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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Malaysia to abolish death penalty Malaysiaʼs Cabinet announced on Thursday it would abolish the death penalty for all crimes and halt pending executions. The country mandates hanging perpetrators for a wide range of crimes, including murder, drug trafficking, treason and acts of terror.

More than 1,200 people are on death row in Malaysia. "The Cabinet has agreed to abolish the death penalty," Gobind Singh Deo, communications and multimedia minister, told AFP news agency on Thursday. "I hope the law will be amended soon."

On Wednesday, local media reports quoted Law Minister Liew Vui Keong as saying that that amendment to laws with capital punishment were expected to be tabled when parliament resumes Monday. ʼMajor step forwardʼ Human rights groups hailed the decision. Amnesty International said it was "a major step forward for all those who have campaigned for an end to the death penalty in Malaysia."

US ramps up pressure on Saudis over Jamal Khashoggi Washington is being "very tough" on Riyadh over the suspected murder of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi, US President Donald Trump said in an interview with "Fox and Friends" on Thursday. According to unconfirmed reports, the Saudi-born Khashoggi was killed and dismemberedafter entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul over a week ago. "Weʼre looking at it very, very seriously," Trump said. "I donʼt like it at all." During his appearance at the US cable network, Trump also said that Washington was investigating Khashoggiʼs fate and had "incredible people and incredible talent" working on the case. "And we have investigators over there and weʼre working with Turkey, and frankly weʼre working with Saudi Arabia," he said. Later, however, a Turkish diplomatic source seemed to dispute the claim, according to remarks carried by the state-run Anadolu news agency.

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Lagarde defends rate hikes after Trumpʼs Fed attack Her support came after Donald Trump had called the Fedʼs policies

The head of the International Monetary Fund has thrown her weight behind the US central bankʼs recent rate hikes.

In a press conference ahead of official IMF and World Bank talks in Bali, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, on Thursday defended central bank rate increases in the United States in what appeared to be a veiled rebuke to US President Donald Trumpʼs most recent remarks about the Federal Reserve. Trump had blamed "crazy" Fed policiesfor contributing to current financial market turmoil as a global sell-off continued amid stronger signs of rising financial volatilitywhich the IMF and the World Bank were scheduled to address during their annual meetings. Lagarde told reporters the Fedʼs rate hikes were justified by fundamentals. "It is clearly a necessary development for economies that are showing much improved growth, with inflation picking up and unemployment being extremely low," she argued. The plight of emerging markets The IMF chief acknowledged, though, that recent Fed rate increases had been a headache for many emerging economies as capital outflows continued and local curren-

cies kept tumbling. Lagarde added thatthose outflows were inevitable as the world braced for impacts from trade frictions. She recommended more flexibility on capital flow management, adding that some emerging markets, including South East Asian countries, had been far too reluctant to ramp up capital controls to protect their own economies. Italy in focus Lagarde also touched on the economic situation in eurozone member Italy, warning Rome that it was welladvised to abide by EU fiscal rules and adhere to the blocʼs financial stability regulations amid concerns that the countryʼs 2019 budget could exacerbate financial problems. "It will remind all of us that when you are a member of a club and you decide to stay in that club, then you play by the rules of the club," she said. The Italian governmentplans to increase the budget deficit next year to 2.4 percent to step up social spending. Analysts fear that slowerthan-predicted growth could translate into less revenue for Rome, resulting in a higher-than-planned deficit.

AustriaAnti-government protests hope to break populist groundswell Resistance!" came the shouts of 20,000 people who gathered in Viennaʼs Ballhausplatz square last Thursday, in front of Chancellor Sebastian Kurzʼs office.

And this week, even more are set to do it again. After nearly a year of archconservative rule by Kurzʼs Austrian Peopleʼs Party (ÖVP) andthe far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), the left has revived the so-called "Thursday demonstrations" of the early 2000s. Then, as now, the weekly rallies were meant to show opposition to an ÖVP-FPÖ coalition government and, in particular, to what activists see as the FPÖʼs long history of xenophobia, anti-Semitism and now Islamophobia. What makes Austria unique among many Western nations facing a rising tide of right-wing populism, however, is the enthusiasm with which young people are embracing it.

