135/2018 • 16 JUNE, 2018 WEEKEND ISSUE
DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Boris Becker claims diplomatic immunity to avoid bankruptcy charges Becker was declared bankrupt in June 2017 over an alleged debt to a British bank
Boris Beckerʼs lawyers said his role as the Central African Republicʼs sports attache to the EU protects him from legal proceedings.
German former tennis player Boris Becker has claimed diplomatic immunity in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy proceedings against him, British media reported on Friday. The three-time Wimbledon champion was appointed as a sports attache to the European Union for the Central African Republic in April. He wasdeclared bankrupt in June 2017for a debt allegedly owed to private British bank Arbuthnot Latham since 2015 and he is still being pursued for "further assets." Beckerʼs lawyers said his position as an attache on sports, cultural and humanitarian issues gives him immunity from legal proceedings in any country under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Legal allegations could only be served on him through diplomatic channels with the consent of the foreign ministers of Britain and CAR, his lawyers said. This means the consent of UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and his counterpart in Bangui would have to be secured before Becker was subjected to any legal proceedings, his lawyers said, according to the Press Association. In documents lodged at the High Court in London on Thursday, Becker said he was stressing diplomatic immunity "in order to bring this farce to an end, so that I can start to rebuild my life."
"The decision to commence bankruptcy proceedings against me was both unjustified and unjust," Becker added. "A bunch of anonymous bankers and bureaucrats pushed me into a completely unnecessary declaration of bankruptcy, which has inflicted a whole heap of damage on me." "Once this gravy train for the suits has been stopped in its tracks, my lawyers will turn to the question of compensation," he added. Becker is being represented by former UN special rapporteur Ben Emmerson, whose former high profile clients include WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Amir. Becker came into the spotlight at Wimbledon in 1985 when he became the then youngest-ever male Grand Slam champion at the age of 17, as an unseeded player. Throughout his career, he won more than $25 million (€21.6 million) in prize money. Boris Becker is rather known as a bon vivant, but the tennis star is also the author of a parenting guide. In "Was Kinder stark macht" (What makes children strong), from 2007, he wrote about his love for the three children he already had at the time. However, the book is more for fans than for worried parents; critics didnʼt consider the work to be very serious.
UK aid charity Oxfam accuses France of migrant abuse
Female entrepreneurs tackle diversity problem
Outrage over Macedonia name sets no-confidence motion
Oxfam has claimed French police have cut the shoe soles of migrant minors, altered their age on documents and forced them back to Italy. The report comes as Italy and France exchange harsh words over migrants. French border guards have abused, detained and forcibly returned minors and other vulnerable migrants to Italy in violation of EU and French laws, the charity Oxfam said in a report on Friday.
Gunmen kill prominent Kashmir journalist Unknown gunmen have shot dead Shujaat Bukhari, a prominent journalist and editor in Indian-controlled Kashmir. A voice of peace in the violence-wracked region, he also contributed. Veteran journalist Shujaat Bukhari and his two police bodyguards were shot dead on Thursday by unknown assailants in Srinagar, the main city in disputed, Indian-controlled Kashmir. The gunmen fired on Bukhari as he got into his vehicle outside his office in the cityʼs press enclave, leaving him and the two policemen in a pool of blood.
Female entrepreneurs in Germany are teaming up to improve their networking and increase their influence in society. Manuela Kasper-Claridge reports from Hamburg. The Hamburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce presents an unusual picture this week: Lots of women in the big hall where youʼd usually encounter men talking business. Women tend to be in the minority here, but this week is different.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has faced rejection at home over his deal to settle the dispute over Macedoniaʼs name. Tsiprasʼs leadership will be tested as parliament considers a noconfidence motion against him. The Greek parliament moved on Thursday to debate a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Alexis Tsiprasʼs government. Lawmakers acted following Tsiprasʼs deal with the neighboring Republic of Macedonia that it should be called Severna Makedonja, or Northern Macedonia.