DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
UK confirms participation in EU elections in May Despite talks with the opposition Labour Party to try to find an allianceto get the Brexit withdrawal agreement through Parliament, British Prime Minister Theresa Mayʼs deputy David Lidington conceded on Tuesday there was not enough time left to get the deal through the assembly. "It is regrettably not going to be possible to finish that process" before May 23, Lidington said in a statement, promising to make the delay "as short as possible." May deeply regretted the move, her spokesman said. This means that the UK will have to take partin European Parliament elections, which will take place from May 23 to 26. "Ideally, weʼd like to be in a situation where those MEPs never actually have to take their seat in the European Parliament - certainly, to get this done and dusted by the summer recess in the British parliament," he added. This would probably be in late July.
South Africaʼs white far-right outcasts are finding friends on Facebook "We see ourselves as African. This is the continent of our birth after which the Afrikaners named themselves. We can only survive on the southern tip of Africa sustainably," says Kallie Kriel, the CEO of AfriForum, a right-wing Afrikaner lobby group. Not long after he made this comment in an interview with DW, AfriForum ended up in court. It was there to defend the use of the old South African flag – the groupʼs members sometimes display the orange, white and blue flag that dates back to the time when South Africa was under brutal apartheid rule. The Nelson Mandela Foundation wants to see the old flag banned for good on the grounds that its display is a form of hate speech. AfriForum says that any attempts to ban the flag will impinge on freedom of expression.
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US Secretary of State Pompeo cancels meeting with Merkel at short notice He was scheduled to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo abruptly called off a visit to Berlin, citing "pressing issues."
ʼGrand Theft Europeʼ - reports tax fraudsters stealing millions from governments The so-called "VAT carousels" enable criminal gangs to steal millions from the state. This type of graft is hitting Germany particularly hard. A new report published on Tuesday revealed a €50 billion ($56 million) tax fraud scheme that has been gathering steam in Europe for years – and Germany is both the biggest victim and enabler of the EUʼs massive "VAT carousel" racket, according to the authors. Reporters from 30 countries working for the Germannonprofit investigative newsroom Cor-
rektivdiscovered the massive graft by following one fraudster up the ladder of the continent-wide criminal gang. The scheme resolves around the trade of goods such as cars and mobile phones and even uses other high-cost items such as CO2 emissions certificates. Taking advantage of each European country having a different value added tax (VAT), the criminals move the goods from one EU member state to another, claiming back millions in tax reimbursements that they never paid or earned in the first place.
Collective push against climate change more powerful than youʼd think Peter Kalmus sits outside Californiaʼs Pasadena City Hall in his electric car. His sons, aged 10 and 12, are on steps of the grand building, waving signs with the slogans: "School strike for climate" and "Adults, act like it!" Kalmusʼ Tesla is just the kind of luxury youʼd expect a climate scientist at NASAʼs jet propulsion laboratory to have. But he doesnʼt exactly live a
lavish lifestyle. Actually, he says, he usually cycles. He hasnʼt been on a plane since 2012, and he eats a vegetarian diet. As someone who works in climate science, Kalmus feels thereʼs no excuse not to reduce his carbon footprint. "This is an urgent crisis," he says. "Those of us who understand that should act like itʼs an urgent crisis."
Gigantic Druzhba oil pipeline paralyzed for weeks Germany has a serious problem with Russia, its largest energy supplier. For two weeks,the Druzhba (Russian for "friendship") pipeline has been blocked. It is the main route to supply Europeʼs leading economy with Russian oil. Even during Soviet times, the former East Germany was supplied by it as were other communist "brother countries." But as of April 25, todayʼs EU members Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic can no longer get oil from the Druzhba pipeline. Warsaw, Budapest and Prague have already had to tap into their emergency reserves. The problem is technical. According to information from Moscow, heavily polluted oil has entered the pipeline probably in the Samara region on the Volga. This oil contains chlorides, which are used to extract oil from largely exhausted sources. But afterwards the chlorides have to be removed, because they can cause severe corrosion damage in refineries.
Trump invites Hungaryʼs Viktor Orban to White House Trump and Orban will meet at the White House for the first time on May 13 for talks on security and trade. Both leaders have taken tough anti-immigration stances and been criticized for policies viewed as antiMuslim. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbanwill meet with US President Donald Trump next week, the White House announced on Tuesday. During the May 13 meeting, the two leaders "will discuss ways to deepen cooperation on a range of issues, including trade, energy, and cyber security," the White House said in a statement.
