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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

German parliament rows over UN Migration Compact Germanyʼs parliament held a rambunctious debate on Thursday about the United Nations Global Compact for Migration, after the Alternative for Germany (AfD) brought a motion calling for Germany to withdraw from the agreement, following the US and Australia among others. Furious interventions, angry accusations, and scornful laughter rang around the Bundestag chamber throughout the morning, as the various parliamentary groups argued about a pact that represents the first global attempt to set out parameters for managing migration.

"Millions of people from crisisstricken regions around the world are being encouraged to get on the road," said AfD leader Alexander Gauland.

"Leftist dreamers and globalist elites want to secretly turn our country from a nation state into a settlement area."

Refugee abuse trial opens in Germany The trial of 30 people accused of abusing refugees at an asylum center in Germany started on Thursday in the western town of Siegen. It has been nearly four years since shocking images of abuse against refugees in the small western town of Burbach triggered widespread outrage. The abuse was captured on cell phone photos. One of the Burbach photos showed a security guard posing with his foot on the neck of a handcuffed refugee lying on the floor, while another showed a refugee being forced to lie on a mattress stained with vomit. Security guards also took the refugees to a "problem room" where they were allegedly imprisoned, beaten and robbed. At the time the photos became public, Police Chief Frank Richter from nearby Hagen said: "These are images of the kind weʼve seen from Guantanamo Bay."

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Merkel ally Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer urges new era in German politics The battle to be the next leader of Angela Merkelʼs Christian Democrats is heating up

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the candidate considered closest to the chancellor personally and politically, has now made her case.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the woman many consider the natural successor to Angela Merkel both in leadership style and political agenda, has set out why she should be the next head of Germanyʼs embattled conservative party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Wednesdayʼs press conference in Berlin was a home game for the CDU general secretary, who staged it in the office representing Saarland, the small southwestern state she governed from 2011 to 2018. The CDUʼs state party had just unanimously nominated her to lead the national party, and potentially be its chancellor candidate in the next election, which is scheduled for 2021, but could easily come sooner. KrampKarrenbauer addressed her most obvious problem — the curse and blessing of being Merkelʼs unofficial favorite — first by highlighting her connections to the chancellor, and then by insisting she has something new to offer. "This is the end of an era with which I associate many personal relations and personal experiences,"

she said, before hastily making clear that she would not be staying in the chancellorʼs shadow. "But that era is over, and such an era can neither simply be continued nor be reversed," she said. "The decisive question is what you do with what you have inherited that is new and better." She also emphasized her recent "listening tour" of the partyʼs grassroots organizations, and reported that the members were full of "pride, frustration, concern and uncertainty" — all of which were understandable feelings, given theCDUʼs poor election result in the state of Hesseand new opinion polls that suggest that the center-right party, and pragmatic centrist politics in general, are in slow decline. The CDUʼs dilemma is that it is not clear which way it should turn to retrieve those lost voters. Though the farright Alternative for Germany (AfD) has definitely benefited from Merkelʼs perceived failure to control migration, recent state election results also show that the left-wing environmentalist Green party is also drawing away voters.

Germany cautious as France leads European defense initiative Defense ministers from 10 European countries gathered in Paris on Wednesday to set the agenda for the European Intervention Initiative (EI2), a defense coalition spearheaded

by French President Emmanuel Macron. "To face new threats, Europe needs a strong defense," the French Defense Ministry said in a tweet after the meeting. "With the European Intervention Initiative, 10 European countries are committed to its protection." EI2ʼs goal is to create a resultsbased common strategic culture that allows for rapid response joint military operations, including in humanitarian efforts. As such, it is not aimed at establishing a supranational European army. However, as an initiative outside EU and NATO frameworks, the French Defense Ministry has tried to alleviate concerns that it would undermine defense structures in the bloc and alliance.

Several dead in California bar shooting Thirteen people are dead, including a sheriffʼs deputy, and at least 10 more wounded after a shooting Wednesday night in a bar in southern California.

The gunman used a handgun and smoke bombs at a country dance bar on "college night" and sending hundreds of panicking people toward the exits with some breaking windows to escape, authorities and witnesses said.

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said that sheriffʼs Sgt. Ron Helus, a 29year veteran of the sheriffʼs department, responded to the scene and was shot after he entered the building.

