1 Volkswagen faces multiple probes in US (BBC) Volkswagen
is facing multiple investigations in the US including, reportedly, a criminal
probe from the Department of Justice (DoJ). They follow an admission by VW that
it deceived US regulators during exhaust emissions tests.
A DoJ criminal investigation would be serious, as
federal authorities can bring charges with severe penalties against a firm and
individuals. New York state's top lawyer has announced an investigation. New
York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said he will collaborate with other
states to enforce consumer and environmental law.
"No company should be allowed to evade our
environmental laws or promise consumers a fake bill of goods," Mr Schneiderman
said in a statement announcing the probe. Meanwhile the Environmental
Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board are investigating the
way VW cheated tests to measure the amount of pollutants coming from its diesel
cars.
Volkswagen said 11 million vehicles worldwide are
involved and it is setting aside €6.5bn (£4.7bn) to cover costs of the scandal.
The DoJ often extracts hefty payments from companies to settle criminal
charges.VW shares were down almost 17% on Tuesday in Frankfurt, after losing
19% on Monday.
2 EU governments to share 120,000 refugees (Ian
Traynor & Patrick Kingsley in The Guardian) European governments have
forced through a deal to impose refugee quotas, sharing 120,000 people between
them in a watershed decision that several states bitterly opposed.
The decision to overrule opponents in the newer
states of central Europe was highly unusual and perceived as an assault on the
sovereignty by the four countries that voted against. While applauded by NGOs
and immigration professionals, the decision was highly divisive.
After a months-long battle that the UN warned was a
threat to European unity, the continent’s interior ministers finally decided to
agree to the principle of sharing refugees between member states in the first
meaningful move towards a common EU policy on asylum seekers.
But the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and
Slovakia all voted against a mandatory quota, while Poland deserted its
regional allies to side with a decision pushed by Germany and France. The
defeated four expressed resentment at what they perceive as western – and
especially German – bullying. Slovakian and Czech politicians reacted with
anger to a move they claim will alter the fabric of European society. Germany
thanked Poland for breaking ranks with its fellow central Europeans.
Britain has refused to take part in the scheme,
having separately promised to resettle 4,000 refugees this year and 20,000 over
five years – the first few of whom arrived on Tuesday, the UK government
announced without giving details.
The 120,000, plus a further 40,000 already agreed,
does not represent the total number of immigrants who will be admitted by the
EU, simply the number that will be subject to transnational quotas. About 1
million newcomers are expected to arrive in Germany alone this year. There is
no suggestion that those beyond Germany’s quota will not be admitted.
3 Who needs a limo? Pope Francis opts for Fiat 500
in US (Hannah Parry in Daily Mail) There was no fancy limousine for Pope
Francis on his first visit to the US after he chose to ride in a tiny Fiat 500,
while the President was driven off from their meeting in his giant $1million
armored car The Beast.
The 78-year-old Roman Catholic leader is in the US
for the first time for a five-day tour across D.C., New York and Philadelphia,
coinciding with the United Nations summit which will see more than 100 world
leaders arrive in New York. President Barack Obama greeted the pontiff and
introduced him to his family and Vice President Joe Biden before they walked
down the line of dignitaries. The pair then got into separate motorcades.
Known for being humble and unassuming, the pontiff
was driven away in the tiny Fiat 500 which was dwarfed by its security
vehicles, while President Obama traveled in 'The Beast', his gigantic
bomb-proof General Motors Cadillac with eight-inch thick armor-plating on its
doors.
The car, worth over $1million, is 18ft in length,
weighs 8 tons and has 8in thick armour plating on its doors. By comparison,
Pope Francis' tiny Fiat 500, which is just 11ft 7in long and costs less than
$20,000.
His choice of the small, economical car may be seen
as a message on climate change - which will be the focus of his speech before
the United Nations where he is expected to implore the General Assembly to take
much more aggressive steps to curb greenhouse-gas emissions.
Since succeeding Pope Benedict in 2013, the former
cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina has eschewed some of the more
ostentatious trappings of his office and has chosen to live in a Vatican guest
house rather than the opulent papal apartments. He has also picked more modest
vehicles than his German predecessor who had a preference for a luxury Mercedes
Popemobile.
Fiat USA tweeted, '#blessed' after the pope's
vehicle departed for the Apostolic Nunciature, the Vatican's mission in
Washington. The license plate on the Fiat reads SCV 1, which means Vatican City
1. SCV stands for Status Civitatis Vaticanae, Latin for Vatican City
State.
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