DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Syrian army to help Kurdish forces repel Turkish offensive in Afrin The Syrian regime and Kurdish forces have reportedly agreed to join forces in Afrin to counter an ongoing Turkish offensive. Syrian state media report that the deployment of proregime troops is imminent. Damascus will deploy pro-government forces to Afrin to back Kurds against theTurkish offensive, Syrian state agency SANA reported on Monday morning. The move aims to "support the steadfastness of its people in confronting the aggression which Turkish regime forces have launched on the region," SANA said. Syrian state television also announced that the deployment was imminent, without providing details.
Measles cases soaring in Europe, WHO warns Measles infections have skyrocketed in Europe with 15 countries reporting large outbreaks in 2017, according to the World Health Organization. The WHO is concerned by low rates of immunisation against the disease. Measles "rebounded" in Europe during 2017, with 21,315 new cases recorded across the continent, according to findings released by the European branch of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday. The data marks a fourfold rise in infections compared to the previous year. The disease claimed 35 lives in Europe in 2017. "Every new person affected by measles in Europe reminds us that unvaccinated children and adults, regardless of where they live, remain at risk of catching the disease and spreading it to others who may not be able to get vaccinated," said WHO Regional Director for Europe Zsuzsanna Jakab.
42/2018 • 20, FEBRUARY 2018
Donald Trump backs improved gun background checks The White House has said US President Donald Trump would back efforts to improve gun background check
A bi-partisan bill would ensure states and agencies accurately report criminal information to the FBI.
Prominent ivory trade investigator killed in Nairobi home World-renowned ivory investigator Esmond Bradley-Martin has been found dead in his home with a stab wound to the neck. Martin had spent decades tracing the trade of ivory and rhino horns from Africa to Asian markets. Kenyan police said on Monday that ivory trade investigator Esmond Bradley-Martin had been found dead in his home by a family member. The relative had gone to check on Martin at his home in the Nairobi suburb of Langat on Sunday afternoon after he did not respond to phone calls. "He was found dead in his house and had
stab wounds," said a police officer. "An investigation has been launched." The head of the United Nationʼs Environment Program, Erik Solheim, said he was shocked by Martinʼs murder and described the late investigator as a "global authority" on ivory and rhino horn trafficking. Martin, an American citizen who had lived in Kenya for decades, was a key figure in the global crackdown on illegal ivory supply chains. Much of his research quantified and analyzed the Asian ivory markets in China, Hong Kong,Vietnam and elsewhere.
German university hospital defends auto firmsʼ nitrogen dioxide test ethics No experiments on animals or humans can take place in Germany without a go from an authorized ethics committee. Dr. Thomas Kraus from Aachen University Hospital says this was the case in the most recent NO2 scandal. The European Research Group on Environment and Health in the Transport Sector (EUGT) "did not impinge in any way on the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) research it commissioned Aachen University Hospital to do," Professor Thomas Kraus from the
hospital told the German press agency DPA on Monday. The EUGT is a now defunct organization that was funded by German carmakers Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW plus partsmaker Bosch, thus raising questions of possible conflicts of interest. In 2013, 25 healthy volunteers were exposed to NO2 pollution for three hours, Kraus said. "None of them had any negative health effects," he went on, adding that the tests were meant to measure the impact of pollutants in the workplace.
Majority of South Koreans favor North Korea ʼfriendshipʼ More than 60 percent of South Koreans believe President Moon should sit down with Kim Jong Un at a summit designed to improve bilateral relations and ease the military tensions that have dogged the region for many years. A poll conducted on February 15 showed that 61.5 percent of South Korean adults nationwide were in favor of Moon travelling to Pyongyang for face-to-face talks with Kim, while 31.2 percent disagreed and expressed the belief that additional pressure – such as international sanctions – is the best way to force North Korea to moderate its behavior. The poll was conducted half-waythrough the Winter Olympic Games, which are being held in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang, and the results underline the surge in friendly feelings that ordinary South Koreans have felt towards their neighbors on the other side of the Demilitarized Zone.
Israel announces major gas deal with Egypt Past economic agreements with Israel have been controversial in Egypt, where support for the Palestinians runs high. But this major gas deal adds to growing strategic and diplomatic ties between the countries. Israel has struck an "historic" multibillion dollar gas deal with neighboring Egypt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday. It signifies the largest export agreement for Israelʼs natural gas industry. Israeli drilling company Delek Drilling and its US partner Noble Drilling announced Egyptian firm Dolphinus would buy around 64 billion cubic meters (2.26 trillion cubic feet) of gas over a decade.
