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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Vote counting begins in Nigeriaʼs delayed presidential election Most polling stations closed at 2 p.m. local time (1300 UTC) in Nigeria on Saturday following a delayed election to pick the president of Africaʼs most populous nation and leading oil producer. Despite a promise by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it had overcome logistical difficulties that forced the postponement of last weekendʼs vote, some polling stations still opened hours late. A coalition of civic groups said there were delays to the delivery of some materials and the deployment of staff. Election officials allowed those stations to remain open past the afternoon deadline. Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari was one of the first to vote, and he emerged from the polling booth in his hometown of Daura, in the northwestern state of Katsina, to say he was confident of victory. His main challenger, Atiku Abubakar, who represents the main opposition Peopleʼs Democratic Party (PDP), voted in Yola, in the northeastern state of Adamawa.

Namibian lawmakers seek justice from Germany on genocide Between 1904 and 1908, German colonial troops stationed in what was then known as German South West Africa violently repressed attempted uprisings by the Nama and Herero ethnic groups. For many years, Namibia has been pushing Germany to accept the genocide committed against its people when it was still its colony, but the snailpace at which Germany has handled the issue has often led to frustrations among ordinary Namibians, particularly the communities that were most affected. Now a delegation of Namibian lawmakers has arrived in Berlin where it will attempt to reach an agreement with Germany based on the German parliamentʼs 1989 resolution to accept historical and political responsibility for Namibia.

47/2019 • 25 FEBRUARY, 2019

Franceʼs Marine Le Pen stokes anti-EU sentiment Marine Le Penʼs National Rally party hopes to surge in Mayʼs elections for the European Parliament

Marine Le Penʼs National Rally party hopes to surge in Mayʼs elections for the European Parliament. What role does it play as part of a broader euroskeptic boost across Europe? Elizabeth Bryant reports from Paris. Two years ago, Franceʼs far-right National Rally party suffered a crushing defeat when the political newbie Emmanuel Macron and his movement swept presidential and parliamentary elections. But, now, the party has bounced back, with a new name and rejuvenated image aimed to consolidate its place as the countryʼs biggest opposition force. Now, the party is eyeing another crucial test: the elections for the European Parliament in May, which may give it and other populist forces in the region a powerful boost, potentially reshaping the EUʼs makeup and decision-making. "I think Europe is moving toward a return of nation-states, and weʼre part of this great political movement supporting this shift," National Rally leader Marine Le Pen said in an interview with Anglophone journalists recently, as she called the European Union a failure in every way. Though Le Penʼs rhetoric is not new, she is no longer a lonely voice on the European landscape. And today some experts share her predictions

that Mayʼs vote may usher in a political sea change. "They could potentially go up to or beyond one-third of the seats in the European Parliament [there are currently 751 seats in the EP — the ed.]," said Susi Dennison, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank and co-author of recent reports citing the dangers of "anti-Europe" forces in paralyzing EU institutions and policy. "Complacency will be very dangerous with these elections." Other analysts are not as alarmed, although a new poll found that, though pro-EU parties will continue to dominate the parliament, the combined total tallies of the two main groups will drop to less than 50 percent. For populist parties, this election season looks set to continue a surge in voter support that has put some in government in countries such as Hungary, Italy, Austria and Poland. Spain has its first far-right party since the Franco dictatorship, while the far-right Alternative for Germany holds a steady 13 percent support in recent polls.

Catholic Cardinal Marx says files on child abusers ʼdestroyedʼ Germanyʼs top cardinal, Reinhard Marx, slammed the Catholic Church officials for their response tothe decadeslong pedophilia scandalat a conference called by Pope Francis in the Vatican on Saturday. "Sexual abuse of children and young people can be traced back, in no small part, to the abuse of power in the area of administration," Marx said in his address with the pope in attendance. Vatican officials were "trampling on the rights of victims" by deliberately canceling or overriding procedures for investigating child abuse, according to Marx. "It was not the perpetrators, but the victims who were regulated and pushed into silence," said Marx, who also serves asthe head of the German Bishopsʼ Conference. "The files that documented these horrible acts and could name those responsible were destroyed or not created at all."

Venezuela: Tear gas fired as aid trucks try to cross border Security forces have clashed with local residents in the Venezuelan town of Urena just over the border from the Colombian town of Cucuta, ahead of opposition leader Juan Guaidoʼs arrival on Saturday. Members of the Venezuelan National Guard fired rubber bullets and threw tear gas at locals who were throwing stones at them. The residents were trying to remove a barricade on a border bridge that was blocking humanitarian aid deliveries from the Colombian side.

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