DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Germanyʼs ʼfat yearsʼ of high tax revenue are over: Finance Minister Scholz Germanyʼs "fat years" ofhigher-thanexpected revenue from tax receiptsare over, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz warned on Sunday, signaling that Europeʼs top economy is set to loose momentum in the next few years. "The good times in which the state kept taking in more taxes than expected are coming to an end," Scholz told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. That, he said, restricted the governmentʼs capacity for passing new tax cuts or increasing public investment. Germany was however expected to post another budget surplus in 2018, Scholz said, after it posted a €36.6 billion ($41.7 billion) surplus in 2017.
Afghanistan: Gold mine collapse leaves several dead At least 30 people were killed and seven injured on Sunday when a gold mine collapsed in northeastern Afghanistan, officials said. The victims were villagers who were mining for gold illegally, according to officials in Badakhshan province. The villagers had dug a 60-meter (200-foot) deep shaft in a river bed and were inside when a landslide caused it to cave in. About 50 miners were inside when the incident occurred during heavy snowfall. Two rescue teams have been deployed to the scene. Illegal mining is common in Afghanistan, a country rich in mineral deposits. The Taliban,a jihadist movement fighting to regain control of the countryfrom the Western-backed government, relies on illegal mining for much of its revenue. "Poor villagers during winters try to compensate their earnings by pursuing illegal mining," said Nek Mohammad Nazari, a spokesman for Provincial Governor Mohammad Rustam Raghi.
5/2019 • 7 JANUARY, 2019
Venezuela congress names new leader, calls Nicolas Maduro illegitimate Juan Guaido also said congress aimed to restore constitutional order
The new leader of Venezuelaʼs opposition-controlled National Assembly has called Nicolas Maduro a dictator whose legitimacy has run out.
Markets crumble on Apple revenue crunch A "flash crash" saw the yen smash through levels it had held for almost a decade. Appleʼs revenue cut was the trigger, but unease about global economic and political fundamentals remains the underlying cause. Appleʼs shock announcement on Wednesday evening that it was cutting its revenue forecast has hit US and European stock exchanges, with the companyʼs shares down 7.45 percent in after-hours trading in the United States,slashing $55 billion (€48.4 billion) off its value. The Apple news sparked a sell-off in the currency market, with the Japanese yen, usually seen
as a safe haven in periods of market turmoil, up about 3.7 percent to 104.87 against the dollar. Business Markets crumble on Apple revenue crunch A "flash crash" saw the yen smash through levels it had held for almost a decade. Appleʼs revenue cut was the trigger, but unease about global economic and political fundamentals remains the underlying cause. Appleʼs shock announcement on Wednesday evening that it was cutting its revenue forecast has hit US and European stock exchanges, with the companyʼs shares down 7.45 percent in after-hours trading in the United States,slashing $55 billion (€48.4 billion) off its value.
Matera, European Capital of Culture 2019 "I have never seen such a picture of misery," Carlo Levi once wrote about Matera. The Italian doctor, painter and writer brought questionable fame to the southern Italian town in his 1945 account of his life in the region, Christ Stopped at Eboli. Matera is east of Eboli. Levi, a supporter of the opposition, was incarcerated in the Basilikata region by the Mussolini regime. In his famous book, Levi describes the sparse landscape where shepherds, their families and animals live in caves without running water and electricity,
with scant health care, far from the rest of the world. Matera, too, lies in this region. Leviʼs book made it to school reading lists, and Matera was pronounced "Italyʼs disgrace" — an image the city worked hard to get rid of. In 1993, it was named a UNESCO World heritage site and this year, Matera is one of the two European Culture Capitals. Carlo Levi never lived to see the cityʼs make-over. He died in 1975 and was buried in the town of Aliano in Matera province, according to his own wishes.
Malaysiaʼs King Muhammad V resigns Malaysiaʼs King Muhammad V stepped down from the throne on Sunday. "The National Palace informs that his majesty has resigned as the 15th king effective January 6," the National Palace said in a statement. No reason for his abdication was given. It is the fist time a ruling monarch has abdicated before the end of a five-year term since Malaysia gained its independence from Britain in 1957. Muhammad V was selected in October 2016 as Malaysiaʼs head of state. He is also the ruling sultan of Kelantan, one of Malaysiaʼs nine states. Muhammad V, Malaysiaʼs 15th king, had recently taken a leave of absence for medical reasons. Over the past weeks, rumors had surfaced in Russian and British media that he had married a former Russian beauty queen. The wedding reportedly took place in Moscow. The palace has not yet commented on the rumors.
