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;
122/2019 • 29 MAY, 2019
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
122/2019 • 29 May, 2019
Merkel kicks off West Africa tour pledging support in fight against terrorism German Chancellor Angela Merkel started her tour of West Africa on Wednesday, a trip that will see her visit Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger for key talks over the next three days. The bulk of Merkelʼs visit will focus on security andsupporting counterterrorism efforts in the restive Sahel region. "In the last few years, this region has become the main focus of Germanyʼs Africa policy," Merkelʼs spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a video prior to departure. "The number of terror attacks, the number of Islamist terror attacks, is increasing," he added. Burkina Fasoʼs President Roch Marc Christian Kabore will greet the chancellor when she arrives in the capital, Ouagadougou, on Wednesday evening. She will then attend a regional meeting with the leaders of the so-called G5 Sahel countries — which include Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Chad.
Chris Coleman: Ex-Wales manager sacked by Hebei China Fortune
Merkel, Macron at odds over top European Commission job Ahead of a summit to discuss EU election results, the French and German leaders have disagreed over how to choose the next European Commission president. Emmanuel Macron has said the process should not be automatic. Speaking ahead of a special EU summit, Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany still favors choosing the top candidate from the winning party of Sundayʼs EU elections as the next president of the European Commission. EU leaders are set to meet in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the outcome of the blocwide vote and start the nomination process for the
heads of the EU institutions. On Monday evening, Merkel said EU leaders should make the decisions quickly. "We want to find a solution as soon as possible given that the European Parliament will convene at the start of June and it is naturally desirable if by that time we have a proposal from the European Council," she told a news conference.
Rock star with a camera Musician Lenny Kravitz took time out from his "Raise Vibration" concert tour to open his photography exhibition, called "Drifter," at the Leica Gallery in the German town of Wetzlar. Lenny Kravitzʼs first camera was his dadʼs Leicaflex. Seymour Kravitz was a photojournalist who had covered the Vietnam War. He gave his camera to his son when he turned 21. Lenny Kravitz quickly discovered his love for photography. "I used to play with my dadʼs Leica camera, but had no idea how to use
it. I was attracted to the camera and the design," he said. Later, as a star, he became friends with photographers such as Mark Seliger and Jean-Baptiste Mondino. "I would go into their darkroom or studio and watch them work. I thought it was magical." The idea to turn his hobby into something more professional was born when he one day pulled out his camera at a red carpet function and simply started taking pictures, too. The photos were so good that Lenny Kravitz launched a book and held his first exhibition, "Flash," in 2015.
Former Wales manager Chris Coleman has been sacked by Hebei China Fortune, the club he took over 11 months ago. Hebei are one place off the bottom of the Chinese Super League with only one win in nine games this season. The club confirmed Colemanʼs departure in a social media post. It stated: "After friendly negotiation and agreement reached between the two parties, with immediate effect, Mr Chris Coleman will no longer serve as head coach."
Elegant Café Párisi breathes new life into Budapest’s splendid Lotz Hall Café Párisi is on the top floor of the building, with theAndrássy Entertainment Centreand, from tomorrow, an Avatar exhibition below. The café is open every day and the Lotz Hall can be rented for special events such as birthday parties, company gatherings or a fairy-tale wedding. Café Párisi Address: District VI. Andrássy út 39 Open: Daily 9am-9pm
Hotel Azúr Prémium H-8600 Siófok, Erkel Ferenc u. 2/c. Telephone: 06 86 501 450 premium@hotelazur.hu http://www.hotelazur.hu/hu/premium
Published by: Mega Media Kft. 1075 Budapest, Madách I. út 13-14. +36 1 398 0344 www.hotelujsag.hu
Merger between T-Mobile and Sprint on the line The $26.5 billion (€23 billion) merger,announced last April, would combine the United Statesʼ third and fourth largest wireless companies, creating a new firm the size of sector rivals Verizon andAT&T. It would also reduce the number of major carriers in the US from four to three. T-Mobileʼs German parent,Deutsche Telekom would take 42 percent of the new entity and Japanʼs SoftBank, owner of Sprint, 27 percent, with the rest held by the public. The combined company, to be called T-Mobile, would have 127 million customers. But the deal must get the green light from US federal regulators. A hearing before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday — Thursdayʼs scheduled meeting before the House Committee on the Judiciary was postponed — didnʼt have a direct bearing on the governmentʼs regulatory review. But optics matter and they can help or hinder in the final decision-making process.
Facebook, Instagram ban British far-right figure Tommy Robinson Facebook has taken harsh measures against British far-right personality Tommy Robinson, banning him from its platforms and closing his Facebook page and Instagram profile. Robinson is said to have violated Facebookʼs "community standards" by promoting "organized hate" and other prohibited behavior. Specifically, the company noted in a statement that Robinsonʼs pages had repeatedly broken its standards by "posting material that uses dehumanizing language and calls for violence targeted at Muslims." "This is not a decision we take lightly, but individuals and organizations that attack others on the basis of who they are have no place on Facebook or Instagram," the social media giant said. Antifascist and anti-racist organization Hope Not Hate welcomed the decision, referring to Robinson as "a far-right thug who uses his platform to bully, abuse and stir up division."