DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
How right-wing nationalism fuels climate denial Martin Hultman: Until the mid-1980s, there was a really strong consensus between politicians and scientists that climate change is really acute and that we have to do something about it. So at that point, politicians with various political ideologies, from Ronald Reagan to Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev, actually got together and thought of this as a global threat to humanity. They agreed that we have to set up bodies of interdisciplinary research and policies and to tackle this threat together. Around the same time, the extractive industries — the oil and coal industries — started to fund climate change denial research to promote their own interests. They set up various think tanks, like the US-based Heartland Institute, and started opposing climate change research.
Islamist threat lingers in Philippines despite Marawi victory Abdul, his young face hidden by a headscarf, stares into the camera as he contemplates his shattered dream. He has lost dozens of friends. His family has been displaced. "Our original plan was limited to attacking the military camp in Marawi and expelling the soldiers from the city," he tells DW. The homegrown jihadi leaderswho laid siege to Marawiunder the banner of the "Islamic State" (IS) had convinced Abdul and his fellow fighters that the Philippine government would then withdraw. "They told us we would get what we had always wanted: an Islamic state here in Marawi." More than a year after theheaviest urban fightingin the Philippines since World War II, the historic center of Marawi, the countryʼs largest Muslim city on the southern island of Mindanao, remains sealed off.
288/2018 • 20 DECEMBER, 2018
European Commission accepts Italyʼs revised budget proposal Italy has promised to reduce its deficit targets for the next three years
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the long awaited agreement allowed his government to honor its main commitments and boost the economy.
Venezuela: Erdogan and Maduro slam US sanctions Venezuela has suffered from a severe political and economic crisis since a collapse in oil prices several years ago. It has sought to bolster its ties with Turkey as it faces down a range of US sanctions. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced US sanctions against Venezuela at a joint press conference with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on Monday. Ties between the two countries have grown closer in recent months as Venezuela struggles to overcome a severe economic and political crisis. The Turkish president said Venezuela
had been unfairly targeted with economic sanctions, adding that he "did not approve of these measures that ignore the rules of global trade." He said his "friend" Maduro was facing "manipulative attacks from certain countries and acts of sabotage from economic assassins." He vowed to strengthen trade ties with Venezuela to help alleviate the economic crisis. He also praised Maduro, saying the Venezuelan leaderʼs "exemplary attitude is very valuable at a time when enmity toward Islam has risen and Western countries are stoking hostility toward foreigners."
Client Earth: Changing environmental law, the world over James Thornton, head of public interest law firm Client Earth, holds governments around the world accountable for environmental damage. He tells DW how the law can be harnessed for the good of people and the planet. James Thornton: The thing that allows a really small group of people to change the world is using the enormous power of the law. Legal systems encapsulate, really, what a society thinks about itself and the rules that
people in the particular society have mutually agreed to be governed by. It always includes enforcement mechanisms. If, for example, a government has passed a law about air pollution or water pollution and then it doesnʼt do the right thing and protect the people like the law says, we — using the power of the law — can go to the courts and force the government to do the right thing. Thatʼs an example of how just a few people can actually make a big difference.
German cabinet approves skilled labor draft law Angela Merkelʼs Cabinet has approveda new immigration law that German businesses have been crying out for, and which has been the subject of political debate in the country for 30 years. Three ministers appeared before the press on Wednesday to present the fruit of their tortuous inter-departmental negotiations: a law aimed at attracting skilled foreign labor that is due to come into force in 2020, but could still struggle to get past the conservative wing of Merkelʼs Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in parliament. "This is a good day for modern Germany," Labor Minister Hubertus Heil told the assembled reporters, while Economy Minister Peter Altmaier hailed a "historic day" that proved the effectiveness of the much-abused grand coalition between the CDU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
EU reaches agreement on single-use plastic ban A plan to ban single-use plastic products such as disposable plates and straws has been agreed. EU member states and the EU parliament still have to give the provisional agreement the go-ahead. European lawmakers have reached an agreement on a ban of single-use plastic products, the Austrian presidency said in Brussels on Wednesday. The move is aimed at making the EU a world leader in using sustainable alternatives that avoid marine pollution.
