DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Fiat Chrysler, Renault in talks about partnership As the car industry faces market and technology challenges worldwide, another partnership is being mooted. This one involves Italian-US concern Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Franceʼs Renault, which is already in a group with Japanʼs Nissan and Mitsubishi. Both FCA and Renault are facing major technological and regulatory challenges within thechanging automobile market worldwide. If the connection clicks and FCA becomes part of the Renault group, it would create the worldʼs largest carmaker concern with projected sales of 15.6 million units. The Volkswagen group is the current global leader, after it sold 10.8 million automobiles in 2018. British daily The Financial Times reported the talks, citing an unnamed "person familiar with the matter." A number of options are being considered, but the talks have already moved beyond just the sharing of technology, the report read.
Papua New Guinea leader steps down amid political turmoil Papua New Guineaʼs prime minister, Peter OʼNeill, tendered his resignation on Sunday, handing over the reins to Julius Chan, a former prime minister. OʼNeill had been the South Pacific nationʼs leader since 2011. The outgoing prime minster told a press conference in the capital, Port Moresby, that recent ruling coalition defections in Parliament showed there was "a need for change." A stream of highprofile lawmakers have defected to the opposition bloc in the past few weeks, compromising OʼNeillʼs parliamentary majority. A no confidence vote against OʼNeill was set to be held on Tuesday. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison thanked OʼNeill for his services: "I will look forward to working with the new prime minister of PNG (Papua New Guinea) in the same way I have enjoyed such a strong friendship and relationship with Peter OʼNeill," he told reporters in Canberra.
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Who is Boris Johnson, Brexit champion and wannabe British PM? Meet the man plotting to become Britainʼs next leader
A penchant for gaffes, extramarital affairs and fanning the flames of euroskepticism: Meet the man plotting to become Britainʼs next leader.
Honda confirms UK car factory closure in 2021 Thousands of workers at the Japanese car manufacturerʼs plant in Swindon are set to lose their jobs. Hondaʼs president previously said the move had nothing to do with the United Kingdomʼs exit from the EU. Honda confirmed on Monday that it would close its Swindon car factory in 2021, with some 3,500 workers expected to lose their jobs. "It is with a heavy heart that today we confirm the closure of Hondaʼs factory in Swin-
don," said Hondaʼs UK chief, Jason Smith. The company first announced its intention to close the plant in February. The Japanese car manufacturer said the move was part of its plans to electrify its fleet, which will involve focusing production in areas of the world where there is a higher demand for electric vehicles. In February, Honda President Takahiro Hachigo said the Swindon closure was "not related" to the UKʼs planned exit from the European Union.
We need men to talk about periods: Oscar winner Guneet Monga Period. End of Sentence is a documentary
about the deep-rooted stigma attached to menstruation in the village of Hapur in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. For generations, women here did not have access to sanitary pads, leading to health issues and girls dropping out from schools. Directed by award-winning Iranian-American filmmaker Rayka Zehtabchi, the film is created by The Pad Project, an organization established by a group of students at the Oakwood School in Los Angeles and their teacher, Melissa Berton. The movie has been produced
by 34-year-old Guneet Monga (pictured above), who was born in Delhi and heads the production company, Sikhya Entertainment. She has been involved in several critically acclaimed Indian movies, including Lunchbox, Gangs of Wasseypur and Masaan, which won the International Jury of Film Critics Prize at Cannes in 2015. Monga is brimming with ambition and confidence after her Oscar victory and hopes the movie will help change mindsets and hard-wired attitudes, especially among males, towards menstruation.
Global Media Forum 2019: Populists, media and power Itʼs that time of year again: From May 27 to 28, Deutsche Welle invites you to the Global Media Forum at the World Conference Center in Bonn. "Shifting Powers" is the topic of what is now the largest international media conference in Germany, which DW is hosting for the 12th time. For, in many places, the relationship between media, politics and society is in a state of upheaval, partly owing to increasing digitization. "Populists from all ends of the spectrum are threatening the integrity of Europe," says DW Director General Peter Limbourg. "Controlling access to information has become a tool of power." At the same time, many politicians are broadcasting their messages by monopolizing state-controlled media or by spreading disinformation in social networks. "Freedom of expression is on the decline," says Limbourg.
