DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
EU sued by human rights lawyers over migrant deaths A group of lawyers have asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open a case against the European Unionover its migration policy, according to a request submitted on Monday. Although ICC prosecutors are already gathering evidence about crimes against refugees in Libya, the document goes a step further by arguing that the EU and member states are also largely to blame for migrant deaths on land and at sea. What are the allegations against the EU? In a 243-page document that was shared with international news outlets, the lawyers outlined several EU actions to deter migration which they argue have violated human rights, including: The start of the Triton operation in the Mediterranean in 2014, which scaled back sea rescues and created large zones off the Libyan coast without any rescue capacities.The persecution of NGO sea rescue groups by Italy and other member states.
Canada: Deaths of indigenous women were ʼgenocideʼ A 1,200-page report was released Monday detailing a Canadian government inquiry into thousands of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. It concluded that the deaths and disappearances of the women in recent decades constituted a "national genocide." The report, titled"Reclaiming Power and Place," was the result of a national inquiry commissioned by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016. It was presented during a ceremony in Gatineau, Quebec, near the Canadian capital, Ottawa. The ceremony was attended by Trudeau, along with some of the hundreds of family members of those missing or murdered. "Calls for justice are not mere recommendations or optional suggestions, they are legal imperatives," said the inquiryʼs chief commissioner, Marion Buller.
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Swedish court rejects detention request for Julian Assange Charlie Beckett: Assange Arrest a ‘terrible message’ to the world
The ruling complicates the process for Swedish prosecutors to request the WikiLeaks founderʼs extradition. Assangeʼs lawyer has called it a "big victory" as his client tries to clear his name over rape accusations.
Malaysiaʼs Mahathir rekindles gold standard debate The Malaysian leader has proposed a gold-pegged common trading currency for East Asia. Experts say returning to the gold standard is easier said than done, especially when the motive is more political than economic. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has suggested that East Asia should consider a common trading currency backed by gold, saying the current foreign exchange system tied to the US dollar was prone to manipulation. The Malaysian leader said
the currency could be used for regional trade and would not be used for domestic transactions. "In the Far East if you want to come together, we should start with a common trading currency, not to be used locally but for the purpose of settling of trade," Mahathir said at the Future of Asia conference in Tokyo."At the moment we have to depend upon the US dollar but the US dollar is also not stable. So the currency that we propose should be based on gold because gold is much more stable," he said.
Psychology: A happy partner is the elixir of longer life When your partner is content, you can be sure of pleasant company. But not only that — a study suggests when your partnerʼs happy, you live longer too. So whatʼs to do if you live with a sourpuss? Imagine these two types: One happy, one not. First: The archetypal couch potato. He only ever gets up to smoke a cigarette, because he has to go outside. And when he eats, itʼs a pre-packed TV dinner. Why? Heʼs unhappy. Everything annoys
him: His job, his friends, life in general. Second: Mr. Positive. He loves the outdoors, likes to meet up with friends, and heʼs always enthusiastic about new things. He loves his life. He says life is beautiful. You can be one or the other, or somewhere inbetween. Either way, in a relationship, the happiness or unhappiness of one person will sooner or later rub off on the other — potentially with farreaching consequences.
Protesters shot, killed as Sudan police try to disperse sit-in A doctorʼs committee associated with the protesters said at least thirteen people have been killed in Sudan on Monday as the governing military council tries to enda long-running demonstrationin front of their headquarters in the capital Khartoum. Protest organizers said that security forces were using live rounds to disperse the sit-in. Footage broadcast broadcast by Arabic television stations showed people fleeing through the streets as sustained bursts of gunfire crackled through the air. People rushed to carry away those who had been hit, the footage showed. UK Ambassador Irfan Siddiq said that he could hear "heavy gunfire" from his residence. Organizers, such as the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), called for rallies in the wake of the deaths. Later, the SPA confirmed that they had cut all contact with the military, saying: "We declare a moratorium on all political contact with the military junta and stopped the negotiation."
Trio to provisionally lead Germanyʼs Social Democrats Manuela Schwesig, Malu Dreyer and Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel, the three vice presidents of Germanyʼs centerleft Social Democrats (SPD), are set to lead the party on an interim basis untila successor to Andrea Nahlesas party leader is elected. Schwesig and Dreyer are the state premiers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Rhineland-Palatinate respectively, while Schäfer-Gümbel is the leader of the opposition SPD faction in the Hesse state parliament. The SPD is not due to elect a new party leader until Decemberʼs party conference.
