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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

German economic growth to drop to 1 percent Germany heads into 2019 facing its lowest economic growth since 2013, Altmaier said on Wednesday while presenting his report on the past yearʼs economic trends (pictured above). Europeʼs largest economy grew 1.5 percent in 2018, according to an initial estimate supplied by the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden. That compares to 2.2 percent growth recorded in the previous two years, 2016 and 2017. (German inflation in 2018 ran at 1.9 percent). Read more:ʼFat yearsʼ over, says Finance Minister Scholz Looking ahead, Altmaier said the risks had risen primarily in what he described as the "external economic field," such as an uncertain Brexit outcome and trade conflicts — especially with the United States.

German police uncover child porn ring at campsite German police on Wednesday said three men have been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing almost two dozen children in the western town of Detmold. Police said the men abused at least 23 children aged between 4 and 13 over a period of 10 years, but authorities are concerned there may be more victims.

Read more: In light of abuse scandal, Germany steps up child protection Much of the abuse, which involved producing pornographic material, took place at a campsite where one of the alleged perpetrators permanently lived. Investigators have obtained 13,000 files containing child pornography, taking up 14 terabytes of data space. "We still have a lot of work ahead of us," said the head of the investigation, Gunnar Weiss. The three suspects — aged 33, 48 and 56 — have been detained.

26/2019 • 31 JANUARY, 2019

EUʼs Jean-Claude Juncker rebuffs UKʼs plan to change Brexit deal He dismissed any fresh talks over the controversial Irish backstop in the draft EU-UK Brexit deal

The president of the European Commission said the United Kingdom had increased the risk of a no-deal Brexit.

The Brexit withdrawal agreement negotiated by the European Union and the United Kingdom "remains the best and only deal possible," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Wednesday. Juncker told EU lawmakers that both sides had already discussed the UKʼs demands to seek alternative arrangements to the Irish backstop, a provision to try to keep an open borderbetween Ireland and the UK province of Northern Ireland. UK lawmakers called on May to renegotiate the backstop in a vote on Tuesday.

The vote had "increased the risk of a disorderly withdrawal," Juncker said. The president assured EU lawmakers that they would be "the first to know, and the last to decide" on any future talks. The EUʼs chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, then addressed the parliament, telling lawmakers that the Irish backstop was part and parcel of the withdrawal agreement and would not be re-negotiated. "We need this backstop as it is," Barnier said. Speaking later on French radio, Barnier remarked: "We our-

selves talked of so-called alternative arrangements which could prevent the return of a hard border.

Only, no one, on either side, was able to say what arrangement would be needed to ensure controls on goods, animals and merchandise, without having a border."

"We have neither the time, nor the technologies," he added. But Barnier did say the EU was ready to re-work the political declaration for a future trade deal: "Weʼre open to being more ambitious and perhaps put into perspective that which is causing a problem in the withdrawal agreement." The EU shared the will of the UK parliament to avoid a no-deal Brexit, but believes the current withdrawal agreement is the only way to avoid a disorderly exit, Barnier remarked.

News EUʼs Jean-Claude Juncker rebuffs UKʼs plan to change Brexit deal The president of the European Commission said the United Kingdom had increased the risk of a nodeal Brexit. He dismissed any fresh talks over the controversial Irish backstop in the draft EU-UK Brexit deal.

German police arrest 3 Iraqi refugees suspected of planning terror attack Three Iraqi refugees were arrested on Wednesday in northern Germany for preparing a terror attack. Two 23-year-olds and a 36-year-old were arrested in an early morning raid in the state of Schleswig-Holstein after a months-long investigation, German police said. "According to the findings to date, the suspects had not yet selected a specific target for their attack," the federal prosecutorʼs office said in a statement. Two of the suspects are accused of preparing a bomb using gunpowder from fireworks and another of aiding and abetting the terror plans. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said that the suspects had already carried out explosive tests. Investigators allege the two 23-year-olds, Shahin F. and Hersh F., downloaded bombmaking instructions from the internet and tried to purchase a detonation device from the United Kingdom. British authorities were able to halt the shipment of the detonation device to Germany.

Venezuelaʼs political crisis: How did we get here?

News Venezuelaʼs political crisis: How did we get here? Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido are vying for control of the country. DW takes you through the key events since Guaido declared himself acting president. Venezuelaʼs political crisis began when opposition leader and president of the National Assembly,Juan Guaido,declared himself acting president.

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26/2019 • 31 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.

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German politicians demand elections in Venezuela Opposition parties have condemned the EUʼs

German politicians have repeated calls for new elections in Venezuela as the political crisis in the South American country deepens.

The German parliamentʼs foreign affairs committee met in Berlin on Wednesday to hear the governmentʼs report on Venezuela and try to hash out a common position on the stand-off between President Nicolas Maduro and self-declared interim President Juan Guaido. As more protests loom, Venezuelaʼs attorney general has imposed a travel ban on Guaidoand frozen his bank accounts. Meanwhile, Maduro released a Facebook video railing against the US "empire" and its alleged attempts to seize the countryʼs oil, after US Presi-

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

dent Donald Trump officially recognized Guaido as the countryʼs president, as have Colombia, Brazil, and other Latin American countries. Social Democrat MP and state minister at the Foreign Ministry, Niels Annen, who delivered the German governmentʼs verdict to the committee, gave a damning assessment of Maduroʼs administration. "The experiences in our talks with President Maduro have been thoroughly negative," he told DW. "The European Union has been trying to create such a dialogue for years." 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."

26/2019 • 31 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.

