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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Germanyʼs Protestant and Catholic churches predicted to lose millions of members

100/2019 • 3 MAY, 2019

Maduro rallies troops against opposition leader Guaido Meanwhile, international pressure is mounting on Maduro to step down

The number of members belonging to Germanyʼs two main churches will drop in half by 2060, putting severe financial strain on the religious institutions, according to a study published Thursday. The main reasons for declining membership in the German Catholic and Protestant churches include adults leaving the church, fewer baptisms and an aging population, researchers at the University of Freiburg said. The study, which was commissioned by the Catholic German Bishops Conference and the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), predicted the combined membership in the two churches will drop from about 45 million now to 34.8 million by 2035 and 22.7 million by 2060.

EU says will respond to controversial US move on Cuba The European Union said on Thursday it would take "measures" in response to a decision by Washingtonto allow lawsuits in US courts against companies using premises confiscated by the communist government of Cuba. The EU considers the US move to be "contrary to international law" and "will draw on all appropriate measures to address the effects of the Helms-Burton Act, including in relation to its WTO rights," according to a statement from the EUʼs top diplomat, Federica Mogherini. The administration of US President Donald Trump announced in April that it would activate a provision of the1996 Helms-Burton Actthat has been waived by every president since the law was passed, due to objections from US allies doing business in Cuba.

The Venezuelan president has proclaimed support for his armed forces just days after the opposition staged a rally to display its military backing.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro sought to rally the military on Thursday in the wake of anunsuccessful coup against him. He called on the armed forces to oppose anyone involved in opposition leader Juan Guaidoʼs latest attempt to oust his regime. "The time for combat has arrived, the time has arrived to give an example to history and the world and to say that in Venezuela there are armed forces ... united like never before, defeating coup attempts of traitors who sell themselves to the dollars from Washington," Maduro told 4,500 military personnel at a televised event. "No one can be afraid, it is the hour to defend our right to peace," Maduro said with Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino and military operations chief Remigio Ceballos at his side who declared allegiance. Maduro said the army was "united, cohesive and subordinate to their constitutional mandate" just two days after Venezuelans took to the streets to try

and force him from power. Military support for the coup failed to materialize substantially on Wednesday.

The attempted uprising led to two days of protests, which left at least four people dead. Opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez was also the subject of an arrest warrant after violating a house arrest order and appearing alongside Guaido. He is seeking refuge at the Spanish Embassy. Andreas Nick, a member of the foreign policy committee in the Bundestag told DW he was calling for further sanctions on Maduro to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power. "What we should be urging more for is really sanctions on the Maduro-Regime — not on the people of Venezuela, but on individuals of the regime." Nick raised the option of visa restrictions for family members and further freezing European-held assets. US President Donald Trump said, "The brutal repression of the Venezuelan people must end, and it must end soon."

Collectivization remarks split German Social Democrats The leadership of Germanyʼs centerleft government party, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has distanced itself from the leader of its own youth movement, Kevin Kühnert, after he called for major German companies like BMW to be collectivized. "Without collectivization overcoming capitalism is unthinkable," the 29-year-old Kühnert told Die Zeit weekly, before adding: "For me itʼs less important whether on the BMW doorbell sign it says ʼstate automobile companyʼ or ʼcooperative automobile companyʼ or whether the collective decides that BMW is no longer necessary in this form," he said. Instead, Kühnert, who heads the "Jusos," or Young Socialists, said that what was important was that the distribution of BMWʼs profits should be democratically controlled, which meant there could be no a "capitalist owner" of the company.

Thousands mark Holocaust Remembrance Day with annual March of the Living Thousands of young Jews from around the world gathered in Oswiecim, Poland, on Thursday to markHolocaust Remembrance Day. They marched alongside Holocaust survivors and international politicians at the site of the formerAuschwitzdeath camp run by Nazi Germany. Some 10,000 marchers, who walked along a 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) route between two sites at Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, waved Israeli flags and banners highlighting the issue of rising antiSemitism.

