CZYTANIE 3 EN [#18]

Michael T. Flynn, the US national security adviser, resigned after it was revealed that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other top White House officials about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Mr. Flynn had previously denied that he had any substantive conversations with the ambassador and Mr. Pence repeated that claim as recently as this February. However, a former administration official said the Justice Department feared that Mr. Flynn could be vulnerable to blackmail by Moscow.

1. Michael Flynn's resignation is linked to ...

Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, has responded to US criticism that European countries do not meet defence spending targets of 2 percent of economic output. Although Mr Juncker did not contradict the US claim, he said "I don't like our American friends narrowing down this concept of security to the military." He argued it would be sensible to look at a "modern stability policy" made up of several components. "If you look at what Europe is doing in defence, plus development aid, plus humanitarian aid, the comparison with the United States looks rather different."

2. Mr Juncker's comments show that he …

Despite Kiev’s pledge to rein them in, rogue militias continue to fight against Moscow-backed separatists. In 2014 the top brass joined forces with volunteer battalions to counter the pro-Russian insurgency. But these informal groups proved difficult to control and almost all have been incorporated into Ukrainian state forces, all be it, with the exception of Right Sector. Analysts say Right Sector has hundreds of armed men deployed alongside Ukrainian government troops. Despite the fact that it was never absorbed by the Ukrainian Army, “it’s generally understood their every step is coordinated with Ukraine’s commanders,” says Vyacheslav Likhachev.

3. The Right Sector militia …

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, thinks he couldn’t have picked a better time to demonetise the economy. No matter how critical, a surgery is carried out only after ensuring the patient is scoring fine on vital parameters such as blood pressure, heart rate etc, the PM explained in parliament. The Indian economy was in good health when the government decided to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, Modi said. One would have expected he would support his claim with hard data. Unfortunately, he didn’t. The economy was as shaky at the time of the note-ban decision as it was when Modi came to power.

4. Prime Minister Modi used the analogy of medical surgery to …

Rolls-Royce has suffered the biggest loss in its history due to the cost of settling corruption charges and the impact of Brexit on the value of sterling. The engine-maker reported a £4.6bn statutory pre-tax loss for 2016, one of the biggest corporate losses in British history. This loss included a £4.4bn reduction in the value of financial hedge-funds that Rolls uses to protect itself against currency fluctuations and a £671m charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle bribery and corruption charges.

5. The majority of Rolls-Royce's losses were the result of …

Travelling by public transport exposes commuters to up to eight times as much air pollution as those who drive to work, a groundbreaking study found. In the latest evidence of the health risks posed by rising traffic levels, researchers found that drivers commuting in diesel cars did the most harm to the wellbeing of other travellers — producing six times as much pollution as the average bus passenger. The authors said that the results revealed a “violation of the core principle of environmental justice” because those who contributed most to air pollution in cities were least likely to suffer from it.

6. The report suggests that a traveller's risk from pollution …

A gluten-free diet excludes foods that contain gluten – a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, as well as the by-products of these grains. However, according to a 2012 survey, around 28-30 percent of us restrict our gluten intake or avoid consuming the protein completely, even in the absence of gluten sensitivities. Rice flour is often used as a substitute. A new report points out that rice can collect potentially harmful toxic metals from water, soil, or fertilizers. Exposure to these metals has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other diseases.

7. The new research highlights …

So, that used car that was billed as being “like new” broke down within a month of your purchase. And the bank which granted you the loan charged you hidden fees. Did you file a complaint? The answer may depend on your political leanings. According to newly published research, ideology has a robust effect on consumer complaint behaviors. “Politically conservative clients are less likely to file complaints,” Kiju Jung of the University of Sydney has found out. Jung argues this reflects conservatives’ “need to justify the appropriateness and rights of the existing system, even if it leaves you at a disadvantage.”

8. Kiju Jung’s research demonstrates that …

Monet, Cézanne and Degas are all cited as leaders of the Impressionist movement, even if their subjects differed . Degas played with movement in dance, Cézanne with still lifes, and Monet with landscapes. According to Derek Thompson, the author of Hit Makers: Why Things Become Popular, they became famous due to a historical accident. Their paintings once belonged to a minor artist, Gustave Caillebotte. After his death, Caillebotte left his paintings to the French state which displayed them in a prestigious museum. This gave them the credibility they needed to be considered art. It’s a story Thompson tells to illustrate that canons are, essentially, down to luck.

