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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

German engineers under pressure from China Stefan Bachmeier still recalls the golden times of German machine builders in China. He works for a company called Kaeser Kompressoren, a medium-sized enterprise from Coburg, Germany. The firm has a workforce of 5,000 and specializes in compressed air technology. "I remember the times when you could simply say ʼlook, this is a German machine,ʼ" he said. "Clients would pay, there was little haggling over the price — but those times are gone," adds Bachmeier, who oversees the companyʼs Asia business from Singapore. Although the "Made in Germany" label is still highly valued, itʼs no longer a unique selling point. "The Chinese have become very selfconfident and nationalist at times," Bachmeier told DW, "andtheyʼre very serious about their "Made in China" campaign."

EU takes legal action against Poland to protect judges The European Commission said Wednesday that it had issued a letter of formal notice — the first step in legal action — to Poland over new disciplinary measures that can be taken against judges.

Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said the system of oversight, introduced in 2017, appeared to "systematically subject judges to the political control of the executive." Polish judges who have engaged in public debates or made comments about the reforms have been targeted by disciplinary officers from the governmentappointed National Council of Judiciary, Timmermans said. Judges who asked for rulings from the European Court of Justice had also had investigations launched against them. "All this has an obvious chilling effect on the activities of judges, and this is incompatible with the requirements of judicial independence as detailed by the European Court of Justice," Timmermans said.

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Ex-Malaysian PM Najib Razak faces trial over 1MDB scandal The 65-year-old pleaded not guilty to seven charges of corruption and money-laundering

The former prime minister and his associates are accused of pilfering hundreds of millions of dollars from the state sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak went on trial on Wednesday over the multi-million dollar looting of the state sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. The 65-year-old pleaded not guilty to seven charges of corruption and money-laundering.

Attorney General Tommy Thomas said in his opening statement that Najib was in power for nearly a decade: "The accused is not above the law and his prosecution and this trial should serve as precedents for all future holders of this august office," Thomas said. Wednesday’s trial is the first against Najib, who faces 42 separate charges related to the 1MDB scandal. The trial centers on $10.3 million (€9.2 million) reportedly stolen from 1MDB subsidiary SRC International that appeared in Najibʼs bank account. The sum represents only a fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars the former prime minister and his associates are accused of having pilfered from the investment fund established to boost Malaysia’s economic development. US investigators say $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB between 2009 and 2014.

Some $700 million from the fund is alleged to have ended up in Najib’s own bank account. The vast sums of wealth were reportedly laundered through the US financial system andused to buy property, art and luxury items. Many of those involved have been detained and charged in Malaysian courts. However, the suspected kingpin of 1MDB scandal, financier Jho Low, is still at large.

Malaysia has alsocharged the US investment banking giant Goldman Sachsand ex-employees with misappropriating billions of dollars in bond proceeds and collecting $600 million in fees. At least six countries have launched corruption and money laundering investigations into 1MDB. Fall from power Public anger over the 1MDB scandalled to Najib’s defeat in 2018ʼs May elections, ending nearly 60 years of rule by the Basiran National coalition. Mahathir Mohamad,who ruled from 1981 to 2003, came out of retirement to spearhead a four-party alliance that once in power reopened investigations into the 1MDB scandal and vowed to retrieve the lost funds.

Germany approves stripping dual national terrorist fighters of citizenship Germans with dual nationality who join foreign terrorist militias will lose their citizenship in the future, the cabinet decided on Wednesday. "Someone who goes abroad and actually participates in combat operations for a terrorist militia shows that they have turned their back on Germany and its basic values and turned to another foreign power in the form of a terrorist militia," the federal government said in a statement. Read more: Revoking citizenship: How it works across the EU The change to the citizenship law will apply only to adults who have a second nationality. Minors are unaffected. It would also not be applied retroactively, which would violate German case law.

Mercedes-Benz Moscovia car plant opened by Altmaier and Putin in Russia German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier (above right) said on Wednesday that he saw great potential for future cooperation with Russia despite "political differences." "The Russian automotive market continues to be a key market for German car manufacturers. The opening of the first plant of Mercedes-Benz Cars in Russia is a landmark for the commitment of Mercedes-Benz in Russia, but also that of German ventures in Russia overall," Altmaier said. "A successful Russia is also in the interest of a successful Germany," he added.

