DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Russia, Iran and other states agree on Caspian Sea access The leaders of five countries bordering the Caspian Sea signed a landmark convention Sunday regarding the legal status of the body of water. Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan signed the deal in the small seaside city of Aktau, in Kazakhstan. The inland sea has been a bone of contention among the five bordering countries since the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991. Watch video 02:01 Azerbaijan - autocracy and power supplier The agreement is expected to ease regional tensions, and could accelerate the development of lucrative oil and gas projects. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazerbyev, who hosted the meeting, said before the signing ceremony that the leaders were "participants in a historic event."
German student David Missal expelled from China after making human rights film German journalism student David Missal has been denied a new Chinese visa to complete his studies at Beijingʼs prestigious Tsinghua University after he made a film about the countryʼspersecution of human rights lawyers. Missal told the German news agency dpa that he was due to leave the country on Sunday after his residence permit was shortened and his student visa was not extended. The 24year-old told dpa that he assumed that the decision was linked to the mini-documentary he produced for his masterʼs program, as his student visa didnʼt allow him to carry out such activities.
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Chancellor Angela Merkel in Spain for talks on refugees, migrants She also spoke out against racism
Germany: Fewer attacks on migrants Germany saw just over 700 antimigrant attacks in the first half of 2018, according to the latest Interior Ministry figures. Numbers published by German media on Sunday show that officials recorded 627 assaults against individuals and 77 attacks on refugee shelters, leaving 120 people injured overall. The offenses included grievous bodily harm, arson, damage to property, incitement of hatred and weapons law violations. The latest figures mark a significant reduction in xenophobic attacks from the previous two years. Last year, the government recorded some2,200 attacks on migrants and refugee shelters, while in 2016 there were more than 3,500 cases.
NASA launches historic Parker Solar Probe to the sun Speaking alongside Spainʼs new prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, German Chancellor Angela Merkel advocated a "fair distribution" of migrants across the EU. Speaking in southern Spain after a working lunch on Saturday, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez advocated a "fair distribution" of migrants — an approach they intend to promote at next monthʼs EU summit in Austria. Merkel said "It is good to know that the German and Spanish governments have the same approach: as Europeans, we are only strong when we work together to resolve the issues of the future." Last Monday, Spain became the first EU country to sign an agreement with Germany for the return of asylum seekers if they had lodged an asylum claim in another EU state. Merkel thanked Spain for the agreement which, she said, would bring better order to migration. imilar bilateral agreements are being sought with Greece and Italy to stop "secondary" migration to Germany. Under EU rules, a migrant has to regis-
ter in the first EU state of their arrival from outside the bloc. African cooperation The chancellor also said Germany wanted "close, real cooperation with African countries from which both sides can win." She added "We must not talk about, but with Africa." "We have to intensify our support for Morocco and Tunisia," Merkel said. "They are border countries and they need our help." Fighting racismMerkel also spoke out against racism: "No country can be exempt from this challenge," Merkel said. "The racist tendencies we are seeing, regrettably, in all member countries are something we have to fight against." The chancellorʼs two-day visit is expected to include discussions on economic and monetary reform in the EU, the recent NATO summit and European defense. A visit the nearby Donana national park is due to be part of Merkelʼs Spanish visit.
NASAʼsParker Solar Probeblasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Sunday, marking the start of a historic mission towards the sun. The spacecraft, about the size of a small car, is set to travel directly through the sunʼs atmosphere, making it the first probe to reach the sunʼs corona where temperatures exceed a million degrees Fahrenheit (555,000 degrees Celsius). The probe was finally launched on top of a Delta IV Heavy rocket into the night sky at 3:31 am local time (07:31 UTC), after a last-minute technical glitchpostponed the launch by 24 hours.
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184/2018 • 13 August, 2018
Japan executes remaining Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult members Japan executed a doomsday cult groupʼs last six members that had been sitting on death row on Thursday,completing a series of capital punishments that had begun in early Julyagainst individuals responsible for a deadly sarin gas attack in Tokyoʼs subway in 1995. In a press conference following the executions, Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa confirmed Thursday morning that all 13 members ofthe Aum Shinrikyo doomsday groupwho had been on death row had been executed, Japanʼs public broadcaster NHK and AP reported. The groupʼs leader, Shoko Asahara, and six others were hanged on July 6. Asahara, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto, and the cultʼs other members were sentenced to death for killing a total of 27 people in a series of crimes, including the Tokyo subway gas attack.
