DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
German engineers under pressure from China Stefan Bachmeier still recalls the golden times of German machine builders in China. He works for a company called Kaeser Kompressoren, a medium-sized enterprise from Coburg, Germany. The firm has a workforce of 5,000 and specializes in compressed air technology. "I remember the times when you could simply say ʼlook, this is a German machine,ʼ" he said. "Clients would pay, there was little haggling over the price — but those times are gone," adds Bachmeier, who oversees the companyʼs Asia business from Singapore. Although the "Made in Germany" label is still highly valued, itʼs no longer a unique selling point. "The Chinese have become very selfconfident and nationalist at times," Bachmeier told DW, "andtheyʼre very serious about their "Made in China" campaign."
EU takes legal action against Poland to protect judges The European Commission said Wednesday that it had issued a letter of formal notice — the first step in legal action — to Poland over new disciplinary measures that can be taken against judges. Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said the system of oversight, introduced in 2017, appeared to "systematically subject judges to the political control of the executive." Polish judges who have engaged in public debates or made comments about the reforms have been targeted by disciplinary officers from the governmentappointed National Council of Judiciary, Timmermans said. Judges who asked for rulings from the European Court of Justice had also had investigations launched against them. "All this has an obvious chilling effect on the activities of judges, and this is incompatible with the requirements of judicial independence as detailed by the European Court of Justice," Timmermans said.
78/2019 • 4 APRIL, 2019
Ex-Malaysian PM Najib Razak faces trial over 1MDB scandal The 65-year-old pleaded not guilty to seven charges of corruption and money-laundering
The former prime minister and his associates are accused of pilfering hundreds of millions of dollars from the state sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
Mobility services for the elderly: Looking beyond the private car Owning a car still means a lot to Germans, especially older people in rural areas. But what if the elderly are no longer able to drive? A village near Berlin is pondering alternatives, as Hardy Graupner reports. The village ofPetershagen-Eggersdorf in the largely rural Eastern German state of Brandenburghas experienced a massive population boom for many years now. It now has more than 15,000 inhabitants, up from just 8,000 in the early 1990s. A logical side effect of the increased influx has been more traffic, with a higher number of privately owned cars per family, according to the mayor of the twin village, Marco Rut-
ter. Thatʼs causing a bit of a problem, especially for the growing number of elderly people living here. "Despite some younger folks moving here, the number of senior citizens has been rising disproportionately," Rutter tells DW,noting that the trend will become even more pronounced in the years ahead. "Up to 4,000 inhabitants are now between 55 and 65 years old, meaning that over the next decade weʼll have a lot more people past the age of 65, plus a lot of people who statistically live a lot longer." More traffic, more problems Rutter points out that increased traffic flows in the village have created a sense of insecurity among the elderly driving their own cars.
Brazilian artist Helio Fervenza on censorship and responsibility Visual artist Helio Fervenza teaches at the art institute of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Art in Porto Alegre. His works have been presented at the Venice Biennale art shows, in Sao Paulo and Amsterdam. Like so many artists in Brazil, Fervenza is worried about political developments in his native country. He told DW about the significance of art, widening censorship and artʼs responsibility in society. He and his political cronies are not interested in art. But even before that there was little support from the ministry. For
me, art equals access to knowledge about the world, because through the eyes of art you see the world from new perspectives. You become more aware and you see things differently. This kind of art has not been recognized in society, it was a process that took time. Not every type of art gets an immediate reaction, but in the long run, it triggers a new way of thinking in society. So whatʼs happening in Brazil at the moment — the governmentʼs inconsiderate way of dealing with art — is very bad.
Germany approves stripping dual national terrorist fighters of citizenship Germans with dual nationality who join foreign terrorist militias will lose their citizenship in the future, the cabinet decided on Wednesday. "Someone who goes abroad and actually participates in combat operations for a terrorist militia shows that they have turned their back on Germany and its basic values and turned to another foreign power in the form of a terrorist militia," the federal government said in a statement. Read more: Revoking citizenship: How it works across the EU The change to the citizenship law will apply only to adults who have a second nationality. Minors are unaffected. It would also not be applied retroactively, which would violate German case law.
Mercedes-Benz Moscovia car plant opened by Altmaier and Putin in Russia German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier (above right) said on Wednesday that he saw great potential for future cooperation with Russia despite "political differences." "The Russian automotive market continues to be a key market for German car manufacturers. The opening of the first plant of Mercedes-Benz Cars in Russia is a landmark for the commitment of Mercedes-Benz in Russia, but also that of German ventures in Russia overall," Altmaier said. "A successful Russia is also in the interest of a successful Germany," he added.
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78/2019 • 4 April, 2019
Muslim fashion for women exhibition stirs controversy in Germany Muslim head coverings have always been a controversial topic, as they embody so many issues, whether womenʼs rights worldwide or Western prejudice and discrimination against Muslims. Now that the first exhibition dedicated to fashion consciousness of women in Islam is opening at Frankfurtʼs Museum Angwandte Kunst, the debate surrounding headscarves has been rekindled in Germany. Titled "Contemporary Muslim Fashions" and first shown at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco, the exhibition, however, does not aim to answer the numerous political and social questions related to hijabs or burkinis.
