DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Israel evacuates 800 Syrian ʼWhite Helmetsʼ to Jordan Israel evacuated 800 members of theWhite Helmetsand their families from southwestern Syria to Jordan overnight, army radio said Sunday.The Israeli military said the evacuation was an "exceptional humanitarian gesture" carried out at the request of the United States and a number of European countries due to "an immediate threat to (the Syriansʼ) lives."Jordanʼs Foreign Ministry confirmed that it had allowed 800 Syrian citizens to enter the country and said they would travel on to Britain, Germany and Canada within three months. "The request was approved based on pure humanitarian reasons," ministry spokesman Mohammed alKayed said.
Trouble in Bavarian paradise: Will the CSUʼs hardline asylum strategy pay off? Horst Seehoferloves his native Bavaria. So when he announced at the last Christian Social Union (CSU) party summit that he would remain leader of the conservative Bavarian party when taking up the post of German interior minister — but hand over the position of state premier to his rival Markus Söder — he emphatically declared: "Bavaria is paradise!" The duo now intend to ensure the CSU will once again win the upcoming Bavarian state elections on October 14. Trouble in paradise Bavariaʼs ruling CSU government is proud of its picturesque state, which haslong been a popular destinationfor foreign tourists.
168/2018 • 25 JULY, 2018
Steve Bannon plans Brusselsbased foundation ʼThe Movementʼ for EU far-right He wants to offer a right-wing alternative to George Sorosʼs foundation
Donald Trumpʼs ex-strategist, Steve Bannon, told the Daily Beast he hopes the foundation will fuel the spread of right-wing populism across Europe.
Credit card cloning on rise in India amid Narendra Modiʼs cashless push In June this year, police in Indiaʼs financial capital Mumbai busted a card cloning racket that involved waiters at bars and restaurants across the city stealing data using credit card skimmers. The accused had managed to steal the credit card and debit card data of some 1,000 unsuspecting customers over a period of two years. This was not a one-off incident. Between April and December last year, nearly 24,000 fraud cases related to credit, debit cards and internet banking were regis-
tered in India, Mint newspaper reported in April, citing Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data. In Mumbai alone, cases related to credit and debit card fraud jumped 42 percent in 2017, the Hindus‐ tan Times newspaper reported. India was ranked among the top 5 countries with regard to credit card fraud, with more than one third of the people saying they had been scammed, according to the 2016 Global Consumer Fraud Report published by payments technology company ACI Worldwide.
Do we really need next-gen genetically modified foods to feed the world? When a strawberry from Chile and a strawberry from the United States met in a genteel French garden 200 years ago — on a blind date arranged by gardeners who wanted to create a better berry — it was love at first sight. Previously, imported species from the US state of Virginia hadnʼt produced much, while the fruits of European varieties were very small. As it turned out, the Chilean genes held the magic ingredient, and nearly every strawberry you buy in the market today
comes from that strain. Luscious strawberries may be among the the tastiest results of genetic tinkering, but they are not the only. Mesopotamians started propagating wild grasses with the biggest seeds 10,000 years ago, which eventually turned them into the crops we now call rice, wheat, barley, oats, millet and rye. In the fertile floodplain of the Danube river, west of Vienna, farmers have been breeding plants for at least 5,000 years.
Deadly suicide attack at Kabul airport as exiled VP Dostum returns A suicide blast at the main entrance of Kabul airport on Sunday killed at least 14 people as supporters ofVice President Abdul Rashid Dostumgathered to welcome the politician after 14-month absence. Medical officials said at least 50 people were wounded. "The blast happened right after Dostumʼs convoy left the airport," Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai told reporters, warning that the number of causalities may rise. Neither Dostum nor any members of his entourage were injured in the blast.
German army mulls recruiting foreign EU nationals to boost recruitment Germanyʼs long-understaffed army has a new plan to boost recruitment: allowing foreigners from other European Union countries to serve in the unified armed forces (Bundeswehr). The defense ministry confirmed on Saturday that it was seriously considering the idea. "The Bundeswehr is growing. For this, we need qualified personnel," a Defense Ministry spokesman told German news agency DPA.
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168/2018 • 25 July, 2018
Tokyo introduces mascots for 2020 Olympic Games Japanʼs superhero-like mascots for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games made their formal debut at a ceremony in Tokyo on Sunday. Miraitowa, a big-eyed, blue-checked character, will be the official Olympic mascot. Organizers said the name was a combination of the Japanese words for future and eternity, expressing "hope for a bright future stretching off forever." The pink, pointy-eared Paralympic counterpart was christened Someity, which comes from the word for Japanʼs iconic cherry blossoms and also sounds a bit like the English words "so mighty," officials noted. Read more: Japan heatwave raises concerns over Tokyo 2020 Olympics Winners of childrenʼs vote The designs for the mascots were selected in February after schoolchildren across the country voted for their top two.