Charlottesville: Between defiance and new hope The US city is still struggling to find the right way to deal with the events
Hong Kong rule new Haruki Murakamiʼs novel ʼindecentʼ A backlash was growing in Hong Kong after Obscene Articles Tribunal ruled "Killing Commendatore", the 2017 novel by noted Japanese author Haruki Murakami, to be "indecent." By Thursday, more than 2,100 people had signed an online petition backed by 21 activist groups for the censors to remove the categorization Classifying the novel as indecent would "bring shame to Hong Kong people," the petition says, stressing that no other novels by the 69-year-old author have ever been classified as indecent in Hong Kong, Taiwan, or mainland China. "If this is set to be a precedent case, Hong Kong would become the most conservative Chinese area," the South China Morning Post quoted the document as saying. Read more:Hong Kongʼs democracy movement ʼneeds new ideasʼ ʼExplicit sexual detailsʼ The latest Murakami book revolves around a portrait artist whose wife unexpectedly asks for a divorce. It features occasional sex scenes, similar to the authorʼs previous works. Earlier this month, the Office of Film, Newspaper and Article Administration in Hong Kong said they had received a public complaint about "explicit sexual details" in the novel, which they passed on to the censorship board. 2
Mexico pushes ahead with speedy NAFTA game plan Even though Mexicoʼs newly elected president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, raged against US President Donald Trump — his countryʼs favorite enemy during the campaign — since his victory, he has stuck to more conciliatory tones. "I am encouraged by the fact that we both know how to do what we say, and we have both faced adversity with success. We manage to put our voters and citizens at the center and displace the establishment. Everything is ready to start a new stage in our societiesʼ relationship based on cooperation and prosperity," wrote Lopez Obrador in a letter to Trump on July 12 which he made public over the weekend. In it he urged both sides to get back to the NAFTA negotiation table after talks stalled in March, since "prolonging the uncertainty could slow down investments in the medium and longterm." At the same time, Lopez Obrador proposed treating migration in an integral and thorough manner "to ensure that Mexicans do not have to migrate because of poverty or violence."
A year ago, a right-wing extremist march in Charlottesville ended in deadly violence. Flowers and a little teddy bear have been left on the pavement. Someone has written "Gone — not beaten" in chalk on the wall of the house. This is the place in Charlottesville where Heather Heyer was killed one year ago when a right-wing extremist drove his car straight into a group of counterdemonstrators. "She has always
China revokes approval for Facebookʼs planned venture Earlier this week, a Chinese business registration website showed that Facebook — which has been blocked in China for a decade — had registered a subsidiary in the eastern city of Hangzhou. A Facebook spokeswoman said Tuesday the company was planning to open an innovation hub for Chinese developers and startups, similar to projects in Brazil, France, India and South Korea. Read more: Facebook apologizes after privacy ʼbugʼ makes posts of 14 million
believed in fair. Sheʼs always believed in doing what is right," says Heyerʼs mother, Susan Bro. Sheʼs standing on the sidewalk of Fourth Street in this town of 49,000 people in the US state of Virginia. The street where her daughter died is now called "Heather Heyer Way." Susan Bro closes her eyes and swallows hard. users public The same day, however, Facebookʼs registration of its 30million-dollar Hangzhou subsidiary was taken down from the central government website. State media reports about the innovation hub appear to have been censored. A person familiar with the matter told the New York Times on Wednesday the Chinese government decided to withdraw Facebookʼs registration due to disagreements between local officials and the national internet watchdog, the Cyberspace Administration of China.
Is the Amazon effect behind low inflation?