NASA: ISS crew make emergency landing after booster failure An American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut aborted their flight to the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday after a booster failure on the Soyuz spacecraft. "The Soyuz capsule is returning to Earth via a ballistic descent, which is a sharper angle of landing compared to normal," said NASA mission control in Houston. During their plunge to the surface, the two-men crew was forced to endure 6.7 times the force of gravity, according to Russian controllers.

Rookie astronaut Nick Hague and veteran cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin "have been in contact with rescue forces," NASA said.

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234/2018 • 12 October, 2018

Israel nudges Damascus to reopen border crossing While Israel is ready to reopen theQuneitracrossing with Syria, any resumption of operations at the border facility depends on Syria, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Thursday. "We are ready to open the crossing as it was before and now the ball is in Syriaʼs court," Lieberman said during a tour of the crossing on Thursday. "In terms of the ability to operate the crossing, both from a security and administrative point of view, everything is ready." Lieberman also reiterated Israelʼs policy of nonintervention in the Syrian civil war.

Israel will also ensure compliance with the nonmilitarized buffer zone between the Israelicontrolled Golan Heights and Syria established in 1974 after the Arab-Israeli War a year earlier, the minister said. The Quneitra crossing lies in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and was closed in 2014. The UN peacekeeping force UNDOF restarted patrols in the Quneitra area this August after the Syrian government retook the town of Quneitra from rebels.

Watergate alum: Firing Rod Rosenstein would be criminal It is hard to say what is exactly going on here. One part of me thinks, this whole thing about Rod Rosenstein was just a setup to try and deflect attention away from the Kavanaugh hearings right now, which is what Trumpʼs normal pattern is: to try to do something to get peopleʼs attention in a different direction. So, I am not sure how serious he is about this and whether this was just a deflection from Kavanaugh or whether he really is serious about getting rid of Rosenstein.

Part of me believes that this thing is all a setup by Trump to begin with.

The notion that Rosenstein was seriously talking about the 25th Amendment as to Trump is kind of ridiculous. The 25th Amendment is really kind of designed for the Woodrow Wilson situation, where he was basically non compos mentis and his wife was acting as president and he just had no ability to act as president. The whole process of removing somebody with the 25th Amendment is extremely complex. I think the whole idea that this was something that Rosenstein seriously thought about is just ridiculous and even the idea about taping Trump, I think, was more likely in jest.

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Germanyʼs Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Greece apologizes for Nazi crimes Greece wants Germany to pay hundreds of billions of euros in WWII reparations

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier apologized for Nazi crimes, but Berlin maintains it has paid enough to Greece.

News Germanyʼs Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Greece apologizes for Nazi crimes Greece wants Germany to pay hundreds of billions of euros in WWII reparations. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier apologized for Nazi crimes, but Berlin maintains it has paid enough to Greece. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier asked Greece for forgiveness for crimes committed during the Nazi occupation, in comments at a former concentration camp near Athens on Thursday. "Unimaginable atrocities were committed under German auspices in the Haidari

Bellingcat identifies Skripal poisoning suspect as Russian colonel The real identity of one of the suspects in the nerve agent attack on former Russian spySergei Skripal and his daughteris Anatoliy Chepiga, a highly-decorated colonel of the Russian military intelligence agency GRU, the investigative group Bellingcat said on Wednesday. Bellingcat claimed the colonelʼs passport name was Ruslan Boshirov, one of thetwo suspects charged by British prosecutors with attempted murderfor the Novichok poisoning of the Skripals in the southern English city of Salisbury in March. The other suspect was identified by prosecutors as Alexander Petrov. The British government

camp," Steinmeier said at the camp, where up to 25,000 people were interned during occupation. "We bow before the victims." During WWII, between 60,000 and 70,000 Jewish Greeks were murdered in mass shootings and other atrocities. Steinmeier said Germanyʼs moral and political responsibility for this must not be forgotten. Steinmeierʼs visit, on the anniversary of the liberation of Athens, came after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsiprasʼs government renewed Greeceʼs oft-repeated claims that Germany still owes vast sums in war reparations. knows both their real identities, Reuters news agency reported, citing sources close to the investigation. The two Russian men have denied the accusations, sayingthey visited Salisbury as touriststo see its cathedral.

