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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Danish immigration minister Stoejberg calls fasting ʼdangerousʼ Inger Stoejberg received backlash after suggesting Muslims spend the month of Ramadan away from work. Experts and businesses fired back that there was no evidence of fasting affecting work safety. Denmarkʼs Immigration and Integration Minister Inger Stoejberg has stirred controversy after claiming late on Monday that the celebration of Ramadan was incompatible with the modern labor market. The minister, who has a reputation for hardline immigration policies, wrote a blog post for the Danish tabloid BT that the month-long Muslim celebration, which includes fasting during daylight hours, was "dangerous for us all." Questioned the idea of "commanding observance to a 1,400-yearold pillar of Islam."Suggested that, if Muslims were going to fast, they should take a month off from work "to avoid negative consequences for the rest of Danish society."

Hundreds of Reichsbürger, extremists lose weapons permits As sympathisers reach out across social media and messaging services, the number of Reichsbürger supporters appears to have grown to 18,000. A number of them hold weapons but 450 have lost their permits. The German Interior Ministry on Tuesday said that approximately 1,200 Reichsbürger and 750 right-wing extremists currently have a permit for one or more weapons. The revelation came as part of its response to a parliamentary question from the Green party on the dangers of right-wing terrorist structures and right-wing militancy in Germany, as the Greens had expressed concern over an increase in the number of acts of violence perpetrated by rightwing extremists.

120/2018 • 30 MAY, 2018

Italian populist coalitionʼs failure to govern throws government into doubt Now, with a second attempt at forming a government, the future is unclear

The rise of anti-establishment parties in Italy has profoundly transformed Italian politics in just a decade. When the Five Star antiestablishment movement began organizing in piazzas across Italy with the goal of purging the country of mainstream politicians, few could have predicted that nine years later their main target would be Italyʼs president. Yet the mounting tensions between President Sergio Mattarella and Italyʼs latest would-be government, comprised ofthe populist Five Stars (M5S) and the far-right League party, has led to a clash of institutions not seen since Italy established its republic in 1946. Political scientists say the situation is unprecedented, and for the first time there is a real possibility of Italy moving towards exiting the euro. Sunday night, Mattarella refused to accept the two-party coalitionʼs nomination for Finance Minister, the anti-euro economist Paolo Savona. Mattarella said Savonaʼs appointment would "alarm” both Italian and foreign investors, risk further increasing Italyʼs already mammoth debt and take Italy down the path toward exiting the euro-

zone. As a result, Giuseppe Conte, the little-known law professor accused of padding his resume whom the populist coalition nominated as prime minister-designate just days before,resigned Sunday night. By midday Monday, Mattarella had named former IMF official Carlo Cottarelli prime minister-designate and tasked him with forming a cabinet within the next two days. But not before Luigi Di Maio, the 31year-old head of the M5S, called for Mattarellaʼs impeachment for refusing Savona as finance minister, a decision the president has the right to make. Instead, he called for Italians to protest nation-wide against Mattarella on June 2, the national holiday, and to drape the Italian flag outside their windows. Experts say that the current situation is not to be ignored. "This is a very serious crisis, maybe one of the most serious we have experienced in 20 years," says Cristina Fasone, professor in comparative public law at the Political Science Department at Romeʼs LUISS University.

Former Taiwan president gets jail time for information leak Taiwanʼs High Court has overturned a previous not-guilty verdict and charged former Taiwanese President Ma Yingjeou. Ma plans to appeal his sentence but can also avoid prison by paying a fine of €3,370. Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou was sentenced to four months in prison on Tuesday for leaking classified information. Taiwanʼs High Court found that "Ma Yingjeou violated the Communication and Surveillance Act," when he leaked information relating to national security and opposition lawmaker Ker Chienming, which should have been confidential. Ma told local media he planned to appeal the High Court sentence, but he could also skip prison if he pays a fine of T$120,000 ($4,020, €3,370), the court said. A former stalwart of major opposition party Kuomintang of China, Ma was Taiwanʼs president from 2008 to 2016 and encouraged closer ties with China.

Five dead in samurai sword attack on Indonesian police Police have shot four men dead during an attack on a police headquarters in Pekanbaru on Sumatra island. The third Islamist militant assault in Indonesia in the past week also left an officer dead and two wounded. Four samurai sword-wielding men were shot dead by Indonesian police on Wednesday after they attacked a police headquarters on the island of Sumatra. National police spokesman Setyo Wasisto said the men attacked officers after driving a minivan into the police compound in Pekanbaru.

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