DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thailand to introduce facial and fingerprint scans for SIM cards nationwide In a bid to combat electronic fraud, Thailand is making biometric checks mandatory for all those obtaining new SIM cards. Authorities say the data will be kept "private and safe." People in Thailand who want to obtain a new SIM card will be required to undergo facial or fingerprint scans as of December 15, the countryʼs telecoms regulator said on Monday. The nationwide rollout of the system follows a successful trial run since June in the capital, Bangkok, and Thailandʼs restive south, where separatist insurgents have carried out many bomb attacks using mobile phones to trigger the explosive devices, the regulator said. However, regulatory official Takorn Tantasith said biometric registration was being introduced nationwide mainly to enhance mobile banking security. "This is not aimed at tracking users, but enhancing security, especially in the case of mobile payments, " Takorn said.
Sicily elects governor in bellwether vote ahead of Italyʼs national election Sicilyʼs regional vote is showing a tight race between the center-right backed by Silvio Berlusconi and the populist Five Star Movement. The election is seen as a rehearsal ahead of Italyʼs national election in 2018. Italyʼs center-right looked set to narrowly win over the countryʼs populist party in Sicilyʼs regional election on Sunday, in a vote viewed as a barometer ahead of a general election next May. Centerright candidate Nello Musumeci looked to have taken around 38 percent of the vote, while Giancarlo Cancelleri of the antiestablishment 5-Star Movement looked to have garnered 36 percent, midday projections showed on Monday. Voter turnout was low at just under 47 percent. Ex-premier Matteo Renziʼs center-left Democratic Party (PD) looks set to garner around 20 percent.
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US, Japan agree that ʼall optionsʼ are on the table North Korea:
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has welcomed US President Donald Trumpʼs North Korea policy. The two leaders agreed the "era of strategic patience" with North Korea was over and that "all options" were on the table.
Lufthansa reaches for global skies Germanyʼs Lufthansa Group looks set to expand, even as some rival airlines cut back or fall into bankruptcy. It has set its sights on becoming a leading global player. But air travel markets remain fiercely competitive. The end of Air Berlin will continue to change the air transport marketin Germany and Europe. There have already been three failures this year on the Continent. In addition to Air Berlin, which not long ago was the No. 2 airline in Germany, Alitalia filed for insolvency in May, and is currently being kept afloat by means of cash infusions from the Italian state. And in early October, the British holiday airline Monarch Airlines went under. "There will be further consolidation in the coming years," Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr
has said. Thatʼs been his view for a long time. For Lufthansa, Spohr believes, this trend presents an opportunity. What the various insolvencies will mean for the German air travel market wonʼt be known in detail until next summer. Several milestones must be passed before the mists clear. First, the EU competition authorities must approveLufthansaʼs takeover of many of Air Berlinʼs routes. This involves the allocation of starting and landing rights at various airports. Further slots will be allocated at the regular conference of IATA, the International Air Travel Association; these will only enter into force with the upcoming summer schedule, after the end of March. Thereʼs always scope for additional changes before then, Spohr explained on Wednesday.
Self-driving bus starts first route in Germany German railway company Deutsche Bahn has introduced an autonomous bus to drive passengers along a pre-programmed route in Bavaria. In case of an emergency, a human driver can take control with a joystick. The electric vehicle delivered its first passengers on Wednesday in Bad Birnach, Bavaria, starting on its eightminute route from the townʼs hot springs to the central area and the railway station. The EZ10 bus has six places to sit and can take in a further six standing passengers, and the ride is free of charge. Itʼs the first time a self-driving bus has been incorporated in Germanyʼs public trans-
port system. Among the first group to ride the self-driving bus was Richard Lutz, the head of the German railway giant Deutsche Bahn (DB), the company behind the pilot project. "Weʼve just driven, completely autonomously, into a new era of transport," he said in a statement after the first trip. The bus was developed by the French start-up EasyMile. It is equipped with sensors which can detect obstacles and activate brakes.The vehicle moves along a pre-programmed route with its speed initially limited to 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) per hour on a road with a 30 kph speed limit. Also, the bus is not yet capable of avoiding obstacles on its own.
Saudi-led coalition blames Iran for Houthi missile attack Saudi Arabia has blamed Iran for committing a possible "act of war" after a missile fired by Yemenʼs Houthi rebels targeted Riyadh. The rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia is heating up across the Middle East. The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen accused Iran on Monday of supplying the ballistic missile that targeted Riyadh, saying it could be considered an act of war. Saturdayʼs missile launchis considered "a blatant act of military aggression by the Iranian regime, and could rise to be considered as an act of war against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the coalition said in a statementon the official Saudi Press Agency. The statement said the kingdom "reserves its right to respond to Iran in the appropriate time and manner." On Saturday evening, Saudi Arabiaʼs air defense forces intercepted a variant of the Volcano-1 ballistic missile fired from Yemen toward the King Khalid International Airport near the capital. No casualties or damage was reported.
Venezuelan opposition leader takes refuge in Chilean embassy Leading opposition figure Freddy Guevara has sought refuge in the Chilean embassy after being blamed by Venezuelaʼs government of fomenting violence. A UN report blames the government for the scores of protester deaths. A leading member of Venezuelaʼs opposition has sought refuge in the Chilean embassy after being threatened with arrest by the countryʼs high court.