Winter storm in German Alps triggers avalanche warnings Heavy snowfall in the southern German state of Bavaria has triggered the second-highest avalanche warning level, the Bavarian Avalanche Warning Service (BAWS) said on Sunday. Avalanche danger is assessed through a five-level European danger scale, from low (one) to very high (five). The BAWS graded the German alpine area with four, warning that many medium to large avalanches could occur spontaneously. "The main problem is the enormous weight of new snow on the unstable old snow cover," the BAWS said.
weather today BUDAPEST
-10 / 1 °C Precipitation: 0 mm
5/2019 • 7 January, 2019
Police identify source of deadly Novichok nerve agent in UK deaths British police announced Friday that they found a bottle containing the Novichok nerve agent in the home of one of the victims of a nerve agent poisoning in Wiltshire last month. "On Wednesday, 11 July, a small bottle was recovered during searches of Charlie Rowleyʼs house in Amesbury," police said in a statement. The statement said scientists from Porton Down defense laboratory confirmed the bottle contained the Novichok nerve agent, the same poison used against Sergei Skripal and his daughter earlier this year. "Further scientific tests will be carried out to try and establish whether it is from the same batch that contaminated Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March," the force said, adding that a link to the Skripals remained "a main line of enquiry for police." Dawn Sturgess died in a hospitalon Sunday after exposure to the nerve agent. Her partner, Rowley, isstill in critical condition, but has regained consciousness. The Foreign Office said on Friday it had invited independent technical experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons early next week "to independently confirm the identity of the nerve agent."
Bayern Munichʼs Ribery fined for foul-mouthed online tirade
Indiaʼs rupee dips after central bank chief resigns The rupee took a hit after the shock resignation of central bank governor Urjit Patel. He has reportedly been battling against interference from Prime Minister Narendra Modiʼs government for months. Indiaʼs central bank chief Urjit Patelʼs shock resignation caused the rupee to shed value on Tuesday. Patel stepped down on Monday amid a huge spat between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Prime Minister Narendra Modiʼs government over perceived interference in the bankʼs policy. He cited "personal reasons" for his decision but experts and Indian media reports have pointed instead to his apparent frustration with attempts from
the government, led by Modiʼs Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to assert influence over the central bank. The currency dropped more than one per cent to 72.19 to the dollar, while the benchmark Sensex in Mumbai slid 1.47 per cent almost immediately after the opening bell rang, before paring its losses later in the day. Central bank ʼunder attackʼ? Analysts say Patelʼs uncommon resignation is a sign the autonomy of the RBI is under threat.
Fly me to the moon in art and culture The successful landing of a Chinese probe on the far side of the moon has reawakened interest in our planetʼs nearest celestial neighbor. Be it a super moon, blood moon or simple crescent: the moon has always been the skyʼs leading attraction. From the early days of antiquity through the Middle Ages and on to to today, there are countless testimonies to the mysterious celes-
tial body. 20th century space exploration has only served to enhance the moonʼs mysterious power — and its essential place in romance. The moon continues to harbor a profound magical effect over both humans and animals. As always, artists have been at the forefront in documenting this relationship between man and moon — from cave paintings to artifacts, oil paintings to cinema.
Bayern Munich has handed French footballer Franck Ribery a "heavy fine" for his profanity-laced response after he was criticized for eating a golden-coated steak, club sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said on Sunday.
Sting to return to Budapest for summer 2019 Sting is head over heels for Budapest. After a successful free show with Shaggy a month ago on Heroes’ Square, the former Police frontman has just announced another Budapest concert for next summer. On 2 July, the Grammy-winning singer brings his My Songs tour to the Papp László Aréna, where he will be taking the stage with his own band. From “Englishman In New York” to “Every Breath You Take”, the set should include Sting’s biggest hits. Tickets are on sale now.
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T-Mobile reports cybersecurity incident T-Mobile US and its unit Metro PCS told customers that cybersecurity staff found and shut down unauthorized access to certain information on August 20 and immediately reported the matter to authorities. The company added that no financial data, social security numbers or passwords were compromised during the attackon its networks, admitting, though, that other personal information like names, email IDs, phone numbers as well as account numbers or account types (postpaid or prepaid) may have been exposed. T-Mobile said that about 3 percent of its 77 million customers could have been affected (roughly 2 million people potentially affected).
Geely the car industryʼs rising ʼprofitability starʼ Ferdinand Dudenhöffer from the CAR Center Automotive Research at Germanyʼs Duisburg-Essen University called Chinese auto manufacturer Geely "the profitability star of the worldʼs car industry." A fresh study by the center points out that on average, a Geely car costs just €9,529 ($10,942), but the companysecures a 14.4 percent profit from revenues before tax and interest. Dudenhöffer says thatʼs a lot more than, say, the profit margins of foreign rivals BMW, Toyota or PSAOpel. The worldʼs largest carmaker, Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen, logs a profit margin of only 8.2 percent, the survey says. Geely is part of the Zhejiang Geely Holding,which also owns Volvo Cars, London EV-Taxi and Lotus.The holding has also acquired a 10 percent stake in Daimler. According to the CAR researchers, Geelyʼs rapid rise is based on its successful compact car platform, which it developed together with Sweden-based Volvo. "What Ferdinand Piëch managed to implement at VW from 1993 with the help of his platform strategyis in a way being copied now by Geelyʼs main shareholder and founder, Li Shufu," said Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, adding that the Chinese were becoming major players in the global auto market.