The fire in a chemical plant in the northern French city of Rouen, which is considered to be particularly dangerous, has been extinguished. This was announced by the prefecture of Normandy on Friday. The fire broke out on Thursday night. No one was injured in the incident. The fire brigade was in use with around 200 fire engines.

Local residents were called upon not to leave their homes. Buildings within 500 metres were evacuated and schools and kindergartens were closed on Thursday. The chemical plant on the banks of the Seine produces additives for lubricants. The factory belongs to the company Lubrizol of US billionaire Warren Buffett and is subject to the so-called Seveso Directive of the EU, which prescribes particularly strict safety requirements.

Around 400 people work in the plant. The chemical factory has already made headlines in the past - for example, when the gas methanthiol escaped through a leak in 2013 and the environment smelled far and wide of rotten eggs. In 2015, around 2,000 litres of mineral oil flowed into the city's sewage system after an industrial accident.

For two months, a woman from Washington searched for her missing dog - and specifically quit her job. The seven-year-old Border Collie had left the hotel room during a short vacation in Montana. 57 days was missing from the bitch every trace - but Carole King did not give up.

"""It was terrible. I got sick,"" Carole King told ""Daily Inter Lake."" She and her husband had left dog Katie in the hotel room while they went for dinner. When they returned to the hotel, Katie had disappeared. They searched for the animal, but without success."

"Hoping that Katie could still stay somewhere in the hotel, Carole King went to the reception. ""The employee says, ""She left about four or four and a half hours ago,"" Carole King recalls to ""Daily Inter Lake."" When the automatic entrance door opened, Katie ran out immediately. Probably a loud thunder had panicked the dog."

"With flyers and calls in Facebook groups, the Kings searched for their beloved dog. But days turned into weeks. ""I never gave up. I've never lost hope,"" Carole King told Daily Inter Lake, who quit her job as a postal worker to continue her search for Katie."

"57 days after Katie's disappearance, Carole King received a phone call: A man contacted him and said that Katie was in his yard. But when King arrived there, Katie had already disappeared. She searched the neighborhood and suddenly her bitch stood under a tree. ""I just hugged her. I didn't want to let her go,"" King recalled loudly, ""Daily Inter Lake."" ""The tears flowed. People stopped in their vehicles, got out and hugged us. I think the whole neighborhood knew we had found them."""

Losses in the Bundeswehr: Machine guns disappear without a trace

"In recent years, the Bundeswehr has lost numerous weapons and tens of thousands of shots of ammunition. Among them are three machine guns. The whereabouts are unclear in most cases. The opposition speaks of a ""scary"" extent."

With the Bundeswehr weapons and ammunition disappear again and again - many of them so far without trace. Since the beginning of 2014, the force has recorded the loss of 39 weapons, 39 pieces of weapons and almost 20,000 rounds of ammunition. This is the result of a listing of the Federal Ministry of Defense, which the editorial network Germany reports on, which is classified as a classified matter.

According to the paper from the office of Defense Secretary Peter Tauber of the CDU, two weapons, one weapon part and 3474 rounds of ammunition have so far reappeared. The weapons and weapon parts that have still disappeared include six MG3 machine guns, eleven G3 rifles, four G36 rifles, six signal guns and two P8 pistols. In addition, 30 weapons pipes for machine guns of the type MG3 are missing.

"The extent of weapons and ammunition losses in the Bundeswehr is ""scary,"" said left-wing member of the Bundestag Martina Renner. This was all the more true because hardly anything had been found in the course of investigations. The left-wing politician spoke of a ""poor balance sheet"". Renner criticized that the list did not show whether the missing ammunition was also the one found in connection with the investigation of the suspected federal military officer Franco A. ""And this even though a supporter of Franco A. was recently convicted of possessing this ammunition,"" said Renner."

"More than two months after his arrest by the Iranian authorities, the British oil tanker ""Stena Impero"" left the port of Bandar Abbas on Friday. As ship observation data from Refinitiv showed, the tanker set in motion and left the Iranian port. Port Rashid was designated as the port of destination in the United Arab Emirates."

The tanker had actually already been released by the Iranian government on Monday, but it initially remained in Iranian waters. From the shipping company it was said that they wanted to wait for an official decision from Tehran.

"The ""Stena Impero"" was raised on 19 July by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the Strait of Hormuz on charges of violating security regulations. However, it was suspected that Iran was reacting to the controversial, temporary fixing of an Iranian oil tanker in front of Gibraltar, which belonged to Great Britain."

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most important sea roads in the world. It connects the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean. Much of the global oil export is shipped through the strait. Tensions in the region have intensified immensely in recent months. Commercial shipping was drawn into the conflict between the US and Iran. There were several incidents involving tankers and drones.

Merkel pays tribute to the courage of the people in the Peaceful Revolution

"Chancellor Angela Merkel paid tribute to the commitment of the people in the GDR who took to the streets 30 years ago during the Peaceful Revolution. In the autumn of 1989, courageous citizens had shaken the then GDR regime, Merkel said at a ceremony of the Thuringian CDU faction on the upcoming Day of German Unity in Erfurt. The Chancellor recalled, among other things, the occupation of the Stasi headquarters. ""State security was taken from terror,"" she said."

Tesla's quarter may hold record. Despite the delivery boom, there were last losses at the electric car group.

"New York.Tesla CEO Elon Musk has given his electric car company a strong boost on the stock market with the prospect of new record numbers. ""We have the chance to reach our first quarter with 100,000 deliveries,"" Musk wrote in an email to Tesla employees published by the industry blog ""Electrek""."

The demand was strong, so that Tesla could book 110000 orders, it said in Musk's newsletter. The challenge is to bring the cars quickly to the customers. To achieve this, Tesla had to allocate as many resources as possible at the end of the quarter.

Investors liked this: Tesla's shares went out of business with an increase of more than six percent. The price has not risen so strongly for almost four months. In the second quarter, Tesla delivered a good 95,000 cars, reaching its previous record.

Musk needs records to achieve his high goals. In 2019, he wants to deliver a total of 360000 to 400000 cars. This will require six-digit figures in the current and next quarter. Especially the cheapest Tesla Model 3 is in demand, but here the profit margins are low. Despite the boom, there were recent losses.

A kind of brake in the cerebrum prevents people from tickling themselves. Scientists at the Humboldt University in Berlin discovered this with the help of experiments on rats, as they announced on Thursday evening. Progress has also been made on the question of why children defend themselves so fiercely against tickling, only to demand more.

After all, it has also been shown why the approach of a tickling hand alone triggers laughter even before the touch. This is due to a deep layer in the cerebrum, which already triggers laughter in anticipation of tickling.

"According to the data, earlier research showed that rats react with ""laughter"" in the ultrasound range when tickled by humans. This ""laughter"" is mediated by the part of the cerebral cortex that serves the central processing of haptic perception."

Until now, it had been assumed that the brain could distinguish between self-contact and touch by others - that is why people cannot tickle themselves. However, the Berlin researchers found out during the experiments on the rats that the laughter as well as the activity of the relevant area of the cerebral cortex are suppressed during a self-contact. This is also the case when living beings clean themselves. During the foreign contact and tickling by the scientists, the activity in the brain and the impulse to laugh were intensified.

But if the self-contact and the touch by others pass at the same time, the laughter is also suppressed. This indicates that the rat's brain cannot distinguish between the self-contact and the touch of others. The new findings suggested that people cannot tickle themselves because the self-contact activates a brake in the cerebrum.

The rats were also trained to tickle themselves. In doing so, they sometimes prematurely broke off this initiation in the experiment, showing flight behaviour or frightening rigidity. This ambivalence is similar to the behaviour of the children. The ambivalence of tickling is a behavioral reaction that is the same in rats and humans.

Disaster averted: Great fire extinguished in French chemical plant

The fire in a chemical plant in the northern French city of Rouen, which is considered to be particularly dangerous, has been extinguished. This was announced by the prefecture of Normandy to the news agency AFP on Friday. The fire broke out on Thursday night.

According to the authorities, no hazardous substances should have escaped. The samples taken give no cause for concern, as Prefect Pierre-Andre Durand said at a press conference on Friday morning. No one was injured in the incident. The fire brigade was in use with around 200 fire engines.

Residents were called upon not to leave their homes. Buildings within 500 metres were evacuated and schools and kindergartens were closed on Thursday.

Factory belongs to the company Lubrizol of U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett

The chemical plant on the banks of the Seine produces additives for lubricants. The factory belongs to the company Lubrizol of US billionaire Warren Buffett and is subject to the so-called Seveso Directive of the EU, which prescribes particularly strict safety requirements. Around 400 people work in the plant.

The chemical factory has already made headlines in the past - for example, when the gas methanthiol escaped through a leak in 2013 and the environment smelled far and wide of rotten eggs. In 2015, around 2,000 litres of mineral oil flowed into the city's sewage system after an industrial accident.

The Prime Minister's sister commented on Boris Johnson's speech at the first session in Parliament after the forced break was lifted on Wednesday evening. The prime minister threatens to lead the country out of the EU on 31 October without an agreement if Brussels does not accept his demands for changes to the Brexit agreement. How he wants to achieve this, however, is unclear.

"About Cox, who had campaigned for Britain to remain in the European Union, the Prime Minister said: ""The best way to honor the memory of Jo Cox and reunite this country would be to leave the EU"". Cox was assassinated by a right-wing extremist during the 2016 referendum campaign."

"More than eight years after the attacks in Oslo and Utöya with 77 dead, a memorial in honour of the victims will be unveiled in Norway on Saturday. The monument ""Jernrosene"" (English: the iron roses) consists of about 1,000 iron rose replicas. They are reminiscent of the roses left by thousands of people in the days and weeks after the attacks in front of the cathedral in Oslo."

In the same place, the project of the artists Tobbe Malm and Tone Karlsrud is to be unveiled - the roses were forged by people from all over the world, including survivors and relatives of the victims. Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit are expected to attend the opening.

On 22 July 2011, the right-wing terrorist Anders Behring Breivik first detonated a car bomb in the government district of Oslo and then shot dozens of participants in a holiday camp of the youth organization of the Social Democratic Workers' Party on the island of Utöya. A total of 77 people were killed in the attacks.

"The UN General Debate brought no solution to the Iran conflict. But now there is one problem less. The British oil tanker ""Stena Impero"" held in Iran was able to set sail again. It could be a piece of the puzzle in the peace plan of Iranian President Ruhani."

"The British oil tanker ""Stena Impero"", which has been held in the Strait of Hormuz in Iran since mid-July, is back in international waters. After the release by Iranian authorities, the ship is on its way to Dubai, as the shipping company Stena Bulk announced."

"The ""Stena Impero"" has left the port of Bandar Abbas and the crew is now going to Dubai, among other things, for medical examinations, said Reedreichef Erik Hanell. At noon the ship left the Iranian waters. ""It's nice that it's over,"" he told the Swedish TV station SVT."

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in London described the ship's detention as illegal. ""This is part of a pattern of attempts to interfere with the freedom of the seas. We are working with our international partners to maintain shipping and international law,"" said a statement on Friday."

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards had set the tanker on 19 July on charges of violating the rules of the law of the sea in the Persian Gulf. Seven of the 23 crew members had already been released at the beginning of September. According to the circumstances, the remaining 16 crew members are doing well, said H’nell. They would have behaved professionally in the face of the difficult and exhausting situation over the past ten weeks. The shipping company is now working to reunite them with their families as soon as possible.

"The British government suspected that behind the establishment of the ""Stena Impero"" there was a reaction to a similar incident in the British Gibraltar: at the beginning of July a super tanker with oil from Iran, which was supposed to have been destined for Syria, had been put on the chain. According to the authorities, the delivery violated EU sanctions against the war country Syria. The British had received the reference to the ship from the USA."

"Iran spoke of ""piracy"" and threatened with consequences. In mid-August the ""Adrian Darya-1"" was finally released. London vehemently rejected suspicions that it was a barter to get the ""Stena Impero"" released."

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most important sea roads in the world. It connects the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean. Much of the world's oil exports are shipped through the strait. Tensions in the region have intensified immensely in recent months. Commercial shipping was drawn into the conflict between the US and Iran. There were several incidents involving tankers and drones.

Behind the tensions between Tehran and Washington is the nuclear dispute between the two countries. The Americans accuse the Iranian leadership of wanting to build nuclear weapons. Iran rejects this. In 2018, the US had unilaterally withdrawn from the international nuclear agreement, which was intended to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb and, at the same time, to end its political and economic isolation. Since then, the U.S. government has been putting pressure on the leadership in Tehran with massive economic sanctions against the country to enforce a stricter agreement extended to other areas. Iran has resisted the pressure so far.

"Because of the dispute over the ""Stena Impero"" and other incidents involving tankers in the Persian Gulf and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, the US is working on a coalition for military protection of merchant ships in the region."

"Iranian President Hassan Ruhani presented a plan for security and peace in the Strait of Hormuz at the UN General Assembly in New York. With the initiative ""Coalition of Hope"" for the Persian Gulf, Iran, together with the Arab Gulf states and without foreign protection powers, wants to ensure the safety of shipping in the Persian Gulf."

India is building a better future with its protectionist economic policies.

"India would actually be predestined to be a ""war profiteer"". Given the punitive tariffs imposed on Chinese producers by US President Donald Trump, foreign producers in the People’s Republic are forced to redeploy. In a survey conducted by UBS, CEOs of Asian companies considering moving their production from China to another country cite India as one of the preferred alternatives. Of course, this does not only have to do with the uncertainties of the Sino-American trade war. With a huge pool of young workers and an internal market of 1.3 billion consumers, India seems to have been created to play a more significant role in the globally diversified production chain."

"But now India itself has come into Trump’s focus. Distinguished as the ""kingdom of customs duties"" by the Haudegen in the White House, America withdrew the trade concessions for 2000 products from the emerging market at the beginning of June. The US accuses India of prohibitively high tariffs and calls for better market access for agricultural goods, mobile phones, spirits, motorcycles and more."

On the world map of trade wars, however, the friction with India is merely a side scene. Moreover, America views the world’s largest democracy through its security-policy spectacles. Delhi and Washington share concerns about China’s claims to power in the South Indian Ocean. Against this background, a salve of American punitive tariffs against India seems unlikely. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has just assumed a second five-year term, is therefore likely to be safe.

The problem, however, lies in another place: the empirically corroborated thesis that open markets accelerate economic development has a hard time in the socialist republic of India. Also under modes. His zeal for reform is mainly aimed at bureaucratic madness, which for too long suffocated any entrepreneurial spirit in the multi-ethnic state. Companies now receive quicker building permits for buildings. They benefit from a better energy and transport infrastructure, and a more grippy insolvency and bankruptcy law creates the conditions for a quicker liquidation of companies with high debts.

The success of these efforts can be seen and measured in the relevant rankings. From an economic point of view, a lot has changed for the better in India in the first five Modi years. But that is not the case in trade policy. Inspired by protecting internationally uncompetitive companies from foreign suppliers, the national-conservative government even erected new barriers.

"In the West, Modi hangs on the nimbus of the energetic reformer who radically renews his country economically. This impression is due not least to the fact that the charismatic prime minister knows all too well which vocabulary Western managers like. At its core, however, the ""India First"" lawyer never moved away from protectionist economic policies, which prevents Indian companies from being forced to get rid of anachronistic processes and thus become fit for global competition. Businessmen who survive thanks to the isolation of their industries are among the regular voters of Modi's nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and applaud this short-sighted policy."

According to a report, former French President Jacques Chirac will be buried in Paris next week. The former head of state was buried on Monday in the Montparnasse cemetery in the south of the French capital, reported the news agency AFP, citing the Chirac family. The funeral will take place in a close family circle. A public funeral service was scheduled for Sunday in the Paris Invalid Cathedral, as reported by the media.

Bringing the competitor to the finish line: Dabo is the first secret hero of the World Championships in Athletics

The world's top was already in the finish line when heart-warming scenes took place in the cooled down Khalifa International Stadium. In the first run of the men over 5000 meters Jonathan Busby from Aruba began to fluctuate dangerously. He could hardly stand on his feet a good 300 meters before the finish, ran in an unhealthy posture, when Braima Suncar Dabo from the West African country Guinea-Bissau suddenly subdued him and dragged him to the finish in support of the last half of the stadium round. However, the forces were still sufficient for both to stop the running wristwatch after the finish. As if the scene hadn't been curious enough.

"""I just wanted to help him. Everyone in this situation would have done the same,"" said Dabo after the race in Mixed Zone, when he unexpectedly caught the attention of the assembled journalists. Shy he evaded first, didn't want to talk about his heroic deed at all. After all, he wanted to set his personal best and when he realized that this would be difficult, he only wanted to help a fellow sufferer. And anyway, he would only be proud to represent his country, which was invited for the World Cup by the World Federation. Under normal circumstances he shouldn't even have started. ""That's why I'm proud to run here for my country,"" he said."

He did so forcefully that evening - and much more intensively than he would have thought. For this heroic deed will be remembered. Especially since Dabo even let his competitor Busby take the lead in the finish and voluntarily took the last place - by the way a good five minutes after the Ethiopian Selemon Barega, who won this lead. In the end, it hadn't used anything, because the busby, which only came to the finish with a lot of help, was disqualified at the end by the World Light Athletics Association.

"Dabo, who lives in Portugal and studies there in Lisbon, competed to set a personal best at the World Cup in Doha. According to official data, this was achieved with 18:10.87 minutes, but he himself was disappointed: ""I wanted to run 17:55 minutes. I've been under 18 minutes before."" However, only in training, as best times do not count."

In Egypt, security measures have been strengthened in the run-up to possible anti-government protests. In the centre of Cairo, an increased police presence was observed on Friday. Several subway stations remained closed, roads around the central Tahrir Square were closed.

In the past few days, the police had already stepped up their roadside checks and partially searched pedestrian mobile phones for news and photos related to the protests. Hundreds were arrested according to two non-governmental organisations.

"Last weekend there were protests in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Mansura with hundreds of participants. They were directed against the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whom critics accuse of corruption and mismanagement. There had been no such open protest against the political leadership in Egypt for years. The Egyptian builder and actor Mohammed Ali, who lives in exile in Spain and started the demonstrations with video messages on Facebook, has called for a ""million march"" in central places in the country this Friday. Ali calls for a ""people's revolution"". The man is not a ""good guy"" for most young Egyptians either, because as a subcontractor for the army he shook millions, but his messages arrive."

According to two groups of observers, the number of arrests in connection with the protests continued to rise. The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) counted more than 1,570 arrests until Friday. The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) and the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) spoke of more than 2,000 arrests. These figures could not be independently confirmed at first. The government also did not confirm and comment on the figures.

"Many people were ""arbitrarily arrested"" ""only because they were ""in the wrong place at the wrong time,"" HRW said, citing lawyers who had been arrested. According to their lawyers, the charges against the detainees range from ""spreading false information"" to membership in a ""terrorist association"". In Cairo, Alexandria and other cities, security forces in uniform, but also in civilian clothing, also randomly questioned and searched passers-by according to HRW data."

HRW also criticized censorship in the North African country. According to this, the government in Cairo is blocking websites and online services in order to prevent further protests against Sisi.

Online retailers: mail order companies should be able to donate returns more easily

For online retailers, many returned packages are lost goods. Around 20 million returns end up in the garbage. But there is an alternative.

