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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Andrew Brunson: US pastor on trial in Turkey on terror charges Evangelical Christian pastor Andrew Brunson ran a church in the Turkish city of Izmir. He faces two separate terms of 15 and 20 years in prison if convicted. A Turkish court on Monday decided to keep a US pastor in prison pending trial on terror-related charges. Andrew Brunson went on trail over alleged involvement with both the movement of Fethullah Gulen — a Muslim preacher who lives in self-imposed exile in the US who Ankara says masterminded a failed 2016 coup in Turkey — and the Kurdistan Workersʼ Party (PKK). The trial further increases tensions between Turkey and the US — two NATO allies. In the Syria conflict, the United States has backed fighters from the Kurdish Peopleʼs Protection Units (YPG); a group Turkey considers a terrorist organization, and Washington refuses to extradite Gulen, despite repeated demands by Ankara.

Russian investigative reporter dies after balcony fall Authorities have said that Maksim Borodinʼs death was likely a suicide. But both his editor and friends disagree that Borodin, who wrote about crime and corruption, was suicidial. Thirty-two-year-old Russian investigative journalist Maksim Borodin died suddenly over the weekend, his employer Novy Den confirmed on Monday. Authorities have described his death as a probable suicide, a narrative contested both by friends and Novy Den. Borodin was found underneath the balconies of his building in the city of Yekaterinburg on April 12 and died three days later without having recovered consciousness. According to the US government-funded Radio Free Europe, a policeman spokesman from Sverdlovsk Oblast said it was "unlikely that this story is of a criminal nature."

87/2018 • 18 APRIL, 2018

Merkel plans meeting with Russiaʼs Vladimir Putin amid Syria crisis The German chancellor has partially blamed Russia for a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria

The German chancellor has partially blamed Russia for a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria. But the Kremlin said that despite their differences, Moscow would "continue bilateral contacts" with Berlin. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that she would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin "in the foreseeable future" amidheightened tensions between Moscow and the West over the conflict in Syria. Following a phone call with Putin, Merkel laid partial blame on Russia fora suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held townearlier this month believed to have been staged by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad.The German chancellor said that "as an ally of Assad," Moscow "has a joint responsibility" in the use of chemical weapons on Syrian soil. Her comments were made during a during a joint press conference with her New Zealand counterpart, Jacinda Ardern. In its statement on the call, the Kremlin did not mention a possible meeting between the political leaders. However, it said thatairstrikes launched by the US, France and the UKthreatened the Syrian peace process. "The Russia president stressed once again that the actions by a group of Western countries, which committed an act of aggression against Syria, grossly violated the norms of international law, including the UN Charter, and sub-

stantially damaged the peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis," it said in a statement. However, the Kremlin noted that Moscow and Berlin will "continue bilateral contacts on the issue" since "both sides expressed willingness to facilitate the resumption of the political and diplomatic efforts on the Syrian dossier." Having grown up in the former East Germany, Merkel speaks fluent Russian while Putin, a former KGB agent stationed in Dresden, speaks fluent German. Analysts believe Merkel isone of the best-positioned political leaders to mediate talks between Moscow and the West. "Angela Merkel is not only Putinʼs closest negotiating partner in Europe but also stipulated the force behind the sanctions on Russia," said Katie Shonk, a research associate at Harvard University, earlier this year. "Merkel remains the Westʼs best hope for convincing Putin to end Russian aggression in Ukraine – and abandon any thoughts he may have of launching adventures elsewhere." Both political leaders also discussedthe Ukrainian conflictandthe Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would createfurther European dependence on Russian energy.

Egyptʼs Nadeem Center for torture victims persists against odds Amnesty has recognized the Nadeem Centerʼs work in treating victims of torture and documenting abuse by the security forces with its 2018 human rights award. DWʼs Ruth Michaelson spoke with one of the founders. "According to the constitution, torture is a crime — but it is practiced every day," said Dr Aida Seif el Dawla (pictured above, second from left), as she sat on the sofa of her cozy Cairo apartment. "There is a total negligence of the law — ignoring the law, ignoring the constitution." Seif el Dawla is one of the founders of the Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture. She can immediately recall the number of people the center has helped with physical and psychological therapy: "4,968."

Gunmen kidnap German in Nigeria The German national was working at a construction site in northern Nigeria. Kidnapping for ransom is common in Nigeria. Five armed men kidnapped a German national and killed a policeman in northern Nigeria, police said on Monday. Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a vehicle carrying workers to a construction site run by construction company Dantata & Sawoe in Kano city, abducting the German national working for the firm and killing a police escort, said police spokesman Magaji Musa Majia.

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