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100/2019 • 3 May, 2019

Millions in India brace for ʼvery severeʼ cyclone Fani Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated along Indiaʼs eastern coast as a powerful cyclone churned up the Bay of Bengal ahead of landfall on midFriday. The India Meteorological Department said "very severe" Cyclone Fani was expected to make landfall near Hindu temple town Puri, Odisha, packing gale-force winds of up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) per hour. It warned of 1.5-meter (4.9-foot) storm surges inundating low coastal areas with heavy rainfall and flooding in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal states. The Meteorological Department projected "total destruction" of thatched houses, uprooting of power and communication poles, damage to roads and the loss of crops and orchards. Around 1 million people were expected to be evacuated from low-lying areas to cyclone shelters, schools and other buildings, authorities said. Officials are worried that Fani could be the worst major storm to slam into Indiaʼs east coast in two decades. In 1999, a cyclone in Odisha killed almost 10,000 people. The National Disaster Response Force has sent 54 relief teams to flood-prone areas along the coast and stocked up food, water and medicine.

Meanwhile, the Indian navy, air force, army and coast guard were on standby for relief operations.

Two major ports — Paradip and Visakhapatnam — have closed and ships ordered out to sea to avoid damage. Train services and air travel have also been impacted.

Ahead of landfall, three special trains were running to remove pilgrims and tourists from Puri.

US to EU: Our liquefied natural gas is more reliable than Russiaʼs US Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Thursday pitched US liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a way for Europe to diversify and secure its energy supplies, as the US attempts to steer Europe away from Russian gas imports. "If just the cheapness of the supply is all you care about then you would not buy a BMW or a Mercedes-Benz or one of the fine automobiles that come out of the European Union," Perry said in Brussels. "You might buy cheaper from someplace else but it might not be reliable and the point is the same with Russian gas." Speaking alongside Perry, the EUʼs energy commissioner, Miguel Arias Canete, said the increase in US gas exports to the EU was understandable.

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Julian Assange vows to fight extradition to United States Julian Assange has told a London court he will not surrender

Marie and Paul were most popular baby names in Germany in 2018 Last yearʼs most popular baby names in Germany were Marie and Paul, followed once again by Sophie and Maria for girls and Alexander and Maximilian for boys, according to the Wiesbaden-based Society for the German Language (GfdS). Compared to 2017, the three top girlsʼ names on the list remain unchanged. For boys, Paul and Maximilian, which was the previous yearʼs favorite, switched positions. The ranking takes into account all given names. Johanna appeared in the 2018 girlsʼ top 10, in 10th position, as well as the name Henry for boys, in the ninth position.

For boys and girls, "Henry is the first anglophone name in the top 10 in years," says GfdS director AndreaEva Ewels.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has told a London court he will not "surrender." Currently jailed for skipping bail, he is wanted in the US on conspiracy charges related to a massive security breach at the Pentagon.

Jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told a London court, "I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that has won many, many awards and protected many, many people."

The 47-year-old Australian is currently serving50 weeks in detention at Belmarsh Prisonfor jumping bail in the UK in 2012 and taking up residence in the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he remained until po-

Confusion over missing Saudi journalist in Turkey who ʼvanishedʼ from consulate Turkish and Saudi officials have given conflicting reports on the whereabouts of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who has been missing since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday. Khashoggi, a regular contributor to The Washington Post, has been a fierce critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and has criticized Saudi Arabiaʼs policies toward Qatar and Canada,the war in Yemen and a

lice arrested him on April 11,after Ecuador terminated his asylum.

Assange, who appeared Thursday via video link, isaccused by the United States of conspiring with Chelsea Manning to hack into Pentagon computers to steal confidential documents. Manning served seven years of a 35-year sentence for her role in the crime untilher sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama in 2011. crackdown on dissent, the media and activists. Khashoggiʼs personal website bore a banner saying, "Jamal has been arrested at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul!" without elaborating. A Saudi official denied that Khashoggi had been detained inside the consulate. "Mr. Khashoggi visited the consulate to request paperwork related to his marital status and exited shortly thereafter," the official said.