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42/2018 • 20, February 2018
Germany to compensate Algerian Jewish Holocaust survivors Jews who lived in Algeria during the Vichy regime will receive compensation, said the Claims Conference. Algerian Jews were "one of the last" groups to be recognized by Germany, the organizationʼs vice president told DW. The Claims Conference Hardship Fund on Monday announced that a new group ofJewish Holocaust survivorswill be eligible forcompensation from the Germany government. The group consists of Jews who lived in Algeria between July 1940 and November 1942. Those eligible for compensation will receive a one-time payment of €2,556 ($3,180), which the German government will begin paying out in July.
IOC concerned over possible design flaws of doping test bottles The International Olympic Committee says it is concerned about potential flaws in doping sample bottles. The organization wants assurances that the bottles cannot be tampered with ahead of the Winter Olympics. After potential issues with the security of the bottles were aired, the IOC has asked the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to ensure that antidoping tests at the forthcoming Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang "can be conducted credibly and reliably," an International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson said Tuesday.
Galápagos fights temptation of mass tourism
German metalworkers finally secure wage agreement
With its iconic giant tortoises, crested black iguanas, huge ocean manta rays and a veritable menagerie of other cool creatures, the Galápagos Islands are one of the most beautiful places you will probably never visit.
Following weeks of bitter fighting, a wage agreement for the German metal and electrical industries has finally been struck. Employees were able to secure higher wages and more flexible working hours. A wage agreement was reached in the early hours on Tuesday in Germanyʼs metal and electrical industries. The powerful IG Metall union announced the deal initially covering workers in the southern German state of BadenWürttemberg, but expected to be eventually implemented for a total of 3.9 million workers in the sector nationwide. According to the deal, employeesare to receive a pay hike of 4.3 percent from April this year. Additionally, monthly one-off payments of €100 ($124) were agreed for January through March. Employers and trade union representatives also agreed on the possibility of workers reducing their hours from 35 to 28 hours per week for two years, should they need to look after children or care for older relatives.
Who wouldnʼt want to go to a white sand beach and soak up some sun alongside a lounging iguana, or surf in waters with those lumbering tortoises swimming beside you and a rainbow of tropical fish below? But in order to protect the flora, fauna and ecosystems of this Pacific archipelago that inspired Charles Darwinʼs theory of evolution, Ecuador is in the odd position of having to turn away perhaps millions of would-be tourists each year. Keeping a tight lid on tourism is the way the South Ameri-
can country has preserved this volcanic string of 19 large islands, dozens of islets and rocky outcroppings. Authorities wage this fight as world tourism grows and grows - it was up seven percent last year - and they must resist the temptation to let in hordes of visitors, their pockets bulging with dollars. "The Galápagos are the crown jewel, and as such, we have to protect them," Tourism Minister Enrique Ponce de Leon told. "We must be drastic in caring for the environment."
Avalanches in Swiss Alps and French Alps leave two dead A father and his daughter were killed when an avalanche swept them away while they were skiing in the French Alps. Two other skiers have been rescued in the Swiss Alps near the French boarder after a different avalanche. A 43-year-old man and his 11-yearold daughter were found dead in in the French Alps early Sunday afternoon after two people were injured by a separate avalanche in Switzerland. The French pair had been skiing at the Val-dʼIsere ski resort in France near the Italian border. Local ne-
wspaper Le Dauphine said they had been skiing in an area closed off due to the avalanche risk. The exact circumstances of the accident were not yet known, and prosecutors in nearby Albertville have opened an investigation. Two other skiers were rescued on Sunday with minor injuries after an avalanche took place at an altitude of 2,500 meters (8,202 feet) on a mountain ridge called the Col de Fenestral in the Finhaut region of the Canton of Valais, near the SwissFrench border. Police had originally reported 10 skiers to be missing but revised that down to two.
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A record 28 French restaurants get Michelin three-star ratings Twenty-eight French restaurants have been honored with the gastronomic sectorʼs most coveted rating. Thatʼs a record number of three-star ratings for any single country in the Michelin Red Guide. A comeback by La Maison des Bois mastermind Marc Veyrat (pictured) and the emergence of Christophe Bacquieʼs Hotel du Castellet as another culinary force in southern France have given the country a record for most restaurants to hold a vaunted foodie guideʼs coveted three-star maximum. Set for official release on Friday, Michelin France has become the most prestigious of the publicationʼs 31 national editions and the domestic culinary bible. Michelin has faced criticism that its stars reward pomp and presentation rather than the food itself and for the guideʼs putting restaurateurs under unbearable scrutiny. The guide has made many a chefʼs name; others say it has nearly broken their wills. Veyrat — a 67-yearold who quit cooking after a skiing accident nine years ago and faced hardship again when La Maison burned down in 2015 — told The Associated Press that he does not mind the stress. "We need the pressure and adrenaline because we are creatives," he said late Monday.