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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Indonesian Islamists rally in Jakarta in a show of force Thousands of people marched in Indonesiaʼs capital Jakarta on Sunday as the countryʼs Islamists seek to topple President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in next yearʼs presidential election. The rally also marked two years since the toppling of Jakartaʼs Christian exgovernor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. The 2016 Islamist demonstrations against Purnamaʼs alleged blasphemy forced him to resign from his post. The former governor was laterjailed for two years. Sundayʼs demonstration was attended by former general and ultranationalist politician Parabowo Subianto, who has strong links to Islamists and is seeking to win the April 2019 poll. Subianto was narrowly defeated by the incumbent president in the 2014 vote.

Georgia protests decry presidential ʼelection fraudʼ More than 20,000 protesters on Sunday gathered in the Georgian capital Tbilisi to protestthe run-off presidential election, saying the vote had been rigged. Earlier this week,Georgia elected its first female president,Salome Zurabishvili, beating out opposition candidate Grigol Vashadze, who enjoyed the backing of former president and fugitive,Mikheil Saakashvili. "People took to the streets today because the elections were rigged," said one protester identified as Gia. Some protesters accused Georgian billionaire and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili, of stealing votes. "I am here to protest against election fraud," said a 63-year-old demonstrator. Vashadze addressed the protesters in the capital, saying the election was a "criminal farce." The opposition "demands an early parliamentary election to be held in Georgia," Vashadze said, referring to the legislature.

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Merkel calls on Putin to free Ukrainian sailors G20:

On the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, the German chancellor called for the release of Ukrainian sailors seized by Russia last weekend. Putin called Kyivʼs ruling party a "party of war." German Chancellor Angela Merkel had an "in-depth" conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the worsening tensions between Moscow and Kyiv, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Saturday. Merkel joined French President Emmanuel Macron, who also met Putin separately on the sidelines of the G20 summit of the worldʼs biggest economies in Argentina, in demanding the release of theUkrainian sailors captured by Russiaʼs navylast weekend. Putin insisted their cases would be dealt with by the courts. Russia captured several Ukrainian navy vessels on Sunday in the Kerch Strait, which links the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. The area is located off the Crimean Peninsula, a territory Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. At a press conference later on Saturday, Putin said Ukraine was not interested in a peaceful resolution to the conflict and called the governing party in Kyiv a "party of war." "As long as itʼs in power, tragedies of this type and the war will continue," Putin added. Moscow insisted the boats had illegally crossed into Russian waters, while Kyiv filed a complaint

in the European Court of Human Rights over what it said was Russian aggression. During her talks with Putin, Merkel pushed for "freedom of shipping into the Sea of Azov." The two leaders agreed to initiate talks between Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine to reduce tensions in the region. Kyiv, which also accuses Russia of supporting separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine, declared martial law following the incident andbanned Russian men between 16 and 60 from entering the country. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Saturday that the "Kremlin is further testing the strength of the global order" to see if the international community will allow Russia to assert that the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea are Russian territorial waters. Read more: Ukraine denies entry to 100 Russians as tension with Moscow escalates Hopeful that trade tensions will subside Merkel also said she hopedtalks between the United States and Chinawould help resolve trade tensions between the two countries. Merkel met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and they discussed both trade and partnership.

German police stop far-right concert over Nazi chants German police shut down a far-right concert Saturday after members of the crowd started chanting "Sieg Heil" (Hail Victory), a Nazi-era victory slogan. German law forbids the use of any kind of Nazi slogan or symbol, such as displaying swastikas. The concert, which took place in Ostritz, a small town in the eastern state of Saxony, had drawn several hundred people, police said. "Two far-right bands played in front of several hundred participants," Saxony police said in a statement. "Around 11:20 p.m. (local time, 2220 GMT), the policemen guarding the event heard ʼSieg Heilʼ chants. Several locals also reported to police about it.""Police ended the concert around 1:10 a.m. and all participants left the area," the statement added. Officials have opened an investigation into the incident.

Egypt charges actress Rania Youssef with ʼinciting debaucheryʼ A Cairo court over the weekend charged Egyptian actress Rania Youssef with"inciting debauchery"for wearing a black lace dress to the 40th Cairo International Film Festival. At least three lawsuits were filed against her, including one by Egyptian attorney Samir Sabri, known for taking celebrities to court. Youssefʼs appearance "did not meet societal values, traditions and morals and therefore undermined the reputation of the festival and the reputation of Egyptian women in particular," Sabri told the Agence France-Presse news agency.

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