"He is neither in the consulate nor in Saudi custody."

Afghan leader rejects resignation of spy chief, top ministers President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday

urged Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak, Defense Minister Tareq Shah Bahrami, and intelligence chief Masoum Stanekzai to stay in their posts, the Afghan government said.

The three officials submitted resignation letters on Saturday, citing policy differences and a spate of deadly attacks. "President Ghani did not approve their resignations... and gave them the necessary instructions to improve the security situation," a statement from the presidential palace said. The offers to step down followed the resignation of Ghaniʼs national security adviser and close ally, Hanif Atmar, on Friday. Atmar, one of the countryʼs most powerful politicians, has been replaced by former ambassador to the US Hamdullah Mohib.

100/2019 • 3 May, 2019

Japanʼs prime minister talks trade with EU leaders Japan and the EU have agreed to increase cooperation on trade, the environment and security. The two sides enacted a large trade deal in February, an agreement they believe counters the "global trends of protectionism."

European Commission President JeanClaude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday at the 26th annual EU-Japan summit. The leaders agreed to closer cooperation on security, the environment and trade and pledged to pursue long-awaited reforms to the World Trade Organization (WTO). "Our strategic partnership has never been stronger," Tusk said on Thursday. "It is built on shared values of liberal

Worried about Brexit, Brits stockpile food, supplies

Nick Thomas, a 25-year-old hazardous waste operator from Cornwall, is insistent that Brexit will be fine. Probably. "If ʼno dealʼ goes badly, thereʼll be rioting on the streets and looting, national uproar.

If people canʼt eat, theyʼll rise up and fight. But I canʼt see it happening — thatʼs a very worst case scenario," he said. Thomas, who voted to leave the EU because of the adverse effects of the common fisheries policy on his local area, is not ruling out the possibility of things going awry. He has stocked up with a substantial amount of dried goods – rice and pasta, primarily — as well as tinned beans and vegetables.

"The main thing is the food supply chain," he said. "A couple of friends of mine have done the same as me and bought some big bags of rice and pasta, some long-life tins of food. But weʼre all of the same opinion that thereʼs nothing really to worry about."

democracy, human rights and our commitment to openness, cooperation as well as free and fair trade." Pride for trade deal The summit came less than three months aftera massive trade dealtook effect in which most of the €1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) that EU companies pay in export duties to Japan were removed. Abe told reporters the trade deal "is a result of our leadership to maintain and develop the global free trade regime against the global trends of protectionism."

Merkel ʼgrilledʼ by students over Sahel weapons exports

German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended Germanyʼs restrictive arms sales to the Sahel region on Thursday while talking with university students in Ouagadougou, Burkina Fasoʼs capital. A student had asked why African soldiers were being killed by terroristcaptured weapons supplied by countries like France, Germany, China and Russia. Germany must be"restrictive"

with its arms sales, Merkel replied, but allow armies of democratic African states to be "well-equipped."

Traveling with Merkel, DW correspondent Michaela Küfner said students at Ouaga I University gave the chancellor a "grilling," also on the question of why Germany "followed" the African policy "lead of former colonial power France."

Emigration more worrying than immigration for many Europeans, says ECFR study Six countries in southern and eastern Europe are more concerned about emigration than they are about immigration, according to a new European Council for Foreign Relations (ECFR) survey published by The Guardian newspaper on Monday. Survey respondents in Romania, Hungary, Greece, Poland, Italy and Spain said they were more worried about migration out of their respective countries than migration into them. All six countries have seen their population figures either flatten out or decrease sharply — Romaniaʼs population has decreased by 10 percent over the past decade.