The Ministry of Finance has shown online retailers such as Amazon and Zalando a way to donate returned products instead of destroying them.

Although the companies could not be exempted from VAT on donations in kind, the ministry explained on a question of the Green parliamentary group, about which the newspapers of the Funke media group reported on Friday. However, traders could set the market value of unsaleable returns so low that they would have to pay little or no VAT.

Scientists from the University of Bamberg had determined that German citizens send back every sixth package when ordering on the Internet. Around four percent of the goods - around 20 million products - then ended up in the garbage. According to the current legal situation, donating them would cost companies additional money, because the tax authorities assess donations in kind as a turnover, which is then subject to VAT.

Green Group leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt called on Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) to make it clear with a decree that companies can evaluate non-saleable products accordingly and donate them free of charge to non-profit organisations. Companies should be able to rely on not being punished for donations. This applies not only to online retail, but also to other shops from fashion stores to hardware stores.

Banksy art for auction: There was never a better time to sell this painting

"The well-known work of Streetart star Banksy, ""Devolved Parliament"", will soon be auctioned off."

"For Branczik, Banksy's work underscores ""the regression of the world's oldest parliamentary democracy into the basic attitude of animals and tribes."" From Saturday, the painting is to be exhibited at Sotheby's in the British capital until it is to be auctioned off on 3 October. It is estimated at 1.5 to 2 million euros."

"The work was first exhibited in 2009 at the Bristol Museum in southwestern Great Britain, where Banksy lives. This year, the artist had exhibited the painting again, coinciding with the original Brexit date on March 29. On this occasion, the work, formerly called ""Question Hour"", was renamed ""Devolved Parliament""."

Most recently, at the first session of the House of Commons on Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had engaged in a hard exchange of blows with the opposition following the lifting by the Supreme Court of a forced break imposed by Johnson. Johnson wants to carry out the Brexit, which has already been postponed twice, on 31 October, if necessary without an agreement with the EU.

It is not the first time that Banksy, whose identity is still unknown, has intervened in the Brexit debate. In Dover in the southeast of England, he painted a painting depicting a man who breaks a star of the European flag with a chisel. The plant sees thousands of truck drivers and other visitors entering the UK every day.

"The fierce verbal attacks by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Brexit opponents in parliament do not contribute to a climate of hatred, according to his top advisor. Compared to the election campaign before the 2016 Brexit referendum, the current controversy is a ""walk in the park,"" Dominic Cummings said on Friday at a book launch. ""We enjoy it. We will leave (the EU) and we will win""."

"Johnson had attacked Brexit opponents in parliament in recent days and accused them, among other things, of ""betrayal"" of the people. Accusations that he could put the deputies in danger because they could be the target of death threats, he dismissed as a ""humbug""."

Cummings said that the only way to restore calm is for MEPs to finally respect the British decision to leave the EU. It is not surprising that people are upset that Britain has still not left the EU three years after the referendum.

"In view of the charged mood, even the bishops of the Anglican Church called for restraint on Friday. ""We should talk to each other with respect,"" it said in a statement. ""And we should also listen."""

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Khan calls for UN intervention in Kashmir

With an emotional appeal, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan once again called on the United Nations to intervene in the Kashmir conflict during his first appearance before the UN General Assembly.

"Otherwise, a renewed war between the nuclear powers Pakistan and India is likely, Khan said on Friday at the UN General Debate in New York. ""If it goes badly, you hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst."" The United Nations would have a responsibility for Kashmir. ""You should have prevented that."""

India and Pakistan have waged three wars since their independence from British colonial rule in 1947, two of them around the divided region of Kashmir. Both nuclear powers each dominate a part of Kashmir, another part belongs to China. At the beginning of August, India had stripped the Indian Kashmir region of its autonomy status and thus suddenly increased tensions in relation to Pakistan.

The demonstrators in Cairo are calling for the overthrow of Egyptian President al-Sisi.

The government is reacting harshly against the current protests in Egypt. It shoots at the population with live ammunition, and more than 2,000 detainees join the 60,000 political prisoners who are already in prison. Protesting has never been safe in Egypt. But since General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came to power in 2013, the state apparatus has been doing everything in its power to avoid a scenario like that of the Arab Spring.

But one of the triggers for the 2011 protests was the poor economic situation. Poverty, lack of prospects and the feeling of being suffocated by one's own government drove millions onto the streets. And this is a problem that also the regime of el-Sisi does not get a grip on, no matter how hard it goes against opponents. The situation has even worsened.

Today, one in three people in Egypt lives below the poverty line. Since 2016, the currency has lost more than half of its value, with inflation at ten percent. If you want to buy a bottle of water in the supermarket, you have to decide who you are financing: Nestle, Coca-Cola or the military. The latter is not only responsible for repression, but also the largest economic player. The military builds roads, houses, football stadiums, produces food and much more. This was the case even before el-Sisi. The Egyptian people have a lot of experience with authoritarian regimes, and the dilemma in the supermarket is also an old one. It is always critical when large parts of the population find it difficult to afford a bottle of water at all.

"Tüv tests in the terminal: BER boss: No more ""show stopper"" for capital airport"

It was checked for two months whether the complex system network works in conjunction with BER fire protection. The operators are satisfied with the progress. But the Tüv is not finished at BER yet.

After large-scale Tüv tests in the terminal of the future capital airport, the operators confirmed the planned opening in October next year. This is certain, said Supervisory Board Chairman Rainer Bretschneider after a meeting of the Supervisory Board.

"Airport manager Engelbert Lütke Daldrup spoke of a successfully completed test, but also said that there were still deficiencies in the terminal to be dealt with. ""We have many detailed topics, but we don't have a real showstopper."" He assured that the schedule until commissioning still contained buffers."

However, there are indications that the time reserve may not be too large anymore. The construction job advertisement is now to be submitted to the building authority in the course of the first quarter of 2020, which was planned for this autumn at the beginning of the year.

"Hundreds of defects in power cables are still to be remedied; the Tüv wants to check them until February. ""In order to create the conditions for the commencement of flight operations, intensive work must continue to be carried out on the handling of the defects,"" said a written communication."

Lütke Daldrup said that in many cases it is about missing evidence, less about new cables. There is also no release for all dowels on which the cable lines hang. The airport manager expects this to be available by the end of the year.

In addition, the fire protection at the transition to the station under the terminal does not yet work satisfactorily. The problems had already led the project into another crisis three years ago. This time it's about smoke aprons that go down like a canvas in a fire so that the smoke doesn't spread. They drive too far down. 36 engines must therefore be replaced. Then there will be new experiments with hot gas smoke at the beginning of the year.

Problems with fire protection and other construction defects as well as planning errors have been delaying the opening of the airport for years. It was originally scheduled to go into operation in 2011. Since the start of construction in 2006, costs have increased from two billion euros to an estimated 6.5 billion euros at the opening next year.

Since the number of passengers in Berlin has increased significantly since then, those responsible are planning to expand the airport. This will be the subject of a special meeting of the Supervisory Board on 18 October, as announced by Chairman Bretschneider.

The airport company is now looking for two new managing directors. CFO Heike Fölster will join Deutsche Bahn at the end of the year, HR manager Manfred Bobke-von Camen will retire next year, as Bretschneider said. He thanked Fölster. She had put the airport finances on firm feet.

Chemnitz: Vending machines for drugs blown up - police arrest man

He needed money for drugs - and hunted several vending machines in the Chemnitz city area into the air! Now the perpetrator is finally in custody!

Over the past two years, the number of blown-up cigarette and parking ticket machines in Chemnitz and the region has risen sharply. There was a loss of millions!

After two detonations at the end of May, the police captured a 33-year-old German on Bürgerstraße and Further Straße in Chemnitz.

"Police spokesman Andrzej Rydzik: ""In the course of the investigation into the induction of explosions of explosives in crime unit with particularly severe case of theft, which were led by the Chemnitz criminal police, not only this suspicion against the 33-year-old was confirmed."""

Faced with the new evidence, the 33-year-old Chemnitzer now confessed a total of eight deeds.

"The police spokesman: ""With the prey he apparently financed his drug addiction"". The bomber had blown up parking ticket machines on Bürgerstraße four times between 20 August 2018 and 31 May 2019."

The vending machine bomber is now in pre-trial custody. The police investigation against him continues.

It is conceivable that he was also responsible for further machine explosions in Chemnitz and adjacent counties.

"The Lufthansa Group is transforming its strategy for Vienna Airport. In the midst of the price war with low-cost airlines such as Lauda, Wizz Air, EasyJet and Level, Lufthansa subsidiary AUA is taking over ""the commercial control of all Eurowings flights from Vienna"", a press spokesman of Austrian Airlines confirmed to APA on Friday. Previously, ""AviationNetOnline"" had reported about it."

"The Vienna base of the Lufthansa low-cost aircraft Eurowings is thus de facto dissolved. Of the currently seven Eurowings aircraft, four remain in Vienna. This will be taken over by AUA from January 2020 in the ""Wetlease"", i.e. including Eurowings personnel. In the future, three Eurowings jets will be stationed in Salzburg, which will fly from Salzburg and Innsbruck as charter machines to holiday destinations. Routes from Vienna to Germany are taken over by Eurowings Germany."

The Eurowings base in Vienna will be integrated into the AUA hub and network planning, the spokesman explained. The flight times are to be adjusted to connecting flights. The aim is, on the one hand, to strengthen the Vienna hub and, on the other hand, to expand decentralised traffic from the federal states.

"As AviationNetOnline writes, Eurowings in Vienna only serves as a ""production company"" for Group sister AUA. Among other things, Barcelona and Rome would be operated with AUA flight number, but primarily with Eurowings device. Although the on-board product should be adapted to that of Austrian Airlines, the pilots and flight attendants come from Eurowings. According to the report, the Eurowings flights taking off under AUA flight number are no longer handled in Terminal 1, but in the same way as the AUA in Terminal 3."

"After the Niki crash, a price war broke out at Vienna Airport. Ryanair subsidiary Laudamotion announced on Thursday that it would increase its fleet in Vienna to 16 aircraft next summer. The Irish low-cost airline sends four Ryanair aircraft and crews to Vienna, also in the so-called ""Wetlease"", which the union criticized as a bypass to the collective agreement."

"Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary's announcement that Lauda will have overtaken the AUA in five years' time, AUA CEO Andreas Otto replied on Friday: ""We will remain number one at the site in five, six or ten years' time."""

Beatrice, Eugenie, William and Harry: As children, the cousins were the best friends. Now the last of the four marries. Beatrice is engaged!

Wonderful news from the British Royals: Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (34) is said to have stopped for the hand of his girlfriend Princess Beatrice (31) during the Italian holidays at the beginning of the month. This was announced by the palace on Thursday.

"""We are extremely pleased to announce our engagement. We are both so excited to start this adventure together and can't wait to be married,"" the couple, who have been together since October 2018 according to British media reports, said in the official announcement."

"And further: ""We share so many similar interests and values and we know that this will help us a lot in the coming years full of love and happiness""."

The official engagement photos were taken by her sister, Princess Eugenie (29), and published on her Instagram account.

The wedding is scheduled to take place in 2020. More information about the date, location and everything else will be announced by the palace in the coming months.

What is certain, however, is that the marriage of the number nine of the British succession to the throne and the real estate mogul will be a similarly big celebration as the wedding of Eugenie on 12 October 2018 with Jack Brooksbank (33).

Smoking, obesity, unhealthy diet - there are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. But what really triggers a heart failure or an infarction? Researchers in Hamburg now want to take a close look at the genome of 9,000 healthy and sick people.

Through the analysis of the genetic material of 9,000 people, Hamburg and Swiss scientists want to investigate the causes of cardiovascular diseases in more detail.

The research project is the largest of its kind in German-speaking countries, the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) announced on Friday. The Kühne Foundation is funding the project with 12.5 million euros. From Switzerland, the Davos High Mountain Hospital, which belongs to the Foundation, and the University Hospital Zurich are involved.

Overweight, smoking and unhealthy diets are among the main influencing risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Genetic factors determine the risk. However, the interplay between genes and external influences is only insufficiently known, it was said. Now the scientists want to compare the complete genome of 8000 healthy people with that of 1000 former patients of the University Heart and Vascular Center at the UKE.

At present, more than 4000 of the approximately 20,000 relevant human genes are aware of possible disease-causing changes in DNA - so-called mutations - according to the clinic. Every year about 200 would be added.

According to the initiators, the aim of the five-year project is to develop new options for the prevention, detection and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, heart failure and heart attacks. According to Stefan Blankenberg, head of the University Heart and Vascular Center, the data could also be useful in researching other common diseases. New findings on the interaction between heart and brain, heart and kidney as well as on cancer are possible.

The chairman of the Kühne Foundation, Klaus-Michael Kühne (82), also stressed that there was a firm will to use the data for research into other diseases. So far, the foundation's clinic in Davos has mainly treated allergies. Now a Center for Cardiovascular Precision Medicine is to be established on the medical campus there and a professorship for bioinformatics is to be created. In order to justify his commitment, the logistics entrepreneur, who lives in Switzerland, said that he had been operated on an open heart in Hamburg three years ago and was very grateful.

"The organic samples of the healthy participants come from Hamburgers, who also participate in the ""Hamburg City Health Study"". According to the clinic, this is the largest local health study in the world with 45,000 subjects. In the case of genetic decoding, strict attention is paid to the protection of anonymised data, the scientists assured. It is about a petabyte (1000 terabytes) of data, said Holger Moch from the University Hospital Zurich."

According to UKE, a person's genetic material can now be decoded within 24 hours. The pure material costs for this would be 1300 euros. The first gene sequencing worldwide, the results of which were published in 2001, cost several hundred million euros. The study is scheduled to begin on October 1, and all 9,000 samples are expected to be analyzed by the end of 2020. Initial results are expected in the following year.

"In Nigeria, the police have freed more than 300 tortured and abused boys from a Koranic school. According to local residents, security forces searched the school in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna and discovered the victims, some of whom were still minors, as police spokesman Yakubu Sabo reported. ""The victims were mistreated. Some of them claimed to have been raped by their teachers,"" Sabo said."

"The boys were detained under the pretext of being taught and ""improved"" in the Qur'an. In fact, the protesters were detained by their teachers under ""most degrading and inhumane conditions,"" Sabo said. About a hundred students, including children at the age of nine, were chained in a small room."

According to the information, the Koranic school has existed for about ten years. Local residents would have drawn the authorities' attention to repeated irregularities in the facility. The parents were shocked to learn about the conditions in the Koranic school, Sabo said. They had no idea of the suffering of their children. The operator and six employees were arrested according to the police.

In the predominantly Muslim north of Nigeria there are many private Koranic schools. They replace the often deficient state institutions. People in the region suffer from frequent attacks by armed gangs. According to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 40,000 people have fled across the border to the neighbouring state of Niger in the past ten months.

Chained and Tortured: Nigeria's Police Liberate 400 Children from School

"In a school in northern Nigeria, policemen have freed almost 400 students from appalling circumstances. ""Many of them were chained and some had visible injuries indicating torture,"" said police spokesman Yakubu Sabo in Kaduna City."

"There the children had been discovered on Thursday after a hint in an Islamic school. The conditions there were ""unworthy of man"". The officers arrested the headmaster and six teachers after the liberation action."

The children, all boys, were held like slaves at their school and put on chains. Some have been sexually abused. Television pictures showed emaciated and injured students in a noticeably poor state of health.

World Football Election: Further Accusations after Messis and Klopps Freestyle

With a gala in Milan, the World Football Association Fifa awards the best player, the best player and the best coach of the year. For Lionel Messi it is the sixth honor and thus record.

After Nicaragua's captain declared that he had never voted in the World Football Election, accusations come to Fifa from other countries. Egypt was not valued at all - with a curious reason.

Much of Fifa has proven to be disreputable in recent years: the World Cup gifts, dubious plans of its president Gianni Infantino, the general behavior of various corrupt officials. So far, however, the FIFA World Footballer Election has not been suspected of being unclean - except for the fact that the voting national coaches and national team captains of the member associations often vote according to sympathy rather than objective assessment.

But after Nicaragua's captain had already complained that he had not voted at all, further inconsistencies are now emerging: Egypt complains that the voices of national coach Hossam El-Badry and captain Mohamed Salah were not taken into account. In fact, they do not appear in the official and publicly visible voting overview.

"The Fifa apologizes that ""the signatures on the election forms were in capital letters and therefore not valid"". The Egyptian association had been contacted several times to clarify the situation - without answer."

There is also an outcry from Sudan about the election. While the situation in the case of Egypt is understandable, the Sudanese association states that coach Zdravko Lugarisic did not vote as it was finally evaluated: with Lionel Messi in first place, Virgil van Dijk in two and Sadio Mani in three. According to Fifa, however, the vote was just as well received, with signatures and official stamp of the Sudanese association.

"Nicaragua's captain Juan Barrera also made accusations: ""Didn't vote for TheBest2019 Awards. All the information about my voice is wrong, thank you,"" he wrote. In his case, it was assumed that the Nicaraguan Football Association simply voted on his behalf."

"From the association came on Friday now the message: True, but was of course no intention. The completed election documents were ""mistakenly"" provided with the name and signature of Juan Barrera, the captain of the Nicaraguan selection, according to a statement of the association. But actually the second captain Manuel Rosas was elected. ""We take responsibility for the administrative error,"" the communication said. Both Rosas and team coach Henry Duarte would have voted for Messi, ""just as it is on FIFA's official list."""

The other cases are now being examined by Fifa in an investigation, but stresses that the election process was externally supervised by the consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers. As long as Lionel Messi remains the undisputed winner of the World Footballer Election - and Jürgen Klopp World Coach of the Year.

Ukraine affair: High-ranking Republicans call for official investigation

"Two high-ranking Republicans have openly called for an official investigation against US President and party friend Donald Trump. ""I think the investigation is important,"" said the Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Vermont, Phil Scott. ""Where this leads from here is determined by the facts that are established"". He wanted to know more about the whistleblower affair before taking action. An impeachment procedure can lead to the dismissal of the president."

"Scott said he was not surprised by the revelations. They had shown that Trump had repeatedly called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky to investigate the activities of Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden in Ukraine. According to Scott, Trump has been watching Biden ""for years."""

The Republicans have so far withheld criticism of Trump over the whistleblower affair, only a few have shown discomfort about it. Scott’s remarks are now a first sign of this in Trump’s party. The moderate governor of Virginia has repeatedly opposed Trump’s policies, such as relaxing environmental regulations and tightening immigration regulations.

"Another high-ranking Republican, Charlie Baker, Governor of Massachusetts, also called for the investigation. ""It's a deeply disturbing situation,"" Baker said. ""The right approach and responsibility for Congress is now to investigate the matter and get to the bottom of it."""

"Scott and Baker, as governors of US states, have no formal say in the case against Trump, which is decided in Congress. Their statements are therefore above all symbolically important. Nevertheless, the first senators of the Republicans were critical of the situation. Mitt Romney, for example, who represents the state of Utah in the Second Chamber of Parliament, said the case was ""extremely disturbing, deeply disturbing."" U.S. media also reported that the Republicans were starting to crack internally."

The affair could result in the initiation of impeachment proceedings against Trump, the Democrats in the House of Representatives have announced an investigation. They accuse him of abuse of power for the purpose of foreign influence for his own political benefit.

