DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Syria: Putin, Erdogan, Rouhani hold talks as opposition gathers in Saudi Arabia The Russian, Turkish and Iranian leaders are meeting to chart military and political strategy in Syria. It comes as the divided Syrian opposition meets in Riyadh to bridge differences ahead of UN-backed peace talks. Russian President Vladimir Putin is meeting with the leaders of Iran and Turkey on Wednesday, as regional powers move to find an elusive diplomatic solution to the conflict in Syria as the war against the "Islamic State" (IS) and rebels winds down. The meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Black Sea city of Sochi brings together opposing sides of the conflict ahead of UN-backed peace talks in Geneva later this month. Turkey has been one of the main backers of the Syrian opposition, while Iranian and Russian support for the Syrian President Bashar Assad have turned the tide in the six year civil war in favor of the regime.
Closed borders boost people smuggling across Balkans Refugees continue to cross the Balkan route into Europe that the EU-Turkey deal was meant to cut off. Smugglers show the way. Marianna Karakoulaki and Dimitris Tosidis report from Chios, Thessaloniki, Belgrade and Sid. When Mohammed, 27 — not his real name — arrived in Greece, he knew it would not be too easy for him to reach Europe; yet he was hopeful that once he arrived on the Greek mainland his European dream would come closer. This is what hissmugglers in Turkeyhad promised him. The reality, however, was very different. We met Mohammed in Chios during the summer and kept in contact with him. By September he had finally arrived in Athens. Mohammed — a Bedouin from Kuwait is neither a citizen nor a migrant; he is considered stateless. Although it would have been fairly easy for him to receive international protection in Greece, he did not apply for asylum in Chios: In fact, he decided not to register on the island.
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EU offers Eastern Partnership members money, motivation On the agenda: reforms and closer economic ties
The EU has invited representatives from six post-Soviet states to take part in its fifth annual Eastern Partnership summit.
Brexit divorce bill: Britain prepares to pay more to EU as negotiations falter British Prime Minister Theresa May could bulk up the amount that Britain pays as it leaves the EU, in a bid to move talks on to trade. But senior leave campaigners have attached a condition to the money. Britainʼs Brexit bill offer to the EU is set to swell, national media reports, as senior lawmakers attempt to kick-start stalled negotiations with the European Union. No new figure has been confirmed on the size of the so-called divorce bill, which in recent weeks has become a major source of contention in Brexit talks, but there is a growing acceptance among Conservative Party members to increase it. Online newspapers iNews reported on Tuesday
that "May will offer 40 billion pounds to get Brexit moving." The pro-Brexit Daily Telegraph newspaper ran a front-page splash on Tuesday that read "Johnson and Gove back a bigger Brexit divorce bill offer." Cabinet ministers Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are two of the most senior faces of Brexit. They command a large following within their deeply-divided party. Prime Minister Theresa May has repeatedly signaled her willingness to pay more to the EU than initially suggested. But she has avoided publicly discussing figures out of fear that hardline elements within the party will not tolerate a large payout.
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 al-
low 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.
North Korea defection: Video shows soldier make daring border escape The UN Command has released a video showing the dramatic scenes at the border as a North Korean soldier defected. As they tried to stop him, the soldierʼs colleagues may have violated the terms of the Korean War truce. The North Korean army violated the terms of the 1953 UN Armistice Agreement when it tried to stop one of itssoldiers defecting to the South, the United Nations Command said Wednesday. Soldiers fired about 40 rounds across the military demarcation line that divides the two Koreas, with one soldier even crossing the line, Colonel Chad G. Carroll, a spokesman for the UN Command, told reporters. The UNC has "requested a meeting (with North Korea) to discuss our investigation and measures to prevent future such violations," Carroll said.
Pakistanʼs ʼlast Jewʼ Fishel Benkhald complains of anti-Semitism Fishel Benkhald tells DW he has faced immense social discrimination in Pakistan following his registration of Jewish faith, but he will continue to raise voice for the rights of religious minorities in the country. Dubbed "Pakistanʼs last Jew," Fishel Benkhald, a resident of the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, was originally registered as a Muslim and was named Faisal Khalid. After several months of bureaucratic struggle and paperwork, he was finally recognized by the Islamic countryʼs authorities as a Jew in March this year.
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277/2017 • 27, November 2017
US and Poland strike $10.5
Skype disappears from China app stores
billion missile defense deal
Skype has apparently joined the lengthening list of internet communication tools on Chinaʼs blacklist, with Apple saying it was ordered to clear its download store of apps that violate national laws.
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."
Oscar Pistoriusʼ prison sentence more than doubled
Responding to media reports about the absence of the Microsoft-owned messaging app on the China Apple Store or Android sites, Apple said on Wednesday it had removed several internet phone call apps from its storeafter the countryʼs government said they violated local laws. Skype Business, a separate app tailored more for corporate use, was still available for download. "We have been notified by the Ministry of Public Security that a number of voice over internet protocol [VOIP] apps do not comply with local law, therefore these apps have
been removed from the App Store in China," an Apple spokeswoman told the news agency Reuters. "These apps remain available in all other markets where they do business," she added. Skype’s disappearance from the App Store came to light on Tuesday as Apple told two US senators that it had removed 674 VPN apps so far this year, at the request of the Chinese government. Apple said it had "questioned the legal basis of the request" but was told that the affected VPN operators were in violation of Chinese cyber security law.
Climate changeʼs evil twin A recent report shows rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere are about to make the worldʼs oceans uninhabitable for many sea creatures, threatening entire ocean ecosystems. What can be done? Life on Earth began at sea. Over the billions of years since, the oceans have sustained a myriad of species, from worldʼs biggest mammals to the psychedelic profusion of life that makes up a coral reef. But since the industrial revolution, the waters that cover more than two-thirds of our planetʼs surface
have become increasingly hostile to their inhabitants. Overfishing, plastic pollution and warming waters all make it harder for marine life to survive. But now, perhaps the biggest threat is also one of the most insidious effects of the carbon we pump into the atmosphere –ocean acidification. Ulf Riebesell at the GEOMAR center for ocean research in Kiel explains that oceans absorb up to quarter of carbon emissions. "The CO2 reacts with the seawater to form carbonic acid. The more CO2 the ocean takes up, the more acidified it gets," he says.
South Africaʼs Supreme Court of Appeal has increased the Paralympianʼs jail term for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp to more than 13 years. Prosecutors had argued that the original sentence was "far too lenient." South Africaʼs Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein increased the prison sentence of formerParalympic champion Oscar Pistoriusto 13 years and five months on Friday. The athlete had previously been sentenced to six years for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Advent Feast at the Basilica One of the ‘Best European Christmas Markets’ is a must-see event in the heart of Budapest Discover Hungary’s most acclaimed Christmas market: The Advent Feast at the Basilica is blending Central European traditions and modern attractions, turning the iconic St. Stephenʼs square into 3D cinema. For more details and information about the Advent Feast’s event schedule, check out thewww.adventiunnep.hu/enwebsite.
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China sales behind German carmakersʼ rosy third quarter 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 thirdquarter 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 62-year-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.