title

DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Sri Lankan Catholics mark 1 week since Easter Sunday attacks Sri Lankaʼs Catholic leader has held a private memorial service live on TV to mark one week since militants killed 253 people in a series of suicide attacks. Churches across the island remain closed amid security fears. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, condemned the Easter bombings and called for unity as he celebrated a private Mass in the Sri Lankan capital on Sunday.

The service was broadcast live on television and radio, after fears of further violence prompted churches to cancel all public Masses. The island nation of 21 million remains on edge and under tight security seven days afterextremists unleashed attacks on churches and luxury hotelsthat left more than 250 people dead.

Indonesia: More than 270 election staff died from overwork Dubbed the "worldʼs most complicated election," the April 17 vote involved nearly 6,000,000 election workers and 810,000 polling stations.

Hundreds of election workers died from exhaustion, authorities say. Ten days after Indonesia held elections, at least 272 election workers have died from illnesses caused by long hours of polls-related work, an official said on Sunday.

Arief Priyo Susanto, the spokesman for Indonesiaʼs General Elections Commission (KPU), said that as of Saturday night, 272 election officials had died from overwork, while 1,878 others had fallen sick. Susanto said the Finance Ministry is working to provide compensation for families of the deceased, while health facilities will be given to the sick election staff.

97/2019 • 29 APRIL, 2019

SAS pilot strike leads to more flight cancellations for Monday, Tuesday Mediators say there are no signs of fresh negotiations and differences remains wide

Scandinavian airline SAS has canceled a further 1,213 flights for Monday and Tuesday after pilots began their strike on Friday.

Germanyʼs Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank end merger talks Germanyʼs two largest lenders have called off any further discussions about a merger. Berlin had promoted the idea of creating a banking "champion" capable of supporting Germanyʼs export-orientated economy.

The German banking market’s two major lenders, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, announced on Thursday that they had ended merger talks.

In a joint statement, both banks said that their management boards had come to the conclusion that a merger would "not provide sufficient added value." The government, which has a

15% stake in Commerzbank, had encouraged the discussions in the hope that a merger could create a national banking "champion" to provide financing for Germanyʼs exportorientated economy. The banksʼ joint statement cited perceived risks, restructuring costs and capital requirements as reasons to shelve the proposals. "After thorough analysis, we have concluded that this transaction would not have created sufficient benefits" to justify the risks and costs, Deutsche Bank chief executive Christian Sewing and Commerzbank chief Martin Zielke said.

Man leaves €10,000 Picasso jug on German train German police are trying to help a man find a ceramic jug made by Pablo Picasso, after he accidentally left it on a train earlier this month.

The elderly man was traveling from Kassel to Dusseldorf on February 15 when he switched trains at the city of Hamm and forgot to bring his precious cargo with him. Read more: How German was Picasso? The 26centimeter-tall (10-inch-tall) ceramic piece dates to 1953 and was an original crafted by Picasso at his Madoura workshop in Vallauris in the south of France, police said. It is part of Picas-

soʼs "Owl series" and is estimated to be worth at least €10,000 ($8,800).

Police said the man reported the disappearance immediately after exiting the train but the bag with the jug inside it was already gone. Read more: Picasso and windows The shopping bag was made of solid cardboard with blue lettering that read "Neumeister — Alte Kunst — Moderne." Munster Federal Police, which is investigating the case, asked witnesses who might have seen the man "forgetting" the bag to report the sighting to them.

Germanyʼs conservatives issue anti-nationalist, proEurope rallying cry Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), have launched their first joint European election campaign with a call to resist the forces seeking to undermine the European Union.

"Today, Europe is under pressure; it is on the defensive," Manfred Weber of the CSU told a conference of the two parties in the western German city of Münster on Saturday. Europe must "be defendedagainst the nationalistsand the egoists," he said. Weber, currently the leader of the European Peopleʼs Party (EPP), is hoping to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the European Commission after elections to the European Parliament from May 23-26. Among other things, he pledged in his speech at the conference to work toward establishing a European FBI and to strengthen Frontex, the EUʼs border security force.

Thousands in Hong Kong protest against China extradition plan In the biggest demonstration since 2014, thousands took to the streets against proposed extradition rules that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial. Protesters fear for the cityʼs core freedoms.

Thousands of people walked peacefully for more than three hours through the shopping and business districts of Causeway Bay and Wanchai on Sunday, some with placards addressing the Chinese leader: "President Xi Jinping, no legalized kidnapping of Hong Kong people to China."

weather today BUDAPEST

8 / 14 °C Precipitation: 0 mm

97/2019 • 29 April, 2019

German train-delay scarf sells for thousands at auction

Germany and Austria stop issuing €500 bank notes

A scarf knitted by a German woman to represent how long she was delayed on trains run by German rail company Deutsche Bahn sold for €7,550 ($8,660) on eBay on Monday.

