DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
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.
19/2018 • 23, JANUARY 2018
France, Germany to mark Elysee Treaty with resolution to step up cooperation As always, the devil is in the details
Mondayʼs simultaneous session of the French and German parliaments commemorated 55 years of the Elysee Treaty and seeks to bring closer cooperation between both nations. But as always, the devil is in the details. Four months since Germanyʼs parliamentary elections, and the country is still without a new government. Until now, parliament has been unable to properly get to work. Despite this period of uncertainty, members of parliament want to send an important foreign policy signal. A majority in the German Bundestag has passed a resolution calling to deepen ties with France and to draw up a renewed Elysee Treaty, a step made to commemorate and build upon the 55th anniversary of the friendship treaty between the neighboring countries. To mark the accord, a simultaneous session of the French and German parliaments convened Monday morning. The move bolsters recent French-German cooperation efforts by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who have vowed to draft a new agreement this year. But the parliamentarians donʼt intend to simply substitute the existing treaty which, in a nutshell, obliges French and German governments to cooperate more closely. Instead, they seek
a "new political commitment" to Franco-German cooperation, says Christian Democratic Union (CDU) MP Andreas Jung, who heads the Franco-German parliamentary group and helped devise the resolution that is supported across the political spectrum, and also by a majority of delegates in the French National Assembly. The resolution signals to Macron that Germany shares the French desire for European reforms and closer cooperation between both countries. It urges both governments to pursue a number of Franco-German projects and enumerates areas that for years have been on their shared agenda. These include Franco-German vocational training centers and a greater number of bilingual school classes, as well as plans to improve infrastructure in the Franco-German border region and to closely cooperate on all things digital. A joint artificial intelligence research center has also been suggested. Jung is especially optimistic about future economic cooperation between both nations.
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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