The Japanese central bank has a problem. For years, it has been flooding the financial markets with crazy amounts of money. The goal is to drive inflation higher, to meet its target of around 2 percent. But so far it has had little success on this front. In June, inflation in Japan hovered at 0.8 percent. From the point of view of the central bank, this rate, which is still comfortably high, is largely due to the climb in global crude prices. Without it, the price rise was a mere 0.2 percent, a level thatʼs perilously close to deflation — a situation that central bankers fear and desperately try to avoid as it can trigger a vicious cycle of falling prices and declining investment that can ultimately result in a severe recession.
184/2018 • 13 August, 2018
NASA launches historic Parker Solar Probe to the sun NASAʼs Parker Solar Probe has blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, embarking on a seven-year mission to examine the sunʼs atmosphere. A last-minute glitch on Saturday postponed the launch by 24 hours. NASAʼsParker Solar Probeblasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Sunday, marking the start of a historic mission towards the sun. The spacecraft, about the size of a small car, is set to travel directly through the sunʼs atmosphere, making it the first probe to reach the sunʼs corona where temperatures exceed a million degrees Fahrenheit (555,000 degrees Celsius). The probe was finally launched on top of a Delta IV Heavy rocket into
Police identify source of deadly Novichok nerve agent in UK deaths British police announced Friday that they found a bottle containing the Novichok nerve agent in the home of one of the victims of a nerve agent poisoning in Wiltshire last month. "On Wednesday, 11 July, a small bottle was recovered during searches of Charlie Rowleyʼs house in Amesbury," police said in a statement. The statement said scientists from Porton Down defense laboratory confirmed the bottle contained the Novichok nerve agent, the same poison used against Sergei Skripal and his daughter earlier this year. "Further scientific tests will be carried out to try and establish whether it is from the same batch that contaminated Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March," the force said, adding that a link to the Skripals remained "a main line of enquiry for police." Dawn Sturgess died in a hospitalon Sunday after exposure to the nerve agent. Her partner, Rowley, isstill in critical condition, but has regained consciousness. The Foreign Office said on Friday it had invited independent technical experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons early next week "to independently confirm the identity of the nerve agent."
the night sky at 3:31 am local time (07:31 UTC), after a last-minute technical glitchpostponed the launch by 24 hours. NASA has billed its latest mission as the first spacecraft to "touch the sun," although in reality will come to within 6 million kilometers (3.8 million miles) from the sunʼs surface. The distance between Earth and the sun is 93 million miles, meaning the Parker probe will get to within 4 percent of that distance.
Israel ʼcloser than everʼ to defeating Hamas, says minister
Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told reporters Sunday that Israel was "closer than ever" to toppling Hamas in Gaza "if there is no other choice." The remarks by Steinitz, who also sits on Israelʼs security cabinet, come on the back of two days of fierce cross-border violencebetween Hamas and Israel last week. Steinitz also told local broad-
caster Kan that Israel had not signed a ceasefire with agreement with Hamas following the latest escalations, contradicting reports coming from officials in Gaza. Toppling Hamas was still "definitely an option," the minister said, before adding that Israel was not interested in escalating the conflict into a fullscale war.
Opel reported to have manipulated diesel car exhaust emissions According to a media report, automaker Opel is being investigated for manipulating vehicle emissions on about 60,000 cars worldwide. It is the first time the company has been named since Dieselgate broke in 2015.
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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.
Can Germany conquer global e-car markets? Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), a division of Bloomberg focused on research and analysis of energy investment, carbon markets, and low-carbon energy solutions, has released its 2018 global long-term "Electric Vehicle Outlook" report which forecasts electric vehicle (EV) trends to 2040. One take-home message that emerges from the report is that the future of EV is bright, with rapid increases in battery electric vehicle (BEV) production volume expected in coming years. BNEF estimates that e-cars are likely to reach unsubsidized price parity with comparable internal combustion engine powered vehicles (ICEVs) by about 2024, as battery-pack prices continue to drop. Another insight provided by Bloombergʼs data is that although German carmakers have until recently been slow and reluctant to move away from ICEVs and toward EV production, in the past couple of years, they have begun shifting gears. 4
Fresenius case puts spotlight on misuse of medicines in executions A lawsuit filed by a German pharma company against the US state of Nebraska has once again drawn attention to US authorities finding it hard to obtain the drug cocktails they need to carry out the death penalty.
