DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
AfD worker accused of ordering arson attack in Ukraine A parliamentary worker for the farright Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been accused of ordering a false flag arson attack in an attempt to discredit Ukraineʼs government. Three men are on trial in Poland following last Februaryʼs firebombing of a Hungarian culture center in Uzhorod, western Ukraine. According to Polish authorities, the attack was to be attributed to Ukrainian neo-Nazis in order to sour relations between Ukraine and Hungary. One of the accused, named only as Michal P., told the court that the attack, in which Molotov cocktails were used, was ordered by Manuel Ochsenreiter, who works in the office of AfD Bundestag member Markus Frohnmaier. Michal, who is also charged with funding a terrorist organization, told the Krakow court that Ochsenreiter gave him €1,500, plus money for a plane ticket, to find people to carry out the attack.
Police warn of safety risks as more Germans get gun licenses More Germans are applying forbasic weapons licensesaccording to the countryʼs Interior Ministry. As of December 31, 2018, some 610,937 citizens had been issued licenses. The jump of 53,377gunpermits over 2017 represents a 9.6 percent increase in the number of Germans now licensed to carry gas pistols, flare guns,pepper sprayand other weapons not intended for deadly use. Police representatives suggest the increase illustrates a latentsense of insecurityamong citizens. However, Left Party domestic policy expert Ulla Jelpke said the increase was "a result of the panic created by law and order politicians like Interior Minister Horst Seehofer and right-wing agitators like the AfD [Alternative for Germany]."
14/2019 • 17 JANUARY, 2019
Brexit likely to be Britainʼs greatest disaster Theresa May has earned her defeat in parliament and only has herself to blame
Brexit has developed enormous destructive power. No matter how this British drama ends, the damage will remain, says DWʼs Barbara Wesel. Theresa May has suffered a crushing defeat in thevote on the UKʼs withdrawal agreementwith the EU. The British Prime Minister should actually step down after this historic defeat, but May nipped the question of resignation in the bud. She said she had taken on the role of Prime Minister in order to implement Brexit and would fulfill this task. And thatʼs that. She will also survive the oppositionʼs no confidence vote. This is because the conservatives will close ranks again as soon as itʼs a matter of holding on to power. But for British politics, Mayʼs persistence, which has long bordered on stubbornness, is a disaster. May deserves this defeat in Parliament because she herself is to blame. The fact that Brexit has resulted in her government, Parliament and British politics in general being so divided and deadlocked is also due to Mayʼs particular political inability. From the outset, as head of government, she only had her Conservatives in view. She spoke only to her own hardliners, trying to keep the party together at all costs. In doing so, she
failed to build alliances, reach out to the opposition and sound out compromises. Her hostile rhetoric against EU workers, for example, and against Europe itself, has only deepened the rifts between the camps. And she has not made any friends among her European colleagues, whose support she will be depending on when the UK leaves, as well as afterwards. Theresa May lacks the stature of a head of state. She is not showing any responsibility for the future, or for Britainʼs welfare. As a politician, she is too small-minded and too narrow, too rigid and unimaginative for the difficult times that Brexit has brought about. The British would have needed a different head of state, but opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn is not even considered suitable by those in his own ranks. And so far, there has been no one else in sight to take on the role. It seems that common sense, compromise and any historical insight into the international role and possibilities of the country have disappeared from British politics overnight.
ʼEl Chapoʼ paid Mexicoʼs expresident $100 million bribe, says witness A key witness inthe trial of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman on Tuesday said the Mexican drug lord had paid a bribe amounting to $100 million toformer President Enrique Pena Nieto. Colombian trafficker Alex Cifuentes, who described himself as Guzmanʼs former right-hand man, said the oncehead of the Sinaloa cartel had bribed Pena Nieto in 2012, when he was president-elect, in exchange for the government ending its manhunt to find him. Cifuentes admitted that he first discussed the bribe with prosecutors in 2016, when he began cooperating with US authorities. Pena Nieto had first asked for $250 million, but later settled for $100 million, Cifuentes said he told prosecutors. After the bribe was paid, Pena Nieto sent a message to Guzman that he longer had to live in hiding, Cifuentes testified.
Kenya declares all ʼterroristsʼ killed in hotel attack Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Wednesday that securities forces had killed all the "terrorists" involved inan attack on a hotel complexthat left 14 people dead. Kenya has frequently been targeted by the Somali militant group alShabab, which claimed responsibility for the attack in Nairobi on Tuesday.