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255/2018 • 9 November, 2018

Two ships collide in Mediterranean near Corsica The collision between the Tunisian and Cypriot ships spilled a trail of pollution stretching 4 kilometers across the water. Italy and France have sent ships to assist with cleanup efforts. Two cargo ships collided in the Mediterranean Sea near the island of Corsica on Sunday, causing an oil spill, coastal authorities said.

The Ulysse, operated by the Tunisian operator CTN, ran into the Cyprus-based CLS Virgina while it was anchored about 30 kilometres (20 miles) off the northern tip of the island at around 7:30 a.m. local time, the regional naval authority said in a statement.

Read more: Time to clean up the ocean garbage dump No one was injured but "the collision caused considerable damage, with an opening several meters long in the CLS Virginiaʼs hull," the statement said. The spill created a trail of pollution 4 kilometers long and several hundred meters wide, heading away from Corsica to the northwest, toward the French and Italian mainland, the statement continued.

Vietnamʼs dog meat culture clashes with modern tastes Hoang has been eating dog meat since he was young. He canʼt imagine there will be a time that he wonʼt be eating it at least twice a month. However, Vietnamese officials announced in September that dog and cat meat should no longer be served in the inner districts of the capital city Hanoi because itʼs offensive to tourists and can spread diseases like rabies. Read more: Illegal dog meat trade raises moral questions Dog meat lovers and restaurant owners fear that the government will try to expand the ban and decide to officially forbid eating dog and cat meat entirely. "I donʼt see how they can ban it. The demand is just too high," Hoang said at a restaurant in Vietnamʼs largest metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City. In a small alley in Ho Chi Minh City, at least four restaurants serve dog meat, or Thịt chó. People gather around small tables to dine on the canine meat, complementing it with rice wine or beer. Hoang, who declined to give his full name, is sitting at a table with three good friends. "For us itʼs a tradition to eat dog meat. Itʼs just as normal as eating seafood or chicken," he told DW. 2

Bonn, Cologne ordered to ban diesel older vehicles The German government is under pressure to get old, polluting vehicles off the roads

The two cities in western Germany are the latest to be ordered by a court to impose diesel vehicle bans.

A German court has ruled that the western cities of Cologne and Bonn must ban old polluting diesel vehicles from the roadsin order to improve air quality. The ban must be introduced

by April 2019. But the court decision has its detractors. NRW State Environment Minister Ursula HeinenEsser said authorities will file an appeal because the court "did not address the issue of proportionality." "It will cause a lot of disruption for the transport infrastructure of the city of Cologne and have a significant impact impact on residents, commuters and for the whole of Cologne as a

China says Interpol chief Meng Hongwei under investigation for bribery Interpol President Meng Hongwei, who had gone missing in late September, is under investigation for bribery and other crimes, the Chinese Security Ministry announced on Monday.

Meng is accused of "accepting bribes and is suspected of violating the law," the ministry said in a statement. It also hinted at a political dimension by stating Meng was being probed because of his own "willfulness and for bringing trouble upon himself."

Meng, a senior security official in China as well as the first Chinese head of Interpol, has beenmissing since September 25 while on a trip to his native country. On Sunday, Chinaʼs anti-graft body had said that "Public Security Ministry Vice Minister Meng Hongwei is currently under

business hub," Heinen-Esser said.

The ruling came as automobile executives met with German Transport Minister Andres Scheuer on Thursday to find a way forward on diesel emissions in the country. German carmaker BMW have rejected agreements to retrofit diesel vehicles, arguing it isnʼt the best way forward.

The German government has also signaled its intention to avoid driving bans on diesel vehicles. Meanwhile, VW and Daimler have agreed to spend up to 3,000 euros ($3,430) per vehicle to help reduce diesel emissions. investigation by the National Supervisory Commission for suspected violations of law," without specifying its allegations. China has been cracking down on corruption under President Xi Jinping.

Interpol later said Meng had resigned as president of the international police organization with immediate effect. It named South Korean national Kim Jong Yang, who was Senior Vice-President, as acting president.