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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The United States remains an exception among Western democracies when it comes to the death penalty. As many as 31 US states have capital punishment on their books and almost 1,500 people have been executed in the country since 1976. Some 3,000 inmates in US prisons are currently on death row. To carry out executions, all US states resort to theuse of lethal injections. There are three drugs typically used in
the lethal-injection cocktail: Midazolam, which is used as an anesthetic; Vecuronium bromide, which causes paralysis; Potassium chloride, which is used to stop the heart. But opposition to capital punishment has been on the rise worldwide, including in the US. While lethal injection was previously touted as a simple, humane way to put condemned prisoners to death, many now disagree.
China: Multiple deaths in chemical plant blast
South Korea mulls a ban on fire-prone BMW cars
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 Dailysaid 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. In 2015, 165 people werekilled in a blast at a chemical warehousein the northern port city of Tianjin.
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The South Korean unit of the Munich-based company is struggling to deal with the negative fallout from the engine fire problem. "Unforeseen fires breaking out in public places like petrol stations and parking lots could lead to bigger accidents, so we are considering banning any BMW that has not undergone safety tests from being driven," said Kim Hyun-mi, the South Korean minister of transport, in an emergency press conference on Wednesday. The minister called on the company to introduce measures to stop the problem worsening and prevent similar incidents in the future, adding that punishments will be stepped up against any company that fails to deal with a product crisis adequately. "Companies found guilty of delaying recalls or hiding defects will face severe punishment that makes it difficult for them to sell their products in Korea again," he said.
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Foods whose names Germans canʼt agree on A bread roll is not a bread roll everywhere in the German-speaking world
From Bavaria to Berlin, the German word you use for these foods will reveal where you come from. Even if dialects and accents donʼt betray them, there are telltale words that give away whether a Germanspeaker comes from Germany, Austria or Switzerland — and even roughly which part of Germany. Words for toys, food and everyday items can differ depending on regions. They are nevertheless regarded as standard German and not regional dialect, as Ulrich Ammon, professor emeritus of linguistics and a specialist in Sociolinguistics at the University of Duisburg-Essen, told
The latest of several films examining the situation of Afro-Americans in the United States, Spike Leeʼs newest work, BlacKkKlansman, has been described as impassioned and tense, but also funny. Released in the US on August 10, the movie will be shown in German theaters beginning August 23. Released one year after violent protests by and against neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia, the film shows footage filmed there — and Trumpʼs infamous reaction blaming "both sides" for the violence. Applauded in Cannes and Locarno Based on a true story, the film tells of the black undercover agent Ron Stallworth and his Jewish colleague, who were accepted into the Ku Klux Klan in 1979. Employing the element of farce, the film draws a clear parallel to current politics and racial injustice in the USA.
Forest SOS: Earthʼs green lungs disappear
DW in an interview: "Standard language can be used in the public realm without objection." In a nutshell: Thereʼs more than one way to say "Brötchen" (bread rolls). The question is, will the clerk at the bakery understand you? Speaking of bread — which Germany is famous for around the world — there are not only different words for rolls and loaves, but many names for the part of a loaf that some unthinkingly throw away, and others covet: the heel.
Berlin in the ʼ90s: ʼLoud, colorful, uniqueʼ Until February 28, 2019, party-hungry East Berliners, hooligans and squatters populate a new exhibition at the "Alte Münze," once a coin-manufacturing plant in central Berlin. One of the exhibitionʼs curators, Michael Geithner, told DW that the time was ripe: "Nearly 30 years have passed, and the cityscape has changed. Many who remember Berlin in the 90s have a need to reconnect to those times," says Geithner. "And those of us at the GDR museum telling the history of former East Germany also need to tell the story of what happened after the Berlin Wall fell." Many of the sites com-
BlacKkKlansman by Spike Lee released
memorated still exist, and much of the music that made the soundtrack to the 90s is still familiar, but Geithner says that young people today are fascinated by the heady spirit of freedom that excited an earlier generation. Titled "Lost Berlin," one exhibition space leads visitors through a labyrinth to various locals that no longer exist, including "Tresor," the original techno club where the first big raves in the eastern part of the city took place, to a pirate broadcaster and to houses occupied by squatters. The journey ends in a small mirrored room dedicated to the Love Parade.