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14/2019 • 17 January, 2019
Zimbabweʼs land reform: Zambiaʼs gain, a cautionary tale for South Africa? The guard in green overalls at the farm gate wonʼt allow us in — my cameraman and I. Instead he pulls out what looks like an old Nokia and calls his boss. We have to wait. Luckily, it doesnʼt take long for a noisy diesel motorbike to make its way towards us — on it a big white man in a blue shirt, shorts, caterpillar boots and a sun hat leaves a trail of red dust behind him. Itʼs Graham Rae. He left Zimbabwe in 2001, a year after then President Robert Mugabe announced the countryʼs catastrophic land reform, which led to the expropriation of farms from some 4,000 white farmers without compensation, leaving them and their workers with little or nothing. Many left Zimbabwe. Rae lost his cotton farm where he had employed more than 300 people. He had to start over in Zambia. "When we came across from Zimbabwe the most difficult thing was to raise finance because we came here basically with nothing," he tells me.
Bangladesh election: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wins by landslide Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinaʼs party has won the general election with a landslide majority, the Election Commission said early on Monday. An alliance dominated by Hasinaʼs Awami League won 288 seats in the countryʼs 300-strong parliament. The opposition alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia won just six seats. Election to one seat was not held Sunday and results for another seat were halted by the commission. "My congratulations to the Awami League," Helal Uddin Ahmed, secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat, told reporters. Hasinaʼs party was widely anticipated to win the election that was hit by violence and rigging allegations. At least 16 people were reported to have been killed in violence between rival supporters. Hasina, who is set to take office for the third consecutive time and fourth time overall, is credited with improving the countryʼs economy, which grew at a faster rate than neighboring India last year, and giving refuge to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar. But she has also been accused of a crackdown on media and dissent. 2
Emmanuel Macron begins ʼgrand debateʼ tour France:
The French president encouraged people to list their grievances and propose changes to the nationʼs economy during a "great debate." The tour is aimed at quelling the "yellow vest" movement. French President Emmanuel Macron met with about 600 mayors across the Normandy region on Tuesday in his first session of a twomonthnational debate tour he promised in response to the countryʼs "yellow vest" movement. In his opening remarks to the gathering in the northern town of Grand Bourgtheroulde, Macron said he was there to hear the concerns of the French and promised that the questions raised by the citizens would be given consideration. "There can be
Berlin AG wants to get rid of fines for fare evaders
Authorities in Berlin view fare dodging as a criminal offense punishable by a €60 ($68.6) fine. Local police filed 12,000 complaints over the issue in 2017 and more than 300 people are imprisoned every year for not being able or willing to pay the fines. The left-leaning mayorand other top officials have recently called for less drastic regulations, with some proposing to downgrade fare dodging to a mere administrative offense. Now, the Berlin attorney general wants to go a step further and "completely abolish" the crime of fare dodging. "We shouldnʼt waste resources for criminal
no taboos," he said, acknowledging that France was going through "a social fracture that we have talked about for 25 years." France has seen tens of thousands take to the streets in Paris and other cities on a weekly basis wearing the yellow highvisibility vests found in French vehicles. What started as protests against a fuel tax hikes, which Macron has since suspended, has evolved into anti-government demonstrations which have led to clashes with police in many cases. offenses where criminality is highly questionable," Attorney General Margarete Koppers told Berliner Morgen‐ post. Koppers is one of the most senior judiciary officials in Berlin, a 3.6million-strong city which is also considered one of Germanyʼs 16 federal states. Talking to the local daily, Koppers said downgrading the offense would pose "no relief for the judiciary."
