DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
China to hike tariffs on $60 billion of US goods China said on Monday that it would increase tariffs of up to 25% on $60 billion (€53 billion) worth of US goods, starting on June 1. The "adaptation" was a "response to US unilateralism and trade protectionism," the State Councilʼs Customs Tariffs Commission said. US President Donald Trumplast week increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25%and ordered US trade officials to start looking into imposing tariffs on another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. Talks between the United States and China on a deal to end their trade dispute ended on Friday without a breakthrough. China had collected duties of 5% to 25% on nearly 2,500 goods before the latest hike. The Tariffs Commission did not specify which goods would be targeted by the higher rates.
Poland and Israel at odds over Holocaust restitution The Israeli government delegation had already arrived in Warsaw by the time Polandʼs Foreign Ministrycanceled bilateral talksplanned for Monday. "The Israeli side had worked toward a meeting with representatives of the Polish Foreign Ministry some time ago, and various issues were on the agenda," Polish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ewa Suwara told DW. "Over the past days, however, the composition of the delegation has changed, and that led us to assume that the return of the property of Holocaust victims was to be the main issue." The spokesperson said the ministry does "not hold talks at all about the return of the property." Before World War II, 3.5 million Jews lived in Poland, making up 10 percent of the population. More than 90 percent of them werekilled in the Holocaust, and their property was looted by German Nazis or nationalized, as was most Polish private property, by the post-war communist government.
109/2019 • 14 MAY, 2019
Donald Trump meets Hungaryʼs Viktor Orban at the White House Orban has been welcomed at the White House by US President Donald Trump
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been welcomed at the White House by US President Donald Trump. Trump said Orban had "kept Hungary safe" while Orban said he was proud to fight illegal migration alongside the US.
Ride-hailing firm Uber sees rocky start in stock launch Ride-hailing service Uber went public on Friday, and the event had been billed as one of the largest IPOs in the history of the New York Stock Exchange. The shares did not start the day well. Shares of Uber Technologies dropped about 9% in their debut on Friday, recovering later to just under 7% below the initial public offer (IPO). The stockʼs opening at $42 per share came despite the companyʼs strategy to price its oversubscribed IPO conservatively to avoid a repeat of Lyftʼs stock market struggles, following the rivalʼs debut in March of this year. The disappointing market response
needs to be seen against the backdrop of investor skepticism about Uberʼs ability to turn profitable anytime soon. About half a year ago, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was as honest as it can get and more straightforward than the bosses of big companies tend to be. In the presence of hundreds of students at Stanford University, he railed against all those investors, who had exerted pressure on the firm by criticizing Uber for being in the red. "If they want a predictable profitable company — go buy a bank," he said, only to add that "we are not going to have predictable profitability."
Man leaves €10,000 Picasso jug on German train German police are trying to help a man find a ceramic jug made by Pablo Picasso, after he accidentally left it on a train earlier this month. The elderly man was traveling from Kassel to Dusseldorf on February 15 when he switched trains at the city of Hamm and forgot to bring his precious cargo with him. Read more: How German was Picasso? The 26centimeter-tall (10-inch-tall) ceramic piece dates to 1953 and was an original crafted by Picasso at his Madoura workshop in Vallauris in the south of France, police said. It is part of Picas-
soʼs "Owl series" and is estimated to be worth at least €10,000 ($8,800). Police said the man reported the disappearance immediately after exiting the train but the bag with the jug inside it was already gone. Read more: Picasso and windows The shopping bag was made of solid cardboard with blue lettering that read "Neumeister — Alte Kunst — Moderne." Munster Federal Police, which is investigating the case, asked witnesses who might have seen the man "forgetting" the bag to report the sighting to them.
Sri Lanka imposes overnight curfew after anti-Muslim attacks Sri Lanka ordered a nationwide overnight curfew on Monday after Christian-led rioters attacked mosques and shops owned by Muslims in the countryʼs North Western Province. The curfew would run from 9 p.m. local time (1530 UTC) to 4 a.m. on Tuesday, police said. The announcement came after police fired tear gas to disperse mobs in several parts of the province in the second day of violence against Muslimowned buildings and mosques. Read more: Sri Lanka: Catholics attend first Sunday Mass in capital since bombings At least three shops were torched in the town of Hettipola. Overnight, a mob ransacked Abrar mosque in the town of Kiniyama. The government also temporarily banned social media networks and messaging apps after similar attacks in several towns on Sunday.
EU backs Iran nuclear deal as USʼ Pompeo visits German, French and British foreign ministers have met in Brussels to find ways to keep the pact alive amid Iranʼs partial withdrawal. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a surprise visit. EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday that EU member states continued "to fully support the nuclear deal with Iran" ahead of a foreign ministersʼ summit in Brussels. Washington has increased its pressure on the EU to isolate Iran internationally and walk away from the nuclear deal.