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104/2019 • 8 May, 2019
Chinese investments in EU in a downward spin
Porsche fined 535 million euros over diesel scandal
Chinese investments in the European Union fell sharply for the second consecutive year in 2018, a report by the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) and US consulting firm Rhodium Group showed. Chinese companies completed FDI deals worth €17.3 billion ($19.6 billion) last year, down 40 percent from 2017 levels and way below the record €37.2 billion investment seen in 2016. The decline is part of a trend that has seen Chinese investments fall in most regions of the world over the past two years as Beijing continues to maintain a tight grip on outward investment by its residents amid slowing economic growth and atrade war with the United States. Chinese investors have also been forced to back away by "growing political and regulatory backlash against Chinese capital around the globe,"the authors of the report,Thilo Hanemann, Agatha Kratz and Mikko Huotari, wrote. "This shift in attitudes has been remarkably rapid in Europe," they said.
German prosecutors have levied a huge fine on carmaker Porsche for dereliction of duty in the emissionscheating scandal that has engulfed parent company Volkswagen.
Monte Carlo Masters: Fabio Fognini beats Dusan Lajovic in final talyʼs Fabio Fognini won a Masters 1000 event for the first time with a straight-sets victory over Dusan Lajovic at the Monte Carlo Masters. Fognini, 31, beat Serbiaʼs Lajovic 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 38 minutes. World number 18 Fognini entered the Monte Carlo Masters on a five-match losing streak but beat Alexander Zverev, Borna Coric and 11-time winner Rafael Nadal en route to the final. "It was really tough, Dusan played an unbelievable week," Fognini said. Lajovic made the better start, breaking Fogniniʼs serve early on but the Italian fought back, breaking twice to take a 4-2 lead in the opening set.
German carmaker and Volkswagen (VW) subsidiary Porsche was ordered to pay a €535 million ($598 million) fine on Tuesday for its part in the "Dieselgate" scandal. It is the latest in a host of fines against VW for the use of software to hide the true level of harmful emissions by diesel cars. Prosecutors in Stuttgart said the carmaker had "abstained from a legal challenge" against the decision. The Dieselgate scandal erupted in 2015 when VW admitted to manipulating
11 million cars globally to cheat emissions tests. Thousands of investors are suing the company over losses they suffered when news of the scandal broke. Hundreds of thousands of car owners are also demanding compensation in the US and other countries. In a statement, Porsche said the cost of the fine was included in a provision of around €1 billion booked by VW in the first quarter. Dieselgate has so far cost the car giant around €30 billion.
Asthma: When breathing becomes difficult For many of those affected, asthma is a lifelong burden. It leads to inflammations with attacks of coughing, breathlessness, dyspnea and whistling breathing. Asthmabegins with an inflammation in the lungs. The airways inside the lungs swell up, obstructing the airflow, which impedes gas exchange in the lungs. Especially exhaling becomes difficult for patients. Carbondioxide-enriched air in the lungs can
no longer be properly discharged. The patients feel difficulty in breathing while the stimulus — the desire to get fresh oxygen into the lungs — becomes stronger and stronger. However, when they inhale, they cannot ventilate the lungs properly because the stale air in the lungs has not been completely released yet. This leads to dyspnea, a vicious circle which the patients can only break out of through conscious and calm exhalation excercises.
Múzeum+ February 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 Englishlanguage 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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ITB Berlin tourism partner Malaysia claims it has ʼno gaysʼ Malaysia faces a potential backlash from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) rights groups after claiming that the Muslim-majority country doesnʼt have gays. On Tuesday, Tourism Minister Datuk Mohammaddin bin Ketapi was asked by reporters ahead of the opening of the ITB Berlin tourism fair whether the country was safe for gay and Jewish visitors. After initially sidestepping the question, the minister was asked again whether gays were welcome and he replied: "I donʼt think we have anything like that in our country." Denial could hurt bookings Despite efforts by Malaysian officials to downplay the incident, Ketapiʼs comments could derail attempts to entice more tourists to visit Malaysia. The remarks came after he spoke for several minutes about the countryʼs natural beauty and welcoming culture. The country has set itself a target of receiving 30 million visitors in 2019.
Germany extends ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia Germany announced Wednesday it would extend a temporary ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia until the end of the month. The ban, which Germany instituted followed the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and applies to countries involved in the Yemen war, has led to both domestic and international tension, with Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs government facing pressure from theGerman arms industryand some EU neighbors angered over the export freeze. The ban was originally set to last until March 9. "We decided this [extension] with a view to developments in Yemen," Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said following a meeting of Merkelʼs cabinet. "We believe that the Yemen war must end as soon as possible." "Not only will there not be any permits issued until the end of this month, but products with permits already granted will also not be delivered," Maas added.