Belgium vows to amplify EU voice on UN Security Council Belgiumʼs foreign minister says his country will use its temporary UN Security Council seat to make the EU
2018: The year Trumpian disruption rocked German politics The image that sticks most in my mind from the uniquely disruptive political year that was 2018 is of Angela Merkel with Horst Seehofer on the balcony of the Chancellery building. The chancellor, a glass of white wine in her hand, has turned her back and is stalking away from her rebellious interior minister, as though he were a dog sheʼd just caught going through the kitchen garbage can. The wind has ruffled her normally perfectly styled hair. She looks unhappy, tired, old. To be fair, Merkel had every reason to be a tad disheveled, having spent many a late night negotiating with Seehofer and her other coalition partners over one-stop holding centers for migrants, so-called "Anker" centers, versus transit centers —an issue that threatened for a few summer weeks to bring down her government and was immediately forgottenwhen a suitably face-saving compromise was found. Nonetheless, this press photo was a disconcerting sight for anyone who has ever come close to the chancellor in person. Iʼve witnessed her testify for five straight hours in front of a parliamentary investigative committee only to decline with a confident smile when asked if sheʼd like a break. For Merkel stress was always like water off a duckʼs back.Until 2018.
more influential on the global stage. Belgium and Germany are to scheduled to take up their seats on January 1. Belgium will use its two-year seat on the United Nations Security Council to bolster the European Unionʼs influence within the global body, Belgiumʼs foreign minister has said. Didier Reynders told Germanyʼs Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung news outlet that Belgium aims to help harmonize each EU member stateʼs diplomacy so that they "send the same message with different voices." Belgium will take up its temporary seat on the Security Council,the UNʼs highest decision-making body, along with Germany on January 1. "We have an important role to play in supporting multilateralism," Reynders said. "There is no better place for it than in the United Nations Security Council."
14/2019 • 17 January, 2019
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro decrees easier gun laws A world leader in homicides, Brazil is to have more relaxed gun laws. President Jair Bolsonaro signed a decree making it easier for people to own guns, and thus defend themselves. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro signed the decree making it easier for Brazilians to own firearms on Wednesday. The former army captain and farright leader said it would help people defend themselves; with less restrictive gun laws: "you can be sure that violence will fall," he claimed in a television interview last week. In 2017,nearly 64,000 people were killed, the majority of them by firearms.
Sweden to end months without a government Sweden looked set to finally resolve four months of political deadlock on Wednesday and allow Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to take a second term in office. The Left party said it would abstain in a crucial vote on Friday, clearing the way for Lofven and his patchwork coalition. Lofven, leader of the Social Democrats, has been leading a caretaker government sinceelections on September 9 yielded inconclusive results. Although the Social Democrats won the most votes, their 31.1% support left them grappling to form a coalition in a country with eight mainstream parties and proportional representation. These problems were compounded by the fact that most other parties wanted to govern without the support of the Left andthe far-right Sweden Democrats, who are rooted in Norwegian white supremacist circles. But the Social Democrats have managed to pull together an unusual union of the left and right wing by gaining the support of the Greens, Liberals, and the Center party. In doing so, however, Lofven has had to promise to take his traditional center-left party to the right.
Brazilʼs overall homicide rate is 30.8 per 100,000 inhabitants. This is three times higher than the level that the United Nations classifies as endemic violence. "The people decided in favor of buying guns and ammunition and we canʼt deny what the people wanted at that moment," Bolsonaro said. He was referring to a referendum in 2005 when Brazilians voted against banning the manufacturing and selling of guns.
YouTube bans dangerous ʼchallengeʼ videos
YouTube announced late on Tuesday that it would crack down on videos depicting dangerous pranks and challenges after several people were been badly injured in the so-called "Bird Box" challenge. Based on the Netflix film of the same name, people participating in the challenge blindfold themselves and carry out tasks, causing at least one car crash and other serious injuries. "Weʼve made it clear that our policies prohibiting harmful and dangerous content also extend to
pranks with a perceived danger of serious physical injury," YouTube said in a statement. The video-sharing site said it wanted to "make it clear that challenges like the Tide pod challenge…that can cause death and/or have caused death in some instances, have no place on YouTube." "We also donʼt allow pranks that cause children to experience severe emotional distress, meaning something so bad that it could leave the child traumatized for life."
Fatal train accident closes Denmarkʼs Great Belt Bridge Six people were killed and 16 others injured on Wednesday morning after a train accident on a bridge linking the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen. A initial investigation by Denmarkʼs Accident Investigation Board showed an empty lorry trailer had blown off a cargo train wagon onto the oncoming tracks. The trailer probably overturned or was blown off the freight train, said accident investigator Bo Haaning. It rammed an oncoming passenger train either frontally or laterally, causing it to brake suddenly, he said.