There is no precise timetable for the impeachment procedure. With their majority in the House of Representatives, the Democrats could exert a so-called impeachment. But the decision to actually impeach would be made in the Senate, where Trump’s Republicans have the majority. The prospects for success of such a procedure are therefore low. So far, no US president has been removed from office by an impeachment procedure.

Three men were arrested in Sicily and allegedly raped and murdered in Libyan refugee camps.

"The German captain Carola Rackete (31) had been arrested in June after she had entered the port of Lampedusa with the rescue ship ""Sea Watch 3"" and 53 Libyan refugees on board. After fierce protests and international criticism - also by Austria's Federal President Alexander van der Bellen - her house arrest was lifted after a few days by an Italian judge."

"Now new serious accusations against Rackete are being made. Three men accused of torture in Libyan refugee camps may have arrived in Italy with the ""Sea-Watch 3"". The suspects were caught in a reception camp in Messina (Sicily) after migrants recognized their tormentors in Italy. ""We can't rule this out, but we don't have any reliable information about it,"" said ""Sea Watch"" spokesman Ruben Neugebauer of the German Press Agency."

"The police said in mid-September that the suspects in the North African country had raped, tortured and even murdered. They were Mohammed C. (27) from Guinea, and the two Egyptians Hameda A. (26) and Mahmoud A (24). ""The migrants were systematically harassed and subjected to atrocities - through repeated and constant physical violence,"" the communication said at the time."

"NGOs and aid organisations now point out that they cannot know exactly who is coming on the ships. ""We can't scan who the people are. They come without passports,"" said Neugebauer. Torture is one of the main reasons why people flee Libya. It is therefore quite probable that there are also perpetrators on the ships. ""It is therefore very important that this is investigated."""

Italy's right-wing ex-Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini immediately demanded an apology from Rackete, who is still being investigated in Italy for aiding illegal immigration.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has given his electric car group a strong boost on the stock market with the prospect of new record numbers.

"""We have the chance to reach our first quarter with 100,000 deliveries,"" Musk wrote in an email to Tesla employees published by the industry blog ""Electrek""."

The demand was strong, so that Tesla could book 110,000 orders, Musk's newsletter continued. The challenge is to bring the cars quickly to the customers. To achieve this, Tesla had to allocate as many resources as possible at the end of the quarter.

Musk needs records to achieve his high goals. In 2019, he wants to deliver a total of 360,000 to 400,000 cars. This will require six-digit figures in the current and next quarter. Especially the cheapest Tesla Model 3 is in demand, but here the profit margins are low. Despite the boom, there were recent losses.

The new financial year will begin in the United States on 1 October without a proper budget. The Senate followed the House of Representatives on Thursday and decided on transitional financing until 21 November.

Although US Congress and President Donald Trump agreed in August to increase spending ceilings for the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years, the United States is once again without spending plans ahead of the new fiscal year beginning on October 1. The Senate followed the House of Representatives on Thursday and approved a Continuing Resolution (CR) until 21 November. Without such a decision, there would have been a shutdown on Monday at midnight, a partial closure of the federal administration. President Trump still has to put the decision into effect.

For the time being, the federal administration will now be financed at the level and according to the priorities of the spending plans for the 2019 financial year, which will end on Monday. This is because Congress has not been able to agree in time on the 12 spending laws that allocate the funds to the various departments and authorities. For the time being, therefore, the Federal Administration cannot benefit from the expenditure framework extended from 1.3 trillion to 1.4 trillion euros for the new financial year.

The Democrats have completed ten of the twelve laws in the House of Representatives, where they have the majority. But spending laws reflect Democrats’ priorities, which have little chance in the Republican-dominated Senate. Conversely, the Senate also has ten of the twelve spending plans more or less ready, which are hardly capable of a majority.

The ghosts are particularly divided on the issue of resource allocation for the area of domestic security and border security. In the Senate, Republicans seem to be trying to force 12 billion euros to build the Wall, one of President Trump’s major priorities. The Democrats are bothered by the wall plans and their financing, which is actually intended for other military buildings and projects. The dispute over the construction of the Wall had already escalated in December 2018 and had led to a 35-day shutdown.

It is currently unclear how the parties intend to approach this issue. More likely than an agreement on all twelve spending laws in the next seven weeks is an extension of the transitional financing beyond 21 November. Even a shutdown is then not excluded.

Against the background of Congress’s continuing inability to agree on the twelve spending laws in time, and the associated risk of a shutdown, ideas for automating the process are gaining popularity. Presentation p. 1877 to avoid shutdowns would automatically continue the financing of the federal administration at the previous year's level, prevent the travel activities of parliamentarians and withhold their wages until the new annual spending plans were available.

In France, artificial insemination should also be open to single women and lesbians in the future: the Paris National Assembly voted by a large majority in favour of a government bill allowing all women to use in vitro fertilisation. This should significantly increase the demand for anonymous sperm donations.

"The bill still requires the approval of the Senate. In the three-day emotional debate, right-wing critics had warned that many ""children without a father"" could grow up in the future. The French Bishops' Conference is also against the innovation."

"The new regulation is the core component of a bioethics law that Health Minister Agnes Buzyn defended as an ""opportunity"" for society. It depicts the modern family, in which there are children with only one parent or with homosexual parents. According to her idea, the costs of artificial insemination for all women should be covered by social security."

"By a narrow majority, however, the National Assembly rejected an amendment aimed at giving widows access to the sperm of their dead husband for artificial insemination. In Belgium, Spain and Great Britain, artificial insemination is allowed ""post-mortem"". In Germany there have been cases in the past in which women sued in vain for the release of the sperm of a deceased person. The opponents of the advance in Paris argued that such a begotten child would then bear a ""particularly difficult fate""."

"Numerous members of President Emmanuel Macron's ruling party, La Republique en Marche (The Republic on the Move, LREM), and members of the opposition had spoken out in favour of artificial insemination with the sperm of the deceased partner. They stressed that a widow would be subjected to ""double mourning"" if the death of her husband left her wish to have children unfulfilled."

The initiators of the now failed amendment consider it unfair that a widow can be fertilized in future with the sperm of an unknown person, but not with that of her own partner.

So far, artificial insemination in France is only allowed for heterosexual couples who cannot produce children. They must be married or live together for at least two years. Buzyn had already announced in the summer that surrogacy would remain forbidden.

In Germany, artificial insemination is theoretically open to all women - but it is often difficult for single or lesbian couples.

Compensation for the climate: calls for flight tax for universities are getting louder

There is a lot of flying at the universities. That is why the country wants to have a climate tax levied there in the future. The rectors say they have no money for it. But now they are also coming under pressure internally.

Universities should also limit themselves to flying. Photo: dpa/Julian Stratenschulte

"The debate on a climate levy on flights from universities and colleges, which was postponed before the summer break, is gaining momentum again. After the National Rectors' Conference had reacted skeptically to a corresponding push from the green-black coalition, the plans now receive support from the universities. In a joint declaration, the doctoral students from six universities in Baden-Württemberg and a pedagogical college plead for compensation for business flights. As a first step, this was ""urgently necessary"", and at the same time there had to be a broad debate about the avoidability of flights, according to her statement. Meanwhile, the cabinet decision originally planned in July is still on hold because the CDU has still not approved the Greens' proposal."

According to the secret service FSB, the detainees are said to have fished illegally in Russian waters. Ten days earlier, 161 fishermen from North Korea had already been arrested. At that time there was an exchange of fire between the border guards and the boat crew. Three Russians and one North Korean were injured, and the fisherman later succumbed to his serious injuries. This time, however, there were no casualties, it was said.

Communist North Korea suffers from chronic food shortages. The North Korean fishermen were therefore travelling in Russian territorial waters. According to the Russian Coast Guard, patrols are being carried out there to protect its marine biological resources.

During the new inspections, 30,000 squid were discovered and confiscated on the boats. In addition, three fishing boats and two motor boats were confiscated and taken to Nachodka and Posjet near Vladivostok.

Russia's fishing authority had not issued fishing licenses to North Koreans this year, even after complaints from local entrepreneurs. According to the media, thousands of North Korean fishermen have already been temporarily arrested there this year.

Georgi Martynov, head of the Association of Russian Fishing Companies in the Far Eastern region of Primorje, recently also complained of high ecological damage caused by North Korean fishermen. They fished with closely meshed synthetic nets banned in Russia. These would also bring small creatures out of the sea. In addition, the nets would simply be disposed of in the sea, where they would take 200 years to decompose.

"The ""most generous nation in history"": Donald Trump, here at a meeting with elected police officers in the White House."

The richest country in the world seals itself off from those seeking protection: as the State Department in Washington confirms, the upper limit for the legal influx of refugees is further lowered. In the future, especially threatened believers and Iraqis will receive asylum.

The US government wants to lower the already historically low limit for the reception of new refugees once again. In the 2020 marketing year, which runs in the United States from October 2019 to September 2020, a maximum of 18,000 people are to be allowed into the country, as the US State Department stated. In the almost past marketing year, the limit is still 30,000 people.

In recent years, President Donald Trump’s administration has drastically reduced the willingness to take in protection seekers from all over the world. Under the previous administration of Barack Obama, far higher admission limits had been applied.

"The targeted ceiling of 18,000 refugees would be the lowest since the introduction of the US refugee program in 1980. The State Department nevertheless described the US as ""the most compassionate and generous nation in history,"" a phrase strongly reminiscent of the US President-in-Office's use of language."

"A ""responsible approach"" to refugees is aimed at allowing refugees to return to their home countries to help rebuild, Trump said. He gets a lot of support from supporters for his hard course in migration policy, but there is also massive criticism."

A major point of contention is the border with Mexico, which Trump wants to seal off. In order to finance the construction of a border wall, Trump had imposed a national emergency. Whether there is a temporal link between the current measure and the current domestic political developments in the US capital is unclear. Trump is currently under pressure because of the Selensky affair and a possible impeachment process.

According to the Foreign Office, the U.S. government wants to focus on the reception of two refugee groups in the future: people who are persecuted for their faith - and Iraqis who have helped the U.S. military in the country and are thus in danger, according to the statement of the State Department. By contrast, a maximum of 1500 refugees from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are to be taken in.

"The US wants people from this ""northern triangle"" of Central America in particular to apply for asylum in other countries. Against this background, the United States first concluded migration agreements with Guatemala and now also with El Salvador and Honduras in order to curb immigration on the US southern border with Mexico."

"An orangutan female has been transferred from the former Buenos Aires Zoo to a sanctuary for great apes in the USA at the request of the Argentinean judiciary. Born in 1986 in the Rostock Zoo, ""Sandra"" was granted the rights of a ""non-human person"", so her release was mandatory. The animal was brought to Dallas by direct flight on Thursday evening - but not as a passenger, but in the cargo hold, as attorney Andres Gil Domonguez explained."

"Since the 53 kilogram human monkey is unable to adapt to life in the wilderness, she is to live in the outdoor enclosure of the Center for Great Apes in Florida in the future. There are already 21 more orangutans and 31 chimpanzees, among them ""Bubbles"", former pet of pop star Michael Jackson. Before moving into Florida, however, ""Sandra"" has to endure a 40-day quarantine at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas."

"After her birth in Rostock, Sandra spent several years in the former Ruhr Zoo in Gelsenkirchen, before she was transferred to Buenos Aires in 1995. The ""Sandras"" fundamental rights process initiated by animal rights activists in 2014 has helped transform the Buenos Aires Zoo into an ecopark. By 2023, a research and education centre for the conservation of biodiversity is to be established there."

The extreme mountaineer Dani Arnold has succeeded in a new hussar ride at the almost 3000-meter-high Großer Zinne in the Italian Alps.

Without a net, double floor or other aids, the Swiss defeated the 550-meter-high north face of the Great Tin in a new record time.

Clothed with jeans, T-shirt and only supported by absolute dizziness, Arnold needed 46 minutes and 30 seconds for the ascent. In doing so, he broke the old record by almost 19 minutes.

Arnold is now a record holder in the Free Solo Speed on four of the six most important European north walls.

"Despite the trade conflict with China, the US sporting goods manufacturer Nike has posted a significant increase in profits. Net profit rose to 1.4 billion dollars (just under 1.3 billion euros) in the past quarter. This is 25 percent more than in the same period last year, as the Group announced on Tuesday. The main reason for this is the new marketing strategy ""Nike Direct"", with which the Adidas competitor directly addresses its customers online."

Sales rose to 10.7 billion dollars in the three-month period up to the end of August. Nike sales grew most strongly in China with an increase of 22 percent. As a result, the Beaverton Group in the U.S. state of Oregon also benefited from its approach to addressing consumers directly via the Internet or smartphone apps in the People's Republic.

"Chief Financial Officer Andy Campion announced that Nike will continue to drive the ""digital transformation"" of the sporting goods manufacturer with strategic investments and thus expand its competitive advantage. Investors were pleased with the quarterly figures - the sporting goods manufacturer's shares increased by more than five percent."

"Due to racist comments about football pro Juan Jesus of AS Rome, the club from the Italian capital has imposed a lifelong stadium ban on a fan. The Brazilian defender Jesus had been insulted by the fan on Instagram. Jesus then published the private news and called on his club to take action. ""Officialasroma You already know what to do with such a fan.NoToRacism. Proud of being who I am,"" wrote the 28-year-old, who has been playing for AS Rome since 2016."

The club responded late on Thursday. He reported the fan's account to Instagram and the police. In addition, the Roma supporter should never again visit a game of the club, the club wrote on Twitter.

"Racism is a problem in Italian football. Italian fans regularly chant racist insults against black players of rival teams. ""We cannot have racism in society or in sport. In Italy, the situation has not improved, and that is very serious. You have to identify those responsible and throw them out of the stadiums,"" Fifa President Gianni Infantino said at the weekend. The reason for the statement was racist songs at the first league match between Atalanta Bergamo and AC Florence last Sunday."

But there had also been discussions about the followers of Juventus Turin recently. The Italian authorities have now banned 38 rioting fans of record champion Juventus Turin. Four of them are not allowed to enter the stadium for a period of ten years, the police said. For the rest, prohibitions of four to seven years apply.

The fans are connected with ongoing investigations against twelve leaders of Ultra fan groups around Juventus. The twelve are accused, among other things, of severe blackmail, money laundering and private violence. The club had started the investigation with an advertisement last year.

"According to Italian media reports, the ultra-leaders are supposed to be behind the black trade in tickets. They had ""militarily controlled"" the ticket trade for the fan curve and allegedly extorted Juventus employees to get cheaper tickets."

Millennials are narcissistic, Generation Z is political - whole vintages are given catchy names. If you take a closer look, the awards are full of contradictions. So how well do these labels describe the respective lifestyle of young people?

"""The crabs are coming!"" With this reputation, crab fishing officially started on September 21 at Lake Gucheng in Gaochun, which also heralded the opening event of the 19th China Gaochun Gucheng Lake Crab Festival, as announced by the Public Relations Department of the Nanjing-Gaochun District Committee."

"Gaochun, which forms the southern foothills of Nanjing in Jiangsu Province, is one of the national environmental zones. The city is the first international ""Slow City"" in China and is also home to the Chinese headquarters of the international ""Slow City"" movement. The city has ideal ecological conditions with a mixture of ""30 percent mountains, 20 percent water areas and 50 percent fields"". The magnificent natural environment of Gaochun offers its inhabitants all the conditions to become rich."

The people of Gaochun started to grow crabs in the early 1990s. Over time, the crab industry has developed into a formative industry, generating high incomes and becoming an important part of Gaochun's economic development. In recent years, Gaochun has been actively engaged in large-scale, ecological and scientific development of crab breeding as well as technology-based crab breeding. And the city has taken care of promoting more efficiency in agriculture and farmers' incomes.

"In recent years, Gaochun has advanced a reform to ""distribute power, optimize administration and government services"" and carefully built up the service network for ""permits under one roof, a team for law enforcement, a network for services, a platform for lending"". In doing so, the city aims to comprehensively optimise the environment for permits, services and development."

"Gaochun takes full advantage of the local advantages of connecting to southern Jiangsu and southern Anhui and uses the development zone and its position as an international ""Slow City"" as a showcase to locate intelligent high-end production companies, biomedical and medical technology companies, energy storage and environmental protection companies, the cultural and health sector as well as organic farming companies that are leaders in the ""3+2"" sector. At the same time, Gaochun has promoted the development of a national tourist zone covering all areas and of tourist resorts of national importance. In doing so, the ecological and cultural resources of the Gaochun countryside were integrated, the condition of the buildings for civil services and for the public service was comprehensively improved, the areas ""Tourism +"" and ""+ Tourism"" were vigorously developed and the development of cultural tourism at a high quality level advanced. It is worth looking forward to the future of Gaochun."

Conflict between Iran and the US: Ruhani speaks of the end of sanctions - Trump contradicts

After his return from the UN General Assembly, Iranian President Hassan Ruhani spoke of an alleged US offer to lift sanctions. The United States had promised an end to all sanctions in exchange for talks with the Tehran leadership, Ruhani said on his official website.

"US President Donald Trump, however, contradicted his Iranian counterpart via Twitter: ""Iran wanted me to lift the sanctions imposed on him so that there would be a meeting. I said, of course, no."""

"Ruhani describes the events as follows: Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron were present in New York and urged that a meeting be held. ""And America says I'm lifting the sanctions,"" Ruhani added. The type of punitive measures that were to be terminated had been up for debate. ""And they have clearly said that we are lifting all sanctions""."

"However, this advance did not take place in an acceptable manner, Ruhani criticized. In view of the current punitive measures and ""the poisoned atmosphere of maximum pressure"", no one can predict the outcome of negotiations."

Earlier this week, Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Ruhani in New York. The background was the hope of the Europeans to save the nuclear agreement with Iran negotiated with Russia and China. This is intended to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear weapons. French President Emmanuel Macron, like Merkel, had expressed hope on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that Ruhani would meet with US President Donald Trump.

After two earthquakes shook western Turkey within a very short time, the fear of a catastrophe grows. 34 people were injured in the earthquake on Tuesday. Since the earthquake the day before, there have been almost 200 aftershocks, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Friday. As a result, there is growing concern about a disaster.

14 schools in Istanbul were closed for security reasons. Hundreds of buildings were damaged. The earthquake of magnitude 5.8 had shaken the marble region off Istanbul on Thursday and caused panic in the metropolis of millions. Now the government wants to set up a commission to better prepare the country for earthquakes in the future, Oktay announced.

In the past 20 years Turkey has not been sufficiently prepared for earthquakes, said Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. In the city itself, the latent danger is repeatedly ignored. Every year badly built residential buildings collapse - among other things made grumpy by the many smaller earthquakes that regularly shake Istanbul.

Urban planners such as the well-known architect Mücella Yapici have been warning for years that large open spaces that have been registered as sanctuaries in the centre have long since been built. It was only on the 20th anniversary of the Gölcük earthquake in August that the Istanbul Chamber of Civil Engineers warned that an estimated one million buildings in Istanbul were not earthquake-proof.

The epicentre of the earthquake on Thursday was in the Sea of Marmara in front of the district of Silivri and at a depth of about seven kilometers, as reported by the civil protection authority Afad. A minor aftershock caused even greater panic on the streets a few minutes later.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu announced on Twitter that injuries or damage had not been reported at first. The state broadcaster TRT showed people running out of the houses in panic. Students were taken out of the buildings in the Silivri district for safety reasons. Some students cried, as shown in pictures.