US Midwest hit by winter freeze colder than Antarctica

A record arctic air mass will remain over the central and eastern United States over the next several days.

Chicago has already recorded temperatures colder than parts of Antarctica.

Tens of millions of people in the northern United States woke up to freezing temperatures on Wednesday as flights were grounded, travel disrupted and schools and business closed. Many people were urged to stay home, and those who did venture out were advised by the National Weather Service to cover their mouths and protect their lungs from severely cold air by not "taking deep breaths"

and keeping talking to a minimum.

The freezing weather has been caused bythe polar vortex, a mass of freezing air which usually rotates around the North Pole but has drifted south to the United States. Chicago freeze Including the wind chill factor, parts of the Dakotas, Wisconsin and Minnesota had temperatures of -70 Fahrenheit (-56.7 Celsius), according to forecasters. In Chicago, the morning temperature was -22 degrees Fahrenheit (-30 Celsius), which was colder than Alaskaʼs state capital and parts of Antarctica. Much of the Chicago River was frozen over.

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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26/2019 • 31 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.

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US-China trade poker enters new round Trade talks between the United States and China will continue in Washington this week. The big question is just how far the two sides are from an agreement. The US is certainly sending contradictory signals.

Itʼs an emotional roller coaster — and it has been like that for months. One moment it seems like an open trade war between the US and China is inevitable, and then more optimistic signals are sent out, often in the form of a tweet by Donald Trump. Last week, the US president was satisfied with the state of talks so far, saying he was convinced that China would like to come to an agreement. But US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross struck a different tone, not expecting a quick settle-

Miamiʼs affluent ʼclimate refugeesʼ seek higher ground Climate refugees arenʼt usually spotted driving a Bentley through a low-income 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 singlefamily 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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2018: The worst year for stocks since financial crisis 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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ment in the trade dispute with China.

According to Ross, a solution was still "miles away" as he stepped on the euphoria brakejust a few days ago. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was a little more conciliatory and said that "weʼve made very meaningful progress." And now once again, a 30person Chinese delegation led by the countryʼs vice premier, Liu He, will meet US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on January 30 and 31.

Transparency International: ʼCrisis of democracyʼ and corruption go hand in hand

A fresh Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index has been released, revealing less than enthused attitudes toward the state of global corruption. Turkey and Hungary are among those falling down the list.

A collective global failure to control corruption is contributing to a crisis of democracy across the world — thatʼs the verdict of the latest Corruption Perceptions Index,published by nonprofit NGO Transparency International.

"With many democratic institutions under threat across the globe — often by leaders with authoritarian or populist tendencies — we need to do more to strengthen checks and balances and protect citizensʼ rights," said Patricia Moreira, managing director of Transparency International. The annual report ranks countries according to perceptions of public sector corruption rather than documented evidence of corruption, and grades countries on a scale from zero to 100, with zero denoting a "highly corrupt" country and 100 meaning a country is "very clean."

26/2019 • 31 January, 2019

ʼBaking Breadʼ: What bread reveals about the EU The power of a grain of wheat

Hosted by political correspondent Georg Matthes, the new DW series "Baking Bread" explores a traditional bread recipe from each of the European Unionʼs countries and humorously links it to the nationʼs political context.

There are over 10 million photos tagged #bread on Instagram, but the foodiesʼ social media trend definitely wasnʼt what got Georg Matthes into baking. Like all other Germans, he obviously grew up with the countryʼs rich bread culture — which was officially listed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2015. Beyond that, bread-making is literally in his genes. Ancestors in his family had a bakery, and throughout his youth, he would loyally assist his grandmother in her numerous baking projects.

While he was studying in London at the beginning of the 2000s, he was depressed by the bread that was available there at the time and thatʼs when he "really started baking," he says.

Now a political correspondent for Deutsche Welle, Matthes still enjoys the hobby as a "down-to-earth way of relaxing." His colleagues at DWʼs Brussels bureau, who regularly get to enjoy his homemade goods, encouraged him to develop a TV series that would combine those two fields of expertise: bread and politics.

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.

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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."

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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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26/2019 • 31 January, 2019

Pep Guardiola: Man City boss wary of ʼtoughʼ fixture challenge

Pep Guardiola said his Manchester City side have to overcome the "challenge" of a difficult run of fixtures as they seek to get their title defence back on track after a 2-1 loss at Newcastle. Leaders Liverpool could move seven points clear of the champions if they beat Leicester at Anfield on Wednesday. "Next week will be tough with Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea," he said. "If we want to go up as a club we have to accept that challenge.

There are a lot of titles and points to play for." Jurgen Kloppʼs Reds appear to have an easier run with matches against West Ham and Bournemouth to follow after their game against the Foxes.

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.

Liverpool fans thank Rafael Benitez for Man Cityʼs defeat Once a red, always a red?

Liverpoolʼs Champions League win, which Rafael Benitez oversaw, is regarded as one of the greatest comebacks in football history When Rafael Benitez left Liverpool in 2010, he was already a legend in the eyes of many Reds fans. The current Newcastle boss guided Liverpool to a historic Champions League victory over AC Milan in 2005 and departed as an Anfield favourite five years later. And he may have given his old club a huge boost in the Premier League title race after his current club - Newcastle - defied the odds to upset Manchester City with a

2-1 win at St Jamesʼ Park on Tuesday night. Liverpool have a fourpoint lead at the top of the table but could extend the gap over City to seven points with victory against Leicester on Wednesday evening (20:00 GMT kick-off). Following the surprise result, Liverpool fans were - perhaps understandably - in celebratory mood on social media.

And their former boss was the subject of their affection.

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.

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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.