Malawi court orders partial election recount after alleged irregularities Malawiʼs High Court has received a total of 147 complaints from some of the parties involved in Tuesdayʼs vote. Lazarus Chakweraʼs Malawi Congress Party (MCP) told the court it had found irregularities in results from 10 of the countryʼs 28 districts, ranging from a use of correction fluid, or tippex, on altered vote count sheets to the same handwriting coming from polling stations which were miles apart.
weather today BUDAPEST
10 / 21 °C Precipitation: 1 mm
121/2019 • 28 May, 2019
Merkel kicks off West Africa tour pledging support in fight against terrorism German Chancellor Angela Merkel started her tour of West Africa on Wednesday, a trip that will see her visit Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger for key talks over the next three days. The bulk of Merkelʼs visit will focus on security andsupporting counterterrorism efforts in the restive Sahel region. "In the last few years, this region has become the main focus of Germanyʼs Africa policy," Merkelʼs spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a video prior to departure. "The number of terror attacks, the number of Islamist terror attacks, is increasing," he added. Burkina Fasoʼs President Roch Marc Christian Kabore will greet the chancellor when she arrives in the capital, Ouagadougou, on Wednesday evening. She will then attend a regional meeting with the leaders of the so-called G5 Sahel countries — which include Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Chad.
ʼOut of placeʼ Jerome Boateng faces new challenge
Ford cuts 7,000 white collar jobs worldwide
Sri Lanka seeks investment, but China questions linger
About 10% of the Ford Motor companyʼs global, salaried workforce are to lose their jobs. The cuts are part of a major restructuring and a move to the production of electric cars, as well as crossovers, SUVs and trucks.
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.
In a statement issued from the US car giantʼs Detroit headquarters on Monday, Ford announced it was almost at the end of its global restructuring program. By the time it ends in August, 7,000 white-collar jobs will have gone. The plan is to shed 2,300 jobs through buyouts and layoffs in the US, 1,500 of which have already been made. According to the Detroit Free Press, workers opened their emails on
Monday morning to find a letter from CEO Jim Hackett saying 500 salaried workers in the US would leave involuntarily this week, and a total of 800 by June. "To succeed in our competitive industry, and position Ford to win in a fast-changing future, we must reduce bureaucracy, empower managers, speed decision making, focus on the most valuable work and cut costs," Hackett said in the email.
Two children born in Germany for the first time after uterus transplant This year, two children were born at the University Womenʼs Hospital in Tübingen whose mothers had previously received a uterus transplant. It was a "wonderful event," said Diethelm Wallwiener, the medical director of theUniversity Womenʼs Hospital in Tübingen. In March and May of this year, two healthy children were born at the hospital whose mothers hadtransplanted uteruses. "We suc-
ceeded in helping two children to see the light of day who would otherwise never have been born," said Wallwiener of the medical success. This is also a breakthrough and a "new chapter in transplant surgery" for medical research. Doctors from Gothenburg, Sweden, who are regarded as pioneers in the field of uterine transplantation, were also involved in the transplants in Tübingen. To date, there have been around 40 transplants of this type worldwide, with more than 10 births.
As Bayern Munich celebrated another domestic double, club president Uli Hoeness suggested the 30-year-old defender begin to look for a new club. After eight successful years, where does this leave Jerome Boateng? Amid all of the celebrations in Berlinʼs Olympiastadionafter Bayern Munich had secured their 12th domestic double on Saturday, Jerome Boateng was nowhere to be seen. While his teammates cheered with Bayern fans in the crowd, he headed off to the changing room. These were not the actions of a contented player.
Spring festivals shake things up in Újbuda Life in District XI, Újbuda, has been busy recently: new places have opened, festivals staged and literary brunches now await hungry bookworms. In May, Budapest100, B32 Gallery and the Association of Young Writers will be catering to aficionados of culture. Then in June, the popular mini-festival series Gárdonyi Picnics is taking place for another year.
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Facebook, Instagram ban British far-right figure Tommy Robinson Facebook has taken harsh measures against British far-right personality Tommy Robinson, banning him from its platforms and closing his Facebook page and Instagram profile. Robinson is said to have violated Facebookʼs "community standards" by promoting "organized hate" and other prohibited behavior. Specifically, the company noted in a statement that Robinsonʼs pages had repeatedly broken its standards by "posting material that uses dehumanizing language and calls for violence targeted at Muslims." "This is not a decision we take lightly, but individuals and organizations that attack others on the basis of who they are have no place on Facebook or Instagram," the social media giant said. Anti-fascist and anti-racist organization Hope Not Hate welcomed the decision, referring to Robinson as "a far-right thug who uses his platform to bully, abuse and stir up division."