DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Sierra Leone: Temporary ban on run-off election lifted The countryʼs run-off election is set to take place as scheduled after the High Court lifted an interim injunction. But there are concerns that events of the past few days may impact voter turnout. The Sierra Leone High Court has lifted an order delaying the presidential election run-off, two days after it temporarily halted the vote, which is scheduled for Tuesday. Lawyers for the National Electoral Commission (NEC) said the injunction order had already thrown the countryʼs election into "chaos". The NEC requested moving the run-off to the alternative date of March 3. The upcoming vote will see ruling party candidate Samura Kamara face off opposition candidate and leader of the Sierra Leone Peopleʼs Party (SLPP), Julius Maada Bio.
IsraeliPalestinian peace process: ʼDonʼt tear down bridges,ʼ Heiko Maas warns German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has reiterated Germanyʼs commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. During a visit to the region, he urged the Palestinians "not to tear down bridges." Germanyʼs new foreign minister,Heiko Maas, made the comments Monday after meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian foreign minister in the West Bank city of Ramallah. He urged the Palestinians to consider including the United States in future peace negotiations, stressing that peace efforts without the US "would be difficult." Abbas dismissed Washington as a credible Mideast mediatorafter President Donald Trumpunilaterally recognized Jerusalem as Israelʼs capital in December. The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
72/2018 • 28 MARCH, 2018
NATO cuts Russia diplomatic mission amidst spy poisoning row The Kremlin has said it is the target of western blackmail over the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skrip
NATO has announced the explusion of seven Russian employees from Moscowʼs observer mission to the organization.
EU, US lawmakers scold Facebook, Trump-linked Cambridge Analytica Lawmakers in the EU and the US demand answers following reports that a firm harvested data from 50 million Facebook users to influence the US election. Cambridge Analytica reportedly retained illegally obtained data. Politicians in the European Union and the United States have expressed concern about digital privacy after media reported that a consultancy that worked on Donald Trumpʼs 2016 presidential election campaign gained inappropriate access to the personal data of 50 million Facebook users. On Monday, EU Justice Secretary Vera Jourova called the revelations "horrifying," saying that she will "seek further clarification from Facebook" when she travels to the US next week.
EU Parliament President Antonio Tajani tweeted that the "European Parliament will investigate fully, calling digital platforms to account." In the US, Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota and a member of the chamberʼs Judiciary Committee, said on Sunday that "itʼs clear these platforms canʼt police themselves." In Britain, Conservative legislator Damian Collins, the head of the parliamentary media committee, said he wanted the social networkʼs chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, or another Facebook executive to appear before the body. Collins said the company had "consistently understated" the risk of data leaks and given misleading answers to the committee.
German university hospital defends auto firmsʼ nitrogen dioxide test ethics No experiments on animals or humans can take place in Germany without a go from an authorized ethics committee. Dr. Thomas Kraus from Aachen University Hospital says this was the case in the most recent NO2 scandal. The European Research Group on Environment and Health in the Transport Sector (EUGT) "did not impinge in any way on the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) research it commissioned Aachen University Hospital to do," Professor Thomas Kraus from the
hospital told the German press agency DPA on Monday. The EUGT is a now defunct organization that was funded by German carmakers Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW plus partsmaker Bosch, thus raising questions of possible conflicts of interest. In 2013, 25 healthy volunteers were exposed to NO2 pollution for three hours, Kraus said. "None of them had any negative health effects," he went on, adding that the tests were meant to measure the impact of pollutants in the workplace.
Cape Town water crisis: adapting to a water-scarce future Cape Town might have dodged Day Zero, but a new hyper-consciousness of water use looks set to be the new normal — and not just for the drought-hit African city. The water crisis is clear before youʼre even out of Cape Town International Airport. The bathroom faucets are dry, with soap replaced by hand sanitizer. After a historic three-year drought, Cape Town faced the prospect of "Day Zero" — the moment when the water supply runs too low to supply homes, and all the cityʼs faucets go the way of those at the airport. To avert the collapse of municipal plumbing, the city imposed a limit of 50 liters (13 gallons) of water per person per day, with sharp financial penalties for overuse. Day Zero wasinitially expected in April, but pushed back to June, July, and then August. Earlier this month, the city announced that water-saving limits had worked.
