DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thai soccer team rescued from cave speaks to media for first time The 12 young members of a Thai football team who were rescued after spending more than two weeksin a flooded Thailand cave complex spoke to the press about their ordeal for the first time on Wednesday. Speaking at a conference broadcast on the governmentʼs "Thailand Moves Forward" television program, the boys answered carefully vetted questions submitted by journalists in advance. Read more: Thai cave rescue: Hollywood hype wonʼt help the boys The team, smiling and wearing matching jerseys, described what happened and how they felt when rescue divers first found them.
German Cabinet approves 4-billion-euro plan to combat long-term unemployment Long-termunemployed people in Germanycould soon benefit from government-subsidized jobs for up to five years, after the German Cabinet on Wednesday approved a corresponding draft bill presented by Labor Minister Hubertus Heil. Four billion euros ($4.65 billion) are to be set aside over the next few years for the project, entitled "social labor market." It was initiated by the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the junior coalition partner to Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs conservatives. The Labor Ministry calculates that each subsidized job will cost €24,000 ($27,895) annually. Employers are to receive subsidies at the level of Germanyʼs minimum wage (€1,498 per month) for two years, which are then to be reduced by 10 percent annually for the next three years.
164/2018 • 20 JULY, 2018
Hungary joins US in refusing UNʼs safe global migration compact Prime Minister Viktor Orban has taken a tough stance on migration
Hungary will not sign the UNʼs first compact on global migration, after all UN member nations except the US approved the draft to be signed in December.
Thyssenkrupp in turmoil over future plans When it comes to venerable German business institutions, the industrial giant Thyssenkrupp is something of a poster boy. The Essen-based company is in turmoil though, as disagreements over job losses mount. Leadership chaos reigns at German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp, with two senior bosses quitting in the space of 10 days over disagreements as to how the company proceeds in the wake of a major merger with Indiaʼs Tata Steel. Two weeks ago, Thyssenkrupp confirmed a long-expected joint steel venture with the Indian company, creating
Europeʼs second-largest steelmaker in the process. However, disagreements over the scale of restructuring to take place at the company — one of the most iconic German industrial players — has led to some high-profile departures. Chief executive Heinrich Hiesinger quit just over a week agoand late on Monday, the head of the companyʼs supervisory board Ulrich Lehner announced he too was leaving. The leadership chaos sparked fears of significant job losses at the conglomerate, which produces a wide range of industrial products ranging from elevators to car components.
Dip in Chinaʼs CO2 emissions sparks cautious optimism China is the worldʼs top CO2-emitting nation: its carbon dioxide emissions have grown enormously over recent previous decades, and now make up nearly one-third of the global total. Now, a study finds that the country may already have passed peak emissions:carbon emissions are decreasing. Chinaʼs CO2 emissions went down from 2014 to 2016, according to a research team from China, the United Kingdom and the United States. That
amounts to a drop of 4.2 percent over those years, they reported Monday in Nature Geoscience. This emissions drop is coming much sooner than other scientists had predicted: British researchers, for example, had expected peak emissions not to occur before 2025.The decline might not seem too much: 9.2 gigatons of CO2 in 2016, compared to 9.53 gigatons in 2013. But this is a hopeful sign regardless, the researchers write.
US evangelical Pastor Andrew Brunson denied release from Turkish prison A Turkish court on Wednesday again denied a request to release US Pastor Andrew Brunson from prison where he is being held on charges of terrorism and espionage. He is to be kept in jail pending trial. The case of the American evangelical Christian pastor from North Carolina has added further strain to US-Turkish relations, with some members of US Congress calling for sanctions against Turkey Critics of Turkey have described Brunson as a "hostage."
German Cabinet declares Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria ʼsafeʼ The German government will put forward legislation declaring Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Georgia "safe countries of origin." The decision was reached after the weekly meeting of Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs cabinet on Wednesday in Berlin. If enacted, the change in the law would make it easier for Germany to turn back people from and deport them back to the countries in question, which have been frequently accused of humanrights violations. "This means that people from these safe countries cannot call upon a right to asylum (in Germany)," German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told reporters, adding that the proposed legislation was "an important contribution" to Germanyʼs attempts to balance humanitarian concerns with a desire for "order."
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