US travel ban
The Supreme Court has decided to reinstate much of the travel ban submitted by the Trump administration. The court will decide in October if the ruling will be upheld or struck down. Meanwhile the ban partly takes effect within 72 hours of the decision. The ban is surrounded by a lot of uncertainty regarding its impact because a lot depends on how federal agencies will interpret the regulations.
The travel ban temporarily imposes tough restrictions on travel from six Muslim countries – Iran, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. While president Trump hailed the decision as a victory for national safety, immigrant aid organisations all over the country have condemned the travel ban. Lavinia Limon, president of the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, says that it will hurt a lot of people who try to flee their war torn country.
It is yet unclear how many people will be affected by the travel ban. The partial ban does not apply to people who can produce a credible claim such as a family member, an employer or a proof of an course at an education institute they want to attend. Furthermore, travellers, people with a green card or a visa won´t be affected too much by the ban as they mostly have such a connection. But it seems to be different for refugees as much depends on how this claim is interpreted.
to reinstate (ˌri:ɪnˈsteɪt) – etw wieder einsetzen
travel ban (ˈtrævəl bæn) – das Einreiseverbot, der Einreisestopp
to submit (səbˈmɪt) – etw einreichen, vorlegen
to uphold (ʌpˈhəʊld) – etw aufrecht erhalten
to strike down (straɪk daʊn) – etw niederschlagen, hier: abschaffen
meanwhile (ˌmi:nˈ(h)waɪl) – währenddessen, inzwischen
to surround (səˈraʊnd) – jdn/etw umgeben
uncertainty (ʌnˈsɜ:tənti) – die Unsicherheit, die Unbeständigkeit
to depend (dɪˈpend) – von etw abhängen
to impose (ɪmˈpəʊz) – etw durchsetzen, verhängen
to hail (heɪl) – etw bejubeln, etw begrüßen
immigrant aid organisation (ˈɪmɪgrənt eɪd ɔrganizaˈtsi̯o:n) – die Hilfsorganisation für Flüchtlinge
condemn (kənˈdem) – jdn/etw verurteilen
war torn (wɔ:ʳ-tɔ:n) – vom Krieg zerrüttet
partial (ˈpɑ:ʃəl) – teilweise, zum Teil
to apply (əˈplaɪ) – jdn/etw betreffen, gelten
credible (ˈkredəbl̩) – glaubwürdig, glaubhaft
claim (kleɪm) – der Anspruch, das Anrecht
to attend (əˈtend) – etw besuchen, teilnehmen
Google fined for abusing its power
Google has been fined for abusing its power by promoting its own Shopping comparison service at the top of the search results. They have been ordered to pay a fee of 2.42bn euros by the European Commission. This is , to date,the largest penalty against a company given by the regulator. It further ordered Google to end their anti-competitive practices within 90 days. The US firm says they might appeal.
The commission leaves it up to the company to decide which alterations to make instead of giving clear instructions. The European Commission has been investigating Google since 2010 after similar complaints were made about the prominence Google gives to its own maps, flight results and other services. However, Google does not accept the claims.
A recent study suggests that Shopping amounts of 74% of all retail-related ads. Google`s own data on the other hand indicates that the numbers are smaller. Right now the way Google prioritises some of its commercial services generates a lot of money. If they, however, fail to change their way of promoting their own services they will face another fee that would cost them far more.
to fine (faɪn) – die Geldstrafe, das Bußgeld
to abuse (əˈbju:s) – etwas missbrauchen, ausnutzen
to promote (prəˈməʊt) – etw werben, etw fördern
fee (fi:) ) – die Gebühr
penalty (ˈpenəlti) – die Strafe, das Strafmaß
regulator (ˈregjəleɪtəʳ) – die Aufsicht führende Person, der Regulator
further (ˈfɜ:ðəʳ) – weiter, neuerlich, ferner
appeal (əˈpi:l) – hier: Einspruch einlegen
alteration (ˌɔ:ltəˈreɪʃən) – die Änderung
instead (ɪnˈsted) – anstatt, stattdessen
similar (ˈsɪmɪləʳ) – ähnlich
complaint (kəmˈpleɪnt) – die Beschwerde, die Klage
prominence (ˈprɒmɪnən(t)s) – die Bedeutung, der Vorzug
recent (ˈri:sənt) – kürzlich
to suggest (səˈʤest) – etw vorschlagen
amount (əˈmaʊnt) – die Menge
to indicate (ˈɪndɪkeɪt) – etw andeuten, etw zeigen
to prioritise (praɪˈɒrɪtaɪz) – etw bevorzugen, in den Vordergrund rücken
commercial (kəˈmɜ:ʃəl) – kaufmännisch, gewerblich
to generate (ˈʤenəreɪt) – etw erzeugen, etw generieren
Vatican treasurer accused of sex offense
The Vatican treasurer, Cardinal George Pell, denies all allegations regarding sex offense made against him. He has been charged in his native country of Australia. The pope has granted him a leave of absence to fight the charges. The cardinal is considered to be the third highest ranking official of the catholic church and he will travel to Australia to appear in court in the middle of July. The allegations were made by multiple people but the cardinal vehemently denies them.
This is not the first time the Catholic Church has faced allegations relating to sex abuse. Furthermore, there are claims that incidents have been covered up by the church in the past. After his election in 2013, Pope Francis created a commission to deal with the allegations. And now one of his closest advisers faces charges of his own.
In answer to the charge against Pell, the pope says he trusts in the Australian justice system but he also came to the aid of his treasurer saying that Pell has co-operated with Australian authorities and that he has always supported the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Pell was questioned last year and now a magistrate will decide whether to release the details and the nature of the charges.
treasurer (ˈtreʒərəʳ) – der Schatzmeister
to deny (dɪˈnaɪ) – etw abstreiten
offense (əˈfen(t)s) – die Straftat, das Vergehen
to charge (tʃɑ:ʤ) – hier: die Anklage
native (ˈneɪtɪv) – Heimatland
pope (pəʊp) – der Papst
to grant (grɑ:nt) – jdm etw bewilligen, etw gewähren
leave of absence (li:v ɒv ˈæbsən(t)s) – die Beurlaubung, die Freistellung
to consider (kənˈsɪdəʳ) – als etw gelten, jdn für etw halten
to appear (əˈpɪəʳ) – erscheinen, sich zeigen
vehemently (ˈvi:əməntli) – vehement, heftig
abuse (əˈbju:s) – der Missbrauch
incident (ˈɪn(t)sɪdənt) – der Vorfall, das Ereignis
to cover up (ˈkʌvəʳ ʌp) – etw verschleiern, vertuschen
commission (kəˈmɪʃən) – der Auftrag, hier: der Ausschuss
adviser (ədˈvaɪzəʳ) – der Berater, der Ratgeber
aid (eɪd) – die Hilfe, die Unterstützung
pontifical (pɒnˈtɪfɪkəl) – päpstlich
minor (ˈmaɪnəʳ) – hier: der/die Minderjährige
to release (rɪˈli:s) – etw veröffentlichen
nature (ˈneɪtʃəʳ) – hier: die Art, die Beschaffenheit