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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

German economic growth to drop to 1 percent Germany heads into 2019 facing its lowest economic growth since 2013, Altmaier said on Wednesday while presenting his report on the past yearʼs economic trends (pictured above). Europeʼs largest economy grew 1.5 percent in 2018, according to an initial estimate supplied by the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden. That compares to 2.2 percent growth recorded in the previous two years, 2016 and 2017. (German inflation in 2018 ran at 1.9 percent). Read more:ʼFat yearsʼ over, says Finance Minister Scholz Looking ahead, Altmaier said the risks had risen primarily in what he described as the "external economic field," such as an uncertain Brexit outcome and trade conflicts — especially with the United States.

German police uncover child porn ring at campsite German police on Wednesday said three men have been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing almost two dozen children in the western town of Detmold. Police said the men abused at least 23 children aged between 4 and 13 over a period of 10 years, but authorities are concerned there may be more victims. Read more: In light of abuse scandal, Germany steps up child protection Much of the abuse, which involved producing pornographic material, took place at a campsite where one of the alleged perpetrators permanently lived. Investigators have obtained 13,000 files containing child pornography, taking up 14 terabytes of data space. "We still have a lot of work ahead of us," said the head of the investigation, Gunnar Weiss. The three suspects — aged 33, 48 and 56 — have been detained.

26/2019 • 31 JANUARY, 2019

EUʼs Jean-Claude Juncker rebuffs UKʼs plan to change Brexit deal He dismissed any fresh talks over the controversial Irish backstop in the draft EU-UK Brexit deal

The president of the European Commission said the United Kingdom had increased the risk of a no-deal Brexit.

US-China trade poker enters new round Trade talks between the United States and China will continue in Washington this week. The big question is just how far the two sides are from an agreement. The US is certainly sending contradictory signals.

Itʼs an emotional roller coaster — and it has been like that for months. One moment it seems like an open trade war between the US and China is inevitable, and then more optimistic signals are sent out, often in the form of a tweet by Donald Trump. Last week, the US president was satisfied with the state of talks so far, saying he was convinced that China would like

to come to an agreement. But US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross struck a different tone, not expecting a quick settlement in the trade dispute with China. According to Ross, a solution was still "miles away" as he stepped on the euphoria brakejust a few days ago. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was a little more conciliatory and said that "weʼve made very meaningful progress." And now once again, a 30-person Chinese delegation led by the countryʼs vice premier, Liu He, will meet US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on January 30 and 31.

Plovdiv 2019: Historic moment for a historic city The ancient city of Plovdiv put on a party on Saturday nightcomplete with fireworks, light shows, concerts and speeches from dignitaries as it took up its mantle as European Capital of Culture. Having been an architectural hot spot during Roman rule, Bulgariaʼs second city has again taken center stage in the region. "This is a unique and historic moment for our city," said Plovdiv Mayor Ivan Totev before the opening ceremony. The artist collective Phase7 staged an impressive light show in

front of tens of thousands of visitors as performances by local musicians and dancers gave a foretaste of the European Capital of Culture 2019 motto: "Together." As Plovdiv residents combine to showcase their distinctive city, a number of headline events are planned throughout the year, including the Ayliak Art Parade in May on Europeʼs longest boulevard. The focus will be on slow, sustainable and harmonious living via green, creative products and innovations.

German police arrest 3 Iraqi refugees suspected of planning terror attack Three Iraqi refugees were arrested on Wednesday in northern Germany for preparing a terror attack. Two 23year-olds and a 36-year-old were arrested in an early morning raid in the state of Schleswig-Holstein after a months-long investigation, German police said. "According to the findings to date, the suspects had not yet selected a specific target for their attack," the federal prosecutorʼs office said in a statement. Two of the suspects are accused of preparing a bomb using gunpowder from fireworks and another of aiding and abetting the terror plans. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said that the suspects had already carried out explosive tests. Investigators allege the two 23-yearolds, Shahin F. and Hersh F., downloaded bomb-making instructions from the internet and tried to purchase a detonation device from the United Kingdom. British authorities were able to halt the shipment of the detonation device to Germany.

Venezuelaʼs political crisis: How did we get here?

News Venezuelaʼs political crisis: How did we get here? Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido are vying for control of the country. DW takes you through the key events since Guaido declared himself acting president. Venezuelaʼs political crisis began when opposition leader and president of the National Assembly,Juan Guaido,declared himself acting president.

