DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Ukraine furious after Russia speeds up passport process in eastern Ukraine Ukrainian politicians expressed outrage on Wednesday afterRussian President Vladimir Putinsigned a decree to speed up citizenship applications for people living in areas currently controlled by Russia-backed separatists. According to the Kremlin, the decree affects permanent residents living in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and would shorten the amount of time needed to examine the documents necessary to obtain a Russian passport. The Ukrainian government was swift to condemn the move, with some politicians saying that the timing was aimed at destabilizing the countryas it transitions from one president to a new one. Putin defended the decree, saying it was "purely a humanitarian issue" and that it was not meant to "create problems for the new Ukrainian administration."
France dedicates first Armenian genocide commemorations The first major European country to recognize the 1915 massacres as genocide, France has dedicated its first national day of commemoration. The French prime minister led the ceremonies. The ceremonies organized in France on Wednesday fulfilled a pledge made by French President Emmanuel Macron during his 2017 election campaign, and confirmed to the countryʼs large Armenian community in February. In 2001 France became the first major European country to recognise the massacres as genocide and in February, as he announced the national day of remembrance, Macron said France "knows how to look history in the face."
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Scotlandʼs First Minister calls for second independence referendum by 2021 She hopes to have legislation agreed by the end of the year
Scotlandʼs First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that her devolved government will take a first step towards holding an independence referendum by May 2021.
Size and networking matter for female founders Female business founders are still the exception to the rule in Europeʼs business landscape. Only 15.6% of the continentʼs startup founders are women. But there are enough examples that things are changing. It was a pivotal moment for Maria Mattsson Mähl. She sat on a panel in the Swedish city of Visby and was supposed to talk about her experience as an entrepreneur. It was in the summer of 2017, when several politicians, busi-
nesspeople and media representatives sat together for a panel discussion organized by the "Alemedalen Week" — a prestigious annual networking event in Sweden named after the eponymous public park. But Mattsson Mähl felt very much alone because during the discussion she was confronted with figures she couldnʼt believe. Apparently, there were only 17 Swedish companies with a turnover of more than 50 million Swedish kronor ($5.42 million, €4.79 million)founded by women.
As Germany phases out coal, villages still forced to make way for mining This end of thevillage of Immerathis peaceful, with birds chirping in the gables of empty houses. But off in the distance, the sound of excavators tearing down walls and smashing stones betray that calm. The open-pit lignite mine Garzweiler II is just a stoneʼs throw away from Immerath, and soon the village will be no more. Im-
merath was once a lively community with a sports club, church and several kindergartens. Today, the homes have been barricaded or bricked up. Down one abandoned street, a gutted car sits in the open garage of a family home covered in ivy. At the other end of the road, demolition work has already begun.
German income inequality a cause for concern as east-west divide deepens A new study released by the Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI) in Düsseldorf on Wednesday starkly outlines thedivide between wealthy and poor German communities. Whereas residents in the Bavarian city of Starnberg — near Munich — topped the list of 401 districts and independent towns with an average annual disposable income of €34,987 ($39,150), the North RhineWestphalian city of Gelsenkirchen was the countryʼs poorest with an average of €16,203. The WSI, which is associated with German unions and the Hans Böckler Foundation, found that although southern cities such as Munich, Heilbronn and Stuttgart had among the highest levels of disposable income after taxes, the northʼs Ruhrgebiet — a former coal and steel region — andthe formerly communist east lagged far behind.
Lyra McKee: Murdered journalist honored at Northern Ireland funeral Lyra McKee, a 29-year-old journalist who was shot dead by a New IRA gunman in Northern Ireland last week, was honored by hundreds of mourners and political leaders at a funeral in Belfast on Wednesday. The 29-year-old was shot in the head Thursday while reporting on clashes between rioters and police in the city of Londonderry, also known as Derry. A small Irish nationalist group called the New IRA said it was responsible for her death and apologized, adding that they had been targeting police officers at the time.
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