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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

German Turks still rooted in the east A study from the Center for Turkish Studies at the University of DuisburgEssen in Germany has found that most of the 3 million people with Turkish roots living Germany feel more strongly connected to Turkey than to Germany. The study was released one day after German footballer Mesut Özil announced he was quitting the national team, citing racism, after he was criticized for meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May. About 89 percent feel they belong "strongly" or "very strongly" to Turkey, and about 81 percent to Germany.About 83 percent feel somewhat or very at home in both Germany and Turkey.38 percent would not return to Turkey, 15 percent intend to return permanently and 37 percent live between Turkey and Germany.19.6 percent were strongly interested in German politics, 47 percent had little interest.33.9 percent were strongly interested in Turkish politics, 30.7 percent werenʼt very interested.

Greece: Many killed in forest fires near Athens At least 74 people have been killed and 170 injured as the deadliest wildfires in Greece in more than a decade swept through seaside areas near Athens. Two major forest fires started burning out of control on both sides of Athens on Monday, with Rafina to the cityʼs east, and the other at Kineta, to the west, being the hardest hit areas. What we know so far:Many people attempting to escape the fires fled to nearby beaches to be evacuated by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats.A number of people are believed to have died after having swam into the sea to avoid flames and smoke. The Red Cross reported finding 26 bodies huddled tightly together in the courtyard of a villa at the seaside resort.In northern Greece, 300 firefighters, aircraft and helicopters are battling blazes.

170/2018 • 27 JULY, 2018

Can Philippine Vice President Robredo challenge Duterte? Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo has been seen as a potential rival to President Duterte

Restraining psychiatric patients requires court order A court order is required for the prolonged physical restraint of psychiatric patients, Germanyʼs top court ruled on Tuesday. TheFederal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe ruled in favor of two patients who sued the states of Bavaria and BadenWürttemberg, claiming they had been illegally restrained for long periods of time against their will. Judges declared portions of BadenWürttembergʼs laws regarding the issue unconstitutional. Bavaria has no laws regulating the restraint of patients. Judges ordered the states to comply with new federal guidelines by June 30, 2019. Until then, however, they will be allowed to continue to restrain patients without a court order as they have in the past.

Extremist crimes in Germany down, number of fanatics up Experts say that Duterteʼs mistakes and midterm elections are an opportunity for Robredo to challenge him more directly. For the first two years of her tenure, some supporters of Philippine Vice President Leni Robredowanted to see her stand up more forcefully against Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Now, it looks like they might finally be getting their way. "It is becoming apparent that people will be more confident to speak up if there is another group that shares the same beliefs," she announced earlier this month. "And that’s the role I want to take, to unite those voices." Elected to be Duterteʼs number two, despite being from the opposition Liberal Party, Robredo occupies a unique role in Philippine politics. As the most visible and high-profile member of the opposition, she appears to have the ideal profile for taking on President Duterte, who has drawn widespreadcriticism for a deadly drug warand hispugnacious public attitude. But Robredo has spent her time as vice president walking a rhetorical tightrope, seeking to be critical of Duterte when necessary, but often avoiding taking him on directly. This, however, seems to be changing. Sensing a po-

litical opening ahead of the 2019 midterm elections and following several high-profile scandals for Duterte — most notably, when he referred to God as "stupid" earlier this summer, a major faux pas in the deeply Catholic country — Robredo has sharpened her criticism and is beginning to embrace the role of de facto opposition leader. "Leni has stepped up her rhetoric," Richard Heydarian, a Manila based-academic and author of a Duterte biography, told DW. "There was kind of a calculation that the ʼGodʼ comments of Duterte were going to really alienate his base, and that this is a perfect opening for her to come in stronger." Back in early 2017, Robredo tried her hand at criticizing Duterte when she told the UN that the presidentʼs bloody drug war was leaving Filipinos feeling "hopeless and helpless." Government estimates say that about 3,000 people have been killed in the campaign since Duterte took office. However, independent observers such as Human Rights Watch, have said the true total is at least 12,000 or more.

The overall news was good as Interior Minister Horst Seehofer and Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) President Hans-Georg Maassen presented their report on Tuesday for 2017. Politically motivated crimes in Germany declined by 4.9 percent over 2016 from 41,549 to 39,505. Far-right extremist crimes also declined by an impressive 35 percent, although their numbers remain higher than in 2014, the year before the so-called migrant crisis. Still, as was true of left-wing extremism, the number of people deemed potential committers of farright extremist crimes rose slightly. For that reason, neither Seehofer nor Maassen was bragging about the results of the study.

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