DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Mafia raids in Germany, Italy: Police make over 170 arrests German and Italian police have detained scores of people with alleged ties to the ʼNdrangheta mafia. The suspects formed part of a transnational network involving bakeries, funeral services and vineyards, police said. Authorities in Germany and Italy busted aʼNdrangheta mafia clanon Tuesday, detaining scores of suspects and seizing millions of euros in property. In Germany, 11 men between the ages of 36 and 41 were detained in the states of Bavaria, Hesse, North-Rhine Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg, Germanyʼs Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) said in a statement. German authorities said the men were suspected of blackmail and money laundering, and that the detentions were carried out at the request of Italian authorities.
Alpine snow leaves thousands of tourists stranded in Switzerland Authorities have begun airlifting stranded tourists by helicopter after road and rail links to Zermatt were cut off. At least 80 centimeters of snow dropped on the town over 24 hours. Helicopters airlifted guests at the popular Swiss resort of Zermatt on Tuesday after heavy snowfall and a power outage marooned an estimated 13,000 tourists at the base of the famous Matterhorn Mountain. Rail and road links were cut off after at least 80 centimeters (31.5 inches) of snow dropped on the area over 24 hours, according to Switzerlandʼs WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research. The airlift was not part of an official evacuation, according to AP news agency, which was aimed at transporting those in need and bringing in supplies to stranded visitors. "Power has returned, thereʼs still the chance that it could go out ... but at this time things look good," a tourist office spokeswoman in the town said. "The atmosphere in the village is relaxed and comfortable."
8/2018 • 10, JANUARY 2018
Ecuador looks to end WikiLeaks founder impasse Julian Assange:
Renewed hope for gay rights in India Indiaʼs Supreme Court has ordered a re-examination of a 2013 verdict that upheld the criminalization of sexual relations between same-sex adults. The ruling was welcomed by the LGBT community. On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered a larger bench toreexamine Section 377 of the Indian Penal Codethat criminalizes homosexuality. Under the British colonial-era law, homosexual acts are punishable by a 10-year prison term. Despite seeing rare enforcement, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code prohibits "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal." Activists have accused authorities of using the law to intimidate, harass and blackmail members of the LGBT community. Chief Justice Dipak Misra said Monday the apex courtʼs 2013 verdict upholding the law appears to violate individual sexual preferences. "A section of people or individuals who exercise their choice should never remain in a state of fear," said the Supreme Courtʼs three-judge bench.
Catholic ex-priest refuses to The Ecuadorian foreign minister has urged "international cooperation" to end a standoff in the case of Julian Assange. But the UK has warned it will arrest the WikiLeaks founder if he steps outside Ecuadorʼs embassy. Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said on Tuesday that her country is searching for a "third country or a personality" to mediate a solution to the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. In June 2012, Assange fled to the Ecuadorian embassy to avoid an extradition warrant overallegations of sexual misconductand has remained there ever since. Although Swedish authorities have since dropped their extradition warrant, British officials have signaled their intent on arresting him if he leaves Ecuadorʼs diplomatic compound in London. Assange has expressed fears that he could be extradited to the US on charges related to WikiLeaksʼ release of 500,000 secret military files and diplomatic cables. "No solution will be achieved without international cooperation and the cooperation of the United Kingdom, which has also shown interest in seeking a way out," said Espinosa.
Assangeʼs situation "is not sustainable. A person cannot live forever in these conditions, and we are searching in a very respectful way with the United Kingdom … for a solution." In 2016, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention agreed thatAssangeʼs time at the Ecuadorian embassy amounted to arbitrary detentionand should therefore be released and compensated. However, British and Swedish authorities at the time refused to back down from their plans to arrest the WikiLeaks founder. "How would you feel after spending five and a half years in a tiny office without feeling the sunlight and without breathing fresh air?" asked Ecuadorʼs foreign minister on Tuesday. "Even people kept in detention centers get to go out into a yard, do some sport. Thatʼs not the case for Julian Assange. His conditions of confinement are very complicated."
speak at sexual abuse trial in Germany Itʼs the second court session in which the 53-year-old declined to speak. He faces sexual abuse and other charges. He was expelled from the priesthood in 2008 but continued to pose as a cleric. A 53-year-old former priest is currently on trial in a district court in the Bavarian city of Deggendorf. Thomas Maria B., who was born in Wuppertal, is accused of having sexually abused five German boys under the age of 14 a total of 110 times between 1997 and 2016.
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