DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
US security adviser John Bolton presses Russia about election meddling President Donald Trumpʼs National Security Advisor John Bolton gave a press interview in Geneva on Thursday between the morning and afternoon sessions of his meetings with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev. It was clear the first top-level meeting since theTrump-Putin summit in Helsinkiin July was not going well. In the interview with US news agency AP, Bolton said he had raised the issue of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US elections: "I made it clear that we wouldnʼt tolerate meddling in 2018, and we were prepared to take necessary steps to prevent it from happening." Bolton said the Russian delegates had reacted to his words with stone faces: "They didnʼt respond at all," he said. He said later that the issue of election meddling had prevented the two sides from issuing a joint final statement.
German police fight farright infiltration claims An incident last week in Dresden, when police detained a TV crew filminga far-right demo against German Chancellor Angela Merkel,has done nothing to quell persistent suspicions about links between the far-right scene and Germanyʼs security forces. Those rumors were only strengthend with the subsequent revelation that the supporter of theanti-migrant PEGIDA movement, who harassed the reporters and complained to the authorities washimself employed by the Saxony state police department. The journalist in question — from public broadcaster ZDF — accused police of effectively acting as the "executive" arm of PEGIDA. The case has generated plenty of political fallout at national level. Chancellor Merkel on Thursday stressed her "strong commitment to press freedom" and said that demonstrators "must accept they may be filmed by the media."
193/2018 • 24 AUGUST, 2018
UK warns of red tape, card charges in ʼno-dealʼ Brexit The daily lives of British people would see major changes
German churches under scrutiny for violating asylum rules For rejected asylum-seekers in Germany, turning to the church is often their last hope. Many parishes open their doors to delay or preventan imminent deportation. The refugees then live for several weeks or months on the congregationʼs premises, giving them temporary protection from police access. Church asylum makes it possible "to submit individual cases to the authorities for re-examination and thus prevent humanitarian hardships," according to Karl Jüsten.
Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab presented the first of a series of technical notices telling businesses and citizens how to prepare for a no-deal exit from the EU. Dominic Raab presented the first 25 of about 80 technical notices to be issued over the summer giving an indication of the impact on daily life if the UK leaves the EU without a deal in place next March. In recent weeks, there have been concerns that the country could crash out of the 28-nation bloc without a dealamid infighting within British Prime Minister Theresa Mayʼs divided Conservative government. Raab said he remained confident the UK and the EU would reach a deal, but said that he was releasing the documents to help people and businesses prepare for any disruption caused in case there is no deal. The guidelines stated that companies trading with Europe would face new customs and excise rules and require paperwork covering customs and safety declarations. If Britain left without a deal, "the free circulation of goods between the UK and EU would cease," the guidance said. What do the papers say? Britons will have to pay more to make credit card payments in the EU.Businesses on the continent could be cut off from investment banks in London.Britons living in
the EU could lose access to their UK bank accounts.Companies trading with Europe would face new paperwork to cover customs and safety declarations.Britain will unilaterally accept some EU rules and give EU financial services firms continued access to the UK market.The UK will recognize EU standards for medicines. This means that drugs from the bloc wonʼt need to be re-tested in the UK.Contingency plans to avoid shortages of medicines. The UK finance ministry also indicated in a letter to an MP published on Thursday that a nodeal exit from the EU could eventually cause a budgetary hole in the region of 80 billion pounds (€89 billion or $102 billion) unless public spending were cut to offset this. Analysts fear that a failure to agree exit terms would seriously damage the worldʼs fifth-largest economy as trade with the bloc would be subject to tariffs and regulatory barriers. ʼPlan for every eventualityʼ The first 25 papers issued on Thursday cover everything from financial services to nuclear materials. They say "people and businesses should not be alarmed" by the planning.
Italy lets children disembark from Diciotti rescue ship After spending almost a week on the Italian coast guard ship Diciotti, 27 migrant children were on Thursday allowed to disembark from the vessel at the Sicilian port of Catania, Italian news agencies reported. Aid organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it had finally met the children; the Italian Interior Ministry said they were all between 14 and 16 years old. A delegation from Italyʼs guarantor of personal rights office also boarded the ship. Read more: Will Italyʼs refugee stance bring down the EU? Italyʼs Interior Minister Matteo Salvini had said on Wednesday that he would allow children to leave the rescue ship, but refused to let the remaining 150 migrants on board off the vessel. "If there are children on board, they can get off now," Salvini said in a Facebook video.
weather today BUDAPEST
22 / 28 °C Precipitation: 0 mm