From a damp year-round lush green canopy, to a canvas of oranges and reds come the fall, to pointed trees with evergreen spindles, the mention of a forest will evoke strikingly different images depending on where in the world you live. But for all those physical and geographical differences, forests have many things in common. They help regulate weather patterns, prevent flooding and erosion, and provide food, water and shelter. They also provide oxygen, store CO₂ and, oceans aside, have the greatest biodiversity on the planet.
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Culture
Swimmers warned against Baltic Sea as German heat wave approaches German health officials have warned members of certain ʼat riskʼ groups to avoid swimming in the Baltic Sea as increased water temperature poses a danger from vibrio bacteria. The health ministry in Germanyʼs northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania warned that people living with HIV, the elderly, liver patients and alcohol addicts are particularly prone to bacterial infection. Germanyʼs weather service (DWD) issued a heat warning for large parts of Germany on Monday and advised the elderly and sick people to sit in the shade, drink plenty of water and avoid the heat. What are vibrio bacteria? Vibrio bacteria live in certain coastal waters and are present in higher concentrations between May and October when water temperatures are warmer, according to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). How does infection occur? If open wounds come into contact with infected sea water, vibrio bacteria can infect the wounds. People may also become infected by eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters. Elderly and immunosuppressed people are at particular risk of infection.
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184/2018 • 13 August, 2018
Transfer news: Thilo Kehrer to join Tuchelʼs PSG
Another young talent leaves Schalke. The Gelsenkirchen club has announced that theyʼve reached an agreement with Thomas Tuchelʼs Paris Saint-Germain over the transfer of Thilo Kehrer. Unlike in several previous cases, Kehrer will not move on a free, and the Royal Blues will reportedly receive in excess of €37 million for the young German defender.
NFL players renew anthem protest, draw ire from Donald Trump
The national anthem protest by American football players has once again taken center stage as NFL preseason began. US President Donald Trump condemned the continued protests. Several American football players in Thursdayʼs preseason games ignored warnings from the National Football League (NFL) and protested during the pregame national anthem ceremony. Miami Dolphins players Kenny Stills (pictured above) and Albert Wilson were seen taking a knee during a rendition of "The StarSpangled Banner." Philadelphia Eagles players Malcolm Jenkins and DeʼVante Bausby opted for raising their fists during the playing of the song before their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 6
Aleksandar Kolarovʼs free kick stunner secures Serbia win over Costa Rica 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.
Mesut Özil subdued on Arsenal return but back to doing his job But at least he can start to get back to being just a footballer
Mesut Özilʼs first competitive game since quitting the Germany team ended in defeat as Arsenal fell to Manchester City in their Premier League opener. There can be few footballers as keen to get the club season started as Mesut Özil must have been. World Cup disappointment was followed by the explosive tweets thatannounced his resignation from the Germany setupand the stillsimmeringracism and integration rowthat they provoked. For a long time, Germany duty seemed a place of sanctuary for a player who, at
times unfairly, became a lightening rod for criticism of an Arsenal side who stagnated so badly at the end of the Arsene Wenger era. The situation now seems reversed, with Özil’s new club boss Unai Emery and his players offering words of support and empathy that stood in sharp contrast to his Germany teammates and many at the top of the German FA (DFB).
European Championships: Angela Merkel draws athletesʼ ire for no-show Several German athletes have criticized their chancellorʼs absence from the athletics championships in Berlin. They accused Merkel, who attended the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, of giving special treatment to soccer. German Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs non-attendance at the European Championships in Berlin has upset several German medal winners. Shot-putter Christina Schwanitz, who won silver at the event, criticized the German chancellor for not turning up for the cham-
pionships despite it being held at her doorstep. "I wondered, why wasnʼt Mrs. Merkel there," Schwanitz said during a sports show on Saturday on German broadcaster ZDF. "She can fly to Rio de Janeiro and miss work for several days. Itʼs all about football," said the former World Champion, referring to Merkelʼs visit to the Brazilian city to cheer for the German soccer team in the final match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. "I think thatʼs a shame. It just shows how much is one appreciated."