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Anti-Semitic Anne Frank football
Venezuela introduces 100,000 bolivar bill worth $2
Climate change: World way off
stickers appear in Germany
The new note unveiled by President Nicolas Maduro is meant to curb out-of-control inflation that has left the country reeling. Just one year ago, a 100 bolivar bill was the largest amount of cash on the market.
track on Paris accord goals
Stickers displaying Anne Frank wearing football jerseys have appeared in Germany as an antiSemitic provocation by neo-Nazi fans. Dortmund and Leipzig ultra groups appear to be copying their Italian counterparts. An anti-Semitic campaign by far-right Italian football supporters appears to have spread to Germany, after stickers featuring murdered Jewish child diarist Anne Frank wearing a Schalke 04 football jersey have appeared in social media posts and stuck up around Düsseldorf, near the cities of Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen, where the club Schalke is based. The fake Panini-style stickers were first reported by local blog Ruhrbarone, which published a photo of them it said had been found on the Facebook profile of a neo-Nazi active in the local far-right scene. No one has taken responsibility for creating the image, but the fact that Anne Frank is pictured wearing the jersey of Schalke 04, biggest rival of football club Borussia Dortmund (BVB), seems to corroborate Ruhrbaroneʼs speculation that the neo-Nazis are BVB supporters.
Anti-Semitic Anne Frank football stickers appear in Germany Stickers displaying Anne Frank wearing football jerseys have appeared in Germany as an anti-Semitic provocation by neo-Nazi fans. Dortmund and Leipzig hooligan groups appear to be copying their Italian counterparts. An anti-Semitic campaign by far-right Italian football supporters appears to have spread to Germany, after stickers featuring murdered Jewish child diarist Anne Frank wearing a Schalke 04 football jersey have appeared in social media posts and stuck up around Düsseldorf, near the cities of Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen, where the club Schalke is based.
Venezuela announced plans to begin issuing 100,000-bolivar notes on Wednesday as the government struggles to control skyrocketing inflation. One year ago, the largest bill was only 100 bolivars – an amount that is now practically worthless. President Nicolas Madurounveiled the note at a cabinet meeting. It will be worth about €2 euros or $2.3 on black market exchanges. Caracas said the new bill is only a stop-gap measure amidst a more comprehensive financial over-
haul, one facet of which is to eventually rid the country of paper money entirely. "The use of the physical currency is being replaced," the president said. Maduro also announced a 30 percent increase in the countryʼs minimum wage and a rise in pension payouts for retired workers, though economists have warned this will only exacerbate inflation. He also took the opportunity to threaten any opposition politicians who boycott nationwide mayoral elections in December.
The side effects of grapefruit juice Many people must take medications, often daily. Why not combine it with a fresh grapefruit Juice? But this can have harmful interactions with certain medications. It’s long been known that medications can interact with one another in adverse ways. These interactions are generally listed on a drug’s package insert. But what many people don’t realize is that certain foods can also have an impact on a drug’s effectiveness. Research on such interactions is still in its early stages, but it’s long been known that grapefruit juice can adversely affect a drug’s effectiveness. Grapefruit and grapefruit juice is known to interact with many drugs, often by increasing the concentration
of the active ingredient. Studies have shown that grapefruit slows drug metabolism, which raises the blood serum concentration of the drug’s active ingredients. Currently about 100 drugs are known to interact with grapefruit and grapefruit juice, including pain relievers, sleep aids, drugs to treat high blood pressure (such as beta blockers) as well as antihistamines used to treat allergy symptoms. Current research has also documented an adverse interaction with oral contraceptives, causing an increase in blood serum levels of estradiol, a form of estrogen used in oral contraceptives. This can increase side effects such as breast tenderness as well as increase the risk of thrombosis.
Martin Day Wine Festival in Hotel Gellért Tamás Széll - the most well known gastro hero in Hungary, who proved to the world that Hungarian chefs are also artists of the “Culinarium” – will introduce the mysteries of fine dining at the Martin Day Wine Festival of Danubius Hotel, accompanied by the golden trio of the chefs from Gerbeaud, Gundel and Gellért, with plenty of wine and foaming beer, posing a drinking challenge to everyone. All that between November 9 and12.
H-1056 Budapest, Só u. 6. Telephone: +36 1 577 0700 Fax: +36 1 577 0710 bhzinfo@zeinahotels.com www.boutiquehotelbudapest.com
Published by: Mega Media Kft. 1075 Budapest, Madách I. út 13-14. +36 1 398 0344 www.hotelujsag.hu
Existing national goals will only meet one-third of the Paris climate target, according to a UN report. The study comes less than a week before the world climate conference kicks off in Bonn. As the United Nations prepares to welcomedelegates from across the world to Bonnon Monday for the two-week COP23 climate summit, it released a stark warning today. The national pledges currently on the table by the signatory countries will only bring a third of the reduction in emissions required by 2030 to meet global climate targets. The biggest roadblock is not with national governments, says the United Nations Environment Program report. Rather, the private sector and regional governments arenʼt increasing their climate action at a rate that would help close this gap. The Paris goal is to limit global warming to at least under 2 degrees Celsius — and to 1.5 degrees if possible — in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. German police detain Syrian for ʼpreparingʼ explosives attack A 19-year-old Syrian has been detained on suspicion of planning to carry out a terror attack in Germany. The man was ready to carry out the attack using highly explosive materials, according to prosecutors. A Syrian man suspected of planning a terror attack was detained in the northern German city of Schwerin, the Federal Prosecutorʼs Office said on Tuesday in a statement. The suspect, identified as 19-year-old Yamen A., was taken into police custody. Prosecutors said in a statement that the teen is "strongly suspected of having planned an Islamistmotivated attack" that involved "highly explosive" materials. Authorities added that Yamen A. had already "concretely prepared" the attack. In July this year, the suspect made the decision to detonate an explosive device in Germany "in order to kill and injure as many people as possible," the statement read. Yamen A. then began to procure components to make an explosive device, including chemicals. It was not initially clear whether the suspect had selected a location to carry out the attack, prosecutors said. They added that there are no signs that Yamen A. was connected toany terrorist organizations. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the suspectʼs arrest prevented a "serious terror attack in Germany."