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100/2019 • 3 May, 2019

Germany attempts ʼfacesavingʼ resolution to Saudi drugs boycott The human rightsrow between Saudi Arabia and Canada made international headlinesin recent weeks, when the Riyadh government suddenly suspended new trade and investment to the Great White North. The punitive measures were in response to a simple tweet by Canadaʼs foreign minster, calling for the release of two jailed Saudi activists. Receiving less attention has been the diplomatic spat between Europeʼs No. 1 economy and the oil-rich kingdom — also sparked by a ministerʼs comments; this time Sigmar Gabriel, Germanyʼs then-foreign minister. During the political crisis in Lebanon last November that saw Prime Minister Saad alHariri resign and later rescind his decision, Riyadh was widely accused of forcing his departure, which Gabriel alluded to as "adventurism." ʼShamefulʼ remarks hurt tiesRiyadh immediately recalled its ambassador to Berlin, telling the German government the comments were "shameful."

In May, it went further and froze all new business with Germany. Over the subsequent months, several German pharmaceutical and medical technology firms, including Siemens Healthineers, Bayer and Boerhringer Ingelheim, have been excluded from public healthcare tenders in the kingdom. A pharmaceutical industry source told DW, on condition of anonymity, that Saudi authorities had not given any written explanation about the exclusion, and that there was no clear path for Germany to resolve the issue. Efforts by German diplomats to mediate with Saudi authorities were delayed, initially, by the Holy Month of Ramadan, and the summer break, as Gulf countries stop work in July and August due to the extreme heat.

Merger between T-Mobile and Sprint on the line The $26.5 billion (€23 billion) merger,announced last April, would combine the United Statesʼ third and fourth largest wireless companies, creating a new firm the size of sector rivals Verizon andAT&T. It would also reduce the number of major carriers in the US from four to three. T-Mobileʼs German parent,Deutsche Telekom would take 42 percent of the new entity and Japanʼs SoftBank, owner of Sprint, 27 percent, with the rest held by the public. The combined company, to be called T-Mobile, would have 127 million customers.

But the deal must get the green light from US federal regulators.

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Worldwide inventory to help protect biodiversity For the first time in 14 years, experts have compiled a global ecoinventory of the Earth. They now want to fine-tune the core statements with government representatives.

It is already clear that many species have been lost in the recent past. And thecausesare also clear: intense agriculture, pollution, overfishing, poaching, the destruction of natural habitats and climate change. It is unclear, however,how dire the global biodiversity situation really isand whether conservation measures have achieved anything. Most recently, in 2005, theMillennium Ecosystem Assessment showed how massively ecosystems were polluted over the previous 50 years and how necessary

No breakthrough in China-US trade talks Chinaʼs Ministry of Commerce said on Friday that it had held "constructive meetings" with US officialsafter talks resumed between the countries over their ongoing trade spat. Nonetheless, with no major breakthrough yet in sight, the resumption of talks did not prevent an additional $16 billion (€13.83 billion) of tariffs being levied by the US and China on each otherʼs goods, starting from Thursday. Read more: US-China trade spat: Clash of the titans, part 2 Talks took place on Wednesday and Thursday aimed at defusing the escalating conflict, which has now seen both countries slap $50 billion in tariffs on the otherʼs products, with more expected to follow. The Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that the officials on both sides have vowed to "keep in contact" in the future. High-tech will suffer, says ChinaMeanwhile, a prominent Chinese state planner said on Friday that US tariffs onhigh-tech Chinese technology would have an impact on the tech sectors in both countries.

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Kalashnikov unveils new electric car Kalashnikov,a company moreknown for its AK-47 machine gunsthan its electric vehicles, unveiled its new electric car on Thursday.

The powder-blue prototype, dubbed the CV-1, was unveiled by the Russian arms maker at a defense expo outside of Moscow.

Kalashnikov Concern told Russian media that the technology within its "electric supercar" will rival that of Elon Muskʼs Tesla. "This technology will allow us to stand in line with the worldʼs electric car manufacturers, like Tesla, and compete with them," a spokesperson told Sputnik. According to the company, the vehicle can travel 350 kilometers (217 miles) on a single charge. The carʼs retro look was inspired by a Soviet hatchback model developed in the 1970s, the "Izh-Kombi," Kalashnikov said in a statement on its website.

