Italy Orders Seizure of the Aquarius +++ EU Budget Negotiations Fall +++ Ivanka in Hot Water over Private Email Account

21. Dezember 2018, 02:00

Italy Orders Seizure of the Aquarius

According to the international aid organization, Doctors without Borders, Italy has ordered the seizure of the migrant rescue ship Aquarius for alleged illegal waste treatment. Investigators accuse crewmembers on the vessel, which was chartered by MSF, of mislabeling and dumping 24 tonnes of potentially toxic waste as ordinary waste in order to save costs. The ship, which is currently stranded in Marseille, has rescued thousands of migrants from the Mediterranean – something the new Italian government staunchly opposes. MSF denies all charges, saying the only crime "is the total dismantling of the search and rescue System."

EU Budget Negotiations Fall

Negotiators from EU member states and the European Parliament have failed to seal the 2019 EU budget before the deadline which passed at midnight. The EU parliament had proposed a budget of 149-pont-3 Billion euros, just over a billion more than the amount member states agreed upon. If there is no breakthrough in the coming days, the budget will have to be updated month-to-month without an increase for 2019.

Ivanka in Hot Water over Private Email Account

In the United States, President Trump's daughter Ivanka has been accused of using a personal e-mail account to discuss official White House matters. During the 2016 election campaign, Trump constantly attacked his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton for conducting government business via private e-mail. Law Professor, Scott Lukas: "It is, to say the least, reeking a bit of hypocrisy amongst the defense of Ivanka Trump^ that she didn't know what she was doing, that she wasn't cognizant of the rules given Donald Trump's repeated attacks on Hillary.

Clinton to the point of "Lock her up"

Police Stop Shooting Spree in Chicago Hospital. Authorities in the US state of Illinois now a hospital shooting there which left four dead, resulted from a domestic dispute between a doctor and her former boyfriend. Police say the shooter first shot his girlfriend doctor outside the hospital before going in with the Intention of taking more lives. Officer Eddie Johnson says, while innocent lives were lost, his colleagues were able to prevent further deaths: "There's no doubt in my mind that all those officers that responded were heroes and they saved a lot of lives, because we just don't how much damage he was prepared to do."

Scientists Report MS Breakthrough

Researchers in Australia say they've achieved a major breakthrough in the treatment off multiple sclerosis. In clinical trials immune cells were extracted from patients' blood and trained in a lab to recognize and destroy the Epstein-Barr virus... which scientists believe plays a significant role in M. S. Seven of the ten participants of the trial have reported positive changes - including a reduction in fatigue.

The weather

Increasingly dry and clear in regions west of upper Austria. The east and south can expect cloudy skies, with light snow and rain tapering off in the coming hours. Highs ranging from minus 1 to plus 4 in most of the country, but getting up to plus 9 Tyrol.

Übersicht

• News In English