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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

George Weah sworn in as president of Liberia Football legend George Weahʼs inauguration ceremony has marked the countryʼs first democratic transition of power since 1944. Liberians are placing their hopes on him, but he has a daunting task ahead. Thousands of Liberians queued for hours to get into Samuel Kanyon Doe stadium near the capital, Monrovia, whereGeorge Weah was sworn into office. Several African heads of state were in attendance. Referring to his past as an international football star, the 51-yearold newly inaugurated president said: "I have spent many years of my life in stadiums, but today is a feeling like no other." He went on to reiterate that his first priorities as president would be to root out corruption and pay civil servants "a living wage," as well as encourage the private sector.

Director Dieter Wedel steps down from theater festival after sex assault claims Following weeks of sexual assault allegations, award-winning German director Dieter Wedel is leaving the Bad Hersfeld Theater Festival. His departure follows public accusations from several actresses. After repeated allegations of sexual assault from several actresses, Dieter Wedel has announced that he is stepping down as artistic director of the Bad Hersfeld Theater Festival. "Dieter Wedel is currently in hospital," a spokesperson for the 75-year-old said Monday. "After the events of the last two weeks, he is poor health." German tabloid Bild additionally reported that he is being treated after a heart attack. In a recent article in Zeit Magazin, several actresses made serious allegations against the star director, which included non-consensual sex. Patricia Thielemann accused Wedel of forcing himself on her in a hotel room in 1991, and attempting to strangle her when she fought back.

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Merkel decries right-wing populism as ʼpoisonʼ at Davos summit The chancellor insisted that protectionism would not answer the worldʼs problems

Angela Merkel has told WEF delegates at Davos that her government would get right-wing populism "under control, but it is a poison." German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday told delegates at theWorld Economic Forum in Davosthat the rise of right-wing populist parties in Europe was "a poison" and that nationalist policies risked fracturing international ties. Merkel said she hoped that support for such parties would not rise further and that her government was doing all it could to get the populist wave "under control." The farrightanti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD)party won seats in the German Bundestag for the first time in last Septemberʼs parliamentary election, while similar populist parties also saw major electoral gains in 2017 in countries like France and the Netherlands. Addressing the surge of right-wing support in her home country, Merkel said that Germans were initially attracted to the right during the Greek financial crisis, when Germany was paying a significant bulk of the bailout funds to Athens, and again in 2015, as overone million migrants

fled to Europefrom besieged regions in the Middle East and Africa. Merkel also warned delegates that "protectionism was not the answer" to the worldʼs problems, in what was a veiled rebuke againstUS President Donald Trump, who himself is set to arrive at Davoson Thursday and close the forum with a speech on Friday. "We think that shutting ourselves off, isolating ourselves, will not lead us into a good future," Merkel said in her speech. Countries complaining about unfair trade policies should instead seek multilateral rather than unilateral solutions, she added. However, the chancellor said that European states should not complain when other countries like the US overhaul their tax systems, and instead respond with their own reforms. Merkel pointed to efforts by her and French President Emmanuel Macron to forge a common European tax regime, which would require other EU nations to manage within a more competitive tax environment.

Berlin confirms German national killed in Kabul hotel attack At least one German was killed in Saturdayʼs Taliban attack on a luxury hotel in Kabul, according to the German foreign ministry. The militants gunned down over twenty people, mostly foreigners, in a siege lasting hours. One German national died in the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, a German foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Monday. The ministry said the victim was a woman, but did not provide other details. There are no indications that other German citizens were among the casualities. At least 22 people lost their lives in the Saturday attack, according to the latest death toll provided by the Afghan Health Ministry. The death toll is likely to rise. The militants specifically targeted foreign citizens, according to a survivor quoted by the news agency AFP. "They were saying kill the foreigners," said a 20year-old hotel employee who gave his name as Hasibullah.

US embassy to open in Jerusalem by end of 2019 US Vice President Mike Pence has told Israeli politicians that the US embassy will move to Jerusalem by the end of next year. He also said Washington would withdraw from a nuclear deal with Iran, calling it a "disaster." US Vice President Mike Pence told Israelʼs Knesset on Monday that Washington was intending to bring forward a controversial plan by the Trump administration to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. "In the weeks ahead, our administration will advance its plan to open the US Embassy in Jerusalem — and the embassy will open before the end of next year," Pence said.

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