Attack on Iranian military parade may harden domestic and regional policies A deadly attack on an Iranian military parade may strengthen hardliners in the country and send al-

Asia Bibi: Pakistan top court hears blasphemy appeal amid Islamist threats On Monday, Pakistanʼs Supreme Court began the hearing of Asia Bibiʼsfinal appeal against her 2010 death penalty. The three-judge bench said it has reserved the verdict on the appeal, however the judges did not say when they will announce it. If the top court upholds her death sentence, the only recourse for the 53-year-old would be toappeal to the countryʼs president for clemency. In 2014, her death sentence was upheld by the Lahore High Court. Rights group Amnesty International dubbed the verdict a "grave injustice." Religious extremists in Pakistan, particularly the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) group, have warned the authorities against reversing the blasphemy verdict."If there is any attempt to hand her [Bibi] over to a foreign country, there will be terrible consequences," TLP said in a statement.

ready heightened tensions across the Middle East soaring, asTehran points its finger at the United States and its Gulf Arab allies.

The rare attack claimed by Arab separatists killed 12Revolutionary Guard (IRGC)members and 13 others in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province, which is home to Shiite Iranʼs Sunni Arab minority. It was the deadliest attack in the country in nearly a decade. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed "mercenary terrorists" who carried out a crime in "continuation of the conspiracies by the US-backed regimes in the region," while the IRGC under his command vowed "deadly and unforgiving revenge," if need be abroad.

Iran did not name a particular Arab country, but the accusations appeared to be aimed at regional rivals Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

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CSUʼs Manfred Weber sets his sights on EUʼs highest office A little-known Bavarian is seeking the European Commissionʼs top office. Who is Manfred Weber? And what chances does a little-known member of the Christian Social Union, the sister party of Angela Merkelʼs CDU, have?

This is Manfred Weberʼs moment: The politician from the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian allies of Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs Christian Democrats (CDU), is the lead candidate for the European Peopleʼs Party (EPP), the EU-wide bloc of conservative parties, in elections for the European Parliament in May 2019. Weber hopes to use the elections as his springboard to the presidency of the European Commission. "The campaign starts

Migrant caravan ʼcould not be larger giftʼ for Donald Trump

"Remember the midterms", US President Donald Trump reminded his 55 million followers on Twitter on Tuesday in a sequence of tweets focused on the so-called migrant caravan that is making its way through Mexico towards the US border. If there was ever any doubt that Trump would forego the attentiongrabbing visuals of thousands of Latin American migrants braving brutal conditions to trek tens of miles per day in hopes of reaching the US, a series of presidential tweets sent out in the past couple of days erased it.

Using military jargon to describe the caravan and alleging — without offering evidence — that criminals and "unknown Middle Easterners" were part of the group, Trump faulted Democrats and US courts for standing in the way of a tougher immigration policy, and El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, the home countries of most of the migrants, for not preventing them from making the journey.

here in Helsinki," Weber told the EPP delegates on Thursday. "We are bridgebuilders, letʼs use this momentum.

Then we will win in May 2019," he said. Weberwon a decisive vote against former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb at the EPP congress in Helsinki on Thursday. Weber was considered the favorite despite the fact that the 46-year-old only has basic French and barely fluent English. Stubb is fluent in English, French and German.

Ryanair strikes deal with German cabin crew union

Ryanair on Thursday announced it had reached an agreement with German union Verdi over a wages dispute with German cabin crew. The Irish airliner launched an offensive to strike several labor accords with unions across Europe ahead of the holiday season after facing aseries of strikes. The two-year Collective La-

bor Agreement (CLA) brings Ryanairʼs employment practices in line with German labor law.It includes pay increases and other benefits.

The deal needs final approval from the unionʼs members.Similar deals have been struck in Italy, Greece and Sweden.

Financial Times editor given one week to leave Hong Kong Outraged Hong Kong media and legal groups pushed the government on Monday to provide an explanation for why a Western journalist had his visa renewal denied. Financial Times Asia news editor Victor Mallet was denied a new work visa after hosting a talk by a pro-independence activist.

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255/2018 • 9 November, 2018

Aircraft makers are optimistic about Farnborough despite Brexit The Farnborough Airshow is a major trade venue for the aeronautical industry. As manufactures set up their displays their thoughts hover between anticipation of the next big order and fears of Brexit says Andreas Spaeth.