Siberian shopping mall fire kills dozens of people in Kemerovo Dozens of people are dead and at least 11 people are missing after a blaze at a shopping center in the Siberian town of Kemerovo. Russian authorities say the death toll was so high as "serious violations were committed." A fire tore through Winter Cherry mall in the Siberian city of Kemerovo on Sunday, killing at least 64 people. The fire broke out an hour before midnight local time and was brought under control on Monday morning. "There were 64 people killed in the Kemerovo mall fire," said the head of Russiaʼs emergency ministry Vladimir Puchkov, adding that six were still missing.
weather today BUDAPEST
1 / 8 °C Precipitation: 0 mm
72/2018 • 28 March, 2018
Facebook bans Trump campaign data firm Cambridge Analytica The social media giant has accused the data analysis company of illegally obtaining user data. At the same time, a whistleblower has said that Cambridge Analytica illegally harvested data from 50 million users. Facebook announced on Saturday that it had suspended the data research firm Cambridge Analytica for holding onto dubiously obtained user data after assuring the social media firm that the information had been deleted. Cambridge Analytica has become well-known in political circles for its work on the election campaign of US President Donald Trump and for the pro-Brexit group Leave.eu. Facebook said it was also suspending the firmʼs parent company, Strategic Communications Laboratories (SCL). The incident revolves around an app put on the site in 2015 by Aleksandr Kogan, a professor at the University of Cambridge, that purported to be a personality test and psychological research tool. About 270,000 users downloaded it and shared their information with it, according to Facebook.
Germany coach Joachim Löw gives Marco Reus some time off Germany coach Joachim Löw has left the oft-injured Marco Reus out of his squad for the Spain and Brazil matches. These are Germanyʼs last two friendlies before he has to name his provisional World Cup squad. Perhaps the most notable feature of the squad that Germany coach Joachim Löw announced on Friday was the absence of Borussia Dortmundʼs Marco Reus (pictured above), who is hoping to take part in his first major international tournament after missing the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 European championship through injury.
Macron reform boost as public deficit falls under EU limit For the first time since 2007, Franceʼs public deficit is finally within the set EU limit. While boosting the presidentʼs aim of convincing Berlin to support eurozone reform, some now want to spend rather than save. France posted a 2.6 percent public debt to GDP ratio in 2017, the first time since 2007 it has been within the three-percent limit set by the European Union, the French national statistics office (INSEE) said on Monday. "We have honored our engagements," Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told France Info radio. "It is proof that the strategy laid out by the president of the Republic on reducing public spending, realigning our public
accounts and growth is the right one," he said. The 2.6 percent figure is lower than the governmentʼs 2.9 percent target and was driven in large measure by higher tax receipts, boosted by stronger growth. In 2016, the deficit stood at 3.4 percent of GDP. The economy grew by 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017, with 2017 growth at 2 percent, still below the 2.5 percent rate that the 19member eurozone set in 2017.
Chinese hackers spying on Indians using WhatsApp, warns army The Indian Army has put out a video warning Indians about Chinese hackers extracting personal information using the social media application. Cybersecurity experts say hacking WhatsApp groups is no "rocket science." The Indian Army has alleged that Chinese hackers were usingWhatsAppgroups to mine personal data from Indians. In a video posted on Twitter, the Additional Directorate General of Public Interface (ADGPI), the Indian Armyʼs official handle, warned that WhatsApp was the latest platform being used by Chinese hackers to spy on Indians. "Chinese numbers starting
with +86 (Chinaʼs country code) barge into your groups and start extracting all the data," the Indian Army said and urged people to regularly "audit" their WhatsApp groups for any unknown numbers. "Destroy the SIM card if you change your number, and delete your WhatsApp on that number," the army said in the video, which was retweeted by Indiaʼs Defense Ministry. The video did not specify whether the hackers are backed by the Chinese state. Last year, the Indian Army also warned its soldiers stationed along the Chinese border against using a host of applications, including WhatsApp, that were deemed vulnerable to Chinese hackers.
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German metalworkers finally secure wage agreement Following weeks of bitter fighting, a wage agreement for the German metal and electrical industries has finally been struck. Employees were able to secure higher wages and more flexible working hours. A wage agreement was reached in the early hours on Tuesday in Germanyʼs metal and electrical industries. The powerful IG Metall union announced the deal initially covering workers in the southern German state of BadenWürttemberg, but expected to be eventually implemented for a total of 3.9 million workers in the sector nationwide. According to the deal, employeesare to receive a pay hike of 4.3 percent from April this year. Additionally, monthly one-off payments of €100 ($124) were agreed for January through March. Employers and trade union representatives also agreed on the possibility of workers reducing their hours from 35 to 28 hours per week for two years, should they need to look after children or care for older relatives.
Publisher slammed as Hitler appears in ʼgreat leadersʼ book The book "would bring tears of joy to neo-Nazis," a Jewish human rights organization has said. Adolf Hitler carries a certain fascination in some parts of the world that is largely untouched by his atrocities. Indian publisher Pegasus landed itself in hot water this week when it emerged that itʼs "Great Leaders" book for children included Adolf Hitler. Pictured alongside freedom fighters Mathama Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, the book chose Hitler as one of the "powerful world leaders who have dedicated their lives to the betterment of their countries and the people living in them." Also included in the book are current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, controversial Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi and former US President Barack Obama. "Dedicated to the betterment of countries and people? Adolf Hitler? This description would bring tears of joy to the Nazis and their racist neo-Nazi heirs," said Abraham Cooper of the Jewish human rights organization the Wiesenthal Center.