Istanbul is considered to be particularly vulnerable to earthquakes. Below the Sea of Marmara is a section of the so-called North Anatolian Disorder, which marks the boundary between the Eurasian and Anatolian plates. Turkey is repeatedly shaken by earthquakes. One of the deadliest was the 1999 earthquake near Istanbul. At that time, more than 17,000 people were killed.

Researchers fear that an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 to 7.4 could threaten. But it is unclear when the earthquake will occur. In the earthquake on Thursday it hit again the west of the country and Istanbul.

Companies design contingency plans, private individuals have so-called go-bags packed with everything necessary to stand next to front doors, and schools teach children how to behave when the earth wobbles. It is unclear when the next big quake will come.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after his return from New York that eight people had been injured. Some buildings would have suffered minor damage. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu followed the developments of the Istanbul Disaster Coordination Centre (Akom). According to him, two minarets of mosques collapsed in the districts of Avcilar and Sariyer.

On social networks, many users report panic. Buildings wobbled. Schools and hospitals were evacuated. Telephone lines were interrupted. It was more violent than Tuesday's, writes a user. The head of the Turkish Red Crescent, Kerem Klinik, warned of aftershocks via Twitter. He called on people to stay away from buildings that had suffered visible damage.

According to official data, the time of the quake is 1.59 p.m. (local time). Only a few minutes after the first quake, according to CNN Turkey, there was an aftershock with a magnitude of 4.0 on the Richter scale.

Only on Tuesday had an earthquake of magnitude 4.6 shaken the Turkish marble region - it was felt until Istanbul. Its epicentre was also located in the Sea of Marmara west of the metropolis of millions, the civil protection authority Afad announced on Tuesday.

It was not the only earthquake that made headlines this Tuesday: Pakistan, too, was hit by a severe earthquake.

Researchers assume that sooner or later there could be a catastrophic earthquake in Istanbul - the tension between the tectonic plates is extremely high. Scientists believe that it will eventually discharge - and cause massive damage.

"Earthquake researcher Sükrü Ersoy reckons that the earthquake is now a warning. This made it more likely, he told CNN Türk. ""These could be the signs of a major earthquake,"" Ersoy told the station. ""Earlier or later the big quake will come."""

Already a few weeks ago there had been an incident - the quake caused great concern also in Istanbul. In Albania there had also been a violent earthquake only a few days ago - there were 68 injured. Also at Lake Constance this year the earth had trembled.

"Two explosive documents provide new fuel for US President Donald Trump’s possible abuse of power in the Ukraine affair. On the way to a possible impeachment procedure, the US Democrats are encouraged: The complaint filed by an anonymous whistleblower about Trump and his controversial telephone conversation with the Ukrainian president provides important evidence for investigations against the president. Trump sees himself once again as the victim of a ""witch hunt"". He also questioned the credibility of the whistleblower."

USA: Passenger of United Airlines locked in toilet - Flight redirected

Because a passenger was locked in the board toilet, a flight was diverted by United Airlines. The WC door was blocked during flight 1554 from Washington to San Francisco, the airline reported according to US media.

During an unscheduled stopover on Wednesday evening (local time) in Denver, the woman was finally freed from the tight cabin. She was detained there for about an hour, U.S. media wrote, citing other passengers. Passengers had to change planes to continue their flight to San Francisco.

"In a video distributed on the Internet, which according to US media is supposed to originate from Flight 1554, one can see how several people try to free the woman. ""We are currently working on opening the door, Ma'am. We'll get you out soon, Okay?"" says a man. The airline apologized to all passengers. It was initially unclear whether the woman would receive compensation."

The cockroach: Inspired by Kafka: Ian McEwan writes Brexit novel

How does a writer like Ian McEwan deal with the whole Brexit chaos? He writes a book about it - and his protagonist is unmistakable.

"Inspired by Franz Kafka's famous story ""The Transformation"", British author Ian McEwan (71) has written a book about the Brexit chaos in the UK."

"The novel ""Die Kakerlake"" (original: ""The Cockroach"") will be published in German on 27 November, the Diogenes Verlag (Zurich) announced. It is about the transformation of a man named ""Jim Sams"", who was ignored or hated in his previous life, but is now suddenly the most powerful man in Britain. He sees it as his mission to put the will of the people into practice and is wildly determined to be stopped by nothing and no one."

"McEwan was quoted as saying: ""If the parliament is closed, so that the government cannot be challenged at a critical moment, if ministers shamelessly lie like the Soviet leaders once did, if Brexiteers in high positions almost implore the catastrophe of a no-deal - then a writer must ask himself what he can do. There is only one answer: write"". McEwan published the novel ""Machines like me"" about artificial intelligence only in the spring."

"Kafka's story, first published in 1915, is about Gregor Samsa, who wakes up one morning and sees himself ""transformed into a monstrous vermin"", is gradually excluded from family and society and eventually perishes. ""Ian McEwan bows down to Kafka to describe a world that is upside down,"" the Diogenes publishing house said."

EU invests 9.5 million euros in Austria's railway infrastructure

11,200 wagons in Austria and Hungary get whisper brakes to reduce noise pollution from freight trains. In addition, sections of the railway connections between Graz and Györ and Wiener Neustadt and Sopron will be modernised and electrified.

"According to the EU authority, this should make travel more comfortable and reduce CO2 emissions. The funds come from the EU infrastructure pot ""Connecting Europe Facility""."

"The German tour operator Thomas Cook cancelled all trips up to and including 31 October 2019 one day after his insolvency application. Travel could ""not be started for insolvency reasons,"" the company announced on Thursday evening."

This also applies to bookings of the brands Thomas Cook Signature, Thomas Cook Signature Finest Selection, Neckermann Reisen, OGER TOURS, Bucher Reisen and Air Marin, which are already paid or fully paid. The company left open the question of travel with a start from 1 November 2019. In coordination with the insolvency insurance, the further procedure was examined, it was said.

Thomas Cook in Germany had succumbed to the bankruptcy of the British parent company and filed for insolvency on Wednesday. The company, which includes, among others, Neckermann Reisen, Oger Tours and Bucher Reisen, employs about 2000 people in Germany.

On the other hand, from this Friday hotels abroad, which currently still host Thomas Cook holidaymakers, will receive money from Zurich insurance. According to Zurich, payments to the hotels are subject to the condition that holidaymakers are no longer asked to make extra payments.

"On the basis of the booking information and without presenting separate invoices, the hotels in the holiday resorts are now to receive 50 percent of the outstanding payments, as a Zurich spokesman of the German Press Agency said. ""This applies immediately and on condition that Thomas Cook travelers are not asked by these hotels for individual payment of hotel bills or otherwise coerced,"" said spokesman Bernd Engelien."

The insurance company responded to reports from hotel guests who, according to their own information, had been forced to pay for their accommodation on site. Some had to put more than 1000 euros on the table. The German Travel Association (DRV) and the Federal Association of Consumer Centres had sharply criticized this.

How many hotels are affected will be coordinated with the insolvent travel provider on Friday, said the insurance spokesman. According to data from Thursday, 70,000 Thomas Cook holidaymakers from Germany were still on the road. Zurich Germany has secured the holiday and return journey of Thomas Cook customers.

Insolvency administrators want to try to continue the three Thomas Cook companies in Germany and find a solution for the future.

However, the now announced payments to hotels by Zurich Insurance only help the travelers who are currently still on the road. For Thomas Cook customers who still want to fly on holiday, it looks bad. Late Thursday evening, the company announced that all trips up to and including October 31 would be cancelled. This also applies to bookings that have already been paid for.

The company left open the question of travel with a start from 1 November 2019. In coordination with the insolvency insurance, the further procedure was examined, it was said. In principle, the Zurich insurance company is also responsible for these cases. The sale of new trips is stopped. dpa

The company refers to the insurer Zurich, which can be represented by the company Kaera. Customers could find out about the possibilities of refunding the travel price on the Kaera website and assert their claims via a web form.

Prince Harry has been continuing Lady Diana's commitment for a long time. In Africa, he is now walking directly in the footsteps of his mother.

Clothed with a blue splinter vest, the British prince Harry has detonated and destroyed an explosive mine in Angola.

Close to a camp of the British Halo Trusts near the town of Dirico, he created the ignition circuit on Friday morning in front of running TV cameras. At a safe distance, the explosive device exploded in the savannah landscape without causing any damage. Although the Halo Trust alone has destroyed more than 100,000 relics of decades of bloody conflict in the African country, there are still more than 1,000 minefields threatening the population.

On the fifth day of his trip to Africa, Harry wanted to follow in the footsteps of his mother Diana (1961-1997) in the city of Huambo. With the same blast master who once accompanied his mother, he wanted to cover the path she was taking at the time. The pictures on which Princess Diana walked through a cleared minefield in 1997 had gone around the world. She had also demonstrated support for the Halo Trust.

Harry (35) and his wife Meghan (38) have been on a ten-day trip to Africa since Monday, which began in the South African tourist metropolis of Cape Town.

Stalled Brexit negotiations: The danger of a no-deal remains acute

In fact, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had made a clear commitment: with him, there will certainly be no third postponement of the Brexit negotiations. But what statements are already eternal in the polarizing British. The recent verdict of the Supreme Court in Britain hovers like a sword of Damocles over the blondhead. His suspension of parliament to stubbornly carry out his Brexit course until the exit date was cancelled earlier this week. And a law passed by Parliament obliges Johnson to extend bilateral talks until 31 October in the event of failed negotiations with the EU. However, Johnson had categorically ruled this out again and again.

But the pressure does not seem to pass Johnson noticeably either. In the meantime, when visiting a hospital, he hinted that in the event of non-compliance, he would support an extension of the negotiations until the end of October:

At the same time, however, we are confident that we will leave the EU by 31 October.

And best with a deal. I am cautiously optimistic that this will work.

And time is running out for Brexit negotiators in Brussels. The EU and the British negotiators still have about six weeks to prevent Britain from leaving the European Union without an agreement. But even the most recent talks have failed to achieve a breakthrough. An agreement by the end of October currently seems rather difficult to imagine. If the British Prime Minister does not break the law, a further postponement of the withdrawal date is in force. However, the opposition does not trust the Prime Minister's words. She fears that Johnson could somehow enforce Brexit in the event of a no-deal.

The number of deaths related to the use of e-cigarettes in the US has risen to twelve. In addition, there are now 805 confirmed and likely injured in this context, the U.S. health authority CDC reported. According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, there were already more than 900 people affected, about 500 of them confirmed. The cause of the lung damage is still completely unclear. No similar increase in lung damage is known in Europe. The complaints seem to be limited to users in the US.

"The videos of Mohammed Ali were shared millions of times in online networks. The builder and actor, who lives in Spain, calls for a ""people's revolution"". Today, Friday, he called for further protests against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Egyptian military, which critics accuse of corruption and mismanagement. Ali hopes for mass rallies with one million participants in central places in the country."

In any case, the security authorities are alarmed. There was already an increased police presence in the centre of Cairo. Several subway stations remained closed, roads around the central Tahrir Square were closed. In the past few days, the police had already stepped up their roadside checks and partially searched pedestrian mobile phones for news and photos related to the protests.

On September 20, demonstrators also gathered around Tahrir Square.

"Last weekend there were protests in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Mansura with hundreds of participants. There had been no such open protest in Egypt for years. The security forces reacted accordingly harshly. According to the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), almost 2,000 people have been arrested since last week. Many of them had been arbitrarily arrested - just because they were ""in the wrong place at the wrong time"", HRW informed detainees, citing lawyers."

The organization also criticized censorship in the North African country. According to this, the government in Cairo is blocking websites and online services in order to prevent further protests against al-Sisi. The general has ruled the country since 2013, after overthrowing democratically elected Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Thousands of Islamists, government opponents, bloggers and activists have been imprisoned and partially convicted in recent years.

"The polar explorer Arved Fuchs returned from his Greenland expedition on Friday. On his arrival at the Port of Hamburg, he was greeted by the skipper Boris Herrmann, who had brought climate activist Greta Thunberg across the Atlantic with the racing yacht ""Malizia""."

"Together with a team of scientists, Fuchs had investigated and documented the consequences of global warming on his sailing ship ""Dagmar Aaen"" on the coasts of Iceland and Greenland in recent months."

The Fridays for Future movement is a blessing, said the polar researcher. He had waited for years for the young generation to speak out. It has been known for decades that the earth is warming up. Nevertheless, many acted as if there was a planet B.

"""What happens at sea often takes place under exclusion of the public,"" said Fuchs. He and his team wanted to inform people about the effects of global warming and marine litter. During the expedition, among other things, Greenlandic glacier ice was measured with a drone and fished with nets for microplastics, it was said."

"The polar researcher from Bad Bramstedt was awarded the ""Seadevcon Maritime Award"" at the Hamburg Climate Week for his ""fight for a sustainable and respectful use of the world's oceans"". ""For all of us who care about the survival of the oceans, Arved Fuchs is a great role model,"" said skipper Boris Herrmann at the award ceremony. ""He is a witness to the changes that have taken place in the Arctic in recent decades."""

430 euros for two plates of spaghetti with fish in a simple restaurant not far from the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome: that seemed too much for two Japanese tourists. The bill with 80 Euro tip included was paid by the two women, but they posted the receipt on Facebook, which triggered heated reactions.

"""Such cases damage the image of Rome. We call on the police to investigate whether this is a fraud,"" demanded a spokesman for Federagit, the association of travel guides in Rome, according to the Roman daily Il Messaggero (Friday edition)."

Promptly came the reaction of the owners of the restaurant. The Japanese had not only ordered spaghetti, but also fresh fish, the local owner justified himself. However, this is not shown in the invoice. A tip of up to 20 percent of the bill is also normal, said the innkeeper.

A call in Ukraine, and everything is broken? US President Donald Trump may indeed face impeachment proceedings after the turbulent revelations of the past few days, the Democrats now want to examine this as soon as possible with their investigation in the House of Representatives - there is talk of weeks until a decision would be made.

At the beginning of the scandal is allegedly the telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky. The accusation of the whistleblower, who ultimately brought the conversation to the public with his complaint out of concern for national security and for US democracy, is monstrous: the president has abused the power of his office to instrumentalize the government of another country to influence the 2020 election. He had exploited Ukraine's dependence blackmailingly and wanted to force it to take action against a political opponent.

The core of this project is also to be understood in the now published transcript of the conversation with Selenskyj, although it does not reproduce the full text. But the July 25 phone call is just one episode of a much bigger story, centered on Trump and his personal lawyer: Rudy Giuliani.

"From the public's point of view, the story begins in May 2019, when the New York Times reports on Rudy Giuliani's travel plans to Ukraine. He wants to meet with the newly elected President Selenskyj in Kiev, and the lawyer himself knows very well that his intentions are delicate. ""We're not interfering in a choice, we're interfering in an investigation of what we have the right to do,"" he tells the newspaper. One might think it was inappropriate, but ""there is nothing illegal about it."" Giuliani wants investigations to be pursued in Ukraine for which there is hardly any basis - ""because this information will be very, very helpful to my client and could prove to be helpful to my government""."

The lawyer and former New York mayor seems to have become infected with right-wing conspiracy fantasies fixated on Trump's opponent in the 2016 election: Hillary Clinton conspired with actors in Ukraine, critics said at the time, to construct an occasion for the Russia investigations in the US. However, this accusation was never to be taken seriously.

This is precisely the investigation that Trump will be talking about so prominently on the phone with Selenskyj in July. The version of Giuliani and the president reads: The former vice president and currently promising candidate for the Democratic presidential candidacy, Joe Biden, as Ukraine representative of the Obama administration, urged the dismissal of the then Ukrainian Attorney General Viktor Shokin. In order to stop the investigation of the gas company he was responsible for, on whose supervisory board his son Hunter Biden was active. Biden senior had extorted Ukraine financially to cover up the corrupt machinations of his family.

In fact, the process was somewhat different. When Joe Biden demanded that the Ukrainian Attorney General leave, the investigation against the gas company had already been completed, and Hunter Biden was never directly affected. Schokin himself was also accused of deeply corrupt behavior, and the US government was far from being the only Western partner pushing for his dismissal. Incidentally, the Obama administration even explicitly supported the investigation of the company.

Disturbances on Instagram Facebook and Whatsapp: Social media are down

Users worldwide report massive disruptions to Instagram and Facebook. According to this, Germany, Great Britain and Spain are particularly affected. On the website allestörungen.de users report that Facebook does not load again and again since about 15.30 o'clock. Instagram also displays the error message that content could not be loaded. Whatsapp also appears to be affected by the disorder, although not to the same extent so far.

It is not the first massive incident this year. Already in March and July the services had been cancelled for several hours. And as in the previous cases, this time users mainly use Twitter to vent their anger.

Three Polish scientists have been rescued from the ice of Antarctica by the Chilean Air Force. They were traveling with a dinghy and several miles from their base when their engine failed. They were lucky in misfortune - it took less than an hour for the Chilean rescue helicopter to recover.

"""At 9:30 o'clock we received the message, at just before ten we started, and a good 20 minutes later we were above the inflatable boat""."

Poland has operated the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station on King George Island since 1977, with 19 scientists working there. The frozen researchers were safely brought back to their research station.

Inductive technology via Qi standard is extremely practical, but should not be used.

Since several new smartphones have recently come onto the market that support wireless charging and sell very well - especially the new iPhone 11 models, we would like to recall a study from the beginning of July. Wireless charging of mobile devices is extremely convenient, but not necessarily recommended.

Researchers warn against wireless charging of smartphones. According to the findings of the Univerity of Warwick, this is extremely harmful for the devices. The reason for this is the significantly greater heat generation. If you charge a mobile phone normally by cable, the battery heats up to 27 degrees within three hours. In the case of wireless charging, however, the researchers have always measured over 30 degrees even when the smartphone is perfectly aligned on the charging pad. If the mobile phone is slightly next to the coil, the temperature rises even higher. In addition, the wattage of the charging pad also increases, which in turn drives up the power consumption.

According to the researchers, the temperature is a decisive factor for the durability of batteries. Every single degree plays a role here. When charging at higher temperatures, the battery not only reduces capacity, but also does not last as long overall. The service life is therefore lower. The researchers therefore recommend charging the smartphone via cable at all times. Since a battery exchange with modern smartphones is always associated with high costs, this should be a helpful tip. Apple recently even increased the cost of a battery replacement - for all iPhones.

The technology is extremely convenient: Simply place the device on a corresponding charging pad - these are now even installed in many restaurants, airports, hotels and cars - and the battery is charged without annoying cable salad and tedious plug-in mummy. Since Qi (which stands for inductive energy transmission) is a global standard that even Apple, for once, participates in, there are hardly any restrictions. However, according to the researchers, the technology should only be used in exceptional cases.

Everest traffic jam photographer: 13 eight-thousanders in six months

A Nepalese climber claims to have climbed 13 of the 14 highest mountains in the world within just six months. Nirmal Purja (36) reached the top of Manaslu in Nepal and set a record, his expedition operator announced.

"The former soldier wants to climb all 14 eight-thousanders in seven months. Purja calls his project ""Mission Possible"". He has already made international headlines: a photo of mountaineers standing in line on Mount Everest that went viral in spring comes from him."

