DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Donald Trumpʼs former lawyer Michael Cohen gets 3-year prison sentence A court in New York handed Michael Cohen, the former personal lawyer of US President Donald Trump, a threeyear prison sentence for his role in making illegal hush payments to two women and lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower project in Russia. Cohen said on Wednesday that he was taking responsibility for his crimes, "including those implicating the president of the United States of America." He had told prosecutors during his guilty plea that Trump had directed him to make the hush money payments. "It was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds," he told the court as he argued for leniency. He added that "blind loyalty" to Trump "led me to take a path of darkness instead of light." Cohen pleaded guilty in August to charges that, just before the 2016 presidential election, hepaid adult film actress Stormy Danielsand former Playboy model Karen McDougal to keep them from speaking about past affairs with Trump.
Australia to get anti-corruption commission Australia is to have a national anticorruption commission aimed at stamping out corrupt and criminal behavior in police and politicians, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday. The move comes after pressure from the Labor opposition party, Greens, independent MPs and even from within the government to have a national integrity commission that can investigate corruption by federal employees and politicians. "This is a real proposal, with real resources and real teeth," Morrison told reporters at a press conference in Sydney. Morrison said the Commonwealth Integrity Commission (CIC) will have two divisions: one will focus on the public sector, including politicians and their staff, and the other will focus on law enforcement agencies.
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Hungary to set up new government-controlled courts ʼThreat to rule of lawʼ
The administrative courts will take over cases about government business such as taxation and elections. The government says the courts will be able to handle cases efficiently, but critics question their partiality.
EU parliament approves ʼworldʼs largestʼ free trade deal with Japan The worldʼs largest free trade agreement — one between the EU and Japan — is expected to go into force in February. Nearly all duties will be removed. The European Parliament on Wednesday approved a free trade agreement between Japan and the EU, covering 635 million people and almost onethird of the worldʼs economy. Dubbed the worldʼs largest free trade agreement, the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement will remove duties on almost all agricultural and industrial products as well as open up the service sector and procurement. It also moves to eliminate non-tariff barriers to trade. "Almost five centuries after
Europeans established the first trade ties with Japan, the entry into force of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement will bring our trade, political and strategic relationship to a whole new level," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said. "Our economic partnership with Japan — the biggest trade zone ever negotiated — is now very close to becoming a reality. This will bring clear benefits to our companies, farmers, service providers and others," said Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Trade. European lawmakers voted 474 in favor and 152 against with 40 abstentions. Japanʼs parliament have already approved the agreement.
German band Kraftwerk gets boost on ʼsamplingʼ copyright case In 1997, German rapper and hip-hop music producer Moses Pelham copied a two-second sequence from the pioneering electronic band Kraftwerkʼs 1977 track "Metall auf Metall" (Metal on Metal) without permission and placed it in an endless loop in the song "Nur mir" by rapper Sabrina Setlur. Ralf Huetter and Florian Schneider-Esleben, founding members of Kraftwerk, sued Pelman, cit-
ing infringement. "Sampling" is a technique that extracts bits of another work, such as a rhythmic sequence, and incorporates them into a new composition. Copying and applying such excerpts interferes with the rights of the producer and, without permission, constitutes infringement, said Maciej Szpunar, an advocate general of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), on Wednesday.
US warns Turkey against Syria operation targeting Kurds The US on Wednesday warned Turkey over launching an operation againstKurdish militias in northern Syria, saying such action would be "unacceptable." "Unilateral military action into northeast Syria by any party, particularly as US personnel may be present or in the vicinity, is of grave concern," said Commander Sean Robertson, a spokesman for the Pentagon. Robertson said Washington was committed to Turkish border security, but noted thatthe US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces(SDF) led by the Kurdish Peopleʼs Protection Units (YPG) remained a "committed partner" in the fight against the "Islamic State" (IS) militant group. "We should not and cannot allow ISIS to breathe at this critical point or we will jeopardize the significant gains we have made alongside our coalition partners and risk allowing ISIS to resurge," Robertson said, referring to the militant group by an alternative acronym.
Turkey: Injuries reported after high speed train crash Turkish media reported that the accident, which happened as the train was setting off from Ankara to the central province of Konya, had resulted in multiple casualties and at least four fatalities. Images showed at least two carriages had been derailed, at least one of which appeared severely mangled. The accident happened in the western city district of Yenimahalle at 6:30 a.m. local time (0330 UTC). Official sources were reported as saying that, in addition to the fatalities, at least 43 people had been injured.
weather today BUDAPEST
0 / 3 °C Precipitation: 0 mm
283/2018 • 14 December, 2018
Police identify source of deadly
Indiaʼs rupee dips after central bank chief resigns
Novichok nerve agent in UK deaths
The rupee took a hit after the shock resignation of central bank governor Urjit Patel. He has reportedly been battling against interference from Prime Minister Narendra Modiʼs government for months.