The global aviation industry will come together on Monday at the Farnborough airfield southwest of London for its biennial industry fair — the second largest in the world after the Paris Air Show. The UK has traditionally been one of the worldʼs leading aviation countries and the Farnborough trade fairʼs roots date all the way back to 1920. It moved to its current location in 1948. Read more: Air India sale grounded after privatization flops However, this year is likely to be full of uncertainty as to the future role of the British aviation industry is called into question due to the UKʼs impending departure from the EU in 2019. Airlines and manufacturers have both recently denounced the prevailing uncertainties and demanded clear post-Brexit rules.Read more: Air India sale grounded after privatization flops However, this year is likely to be full of uncertainty as to the future role of the British aviation industry is called into question due to the UKʼs impending departure from the EU in 2019. Airlines and manufacturers have both recently denounced the prevailing uncertainties and demanded clear post-Brexit rules.

Indiaʼs currency tumbles amid rising oil prices The rupee has dropped over 12 percent against the US dollar since the beginning of 2018, earning it the unfortunate distinction of Asiaʼs worst performing currency this year. Economists blame risingglobal crude prices for the slide. India imports 80 percent of its oil needs and soaring prices have blown a hole in the nationʼs finances. The country also imports huge quantities of items like gold and electronics, swelling its import bill further. Indiaʼs current account deficit (CAD) will also likely widen to 2.8 percent of GDP in financial year 2018 — up from 1.9 percent last year — according to consultancy Nomura Research Institute. CAD is a measure of the flow of goods, services and investments in and out of the country.

Still, macroeconomic problems resulting from a higher CAD and depreciating rupee are not Prime Minister Narendra Modiʼs biggest concerns.

His administration is more worried about growing public discontent due to the rise in petrol and diesel prices.

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Real estate investors flee ʼoverpricedʼ Germany "Overpriced" and scarce real estate in Germanyʼs largest cities are deterring investors, according to a consultantsʼ study. Instead, theyʼre turning to Lisbon and London — despite Brexit.

Eight-hundred professionals at investment houses, banks and building firms told the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in a survey published Monday they still valued Germanyʼs stability, but were looking elsewhere in Europe for property prospects. Lisbon, Portugalʼs capital, was top-ranked in the report"Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2019"because of its aboveaverage returns and high growth potential, including projects to provide office space. Despite soaring prices, the German capital Berlin came in second,

Foreign investment in the United States of America down sharply

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States plunged by a staggering 32 percent in 2017 year on year, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis reported.

Investment totaled $259.6 billion (€221.2 billion),with the figure representing the second year of declineafter a peak in 2015 when foreign investorsʼ expenditure in the US hit $439.5 billion.

Last year, most foreign investments in the US came from neighboring Canada which contributed $66.2 billion. European Union member states accounted for 40 percent of the 2017 FDI total.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the drop in foreign investment in the United States is part of a global trend.

Not just a US problem OECD researchers noted that FDI levels were down 18 percent worldwide in 2017.

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China: Multiple deaths in chemical plant blast Authorities in southwestern Sichuan province have opened an investigation into a blast at an industrial complex that left 19 people dead, state news agency Xinhua reported Friday.

The explosion ripped through the Yibin Hengda Technology complex in the city of Yibin at 6:30 p.m.

(1030 UTC) Thursday, sparking a fire that burned late into the night, Xinhua said. County officials said that 12 people wounded in the blast had been taken to hospital and were in a stable condition.

Read more: China convicts dozens for last yearʼs giant explosions in Tianjin Reports in the Sichuan Dai‐ lysaid the force of the explosion reduced three buildings to their steel frames and shattered the windows of nearby properties.

China, the worldʼs largest producer of chemicals, has sought to improve industrial safety standards following aseries of highprofile accidentsin recent years.

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with Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich all making the top ten. However, opportunities for "really attractive investments" in the big German cities had become "increasingly rare," said PwC real estate expert Susanne Eickermann-Riepe. Survey respondents had described pricing in urban hubs in Germany and elsewhere in Europe as "near the peak," well advanced" and "overpriced," she said. Purchases in Germany between October 2017 and September 2018 amounted to €65 billion ($74 billion) — down 3 billion on the previous 12 months.

Americaʼs first solar-powered town

Building a completely solarpowered town is a challenge, even in very sunny Florida. And not just for technical reasons. Getting average buyers to go green sometimes means having to compromise.