Speaking on the Russian state-funded RT channel, the duo said they work in the nutritional supplements business.

The UK says the two had approval from the highest authorities in Russia, a charge that Moscow has rejected.

How does Germany choose its judges? Always the best pick?

Judges must be "no more than the mouth that pronounces the words of the law, mere passive beings, inca-

Man arrested for running after plane at Dublin Airport An Irish man was arrested at Dublin Airport on Thursday after he ran behind a taxiing plane and shouted at the pilot to wait. Witnesses said the 23-year-old, who arrived late at the departure gate, dashed out of the terminal building and ran after the Ryanair plane, which was departing for Amsterdam. The airport said the man was "agitated" when airline staff told him he was too late for his flight. He then "broke through a door and made his way onto the tarmac, trying to flag the aircraft down," the airport said. The man was heard shouting "Wait" to the pilot before he was pinned to the ground by the airport staff. He was later handed over to Irish police and taken to a Dublin police station. A Dublin court has charged him with criminal damage to a door lock. He was released on his own bond of €200 ($234) and ordered to appear at the court again on November 8, Irish broadcaster RTE reported.

pable of moderating either its force or rigour," said the French enlightenment political philosopher, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755). The initiator of the separation of powers assigned the third branch of government – the judiciary - a clearly defined role of servitude. More than 250 years later, the reality is far different. Even in Germany, respected around the world for its adherence to the rule of law, the judiciaryʼs independence has come under scrutiny in the last several years. Jurisprudence has been accused of being politics by other means. Germanyʼs more than 20,000 judges are not "bound by directives."

Germanyʼs federal states - normally their respective justice ministries choose judges. Federal judges are selected on a "best choice" principle, as set forth by the constitution. In practice, judge selection is as transparent as a black hole.

234/2018 • 12 October, 2018

Hurricane Michael makes landfall in Florida: ʼOur worst fears realizedʼ Hurricane Michael has caused widespread damage across the Florida Panhandle. The Category 4 monster was among the most powerful hurricanes in half a century to strike the mainland United States.

Hurricane Michael churned through the Florida Panhandle packing 155mph (250-kph) winds on Wednesday afternoon, unleashing devastation along the Gulf Coast as it moved inland into Georgia.

The storm had the lowest barometric reading of a hurricane to make landfall since 1969, making it the most intense storm to hit the continental US in half a century.

Michael was also the most powerful hurricane to hit the Florida Panhan-

dle. The storm slammed ashore early afternoon near Mexico Beach as a Category 4 hurricane on the five-level Saffir-Simpson wind scale, uprooting trees and power lines, dumping rain and causing severe flooding. "Michael saw our worst fears realized, of rapid intensification just before landfall on a part of a coastline that has never experienced a Category 4 hurricane," said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy.

Turkeyʼs economic woes power Balkan reboot

BMW takes control of China joint venture

Turkey has long considered theWestern Balkanspart of its sphere of influence. The Ottoman Empire encompassed Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo up to 1918. A century on from theOttomansʼ demise, Turkey is again looking covetously at the region.

Turkeyʼs share in Serbiaʼs foreign trade is only about 3.5 percent, but it has crept almost without notice into Serbiaʼs top 10 trading partners and Kosovoʼs top three. Turkish construction companies, for example, are building and will operate 20 power plants in Serbia. Emerging TurkishSerbian economic relations are indeed likely to be focused on energy, the showpiece being theTurk Stream gas pipeline led by Russian energy giant Gazprom . The Western Balkans makes up only a fraction of Turkeyʼs foreign trade, compared with trade with the European Union of around €145 billion ($165 billion). But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently spoke of increasing Turkish investments in Serbia to $5 billion in the longer term, from around €1.7 billion in 2017.

German premium carmaker BMW said on Thursday it planned to acquire a further 25 percent stake in its venture with Brilliance China Automotive for €3.6 billion ($4.2 billion), bringing its total stake to 75 percent.

Foreign carmakers have long been restricted to holding no more than a 50 percent stake in their China operations,but Beijing decided to relax ownership caps this year. The changes in ownership rules are a boon for for-

eign automakers who willgain a greater share of control and profits from their China business, hurting prospects for their Chinese partners.

