DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Currywurst sausage defends title as Germansʼ favorite cafeteria lunch for 26th year in a row Germans love a good sausage, particularly if itʼs covered in a reddish sauce and served with wrinkly chips. And thatʼs the way itʼs been for more than a quarter of a century, according to a new study. "Currywurst" — a long and thick sausage covered in a reddish sauce and sprinkled with curry pepper — is still adored by cafeteria patrons across Germany, according to a new study. Apetito, a catering company from the western German state of North-Rhine Westphalia, published the 2017 edition of its annual analysis of meal popularity in different cafeterias.
Chinese pilot sucked halfway out of airplane "I saw that the co-pilot was already halfway out of the window," said the pilot who landed the airplane after a cockpit window shattered in mid-flight. The co-pilot suffered scratches and a sprained wrist. A Chinese pilot was hailed a hero on social media on Tuesday for successfully landing a commercial aircraft after his co-pilot was sucked "halfway" out of the cockpit in midflight. The incident occurred while the Sichuan Airlines Airbus A-319 was flying at 800-900 kilometers per hour (500-560 miles) at cruising altitude on its way from the central province of Chongqing to the city of Lhasa in Tibet. "The windshield burst suddenly and a loud noise was heard, and when I looked to the side, I saw that the co-pilot was already halfway out of the window," Liu Chuanjian told Chinese newspaper Chengdu Business Daily. "Luckily his seatbelt was tied."
111/2018 • 18 MAY, 2018
Israel and Turkey ramp up tension with tit-for-tat diplomat dismissals Israel and Turkey have continued tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats over violence in Gaza
Israel and Turkey have continued tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats over violence in Gaza that has killed at least 60 Palestinians. It comes ahead of a meeting of Arab foreign ministers to discuss "Israeli aggression."
Japan economy shrinks for first time in 2 years The worldʼs third-largest economy has slid into reverse for the first time in two years as a result of sluggish consumption and seasonal factors. But experts said it was not the beginning of a longer downswing. Japanʼs economy contracted by 0.2 percent quarter on quarter in the January-March period, the Cabinet Office reported Wednesday. This brought to an end a series of eight consecutive quarters of growth — a streak not seen since the heady days of the miracle boom in the 1980s. The slight decline at the beginning of the year came as a blow to the economic policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is already under pressure over a series of scan-
dals. The economy was hit by stagnant private consumption, fresh data showed. "Consumers will keep purse strings tight unless the pace of wage increases shows a clear acceleration," said SMBC Nikko Securities Chief Market Economist Yoshimasa Maruyama. Other pundits mentioned special factors that impacted growth in the first quarter. "There were one-off factors ranging from stock market selloffs to higher vegetable prices due to bad weather," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin. Also, the yen strengthened against other major currencies on safe-haven buying,clouding the prospects for Japanese exporters.
German university hospital defends auto firmsʼ nitrogen dioxide test ethics No experiments on animals or humans can take place in Germany without a go from an authorized ethics committee. Dr. Thomas Kraus from Aachen University Hospital says this was the case in the most recent NO2 scandal. The European Research Group on Environment and Health in the Transport Sector (EUGT) "did not impinge in any way on the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) research it commissioned Aachen University Hospital to do," Professor Thomas Kraus from the
hospital told the German press agency DPA on Monday. The EUGT is a now defunct organization that was funded by German carmakers Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW plus partsmaker Bosch, thus raising questions of possible conflicts of interest. In 2013, 25 healthy volunteers were exposed to NO2 pollution for three hours, Kraus said. "None of them had any negative health effects," he went on, adding that the tests were meant to measure the impact of pollutants in the workplace.
Former Taiwan president gets jail time for information leak Taiwanʼs High Court has overturned a previous not-guilty verdict and charged former Taiwanese President Ma Yingjeou. Ma plans to appeal his sentence but can also avoid prison by paying a fine of €3,370. Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou was sentenced to four months in prison on Tuesday for leaking classified information. Taiwanʼs High Court found that "Ma Yingjeou violated the Communication and Surveillance Act," when he leaked information relating to national security and opposition lawmaker Ker Chienming, which should have been confidential. Ma told local media he planned to appeal the High Court sentence, but he could also skip prison if he pays a fine of T$120,000 ($4,020, €3,370), the court said. A former stalwart of major opposition party Kuomintang of China, Ma was Taiwanʼs president from 2008 to 2016 and encouraged closer ties with China. He also served as the justice minister and mayor of Taipei.
Five dead in samurai sword attack on Indonesian police Police have shot four men dead during an attack on a police headquarters in Pekanbaru on Sumatra island. The third Islamist militant assault in Indonesia in the past week also left an officer dead and two wounded. Four samurai sword-wielding men were shot dead by Indonesian police on Wednesday after they attacked a police headquarters on the island of Sumatra. National police spokesman Setyo Wasisto said the men attacked officers after driving a minivan into the police compound in Pekanbaru.
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