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26/2019 • 31 January, 2019

Sweden to end months without a government Sweden looked set to finally resolve four months of political deadlock on Wednesday and allow Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to take a second term in office. The Left party said it would abstain in a crucial vote on Friday, clearing the way for Lofven and his patchwork coalition. Lofven, leader of the Social Democrats, has been leading a caretaker government sinceelections on September 9 yielded inconclusive results. Although the Social Democrats won the most votes, their 31.1% support left them grappling to form a coalition in a country with eight mainstream parties and proportional representation. These problems were compounded by the fact that most other parties wanted to govern without the support of the Left andthe far-right Sweden Democrats, who are rooted in Norwegian white supremacist circles. But the Social Democrats have managed to pull together an unusual union of the left and right wing by gaining the support of the Greens, Liberals, and the Center party. In doing so, however, Lofven has had to promise to take his traditional center-left party to the right.

Pep Guardiola: Man City boss wary of ʼtoughʼ fixture challenge Pep Guardiola said his Manchester City side have to overcome the "challenge" of a difficult run of fixtures as they seek to get their title defence back on track after a 2-1 loss at Newcastle. Leaders Liverpool could move seven points clear of the champions if they beat Leicester at Anfield on Wednesday. "Next week will be tough with Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea," he said. "If we want to go up as a club we have to accept that challenge.

There are a lot of titles and points to play for."

Transparency International: ʼCrisis of democracyʼ and corruption go hand in hand A fresh Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index has been released, revealing less than enthused attitudes toward the state of global corruption. Turkey and Hungary are among those falling down the list.

A collective global failure to control corruption is contributing to a crisis of democracy across the world — thatʼs the verdict of the latest Corruption Perceptions Index,published by nonprofit NGO Transparency International. "With many democratic institutions under threat across the globe — often by leaders with authoritarian or populist tendencies — we need to do more to strengthen checks and bal-

ances and protect citizensʼ rights," said Patricia Moreira, managing director of Transparency International. The annual report ranks countries according to perceptions of public sector corruption rather than documented evidence of corruption, and grades countries on a scale from zero to 100, with zero denoting a "highly corrupt" country and 100 meaning a country is "very clean."

ʼBaking Breadʼ: What bread reveals about the EU Hosted by political correspondent Georg Matthes, the new DW series "Baking Bread" explores a traditional bread recipe from each of the European Unionʼs countries and humorously links it to the nationʼs political context.

There are over 10 million photos tagged #bread on Instagram, but the foodiesʼ social media trend definitely wasnʼt what got Georg Matthes into baking. Like all other Germans, he obviously grew up with the countryʼs rich bread culture — which was officially listed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2015. Beyond that, bread-making is literally in his

genes. Ancestors in his family had a bakery, and throughout his youth, he would loyally assist his grandmother in her numerous baking projects.

While he was studying in London at the beginning of the 2000s, he was depressed by the bread that was available there at the time and thatʼs when he "really started baking," he says.

Now a political correspondent for Deutsche Welle, Matthes still enjoys the hobby as a "down-to-earth way of relaxing." His colleagues at DWʼs Brussels bureau, who regularly get to enjoy his homemade goods, encouraged him to develop a TV series that would combine those two fields of expertise: bread and politics.

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German online shoppers are serial returners German shoppers return roughly 12 percent of online purchases, a new poll by digital industry association Bitkom shows. Two years ago, the figure was 10 percent. One-third of shoppers said they send back every tenth item, 14 percent admitted to returning a quarter of all purchases. "The share of returns is extremely high and rising steadily, especially in certain sectors, like the fashion industry," says Julia Miosga, who heads Bitkomʼs trade and logistics department. The 14 to 29-year-olds are the worst offenders, with a hefty 18 percent of purchases being returned. Overall, women return 15 percent of items bought online, men only make up 9 percent of the total figure. Retailers are increasingly looking for ways to make it easier to buy the right product and size online by giving more detailed information – specifically about clothes – via chats, product descriptions, 360 degree pictures and videos. Some also reward honest feedback with vouchers and discounts.

Bangladesh election: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wins by landslide Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinaʼs party has won the general election with a landslide majority, the Election Commission said early on Monday. An alliance dominated

by Hasinaʼs Awami League won 288 seats in the countryʼs 300strong parliament. The opposition alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia won just six seats. Election to one seat was not held Sunday and results for another seat were halted by the commission. "My congratulations to the Awami League," Helal Uddin Ahmed, secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat, told reporters. Hasinaʼs party was widely anticipated to win the election that was hit by violence and rigging allegations. At least 16 people were reported to have been killed in violence between rival supporters. Hasina, who is set to take office for the third consecutive time and fourth time overall, is credited with improving the countryʼs economy, which grew at a faster rate than neighboring India last year, and giving refuge to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar. But she has also been accused of a crackdown on media and dissent.