Brilliance Chinaʼs shares in Hong Kong have taken a dive this year and were suspended from trading on Thursday. "Our joint venture is the cornerstone of the BMW brandʼs sustained success in its largest single market," BMW Chairman Harald Krüger said in a statement.

Angela Merkelʼs CDU wins over migrant voters in Germany Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs conservative bloc has become the most popular party amongGerman citizens with migratory backgrounds, according to a report published on Thursday. The Union bloc — made up of the Christian Democrats and their Bavarian sister-party, the Christian Social Union — now enjoys more then 43 percent of support among all migrant groups. Meanwhile, only one-in-four migrants still favorthe Social Democrats (SPD), down by a staggering 15 percentage points in just two years. Turkish-Germans in particular appear to have abandoned the centerleft party, with most switching to the conservative bloc.

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234/2018 • 12 October, 2018

Trade frictions could cause ʼmajor recession in Germanyʼ Any escalation of trade friction involving the United Statescould cause a major recession in Germany and the whole of the European Union, Germanyʼs leading economic institutes warned Thursday while presenting their latest outlook. The think tanks said US President Donald Trumpʼs threat to impose higher tariffs on car imports from the European Union would, if enacted, cost a lot of jobs and harm productivity and prosperity particularly in Germany. In Germany, one in three jobs depends on exports, making the nation particularly vulnerableif hit by additional US tariffs on car imports, given the large size of the automotive sector. Tensions rose last month after the US president rejected an offer from Brussels to eliminate auto tariffs altogether. Several dangers building The institutes also cited currency crises in Turkey and Argentina and the possibility of Britain leaving the EU without a deal as economic threats to Germany. The think tanks cut their 2018 GDP growth forecast to 1.7 percent from a previous estimate of 2.2 percent, and said they expect the economy in Europeʼs powerhouse to expand by 1.9 percent next year. "Demand from abroad has weakened, and at the same time companiesare having increasing difficulty finding enough workers for their production," Roland Döhrn of the Essen-based institute RWI said in a statement.

German photography trade fair transforms itself into an imaging marketplace "Photokina isnʼt what it used to be," some visitors tell the organizers of the biennial photography trade fair in the western German city of Cologne, which opened again on Wednesday.

But Katharina Hamma, Managing Director of the Kölnmesse exhibition hall, told DW that the cynical comment was actually positive proof that the long-established event is evolving, The photography event, which was first held in 1950, has long since become a marketplace for all kinds of imaging technology, and its slogan, "Imaging unlimited," sums up its latest strategy. For many years, Photokina suffered from a decline in exhibitors as the whole photography sector dwindled. A huge effort went into attracting interest from related sectors to expand the trade fairʼs appeal. This year, for the first time, Chinese telecommunications and smartphone group Huawei and the German headphone and audio specialist Sennheiser have their own booths.

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US indicts Chinese spy for trying to steal aviation trade secrets US authorities have indicted a Chinese spy for trying to steal trade secrets from several American aviation firms. China has dismissed the allegations, saying US authorities are "making something out of thin air."

The US Justice Department said on Wednesday it had detained a Chinese spy on charges ofstate-sponsored economic espionage, after he allegedly attempted to steal trade secrets from several American aviation and aerospace companies. Yanjun Xu, an intelligence officer for Chinaʼs Ministry of State Security, is accused of running a five-year operation in which he would woo employees frommajor US aerospace firmsand persuade them to travel to China under the guise that

Italy budget to include basic income Economy Minister Giovanni Tria announced Wednesday that Italyʼs 2019 budget would comprise a basic income for poor people and a lower retirement age. The measures were sought by the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which is in the ruling coalitionwith the right-wing League. The party had threatened not to vote for the budget unless its demands were met.Tria, who isnʼt affiliated with either party, is under pressure to come up with a draft budget that funds key campaign pledges made by the ruling parties whileupholding Italyʼs financial commitmentsto the European Union. The draft is due to be presented Thursday.

In a speech to a conference in Rome, the economy ministerwarned there was a need for shrewd policyto allay market concerns and avert a clash with the European Commission. "We are working on a mix of policies that show everyone they should have confidence in Italy, not only in our public finances but in our economic growth," Tria said. "We have to give a sign to the financial markets, to those who lend us money."