The CV-1ʼs light blue color, large grill, retro door handles and boxy frame have received mixed reviews from Russians. On social media, some described the car as "cyberpunk" while others referred to it as the "Izh-Zombie."

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a reversal is. Starting this Monday, government representatives and scientists will discuss a new report on biodiversity for a week. The report is based on the research results that 150 experts from 50 countries have compiled and analyzed over the past three years. The experts analyzed almost 15,000 sources for their report, and 250 other experts provided knowledge directly. For the first time, the findings and interests of indigenous peoples and other local knowledge were included.

Amazonʼs Alexa lies to — and spies on — consumers

Itʼs no surprise that Amazon is using Alexa to listen to peopleʼs conversations. Thatʼs just one more signal that we are moving into an era in which our privacy is no longer protected.

If you ask Amazonʼs voice-activated virtual assistant, Alexa, whether it is spying on you, the device will reply that it is not and add that your data privacy is very important to it. But then, last week, we learned the truth: Amazon has its employees listen to and transcribe thousands of Alexa conversations each day — without users knowing. According to Amazon, this helps improve the customer experience. Evidently, Amazon thinks customersʼ experience is more important than their privacy because it not only recorded "official" Alexa requests but, according to Bloomberg, also people singing in the shower, kids calling for help and even what sounded like a sexual assault. Amazon officials have shown no remorse about violating Germanyʼs telecommunication confidentiality law, which is codified in the constitution. And neither does it seem bothered about massively violating the right of informational selfdetermination, which has been upheld

by Germanyʼs top court. This is one side of the scandal.

100/2019 • 3 May, 2019

Obamas producing Netflix project critical of Trump Fiction and reality: House of Cards

Nets ʼnʼ Lasers: some of our best hopes for mitigating the threat of space debris Space debris is a bit like space itself: We know itʼs up there, but beyond that thereʼs so much we know we donʼt know. The statistics are fun, though, if a little misleading. Itʼs a bit of a safari crunching the numbers, but here goes. Since 1957, the year the Soviet Union sent Sputnik into space, there have been 4,900 space launches.

So far so good. In that time we have put 6,600 satellites in orbit and/or created "an on-orbit population of more than 18,000 tracked objects." Elsewhere, ESA cites "more than 17,000 orbital objects" being tracked and catalogued by the US Space Surveillance Network. And in a third document itʼs 22,000 objects. But you get the idea: Itʼs a lot. Of the 6,600 satellites, 3,600 remain in space, and less than a third (about 1,100) are operational.

As former US president Barack and his wife Michelle Obama unveil plans for a Netflix series critical of the countryʼs current government, hereʼs a look at other on-screen portrayals of American politics.

The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy, a

2018 political book by Michael Lewis, looks into the inner workings of the US government and Donald Trumpʼs first year as president. In his book, Lewis is very critical of President Trump, underlining the unpreparedness and incompetence of his transition team as well as the inexperience of the people the former real estate mogul installed in the administrationʼs key positions. In October 2018, the Obamasʼ production com-

pany, Higher Ground, acquired the rights to the book for a potential Netflix series. The video-on-demand platform has now announced that the project would be among the Obamasʼ first batch of projects. The Netflix statement about the Fifth Risk project however avoided naming Trump, saying that the series "will aim to portray the importance of unheralded work done by everyday heroes guiding our government and safeguarding our nation."

Elegant Café Párisi breathes new life into Budapest’s splendid Lotz Hall

Arctic temperatures grip US Midwest Freezing temperatures have gripped the northern United States due to a split in the polar vortex, a mass of cold air that normally stays bottled up in the Arctic. The Wednesday morning temperature in Chicago was -30 degrees Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit) which felt like -46 degrees with the wind chill. It was expected to get down to -33 degrees on Thursday. The weather wreaked havoc on airports and train services.

