DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Civil rights in Turkey Turkeyʼs Ankara bans gayrelated events All LGBTI gender events have been banned in Ankara, just days after authorities barred a German gay film festival. The governorʼs office in the Turkish capital cited the need to "provide peace and security." Turkeyʼs capital clamped down further on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) life on Sunday in a move likely to deepen concern among rights advocates. All LGBTI events, including cinema, theater, discussion panels and interviews, were forbidden until further notice, Ankaraʼs gubernatorial office said, to avert "public hatred and hostility" likely to emerge "within certain segments" of society. Once hugely popular gay pride parades have already beenbanned for several yearsin the Turkish capital and the countryʼs largest city of Istanbul.
Reports of sex abuse in German army on the rise German Defense Minister von der Leyen has interpreted a rise in reports of sex abuse in the Bundeswehr as positive. She says it stems from the "atmosphere of openness" the army has tried to foster under her leadership. The number of alleged sex offenses reported in the German army rose sharply this year, according to German Defense Ministry figures cited in the Bild am Sonntag tabloid newspaper on Sunday. Through mid-November there were 11 reported rapes this year in the Bundeswehr, the paper said, compared with five rapes reported in all of 2016. Overall, through the end of September 2017 there were 187 reports of inappropriate sexual behavior, which ranged from nonconsensual touching to rape. There were 128 such reports in 2016. The 2017 figures, however, also included some cases from the past years that remained unresolved.
274/2017 • 23, NOVEMBER 2017
Vladimir Putin hosts Bashar Assad to talk terrorism Assad thanked Russia for its support in fighting terrorism in Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin has held talks with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad, the Kremlin has revealed.
Siemens to cut 6,900 jobs amid union resistance Labor unions have reacted angrily to layoff plans unveiled by the management of the German conglomerate, which aims to cut costs in its energy business to adjust to the disruption sweeping through the industry. Following closed-door talks with workers on Thursday, the Munichbased industrial group announced that it was planning to cut 6,900 jobs globally as part ofa larger restructuring of its power division. About half of the announced job cuts would be in Germany, where the company said it planned to shut down facilities in the cities of Görlitz and Leipzig. A third
production site in the town of Erfurt could be sold off, it added. "The power generation industry is experiencing disruption of unprecedented scope and speed," managing board member Lisa Davis said in a statement, adding that renewable energy was putting other forms of power generation "under increasing pressure." Siemens said global demand for large gas turbines (generating more than 100 megawatts) had fallen drastically and was expected to level out at around 110 turbines a year. By contrast, the technical manufacturing capacity of all producers worldwide was estimated at around 400 turbines.
Germany must allow third gender in registry of births, court rules An intersex person has won a court case to allow them to enter a third gender into the registry of births. The case was appealed to the Federal Constitutional Court after failing at lower levels. Germanyʼs Federal Constitutional Court on Wednesday called for a third gender option in the registry of births. Intersex people, who are neither male nor female, should be able to register their sexual identity as such, the Karlsruhe court ruled. The court found that the general right to the protection of personality in Germanyʼs Basic Law meant the register had to be altered to
allow a third gender. The court ruled seven to one that lawmakers must create new legislation by the end of 2018 to allow for a third sex, providing the examples of "intersex," "diverse" or another "positive designation of sex." Another possibility raised was to scrap gender entries altogether. "Assignment to a gender is of paramount importance for individual identity; it typically plays a key role both in the self-image of a person and in the way in which the person concerned is perceived by others. The gender identity of those persons who are neither male nor female is protected,"the court ruled.
Millions of children fare worse than parents Around 180 million children are more likely to live in extreme poverty, be out of school or suffer a violent death than their parents, according to UNICEF. The World Childrenʼs Day report suggests things could get worse. One in 12 children worldwide live in countries where they face far bleaker prospects than 20 years ago, according to a UNICEF report released Monday to coincide with World Childrenʼs Day. According to the analysis, a drop in quality of life was clear in 37 countries, and driven by factors such as conflict, financial crises and poor governance. "While the last generation has seen vast, unprecedented gains in living standards for most of the worldʼs children, the fact that a forgotten minority of children have been excluded from this — through no fault of their own or those of their families — is a travesty," Laurence Chandy, UNICEF director of data, research and policy, said.