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78/2019 • 4 April, 2019

Amnesty accuses Turkey of ʼturning blind eyeʼ to abuses in Afrin Human rights organization Amnesty International accused Turkey on Thursday of allowing Syrian armed groups to commit a wide range of violations against civilians in Afrin. Turkish forces aided by allied rebelscaptured the northern Syrian townin March from the US-backed Kurdish Peopleʼs Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers a terrorist group.According to Amnestyʼs research, scores of displaced residents have since returned to their homes, only to be subjected to rights abuses. Read more:Turkeyʼs military offensive against Kurdish-held Afrin: What you need to know Amnesty interviewed 32 people, both current and former Afrin residents, between May and July 2018, who said: Residents in Afrin are enduring "arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, confiscation of property and looting."Most of the abuses were "at the hands of Syrian groups that have been equipped and armed by Turkey."Some of the rebel groups and Turkish armed forces had "taken over schools, disrupting the education for thousands of children."

Outcry in Uganda over compulsory HIV test 19-year-old Methia Nalukwago, a student at Makerere University in the capital Kampala, is excited by the proposal to have all students undergo compulsory HIV/AIDS testing. Some students, she says, have been living in denial.

"Our friends, we study with them but you look at someone and you are like, ʼare you sure you are not sick or something like that?ʼ Of course you never come out to tell them but you feel it deep down inside you, this person must be sick because of the symptoms that show," Nalukwago told DW. "Compulsory testing for HIV will help us know our HIV status and where we stand."

Studies conducted by the Ugandan AIDS Commission show lack of sufficient information among the youth is contributing to an increase of HIV. Jane Were, the head teacher of Forest Hill College in Mukono district located 21 kilometers (13 miles) east of Kampala, said they are grappling with HIV in schools. She said the situation has been made worse by parents who mislead their children on what they are actually suffering from. "We have situations where parents lie to students about these [anti-retroviral] drugs. There are parents who tell children they have other ailments other than HIV," 2

Donʼt give up on NATO just yet Russia: From strategic partner to opponent

After the Cold War, many people felt NATO was superfluous. The alliance lived on, and has once again become a bulwark against Russia.

The party forNATOʼs 70th anniversaryis bound to be overshadowed once again by the tiresome issue of finances. The United Statesʼ shortsighted dispute with many of its allies overthe size of their defense budgetsobscures the key achievements of the oldest and strongest military alliance in modern times. Spanning the Atlantic, NATO provided protection for its European members with the US nuclear umbrella. Its deterrent effect has remained an indispensable anchor of stability to this very day. During the Cold War, the economically strong alliance of the

German police want to put cameras in Dortmundʼs ʼNazi hoodʼ Dortmund police are determined to have "German law and order in every corner" of the west German city, local police chief Gregor Lange said on Wednesday, announcing plans to install surveillance cameras in an area that is heavily populated byfar-right extremists. For more than 10 years, an area within the western Dortmund neighborhood of Dorstfeld has been housing "far-right extremists in several households in a concentrated way," Lange added. The area became known as a "Nazi hood." Police have boosted their presence there and

Western-oriented countries triumphed over the Soviet dictatorship and its satellite states. Not all of NATOʼs 29 member states have always been democracies. Portugal, Spain, Greece and Turkey were at times veritable military dictatorships, and the new NATO members that emerged from Soviet rule were one-party Communist states for decades. Today, all but Turkey, under autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have become democracies. NATO has also increasingly become a community of political values, not just a strategic military alliance. formed a specially designated teamto combat far-right incidents, which led to a large drop in such offenses, according to the police chief. However, Lange said this was not enough. "As long as people who have noticeably different views see this stretch of street as something to be feared because of this housing situation and the labeling of buildings with ʼNazi neighborhood,ʼ there is still more to be done," he said.

Brexit: Whatʼs gone wrong for the UKʼs Labour Party?

Opposition parties — what are they good for? Well, under normal circumstances an opposition party is supposed

Germanyʼs family reunification policy can leave young adults in limbo It sounds desperate, but Riham abo Staiti says she would rather die than turn 18. The 17-year-old only leaves her darkened accommodations when absolutely necessary. She lives here in a 30-square-meter (323-square-foot) portable housing unit with her father and three siblings in the Nahr alBared Refugee Camp in northern Lebanon. Yet, one important person is missing: "I just want to be with my mother," Riham says. She only speaks with her mother, who lives in a suburb of Karlsruhe, Germany, on her mobile phone. Her fear is constant when the two talk each day: "I am terrified of being left here on my own," says Riham. She has been waiting for the day she can join her mother for more than three years now. She is in a race against time, for she will likely be barred from family reunification as soon as she turns 18.