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14/2019 • 17 January, 2019
Germanyʼs minimum wage is barely above the poverty line At about €1,500 ($1,700) per month gross for full-time workers, Germany has one of the highest minimum wages in the European Union. And itʼs rising: As of January 1, employers are required to pay their workers at least €9.19 per hour, a 35-cent raise. Compared with their counterparts in other EU nations, Germanyʼs minimum wage workers seem to do fairly well in sheer numbers. Luxembourgʼs minimum wage, for instance, may be higher, but Germanyʼs is far closer to the top of the list than it is to the bottom. DW has analyzed the income that full-time minimum wage workers take home each month in the 22 EU countries that have minimum wage policies in place, using numbers from 2017. Though the data are complicated, the research question was simple: In which countries are workers vulnerable to poverty even though they have full-time jobs? With the previous minimum wage of €8.84 per hour, a single adult without children in Germany could expect to take home €1,110.50 a month after taxes and social contributions, according to DWʼs calculations — or about €14.50 above Germanyʼs official poverty threshold. Adults are typically considered vulnerable to poverty by the European Union if they have an income of less than 60 percent of their countriesʼ median income. The median income is the income level that is exceeded by half of the population and not reached by the other half.
German online shoppers are serial returners German shoppers return roughly 12 percent of online purchases, a new poll by digital industry association Bitkom shows. Two years ago, the figure was 10 percent. One-third of shoppers said they send back every tenth item, 14 percent admitted to returning a quarter of all purchases. "The share of returns is extremely high and rising steadily, especially in certain sectors, like the fashion industry," says Julia Miosga, who heads Bitkomʼs trade and logistics department. The 14 to 29-year-olds are the worst offenders, with a hefty 18 percent of purchases being returned. Overall, women return 15 percent of items bought online, men only make up 9 percent of the total figure. Retailers are increasingly looking for ways to make it easier to buy the right product and size online by giving more detailed information – specifically about clothes – via chats, product descriptions, 360 degree pictures and videos. Some also reward honest feedback with vouchers and discounts. 4
In Detroit, carmaker Volkswagen opens arms wide to US The North American International Auto Show is still the biggest and premier auto show in North America. But, this year, only one German carmaker bothered to show up. Maya Shwayder reports from Detroit.
Miamiʼs affluent ʼclimate refugeesʼ seek higher ground Climate refugees arenʼt usually spotted driving a Bentley through a lowincome neighborhood, searching for a new place to call home. But in Miami, one of the most energetic real estate markets in the United States, property prices on the oceanfront are no longer the cityʼs main draw. Instead, the area attracting the most attention is on the ridge where the cityʼs original settlers built the railroad — the most elevated land in Miami. A recent Harvard University study tracked the property values of more than 100,000 single-family homes across Miami going back to the early 1970s. It showed that values of homes along Miamiʼs coastline have been dropping, while those at higher elevations are increasing. Flooding is becoming more and more frequent in Miami, with so-called king tides — a nonscientific term used to describe unusually high tides — affecting some of the cityʼs most desirable locations. Sea levels are predicted to rise by 13-34 inches (33-86 centimeters) over the next 40 years.
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Shine the hubcaps, rev up the engines, and break out the unnecessary blonde models. The Detroit auto show is back for another year. The North American International Auto Showis still the biggest and premier auto show in North America. With the huge market up for the taking, automakers flock to the Motor City every year, and put on slickly produced reveals and highcaliber performances. But, among the usual heavyweights on display this year like Toyota and Ford, where
are the Germans? Daimler, Audi, Porsche, and BMW are all big names that you wonʼt see at this yearʼs show. Volkswagen is the only German brand that bothered to show up. It might be a sign that German automakers donʼt see much value in coming to Detroit anymore. After all, these days a lot of the cool, sexy, new technology innovations debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which wrapped up this year just days before NAIAS began.
2018: The worst year for stocks since financial crisis
Brexit vote defeat increases no-
Major US stock indices had their worst annual performance in 2018 since the beginning of the financial crisis, despite making small gains on Monday — the last trading day of the year. The main benchmark S&P 500 index finished the year down 6 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 5.6 percent, and the Nasdaq composite slid nearly 4 percent. The anemic report card, however, came just four months after Wall Street marked the longest-ever bull market, following a decade of ultra-loose monetary policy. Major indices in Europe also ended 2018 in the red, includingGermanyʼs DAX which entered bear market territory, down 22 percent from its high in January and 18 percent from the start of the year. The CAC 40 of France finished the year down 11 percent, while Britainʼs FTSE 100 lost 12.5 percent.
