DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
EU and Iran create ʼspecial vehicleʼ for trade despite US sanctions The remaining signatories of the Iran nuclear deal announced on Monday that they would establish a channel to facilitate payments for Iranʼs exports, including oil, as well as its imports. The decision was reached after highlevel closed-door talks at the UN in New York. "Mindful of the urgency and the need for tangible results, the participants welcomed practical proposals to maintain and develop payment channels, notably the initiative to establish a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to facilitate payments related to Iranʼs exports, including oil," Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the EU announced in a joint statement. The membersʼ stated intent is "to protect the freedom of their economic operators to pursue legitimate business with Iran."
Iran threatens Saudi Arabia after Iran parade attack Iranʼs relations with its Gulf neighbors such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), along with the United States, are tense aftera terrorist attack on a military parade in the Iranian city of Ahvazon Sunday left at least 25 people dead. Both the "Islamic State" (IS) and Arab separatists groups in Iran have claimed responsibility for the attack. The Iranian government pointed fingers at its regional rivals, the Saudis and the UAE, as well as at the US for backing the attackers. "Based on reports, this cowardly act was done by the people who are rescued by the Americans when they are in trouble in Syria and Iraq, and are paid by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates," Iranʼs supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Monday on his official website. The same day the deputy head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard warned the US and Israel, a close American ally and Iranʼs perpetual enemy, on Monday that they should expect a "devastating response" from the Islamic Republic.
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Merkel ally sent packing in surprising parliamentary group leadership vote Kauder has been one of her closest allies for the last 13 years
Volker Kauder was defeated by Ralph Brinkhaus in an inner-party ballot Tuesday. The surprising result is seen as a warning to the German chancellor.
US fashion group Michael Kors acquires Versace The acquisition of the Italian fashion house will cost Michael Kors about $2 billion. Itʼs the latest iconic fashion brand that falls into the hands of the US group after it bought British stiletto-heel maker Jimmy Choo. Under the deal announced on Tuesday, Michael Kors will buy all of Versaceʼs outstanding shares for a total enterprise value of €1.83 billion ($2.12 billion), to be funded in cash, debt and shares in Michael Kors Holding. US private equity firm Blackstone, which bought 20 percent of Versace back in 2014, will fully exit its investment. Moreover, the
Versace family, which currently owns 80 percent of the fashion house, will receive €150 million of the purchase price in shares of the Michael Kors Holdings. Donatella Versace, sister of the companyʼs late founder, and artistic director and vice-president of the Milan-based group said that being part of the new group was "essential to Versaceʼs long-term success." After the deal, Versace CEO Jonathan Akeroyd would remain at the helm of the company, said Michael Kors Chairman and Chief Executive John D. Idol, adding that Donatella Versace would continue to lead "the companyʼs creative vision."
Israel music scene struggles with international boycott Organizers of Israelʼs Meteor Festival this weekend said it was supposed to be a "cutting edge musical journey that surpasses borders and distorts time and space." But that endeavor was dashed as some 20 acts, including headliner Lana Del Rey, withdrew at the last minute in response to apparent pressure from a Palestinian-led international boycott campaign. Itʼs just the latest event in the struggle between Israel andthe boycott movement that says it wants to end Israeli rule over Palestini-
ans. Read more: Israel and BDS: A controversial boycott divides the West Campaign organizers have claimed success, saying the cancellations demonstrate increasing opposition to Israeli government policies among young people around the world. "The fact that these artists are canceling is showing just how different the younger generation is viewing Israel," said Diana Buttu, a Palestinian analyst who supports the movement known as BDS, speaking with The Associated Press.
Austrian Interior Ministry under fire for plans to curb media Police officers and Interior Ministry employees in Austria should keep "critical media" at armʼs length, according to a leaked internal memo. The email to staff accused the established dailies Der Standard and Kurier and the weekly newsmagazine Falter of "very one-sided and negative reporting about the ministry and the police." "Facts and explanations are not relevant anymore, they are just ignored because the articles are negative anyway, as demonstrated by many articles in recent past," Interior Ministry spokesman Christoph Pölzl wrote in the email. The author urged staff to run their responses past him if they concern more than one department. "In other cases, may I suggest limiting communication with these media outlets to the (legal) minimal and not providing them with additional perks, such as exclusive access," he writes.
Swedish PM Stefan Lofven loses vote of confidence Swedish PM Stefan Lofven lost a mandatory confidence vote on Tuesday. The confidence vote is mandatory after a general election. Lofvenʼs ouster was expected and now it is up to the speaker, Andreas Norlen of the opposition Alliance bloc, to task Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson with forming a new government. Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt tweeted about it immediately after the vote.