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German consumers unfazed by trade worries The mood among German consumers is improving again heading into October, a regular survey published Thursday by German pollsters GfK revealed. The groupʼs forward-looking barometer for Octoberregistered a consumer confidence uptick of 0.1 points to 10.6 points. A look at the different elements of the survey showed peopleʼs view of the economic outlook and expectations for their own income in the months ahead saw strong increases. Unemployment is at record lows since the countryʼs reunification in 1990, boosting the publicʼs assessment of their own financial prospects. Big-ticket items harder to sell Respondents were slightly less open to making major purchases, although the reading remained "at a high level," GfK noted. Private consumption is proving itself as an important pillar of economic developments in Germany," the group said.

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they would give a presentation at a university. Court papers documented how Xu and other intelligence operatives would then plan to illicitly obtain "highly sensitive information" from their expert guests. Beijing dismissed the claims on Thursday, saying American authorities were "making something out of thin air." "We hope the US side can deal with this in accordance with law," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said during a regular press briefing.

German government cuts growth outlook

The German government has lowered its forecasts for growth this year and next due to an increasingly tight labor market and risks associated with Britainʼs exit from the European Union and global trade disputes.

In an official growth report released Thursday, the German government revised down its 2018 growth forecast from 2.3 percent previously to 1.8 percent now. Moreover, the growth estimate for 2019 was also slashed from 2.1 percent to 1.8 percent. The downward revision was the result of tightening conditions in the German labor market, slowing construction activity and weakening global trade, the report noted. Read more: IMF downgrades global growth outlook, places responsibility on US-China trade tensions Among the downside risks to the forecast, the growth report cited a ʼno-dealʼ exit of the UK from the European Union in March 2019,an escalation of global trade disputes, notably between the US and China, as well as contagion spreading from the economic crises in Turkey and Argentina.

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How hard is living without plastic?

After an initial shock to the system, she got used to it. But did she stick to it?

In 2016, DW reporter Tamsin Walker made it her New Yearʼs resolution to eradicate plastic packaging from her life.

The night I decided to empty the contents of my kitchen food cupboard into what felt like a thousand glass jars, was the first time I had ever really stopped to look at the undeniable extent of my own plastic usage. The realization was as shocking as the prospect of finding alternatives was daunting. Not only for me, but also for my kids who I was dragging along for the ride. A ride on which there would be none of their favorite sweets, yoghurts and breakfast cereal, no potato chips, granola bars or the biscuits they love. Instead there

would be four weeks of experimentation and adventure. My plan was to get our fruits and vegetables from my local market; staples such as rice, beans and nuts from the cityʼs only unpackaged food store; bread, cheese and meat from traders who would allow me to take my own tubs to be filled. How hard could that be? I also set myself the goal of swapping liquid shampoo and shower gel for the solid varieties, making whatever I could from scratch and doing without anything that fell in none of the above categories.

The sole Jewish survivor remembers the Odessa massacre of 1941 Mihail Zaslavsky is the only known survivor among the tens of thousands of Ukrainian Jews who were sent to barracks to be executed or burned alive in October 1941. The 93-year-old told DW how he escaped the Nazis. Mihail Zaslavsky was 16 when his hometown Odessa, the metropolis on the Black Sea, was occupied by Romanian and German troops in October 1941. On October 22, a bomb attack on the Nazi headquarters killed 67 of the occupiers. Retaliation followed: For each German or Romanian dead of-

ficer, it was ordered that 200 "Bolsheviks" should be killed, and 100 for each dead soldier. However, there were no more "Bolsheviks" in Odessa. Actually, hardly any men were to be found there at all. The Nazis therefore turned onto the Jewish population, predominantly women and children. They were sent to former ammunition warehouses on the outskirts of the city, where they were shot or burned alive. Mikhail Zaslavsky, the sole survivor of the 1941 Odessa massacre, shared his memories .

ʼGerman Angstʼ: Pinpointing the collective fears of a country Angst: The German term has long found its way into the English language, keeping along the way its "typically German" reputation. For example, last August, the British newspaper The Timestitled its analysis of the "ugly protests in Chemnitz" as "German Angst." But is fear really stronger in Germany than elsewhere?