More than 1,800 flights were cancelled at Chicagoʼs two major airports, while rail operator Amtrak

cancelled train services from its hub in the city. At Chicagoʼs OʼHare airport, ground crews were told to avoid spending more than 15 minutes at a time exposed to the freezing air, which delayed the lucky flights that managed to take off.

Commuters heading to work in Chicago had to layer up to fend off the cold. "I have two shirts on... I have a hoodie, I have my big winter coat, I have a face mask and a skullcap and I am still cold," sandwich shop manager Daniel Gonzalez said.

Café Párisi is on the top floor of the building, with theAndrássy Entertainment Centreand, from tomorrow, an Avatar exhibition below. The café is open every day and the Lotz Hall can be rented for special events such as birthday parties, company gatherings or a fairy-tale wedding. Café Párisi Address: District VI. Andrássy út 39 Open: Daily 9am-9pm

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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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100/2019 • 3 May, 2019

Tiger Woods wins 2019 Masters golf championship

Tiger Woods sealed one of the most remarkable comebacks in sport, let alone golf, to win his fifth Masters and seal an epic return from scandal and injuries that once threatened his career. Itʼs Woodsʼ 15th major, and the 14 years between his fourth and fifth Masters triumph is the longest gap between majors. A remarkable 22 years after Woods won his first major at Augusta National, Woods sunk a short bogey putt to seal the win as the crowd erupted in chants of "Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!"

Champions League: Lionel Messiʼs landmark moment crowns Barcelona victory

His brilliance is undeniable. Lionel Messi dazzled and delighted in equal measure as Barcelona secured a sizeable advantage in their Champions League semifinal tie with Liverpool.

The Spanish giants will take a 3-0 lead into the reverse leg at Anfield in a weekʼs time, but Wednesdayʼs evenings encounter with be remembered for the 600th goal of an astonishing career with the Catalans. The first leg in Barcelona was a live wire encounter played at a frantic pace.

Where moments of individual brilliance were blended in with a dynamic tactical approach to decide a European encounter played at the highest level between two sides of immense quality.

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

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

"To lead the club into the Million Pound Game and win promotion is one of my biggest ever achievements."

Roger Federer to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final Federer will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final

Roger Federer is one win away from a 100th ATP singles title after a semi-final victory over Borna Coric at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Federer, 37, showed his best form of the tournament in easing to a 6-2 6-2 win over the 22-year-old Croat. He now faces Greeceʼs Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Federer in the Australian Open last 16 in January. A win will make Federer the second male player to win 100 singles titles after American Jimmy Connors, who won 109.

"Tsitsipas is tough to play, tough to beat," said Federer. "He showed me that at the Australian Open, how hard he is. Maybe the final is a little bit of a revenge match.

"Reaching 100 titles - weʼre still far from it. Iʼm just going to try to focus and play good tennis," Tsitsipas recovered from a set and 3-1 down to get past Frenchman Gael Monfils 4-6 7-6(4) 7-6(4), a win which will propel the 20-yearold into the worldʼs top 10 for the first time in his career. "The whole match changed out of nowhere," Tsitsipas said. "Iʼve improved since last year. Beating the big guys, big players, players that have been in the top 10, it means a lot."

Johanna Konta through to Morocco Open semi-finals British number one Johanna Konta reached a career-first clay-court semi-final with victory over Hsieh Su-wei at the Morocco Open.

World number 47 Konta came from a set down to beat the Taiwanese second seed 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 6-4 in two hours and 13 minutes. The seventh seed, 27, hit 48 winners and two aces to progress in Rabat.

Konta will play Australiaʼs Ajla

Tomljanovic in the semi-finals for their third meeting of 2019. Tomljanovic - fourth seed in Morocco - beat Konta in straight sets in Brisbane before the Briton won in three sets at the Australian Open later in January.

It is her first semi-final appearance since her defeat by Daria Kasatkina at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow in October 2018.