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220/2018 • 26 September, 2018
South Korea urges for ʼbold decisionsʼ ahead of next TrumpKim summit South Korean President Moon Jaeincalled on both North Korea and the United States on Tuesday to make concrete steps in their stalled negotiations over Pyongyangʼs nuclear weapons program. Moon said the US and North Korea need to "make bold decisions" and that both must communicate more actively with one another. "North Korea must carry out its nuclear dismantling and the United States must take a corresponding step," Moon said, adding that he will continue to act as mediator between the two sides. Moonʼs comments come one week before he is due to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Unfor a summit in Pyongyangthat is due to run from September 18-20. It will be the third summit between the two leaders this year. Improving relations between North and South Korea is largely tied to progress in talks between Washington and Pyongyang. Moon said that his upcoming summit with Kim must include another "big step" towards denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
Fifa agrees to limit loan deals and reintroduce agent regulation
German diesel pumps still flowing despite retrofit talks
Itʼs the coldest night Berlin has seen in the best part of six months, so itʼs perhaps understandable when people arenʼt overly eager at first to linger on the forecourt of a gas station to talk to a reporter. The filling station on Skalitzerstrasse, in the German capitalʼs Kreuzberg district, is doing a steady if less than intense trade. Yet those who do pull up to refuel their cars are giving the diesel pumps plenty of attention. When the topic of diesel bans and retrofits is raised with the customers, they are surprisingly will-
ing to put up with the cold for a few minutes more to give their opinion.These are delicate times for Germanyʼs diesel drivers, after all. Only a real glutton for punishment would wish to hear a full retelling of Germanyʼs diesel woes of recent years. The simple version is that after 15 years of relentless growth and popularity amongst drivers, the fuel — and especially the vehicles powered by it — has been somewhat hunted politically sincethe September 2015 Volkswagen Dieselgate emissions scandal.
Instagram co-founders resign to ʼexplore their creativityʼ Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have resigned as CEO and chief technical officer of the photo-sharing app owned by Facebook. Systromʼs and Kriegerʼs departures from Facebookʼs fastest-growing revenue generator come just months after the exit of Jan Koum, co-founder of Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp, leaving the social network without the developers behind two of its biggest services. They also come at a time when Facebookʼs core platform is under fire for how it safe-
guards customer data and as younger users increasingly prefer alternative ways to stay in touch with family and friends. Kevin Systrom wrote in a blog post that he and Mike Krieger planned to take time off and explore their curiosity and creativity again. Their announcement came after frequent clashes with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the direction of Instagram. "Iʼve learned a lot working with them for the past six years and have really enjoyed it," Zuckerberg said. "I wish them all the best and Iʼm looking forward to seeing what they build next."
Fifa plans to limit the number of players a club can loan out each season to prevent teams stockpiling talent. Footballʼs governing body had proposed a maximum of six loans per club. But is still has to come to an agreement with the gameʼs other stakeholders - including club, league and player representatives - as to what the limit should be.
World Press Photo exhibition now open in Budapest A heartwarming hug, exploited sex workers and all of the chaos and calamity caused by an increasing terrorist attacks and conflict. The annual World Press Photo travelling exhibition once again portrays milestones from the past year through the best works of photojournalism. The exhibition is on view until October 23rd at the Hungarian National Museum. If you just visit one show in Budapest this autumn, it should be this one.
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ʼYeah, nahʼ: Kiwi startup defies German giantʼs order to stop saying ʼhelloʼ New Zealand startup My Food Bag, which delivers fresh ready-to-cook ingredients, issued a tongue-in-cheek response to a cease-and-desist notice from Berlin-based Hello Fresh. Hello Fresh had taken issue with its Kiwi competitor using the phrase "Hello Fresh." The letter, published in the New Zealand Herald and other domestic media, is replete with Kiwi colloquialisms and phrases in the countryʼs indigenous Maori language. The response, from Aotearoa, the Maori name for New Zealand, begins with a Maori greeting, to HelloFresh executives Thomas Griesel and Dr. Christian Ries. "Kia ora" is translated as "hello." "Kia ora Herr Griesel and Herr Ries, Greetings from Aotearoa. We donʼt often get heavyweight German multina‐ tional corporations taking the time to write to us Kiwis."
Austrian journalist reportedly arrested in Turkey Max Zirngast, an Austrian journalist, was detained by "anti-terror" authorities in Ankara according to one of the magazines he worked for. The report said heʼd likely been detained for "political publications." Austrian journalist Max Zirngast was detained by security forces in Turkey on Tuesday morning, according to the magazine that he worked for. Re:voltmagazine reported on Twitter that Zirngast and "several others" were arrested in Ankara around 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning by "antiterror" authorities. They posted a picture of Zirngast as well as a photo of security forces allegedly removing him from what appears to be an apartment building. The magazine initially said that he had been detained on "terror" charges, but later said that he was likely being held due to "political publications." According to re:volt, Zirngast has lived in Turkey for several years, where he works and is studying. Ismail Küpeli, a political scientist and journalist, wrote on Twitter that Zirngastʼs arrest was likely tied to his work, and not to any alleged "terrorist" activities.