DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
EU, Arab League forge connections at first desert summit There is a relaxed schedule for the two-day summit of the European Union and the Arab League. The broad agenda refers obliquely to discussions on "global and regional challenges." It is unlikely that any concrete decisions will be made on issues such asmigration policy. The motto for this first summit, which starts on Sunday, seems to be that everything is optional. According to an EU official in Brussels in charge of preparing the meeting at the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, there is value in the fact that this "historic" summit is taking place at all. Read more: The world is a broken puzzle "We have different views in many policy areas, that is clear, but talking to each other, getting involved with each other, is the only way to forge connections," the EU diplomat said.
Japanese voters reject plans to move controversial US base Sundayʼs referendum on the Japanese island of Okinawa saw a majority of voters reject plans to relocate a controversial US military base on the island, exit polls suggested. With 42 percent of ballots counted, some 72 percent voted against the move with 19 percent in favor, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said. On the proposal to move the US Marine Corps Air Station at Futenma to a new location on the same island, voters were asked whether they supported the relocation; opposed it; or neither. Public broadcaster NHK said the number of "No" votes needed to substantially exceed the one-quarter threshold had likely been reached. This would pressure the islandʼs governor to "respect" the outcome of the non-binding poll.
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Pope Francis vows to stop cover-ups of child sexual abuse Pope Francis has promised to stop cover-ups of child sexual abuse
Hijack attempt on Dubaibound plane in Bangladesh A Biman Bangladesh Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing in the southeastern Bangladeshi city of Chattogram on Sunday after a man allegedly tried to hijack the aircraft. The plane was en route to Dubai from Dhaka, with a stopover in Chittagong, when the incident took place on Sunday, Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Mohibul Haque said. The jetliner made an emergency landing at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong at 5:15 p.m. (1315 UTC). Police said security forces stormed the plane and tried to arrest the lone suspect, a Bangladeshi man, aged around 25. SM Matiur Rahman, a major general in the Bangladesh Army, said the suspect acted aggressively toward officers on the plane, and in response, commandos opened fire on the man, who was injured and immediately detained.
Civilian deaths in Afghanistan reached 9-year peak in 2018 Pope Francis has promised to stop cover-ups of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Chuch "as was usual in the past." Francis said clergymen who should have spiritually guided children instead became "tormentors." Pope Francis on Sunday vowed to bring an end to the practice of covering up child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, as he addressed bishops at the end of alandmark summit to tackle pedophilia. "If in the Church there should emerge even a single case of abuse — which already in itself represents an atrocity — that case will be faced with the utmost seriousness." Read more: Sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church He called for an "all-out battle" against sexual abuse, which he described as abominable and said should be "erased from the face of the earth." While child sex abuse gravely affected societies as a whole, "this evil is in no way less monstrous when it takes place in the church," Francis said. He said the sexual abuse of children becomes even more scandalous when it occurs in the Catholic Church, "for it is utterly incompati-
ble with her moral authority and ethical credibility," adding that children "instead of finding spiritual guides ... encountered tormentors" who abused their power. Read more: Nuns fight sexual abuse in Indiaʼs Catholic Church Francis compared the sexual abuse of children to human sacrifice, saying: "I am reminded of the cruel religious practice, once widespread in certain cultures, of sacrificing human beings — frequently children — in pagan rites." "Our work has made us realize once again that the gravity of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors is, and historically has been, a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies," he said. As Francis ended his talk he promised that the guidelines used by national bishops conferences to prevent abuse and punish perpetrators would be reviewed and strengthened.
More civilians were killed in Afghanistan in 2018 than in any of the previous nine years of the protracted conflict, according to a United Nations report released on Sunday. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) blamed the spike in deaths on increased suicide bombings by militant groups and aerial attacks by US-led coalition forces. The UNAMA annual report said that 10,993 civilians were killed or wounded last year, the highest number since the international organization started recording figures in 2009.
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