DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
EU citizens in UK denied vote in European elections Hundreds — if not thousands — of non-British EU citizens were turned away from polling stations on Thursday after being told they were not registered to vote in the United Kingdom forthe election of the European Parliament. The main reason given by polling station workers was that the would-be voterʼs form had not been processed in time. However, in some cases, local authorities admitted they had made errors. "The Electoral Commission, local authorities and the Government in Westminster have failed despite multiple warnings over the last six weeks," said The 3 Million, a lobby group for the rights of EU citizens living in the UK.
Forward or backward? Decision time in the EU "The elections taking place on 26 May will decide the destiny of this continent," the leader of the Christian Democratic bloc in the European Parliament,Manfred Weber,declared at a plenary session last month. Weber heads the list of candidates for his political family, the European Peopleʼs Party (EPP), and he is not alone: Many politicians from all camps have been using the same terms to describe the upcoming European elections. Weber intends to run for president of the European Commission. He sees the vote as a straight fight between pro-Europeans and nationalists. "This Europe that weʼre living in today is a good Europe," he says. "We wonʼt let todayʼs nationalists destroy it for us." There havenever been as many right-wing populists and euroskeptics in EU member statesas there are for this election. Opinion polls are indicating that they could get more than 20% of the seats.
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Hungaryʼs ruling party threatens to leave proEU bloc ahead of vote Who are the far-right populists looking to disrupt the EU?
Hungaryʼs foreign minister has said that migration policy would determine whether the ruling Fidesz Party remains in the center-right European Peopleʼs Party (EPP) grouping after the European parliamentary elections.
US vows to check ʼaggressiveʼ China, Russia in Arctic The eight-member Arctic Council is meeting in Finland as thawing of polar ice has some countries scrambling over the earthʼs untapped resources. The US is set to strengthen its presence in the region. Top diplomats from the United States, Russia and other member nations of the Arctic Council met in Rovaniemi, Finland on Monday to discuss policies pertaining to the polar region. The summit comes as tensions grow over how to deal with global warming and jurisdiction of the Arcticʼs wealth of minerals. Speaking on Monday ahead of the talks in Finland, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US would strengthen its Arctic presence to keep in check what he called
the "aggressive attitude" of China and Russia. Pompeo said: "The region has become an arena of global power and competition." "Just because the Arctic is a place of wilderness does not mean it should become a place of lawlessness," Pompeo added. The issues under discussion at the Council meeting include: Concerns over the climate policies of US President Donald Trump.Chinaʼs "Polar Silk Road" plan, which it outlined last year.Russiaʼs reopened Cold War military bases and Northern Fleet modernization. US and Russian officials could also meet separately to discuss the political crisis in Venezuela which is Russiaʼs biggest South American ally.
As Germany phases out coal, villages still forced to make way for mining This end of thevillage of Immerathis peaceful, with birds chirping in the gables of empty houses. But off in the distance, the sound of excavators tearing down walls and smashing stones betray that calm. The open-pit lignite mine Garzweiler II is just a stoneʼs throw away from Immerath, and soon the village will be no more. Im-
merath was once a lively community with a sports club, church and several kindergartens. Today, the homes have been barricaded or bricked up. Down one abandoned street, a gutted car sits in the open garage of a family home covered in ivy. At the other end of the road, demolition work has already begun.
President Steinmeier calls for decency on 70th anniversary of German constitution German President Frank-Walter Steinmeierissued a call for civility and repudiation of hatred and enmity on Thursday during an event to mark the 70th anniversary of Germanyʼs constitution, known as the Basic Law. "With all freedom and in the heat of conflict, something must be retained that can be summed up in two concepts: decency and reason," said Steinmeier, standing alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel and 200 citizens who received invitations to the event. "And that is also the reason that we are here, because we do not want hatred and enmity to penetrate our debates like a poison," the president said. He also called on political leaders to listen to the concerns of their constituents, warning that populism feeds off feelings of political impotence."Impotence is poison to democracy," he said. "Populists make insidious use of feelings of this kind. They convert justified concerns into blind rage."
US arrests banker for Trump administration job bribe The head of a bank is accused of approving loans in exchange for a job in the White House. Although he failed to get one, he was placed on a "prestigious" committee tied to Trumpʼs campaign, prosecutors said. US authorities on Thursday arrested Federal Savings Bank CEO Stephen Calk for financial institution bribery. Federal prosecutors accused Calk of approving $16 million (€14 million) of risky loans for Paul Manafort,a disgraced manager of US President Donald Trumpʼs 2016 electoral campaign, in exchange for a top position in the administration.
