96/2019 • 27 APRIL, 2019 WEEKEND ISSUE
DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
One in ten EU voters support farright populist parties When Europeans head to the polls next month to elect a new parliament, most will vote based on who they oppose rather than who they support, according to a new study. Extremist, populist parties stand to benefit. Around 10% of voters plan to use their vote in the European Parliament electionsto back far-right or rightwing populist parties, according to astudypublished by the Bertelsmann Foundation on Friday. Most other EU citizens will use their ballots to thwart parties they oppose rather than support a particular group.
Germany speeds up asylum process German authorities took a little over six months on an average to process asylum requests in the third quarter of 2018, according to an Interior Ministry response to a parliamentary question by the Left party. The average processing time was 9.2 months in the first quarter and 7.3 months in the second quarter, newspapers of the Funke Medien‐ gruppe quoted. In 2017, the asylum seekers had to wait an average of 10.7 months for a decision. The time that the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) officials needed to process asylum requests in the third quarter is still way below the target of three months that Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed with state premiers in 2015. "Instead of the costly and mostly ineffective process of questioning the protection status that has already been granted, as is currently happening hundreds of thousands of times in the context of the revocation investigations, the BAMF staff should be deployed to examine the asylum applications and gain better qualifications," Left Party domestic policy expert Ulla Jelpke told Funke newspapers. This could effectively shorten the length of procedures "without compromising the quality of the procedures," she said.
Franceʼs Emmanuel Macron faces bumpy road to reform The French president has bowed to yellow vest protesters with tax cuts and administrative reform
Heʼs hoping for a new start — but his fight for the hearts and minds of the people is far from over, writes Barbara Wesel.
Germanyʼs migrants: wooed and discriminated "We are Hamburg. Are you in?" Thatʼs the slogan Hamburg is using to advertise municipal jobs to migrants. From police officers to teachers, doctors, bookkeepers and prison workers — the city is hoping to hire more employees with an migrant background. And itʼs not just Hamburg making this push. All throughout Germany, the business and public sectors alike are focusing on the countryʼs newest residents. Rising education levels
Thatʼs because the average education level of migrants in Germany is on the rise. In 2011, one-quarter of young migrants between the ages of 18 and 25 had completed their "Abitur," or high school certificate exam. By 2015, that figure had climbed to 33 percent. During that same period, the percentage of youth without a migrant background who completed high school rose from 32 to 39 percent.
Tour de Yorkshire: Mark Cavendish to compete in 2019 edition Britainʼs Mark Cavendish will race in the 2019 Tour de Yorkshire, which begins in Doncaster on Thursday, as he continues his return from illness. Last month, Cavendish, 33, withdrew from Paris-Nice and then missed Milan-San Remo, two months after he had returned to cycling after being laid low by the Epstein Barr Virus. "Iʼm really excited," said Cavendish. "I really enjoyed the tough but beautiful parcours [route] last year as I rode the race for the first time." The Manx rider added: "I look forward to seeing whatʼs in store for us in the 2019 edi-
tion. "Over and above the racing though, it always blows my mind to see the incredible support of the fans. With some of my family in Yorkshire, it makes it so special and I canʼt wait to see them all again." He will be joined in Yorkshire by Dimension Data team-mates Nic Dlamini, Bernhard Eisel, Mark Renshaw, Tom-Jelte Slagter and Rasmus Tiller. Cavendish - who has won 30 Tour de France stages - made his Tour de Yorkshire debut in 2018. Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome and Marcel Kittel will also compete this year.
Sri Lanka says militant leader killed in Easter bombings Security forces in Sri Lanka are looking for around 140 people believed to have links with the "Islamic State" (IS) militia over the Easter attacks, President Maithripala Sirisena said on Friday. In the days following the church and hotel blasts, the government saidlocal militants from the National Thowfeek Jamaath (NTJ) were behind the bombings, likely with help from abroad. Later, a video surfaced with the NTJ leader pledging his allegiance to IS. The attacks launched a nationwide manhunt for Hashim. On Friday, President Sirisena said the NTJ leader died in one of the six deadly blast while taking part in the attack on the luxury Shangri-la hotel in the capital, Colombo.
Chinaʼs Belt and Road is ʼgreen and clean,ʼ says Xi Chinese President Xi Jinping says the Belt and Road program must be "open, green and clean." Beijing wants to dispel fears that its infrastructure plans will leave countries saddled with debt and environmental damage. Chinaʼs Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will have "zero tolerance for corruption" and bring "high-quality" growth to all countries involved, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday. He was speaking in Beijing at the start a summit on his grand plans to rebuild the old Silk Road and connect China with Asia, Africa and parts of Europe.
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