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.
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Palestinian leader Abbas calls for Middle East peace conference, sidelining US role The Palestinian leader slammed the US, which he said could no longer be the sole peace mediator
In a rare UN speech, Mahmoud Abbas has called for an international mechamism to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict.
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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