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German export policies threaten European defense projects Franceʼs ambassador to Germany, Anne-Marie Descotes, warned on Monday that German arms export policies and licensing rules threatened future Franco-German defense projects. The remarks come as the two European nations are seeking to form closer defense cooperationand deepen ties between their parliaments. In anessay published by the German militaryʼs Federal Academy for Security Policy, she said Germany had a tendency to see arms exports as a domestic political issue, but that its policies still "have serious consequences for our bilateral cooperation in the defense sector and the strengthening of European sovereignty." An ʼuntenableʼ situation Germanyʼs unpredictable arms export policies and long waiting times for export licenses are a particular problem, Descotes said. This has an impact on major Franco-German projects to develop new tanks, combat jets and drones. "This situation is untenable," she wrote. "Realistic export possibilities on the basis of clear and predictable rules are an essential prerequisite for the survival of our European defense industry."
Luis Suarez: Barcelona forward could miss Copa del Rey final
Bosch pays 90-million-euro fine over diesel scandal The penalty may be significantly less than the ones handed out to Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche, but auto parts supplier Bosch has become the latest big-name casualty of the "Dieselgate" scandal. German auto parts supplier Bosch was on Thursday ordered by prosecutors to pay a fine of €90 million ($100 million) over its role supplying components in the "Dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal. Stuttgart investigators "levied a fine against Robert Bosch GmbH for negligently infringing its quality control obligations," they said in a statement, adding that
the company had agreed not to contest the fine. Beginning in 2008, Bosch "delivered around 17 million motor control and mixture control devices to various domestic and foreign manufacturers, some of whose software contained illegal strategies," the prosecutors found. "Cars fitted with the devices emitted more nitrogen oxides than allowed under regulations."
Snakebites kill at least 80,000 people per year and probably more Statesman and former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan once called snakebites "the biggest public health crisis youʼve never heard of." Millions of people across the world read about the horrors of theEbola virus in 2014,when the deadly disease rapidly spread from a small village in Guinea to the rest of West Africa, Europe and the United States, killing around 11,000 people. The three-year
outbreak attracted widespread international news coverage generating pervasive fear throughout the Western world. However, as international news anchors warned citizens of the risks of the Ebola virus, another far deadlier killer swept sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and South Asia: poisonous snakes. Snakebite took the lives of up to 400,000 victims between 2014 and 2016, making it almost 40 times deadlier than the Ebola virus.
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez is likely to miss the Copa del Rey final against Valencia after the club announced he will have a knee operation. The 32-year-old, who has scored 25 goals in 29 matches for the Spanish champions this season, will have keyhole surgery on a medial meniscus injury in his right knee.
Sting to return to Budapest for summer 2019 Sting is head over heels for Budapest. After a successful free show with Shaggy a month ago on Heroes’ Square, the former Police frontman has just announced another Budapest concert for next summer. On 2 July, the Grammy-winning singer brings his My Songs tour to the Papp László Aréna, where he will be taking the stage with his own band. From “Englishman In New York” to “Every Breath You Take”, the set should include Sting’s biggest hits. Tickets are on sale now.
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Malta in the eye of a financial tempest A recent European Commission report on Malta warned that the country had made "limited progress in addressing the 2018 Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) concerning money laundering, corruption and financial supervision." A European Parliament report meanwhile described "systemized and serious deficiencies" in the rule of law in Malta, while a police investigation in Italy has alleged that theSicilian Mafiainfiltrated companies in the online-gaming sector some based in Malta to launder money. Read more: Opinion: Golden visas and passport trade undermine EU As if that werenʼt bad enough for the Mediterranean investorsʼ paradise, the EUʼs parliament recently voted to adopt a "tax harmonization” scheme that would create one common corporate tax rate throughout the EU, a move that could halve Maltaʼs tax base.
Vietnamʼs dog meat culture clashes with modern tastes Hoang has been eating dog meat since he was young. He canʼt imagine there will be a time that he wonʼt be eating it at least twice a month. However, Vietnamese officials announced in September that dog and cat meat should no longer be served in the inner districts of the capital city Hanoi because itʼs offensive to tourists and can spread diseases like rabies. Read more: Illegal dog meat trade raises moral questions Dog meat lovers and restaurant owners fear that the government will try to expand the ban and decide to officially forbid eating dog and cat meat entirely. "I donʼt see how they can ban it. The demand is just too high," Hoang said at a restaurant in Vietnamʼs largest metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City. In a small alley in Ho Chi Minh City, at least four restaurants serve dog meat, or Thịt chó. People gather around small tables to dine on the canine meat, complementing it with rice wine or beer. Hoang, who declined to give his full name, is sitting at a table with three good friends. "For us itʼs a tradition to eat dog meat. Itʼs just as normal as eating seafood or chicken," he told DW.