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deal fears for UK car industry
With just 10 weeks left until the UK is scheduled to leave the EU, the prospect of a no-deal exit remains firmly on the table. That’s bad news for the UK car industry, which is already planning for the worst. In the punch-drunk days that followed Britainʼs vote to leave the EU in June 2016, David Davis was the man Theresa May turned to in the fog. Tasked with leading the newly-created Department for Exiting the European Union, his views on how straightforward the Brexit process would be had long since been established. "Within minutes of a vote for Brexit the CEOs of Mercedes, BMW, VW and Audi will be knocking down Chancellor Merkelʼs doordemanding that there be no barriers to German access to the British market,"he said in a speech he gave in London four months before the referendum. "And while they are at it they will be demanding that those British companies that they own will have uninterrupted access to Europe," he added. Davis appeared to genuinely believe that the powerful German car industry would be fighting for UK interests in the negotiations that lay ahead between the EU and the UK.
14/2019 • 17 January, 2019
Few more days to go! 78th Vienna Philharmonic Ball Visit Vienna at Ball season! Only 2,5 hours with train/bus/car from Budapest!
Date: Thu, 24. January 22:00 Location: Vienna, Austria Musikverein, Golden Hall . Please find out more information under: https://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/ball Ticket sales begin on January 14, 2019, at the Vienna Philharmonic Ticket Office, Kärntner Ring 12, 1010 Vienna, Mon. - Fri., 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM. Before this date, tickets can only be purchased in conjunction with a table reservation. Some tickets will also be available online beginning on Jan-
uary 14, 2019. Program : Johann Strauss Jr. Ouvertüre zur Operette "Der Zigeunerbaron (The Gypsy Baron)" , Richard Strauss Wiener Philharmoniker Fanfare, o.op. 109 , Gottfried Freiberg Ausseer Fanfare. CONDUCTOR Zubin Mehta ORCHESTRAWiener Philharmoniker
Plovdiv 2019: Historic moment for a historic city The ancient city of Plovdiv put on a party on Saturday nightcomplete with fireworks, light shows, concerts and speeches from dignitaries as it took up its mantle as European Capital of Culture. Having been an architectural hot spot during Roman rule, Bulgariaʼs second city has again taken center stage in the region. "This is a unique and historic moment for our city," said Plovdiv Mayor Ivan Totev before the opening ceremony. The artist collective Phase7 staged an impressive light show in front of tens of thousands of visitors as performances by local musicians and dancers gave a foretaste of the European Capital of Culture 2019 motto: "Together." As Plovdiv residents combine to showcase their distinctive city, a number of headline events are planned throughout the year, including the Ayliak Art Parade in May on Europeʼs longest boulevard. The focus will be on slow, sustainable and harmonious living via green, creative products and innovations.
Brand new place on the Buda side! Spatula Cafe · Crêperie · Breakfast & Brunch Restaurant
ʼAnti-deportation industryʼ named Germanyʼs Non-Word of the Year 2018 Nina Janich, a linguistics professor and spokesperson for the independent jury that selects the Unwort des Jahres ("Non-Word of the Year"), has announced the selection of this yearʼs term, "Anti-AbschiebeIndustrie" ("anti-deportation industry"). The term was used by rightwing politicians and commentators in 2018 to refer to "those who legally support rejected asylum seekers and seek judicial review, and those who intend to protect refugees who have become criminals" — es-
sentially, accusing them of making money out of support for deportees, said Janich in Darmstadt on Tuesday. She added that the jury found the descriptor defamatory and discrediting. The term was first used in May 2018 by Alexander Dobrindt, parliamentary group leader of the conservative Christian Social Union — sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs Christian Democratic Union — who also said in April that "Islam shouldnʼt culturally shape Germany."