The image of the mass influx triggered a debate about stronger security measures on the 8,848-meter-high mountain and highest peak on earth. In May, eleven climbers had died during the ascent within a few days.

A problem for Purja could be the ascent of the 14th eight-thousander.Chinese authorities are currently blocking the Mount of xixabangma in Tibet. The reason for this is, among other things, bad weather. At the beginning of the week, Purja wrote on Twitter that Nepal's government wanted to talk to China to allow it to rise.

"Among the dead animals is also a pregnant elephant cow, a police spokesman said on Friday. ""We suspect that the elephants were poisoned."""

The four carcasses were found in a protected area near the famous and visited by many tourists former rock fortress Sigiriya. According to the police spokesman, the animals were probably between 15 and 25 years old. An autopsy was ordered to determine the cause of death.

Almost 200 elephants are killed in Sri Lanka every year. The perpetrators are often farmers, on whose land the animals had previously held themselves harmless. At the same time, around 50 people are killed by elephants every year. This usually happens when the animals move through villages built near their habitat.

It is estimated that there are only about 7,000 elephants left in Sri Lanka. Their killing is theoretically punishable by the death penalty.

"The British oil tanker ""Stena Impero"" leaves the port city of Bandar Abbas more than two months after its establishment by Iran. This was announced by the Maritime Office Bandar Abbas, according to the IRNA news agency. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards had set the tanker flying the British flag on 19 July on charges of violating the rules of the law of the sea in the Persian Gulf."

"The responsible economic committee of the House of Commons wants to comprehensively investigate the bankruptcy of the travel giant Thomas Cook. This should be about the salary packages of the Executive Board as well as the question of why the British government did not want to give financial support to the company struggling for survival. ""Our interest is in the supervision of the company as well as the control by external auditors,"" said committee chairman Rachel Reeves in London. ""Apparently we are dealing with a bad example of management greed."""

According to experts, genes are overestimated in the risk of colorectal cancer

The role of genes in the familial increased risk of colorectal cancer has apparently been overestimated so far. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) Heidelberg in a recent study. Other risk factors, such as family eating habits, are therefore likely to weigh more heavily than previously assumed. This has consequences for calculations of the individual risk of colorectal cancer, the DKFZ scientists stress.

"Musk wrote this in an e-mail to Tesla employees published on Thursday (local time) by the industry blog ""Electrek"". The demand was strong, so that Tesla could book 110'000 orders, it continued in Musk's newsletter."

The challenge is to bring the cars quickly to the customers. To achieve this, Tesla had to allocate as many resources as possible at the end of the quarter.

Investors liked the information: Tesla's shares went out of business with an increase of more than six percent. The price has not risen so strongly for almost four months. In the second quarter, Tesla delivered a good 95,000 cars, reaching its previous record.

Does the British government want to circumvent Brexit law? Johnson restrained

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is concerned about whether he is looking for ways to circumvent the recent law passed by Parliament against an unregulated Brexit. In response to a question, he simply told journalists on Friday that his government would abide by the law.

"The law stipulates that the government must request a postponement of the withdrawal date if no agreement with the EU has been reached by mid-October. Johnson criticizes this as a ""capitulation law"" that makes negotiations with the EU more difficult."

"Former British Prime Minister John Major had suggested on Thursday that Johnson could try to use ""political harassment"" to circumvent the law. Johnson could use a procedural trick to postpone the entry into force of the law until after leaving the EU."

"Johnson said he was seeking a treaty with the European Union. ""We are confident that we will leave the EU on 31 October, and the best way is with an agreement."""

"Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has increased the pressure on European contractors in the dispute over the rescue of the historic nuclear deal. ""Unfortunately, the European states show incompetence or unwillingness when it comes to concrete actions,"" Rohani said on Thursday at a press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. In the event that they did not stand by their promises, he promised ""further steps"" away from the agreements of the laboriously negotiated 2015 agreement."

"The background is the conflict over the international agreement to prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb, which in return contained the promise to Tehran to normalize economic relations. In 2018, the US unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in order to force Iran with ""maximum pressure"" to change course in the Middle East policy deemed aggressive. President Donald Trump's administration wants to negotiate a new agreement with tougher conditions and is now once again relying on tough sanctions against Tehran. Iran recently responded by reviving the treaty’s limited uranium enrichment."

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed in a report that the Islamic Republic has now also used the centrifuges installed at the beginning of September with uranium or at least prepared them for use. According to IAEA figures, Iran is also preparing to build more than 300 more centrifuges.

Perhaps the Europeans were not willing to bear their share of the deal and therefore left the Iranians alone with the costs and the burden of oppressive US sanctions, Rohani conjectured. However, there will still be further talks, which will hopefully lead to a solution.

Rouhani continues to deny Iran’s involvement in attacks in Saudi Arabia

"However, the situation changed after an attack on an important oil plant in Saudi Arabia in mid-September: Germany, France and Great Britain followed the US assessment on Monday that Tehran was responsible for the attack. Originally, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen had claimed responsibility for the attack, but the US considered it a false confession. ""We have nothing to do with it,"" Rohani reaffirmed his position on Wednesday."

"""Those who make such accusations must provide evidence,"" Rohani said. However, the European leaders would not have been able to do this in the talks with him during the UN General Debate. Instead, they would only have claimed that the rebels in Yemen could not carry out an attack like this. In recent days, Rouhani had met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson."

"Before possible talks with US President Trump, the far-reaching sanctions of the US administration must first be lifted, Rohani demanded. He called on the government in Washington to switch to a policy of ""dialogue and reason."""

Astronomers are currently observing a comet from the depths of space. This succeeded first of all. The comet allows conclusions to be drawn about other solar systems.

What was initially only a guess is now confirmed: An interstellar guest crosses through our solar system. The comet from the depth of space was christened after its discoverer on 2I/Borisov and has aroused the interest of astronomers all over the world.

The widely travelled comet was discovered on 30 August by amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov at the Margo Observatory in Crimea - with a self-built telescope of 65 centimetres in diameter. Follow-up observations from various observatories not only confirmed that it was an unknown comet, but also showed that it did not originate from our solar system.

2I/Borisov is after 1I/'Oumuamua from 2017 only the second interstellar object, which was seen during a flight through our solar system.

"2I/Borisov offers astronomers the rare chance to get close-up insights into a foreign solar system before it disappears again and again. Initial observations show that the interstellar comet resembles that of our own system, as reported by the astrophysical institute of the Canaries. ""The current speed of the comet is high, about 150,000 kilometers per hour, which at this distance is well above the typical speeds of objects orbiting the Sun,"" Davide Farnocchia of the US space agency Nasa reported in a statement."

According to the analyses, the comet is on a so-called hyperbola track, which leads it out of our system - and clearly of interstellar origin, as the International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced. It is also responsible for naming and categorizing celestial bodies. In honor of its discoverer, the interstellar tail star, initially listed under the catalogue number C/2019 Q4, was given the designation 2I/Borisov, with the first part of the name indicating that it is the second interstellar object discovered in our solar system.

"The astronomers are lucky: In contrast to 1I/'Oumuamua, 2I/Borisov has already been spotted in the approach. Thus, the researchers remain for many months for investigations. ""The object will reach the highest brightness in mid-December and will be visible with medium-sized telescopes until April 2020,"" explained Farnocchia. ""After that, it will only be possible to observe it with larger, professional telescopes until October 2020."""

Several observatories have already targeted the visitor. Thus, a team led by Karen Meech from the University of Hawaii, who had already led the characterization of 1I/'Oumuamua, determined the diameter of the celestial object at 2 to 16 kilometers in a first investigation. Images of the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii show a clear tail of the comet.

"Researchers at the astrophysical institute of the Canaries (IAC) have already gained a first so-called spectrum from the interstellar tail star, which offers a kind of fingerprint of its chemical composition. ""The spectrum of this object is similar to that of comets in our solar system, and this indicates that their composition must be similar,"" reported IAC researcher Julia de Leon. This observation suggests that comets in other solar systems could be shaped by processes similar to ours, added de Leon's colleague Javier Licandro."

According to the IAU, the discovery of two interstellar visitors within just two years suggests that these objects could open up a new way of exploring certain processes in other solar systems. However, it is still difficult to estimate how often such stip-visits are. One of the next interstellar visitors could possibly intercept a planned satellite mission of the European space agency Esa.

"The agency wants to station the three-part space probe ""Comet Interceptor"" (German for example comet interceptors) on a waiting position 1.5 million kilometers from Earth by 2028. According to Esa science director Günther Hasinger, it should either lurk on a still untouched, fresh comet from our own solar system, or on an interstellar visitor like 1I/'Oumuamua."

Just before the 70th birthday of the People's Republic, the time has come: On the new mega-airport in the south of the Chinese capital, a first passenger plane of China United Airlines has landed, a special honor for captain and crew.

"By 2022, around 45 million passengers are to be handled at the new airport each year, and by 2025 this figure is expected to reach 72 million. China’s president, Mr. Jinping, personally announced the opening of the 450-billion-dollar project. China's most recent prestigious project is also called ""Seetern"" because of its six-armed building structure."

The complex has four runways, which will later be expanded to seven, and is equipped with the world's largest automatic air traffic management system. A new subway transports passengers to downtown Beijing in just 20 minutes.

Already during the construction, the Chinese had repeatedly stated that Berlin could learn from Beijing. The opening of the capital airport in Germany, which has been under construction since 2006 and is much smaller, has been repeatedly postponed. In Beijing, on the other hand, a first passenger plane landed after only four years.

New supersonic aircraft to fly in 2030: in four and a half hours from London to Sydney

"From London to Sydney in just four and a half hours - that's what the British space agency UK Space Agency dreams of. A special propulsion system (Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine, Sabre), developed by the company Reaction Engines from Oxfordshire, is intended to make this flight, which was targeted for the 2030s, possible at supersonic speed, the US broadcaster CNN quoted the agency. ""That's the technology that could definitely do that,"" agent chief Graham Turnock told the station. ""We are talking about the 2030s for commissioning, and the work is already very advanced."""

"In order to advance the project, the British Space Agency wants to work more closely with the Australian Space Agency. A flight from the British capital to the Australian metropolis currently takes about 20 hours. The Concorde was the only supersonic aircraft for passenger transport to date to cover the New York-Paris route from 1976 until its closure in 2003, taking three to three and a half hours. In 2000, there was an accident at the start of a Concorde at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, in which all 109 occupants were killed. Last year, US aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin announced plans to work with the US space agency Nasa to develop a supersonic aeroplane, the ""x-plane"". Virgin Galactic also has such developments in its program."

"""Sabre will make the world smaller with its high-speed point-to-point transport,"" Reaction Engines writes on his homepage. The Sabre drive could be used for efficient travel at a speed of Mach 5 - that means five times as fast as the sound. In addition, such aircraft can also be used outside the Earth's atmosphere, thus enabling the ""next generation of truly reusable framing equipment""."

Uprising in Washington: Trump wants to track down anonymous tippers in Ukraine affair

In the Ukraine affair over the possible abuse of power by the US president, Donald Trump wants to track down possible leaks in the White House.

"""I want to know who gave the whistleblower the information,"" Trump said on Thursday in front of employees of the U.S. Embassy to the United Nations in New York. The person concerned was almost ""a spy"" and in the past one dealt with them ""a bit differently"" than today."

This was seen as an attempt to intimidate tippers. The event was not actually open to the public. However, several US media distributed audio recordings of the speech on Friday. Democrats reacted indignantly to the president's statement.

The Democrats in the US House of Representatives announced on Tuesday preparations for impeachment proceedings against Trump. Their accusations are based primarily on the written complaint of an anonymous intelligence officer who makes serious accusations against Trump and his government headquarters. At great public pressure the descriptions of the whistleblower had been made public on Thursday.

"As part of his work, the whistleblower wants to have received information from several government officials that the US president is ""using the power of his office"" to get another country to interfere in his favor in the 2020 US election."

At the center of the allegations is a controversial telephone conversation between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyi at the end of July, in which Trump encouraged his counterpart to investigate that could harm his political rival Joe Biden. It is about former business of Biden's son Hunter in Ukraine and alleged efforts to protect his offspring from Ukrainian justice. Biden is leading the race for the Democratic presidential candidacy for the 2020 election.

The whistleblower also accused the White House of cover-up over the Ukraine phone call: leading government officials had tried to keep the exact wording of the conversation under the cover. As usual, an electronic text protocol had been drawn up. However, this was removed after the conversation on the instructions of lawyers from the White House from a database usually provided for this purpose and instead stored in a specially protected system. So far, only a rough conversation protocol has been published.

The identity of the whistleblower is not publicly known. The New York Times reported that it was supposed to be an employee of the CIA.

Trump again questioned the source’s credibility on Friday. In a series of tweets on the subject, the president wrote, among other things, that the so-called whistleblower had disseminated second-hand information that had turned out to be inaccurate. Therefore, there may be no tippers or spies at all.

But, as Trump said in New York about those who allegedly leaked information to the whistleblower, it provoked outrage. The chairman of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, reacted alarmed and complained that Trump's statement once again undermined the integrity of the government.

Various investigations against Trump and his surroundings have been underway in various committees in the House of Representatives for months. Faced with the Ukraine allegations, the Democrats are now pushing ahead with investigations with renewed vigour in order to initiate a possible impeachment procedure against Trump.

"""The whistleblower has given us a roadmap for our investigation,"" said Adam Schiff, head of the House Intelligence Committee. Trump attacked Schiff sharply, accused him of misrepresenting things, and again demanded the resignation of the committee chairman. Trump cursed ship regularly and had already demanded its withdrawal months ago."

"In a statement released on Friday, more than 300 former US government officials from the security and foreign policy fields, most of whom worked under democratic but also Republican presidents, backed the Democratic-initiated investigation into possible impeachment proceedings. If the allegations were true, it would be ""an unscrupulous abuse of power"" by Trump, it said."

There is no exact timetable for the further procedure. With their majority in the House of Representatives, the Democrats could try a so-called impeachment procedure. But the decision to actually impeach would be made in the Senate, where Trump’s Republicans have the majority. The prospects for success of such a procedure are therefore low. So far, no US president has been removed from office by an impeachment procedure.

The plans of the VW brand to further reduce costs in production could be at the expense of production in Germany and Europe. This concern drives the works council of the car manufacturer. The brand wants to reduce its annual factory costs of ten billion euros by two billion euros by 2023. Of this amount, EUR 500 million is to be saved this year.

"One key to this is personnel costs. The ""Future Pact"" negotiated between the company and the works council in 2016 already provides for the reduction of 14,000 jobs in Germany alone by 2020. Basically, a job can only be dismantled by the car manufacturer if it is virtually proven that the associated activities are no longer necessary. In addition, employment security is valid until 2029."

"As our newspaper has now learned from works council circles, however, jobs in production that are not actually on the table are being ""creepily"" dismantled via another route - i.e. bypassing the official course. Regular vacancies would often not be reoccupied."

"In these cases, the works council had no possibility of forcing the reoccupation. Meanwhile, there is a lack of personnel in many places, the work densification is increasing, the worries about a gradual bleeding of the vehicle plants are growing. This also increases the fear that vehicle production could gradually be withdrawn from Germany and Europe because it is cheaper in other parts of the world. VW only said: ""An adjustment of the employment volume takes place as agreed socially compatible along the demographic curve""."

"The VW brand wants to standardize production even more worldwide and centrally manage new projects. This is also intended to reduce costs and also speed up decisions - the aim is to increase productivity and thus competitiveness. Production Director Andreas Tostmann said at a manager conference in Berlin: ""Especially in uncertain times from Brexit to the impending trade war between the USA and China, we are well advised to make ourselves crisis-proof."""

There have already been successes along this path: for example, this year, for the first time since 2013, production costs per vehicle would fall compared to the previous year. Tostmann told journalists that the production time for the Golf 8, which will be presented in Wolfsburg on 24 October, will be reduced by 1.1 hours. VW does not give exact figures on the production duration, according to information from our newspaper it is round in the Golf 7

In our region, the main plant in Wolfsburg is the only VW factory in which vehicles are produced. The Braunschweig and Salzgitter plants manufacture components. For Wolfsburg, VW's internal rule of thumb is that 800,000 cars have to be built there every year in order for the plant to be satisfactorily profitable. In 2018, however, the capacity utilization in Wolfsburg was only around 700,000 vehicles - due to the falling demand for diesel and the problems with the conversion to the new consumption and exhaust gas test method WLTP.

"As production director Tostmann announced last year, however, one million cars are to roll off the production line in Wolfsburg ""perspectively"". This should make the bundling of the golf production in the main plant possible - because the Zwickau plant delivers the golf production through the conversion to the location for the e-car production."

In addition, the SUV Tiguan and Tarraco (Seat) are produced in Wolfsburg. However, sales of Golf and Tiguan have recently declined. Therefore, expectations are now resting on the Gulf 8. Despite all efforts to build up e-mobility, it should remain the bread-and-butter car of the Wolfsburger for the time being.

Young women from Nigeria have been swore, smuggled into the Ruhr area and forced into prostitution. Six suspected traffickers have to go to prison for this.

Six suspected traffickers from Nigeria were sentenced to probation and imprisonment of up to eight years and three months in Bochum on Friday. The defendants had smuggled young women from Nigeria into the Ruhr area and forced them into prostitution. In order to force their obedience, the Nigerian women who wanted to leave the country had to take a ritual oath in front of a voodoo priest.

The victims were between 17 and 22 years old. They were brought across the Mediterranean with the help of Libyan smugglers in inflatable boats. However, the dream of a better future did not come true. Arrived in Germany, they were distributed to various brothels in order to process the alleged smuggling costs of an average of 25,000 euros. The wages were therefore completely taken away from them.

"The defendants - four men and two women - had admitted the infiltration and subsequent distribution of the young Nigerian women on brothels in the trial. ""The work made it physically and mentally difficult for the women,"" said Judge Isabel Hoffmann at the verdict. ""Some were really disgusted."""

The verdicts are based on commercial and banal infiltration of foreigners, trafficking in human beings, pimping and severe forced prostitution.

FIm's ongoing dispute with the Lufthansa Group has once again threatened the flight attendant union Ufo with strikes.

"If the company does not return to the negotiating table, the union ""will inform about the industrial action in the LH Group on October 14,"" said Ufo tariff manager Daniel Flohr on Friday. Lufthansa and its subsidiary Eurowings have been refusing to negotiate collective agreements with Ufo for months. It is also a question of whether the union has legally terminated collective agreements with Lufthansa."

"Following a decision by the Frankfurt Labour Court, Ufo now sees itself strengthened on this point. Lufthansa wanted to state that the collective agreements had not been terminated. The court rejected the requests. The company confirmed the decision and is considering appealing against it. ""I think it's unlikely that a second court will see the matter completely differently,"" said Ufo board member Flohr."

In August, Lufthansa also filed an application with the Frankfurt Regional Labour Court to have the status of UFO as a trade union reviewed by the courts. The company argues that the union has not set up a representative board for months and is thus unable to fulfill its role as a collective bargaining partner.

This was preceded by a fierce leadership dispute in the trade union, in the course of which numerous members of the board as well as the advisory board resigned, including the long-time union leader Nicoley Baublies. Due to doubts about its leadership, the UFO had suspended an already begun vote on strikes by the cabin crew at Eurowings at the end of July.