to scrutinize the policies of the party in government, take it to task for perceived failures and present a viable alternative to the electorate. Based on its current state and the way it has maneuvered itself into an impasse over Brexit, itʼs fair to say that that doesnʼt seem to be working too well for the UKʼs Labour Party right now. On the surface, its inability to cash in on Theresa Mayʼs disastrous handling of the Brexit beggars belief. However, itʼs not that simple. To understand Labour, you need to understand current leader Jeremy Corbyn. From its so-called golden years under Prime Minister Tony Blair, the party went into free fall under his successor, Gordon Brown, losing 91 seats in the House of Commons in the 2010 general election — the partyʼs biggest loss of seats since 1931. Brownʼs successor, Ed Miliband, fared little better, with Labour losing the general election in 2015.

78/2019 • 4 April, 2019

Germany rejects Venezuelaʼs attempt to prosecute Guaido The German government on Wednesday condemned a Venezuelan bodyʼs decision tostrip self-declared President Juan Guaido of immunityfrom prosecution. The Constituent Assembly,a body bound to acting President Nicolas Maduro, earlier this week strippedopposition leader Guaidoof legal immunity, opening him up to prosecution in loyalist courts. Read more: Germany declines to recognize Juan Guaidoʼs Berlin emissary What the German government said: "The federal

government condemns the withdrawal of Juan Guaidoʼs immunity by the socalled Constituent Assembly.""EU states had already declared in 2017 … that they would not recognize resolutions made by the Constituent Assembly.""This assembly was set up to oust the democratically-legitimate National Assembly of Venezuela.""The (Constituent Assembly) is once again demonstrating it is serving the Maduro regime to undermine the countryʼs democratic forces."

US government closes ʼkitten Muslim slaughterhouseʼ fashion for women exhibition stirs controversy in Germany Muslim head coverings have always been a controversial topic, as they embody so many issues, whether womenʼs rights worldwide or Western prejudice and discrimination against Muslims.

Now that the first exhibition dedicated to fashion consciousness of women in Islam is opening at Frankfurtʼs Museum Angwandte Kunst, the debate surrounding headscarves has been rekindled in Germany.

Titled "Contemporary Muslim Fashions" and first shown at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco, the exhibition, however, does not aim to answer the numerous political and social questions related to hijabs or burkinis.

"The focus of the exhibition is really fashionable modest dress and what weʼre trying to show in the exhibition is that there is a lot of choice for the mass of Muslim women," said Jill DʼAlessandro, curator of the "Contemporary Muslim Fashions" exhibition in San Francisco.

Agriculture officials said cats and kittens would no longer be used in a research program that an animal rights group says resulted in thousands of animals being euthanized. Cats and kittens at a laboratory in Maryland were fed meat that sometimes contained the toxic parasite Toxoplasma gondii over more than three decades.

Scientists tested the stools of the animals for signs of the parasite in the meat before they were put down. The US Department of Agricul-

ture (USDA) says the research, carried out by its Agricultural Research Services (ARS) department, yielded "undeniable results.” The pathogen can cause toxoplasmosis — the leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the United States. An investigation by the White Coat Waste Project (WCW) an organization opposed to government-funded animal testing — claimed that at least 3,000 cats and kittens had been euthanized since 1982.

France and Italy to celebrate Leonardo da Vinciʼs anniversary together French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a joint French-Italian celebration marking 500 years since the death ofRenaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. Macron told Italian broadcaster RAI he will host Italian President Sergio Mattarella in the French town of Amboise, where da Vinci died, "in the spirit of reconciliation." Both countries have traditionally claimed the artist, who was born in 1452 in the Tuscan town of Vinci in modern Italy and spent most of his life there.

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78/2019 • 4 April, 2019 Germany attempts ʼface-savingʼ 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 thenforeign minister. During the political crisis in Lebanon last November that saw Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri 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.

Germanyʼs FlixBus in talks to buy intercity competitor Eurolines

FlixBus, which offers low-cost intercity bus travel across Europe, is negotiating to buy its smaller competitor Eurolines. French transport group Transdev, which owns Eurolines, and the Munich-based Flixbus confirmed on Monday that exclusive talks were underway, without disclosing the financial details. Eurolines, whose network spans 25 countries, operates French domestic routes under the Isilines brand, which would be part of the possible deal. "With this merger, FlixBus would have an even more comprehensive and more diverse offer to attract even more passengers. We want to be the first choice for travelers across Europe," Flixbus managing director Jochen Engert said.