weather today BUDAPEST
0 / 1 °C Precipitation: 0 mm
288/2018 • 20 December, 2018
Invisible and dangerous: The Salafist scene in North Rhine-Westphalia There are more Salafists in North Rhine-Westphalia than in any other German state. The scene has all but vanished from the public eye in its stronghold. But it is still very active, as DW is told by numerous sources. "Speak after me," the red-bearded German convert and Salafist preacher Pierre Vogel says as he publicly summons the young woman. Cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd in the pedestrian zone of the western city of Offenbach, she does exactly that, and repeats the words of the Islamic profession of faith. That was in 2010. The conversion was filmed and uploaded to YouTube — just one example of the many videos shared online from the heydays ofSalafist missionary work in Germany. Until 2016, the scene had a self-confident and sometimes aggressive public appearance. Bearded men in baggy pants and flowing white robes such as Pierre Vogel regularly distributed free German-language editions of the Koran in market squares and pedestrian zones. As part of their "LIES!" campaign (German for "Read"), key figures of Germanyʼs Salafist scene publicly preached their radical interpretation of Islam as converts were invited to join "Islam seminars" up and down the country. Vogelʼs people also offered leisure activities such as barbecues and football in an effort to create a parallel Islamic society.
Ranking: The most visited cities in the world The British market research institute Euromonitor has determined which cities counted the most visitors in 2017. With 27.9 million visitors, Hong Kong once again achieved 1st place, Bangkok 2nd place, London 3rd place. Asian cities dominate the top positions. Of the European cities, only London and Paris made it into the top ten most visited cities in the world. The French capital recorded growth of 13.7 percent over the previous year. Amsterdam ranked 23rd, Vienna 34th and Berlin 36th. Ranking 2018 1. Hong Kong (27.9 million visitors) 2.
Bangkok (22.5 million visitors) 3. London (19.8 million visitors) 4. Singapore (17.6 million visitors) 5. Macau (17.3 million visitors) 6. Paris (15.8 million visitors) 7. Dubai (15.8 million visitors) 8. New York City (13.1 million visitors) 9. Kuala Lumpur (12.8 million visitors) 10. Shenzhen (12.1 million visitors)
German food industry to cut sugar, salt and fat content The German Food and Agriculture Ministry has struck a deal with the food industry to make processed foods healthier. The German food industry has agreed to voluntarily reduce the amount of sugar, salt and fat in processed foods by 2025, Food and Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner said on Wednesday. "The food industry has for the first time committed to and will let itself be subject to checks on the steps it is
taking to reduce sugar, salt and fat in processed food," she told Bild newspaper. "That has never happened before." Speaking in Berlin, Klöckner defended the programʼs focus on voluntary commitments from the food industry. "Everyone must deliver and everyone will deliver," the Christian Democrat said after the German Cabinet signed off on the plan. Klöckner said it would not only lead to healthier food, but to "positive competition" among the industry.
Fans will decide ʼUEL2ʼ success Sundayʼs announcement that UEFA is set to introduce a new club competition, known provisionally as "UEL2," came as no great surprise, as the Executive Committee of European footballʼs governing body merely confirmed what for months had been widely expected. But does Europe really need yet another club competition? UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin and the rest of his Executive Committee obviously think so.
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Indiaʼs currency tumbles amid rising oil prices The rupee has dropped over 12 percent against the US dollar since the beginning of 2018, earning it the unfortunate distinction of Asiaʼs worst performing currency this year. Economists blame risingglobal crude prices for the slide. India imports 80 percent of its oil needs and soaring prices have blown a hole in the nationʼs finances. The country also imports huge quantities of items like gold and electronics, swelling its import bill further. Indiaʼs current account deficit (CAD) will also likely widen to 2.8 percent of GDP in financial year 2018 — up from 1.9 percent last year — according to consultancy Nomura Research Institute. CAD is a measure of the flow of goods, services and investments in and out of the country. Still, macroeconomic problems resulting from a higher CAD and depreciating rupee are not Prime Minister Narendra Modiʼs biggest concerns. His administration is more worried about growing public discontent due to the rise in petrol and diesel prices.
Disaster-prone 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. Disaster-prone 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,Londonbased insurance market Lloydʼs said in a fresh report. The value of underinsured assets had shrunk by only 3 percent since 2012, it noted. Many nations with the lowest levels of insurance were also among those most exposed to risks, including from climate change impacts, and were least able to fund recovery efforts, the study stressed. "If insurance is not available,catastrophes can have a much greater impact on economies and lives, Lloydʼs Chairman Bruce CarnegieBrown said in a statement. Emerging and low-income nations accounted for almost the entire global insurance gap, the report noted.