Address: 1111 Budapest Bartok Béla út 8 (only 100 metres from Hotel Gellért) Brand new place - just opened end of November! With amazing coffee, breakfast, soups, sandwiches, tortillas, pancake, cookies, etc. even lunch menu! Come and see us for a coffee or more before or after your Gellért Bath visit! :)
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Culture
Renovated Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest to Open on 31 October AFTER MORE THAN THREE YEARS OF RENOVATION, THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BUDAPEST WILL OPEN ON 31 OCT NOW OPEN TO PUBLIC Thanks to the largest-scale and most comprehensive reconstruction project in the museum’s history, the museum building has been renewed, and, returning to the collection’s first concept, the museum’s permanent exhibitions will also be rearranged. Besides the new permanent exhibitions, the revamped museum will welcome visitors with a chamber exhibition titled Leonardo & the Budapest Horse and Rider. The museum reconstruction, implemented within the framework of the Liget Budapest Project, included the restoration of the Romanesque Hall, which sustained severe damage in World War II and since then had been only partially renovated and used as a storage area, along with the modernisation of the building’s obsolete heating system, the installation of air conditioning in some of the exhibition halls, the renewal of a large part of the roof structure, as well as the addition of new exhibition spaces, visitor areas and modern storage facilities.
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14/2019 • 17 January, 2019
Australian Open: Angelique Kerber breezes into third round
Germanyʼs Angelique Kerber sailed into the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Brazilʼs Beatriz Haddad Maia. Kerber won this competition back in 2016 andlooks to be in great formin the early stages of this tournament, producing a fierce display as she overcame the 22-year-old Haddad Maia in a battle between two lefthanded players. "It was a really tough match," Kerber said after the win. "She played really well. I knew that I had to play my best tennis."
Germany coach Joachim Löw has some tough decisions ahead of him in 2019
Toni Söderholm takes charge of German national ice hockey team Weeks after Marco Sturm left to pursue an opportunity in the NHL, the German ice hockey team have a new coach. Finnish coach Toni Söderholm has signed a contract that will take him through the 2022 Winter Games. The German Ice Hockey Association (DEB) confirmed on Thursday what had been widely rumored for days;Toni Söderholm is the national teamʼs new head coach. "The decision was an easy one for us," DEB President Franz Reindl told a press conference in Munich. "He knows the system, he is predestined for international ice hockey. I am proud and am 100 percent certain that it will work out well with Toni." For his part, said he was "very happy" to have accepted the post. "The No. 1 job is to make the national team better and better. Söderholm, a former defenseman, is a relatively inexperienced coach, having only retired as a player in 2016 following a season at Red Bull Munich. Before turning professional, Söderholm spent four years playing US college hockey with the University of Massachusetts. As a pro he spent the bulk of his career at the club of his youth, Helsinki IFK, but also had spells in the top leagues in Sweden and Switzerland – where he learned to speak German.
A sporting great still admired Michael Schumacher turns 50:
From the moment Michael Schumacher won his first Grand Prix race in 1992, the sporting world got the sense that a racing great was about to emerge. But few could have predicted just how monumental andgamechanging his career would prove to be. At the age of just 23, Schumacherʼs first season in Formula One was the beginning of an incredible and record-shattering career. Across his 18 seasons competing at the highest level, Schumacher claimed an unrivaled seven
world championships and 91 race victories. The German was a true trailblazer in Formula One, bringing unprecedented levels of committment, competitiveness and physical conditioning to the track. While he has retreated away from the public eye after a tragic skiing accident in 2013, his legacy lives on.
Roger Federer wins match against fellow tennis legend Serena Williams
What a successful summer 2017 was for German football, as Joachim Löwʼs relatively young and inexperienced team won the Confederations Cup in Russia, a tournament that is held a year before every World Cup, something of a dress rehearsal for the organizers. "The lads did a great job," Löw said after Germany beat Chile 1-0 in the final in St. Petersburg. "Iʼm very proud of everyone. 6
Roger Federer has emerged victorious in his first-ever on-court encounter with legend Serena Williams. The two faced each other in a mixed-doubles match at the Hopman Cup in Australia. Defending champions Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic of Switzerland beat Americans Serena Williams and Frances Tiafoe 4-2, 4-3 (5-3) at Perthʼs RAC Arena on Tuesday in what had been the most highly anticipated match of this yearʼs Hopman Cup, an annual mixed-team tennis tournament. This was the first time that Federer and Williams, who are now both 37 and
have a total of 43 Grand Slam single titles between them, had ever faced each other on the court, and after the match the two legends paid tribute to each other. Williams said it was "super cool" that they did finally get to play against each other. "The guy is great, heʼs the greatest of all time. Both on and off the court he has such charisma," Williams said. For his part,Federer described Williamsa "great champion." "I was nervous returning. People talk about her serve so much and I see why it is such a wonderful serve because you just canʼt read it," he said.