Arabia. Shemanaged to reach Thailandʼs main airport at the weekend, where she put out appeals to find a safe refuge. On Wednesday, the Australian government said it was considering granting the 18-year-old refugee resettlement following a referral from the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "The UNHCR has referred Ms Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun to Australia for consideration for refugee resettlement," Australiaʼs Department of Homeland Security said in an email. "If she is found to be a refugee, then we will give very, very, very serious consideration to a humanitarian visa," Health Minister Greg Hunt told public broadcaster ABC.
Andy Murray to face Novak Djokovic in practice match before Australian Open
EU strikes deal to slash emissions for new cars The compromise was slightly lower than the 40 percent cut pursued by the EU parliament. Germanyʼs auto industry has warned that the move could damage Europeʼs standing in the auto market and endanger jobs. The EU agreed on Monday to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissionsfrom new cars by 37.5 percent by 2030. The deal represents a compromise, as Germany sought a cut of 30 percent and the European Parliament had pursued a reduction of 40 percent. Austria, which currently holds the rotating EU Council presidency, made the announcement just two days after the COP24 summit concluded in Poland, where reducing emissions featured as
a sore point for the participating nations. Vehicle exhaust fumes make up a large share of the emissions linked to climate change. A compromise EU member states have been divided for months over cutting CO2 emissions from vehicles. Car-producing nations such as Germany and others, such as Netherlands and Denmark, sparred over how strict the limit should be.
This weekend, again! Vienna Coffee Festival! Worldʼs coolest coffee event is back! Coffee , food, drinks und music at one place: Ottakringer Brauerei! The festival will feature the best coffee specialities, gourmet food, tastings and demonstrations from
world class baristas, interactive coffee workshops, the SCAE Austria Barista Championship, craftmanship, coffee based cocktails, live music, DJs and much more! http://www.viennacoffeefestival.cc/
Britainʼs Andy Murray will face world number one Novak Djokovic in a practice match on Thursday as part of his preparations for the Australian Open. Murray has lost four times to Djokovic in the Australian Open final.
Sting to return to Budapest for summer 2019 Sting is head over heels for Budapest. After a successful free show with Shaggy a month ago on Heroes’ Square, the former Police frontman has just announced another Budapest concert for next summer. On 2 July, the Grammy-winning singer brings his My Songs tour to the Papp László Aréna, where he will be taking the stage with his own band. From “Englishman In New York” to “Every Breath You Take”, the set should include Sting’s biggest hits. Tickets are on sale now.
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Car rental company under fire after ad jokes about hitting cyclists The 2017 Palme dʼOr-winning Swedish satirical film The Squarehas a memorable sequence about the lengths advertising agencies will go to in order to grab attention for a product, however vacuous the campaign — or indeed the product — is. Needing to whip up interest in a patently ridiculous modern art exhibition called "The Square," the advertising men come up with a YouTube video portraying an impoverished child being killed in an explosion after entering the exhibition, supposedly a haven of peace. The clip draws widespread condemnation but also goes viral, stirring mass interest in something which hardly warrants it. As one of the worldʼs biggest car rental companies, you might think Sixt has no major need for such advertising gimmicks. Yet in recent years, the Munich-based company has tried to cultivate something of an image around its use of banter and humor in its advertising campaigns.
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."