DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
German gardener suspected of planting explosives German police have warned anyone who quarreled with now-deceased landscape gardener Bernhard Graumann to be on alert after it emerged that he may have planted bombs to harm those he perceived as enemies. The 59-year-old was found dead at his home in the town of Mehlingen last week. Authorities said they believe that the gardener, before his death, installed a booby-trapped device that killed a doctor in a nearby town on Friday. On Sunday, a 37year-old woman and her 4-year-old daughter were injured when a log of firewood rigged with explosives blew up inside their house. Graumann is alleged to have had disputes with both the doctor and the family.
Thai court bans party that nominated princess for PM Thaiʼs Constitutional Court on Thursday dissolved an opposition party that nominated the kingʼs sister as its candidate for prime minister. The ruling against the Thai Raksa Chart (TRC) party and Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi strikes a blow to the oppositionʼs plans to defeat Thailandʼs military junta in elections on March 24. What the court said: TRC illegitimately nominated the princess as its prime ministerial candidate on February 8.In response, TRC leaders are barred from politics for 10 years.300 TRC candidates are also banned from contesting in the election. Why does this weaken the opposition? The opposition is hoping to win more seats in the upcoming ballot by fielding multiple parties. That became necessary after the junta made changes to the electoral system that made it harder for the biggest opposition party, Pheu Thai, to single-handedly win a large number of seats.
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Facebookʼs Mark Zuckerberg promises greater privacy in messaging apps Mark Zuckerberg said that private communications will become more important than public platforms
The companyʼs plan of increasing encryption may frustrate law enforcementʼs efforts to track criminals and extremists.
Trumpʼs trade move could deal a political blow to Indiaʼs Modi The US has decided to end its preferential trade treatment for India. New Delhi has played down the economic impact of the move, but it could cost Narendra Modi politically as he seeks a second term. US President Donald Trump has decided to endWashingtonʼs preferential trade treatment for Indiathat allows a duty exemption on more than $5 billion (€4.4 billion) worth of its goods coming into the United States. Trump, who has often called out India for its high tariffs, said his move was prompted by lack of assurances from New Delhi that "it will provide equi-
table and reasonable access to the markets of India." Indian officials played down the impact of the move, saying the preferential treatment brought benefits of just around $200 million annually. India exported around $50 billion worth of goods to the United States in 2017. "It does not come as a bolt from the blue," Ajay Sahai, the director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations, told DW. "Even though the GSP (preferential treatment) is given on a non-reciprocal basis, the US was seeking market access and tariff reduction in exchange during our negotiations."
Tintin and Snowy turn 90 — havenʼt aged a day He has fought organized crime, solved mysteries and even helped to bring down despotic regimes. The famous Belgian cub-reporter Tintin, with his trademark shock of strawberry-blonde hair, blue sweater and plus-four trousers, has taken his fans with him on world adventures that have been translated into more than 100 languages and dialects. Tintin made his first appearance 90 years ago, in the Catholic conservative Belgian news-
paper Le Vingtième Siècleʼs youth supplement, Le Petit Vingtième. Tintin and Snowy headed deep into Soviet territory, with Stalinʼs secret police watching them from around every corner. The story first appeared on January 10, 1929, running as a serial until May 1930; it was essentially anticommunist propaganda, neatly packaged for children. In 1930, the series was published in book form as Tintin in the Land of the Soviets.
French court convicts cardinal of sex abuse cover-up A French court on Thursday sentenced Cardinal Philippe Barbarin to a six-month suspended jail term for covering up sexual abuse against minors by a priest under his authority. The archbishop of Lyon is the highest-ranking Catholic official in France to be caught up in a child sex abuse scandal. The Catholic Church has been rocked byrevelations of sex abuse by clergymen, promptingPope Francis to hold a crisis meetinglast month to tackle the issue. How we got here: Catholic priest Bernard Preyat admitted that he abused boy scouts during the 1980s.Barbarin and five former aides in Lyon were accused of covering up the abuse.A victimsʼ association bypassed the prosecutorʼs office and insisted the case go before a court, which is allowed in France.Barbarin and his codefendants have denied any wrongdoing, arguing that they did not know about the abuse until it became public.
