101/2019 • 4 MAY, 2019 WEEKEND ISSUE
DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
UKʼs big two suffer Brexit backlash in local elections Voters in England appeared to have punished both UK Prime Minister Theresa Mayʼs Conservative Party and the Labour opposition, as local council election results emerged on Friday. Both parties, which pledged to carry out Brexit in their 2017 election manifestos, appeared to have suffered badly, with most council results declared. While the Conservatives lost by far the most seats, shedding more than 500 local councilors, Labour dropped more than 70 when they had been hoping to make gains at the Conservativesʼ expense.
European Court of Justice rules Polish arrest warrants can be halted The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled against extraditing suspects to Poland on Wednesday if there are "serious and factbased grounds" to believe the suspect would not receive a fair trial. The ruling concernsa Polish man in Irelandwho claims recent justice reforms in Poland harmed his chances of being treated fairly. The man is suspected of drug trade. In recent years, Polandʼs ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has been working to place courts under a tighter control of the executive branch. Among other steps, the parliament now has power to choose members of the National Council of the Judiciary whose job is to oversee judicial impartiality. More recently, the lawmakers changed retirement age for the Supreme Court judges, which critics believe was aimed at ousting the most experienced judges and stacking the body with government supporters. The Supreme Court and its chief Malgorzata Gersdorf are opposing the move.
Hungaryʼs Orban inches closer to Salvini-led anti-migrant EU bloc Orbanʼs Fidesz could need new allies after EU vote
Hungaryʼs Viktor Orban has sent his clearest signal yet that his party may split with Europeʼs main conservative group and join an anti-immigrant, nationalist bloc led by Italyʼs Matteo Salvini in the EU Parliament.
Geely the car industryʼs rising ʼprofitability starʼ Ferdinand Dudenhöffer from the CAR Center Automotive Research at Germanyʼs Duisburg-Essen University called Chinese auto manufacturer Geely "the profitability star of the worldʼs car industry." A fresh study by the center points out that on average, a Geely car costs just €9,529 ($10,942), but the companysecures a 14.4 percent profit from revenues before tax and interest. Dudenhöffer says thatʼs a lot more than, say, the profit margins of foreign rivals BMW, Toyota or PSA-Opel. The worldʼs largest carmaker, Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen, logs a profit margin of only 8.2 percent, the survey says.
Geely is part of the Zhejiang Geely Holding,which also owns Volvo Cars, London EV-Taxi and Lotus.The holding has also acquired a 10 percent stake in Daimler. According to the CAR researchers, Geelyʼs rapid rise is based on its successful compact car platform, which it developed together with Sweden-based Volvo. "What Ferdinand Piëch managed to implement at VW from 1993 with the help of his platform strategyis in a way being copied now by Geelyʼs main shareholder and founder, Li Shufu," said Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, adding that the Chinese were becoming major players in the global auto market.
Donald Trump to present Tiger Woods with Presidential Medal of Freedom Fifteen-time major winner Tiger Woods will be presented with Americaʼs highest civilian honour by President Donald Trump in Washington next week. The 43-year-old, who won theMasters at Augustain April, will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony on Monday, 6 May. American Woods overcame persistent injury problems - including four back operations culminating in fusion surgery in April 2017 - to win his first major title for 11 years with a one-shot victory at Augusta. Trump had alreadyrevealed in a tweet last
monththat Woods was to receive the honour following his performance at the Masters. The Presidential Medal of Freedom, introduced by John F Kennedy in 1963, recognises "individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the security or national interests of America, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavours". Woods is the fourth golfer to receive the accolade, after Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and the PGA Tourʼs first black player, Charlie Sifford. Billie Jean King and Michael Jordan are among other athletes to win the award.
North Korea food rations hit record low level after poor harvest: United Nations North Korea is experiencing one of its most severe food crises in years following the worst harvests in decades, caused by dry spells, heat waves and flooding, the UN said on Friday. The World Food Programme (WFP) said the North Korean government had reduced rations to their lowest level ever for this time of year. People were receiving just 300 grams (less than 11 ounces) per day, down from 360 grams per day at the same time last year.