Until now, Saudi Arabia was not exactly known as an international tourist magnet. But that is about to change. The country on the Persian Gulf wants to introduce new visa regulations.

With a new visa system, Saudi Arabia wants to attract more international tourists in the future. According to the Tourism Commission, the aim is to increase the number of international and domestic visitors to 100 million per year by 2030.

"""The opening of Saudi Arabia to international tourists is a historic moment for our country,"" said the chairman of the Tourism Commission, Ahmad Al-Chatib."

So far, Saudi Arabia has been difficult for tourists to access. Visas are usually only granted for short business trips, religious pilgrimages or visitors with relatives in the desert state. With the new rules, the arch-conservative kingdom hopes for more income from the tourism business. According to his own statement, Riyadh wants to reduce its dependence on the oil trade.

In mid-September, several rockets and drones hit two of the most important oil facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia: the country's largest oil refinery in Abkaik and the Churais oil field. As a result, the national oil production collapsed drastically, the oil price shots skyrocketed. It is likely to take several weeks for the kingdom's oil production to return to its old level.

Singer Justin Bieber (25) and his wife Hailey (22) are preparing for their wedding party. The model posted several party photos on Thursday (local time) in her Instagram stories, on which she can be seen in the white wedding look. According to the People magazine, reality star Kendall Jenner (23) and others had organized a bachelor party in Los Angeles.

"Justin posted several colorful, banana-printed suits on Instagram and asked his followers, ""Help me choose my smoking for the wedding."" According to media reports, the celebrity couple wants to marry churches next weekend."

A year ago, the Biebers gave themselves the yes word in a New York registry office. There had been no major celebration at that time.

"In an interview with Australian Vogue, Hailey recently explained that the two had found a common level after initial problems: ""If you don't want to compromise, you can't have a relationship."""

Two people were killed in the crash of a small aircraft in the west of the Czech Republic. The wreck was discovered on Friday in a wooded area near the city of Mecin (Metchin), the police said. The dead were a 38-year-old woman and a 64-year-old man.

The authorities had been searching for the machine since Thursday evening, after the crew had sent an emergency signal via GPS. A military helicopter was also used in the search. The cause of the accident has yet to be determined. The crash site is located about 30 kilometers south of Pilsen (Plzen) and 100 kilometers northeast of Regensburg.

In addition to pests, diseases, alien species, unsustainable logging and the growth of cities are also causes of the threat, reported the World Conservation Union (IUCN) in Brussels on Friday. It has examined the stocks of all 454 tree species known in Europe, 265 of which do not occur on any other continent. Of these 265, 58 percent are threatened. 66 are already at the highest level of danger and thus are on the verge of extinction.

"The IUCN divides endangered species into six categories: from ""potentially endangered"" to ""dangerous"", ""highly endangered"", ""threatened by extinction"" and ""extinct in nature"" to ""extinct"". In total, it lists more than 28,000 animal and plant species worldwide as endangered."

"In Germany, Ebereschen (Sorbus) in particular is threatened, said one of the authors, David Allen, of the German Press Agency. ""Most are threatened because the populations are small anyway or by the transformation or weakening of their habitats""."

"It also looks bad for the wild ordinary horse chestnuts. They have been considered ""dangerous"" since 2017, level two of the IUCN scale. The biggest threat besides a mushroom is the Balkan miner motte. It has spread from south-eastern Europe across the continent since the 1980s and has hardly any natural enemies. IUCN estimates the number of wild horse chestnuts (Aesculus hippocastanum) in Europe to be less than 10,000. The trees in cities, parks and avenues are not taken into account in this assessment."

At the same time, the IUCN scientists created new European red lists for molluscs, shrubs and mosses. According to the IUCN, more than one fifth of molluscs and mosses and almost half of all shrub species are threatened. This is mainly due to the destruction of the wilderness, introduced species, agricultural practices and climate change. Molluscs such as snails played a key role in the recycling of nutrients in the soil and are an important source of food for birds and other animals.

"""This report shows that the situation is precarious for many overlooked and underestimated species, species that form the backbone of the European ecosystem and contribute to a healthy planet,"" said Luc Bas, IUCN Director of the European Bureau. ""We must limit the impact of humans on our ecosystems and make the protection of these species a priority."""

34 people were injured in the recent earthquake in Turkey. According to the data, there were no deaths. Dozens of people had to leave their homes, 14 schools in Istanbul had been closed for security reasons, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Friday.

Hundreds of buildings were damaged. Since the earthquake the day before, there have been almost 200 aftershocks. The earthquake of magnitude 5.8 had shaken the marble region off Istanbul on Thursday and caused panic in the metropolis of millions.

Now the government wants to set up a commission to better prepare the country for earthquakes in the future, Oktay announced. In the past 20 years Turkey has not been sufficiently prepared for earthquakes, said Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Istanbul is considered to be particularly vulnerable to earthquakes. Below the Sea of Marmara is a section of the so-called North Anatolian Disorder, which marks the boundary between the Eurasian and Anatolian plates.

One of the heaviest quakes was one of the magnitude 7.6 in 1999 near Istanbul. The epicentre was then in Gölcük southeast of Istanbul. More than 17,000 people were killed.

Already on Tuesday, a quake of magnitude 4.6 had shaken the region around Istanbul. The authorities called on the residents to stay away from damaged buildings.

Super Bowl 2020: Jennifer Lopez (JLo) and Shakira perform in the half-time show

"Latin pop singers Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will lead the half-time show of the next American football final Super Bowl. The singers announced this on Twitter. ""It won't get bigger,"" Shakira wrote to a photo of herself and Lopez. She is incredibly excited to be on the Super Bowl stage. On February 2, 2020, the time will come in Miami."

"Jennifer Lopez explained that she had dreamed of appearing at the Super Bowl since 1996 - at that time she saw Diana Ross flying into the sky at the half-time show. ""Now it's even more special because the NFL is 100 years old and I'm going to perform with another Latina."" She couldn't wait to ""show what we girls can do on the biggest stage in the world."""

"Shakira pointed out in a statement that she felt honored to stand alongside another artist on one of the largest stages in the world and to represent Latinos and Latinas from the USA and the whole world. ""And then on my birthday!"" The main sponsor of the event wrote on Twitter that it was the first time that the two ""Queens"" stood together on a stage."

Shakira comes from Colombia. Jennifer Lopez was born in New York, her parents are from Puerto Rico.

The Super Bowl is the highlight of the American football season. The game and the half-time show are among the most watched TV broadcasts in the USA. Even if you've recently dropped audience numbers, this February the spectacle in the US attracted the fewest viewers in more than ten years. Nevertheless, there were still almost a hundred million people on average.

There had been a stir in the run-up to the half-time show of the last Super Bowl: According to media reports, top stars such as Rihanna, Pink and Cardi B did not want to appear in the dispute over the handling of Quarterback Colin Kaepernick last February. Finally, the pop group Maroon 5 led the half-time show - the reviews were not very friendly.

Kaepernick, then Quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, had gone to his knees in the 2016/17 season before NFL games at the national anthem in protest against police violence and racism. With his protest Kaepernick triggered a movement, numerous players took over the gesture. This caused great excitement, US President Donald Trump attacked the mostly African American football stars sharply. Kaepernick himself has been without a club since March 2017 and has not played an NFL game anymore. He accuses the clubs of not wanting to hire him for political reasons.

According to a press report, some banks are likely to pay dearly for the bankruptcy of travel provider Thomas Cook. There is a risk of high write-downs on outstanding bonds and loans. Credit Suisse is also affected, writes the Financial Times in its Friday issue.

According to the report, banks such as Barclays, Morgan Stanley, UniCredit and Credit Suisse would probably have to write down a total of up to 1.8 billion British pounds (around 2 billion euros) on their books. This would have been shown by estimates of the consulting firm AlixPartners.

The creditors of bonds would have to accept write-downs of 900 million to 1 billion pounds and the lenders between 550 and 825 million pounds. The actual amounts to be written off are likely to be at the upper end of the bandwidths, an expert told the paper.

"How large the losses of the creditors will actually be in the end will become apparent after the insolvency proceedings have expired. A person close to this procedure did not spark too much hope. For example, Thomas Cook's approximately 40 aircraft in the UK are ""old"" and many of the properties are in poor locations. The most money could probably be obtained with the sale of the airport slots as well as the brand Thomas Cook, it was further said."

"Sea Watch captain Carola Rackete may have brought men to Italy who are said to have tortured and killed people in Libya. ""We can't rule this out, but we don't have any reliable information about it,"" said the spokesman for the refugee organization Sea-Watch, Ruben Neugebauer, the news agency dpa."

"Other migrants would have recognized the three men in Italy. They are accused of having raped, tortured and killed people in Libya. The alleged perpetrators were arrested in the reception camp in Messina, Italy. Neugebauer stressed that the refugee organizations could not check who they left on their ships. ""They come without passports""."

Carola Rackete had illegally taken migrants to the port of Lampedusa on 29 June, ramming a ship belonging to the Italian financial police. On that day, the three suspects are said to have arrived there. The captain is under investigation for aiding illegal immigration.

The head of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Ajit Pai, has warned the federal government not to trust the Chinese network supplier Huawei.

"We believe that the risks are too great,"" Pai told the ""Handelsblatt"" with a view to setting up the new 5G mobile network."

"China has a ""national security law"" that obliges every company ""under Chinese jurisdiction"" to follow instructions from the security authorities."

"The applicable law also prohibits companies from informing third parties about such requests,"" the FCC CEO continued. This makes it very difficult to have confidence in the integrity of technical equipment and services."

"In the meantime, the Federal Government has agreed to demand a ""declaration of trust"" from suppliers."

"Berlin first wants to try to control the risks, for example with technical solutions, reports the ""Handelsblatt"" with reference to its own information."

Pai doubts that this is possible. The 5G technology does not only consist of the hardware:

"Especially the software is important to keep the devices up to date. This software consists of billions of lines of program code that change over time,"" said Pai."

"It is ""very difficult to imagine"" that a government agency, ""no matter where, would be able to check every single update in real time to detect security risks,"" the FCC chief continued."

He accuses the Chinese company Huawei of close contacts with the Chinese state apparatus:

"The ownership is opaque. The employee company that supposedly owns the company is not necessarily independent of the government,"" Pai told the ""Handelsblatt."""

The US has evidence that government employees are placed within the company. Pai was recently in Berlin for talks to promote the position of the United States.

At night, residents hear explosions. A gigantic fire wall illuminates the sky above a northern French chemical factory. The fire is extinguished after hours - but the clean-up work could now take days.

After a fire in a chemical factory in the northern French city of Rouen on Thursday, the schools and nurseries in the region remain closed.

In twelve municipalities, the facilities would not open on Friday as a precautionary measure, the responsible prefecture informed. The Ministry of the Interior had asked citizens to stay in buildings as much as possible and not to expose themselves to smoke. There were no casualties. Farmers and breeders were called upon to bring their animals inside, to protect their feed and to stop harvesting for the time being.

The fire was completely extinguished on Thursday evening, as the prefecture announced. There is still a risk that smell will spread after deletion, according to the prefecture on Twitter. According to the prefecture, 240 firefighters and 90 policemen and gendarmes were deployed at the fire site.

A gigantic black smoke column had previously risen from the chemical factory. French media reported huge flames and explosions in the factory of the company Lubrizol, which produces additives for oils. The production facility is located a few kilometers from the city center.

According to the authorities, the factory in Normandy belongs to the so-called Seveso category of dangerous sites, which are particularly monitored. In 1976, a devastating chemical accident occurred in Seveso near Milan, Italy.

"The prefect of the Normandy region, Pierre-Andre Durand, told the news channel BFMTV that at first no ""high toxicity"" had been detected in samples. However, pollution of the nearby Seine could not be ruled out. Dams against pollution were built in the river, the prefecture explained."

The fire broke out early in the morning at around 2:40 a.m., the authorities reported. The cause remained unclear at first. Rouen is a regional metropolis located on the Seine between Paris and the port city of Le Havre.

French Economics and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has called on Germany to invest more to boost economic growth in the eurozone.

"Germany must invest now, the sooner the better,"" Le Maire said on Thursday evening at the presentation of the French budget for the coming year."

"We must not wait until the economic situation worsens in order to take the necessary decisions""."

Le Maire said that action would have to be taken by those states that would have budgetary leeway for more investment, among other things with regard to Germany.

"France did not have these margins, the minister added, pointing to the high national debt of his country. This amounts to more than 98 percent of the gross domestic product. French public debt must be ""stabilized"" and ""reduced,"" Le Maire said."

In recent years, France has repeatedly appealed to Germany to make more public investments in order to revive the European economy. In return, German politicians have repeatedly called on France to get its budget deficit under control.

The French budget for 2020 presented on Thursday provides for tax relief of more than nine billion euros for households.

In doing so, the French government is reacting, among other things, to the protests of the Yellow Vest movement. New debt is expected to fall to 2.2 percent, after an expected 3.1 percent this year.

Is he still trying to trick?: Johnson evades question about Brexit tactics

"British Prime Minister Johnson sharply criticizes the ""capitulation law"" passed by parliament."

Parliament is back, a law requires the British prime minister to avoid a chaos Brexit. Critics fear, however, that Boris Johnson could still use a loophole. Asked about this possibility, however, the Tory politician evades.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is covering up whether he wants to push through an unregulated Brexit – despite the law recently passed by Parliament, which is precisely what is supposed to prevent that. In response to a question, Johnson simply told journalists that his government would abide by the law.

"The law stipulates that the government must request a postponement of the withdrawal date if no agreement with the EU is reached by mid-October. Johnson criticizes this as a ""capitulation law"" that makes negotiations with the EU more difficult."

"Former British Prime Minister John Major had suggested on Thursday that Johnson could try to use ""political harassment"" to circumvent the law. The prime minister could use a procedural trick that postpones the entry into force of the law until after leaving the EU. Johnson said he was seeking a treaty with the European Union. ""We are confident that we will leave the EU on 31 October, and the best way is with an agreement."""

"Johnson's chief adviser Dominic Cummings, meanwhile, declared that he felt the political disputes over Brexit as a ""walk in the park"" and was confident that the desired exit from the EU would still come about: ""We enjoy this, we will win, we will leave (note: from the EU), do not worry,"" Cummings told the British newspaper ""Telegraph"" at a book presentation."

"Cummings, who led the Brexit campaign ""Vote Leave"" during the election campaign before the 2016 EU referendum, now serves as chief strategist in the British government seat Downing Street. He is supposed to be behind the uncompromising policy that has led the prime minister into an almost hopeless situation."

"Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan or Janis Joplin - they all stood in front of Linda McCartney's camera, which has become one of the great rock photographers. But it doesn't always have to be the big glamour. The photo book ""The Polaroid Diaries"" delves deep into the very private world of the McCartney family."

"Paul McCartney, who was married to her from 1969 until Linda's death in 1998, was visibly proud and moved when he presented the illustrated book ""The Polaroid Diaries"" in mid-September at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Among the illustrious guests were Ringo Starr, Stella McCartney, Olivia Harrison and Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde."

"After the launch event, McCartney wrote on Instagram: ""ThePolaroidDiaries is a glimpse into the life of an extraordinary family before Instagram, a celebration of LindaMcCartney's legacy as a dedicated artist and the instant magic of Polaroid film."""

"With Linda McCartney, who had studied art history at the University of Aizona until she found photography, the camera was always there. Thousands of Polaroids have made it, several hundred of them are now being published for the first time in ""The Polaroid Diaries""."

"They are portraits, still lifes, landscapes, several hamsters, a sheep in the kitchen and other interiors from the early 70s to the late 90s. ""She wanted real moments,"" writes art critic Ekow Eshun in his preface. And of course, one thing is always in the focus: Her husband Paul - as you might never have seen him before."

There he dances with his daughter Mary on his shoulders, calls in the bathrobe with a bag on his head or wears shapeless moonboots. Sure, the McCartneys were an extraordinary family, but beyond the spotlight on their farm in southern England or Scotland they also led a normal life. According to the BBC, Mary McCartney said that she slept as a baby in a bed that her father had made from old potato boxes. And it hasn't always been tidy with the McCartneys either.

Like hardly any other medium, the Poloraid camera captures the immediate moment. The recordings of Linda McCartney are certainly a kind of family diary, but they are much more than just snapshots.

"It's about the deciding click: You have to recognize when a great photo happens in front of you. And then you have to snap it at exactly the right moment,"" said Paul McCartney. ""If you snap two seconds later or two seconds earlier, it can be a completely different photo."" And Linda would have had the gift of always capturing exactly the right moment. ""She just knew she had it,"" Paul said in the Eshun essay."

"The light, the composition, the image section and the colours are right, which makes ""The Polaroid Diaries"" not only an entertaining picture book for Beatles fans, but also a great aesthetic pleasure in addition to everything anecdotal, where landscapes sometimes seem like abstract paintings. The perfect addition to the newly released Beatles album ""Abbey Road"", which was released exactly 50 years ago."

Despite the US sanctions imposed on Iran, Turkey wants to continue importing oil and gas from its neighbouring country. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview published on Friday that Turkey could not stop importing oil and gas from Iran.

"We will continue to buy our natural gas from there,"" Erdogan said in New York, where he attended the UN General Assembly."

"Erdogan admitted, however, that Turkey had problems importing Iranian oil, as some companies had ""withdrew because of the US threats."""

"Nevertheless, Turkey will ""particularly continue our relations with Iran on this issue and on many other issues,"" said the Turkish president, who had repeatedly criticized the US sanctions against Iran in the past."

"Since its withdrawal from the international nuclear agreement with Iran, the US has pursued a policy of ""maximum pressure"" on the Islamic Republic. According to the US, Iran secretly pursues a nuclear program and does not abide by the agreement."

Their sanctions have led to the collapse of Iranian oil exports and a severe economic crisis in Iran. In recent months, tensions in the Gulf region have increased considerably.

The US government wants to drastically restrict the reception of refugees. The US State Department said on Thursday that the annual ceiling of a resettlement program should be lowered from the current 30,000 to 18,000 refugees. This corresponds to a cut of 40 percent.

The State Department said the US would continue to be committed to supporting refugees. The most important task, however, is to protect and serve US citizens. Currently, the US immigration system is overloaded.

In the future, the U.S. government wants to focus on hosting two refugee groups: people who are persecuted for their beliefs - and Iraqis who have helped the U.S. military in the country and are thus in danger, according to the statement of the State Department. By contrast, a maximum of 1500 refugees from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are to be taken in.

The program, launched in 1980, selects refugees from UN camps around the world and resettles them in the US. The ceiling of 18,000 refugees for the 2020 budget year would be the lowest in the programme's history. The current ceiling of 30,000 is already a low. When US President Donald Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, left the White House, the figure was just under 85,000.

"Aid organisations reacted in horror to the announced lowering of the ceiling. ""This is a very sad day for America,"" said David Miliband, head of the International Rescue Committee. The US would thus continue to damage its leadership in protecting the world’s most vulnerable people."

Trump is trying to strictly limit immigration to the US, both legally and illegally. According to its own statements, the US government expects 350,000 asylum applications for the coming budget year. These figures are separate from the resettlement programme.

"US President Donald Trump has accused whistleblower whistleblowers of espionage. Whoever has given the informant, who accuses him of abuse of power, appropriate hints, ""come close to a spy,"" Trump said, according to a record of a private event on Thursday in New York. This is reported by several U.S. media."

