DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Leaders pay respects to D-Day soldiers in Portsmouth Leaders from 16 nations, including the United States and Germany, gathered in the UK naval base of Portsmouth to mark the 75 years since D-Day. The ceremony on Wednesday also involved some300 surviving veteransof the 1944 Normandy landings. While paying his respects in Portsmouth, US President Donald Trump read out excerpts of a prayer which President Franklin Roosevelt delivered to the nation on June 6, 1944. "Almighty God, our sons, pride of our nation, this day, have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion and our civilization and to set free a suffering humanity," Trump read. The eventʼs host, British Prime Minister Theresa May, said that soldiersʼ "solidarity and determination" defending freedom "remains a lesson to us all."
Berlin takes a new approach to the Three Seas Initiative The three bodies of water in question are the Baltic, the Adriatic and the Black seas. In 2015, Poland and Croatia called together the Three Seas Initiative, a loose group of 12 EU member states in the eastern sector of the bloc. It stretches from Estonia in the north, to Croatia in the south, and extends east to Romania and Bulgaria. What these countries have in common is that they are all members of the European Union, and all of them, with the exception of Austria, joined in 2004. Their aim is to strengthen cooperation, especially in the areas of infrastructure, energy, and security. Members not only feelphysically threatened by Russia— they also want to become more independent of it regarding their energy supply. The 12 countries also feel that their concerns are getting short shrift in Brussels.
129/2019 • 6 JUNE, 2019
Manfred Weber reelected leader of conservative EPP in European Parliament France still opposes his aim of becoming European Commission president
The German lawmaker has negotiated a minor hurdle in his bid for Europeʼs top job. But France still opposes his aim of becoming European Commission president. German MEP Manfred Weberhas been reelected as leader of the center-right European Peopleʼs Party (EPP) bloc in the European Parliament. The EPP said 156 of its 160 European parliamentarians meeting in Brussels Wednesday had returned Weber as leader of their group. Four ballot papers were spoiled, said a EPP spokesman. The bloc is the largest in the European assembly with 179 seats despite losing 40 mandates following last monthʼs European election. Weber is also seeking to replace JeanClaude Juncker as president of the European Commission. He currently needs the support of at least two further parliamentary groups to muster the 376 votes required in the 751seat Parliament. The conservatives together with the center-left S&D bloc, the liberal ALDE and the Greens could muster 504 seats. But, the S&D has already tapped as its nominee Dutch social democrat Franz Timmermans, one of the blocʼs Brexit negotiators, who last monthfaced Weber in a televised debate. And, the liberals could back Margrethe Vestager, who as European commissioner and regulator from Denmark has in the pasttaken on US internet giants. A package of
four top EU appointments could emerge at a June 20-21 summit if the 28 EU leaders reach a consensus on procedures and nominees, which would also hinge on an EU parliamentary majority. French President Emmanuel Macron, who has so far refused to back Weber, was visited on Monday by Annegret KrampKarrenbauer, the successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel as chair of Germanyʼs Christian Democrats. Kramp-Karrenbauer has publicly backed Weberʼs call for EU activities to be solely focused in Brussels instead of commuting to-and-fro to Strasbourg, the French city on the Rhine river near the border with Germany. Far-right parties looking to use seat gains in the new European Parliament to forge a combined Eurosceptic bloc were dealt a double blow on Wednesday. Reuters reported that both Polandʼs nationalist and Britain Brexit Party had both said they would not join such a grouping. Polandʼs conservative Law and Justice (PiS) leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, objected to pro-Russian stances of Italyʼs Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, Franceʼs National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, and the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Thai parliament elects Prayuth Chan-ocha as prime minister Both houses of Thailandʼs parliament on Wednesday elected Prayuth Chanocha as the countryʼs next prime minister. Prayuth comfortably reached the 375-vote threshold, more than half of the 750-member parliament, needed to win the premiership. Thailandʼs prime minister is chosen in a joint vote of the 500-seat House and the 250-seat Senate, whose members were appointed by the junta. The vote officially restored civilian rule in Thailand after more than five years under the junta leader. The 65-yearold retired general, who was nominated by a military-backed coalition led by the Palang Pracharath party, had been expected to keep his post under a new political system introduced by the junta, which critics say is meant to prolong the military dominance in Thai politics.
Denmark election: Social Democrats on course to win Denmarkʼs Social Democrats won the largest share of the votein the countryʼs parliamentary election on Wednesday, according to exit polls. The center-left party appears to have won crucial support in recent months thanks to its adoption of a a more restrictive immigration policy. Main election results: The Social Democrats won 25.3%. It and other left-wing parties that form the "red bloc" in the Danish parliament are set to win a total of 90 out of 179 seats.
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