There were 134 bids from 45 bidders for the 1.5-meter (5 foot) scarf, which was knitted over the course of 2018 and features stripes in different colors, to represent different-length delays. Read more: Deutsche Bahn flaws prompt calls for basic railway reform Journalist Sara Weber, the scarf makerʼs daughter, said her mother was a commuter in the Munich area and had knitted two rows per day: Gray for under five minutes, pink for 5-30 minutes, and red for delays of more than 30 minutes or when both of her trains were running late. Weber posted a photo of the scarf on Twitter and the response was so enthusiastic that she and her mother decided to auction it and give the proceeds to the charity Bahnhofsmission, which assists people in need at railway stations across Germany. On Monday, Weber tweeted that the scarf had been sold for €7,550. "My mum is very happy — and so am I. We never would have expected that would happen," Weber wrote.

The last of Europeʼs central banks have stopped issuing the largedenomination bank note. Germany and Austria were given longer than their European neighbors as the bill was used comparatively often.

Virus-hit Alexander Zverev knocked out of Indian Wells

The German Bundesbank and Austriaʼs National Bank stopped issuing the €500 ($557) bank note on Friday, three months after it had ceased to be handed outin the rest of the eurozone.

The delay reflects a preference among consumers in both countries to continue to use banknotes for everyday purposes such as shopping, and for

savings. Existing €500 notes in circulation will continue to be legal currency. One of the worldʼs highestvalue banknotes, the €500 noteʼs withdrawal leaves Switzerlandʼs 1,000-franc bill (€878) and Bruneiʼs 10,000-dollar note (€6,628) at the top of the league of high-value paper currency.

Space mice — NASAʼs rodent astronauts NASA has sent mice to the ISS to learn more about the effects of microgravity and how humans would fare on long space trips like voyages to Mars.

The International Space Station (ISS) has seen many interesting experiments. Fromgrowing lettuce in spacetostudying twins (one in space and one on Earth) to compare the different developments their bodies went through.

One study carried out by NASA doesnʼt involve human subjects, but animal ones: the researchers sent mice up to the ISS to see how organisms react to microgravity. "Since the environment

of space alters multiple, interacting biological systems — including bones, muscles, the heart, blood flow, and the immune system – sometimes it is better to study everything at once in the entire organism," NASA states on their "rodent research" site. "This can be achieved by working with research model organisms, such as mice and other rodents." While it might not seem like it at first glance, humans and mice actually have quite a lot in common, which makes the little rodents perfect guinea pigs, so to speak. Another plus is miceʼs faster development, so effects of microgravity can be studied on a shorter timescale.

A virus going around the Indian Wells tournament in California has claimed its latest victim, with Alexander Zverev well below his best as crashed out of the tournament in the third round. Zverev fell to compatriot JanLennard Struff 6-3, 6-1, who will now face Canadian 13th seed Milos Raonic.

Macklemore, 6lack and Michael Kiwanuka are the final acts confirmed for Sziget 2019 International superstars Macklemore, 6lack and Michael Kiwanuka have just been announced as the final additions to Sziget’s incredible genre-spanning line-up for 2019, joining headliners Ed Sheeran, Florence + The Machine, Foo Fighters, The 1975, Post Malone, Twenty One Pilots, Martin Garrix and The National.

H-1056 Budapest, Só u. 6.

Telephone: +36 1 577 0700 Fax: +36 1 577 0710 bhzinfo@zeinahotels.com www.boutiquehotelbudapest.com

Published by: Mega Media Kft. 1075 Budapest, Madách I. út 13-14. +36 1 398 0344 www.hotelujsag.hu

US sanctions Venezuela state oil firm PDVSA The US said on Monday that it would impose sanctions on Venezuelaʼs state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), as it ramps up pressure on the countryʼs president, Nicolas Maduro. The move followsWashingtonʼs public backing of National Assembly leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president last week. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the sanctions were meant to prevent Maduro from diverting more resources from the crisis-hit country, until control in Caracas could be transferred toGuaidoʼs interim governmentora new democratically elected government. Mnuchin specified that PDVSAʼs US-based subsidiary Citgo could continue operations, so long as its earnings are deposited into a blocked account in the US. Maduro accused the US of attempting to steal Citgo, saying the state oil firm will seek legal action against the US. Washington was "holding accountable those responsible for Venezuelaʼs tragic decline," Mnuchin told reporters.

US and Turkish presidents discuss safe zone in northern Syria Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, took to the telephone to discuss the situation in northern Syria on Monday. "The president expressed the desire to work together to address Turkeyʼs security concerns in northeast Syria while stressing the importance to the United States that Turkey does not mistreat the Kurds and other Syrian Democratic Forces with whom we have fought to defeat ISIS," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement, referring to the "Islamic State" (IS) extremist group. The Turkish presidency said the two men discussed the creation of a safe zone in northern Syria cleared of militia groups. It did not provide any other details.

Thedisagreement between the NATO alliesis the latest consequence of Trumpʼs December 19 decision to withdraw US military personnel from Syria. This could leave the Kurdish militia under threat should Turkey start a new offensive. Over the weekend, Trump had taken to Twitter to threaten he would"devastate" the Turkish economyif Ankara sent its forces to attack the Kurds in northern Syria.