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127/2019 • 4 June, 2019
Last known survivor of Sobibor Nazi death camp uprising dies at 96 The last known survivor of the Nazi extermination camp Sobibor died aged 96 on Monday. Semion Rosenfeld was born in Ukraine and was a Jewish soldier held in captivity at thedeath camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. Rosenfeld passed away in Israel, where he had lived in a retirement home with the support of the the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency. The head of the organization, Isaac Herzog, said he was "very sad" about the death of Rosenfeld, who he described as a "true hero". "Semion fought the Nazis as part of the Red Army and was then sent to the Sobibor death camp as a prisoner of war, where he encountered death every day until the famous rebellion," Herzog said. Rosenfeld escaped following an uprising by prisoners at the camp.The revolt became legendary as nearly 300 Sobibor prisoners, Rosenfeld among them, staged a breakout in October 1943. However, almost 170 were subsequently caught by the Nazis and shot dead. Rosenfeld took refuge in the forest until the spring of 1944, when he began fighting once more for the Red Army.
Mesut Özil breaks Ramadan fast with Erdogan Arsenal midfielder and former German national team player Mesut Özil came under fire on social media on Sunday after having a Ramadan iftar meal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Özil and his fiancee, Amine Gülse, were Erdoganʼs guests at the event in Istanbul ahead of Turkeyʼs Youth and Sports Day. Photographs showed Özil and Gülse sitting on either side of Erdogan at the Dolmabahce Palace, which was once the administrative heart of the Ottoman Empire.
British retailer Tesco scales down in Poland Britain’s biggest supermarket chain Tesco has announced the closure of four hypermarkets and a distribution center in Poland. A ban on Sunday trading and growth of discounters has hit the retailerʼs bottom line. Tesco said it would close four supermarkets in Poland as sales in the Eastern EU member continue to disappoint. The stores, two in the south (Nowy Sacz and Ruda Slaska) and two in the north (Starogard Gdanski and Olsztyn) and one of Tescoʼs three Polish distribution centers, in Poznan, will close this year. The warehouse in Komorniki near Poznan was set up only in 2016, delivering products to almost 120 Tesco outlets in western and northern Poland.Tesco said last August it
planned to shut 13 loss-making stores in the country, putting about 2,200 jobs at risk.Poland is Tescoʼs second biggest overseas market after Thailandby store numbers. But problems in recent years have forced the company to simplify management structures, reduce store administration and close unprofitable outlets.For example, the meat, fish and delicatessen departments will no longer be filled with specialists and the manned staff canteens and restaurants will also close.
Artificial intelligence creates perfumes without being able to smell them Noses are overrated: In June, a perfume created by a computer system will be launched on the Brazilian market. The artificial intelligence is called ʼPhilyraʼ - and its developers and users agree on one thing: It is female. "I spent a lot of time with her and see the programme as a ʼsheʼ, that makes it easier,"perfumer David Apel says jokingly. But of course artificial intelligence has neither consciousness nor gender. Itʼs just a computer system, a network of artificial neurons, created to store, process, and recom-
bine large amounts of data. It canʼt smell or analyse fragrances in the air. Nevertheless, Philyra is the new employee at fragrance manufacturer Symrise in New York. "I trained her and now sheʼs training me," says Apel, who has worked as a perfumer for 39 years. Philyraʼs artificial intelligence was developed through cooperation between Symrise and IBM Research.At Dia dos Namorados on June 12, Brazilian Valentineʼs Day, Philyraʼs first creation hits the market. The perfume is aimed at millennials, people born in the 1980s or 1990s.
Múzeum+ at Museum of Fine Arts The February edition of monthly event series Múzeum+ is being held on the 14th at the Museum of Fine Arts. For each of these events, besides interactive workshops and concerts, an English-language guided tour also features. This time the theme is German Renaissance Art, starting at 7pm. For the complete schedule, check the museum website.
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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.
Airbnb cuts listings in Israeli West Bank settlements Home-rental platform Airbnb announced Monday it would no longer offer its service in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, drawing an angry response from Israel. Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War, but most countries consider the Jewish settlements there to be illegal. The company said in a statement the decision would affect about 200 properties "in the occupied West Bank that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians." "Our hope is that someday sooner rather than later, a framework is put in place where the entire global community is aligned so there will be a resolution to this historic conflict and a clear path forward for everybody to follow," it added. Palestinian and human rights groups had long called on Airbnb to remove the settlement listings from its site. Waleed Assraf, head of a Palestinian anti-settlement group welcomed the development, saying if more companies followed it would "contribute to achieving peace." Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin condemned the move as "the most wretched of wretched capitulations to the boycott efforts." "Our ministry has started to prepare immediate measures to limit Airbnbʼs activities" in Israel, he said, adding that the government was prepared to back lawsuits launched by affected property owners against Airbnb in US courts.