Cyclone Fani hits Indiaʼs east coast after huge evacuation operation Tropical Cyclone Fanimade landfall on the coast of the Indian state of Odishaat around 8 a.m. local time (0330 UTC) on Friday, with forecasters predicting that the storm would cause widespread devastation. The storm is the fiercest in the region since a 1999 cyclone that killed some 10,000 people in Odisha. Winds brought by the cyclone were reportedly gusting at up to 205 kilometers (127 miles) per hour when it made landfall.
weather today BUDAPEST
8 / 15 °C Precipitation: 0 mm
101/2019 • 4 May, 2019 Weekend issue
Donʼt expose babies to electronic screens, says WHO Children under 12 months old should not be exposed to electronic screens at all, according to the World Health Organization. Parents were urged to ensure kids get enough exercise to encourage good habits later in life. Infants less than a year old should not be exposed to electronic screens, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. Issuing its first such guidelines, the United Nations health agency said that older children, aged two to four, should be limited to one hour per day sedentary screen time. The guidelines also covered sleep and exercise. Among the findings were that: Infants under one should interact in floor-based play — or "tummy time" — for at least an hour each day and avoid all screens.Children between one and four should spend at least three hours in a variety of physical activities spread across the day, with no more than an hour of screen time.Children shouldn’t be restrained in a pram or high chair, or strapped to someoneʼs back, for more than an hour at a time. The WHO said under-fives should be physically active and getting plenty of sleep, under-fives would establish healthy habits through adolescence and into adulthood.
Diamond League Doha: Dina Asher-Smith wants to avoid World Championships hiccup
Novak Djokovic through in Australian Open after beating Daniil Medvedev World number one Novak Djokovic reached the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time since 2016 with a hard-fought win over Daniil Medvedev.
The 31-year-old Serb earned a 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3 victory over the 15th seed in Melbourne. Djokovic was not at his fluent best, but outlasted Medvedev to win in three hours and 15 minutes. Russiaʼs Medvedev, 22, grew frustrated as he paid the price for only taking two of nine break points. Medvedevʼs resistance continued until the end, saving two match points before Djokovic took the third with a wonderful cross-court winner. Six-time cham-
pion Djokovic will play Kei Nishikori in the last eight after theJapanese eighth seed beat Spainʼs Pablo Carreno Bustain controversial circumstances in a five-hour match decided by a super tie-break. Another triumph for the top seed at Melbourne Park will see him move ahead of Australian great Roy Emerson and Roger Federer, who was knocked out by Greek youngster Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday, in terms of all-time victories.
Why nightingales love scruffy Berlin Although itʼs not an urban species, the little bird with the big voice seems to thrive in Germanyʼs hectic capital. As a beautiful April evening draws to a close, a small group of people are wandering through BerlinʼsTiergarten park in search of some music. They donʼt have to venture far to find what theyʼre looking for. Male nightingales, recently returned from Africa, are singing at full pitch. "Listen, itʼs a battle rap," says
ornithologist Kim Mortega, describing the sing-off between two males trying to attract female attention. For the six weeks the males are in town, and filling the night air with their catchy compositions, Mortega leads natural history museumorganized night excursions to hear them. Some want to see the birds close up, others just want to hear their love songs. As for the birds, their astonishingly rich repertoire has a single purpose: to find a partner and mate.
Panda bears eat bamboo. We all know that. But we also all know that bears are meat eaters. A new study indicates the panda bearsʼ change of diet from meat to bamboo isnʼt as puzzling as it would appear on first glance. Like you or perhaps one of your vegetarian friends, panda bears are biologically classified as meat eaters despite their plant-based diets. The panda bear, although historically a carnivore, has long sustained itself mainly off bamboo. But unlike you or one of your vegetarian friends, panda bears didn’t watch a documentary one day and decide to ban meat from their diets for ethical or health reasons. So how did it happen? When, and why, did the bears abruptly stop eating meat and start eating plants instead? These questions, which have occupied the minds of scientists since China began loaning its bears to Western zoos after the Communist Revolution, were misguided, according to a May 2 study conducted in the Shaanxi province of China andreported in Current Biology. Previously, instead of basing their understanding of the evolution of the pandaʼs diet on nutrient consumption, scientists focused on "carnivore" and "herbivore" diet classifications, which are based solely on the type of food or energy, rather than nutrients, consumed.
Afghan leader rejects resignation of spy chief, top ministers
European sprint-double champion Dina Asher-Smith will use Fridayʼs opening Diamond League event in Doha to avoid any "curveballs" when she returns for Septemberʼs World Championships. The Briton, 23, is looking to build on her 2018 success, when she won 100m gold in Berlin, then became the first British woman to run under 22 seconds in taking the 200m European title. "I want to have a dry run," she said. "Itʼs a chance to be inside the stadium and experience the climate."
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Panda bears: Not as mysterious as we once thought
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President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday urged Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak, Defense Minister Tareq Shah Bahrami, and intelligence chief Masoum Stanekzai to stay in their posts, the Afghan government said. The three officials submitted resignation letters on Saturday, citing policy differences and a spate of deadly attacks. "President Ghani did not approve their resignations... and gave them the necessary instructions to improve the security situation," a statement from the presidential palace said. The offers to step down followed the resignation of Ghaniʼs national security adviser and close ally, Hanif Atmar, on Friday. Atmar, one of the countryʼs most powerful politicians, has been replaced by former ambassador to the US Hamdullah Mohib.