"According to this, Trump spoke to employees of the American UN mission. When asked about the person who informed the whistleblower about controversial events in the White House, he replied, ""That comes close to a spy."" Then Trump added, ""Do you know what we did in ancient times when we were smart? Right. The spies and betrayal, we used to deal with it a bit differently than we do now""."

Observers assessed the latter remark as a possible allusion to the death penalty. The Democrats strongly criticized Trump's statements and accused him of intimidating witnesses. It was also an attempt to obstruct a congressional inquiry into a possible impeachment procedure against him, wrote the chairmen of the Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Supervision Committees in the House of Representatives.

The whistleblower accuses the president in a now published complaint of having abused his office to request interference from another country in the 2020 US election. Concretely, his controversial telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Selenskyj in the summer was one of the topics: In the conversation, Trump urged him to initiate an investigation into his possible democratic challenger Joe Biden and his son Hunter in Ukraine. Trump denies any wrongdoing.

It is still unclear who the whistleblower himself and his informants are. However, as the New York Times reports, the whistleblower is said to be an analyst for the CIA.

Time and again people try to cross the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece. The often much too small boats capsize regularly. Seven migrants have now died in the sinking of a dinghy, including five children.

Seven migrants died in the sinking of a dinghy off the Greek island of Chios. Among the fatalities were also a baby and four other children, reported the Greek Coast Guard. Four children, three women and five men were rescued from the floods by the crew of a passing ferry.

Among the victims is said to be a smuggler, reported the local news portal of Chios, Alithia.gr. The migrants left Turkey in the morning. They had tried to reach the small archipelago of Inousses in the northeast of the island of Chios. Inousses is located between Chios and the Turkish mainland.

It is not yet known from which countries the migrants originate. At present, hundreds of migrants from Turkey are transferring to the Greek islands in the east of the Aegean, mostly in far too small boats. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 174 people lost their lives on this route last year.

"A US concert by the rock band The Who has come to an abrupt end because of an inconvenience of lead singer Roger Daltrey. In the middle of the performance on Wednesday evening (local time) in Houston, his voice failed the service. At the eighth song, Daltrey told the audience, ""I think I should leave it as long as it's still running."""

"Lead guitarist Pete Townsend apologized and added that Daltrey ""couldn't really speak now."" Townsend promised the audience to get their money's worth at a restitution concert. However, a date has not yet been set."

The Who cancelled appearances scheduled for Friday in Dallas and Sunday in Denver. They are to be made up at a later date. 75-year-old Daltrey and his 74-year-old bandmate Townsend are the only remaining founding members. The British cult band formed 55 years ago.

Rental suddenly discontinued: WeWork makes real estate markets tremble

Within a few years, WeWork will rise from a small startup to a driving force in the most expensive real estate markets in the world. But now the company is in crisis. Landlords must fear for billions in revenue.

The crisis of the office landlord WeWork threatens to disturb the balance in the largest real estate markets in the world. A few days ago, the company had dismissed founder Adam Neumann as its boss, postponed the planned IPO and started selling subsidiaries and assets such as the private jet for executives in order to gain financial leeway for the coming weeks and months. In addition, the British Financial Times reports that WeWork has stopped the conclusion of new rentals with immediate effect. This means that in New York and London, among other places, the largest tenant of office space is suddenly off the market.

WeWork rents large office spaces on a long-term basis and rents them out to members in small units at short notice. These can be individual freelancers, small startups or entire departments of large corporations. So far, WeWork has been burning money at breathtaking speed with this business. Last year, the company recorded a loss of 1.6 billion dollars, with a turnover of 1.8 billion dollars. This year, the rental costs alone are said to have risen to an estimated 2.5 billion dollars due to the rental of ever new large areas. In order to limit the loss, the new management is now said to have pulled the emergency brake and stopped renting new areas with immediate effect.

According to the Financial Times, WeWork has now concluded lease agreements with maturities of up to 15 years, resulting in commitments of more than 40 billion dollars. These huge liabilities could become a problem not only for the company itself and its investors, but for entire real estate markets.

"According to calculations by the economist Dan Alpert from Cornell Law School in New York, WeWork has rented almost 300,000 square meters of office space in Manhatten, one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world, over the past 24 months. WeWork's new contracts alone ensured that the demand for offices in New York was greater than the new space that came onto the market at that time. Without WeWork's expansion, the office vacancy in the US metropolis would have increased during this time, as Alpert wrote in the ""Business Insider"". The situation is similar in London, where WeWork now operates several dozen office locations in a prime location."

Even in the British capital, the balance in the real estate market could shift noticeably without further expansion of the aggressive startup. Among other things, WeWork is the main tenant, in an office building bought last year by the savings bank fund provider Deka for almost 100 million euros in the center of the financial metropolis.

Many landlords have converted their properties to meet the requirements of WeWork with high investments. If WeWork fails to make its business model profitable soon, the property owners would probably have to write off part of the hoped-for billions in revenue. Despite the long-term leases, they do not have access to WeWork's reserves, which are already scarce. Because the rental of the individual locations of WeWork is usually carried out by specially founded subsidiaries, so-called Special Purpose Vehicles, for which the parent company is only liable within narrow limits.

The Russian coastguard has once again taken action against North Korean fishermen. In recent days, a total of 262 poachers have been arrested who have fished illegally in the waters, the Russian domestic secret service FSB informed the agency Interfax on Friday.

Only ten days ago, 161 fishermen from North Korea were arrested. Previously, the border guards had been shot and three of them injured. This time there were no casualties, it was said. Communist North Korea suffers from chronic food shortages.

The North Korean fishermen were therefore travelling in Russian territorial waters. According to the Russian Coast Guard, patrols are being carried out there to protect its marine biological resources. During the re-checks, 30,000 squid were discovered. In addition, three fishing boats and two motor boats were confiscated and taken to Nachodka and Posjet near Vladivostok. According to the agency Ria Nowosti, the Coast Guard found a total of more than 8,000 violations in 2018

The Russian fisheries authority had not issued fishing licences to the North Koreans this year, even after complaints from local entrepreneurs. According to the media, thousands of fishermen from North Korea have already been temporarily arrested there in 2019.

Georgi Martynov, head of the Association of Russian Fishing Companies in the Far Eastern region of Primorje, recently also complained of high ecological damage caused by North Korean fishermen. They fished with closely meshed synthetic nets banned in Russia. These would also bring small creatures out of the sea. In addition, the nets would simply be disposed of in the sea, where they would take 200 years to decompose. Even the ships themselves do not comply with the hygienic and technical regulations.

According to Moscow, three members of the Russian Coast Guard were injured in the arrests in the previous week. According to the FSB, a North Korean who was also wounded later died of his injuries. On September 17, Russian border guards first set up a North Korean boat and then a second one after it opened fire.

"The US has imposed entry bans on former Cuban President Rael Castro and his children. The US State Department justified this in a statement on Thursday with Castro's participation in ""big human rights violations"". As head of the Communist Party of the Caribbean State, he presided over a system in which thousands of Cubans were arbitrarily arrested and there were more than 100 political prisoners."

"As chairman of the armed forces, the brother of the late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro is also complicit in human rights violations there through the support of the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. ""The Cuban regime's disregard for human rights and use of force to support the former Maduro regime are responsible for the ongoing crises in Cuba and Venezuela,"" US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted."

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump issued travel bans against members of the Venezuelan government and the military, among others. In Venezuela, a fierce power struggle between the government and the opposition has been raging for months. The US has imposed a whole series of sanctions on Maduro’s government to bring him to his knees and bring opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaidi to power.

Cuba is considered one of Maduro's closest allies. The socialist Caribbean island receives oil from Venezuela in exchange for the services of dispatched doctors. According to the US and the Venezuelan opposition, Cuba has also sent numerous intelligence agents to Venezuela to help the government suppress government opponents.

One week after the largest international climate protests to date, thousands of people want to take to the streets again today for more climate protection.

At the end of an international climate strike week, the Fridays for Future movement is once again planning actions and rallies in dozens of countries around the world. New Zealand and Australia are likely to make the start because of the time difference before the protests spread across Europe to North America. Climate activist Greta Thunberg wanted to take part in a large-scale rally in Montreal, Canada. Demonstrators also wanted to gather in front of the White House in Washington.

"It is relatively unclear how big the global response will be this Friday after last week's record turnout. Thunberg himself was good things. ""Last Friday, more than four million people went on strike for the climate. This Friday we'll do it again!"" she wrote on Twitter. So far, there have been 6383 actions in 170 countries during the strike week, she added."

Especially in Germany, the influx last Friday was very large. According to Fridays for Future estimates, a good third of all demonstrators worldwide - around 1.4 million - took part in the protests in 575 German cities. This time, according to a listing of the movement, rallies are planned in at least 65 cities. Among them in metropolises such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne, but also in smaller municipalities and cities such as Jüchen in North Rhine-Westphalia or Westerland on Sylt, people want to take to the streets for the climate.

At the age of 15, Thunberg sat in front of the Swedish parliament in August 2018 to call on the politicians of her country to step up their efforts to protect the climate. The Fridays-for-Future movement emerged from this within a short period of time. Pupils and students in particular, but increasingly also scientists and other adults, are taking part in the climate protests.

Together they demand more ambition from politicians in the fight against global warming and the impending climate catastrophe. Above all, according to the Paris climate agreement, global warming must be contained to below 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial times.

Thunberg had arrived in New York almost a month ago after a two-week transatlantic trip with a deep-sea racing yacht. There she had recently participated in climate protests and summits of the United Nations. On Monday, she gave an emotional speech at the UN, in which she spoke strongly to the world's heads of state and government. In her native Stockholm, she was awarded the Alternative Nobel Prize of the Right Livelihood Foundation on Wednesday for her commitment to more climate protection.

"People in Russia will no longer be allowed to smoke on the balcony. This provides for a change in fire protection. ""This also applies to smoking,"" said a spokesman for the emergency ministry in Moscow on Thursday, according to the agency Tass. The ban is due to enter into force on 1 October."

Anyone who still smokes must therefore expect a fine of 3,000 rubles (42.46 euros). If the cigarette should ignite a fire, then the penalty is higher. According to the ministry, the ban also includes burning candles. Grilling meat skewers on the balcony is no longer permitted.

In the fight against crimes on the Internet, German investigators have for the first time excavated a large server provider for illegal transactions in the darknet.

A total of 13 perpetrators are suspected of having hosted numerous websites as the operator of a data center in a former Nato bunker in Traben-Trarbach on the Moselle, through which internationally operating criminals operated their machinations.

This was reported by the Attorney General's Office in Koblenz. Seven suspects were arrested on Thursday evening during a major action. The Darknet is a shielded part of the Internet.

"Customers of the suspects are said to have been among others the operators of the world's second largest darknet marketplace for drugs, ""Wall Street Market"", which investigators had smashed in the spring. According to the Attorney General's Office, the attack on 1.25 million telecom routers at the end of November 2016 was also controlled via a server in the cyberbunker."

Such a hoster had been excavated for the first time in Germany, it was said. A web hoster provides the infrastructure for an internet presence.

During the access campaign with the support of special units such as the GSG9, searches were carried out in Germany and in neighbouring countries. It was the result of nearly five years of investigation. At noon the investigators want to inform about further details.

At the end of an international climate strike week, the Fridays for Future movement again planned actions and rallies in dozens of countries around the world.

In Germany, protests are planned in at least 65 cities, including metropolises such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne, but also in smaller municipalities and cities such as Jüchen in North Rhine-Westphalia or Westerland on Sylt. Climate activist Greta Thunberg wants to participate in a major rally in Montreal, Canada.

Justice and courage are high virtues, even in the 21st century, in a world full of war and smoke factories that warm the climate. This makes it all the more astonishing that a 16-year-old girl of all people is holding the mirror in front of the people in power at that time. But what is behind it? Is it helpfulness or clever marketing of a climate activist? Historical masterpiece or manipulative tactics for its own sake?

On the one hand, Greta Thunberg sets the masses in motion and makes young people rise up for a better climate-friendly world. Historically, it is not the first time in Europe that a young person manages to win over a collection of children and young people. Already in 1212 a child named Nikolaus from Cologne felt chosen to work for a more just world. At that time, he was also able to win over a crowd of young people and persuaded them to cross the sea in order to get to the promised land, similar to how Greta Thunberg recently set out on a trip to America with a sailboat.

"But is there a dark side to this? Why does it take a stock called ""We don't have time"" to save the world? In addition, Greta Thunberg has rich PR managers at her side. By the way, her mother has published a book that has sold extensively, thanks to the daughter in the spotlight. Even well-tried followers of Greta Thunberg were a little indignant about the last PR show, or the trip by boat was probably too thick for some successors. This is also not unfounded, because the action was very well used in the media worldwide and a lot of money is flowing thanks to the impressive action."

Here the spirits are now separating: Is it morally right to enrich oneself financially in saving the world? Is it still authentic when certain groups of people work together with stockbrokers during the World Rescue Action? No matter which position is ultimately taken, a critical and reflected point of view is increasingly important in a democratic society, because democracy thrives on different opinions and discussions. Therefore, it can make sense to critically question even seemingly pious projects of certain trendsetters.

Comet discovered: Interstellar guest crosses through our solar system

The assumptions of the astronomers have been confirmed: A strange comet is crossing our solar system at the moment - it is only the second of its kind.

Garching/Washington - The researchers have only suspected it for a long time, but now they have certainty: A comet from another star is crossing our solar system at the moment. He was christened after his discoverer 2I/Borisov and currently employs astronomers worldwide.

This body was discovered by an amateur astronomer named Gennady Borisov in Crimea. He looked up at the sky with a self-built telescope and further follow-up observations confirmed his first suspicion. It is actually an unknown comet that does not originate from our solar system. He is only the second of his kind to be spotted during the flight.

The great opportunity for astronomers is now to get a glimpse of a foreign solar system from close up. Apparently, the commet resembles that of our own system, as reported by the astrophysical institute of the Canaries. According to the International Astronomical Union (IAC), the comet is clearly of interstellar origin and is currently moving on a so-called hyperbola path that leads it out of our system.

Comet has already been sighted before approach - and can be observed for several months

"But before that happens, astronomers can observe it closely. In contrast to its predecessor, 2I/Borisov has already been sighted in its approach, which means that it can be examined from Earth for many months. ""The object will reach its greatest brightness in mid-December and will be visible with medium-sized telescopes until April 2020,"" explains Davide Farnocchia from the US space agency Nasa. ""After that, it will only be possible to observe it with larger, professional telescopes until October 2020."""

According to the first findings, the comet is estimated to be 2 to 16 kilometers in diameter. At the same time, the celestial body seems to be similar to our comets - because, as the IAC researcher Julia de Leon puts it, the spectrum of the tail star is similar to ours. This observation suggests that comets in other solar systems could be shaped by processes similar to ours, added de Leon's colleague Javier Licandro.

However, the observation goes beyond individual findings. The fact that two such objects have already been discovered within just two years may allow a new way of investigating certain processes in other solar systems.

Again and again asteroids occupy the researchers. Only recently a giant asteroid raced past the earth and came dangerously close to it.

"""Absolutely reprehensible"": Rachel Johnson appalled by brother"

"It gets lonelier around Boris Johnson. First his younger brother leaves the cabinet, now his sister chastises with clear words the warlike language of the prime minister as ""tasteless"". It is not the brother she knows."

"""Capitulation"", ""Fraud"", Treaty"": Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure and is constantly upgrading - at least verbally. At Question Time in the House of Commons this Wednesday, this met with massive indignation from the opposition, and in the meantime, other critics have spoken out: dozens of bishops and his own sister Rachel Johnson."

"The well-known journalist and author told Sky News that her brother used words such as capitulation, as if the opponents of leaving the EU were to be ""hanged, dragged, quartered, tarred and feathered."" They consider this to be extremely reprehensible. She does not recognize her brother's version, said Rachel Johnson, who ran for the anti-Brexit party ""Change UK"" in the elections to the EU Parliament."

"In particular, she came across her brother Jo Cox, an EU-friendly MP who had been murdered by a neo-Nazi a few days before the 2016 Brexit referendum. Boris Johnson said in the House of Commons that the best way to honor their memory is to go through Brexit. ""It is very tasteless to refer to a deputy who was murdered by someone who shouted 'Britain first',"" Johnson's sister criticized. The perpetrator obviously came from the far-right camp, which felt ""encouraged by this kind of language"". For all those who mourned for her, it was very tasteless."

"Cox's widower also sharply criticized the Prime Minister. ""It makes me sick when Jos Name is used like that,"" he tweeted. The best way to honor them is to stand up passionately and resolutely for what you believe in - no matter what your opinion is. But one should never ""demonize the other side"". He also complained that an atmosphere had emerged in which attacks had become more likely."

"Just a few weeks ago, Boris Johnson's younger brother Jo resigned from his post as Secretary of State and his mandate as a Tory deputy. ""I've been torn between loyalty to the family and national interest in recent months - it's an indissoluble tension,"" Jo Johnson explained."

"Johnson's language also met with sharp criticism in the church. As the Times reports, all 118 bishops and archbishops of the Church of England criticize the language that ""is not worthy of this country."" In a joint statement, they stated: ""In recent days, the language has been unacceptable, both in debates and outside Parliament. We should talk to each other with respect""."

"In the year of its 100th anniversary, the NFL is sending a strong signal: In the half-time show of the upcoming Super Bowl, two women with Latino roots appear. They promise ""an explosion of fun and energy""."

Latina power at the Super Bowl: Superstars Shakira (42) and Jennifer Lopez (50) will deliver the half-time show at the upcoming final of the US football league NFL. This was announced by the organizers on Thursday (local time).

"""I feel incredibly honored and humble to represent the Latino community alongside JLo. Because it has an incredible strength in the USA,"" Shakira said in a video."

"The final of the American Football League, which will be its 100th in the coming year. Celebrating its birthday, it will take place on February 2nd in Miami. Many people with Latin American roots live in the metropolis on the southern tip of Florida. Shakira (""Waka Waka"") comes from Colombia, Lopez (""On the Floor"") is of Puerto Rican origin."

"""I love the Super Bowl putting two women on stage this time - and two Latinas,"" Lopez explained. This sends an important message to all Americans and the world. She promises ""an explosion of fun and energy"" for the show."

"The 50-year-old was born in New York after her parents emigrated from Puerto Rico. In the 2000s she landed big hits with songs like ""Waiting For Tonight"" or ""Let's Get Loud"" and later also released songs in Spanish. Lopez also works as an actress and can be seen from November in the drama ""Hustlers"" in German cinemas."

"Shakira became known in Colombia as the star of a telenovela and singer. She made her worldwide breakthrough in 2001 with her first bilingual album and the single ""Whenever, Whereever""."

The announcement of the half-time guests is eagerly awaited in the USA every time. This year, many see the selection as a political gesture. After all, the country is deeply divided, not least by President Donald Trump’s immigration policy.

The Super Bowl is the biggest US sporting event and at the same time a gigantic advertising spectacle. Musicians such as Justin Timberlake, Beyonca, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Madonna, Bruno Mars and the Rolling Stones caused a sensation there. As a rule, well over 100 million viewers watch the NFL finale, and it is now extremely popular in Germany as well.