Babcock Ranch looks like any other comfortable Floridian town. Bright homes with pitched roofs, wooden panels and large front porches form neat neighborhoods on a flat landscape. Native palms decorate manicured gardens. While the architecture looks similar to elsewhere in Florida, the townʼs homes — built to Florida Green Building Coalition standards — are high-tech and eco-friendly. The roofs are metal to reduce heating and cooling costs and have extended eaves to create shade. The garages have charging facilities and the gardens are only 30 percent lawn, leaving the rest for less thirsty native plants. "Gray water" reclaimed from the townʼs on-site treatment plant and rainwater runoff — the streets have no drains or curbs — is used for irrigation and to top up lakes.

255/2018 • 9 November, 2018

Ending plastic waste with big promises?

Mere greenwashing, or can such pledges make a difference in the fight against plastic pollution

Big companies including Coca-Cola and Danone have signed a new global commitment to tackle the plastic waste problem.

Plastic waste is in the spotlight right now — no doubt about that. The European Commissionʼs recent decision toban the most polluting items of single-use plasticcaptured significant attention. But regardless of bans, plastic continues flowing into our oceans, polluting the planet at an alarming rate. Meanwhile, the global community keeps working away at the problem — currently on the idyllic island of Bali, Indonesia, where the 5th Our Ocean Conference is being held (October 29-30).

There, more than 250 businesses, investors and governments Monday announced a new global commitmentto fight plastic waste. These include large transnational corporations like Coca-Cola, Danone and Unilever. Such signatories are significant not only for their economic empires, but also because they are major contributors to global plastic pollution. But do such pledges really amount to more than companies simply bragging about their efforts, or can they contribute to real action?

How the battlefield sounded as World War I guns fell silent The peace terms had been agreed six hours earlier, but the thunderous noise of heavy artillery fire — and the potential to end yet another human life — continued to the last moment.

The sounds were never recorded, but we do have a visual record of the sound. And now, you can actually hear it. Even as the armistice came into effect at 11 a.m., Allied soldiers were using state-of-the-art"sound ranging"techniques to detect the location of the enemy. Rather than recording sound, the system recorded the noise intensity at any one moment onto a rolling piece of photographic film, similar to how a seismograph records tremors in the earth. Britainʼs Imperial War Museum, which had a set of graphic records labelled "THE END OF THE WAR" among its artefacts, asked sound experts from the London acoustics firm Coda to Coda to use just such a photographic record — from the American front on the Moselle — to reproduce a soundscape of the moment of armistice.

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31 artists interpret the First World War with a souvenir from the front Many areas in northeastern France were completely destroyed during the First World War. Because of the vast amounts of human and animal remains and the countless unexploded gas shells and grenades, some areas of the infamous "Zone Rouge" remain off limits to this day. A war that ended 100 years ago still leaves its traces in nature. The Osnabrück artist Volker-Johannes Trieb, initiator of the project "1914/1918 - Not Then, Not Now, Not Ever," has often worked with wood that bears traces of this conflict. His idea was to get artists from the different countries

involved in the First World War to work with the same material to create a memorial exhibition underlining the 100th anniversary of the warʼs end. Thirty-one internationally renowned artists were invited by curator Mattijs Visser to join the project. Each of them was asked to represent one of the 29 signatory states of the treaties of Versailles and the Paris Peace Conference, along with Russia and Ukraine, which had signed a separate peace treaty before the other countries. "We were surprised to see how quickly the artists accepted," he said.

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Culture

A new exhibition celebrates 100 years of Budapest’s Gellért Hotel A recreated Baroque-style guest room, photos of the building taken during World War II and Communist-era posters reflect the history of Budapest’s most legendary hotel, the Gellért. A new exhibition at the Museum of Commerce & Catering celebrates the centenary of this institution which opened on 24 September 1918. Attached to the hotel is Budapest’s Art Nouveau Gellért Baths, whose outdoor wave pool, also illustrated at the museum, was the first of its kind in the world. Tucked away in the cobblestoned district of Óbuda, the former residence of Hungarian writer Gyula Krúdy is now home to a charming museum. Here, permanent displays include old-fashioned shop interiors illustrating the history of commerce and catering. This same building also hosts relevant seasonal exhibitions, such as the recently opened Gellért 100 to commemorate the centenary of the Gellért Hotel, a splendid Art Nouveau landmark towering above the Buda riverfront. Opened during the turmoil of World War I, during its long history, the Gellért has accommodated the likes of former US president Richard Nixon and the Dalai Lama. They both enjoyed the hotel’s fine facilities that are now brought to life through historic objects and images currently on show at the museum.

