DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
UN migration compact formally adopted The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration has been formally adopted by UN member states at a conference in the Moroccan capital Marrakech. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres described the nonbinding accord, which was finalized in July after 18 months of talks, as a "roadmap to prevent suffering and chaos," rejecting claims that it would allow the UN to impose migration policies on member states. German Chancellor Angel Merkel hailed the compact as a "milestone" for the international community and its handling of migrants. She called migration "natural " and "also good, when itʼs legal." The compact states that it is designed to "foster international cooperation among all relevant actors on migration, acknowledging that no state can address migration alone, and upholds the sovereignty of states and their obligations under international law."
Promised EU help for truck drivers is in the wrong lane "Driving a truck used to be fun," says André Bergner. "But nowadays Iʼm only doing it for lack of alternatives; the open borders have wrecked so much," he adds while leaning against his 40-ton vehicle. Heʼs hinting at hisfellow drivers from Eastern Europe who are on the road for wages a lot lower than his. Bergner says he used to tour Scandinavia for weeks on end, or Eastern Europe, plus tours leading him right down to Italy. But now, he notes, heʼs at home on weekends. "Eventually, my wife wouldnʼt accept my old schedule any more," Bergner says while looking bashfully at the ground. A recent proposal by EU transport ministers calls for a 45-hour break outside the trucks after drivers have been on the road for six days. This means drivers would have to return home or stay in a hotel near their current location.
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Venezuelaʼs Nicolas Maduro further consolidates power in municipal vote At the ballot box, President Nicolas Maduro accused the US of seeking to
With opposition parties banned and an ongoing economic crisis, a scant number of Venezuelans cast their votes. In a vote to select 2,459 members for 335 of Venezuelaʼs city councils, the government of Nicolas Maduro won 90 percent of the posts on Sunday — although only around 27 percent of Venezuelans participated in the election. The local elections, held amid widespread apathy and an opposition boycott, came a month before Maduro begins his second sixyear term. He won re-election in May, but his legitimacy has been put into question by political opponents, the European Union, the United States and most of Latin America. Sundayʼs vote was the most recent in a series of elections convened by the governing Constituent Assembly. The controversial legislative body, which stripped Venezuelaʼs opposition-led legislature of its authority, was created in 2017 in the midst of protests and political unrest that left 125 people dead. As Maduro appeared on state television on Sunday to cast his vote in Caracas, he urged Venezuelans to vote to ensure they could "continue living in democracy." The embattled presi-
dent pointed to the nine elections that have been held during his presidency as a testament of its democratic character. "Despite the conspiracies that come from the White House to divide our country, we have a strong democracy," Maduro said. The Venezuelan president has maintained that he is a victim of a US-led plot to remove him from office, and has blamed the current economic crisis on sanctions imposed by Washington. After four opposition parties refused to participate in the presidential election in May, in an attempt to protest the lack of fairness within the process, the Venezuelan National Electoral Council banned them from this Sundayʼs election. In Caracas and other cities across the country, numerous polling stations were reportedly near empty, with few people in line to cast their vote. Venezuela is currently living through its fifth year of a recession that has shrunk the size of the economy by half and forced 3 million people to leave the country to escape hyperinflation and rampant crime.
Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwere acccept Nobel Peace Prize In theirNobel Peace Prize acceptance speeches on Monday,Denis MukwegeandNadia Murad called on the world to protect victims of wartime sexual violence. They also slammed global indifference to the plight of women and children in conflict. In her speech Murad implored the global community to help free hundreds of women and girls still held by jihadists. She also said that the world must protect her people and other vulnerable communities. Speaking in Osloʼs City Hall and seemingly overcome with emotion, Murad said: "It is my view that all victims deserve a safe haven until justice is done for them."
German rail strikes cause widespread delays Long-distance rail travel came to a halt across Germany on Monday morning, with regional trains also heavily affected, especially in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and the southwestern cities of Karlsruhe and Mannheim. There were also cancellations in Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania, Hamburg and Lower Saxony. Services slowly resumed after 9 a.m. but disruptions are set to continue throughout the day, rail operator Deutsche Bahn said.
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