Bayern Munich CEO KarlHeinz Rummenigge tees off on the ʼamateursʼ at the DFB Bayern Munich chairman KarlHeinz Rummenigge has sharply criticized the DFB over Germanyʼs early exit from the World Cup. Meanwhile, Joachim Löw presented the German FA with his analysis of what went wrong. Germany head coach Joachim Löw told reporters outside of the German football association (DFB) headquarters in Frankfurt on Friday that he had presented the executive board with a "detailed analysis" of why the national team failed to advance past the group stage in Russia. However, following two days of talks with senior officials including Oliver Bierhoff, the general manager of the national team, Löw declined to provide any details of their talks or his analysis. He said his next move would be to speak to each of the national team players individually, before making anypossible decisions on personnel changes.
Despite EU sanctions, hotel rooms available in Crimea
Search results for tourist accommodations in Crimea no longer appear on the website booking.com. Instead, the the company offers the following message: "Weʼre sorry, itʼs not possible to make leisure reservations in Crimea at this time on our website." Reports that the international booking agency had stopped offering services in Crimea on July 16 sparked outrage in Russia. Lawmakers in Russiaʼs parliament, the Duma, jumped on the reports to once again condemn European Union sanctions. Brusselsimposed the punitive measuresfour years
ago in protest to Russiaʼs illegal annexation of Ukraineʼs Crimean peninsula. The sanctions prohibit EU businesses from offering tourists services in Crimea. Officially, Dutch company booking.com ended services for tourists in 2014, insisting instead that offers were "exclusively for business travelers." Still, anyone looking for accommodation in Crimea on booking.com could find them. Such searches were only blocked in instances when users actually declared they were tourists. Now it seems booking.com has changed that.
Private moments with Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace A new exhibition at Buckingham Palace shows some of the Prince of Walesʼ most prized — and personal —belongings. Having high tea with the British queen might be a joy of life that only few people ever get to experience. An exhibition at Buckingham Palace, however, invites visitors to see some of the more intimate personal belongings of the Prince of Wales and thus get to feel a little closer to the royal family. "The Princeʼs favorite art works will be shown alongside works created by young artists supported by three charities which he has founded and is patron of," the Royal Collection Trust says about the "Prince and Patron" art show. Among the 100 arti-
facts are family pictures, royal portraits, and even a cloak said to have belonged to Napoleon himself. Prince Charles curated the exhibition himself and even included some of his own art works. Visiting Buckingham Palace Each summer, the queen leaves Buckingham Palace in London to spend the warmer months of the year in Scotland, at her private estate at Balmoral. During this time, Buckingham Palace opens its doors to visitors to visitors, with various exhibitions on display at locations like The Queenʼs Gallery and The State Rooms. "Prince and Patron" continues to welcome visitors until September 30. Shortly thereafter, Charles will celebrate his 70th birthday, on November 14.
English-Language Daytime Science Camps Center of Scientific Wonders (Csopa) 6/12/2018 - 8/31/2018 The fascinating Center of Scientific Wonders in Budapest now awaits children aged between 8 and 12 with exciting English-language daytime science camps.
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Why higher US tariffs on car imports would backfire Having slapped higher duties on EU steel and aluminum already,US President Donald Trump is now looking to curb successful European car imports, which have long been a thorn in his side against the general backdrop of a massive US trade deficit with the bloc and Germany in particular. "We are finishing our study on cars from the EU," Trump tweeted earlier this week, saying the measures that his administration will take to rectify the imbalance will see things "evening out" fairly soon. The American president has threatened to impose a tariff of at least 20 percent on all imports of EU-assembled vehicles, a month after Washington launched an investigation into whether auto imports posed a national security threat.
India scraps controversial tax on sanitary pads India has announced that it has withdrawn a controversial tax on sanitary pads. Saturdayʼs rollback comes after a vocal campaign aimed at boosting female education, empowerment and, ultimately, job prospects. The move is part of a bigger package of cuts toIndiaʼs Goods and Services Tax (GST). Around 90 consumer items, many of them popular with urban middle-class voters, will be impacted by the tax cut. "I think all women will be happy to know that sanitary pads will now have 100-percent exemption. There will be no GST on sanitary pads," Indiaʼs Acting Finance Minister Piyush Goyal told journalists Saturday. Campaigners had seized on this issue because a lack of access to sanitary pads often forces girls to stay home during their periods. Missing school every month becomes a significant drag on girlsʼ education that ultimately hampers their job prospects as adults. Sanitary pads were taxed at 12 percent under the GST, which was launched a year ago. A national survey earlier this year found that about 60 percent of women between the age of 16 and 24 didnʼt have access to tampons. In some poorer areas of central and eastern India the figure was as high as 80 percent.