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255/2018 • 9 November, 2018

Floyd Mayweather: Retired boxer denies agreeing deal to face kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa

Floyd Mayweather says he has not agreed to face Tenshin Nasukawa in an official bout and had "never heard" of the Japanese kickboxer until this week. The former five-weight boxing world championwas said to have agreed to face Nasukawa in Japan on 31 December. Mayweather, 41, says he had only been asked to compete in a non-televised event for "wealthy spectators". "Once I arrived to the press conference, my team and I were completely derailed," said Mayweather. "We should have put a stop to it immediately.

Wayne Rooney: DC United striker talks life in the USA, Everton and Mourinho

If you thought Wayne Rooney moved to the MLS for one final pay cheque before retirement, think again. Since joining DC United from boyhood club Everton in June, Manchester United and Englandʼs record scorer has scored 14 goals and steered his new side from the bottom of the Eastern Conference to the MLS play-offs.

Speaking to BBC Sportʼs Natalie Pirks for Football Focus, the 33-yearold discussed his new-found anonymity, being the dressing room DJ, and the availability of a good old British cup of tea.

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Aleksandar Kolarovʼs free kick stunner secures Serbia win over Costa Rica

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff praises British driver as he closes in on fifth title

A brilliant second half free kick from captain Aleksandar Kolarov led Serbia to a deserved win over Costa Rica. Serbia were wasteful in front of goal but did enough to secure three vital points in Group E. Another World Cup day, another sublime freekick. If Cristiano Ronaldo’s ice-cold effort tosnatch a point against arch-rivals Spain on day two was the current goal of the tournament front-runner, the Portuguese may have just met his match. Aleksandar Kolarov, take a bow. A combination of poor finishing and sublime goalkeeping had kept the scores level until Serbia’s no.11 produced his moment of magic. Kolarov’s powerful left foot is no secret, but few inside the stadium would have expected such a thunderous strike when the Roma defender stood over a free kick midway through the second half. His shot was unstoppable; a side-footed missile which screamed into the top corner of the Costa Rica net.

Kaylor Navas, who kept his team in the game with several crucial saves either side of half time, was nowhere near it.

Lewis Hamilton:

Lewis Hamiltonʼs Mercedes boss says the Briton is "a class act" performing at the highest level as he closes on a fifth Formula 1 world title.

Toto Wolff said Hamilton was "more complete than ever before". "[He is] showing commanding performance in the car and challenging the entire team to perform to higher levels at the same time," Wolff added. Hamilton will clinch the title at Sundayʼs US Grand Prix if he wins and Sebastian Vettel finishes below second.

Even if Hamilton does not win at the Circuit of the Americas, he will be champion if he outscores the Ferrari

driver by eight points. Hamilton, 33, has taken six victories in the last seven races and heads to this weekendʼs race in Austin, Texas, with a 67-point lead with only a maximum of 100 points available over the remaining four races this season. The British driver has won five of the six races held in Austin since the inaugural event in 2012 - one for McLaren in 2012, and the last four in a row for Mercedes.

Andy Murray feeling ʼbetter every dayʼ before Brisbane return Andy Murray says he is physically feeling "a little bit better every day" after returning to the practice courts in preparation for the 2019 season.

Murray, 31,ended his season earlyto focus on making "big improvements", having played in six events since returning from hip surgery in June. The Scot will train in Miami next month before making his competitive return at the Brisbane International in January. "Iʼm getting closer," said the former world number one. The Briton,

now ranked 263rd in the world, has not played since losing to Spainʼs Fernando Verdasco in the Shenzhen Open in September. He has spent "four or five" weeks building his fitness with off-court training in Philadelphia and plans to increase his workload in Florida before flying out to Brisbane. Murray is expected to play at the Australian Open later in January and has alsoannounced his entryto the Open Sud de France in Montpellier - an ATP Tour 250 event which he has never previously played - in February.