British police announced Friday that they found a bottle containing the Novichok nerve agent in the home of one of the victims of a nerve agent poisoning in Wiltshire last month. "On Wednesday, 11 July, a small bottle was recovered during searches of Charlie Rowleyʼs house in Amesbury," police said in a statement. The statement said scientists from Porton Down defense laboratory confirmed the bottle contained the Novichok nerve agent, the same poison used against Sergei Skripal and his daughter earlier this year. "Further scientific tests will be carried out to try and establish whether it is from the same batch that contaminated Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March," the force said, adding that a link to the Skripals remained "a main line of enquiry for police." Dawn Sturgess died in a hospitalon Sunday after exposure to the nerve agent. Her partner, Rowley, isstill in critical condition, but has regained consciousness.
Team Sky: Chris Froome hopes team can survive owner withdrawal Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome says Team Sky will "be doing everything we can" to survive once their owner and main sponsor pulls out at the end of 2019. Broadcaster Sky announced earlier on Wednesday that it would end its decade-long commitment after next season. "I canʼt predict the future, but this is a really special team," said Froome, who won the Giro dʼItalia in May. "We plan to be together in 2020 if at all possible."
Indiaʼs central bank chief Urjit Patelʼs shock resignation caused the rupee to shed value on Tuesday. Patel stepped down on Monday amid a huge spat between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Prime Minister Narendra Modiʼs government over perceived interference in the bankʼs policy. He cited "personal reasons" for his decision but experts and Indian media reports have pointed instead to his apparent frustration with attempts from the govern-
ment, led by Modiʼs Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to assert influence over the central bank. The currency dropped more than one per cent to 72.19 to the dollar, while the benchmark Sensex in Mumbai slid 1.47 per cent almost immediately after the opening bell rang, before paring its losses later in the day. Central bank ʼunder attackʼ? Analysts say Patelʼs uncommon resignation is a sign the autonomy of the RBI is under threat.
Arcticʼs record warming propelling ʼbroad changeʼ in climate: study US scientists have warned that higher temperatures in the Arctic could be fueling extreme weather in the US and Europe. The NOAA report said 2018 was the secondwarmest year on record in the Arctic since 1900. The warming of the Arctic is occurring at a record pace and having a significant impact across the planet, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has revealed in its 2018 Arctic Report Card. The report was released on
Tuesday at the American Geophysical Unionʼs annual conference in Washington, just weeks after another damning climate assessment by US scientists was published. The NOAA report said Arctic surface air temperatures are increasing at twice the rate as the rest of the world; in the past five years, they have broken all records since 1900. Emily Osborne, program manager of NOAAʼs Arctic Research Program, told reporters the Arctic "is experiencing the most unprecedented transition in human history."
Visit Budapest’s most charming Basilica Advent Fair The Advent Fair by St Stephen’s Basilica is one of the most atmospheric in Budapest. Centrepieced by a towering Christmas tree and a free ice-rink for kids, stalls offer delicious dishes and all things jolly, while special light shows projected onto the façade of the Basilica make every night special. See below for tips on what to eat, drink and buy – and find out what film star Antonio Banderas was up to here last year! Right in the city centre, this Christmas fair has been improving year upon year, offering an enchanted experience for all ages.
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
Published by: Mega Media Kft. 1075 Budapest, Madách I. út 13-14. +36 1 398 0344 www.hotelujsag.hu
T-Mobile reports cybersecurity incident T-Mobile US and its unit Metro PCS told customers that cybersecurity staff found and shut down unauthorized access to certain information on August 20 and immediately reported the matter to authorities. The company added that no financial data, social security numbers or passwords were compromised during the attackon its networks, admitting, though, that other personal information like names, email IDs, phone numbers as well as account numbers or account types (postpaid or prepaid) may have been exposed. T-Mobile said that about 3 percent of its 77 million customers could have been affected (roughly 2 million people potentially affected).
Geely the car industryʼs rising ʼprofitability starʼ Ferdinand Dudenhöffer from the CAR Center Automotive Research at Germanyʼs DuisburgEssen University called Chinese auto manufacturer Geely "the profitability star of the worldʼs car industry." A fresh study by the center points out that on average, a Geely car costs just €9,529 ($10,942), but the companysecures a 14.4 percent profit from revenues before tax and interest. Dudenhöffer says thatʼs a lot more than, say, the profit margins of foreign rivals BMW, Toyota or PSA-Opel. The worldʼs largest carmaker, Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen, logs a profit margin of only 8.2 percent, the survey says. Geely is part of the Zhejiang Geely Holding,which also owns Volvo Cars, London EVTaxi and Lotus.The holding has also acquired a 10 percent stake in Daimler. According to the CAR researchers, Geelyʼs rapid rise is based on its successful compact car platform, which it developed together with Swedenbased Volvo. "What Ferdinand Piëch managed to implement at VW from 1993 with the help of his platform strategyis in a way being copied now by Geelyʼs main shareholder and founder, Li Shufu," said Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, adding that the Chinese were becoming major players in the global auto market.