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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."

89/2018 • 20 APRIL, 2018

Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron present united front in Berlin Merkel has received French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin to discuss his grand EU vision

Chancellor Angela Merkel has received French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin to discuss his grand EU vision. But Macronʼs vision of a banking union, in particular, doesnʼt sit well with German conservatives. Chancellor Angela Merkel received her French counterpart on a building site in central Berlin on Thursday, and German media delighted in the symbolism. Drenched in midday spring sunshine, Merkel showed President Emmanuel Macron around the Humboldt Forum, the new name for the Berlin Palace, a royal Prussian edifice that is being rebuilt and reinvented as a huge new museum in the heart of the German capital. That was a cue for many media pundits to ponder: isnʼt the European Union also a grand old institution due for renovation? Macron seems to think so:his speech in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesdayset out the urgent need for reforms to the EU, specifically the retooling of its bailout mechanism to make it more flexible and independent in the event of a financial crisis. The two leaders appeared before an image of the old imperial residence at the press conference following the tour, and ahead of the all-important talks expected to fill the afternoon. Predictably enough, Merkel and Macron were at pains to present a united front, with Merkel

pointing out that the two countries were planning a joint council of ministers in late June. "We need an open debate and at the end the ability to compromise," Merkel said, before promising that an agreement would be reached by the summer - and warning that Europe could only represent its interests internationally as one. The pair also need to prepare European policies on asylum and immigration. "You will notice we donʼt lack work to do, and we donʼt lack the will either," said Macron, before seeking to reinforce his image as the centrist bulwark against the forces of populism in Europe. "We live in a moment of European adventure that is truly unique. Also within our states there are serious doubts and strong nationalistic visions." But Merkel may not be as amenable to Franceʼs plans as she would like:she faces domestic pressure - especially from her own Christian Democratic Union (CDU), whose conservative wing has been spooked by the rise of far-right populism and is especially sensitive about committing German taxpayersʼ money to the EU.

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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