Morocco food stampede leaves at least 15 dead At least fifteen people have been killed in a Moroccan village after a stampede erupted as food aid was being distributed. Several women were caught beneath an iron barrier as hundreds scrambled to get hold of food. The stampede broke out in the town of Sidi Boulaalam in Moroccoʼs Essaouira province on Sunday as food aid was being handed out to locals at the local "souk," or market. Most of the victims were reportedly women, who had scrambled to receive food being handed out by a prominent benefactor from the region.
weather today BUDAPEST
5 / 9 °C Precipitation: 0 mm
274/2017 • 23, November 2017
US and Poland strike $10.5 billion missile defense deal The US has approved the $10.5 billion sale of a Patriot anti-missile system to NATO ally Poland. Eastern European NATO states have been ramping up their military capabilities in the face of perceived Russian aggression. In a move likely to irk Russia, the US and Poland agreed on Friday a major arms deal that could see the eastern European NATO member soon begin conducting air and missile defense operations. As part of the $10.5 billion (€8.9 billion) sale, Poland is expected to receive 208 Patriot Advanced Capabilty-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement missiles, 16 M903 launching stations, four AN/MPQ-65 radars, four control stations, spares, software and associated equipment. Made by US defense contractor Raytheon, the missiles are reportedly designed to detect, track and engage unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cruise missiles and shortrange or tactical ballistic missiles. In a statement issued following the sale, the State Department said that: "A secure Europe capable of deterring air and missile threats and other forms of aggression promotes peace and stability within NATO and on the European continent."
Bradley Wiggins speaks of ʼliving hellʼ as UK doping case is closed Bradley Wiggins has spoken of his "living hell" after the UK AntiDoping agency (UKAD) closed its case against Team Sky. The Olympic gold medallist and Tour de France winner criticized the way the case was handled. UKAD announced on Wednesday that they had insufficient evidence to bring any charges after investigating a so-called ʼmystery packageʼ delivered to the British rider at the 2011 Criterium du Dauphine.
Easyjet profits fall sharply after ʼdifficult yearʼ
China sales behind German
Aviation watchers will know it has been a challenging year in European skies. UK airline easyJet has felt the squeeze like many of its rivals. Yet itʼs bullish about the future despite a sharp fall in profits.
carmakersʼ rosy third quarter
British budget carrier easyJet reported a fall in profits of more than 30 percent on Tuesday, with a sharp decline in the value of the pound accounting for a considerable increase in jet fuel costs. In their financial report for the year ending September 30, easyjet reported that despite an 8-percent increase in revenues past the £5billion ($6.6-billion, €5.6-billion) mark, total profits after tax fell by
30.2 percent from £437 million in 2016 to £305 million in 2017. Nonetheless, easyJet — Europeʼs second largest budget carrier after Irish airline Ryanair — sounded positive tones on release of the financial statement, hailing a "robust performance" and highlighting "positive revenue trends" for the first quarter of the new year on the back of the travails of some competitors.
Russian meteorological service confirms elevated radioactivity The source of the radioactive cloud that hovered over Europe in early October is being narrowed down to the Urals. There are further indications that the release of the radioactive isotope ruthenium-106could be traced back to the Mayak nuclear facility in the Ural region, a reprocessing site for spent nuclear fuel. Russian meteorological service Rosgidromet confirmed on Monday the release of Ru-106 in the southern Urals in late September and
early October, classifying it as an "extremely high contamination." French nuclear safety institute IRSN reported on November 9 thatradioactivity had been detected in Francebetween September 27 and October 13, and that it likely stemmed from Russia or Kazakhstan. At the Russian measuring station Argayash, the highest level measured was 986 times that of the previous month, the Russian weather service said in a statement. At the Novogorny station, the measured levels were 440 times higher.
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Strong vehicle sales in the wordʼs most important car market have been essential in enabling German carmakers to end their third quarters on a positive note. Their dependence on China is expected to increase further. Germanyʼs top carmakers would not have been able to present positive third-quarter results without a booming auto market in China, a study by consultancy EY showed Tuesday. It said China had long become the most important market for Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler, with one in three of their cars sold in the third quarter having gone to the Asian nation. To be more precise, the Chinese market accounted for 34 percent of Germanyʼs overall car sales between July and September, the highest ever rate logged so far. Back in 2010, only 23 percent of Germanyʼs quarterly car sales ended up in China.
Ousted Venezuelan opposition leader escapes house arrest, flees to Spain Ousted Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma has likened his escape to a film. He plans to take the fight against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro abroad. The ousted opposition mayor of Caracas arrived in Spain on Saturday after orchestrating a daring escape from house arrest in Venezuela. Antonio Ledezma landed in Madrid from Bogota, Colombia, where he arrived a day earlier after slipping across the border. He was greeted by his wife and two daughters who live in Spain. Ledezma said he planned to organize resistance from abroad to President Nicolas Maduro, under whose rule millions of Venezuelans have suffered from shortages of food and other basic supplies. "I am going to travel the world to spread the hope of all Venezuelans to escape this regime, this dictatorship," Ledezma said. The 62year-old opposition figure was removed as mayor of Caracas and arrested in 2015 on allegations he sought to topple Maduro. He was later put under house arrest due to health issues. Ledezma was one of the opposition leaders who led protests against the government in 2014, which also resulted in the arrest of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. He remains under house arrest.