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George Weah sworn in as president of Liberia Football legend George Weahʼs inauguration ceremony has marked the countryʼs first democratic transition of power since 1944. Liberians are placing their hopes on him, but he has a daunting task ahead. Thousands of Liberians queued for hours to get into Samuel Kanyon Doe stadium near the capital, Monrovia, whereGeorge Weah was sworn into office. Several African heads of state were in attendance. Referring to his past as an international football star, the 51-yearold newly inaugurated president said: "I have spent many years of my life in stadiums, but today is a feeling like no other." He went on to reiterate that his first priorities as president would be to root out corruption and pay civil servants "a living wage," as well as encourage the private sector.
Director Dieter Wedel steps down from theater festival after sex assault claims Following weeks of sexual assault allegations, award-winning German director Dieter Wedel is leaving the Bad Hersfeld Theater Festival. His departure follows public accusations from several actresses. After repeated allegations of sexual assault from several actresses, Dieter Wedel has announced that he is stepping down as artistic director of the Bad Hersfeld Theater Festival. "Dieter Wedel is currently in hospital," a spokesperson for the 75-year-old said Monday. "After the events of the last two weeks, he is poor health." German tabloid Bild additionally reported that he is being treated after a heart attack. In a recent article in Zeit Magazin, several actresses made serious allegations against the star director, which included non-consensual sex. Patricia Thielemann accused Wedel of forcing himself on her in a hotel room in 1991, and attempting to strangle her when she fought back.
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SPD delegates doubtful Martin Schulz can achieve a better coalition deal Germanyʼs SPD has voted to start formal talks for a new grand coalition
For many, the narrow vote has demonstrated that Schulz still has to prove heʼs the right person to lead the party. Germanyʼs Social Democratic leader Martin Schulz was greeted with a lackluster round of applause as he first took to the stage to address the 600 party delegates gathered in Bonn on Sunday. Schulz began the day facing a wave of anger from sections of the crowd due to thepreliminary coalition blueprint he had struck a week earlier with Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs conservative bloc. Throughout the Bonn World Conference Center, the party conference venue that also happens to be the old West German parliament, there were talks of how little Social Democratic policy it contained and how Schulz had squandered a massive opportunity. It was thus unsurprising that the SPD leader vowed in his speech to fight for more concessions from Merkelʼs Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), should it come to formal talks. "We will fight for furtherimprovements in the coalition negotiationsif we can continue the talks," he said, his speech getting ever more heartened as he went, as though his career depended on it. Schulz promised he would push to get rid of the proposed cap on refugees, estab-
lish a "citizensʼ insurance" scheme that would guarantee basic health care standards for both state and private patients, and secure greater employee rights. Delegates, however, were split over his chances of success. "The only way we can see what otherpolicies we can get into blueprintis to continue the talks," SPD parliamentarian Michael Thews told DW. "The art of negotiation is to find your arguments and find supporters at the table, but thatʼs only possible if you have the talks in the first place. Otherwise, thereʼs no room for any maneuver whatsoever." Schulz will once again have to reach a consensus with the hardliners in the CSU. According to Lutz Egerer, an SPD lawmaker from Bavaria, the CSU is not prepared to give Schulz any more amendments during the formal talks. "I know the CSU very well, and I can tell you that they are not prepared to budge an inch, because (CSU lawmaker) Markus Söder is vying to become state premier and he canʼt show any tolerance to the migrant question." Egerer added that Schulz was being "fanciful if he thinks the Bavarians arenʼt going to make it extremely difficult for him."
Berlin confirms German national killed in Kabul hotel attack At least one German was killed in Saturdayʼs Taliban attack on a luxury hotel in Kabul, according to the German foreign ministry. The militants gunned down over twenty people, mostly foreigners, in a siege lasting hours. One German national died in the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, a German foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Monday. The ministry said the victim was a woman, but did not provide other details. There are no indications that other German citizens were among the casualities. At least 22 people lost their lives in the Saturday attack, according to the latest death toll provided by the Afghan Health Ministry. The death toll is likely to rise. The militants specifically targeted foreign citizens, according to a survivor quoted by the news agency AFP. "They were saying kill the foreigners," said a 20year-old hotel employee who gave his name as Hasibullah.
US embassy to open in Jerusalem by end of 2019 US Vice President Mike Pence has told Israeli politicians that the US embassy will move to Jerusalem by the end of next year. He also said Washington would withdraw from a nuclear deal with Iran, calling it a "disaster." US Vice President Mike Pence told Israelʼs Knesset on Monday that Washington was intending to bring forward a controversial plan by the Trump administration to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. "In the weeks ahead, our administration will advance its plan to open the US Embassy in Jerusalem — and the embassy will open before the end of next year," Pence said.
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