9. Thompson uses the example of the Impressionists to show that popularity …

Peter Scaruppe, director of an agency responsible for buying software and technological capabilities for NATO, says that his office does about a billion euros worth of business in Europe “in a good year”. The agency now wants to increase the number of small companies that support the alliance throughout the continent — and it is prepared to put its money where its mouth is. “A billion euros might be a small number for the U.S., but for Europe that is a major amount. That number is set to grow in the next two and a half years,” Scaruppe said.

10. According to the text, NATO is going to …

According to current officials, US intelligence agencies have kept some sensitive items from President Trump. In some cases, it was because they did not want Trump to know about their sources and methods, but mostly they were worried that information might be compromised or leaked. In the past, presidents and Congressmen have not always been told every detail of a case, the officials said, but it was always to protect a source and not because they were concerned about the person’s trustworthiness. The officials added that no information on terror plots or security threats has been withheld from the president.

11. It is the first time intelligence data has been kept from the President …

California authorities, worried that damage to the emergency spillway at the Oroville Dam might lead to the flooding of communities downstream, ordered the evacuation of 188,000 people from several counties. Lake Oroville boasts the tallest dam in the US, but it has been a wet winter and the water levels are dangerously high. The main spillway that gets water out of the lake is damaged, and on Sunday, authorities found a hole in the emergency spillway as well. Sheriff Honea said the evacuations were ordered because he would rather "be safe than sorry."

12. The evacuation was ordered because …

Increasing political tensions and terror threats in Turkey and the world’s other conflict zones are offering unique opportunities to Turkey’s rising armoured vehicle manufacturers. “Various armoured vehicle models, long proven in Turkey, have become competitive export products,” a senior procurement planner says. “This is a positive vicious circle. Successful local-design vehicles find a chance to prove their capabilities in home use. Then they are sold to foreign customers. And finally producers invest in new technologies to advance their products.”

13. As a result of the current political situation Turkey has …

DRIVING PROGRESS

The new American Administration will dominate headlines this year, but the biggest changes in the way we live, unsurprisingly, won’t be driven by Washington. Even with one party in control of both Congress and the White House, special interests will continue to reign supreme. I wish our new President luck in fixing Washington's dysfunctional politics, but doing so commences with building trust among members of the other party, which—given the tone of the last election—may prove unfeasible.

What is more likely to happen is that an ongoing trend will accelerate: power will continue to shift away from Washington, where partisan warfare kills off good ideas and honest debate, and toward cities. In cities across the U.S., mayors in both parties, most of whom possess troubleshooting skills, are experimenting with innovative policies, often in partnership with businesses and citizens. And when innovative concepts work in cities, they frequently bring nationwide benefits.

Take education. In New Orleans, Mayor Mitch Landrieu is helping to lead an overhaul of the city's vocational education, to connect students from low-income families with opportunities to learn skills that can translate into jobs in growing industries. It wouldn't be happening without strong support from the business community. In Providence, R.I., parents are learning how to expose their preschool children to a greater number of words, which could mean the difference between falling behind in school and staying ahead. On infrastructure, cities from Seattle to Houston and Phoenix to Detroit have all been building extensions to their transit systems. In 2017, a private company in Texas will seek permission to build a high-speed railway from Dallas to Houston. Cities are also leading the way on obesity, one of the most serious public-health issues facing the country. Sugary drinks are the largest driver of obesity, and in 2016, five cities and Cook County (which encompasses Chicago) adopted taxes that have been proven to reduce consumption. More will undoubtedly follow.

No issue better highlights the difference between Washington and cities than climate change. Those in Washington see climate change as a partisan issue. Mayors, of both small towns and big cities, see it as a reason to clean the air, save money on energy, build modern infrastructure, protect themselves from extreme weather and attract new businesses. They recognize that reducing greenhouse-gas emissions can make their communities healthier places to live and work.

I don't know what the Trump Administration will do on climate change; but I am confident that no matter how the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is run, and no matter what laws the next Congress passes, we will meet the pledges that the U.S. made as part of the international agreement signed in Paris last year. The reason is simple: cities, businesses and citizens will continue to reduce emissions, and they will not let Washington stand in their way. Fighting climate change has never been primarily dependent on Washington. Over the past decade, Congress has not passed a single bill that takes direct aim at climate change. Yet at the same time, the U.S. has led the world in reducing carbon-dioxide emissions.

That progress has been driven by cities, businesses and citizens, and each group is determined to keep pushing ahead. In fact, if the new Administration withdraws from the Paris Agreement, as the chair of the Global Covenant of Mayors, I will recommend that the 128 U.S. mayors who are part of the group seek to join in its place.

Cities would benefit from stronger leadership and support from Washington, but they aren't waiting on it. To find out where the country is heading, don't follow the national headlines. Get involved locally. That's where the action is.