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109/2019 • 14 May, 2019
EU must curb Thyssenkrupp expects EU to ʼblockʼ corporate lobbying Tata merger plan Neither Thyssenkrupp nor Tata power — NGO were prepared to make the concesLobbyControl on Monday accused the European Union of doing too little to combat corporate influence. Anew report by the German NGO said there are insufficient rules to limit such influence, which takes place through expert groups, meetings between civil servants and lobbyists or informal channels. "Corporations can draw on an incredible lobbying power to push through their interests," said the reportʼs author, Nina Katzemich. The report said EU member governments were some of the main lobbyists in Brussels, with many countries pushing for EU rules and decisions that reflect the interests of their national industries. Germany, it noted, had used its influence to weaken and delay rules on tax evasion and diesel emissions tests. The EU allows "corporations and the rich to move their assets to shadow financial centres and thus evade their tax responsibility," it said.
sions necessary to get their planned merger passed by the European Commission, fearing a negative effect on synergy. Thyssenkrupp then announced job cuts.
Formula One: Lewis Hamilton leads Mercedes one-two in Spain
NASA has sent mice to the ISS to learn more about the effects of microgravity and how humans would fare on long space trips like voyages to Mars.
Lewis Hamilton beat teammate Valtteri Bottas to win the Spanish Grand Prix for a third consecutive year on Sunday, securing a record fifthone-two finish for Mercedesto start the season. Hamiltonʼs third win of the campaign let him take the championship lead by seven points over Bottas, who had entered the race with a one-point advantage. "This is history in the making to have five one-twos," Hamilton said about his teamʼs record start to 2019. Max Verstappen was third in his Red Bull, in front of Ferrari pair Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc, with Vettel hampered with tyre issues throughout.
German steel giant Thyssenkrupp on Friday announced that it no longer expected the green light from the EU over a proposed merger with Indian competitor Tata. A plan to split the company in to two entities has now been put on ice. "Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel expect that the planned joint venture of their European steel activities will not go ahead due to the Commissionʼs continuing concerns," the Essen-based company said in a statement. The Commission itself declined to comment. "At this stage all I can say is that our investi-
gation is ongoing and that the provisional deadline for the commission to take its decision is June 17," said European Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso. The merger would have created the scond-largest steel group in Europe, with around 48,000 employees. The executive board of Thyssenkrupp has said it will reassess the "strategic options for the company," including, among other things, a "leaner holding structure." Later on Friday, the company announced it would shed 6,000 jobs, most of them in Germany.
Space mice — NASAʼs rodent astronauts
The International Space Station (ISS) has seen many interesting experiments. Fromgrowing lettuce in spacetostudying twins (one in space and one on Earth) to compare the different developments their bodies went through. One study carried out by NASA doesnʼt involve human subjects, but animal ones: the researchers sent mice up to the ISS to see how organisms react to microgravity. "Since the environment of
space alters multiple, interacting biological systems — including bones, muscles, the heart, blood flow, and the immune system – sometimes it is better to study everything at once in the entire organism," NASA states on their "rodent research" site. "This can be achieved by working with research model organisms, such as mice and other rodents." While it might not seem like it at first glance, humans and mice actually have quite a lot in common, which makes the little rodents perfect guinea pigs, so to speak. Another plus is miceʼs faster development, so effects of microgravity can be studied on a shorter timescale.
Macklemore, 6lack and Michael Kiwanuka are the final acts confirmed for Sziget 2019 International superstars Macklemore, 6lack and Michael Kiwanuka have just been announced as the final additions to Sziget’s incredible genre-spanning line-up for 2019, joining headliners Ed Sheeran, Florence + The Machine, Foo Fighters, The 1975, Post Malone, Twenty One Pilots, Martin Garrix and The National.
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Sri Lanka seeks investment, but China questions linger You donʼt need to be an expert on international trade routes to look at a map and understandthat Sri Lankaʼs location is one of potentially serious economic advantage. The island nation — population 22 million — sits at the southern tip of India, almost as close to the Middle East and the Horn of Africa as it is to South East Asia. The value of this location has not been lost on its northern neighbor China.Under Xi Jinpingʼs so-called ʼBelt and Road Initiative,ʼ the Chinese government has pumped billions into Sri Lanka in the form of both foreign investment and loans in recent years. This reliance on Chinese money is part of a long-standing Sri Lankan problem. With a major trade deficit, as well as crippling levels of debt, the country needs foreign money. China has rushed to fill the gap more enthusiastically than anyone else. The current Sri Lankan government came to power in 2015, when it replaced former President Mahinda Rajapaksaʼs administration. His government had been unabashedly eager to seek Chinese money, regardless of the costs, and it left the incoming government with a major web of deals — and debt — to untangle.
US and Turkish presidents discuss safe zone in northern Syria Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, took to the telephone to discuss the situation in northern Syria on Monday. "The president expressed the desire to work together to address Turkeyʼs security concerns in northeast Syria while stressing the importance to the United States that Turkey does not mistreat the Kurds and other Syrian Democratic Forces with whom we have fought to defeat ISIS," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement, referring to the "Islamic State" (IS) extremist group. The Turkish presidency said the two men discussed the creation of a safe zone in northern Syria cleared of militia groups. It did not provide any other details. Thedisagreement between the NATO alliesis the latest consequence of Trumpʼs December 19 decision to withdraw US military personnel from Syria. e Kurds in northern Syria.