DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Romaniaʼs ruling party leader to serve prison sentence for corruption Romaniaʼs Supreme Court on Monday upheld a corruption conviction and a three-and-half-year prison sentence against ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) leader Liviu Dragnea. Dragnea, 56, had appealed the2018 guilty verdict handed down for using his influence to procure fake public jobs for two women, who were actually working for the PSD at the time. He was expected to be imprisoned within 24 hours of the Supreme Court ruling. According to prosecutors, Dragnea intervened from 2008 to 2010, when he was a government official, to keep the women emplyed by his party on the payroll of the family welfare agency. The women admitted working for the party while they received wages from the public agency. He has already been blocked from serving as prime minster because of a prior conviction for vote-rigging, he is considered the countryʼs de facto leader and the true power behind Prime Minister Viorica Dancila.
Attacks on Afghan schools nearly triple, warns UNICEF A sharp rise in attacks on schools in Afghanistan is preventing a generation of children from getting an education, UNICEF reports. Threats from the Taliban and "Islamic State" mean hundreds of schools remain shuttered. Attacks on schools in Afghanistan almost tripled in 2018, the United Nations childrenʼs fund UNICEF warned Tuesday. The number of incidents rose from 68 in 2017 to 192 last year — the first time an increase has been recorded since 2015. "Education is under fire in Afghanistan," UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said. "The senseless attacks on schools; the killing, injury and abduction of teachers;
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Austrian parliament backs no-confidence vote against Chancellor Sebastian Kurz The vote was called by parties on the left
Austrian lawmakers have voted for a motion of no confidence in the government of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. The vote was called by parties on the left, and supported by Kurz’s former far-right coalition partners.
Riesling wine, holding out between pesticides and climate change Climate change, new pests and diseases are threatening Riesling wine. Warmer temperatures are forcing winemakers to increase the use of plant protection methods, namely pesticides. Martin Schömann proudly shows the mix of wild plants growing alongside his vines on the steep slopes of the German wine region of Moselle. Riesling vineyards stretch as far as the eye can see. "Despite being a wine monoculture, we foster biodiversity in the soil," Schömann told DW. "Plants arenʼt the enemy, theyʼre our friends." Schömann was the first
grower in Central Moselle to turn from conventional to organic wine. Wild strawberries, mullein and lemon balm now share the earth, water and nutrients with the vines on his six hectares (15 acres) of land. A glance across the sweeping landscape is all it takes to see that Schömannʼs approach is the exception. His land is surrounded by grey soils that appear devoid of life except row upon row of grapevines. Once the vines sprout their first spring shoots, most winemakers spray them with synthetic pesticides to kill unwanted plants, pests and diseases.
Nets ʼnʼ Lasers: some of our best hopes for mitigating the threat of space debris Space debris is a bit like space itself: We know itʼs up there, but beyond that thereʼs so much we know we donʼt know. The statistics are fun, though, if a little misleading. Itʼs a bit of a safari crunching the numbers, but here goes. Since 1957, the year the Soviet Union sent Sputnik into space, there have been 4,900 space launches. So far so good. In that time we have put 6,600 satellites in orbit
and/or created "an on-orbit population of more than 18,000 tracked objects." Elsewhere, ESA cites "more than 17,000 orbital objects" being tracked and catalogued by the US Space Surveillance Network. And in a third document itʼs 22,000 objects. But you get the idea: Itʼs a lot. Of the 6,600 satellites, 3,600 remain in space, and less than a third (about 1,100) are operational.
Fiat Chrysler proposes 50-50 merger with Renault Fiat Chrysler on Monday confirmed it washolding merger talkswith French carmaker Renault, saying it had made a "transformative" proposal to combine the two companies. The proposed deal, which would create the third-largest automotive group, comes as carmakers the world over face pressure to consolidate in the face of challenges posed by electrification, tougher regulations on emissions and the drive to make connected and autonomous vehicles. In a statement, the Italian auto manufacturer said the merged company would be 50% owned by FCA shareholders and 50% by Renault shareholders. The group would be listed in Paris, New York and Milan, it said. The "broad and complementary brand portfolio would provide full market coverage, from luxury to mainstream", the statement said, adding that the deal would save the two carmakers €5 billion ($5.6 billion) a year.
100-year-old German woman elected to town council Centenarian Lisel Heise has secured a spot on the town council in a small village in western Germany. A passionate swimmer, she decided to stand for election in part to reopen the local swimming pool. Lisel Heise, a 100-year-old former teacher, has been elected to the town council in Kirchheimbolanden, a town of 8,000 residents in the western German state of Rhineland Palatinate. Heise, part of a local grassroots group called Wir für Kibo (roughly, We for Kirchheimbolanden), got the most votes in Sundayʼs local election. She will serve as the groupʼs faction spokeswoman in parliament.
weather today BUDAPEST
10 / 21 °C Precipitation: 1 mm