Glyphosate: EU agency must release censored study, court says An EU court ruled Thursday that European lawmakers must be given access to scientific studies examining the safety of glyphosate, a chemical commonly used in pesticides whosepossibly carcinogenic naturehas raised global controversy. The ruling by the EUʼs General Court could reinvigorate debate over glyphosate in the EU, which has seen an EU-wide petition to ban the product rejected by the blocʼs executive arm and raised questions of transparency.
weather today BUDAPEST
2 / 13 °C Precipitation: 0 mm
57/2019 • 8 March, 2019
Chinese investments in EU in a downward spin Chinese investments in the European Union fell sharply for the second consecutive year in 2018, a report by the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) and US consulting firm Rhodium Group showed. Chinese companies completed FDI deals worth €17.3 billion ($19.6 billion) last year, down 40 percent from 2017 levels and way below the record €37.2 billion investment seen in 2016. The decline is part of a trend that has seen Chinese investments fall in most regions of the world over the past two years as Beijing continues to maintain a tight grip on outward investment by its residents amid slowing economic growth and atrade war with the United States. Chinese investors have also been forced to back away by "growing political and regulatory backlash against Chinese capital around the globe,"the authors of the report,Thilo Hanemann, Agatha Kratz and Mikko Huotari, wrote. "This shift in attitudes has been remarkably rapid in Europe," they said.
Paris SaintGermain fined €100,000 for racial profiling
Has Brussels pushed Brexit talks to the brink? With just weeks to go before the UKʼs planned exit from the EU, many issues remain unsolved. Is it time Brussels was more flexible over Brexit? An MEP from the European Parliamentʼs Brexit Steering Group talks to DW. An orderly departure for the UK from the EU cannot come at any cost, a member of the European Parliamentʼs Brexit Steering Group has said. With only a few weeks remaining before Britain leaves the European Union, MEP Philippe Lamberts told DWʼs Conflict Zone that proposed technological solutions to questions about the future of the border between the UK
and the Republic of Ireland were "fantasy." He also said that supporters of a hard Brexit wanted a "backdoor into the single market, uncontrolled, unpoliced." Wrangling and uncertaintyover arrangements to avoid a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit have mired talks between the UK and Brussels.
German media reserved about new allegations A TV documentary about Michael Jacksonʼs alleged child abuse has rekindled the debate about the pop star. Radio stations worldwide have scratched his songs from the program. In Germany, however, reactions are cautious. In the TV documentary Leaving Never‐ land by US channel HBO. Wade Robson and James Safechuck talk about their personal experiences with Michael Jackson. The two men were childhood companions of the superstar for many years and spent a lot of time with him on his ranch "Never-
land" in California. "He said that if anyone found out what we were doing, we would both go to jail for the rest of our lives," Robson says in the four-hour film, which was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in early 2019, and prompted a lot of debate. German TV channel ProSieben has meanwhile announced that it will air the documentary in Germany on April 6, 2019. In the first part of the film, Robson and Safechuck talk about their experiences of abuse, while the second part deals with the later court trials against Michael Jackson in 1993 and 2005.
French champions Paris SaintGermain (PSG) have been fined €100,000 ($113,557 million) by the French Football League (LFP) after scouts were found to have racially profiled potential young recruits between 2013 and 2018.
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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ITB Berlin tourism partner Malaysia claims it has ʼno gaysʼ Malaysia faces a potential backlash from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) rights groups after claiming that the Muslim-majority country doesnʼt have gays. On Tuesday, Tourism Minister Datuk Mohammaddin bin Ketapi was asked by reporters ahead of the opening of the ITB Berlin tourism fair whether the country was safe for gay and Jewish visitors. After initially sidestepping the question, the minister was asked again whether gays were welcome and he replied: "I donʼt think we have anything like that in our country." Denial could hurt bookings Despite efforts by Malaysian officials to downplay the incident, Ketapiʼs comments could derail attempts to entice more tourists to visit Malaysia. The remarks came after he spoke for several minutes about the countryʼs natural beauty and welcoming culture. The country has set itself a target of receiving 30 million visitors in 2019.
Disasterprone nations threatened by huge insurance gap New research from Lloydʼs and CEBR has shown that vast assets are underinsured, posing a huge threat to livelihoods particularly in poorer nations. Those most at risk are also those with the lowest insurance levels. Disasterprone developing nations are exposed to crippling losses when storms, floods or earthquakes strike, because they suffer from a dangerous lack of insurance, industry experts said Monday. Globally, assets worth about $163 billion (€141 billion) are not insured against catastrophes, posing a significant threat to livelihoods and prosperity,London-based insurance market Lloydʼs said in a fresh report. The value of underinsured assets had shrunk by only 3 percent since 2012, it noted.