The exhibition "Fear: A German State of Mind?" held at the German history museum (Haus der Geschichte) in Bonn from October 10, 2018 through May 19, 2019, looks into this question. "There is a higher emotionality in Germany," the curator of the exhibition, Judith Kruse, said at the showʼs press presentation. "The Germans have a particular need for security," added Walter Hütter, president of the museumʼs foundation.

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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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234/2018 • 12 October, 2018

Lance Armstrong Tour de France trophy ʼofferʼ to Geraint Thomas

Lance Armstrong has joked that Geraint Thomas can have one of his Tour de France trophies after the Welsh rider had his stolen. Thomasʼs Coupe Omnisports was taken from a display at The Cycle Show in Birmingham in September. American Armstrong was stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles and banned from the sport for life in 2012 after testing positive for drugs. He tweeted: "I got 7 of em if you wanna borrow one." Armstrong made the comment as he retweeted BBC Sportʼs tweet about the trophy being stolen.

Lionel Messi: Barcelona legendʼs life to be focus of a new Cirque du Soleil show

The life of Barcelona and Argentina legend Lionel Messi will be the focus of a new Cirque du Soleil show. The Montreal-based group of performing artists confirmed the show will go on a world tour in 2019, with exact dates and venues yet to be released. Previous shows have been inspired by music artists such as the Beatles and Michael Jackson, but this is will be the first to focus on a sports star.

"Cirque du Soleil is a family favourite of ours," said Messi, 31. "It feels both crazy and incredible that Cirque du Soleil will create a show based on my life, my passion, my sport.

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London Broncos have long-term ambition to win Super League title Promoted London Broncos must have the ambition to win Super League in the future, says head coach Danny Ward. The Broncos will be back in the top flight in 2019 afterbeating Toronto Wolfpack 4-2 in the Million Pound Gameon Sunday. "We need to make it work, have a five-year plan of where we want to be," Ward told BBC Radio London.

"Next year is going to be tough but we want a long-term vision to make London the best club in the country." He added: "We donʼt just want to compete in Super League, but win it. We are not there just to survive." Ward, who took charge following the departure of Andrew Henderson at the end of last season, described their victory over the Wolfpack in Canada as "one of the proudest moments" of his career. "What a performance, what a day and what an achievement - I am still on a massive high," he said on their return to England. "To lead the club into the Million Pound Game and win promotion is one of my biggest ever achievements."

Michael Ballack: ʼIʼm surprised Löw still has his jobʼ Michael Ballack has criticized Germany coach Joachim Löw, saying he is ʼsurprisedʼ he still has his

The former Germany captain told DW that by staying on, Löw had not acted in a ʼprofessional enoughʼ manner.

Germany legend Michael Ballack has said he expected the DFB (German Football Association) to show Joachim Löw the door after he oversaw their worst World Cup campaign since 1938. "I was surprised as well as many other people that he kept his job," Ballack told DW. "For a long time he worked with the team and sometimes you should say that things donʼt work anymore when youʼre so long with a certain team.

"As an outsider, I wished for German football that Löw had gone out on top, because when you have talented players you shouldnʼt talk about other things, which was the case before the World Cup." The former Germany captain, who won 98 caps during a distinguished 11-year international career, believes the DFBʼs decisions have not been properly examined and that the organization needs reform to increase accountability.

Toni Kroos defends Joachim Löw after Michael Ballack criticism After former Germany international Michael Ballack admitted he was surprised Joachim Löw kept his job after the World Cup debacle, midfielder Toni Kroos has leapt to his coachʼs defense.

It was tongue-in-cheek but there was still a venom in Toni Kroosʼ response to Michael Ballackʼs criticism of Joachim Löw. "Perhaps he just wanted to take his job," said Kroos, after former Germany captain Ballackhad told DW he was surprised Löw was still in charge of the national teamfollowing the World Cup

debacle in Russia. "Iʼm convinced that we can get back on track with Jogi Löw," said the ever loyal foot soldier. "Heʼs proven over many years that heʼs willing to refine himself. He absolutely deserves another chance." Ballack sat down with DW this week, speaking candidly on a range of topics, with the former Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea midfielder particularly outspoken when it came to his former Germany coach. "I was surprised as well as many other people that he kept his job," Ballack told .