West Ham v Liverpool: Manuel Pellegrini wants to help Man City with win West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini wants to get his sideʼs season back on course by beating Liverpool on Monday - and do his old side Manchester City a favour at the same time. Premier League leaders Liverpool are two points clear in the title race but have a game in hand over rivals City, whobeat Arsenal 3-1 on Sunday. Pellegrini won the league in 2014 during a three-year spell at City.
Yoko Onoʼs works on show in Leipzig She is arguably the most hated woman in music history. Yet Yoko Ono is not only John Lennonʼs widow, she also stands alone as an artist. Yoko Ono has over 2,000 square meters (around 21,500 square feet) and three floors of exhibition space in the Leipzig Museum of Fine Arts at her disposal. "Yoko Ono. Peace is Power" is the most extensive retrospective of the Japanese-American artistʼs work in Germany to date. As curator, Onoʼs longtime friend and confidante Jon Hendricks has been on site to ensure that everything is set up in the spirit of the eccentric artist. On display are smaller objects, space-filling installations and sculptures by the 86-year-old Ono. With this one-woman show, the museum is showcasing Onoʼs entire artistic oeuvre since the 1960s. All sorts of media, including films, video works and her solo albums, are included in the exhibition, with rarely shown drawings also on display in Leipzig.
Ryanair joins EUʼs pollution highfliers Ryanair has become the first noncoal company to join Europe’s top 10 carbon emitters. The Irish airliner is "the new coal," one expert said.
Low-budget airlineRyanairwas the EUʼs ninth-highest corporate carbon emitter in 2018, according to research by think tank Transport and Environment (T&E) and based on data from the EUʼs emissions trading system registry. The Irish company, which transports 130 million people a year, declared 9.9
megatons of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in 2018, up 6.9 percent on 2017 and up 49 percent since 2013. Read more: Being a pilot isnʼt what it used to be This makes it the first corporate without holdings in coal-fired power plants to enter the EUʼs top 10 most emitting firms.
Legendary music producer Giorgio Moroder announces his first ever live tour in Europe Hailed by many as the Godfather of Disco or even the very founder of electronic dance music, at 78 years young of age the multi Academy Award and Grammy Award winning Moroder is embarking on a 15-city European tour in April and May 2019. The tour production entitled A Celebration of the 80’s will see the pioneering Italian songwriter, producer and DJ perform the highlights from his prolific career in a spectacular stage show with dazzling visuals and lighting alongside his band and vocalists. The Hungarian audience will see this production on 15th May, 2019 in Papp László Budapest Sportaréna, organized by Broadway Event and Multimedia Organisa-
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tion. Moroder has been a major influence in the music industry for over 55 years, starting in 1963. He was the first to put dance music to a repetitive percussive beat and to abandon the laws of harmony and put the synthesizer central to his music. He first gained recognition in the 70s with both his own music and his productions for Donna Summer (“I Feel Love”, “On the Radio” and “Love to Love You Baby”, “Hot Stuff” among others). This led to a string of other collaborations with big names like Cher (“Bad Love”), Blondie (“Call Me”), David Bowie (“Cat People”), Debbie Harry (“Rush Rush”), Freddie Mercury (“Love Kills”), Bonnie Tyler (“Here She Comes”), and Pat Benatar (“Here’s My Heart”).
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Germanyʼs FlixBus in talks to buy intercity competitor Eurolines FlixBus, which offers low-cost intercity bus travel across Europe, is negotiating to buy its smaller competitor Eurolines. French transport group Transdev, which owns Eurolines, and the Munich-based Flixbus confirmed on Monday that exclusive talks were underway, without disclosing the financial details. Eurolines, whose network spans 25 countries, operates French domestic routes under the Isilines brand, which would be part of the possible deal. "With this merger, FlixBus would have an even more comprehensive and more diverse offer to attract even more passengers. We want to be the first choice for travelers across Europe," Flixbus managing director Jochen Engert said.
Outcry in Uganda over compulsory HIV test 19-year-old Methia Nalukwago, a student at Makerere University in the capital Kampala, is excited by the proposal to have all students undergo compulsory HIV/AIDS testing. Some students, she says, have been living in denial. "Our friends, we study with them but you look at someone and you are like, ʼare you sure you are not sick or something like that?ʼ Of course you never come out to tell them but you feel it deep down inside you, this person must be sick because of the symptoms that show," Nalukwago told DW. "Compulsory testing for HIV will help us know our HIV status and where we stand." Studies conducted by the Ugandan AIDS Commission show lack of sufficient information among the youth is contributing to an increase of HIV. Jane Were, the head teacher of Forest Hill College in Mukono district located 21 kilometers (13 miles) east of Kampala, said they are grappling with HIV in schools. She said the situation has been made worse by parents who mislead their children on what they are actually suffering from. "We have situations where parents lie to students about these [anti-retroviral] drugs. There are parents who tell children they have other ailments other than HIV," Were said.