Last year there were political controversies in the run-up to the event. The reason for this was the dispute over the quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who had refused to stand up while playing the national anthem in protest against police violence against blacks and had been harshly attacked by US President Donald Trump, among others. Out of solidarity with Kaepernick, some musicians had rejected a Super Bowl performance - including Rihanna and Pink. That the rock group Maroon 5 appeared was ultimately criticized by many.

An actor and youtuber assigns Egypt's ruler: For the time being, however, Mohamed Ali prefers to stay abroad.

"The two men who influence whether blood is flowing on the streets of Egypt have both spent the past week abroad. One of them returned to Cairo Airport on Friday. President Abdelfattah al-Sisi returned from the UN General Assembly. The ex-general, who deposed Muslim Brother Mohammed Morsi, the country's first freely elected head of state, in 2013, had spent a pleasant time in New York: US President Donald Trump had praised Sisi's crackdown on political Islam and had lost no syllable about the human rights violations on the Nile - in a week when Egypt's security forces arrested hundreds of people for daring to protest against the president. He had ""no reason to worry,"" Sisi said at the airport in the microphones of state television. ""The Egyptians don't let themselves be misled."""

"To mislead - according to the President, this is what the other man, who is currently determining what is happening on the streets, is trying to do. Mohamed Ali, of course, stayed abroad, where he escaped the access of the security forces, who would arrest him immediately if he tried to enter Egyptian soil. Weeks ago, the 45-year-old was known as an actor only to a minority of Egyptians. Today he is the leading voice that dominates the political discourse in the country's cafes, living rooms and tea rooms: with his YouTube channel ""Mohamed's Secrets"", Ali calls on his compatriots to rise up against Sisi."

He addresses the head of state directly and in quite rustic language. While the people are hungry, the president indulges in luxury and lets himself build magnificent new palaces, they say. The army leadership on which Sisi bases his rule accuses Ali of corruption and enrichment. Because he did business with exactly these gentlemen in his second job as a contractor for 15 years, he seems to know quite exactly what he is talking about - at least that is the impression of many Egyptians, as the almost exploding click numbers show.

"After thousands had demonstrated against his rule for the first time since Sisi's grip on power last week, and nearly 2,000 citizens, including prominent figures in civil society, human rights lawyers and opposition politicians, had been arrested, Ali called for a ""million march"" this Friday. It was unlikely that so many people would dare to take to the streets. But there were occasional smaller protests, for example in Giseh near Cairo and in Kina near Luxor. Videos on social media showed protests whose participants accused Al-Sisi of corruption and demanded his departure. During these protests, the police also used tear gas and rubber bullets. These videos could not be independently verified at first. From security circles it was said that the police had stopped the protests."

"Massive police presence was reported on Friday from the city of Mansura in the Nile Delta, where demonstrators tore banners with the President's portrait to pieces last week. Security forces set up checkpoints in the city and on the arterial roads. In Cairo, several subway stations in the city centre were closed for ""maintenance work"", most of the streets around Tahrir Square, the heart of the 2011 revolution, were blocked. And in Rabaa Square, where supporters of the overthrown Muslim Brother Morsi entrenched themselves in 2013, until the army took them under fire and killed up to 800 people, another measure was to prevent dissatisfied people from gathering: Sisi's Future Party wanted to hold a large-scale rally for the president here."

"Mohamed Ali prompted these arrangements to change his tactics: ""Our goal does not have to be Tahrir Square,"" Ali said in his video camera in Barcelona. ""Let's not clash with police officers."" As a retreat, however, this is not to be understood: ""All Egypt is the Tahrir Square""."

If the Internet connection always seems much slower than advertised by the provider, there are various test options.

Those who conclude an Internet contract need not blindly trust the speed data of the providers. In the event of anomalies, customers can check for themselves how much of it is actually achieved.

After all, the pre-promised transmission rates are an integral part of the contract and should therefore also be achieved, explains the consumer centre in Bavaria.

If the connection always seems much slower than advertised by the provider, there are various test options. For example, the messtools of the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) measure the actual data transfer rates and compare them with the rate agreed in the contract.

"""However, the tests of the providers are carried out according to provider-specific specifications and are therefore not calculated uniformly and objectively"", the consumer centre Bavaria points out on its side."

If the connection is much slower than announced, customers can set the provider a reasonable period of usually 14 days to produce the promised service. This is best done in writing by letter of objection.

If this does not work even after repeated requests, customers can terminate and may also claim damages. But if there is no success, only the legal process will help.

"The Governor of Vermont was the first senior Republican to call for an impeachment investigation against US President Donald Trump. ""I think the investigation is important, yes, and where that leads from here is determined by the facts that are established,"" Phil Scott said at a press conference on Thursday. He wants to know more about the whistleblower affair before measures are taken - an impeachment procedure can lead to the dismissal of the president."

"Scott said he was not surprised by revelations that Trump had repeatedly called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky in a phone call to investigate interventions by Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden in Ukraine. Because Trump has been watching Biden ""for years""."

Republicans have so far withheld criticism of Trump over the whistleblower affair; few have shown discomfort about it. Scott’s remarks are a first sign of this in Trump’s party. Scott, a moderate Republican, has repeatedly opposed Trump’s policies, such as relaxing environmental regulations and tightening immigration regulations.

"It was a shock for all Spider-Man fans: At the end of August it became known that Sony and Marvel will go their separate ways in the future. Tom Hollands Spider-Man would therefore no longer be part of the ""Avengers"" universe. It was completely unclear how the movies around Tom Holland should go on."

"Now the surprise: After ""Spider-Man: Homecoming"" and ""Spider-Man: Far From Home"", Spider-Man receives another final third film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This is reported by several U.S. media. According to this, the theatrical release is already certain: In the USA, the film is scheduled to start on July 16, 2021."

"Marvel-Boos Kevin Feige is quoted in the magazine ""Screenrant"": ""I am pleased that Spidey's path continues in the MCU. I and everyone at the Marvel studios are delighted that we can continue to work on it ... He is the only superhero with the ability to play in different universes as Sony continues to work on his spidey verse. You never know what the future will bring."""

But how does the sudden good news come about? Sony Marvel is said to have made an offer. According to industry magazines, Disney, which also includes Marvel, would contribute 30 percent of the revenue from upcoming Spider-Man films. However, the message is not confirmed.

"This is how Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry appear in the ""Suits"" final"

"After nine seasons, the series ""Suits"" has now reached the grand finale in the USA. In the last episode there were many happy ends and just as many cameo appearances. And also the royal couple Prince Harry (35) and his Meghan (38), who took part in the series for many years, were charmingly paid tribute. Attention, the following sections contain spoilers for the series finale."

One thing first: Duchess Meghan did not return in the final for a last farewell greeting as Rachel Zane, at least not for new scenes. Instead, some retrospectives once again showed the most memorable scenes with today's Duchess. For example, the moments of the failed and successful wedding with Mike or how she welcomes him after his sentence.

"But also her real husband, Prince Harry, was mentioned casually in the ""Suits"" finale, of course in a wedding scene. When Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman, 49) is walking straight towards the altar to marry his fiancee Sheila (Rachael Harris, 51), Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht, 47) makes a telling remark about his suit. Whether he actually threw himself over a walking skirt, the dirty Harvey wants to know from the groom, only to then snippetly note: ""Louis, you are not the Prince of England""."

Aegean Sea: Baby and four other children drown in a boat accident

When a refugee boat capsized in the Aegean Sea, a baby and four other children drowned. A total of seven people died in the accident, as the Greek Coast Guard announced on Friday. The nationalities are still unclear.

The boat sank near the Greek island of Inousses, which lies between the island of Chios and the Turkish mainland. Four children, three women and five men were rescued.

Hundreds of migrants are currently moving from Turkey to the Greek islands in the east of the Aegean. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 174 people lost their lives on this route last year. Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer has now announced his intention to visit both countries.

"Together with his French colleague and the responsible EU Commissioner, he wants to ""inform himself in Turkey about the refugee situation,"" Seehofer said on Friday. Afterwards, he wanted to learn more about the ""administrative problems of the Greeks"" in Athens in order to be able to help with the management."

On Friday, a spokeswoman for the EU Commission confirmed Seehofer's planned trip with EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos and France's Interior Minister Christophe Castaner.

In Greece, an unusually large number of migrants continue to arrive from Turkey. On Tuesday alone, 654 people transferred to the Greek islands, according to the Greek Ministry of Civil Protection on Wednesday.

The increased figures recently cast doubt on the functioning of the EU-Turkey Agreement concluded in 2016. This means that the EU can send back all refugees and migrants who come illegally to the Greek islands via Turkey. In return, the EU wanted to accept a Syrian refugee from Turkey for every Syrian deported.

On the Greek side, however, the processing of asylum applications is difficult due to a lack of staff. On Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos, according to the Ministry of Civil Protection, almost 29 400 people are waiting. The situation in Lesbos is worst: 5200 migrates are currently housed in a camp with capacity for 650 people.

Never since the entry into force of the EU-Turkey Refugee Pact in March 2016 have there been so many, the state radio reported.

According to doctors, climate change will put the health system to the test in the future. According to Andreas Zeiher, President of the German Society of Cardiology, climate change is one of the biggest challenges for the health system in the next 20 to 50 years. Especially the cardiovascular system caused high temperatures and large temperature jumps within a short time and led increasingly to heart attacks. Especially people with cardiovascular diseases, elderly people and diabetics are affected.

The head of the Canadian Greens, Elizabeth May, in the election campaign - was the cup manipulated for this reason?

The Canadian Green leader holds a reusable cup in his hand in a photo. But now it came out: The cup was manipulated.

Ottawa/Canada - It went unnoticed for quite a long time - and finally noticed. Elizabeth May, the head of the Canadian Green Party, never held the reusable coffee cup with a metal straw in her hand. On the party's website she was seen in a photo with this cup, talking to citizens. However, the photo had already been published and also distributed to the media - and there the cup was still a snappy (papp) cup, as reported by the Canadian National Post.

"The National Post then accused May of manipulation and that the party produced fake news in order to appear more credible on the subject of ""environmental protection"". And this in the middle of an election campaign for the House of Commons, in which Trudeau also has an increasingly difficult time due to a bribery scandal."

"The photo went viral on social media and started the discussion about fake news. A user shares a juxtaposition of the photos and writes: ""The Greens manipulate a photo of their chairmen to hide their disposable cup""."

May was shocked and said on her blog that she didn't know anything about this action. To underline this, she immediately posted the original: She, in conversation with citizens, a cup in her hand. But he, she pointed out, was made of bamboo. She always has him with her. A spokeswoman for the party said it was all about putting the party logo in the picture, not hiding something. Only an excerpt of the photo can be seen on the website.

"May writes that she is suffering for the employee who has done this. ""I don't want to call him stupid, but there was nothing to hide,"" she says to the Guardian and at the same time asked her over-engaged team: ""If they want to edit a picture again, couldn't they do something with my face so I look younger?"""

Also the German Greens got into Shitstorms because of their use of disposable plastic or because of air travel - but their pictures were not photoshopped. So the boss of the Bavarian Greens, Katharina Schulze, ate ice cream with plastic spoons on vacation, as merkur.de reported.

Allegedly, Jaqueline Ng was promised an upgrade by mail from Cathay Pacific. But when she asked for it at check-in, she was not allowed on board - and she should never be allowed to fly with Cathay again.

Spontaneously get an upgrade for Business Class - that's what many passengers dream of. Sometimes they are lucky, and the check-in staff offer a change from Economy Class free of charge.

However, this case shows how not to do it: A self-declared influencer has actively asked the airline Cathay Pacific for a free upgrade. Instagram is followed by Jaqueline Ng more than 65,000 users. She flew from Taiwan to New York on May 30th and back on June 7th.

On the outbound flight, employees refused to upgrade Jaqueline, even though she had presented an email in which Cathay Pacific allegedly promised her an upgrade. The letter is intended to have been received by the influencer from a marketing employee of the airline. The airline, on the other hand, accuses Jaqueline of falsifying the mail.

On the return flight Jaqueline tried again to get an upgrade for the long-haul flight. This time the woman is said to have shown the same mail, but with a different reference number. The staff at JFK Airport were sceptical: they followed suit at the headquarters. And indeed, the employee from whom the mail allegedly originates is said to have denied the mail contact with Jaqueline. This was also confirmed by the mail system, in which the messages did not appear.

Airline staff at the airport cancelled Jaqueline's ticket and imposed a life-long flight ban with Cathay Pacific. For 1,400 US dollars (about 1,280 euros) she had to buy a new ticket to Taiwan.

With her case, the influencer turned to Elliot Advocacy, a company that represents consumer interests. Because Cathay had refunded her the price for her original ticket, but Jaqueline also demanded the cost of the new ticket back.

But as long as Jaqueline does not submit the metadata of the mail, the case remains clear: For Cathay, the influencer has committed fraud, she remains blocked for future flights. The airline's terms and conditions also state that it does not have to pay for the new flight. Jaqueline doesn't want to be satisfied with it - and now turns on a lawyer.

Oil prices fell by more than one dollar in the shortest possible time on Friday afternoon. Most recently, a barrel (159 litres) of the North Sea variety Brent cost 61.83 US dollars - about 1.4 percent less than the previous day. The price of a barrel of the American variety West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell by 1.3 percent to 55.77 dollars.

The trigger for the slide was a report by the Wall Street Journal on a ceasefire in Yemen. Saudi Arabia is said to have agreed to a ceasefire in four areas.

In mid-September, a drone attack on the oil facilities in Saudi Arabia had brought five percent of the world's oil production to a standstill. The Houthi rebels allied with Iran in the civil war country Yemen had claimed the attacks for themselves. Saudi Arabia, like the US government, blames Iran. A ceasefire would defuse political tension in the region.

If an agreement is actually reached, one can focus on growth and demand concerns, said Ole Hansen, Head of the Raw Materials Strategy Department at Saxo Bank of Bloomberg News Agency.

Oil prices are thus continuing their downward movement of the past few days. A week ago a barrel of WTI oil had cost up to almost 59 dollars, Brent nearly 65 dollars.

Most recently, Bloomberg had reported, citing insiders, that repair work on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia was progressing faster than expected after the attack in mid-September. According to this, the production volume has again reached a volume of eight million barrels per day and is moving back towards the original quantity.

Most recently, there have been several press releases citing insiders reporting rapid progress by the state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco in repair work. However, commodity experts pointed out that Saudi Aramco is currently planning an IPO and wants to avoid negative headlines.

"At the same time, there was some relief in the conflict between Iran and Western countries: the British oil tanker ""Stena Impero"" is on its way to leaving the port more than two months after Iran's arrest and the recent release. The crew is now preparing the departure, while the ship is still anchored, Reedreichef Erik Hanell informed the Swedish radio on Friday morning in an SMS."

However, the U.S. announced that it would transfer defensive missiles and soldiers to the Iranian arch-enemy in Saudi Arabia. Fear of an escalation between the Islamic Republic and countries such as the US and the UK had temporarily pushed oil prices up sharply in recent weeks.

"In the affair over possible abuse of power by US President Donald Trump, allegations of cover-up against the White House have become loud. Several senior government officials had worked hard to prevent access to the wording of the conversation after a controversial telephone conversation between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyi at the end of July. This was explained by an anonymous whistleblower. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, explicitly accused the White House of ""covering up."" Trump spoke of a ""witch hunt."""

North Korea has raised doubts that there will soon be a third summit between Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump in the nuclear dispute. The sense and the chances of success of such a meeting are questionable because of the lack of progress in the implementation of agreements of the first summit in Singapore, said top diplomat Kim Kye-gwan on Friday according to the agency KCNA.

"The US has so far done nothing to implement the decisions of the summit last year, said the advisor to the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also criticized intensified U.S. sanctions and joint military maneuvers by the U.S. and South Korea. But he hopes for a ""wise"" and ""courageous"" decision by Trump so that there will be a rapprochement again."

Trump said on Monday that he wanted to know what a third summit with Kim should bring before he agreed to do so. Negotiations to disarm North Korea’s nuclear and missile program have stalled since the failed second Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi in February. In June, they met in the demilitarized zone between the two Korean states. In doing so, they agreed to revive the discussions, but so far without much success.

"Dressed in a blue splinter vest, British Prince Harry symbolically detonated and destroyed an explosive mine in Angola. Near a camp of the British Halo Trusts near the village of Dirico he made the ignition circle. At a safe distance, the explosive device exploded. With a view to the goal of getting Angola mine-free by 2025, he later demanded in front of current TV cameras: ""I call on all the countries whose names are on these weapons, but who have not helped to clear the way to commit themselves to help""."

In view of an early interest rate cut, the pound is losing value against the euro.

Frankfurt Speculations on an early interest rate cut by the Bank of England (BoE) add to the pound sterling. The British currency fell by up to 0.4 percent on Friday to 1.2269 dollars.

The sales were triggered by statements by the central banker Michael Saunders. This led to a reduction in interest rates, even if a chaotic Brexit could be averted, as uncertainty would affect the British economy for the foreseeable future. This statement is surprising, as Saunders is seen as an advocate of a restrictive monetary policy, said analyst Ricardo Evangelista of the brokerage firm ActivTrades.

Last week, the Bank of England had already pointed out the burdens on the economy caused by the Brexit hack, without directly signaling a reduction in interest rates. If necessary, Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to lead his country out of the EU without a divorce agreement on 31 October.

More: The British Prime Minister has taken a high risk with his provocations. But it could pay off for him, says Handelsblatt editor Kerstin Leitel.

Material from the Moscow analytical laboratory is being manipulated - this is confirmed by David Howman, former director of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and current head of integrity of the World Athletics Association.

At the start of the World Championships in Athletics, new details about the doping scandal in Russia are revealed - and they destroy the little credibility that Russian sport had regained at the beginning of the year and only to some extent. In January 2019, the Moscow Doping Laboratory finally delivered the required samples from 2012 to 2015 to the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada). Now it turned out: They were forged.

In December 2014, systematic fraud in Russian sport was revealed. Thereupon the Wada had blocked the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) for three years. During this time, Russian athletes were not completely banned from the world stage. After an individual examination at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, the International Olympic Committee had around 270 athletes of the country compete under a neutral flag, and 168 Russian athletes took part in the Winter Games in February 2018. They were also allowed to participate in the World Cups in the various sports, in the summer even the Football World Cup took place in Russia with the host as a participant.

The following September, the Wada lifted the Rusada ban, but demanded access to the laboratory and the samples in question. The data should provide information on the extent of the cover-up of doping cases in state doping. They should help to punish athletes retrospectively. Three months later they were finally delivered.

"However, the Chairman of the Independent Integrity Commission (AIU) of the World Athletics Federation (IAAF) has now confirmed that the doping data from the Moscow analytical laboratory has been manipulated. ""Yes. We received the data nine months ago. We should check whether the task force has received the right data,"" David Howman said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Friday. ""We have noted numerous discrepancies between the data that the Wada received from a whistleblower and those it received from the Russians in January."" Many positive findings were missing, which were mentioned in the McLaren report."

This confirms the attitude of the IAAF: The athletics association is the only organization to hold on to Russia's ban. At the World Championships in Doha, 30 Russian athletes will compete under a neutral flag. They had to prove that they train outside the Russian system and undergo tests.

Earlier this week, the Wada had already exposed manipulations and called on Russia to respond to the allegations within three weeks. Russia is now threatening to block the Rusada again and, in the worst case, to exclude it from the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.