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Mobility services for the elderly: Looking beyond the private car Owning a car still means a lot to Germans, especially older people in rural areas. But what if the elderly are no longer able to drive? A village near Berlin is pondering alternatives, as Hardy Graupner reports.

The village ofPetershagen-Eggersdorf in the largely rural Eastern German state of Brandenburghas experienced a massive population boom for many years now. It now has more than 15,000 inhabitants, up from just 8,000 in the early 1990s. A logical side effect of the increased influx has been more traffic, with a higher number of privately owned cars per family, according to the mayor of the twin village, Marco Rutter. Thatʼs causing a bit of a problem, especially for the growing number of elderly people living here. "Despite some younger

French gas stations left dry by ʼyellow vestʼ blockades French gas giant Total on Monday said "yellow vest" protesters continue to block 11 major fuel depots, resulting in 75 gas stations running out of fuel. A company spokesman said that if the blockade werenʼt lifted soon, more petrol stations could run out of fuel. In the region of Brittany, local officials have considered imposing restrictions on how much gas motorists can buy to prevent more stations from going dry.

France has been gripped by antigovernment protests since French President Emmanuel Macron introduced sweeping measures to combat climate change, including a fuel tax hike.

On Saturday, riots broke out in Paris, leaving scores injured and costly devastation in its wake. Protesters believe Macron needs to withdraw the reforms, citing high living costs in the country. But the government has refused to back down. Instead, Macron said last week that the protests show "that we shouldnʼt change course because it is the right one."

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The small, but surprising secret to Germanyʼs economic success Itʼs a dreaded dinner party question that leaves many of us scrambling to make our mundane jobs sound more interesting than they are. Itʼs also the first thing I ask Steffen Lange, the branch manager of a company called "Berliner Schrauben" (Berlin screws), when we meet at his workplace on a cold autumn morning. "Itʼs all in the name," he tells me. "Where weʼre from: Berlin. And what we focus on — screws." But the name doesnʼt quite reveal the full story.

Screws account for 60 percent of turnover. Berliner Schrauben also supplies pipe fixtures, dowels, wood connectors and a range of associated tools. It might not dazzle your dinner party guests. But itʼs pretty likely to pay for the wine. Berliner Schrauben exemplifies Germanyʼs "mittelstand." The term refers to small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 500 employees and an annual turnover of no more than €50 million ($57 million).

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folks moving here, the number of senior citizens has been rising disproportionately," Rutter tells DW,noting that the trend will become even more pronounced in the years ahead. "Up to 4,000 inhabitants are now between 55 and 65 years old, meaning that over the next decade weʼll have a lot more people past the age of 65, plus a lot of people who statistically live a lot longer." More traffic, more problems Rutter points out that increased traffic flows in the village have created a sense of insecurity among the elderly driving their own cars.

Ryanair joins EUʼs pollution highfliers

Ryanair has become the first noncoal company to join Europe’s top 10 carbon emitters. The Irish airliner is "the new coal," one expert said.

Low-budget airlineRyanairwas the EUʼs ninth-highest corporate carbon emitter in 2018, according to research by think tank Transport and Environment (T&E) and based on data from the EUʼs emissions trading system registry. The Irish company, which transports 130 million people a year, declared 9.9 megatons of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in 2018, up 6.9 percent on 2017 and up 49 percent since 2013. Read more: Being a pilot isnʼt what it used to be This makes it the first corporate without holdings in coal-fired power plants to enter the EUʼs top 10 most emitting firms. The most carbon-intense entity wasPolandʼs Belchatow power station and coal mine, which generated 38 million megatons of GHG emissions in 2018, with the top three also including German coal mines Neurath and Niederaussem. German coal mines accounted for seven of the top 10. EasyJet was Europeʼs next worstperforming airline, in 31st place, with an 11 percent rise in emissions in 2018. It was followed by Lufthansa, Norwegian and British Airways.

78/2019 • 4 April, 2019

Legendary music producer Giorgio Moroder announces his first ever live tour in Europe Date: 2019.05.15. Venue: Papp László Sportaréna Budapest

on censorship and responsibility Visual artist Helio Fervenza teaches at the art institute of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Art in Porto Alegre. His works have been presented at the Venice Biennale art shows, in Sao Paulo and Amsterdam.

Like so many artists in Brazil, Fervenza is worried about political developments in his native country. He told DW about the significance of art, widening censorship and artʼs responsibility in society. He and his political cronies are not interested in art. But even before that there was little support from the ministry. For me, art equals access to knowledge about the world, because through the eyes of art you see the world from new perspectives. You become more aware and you see things differently.

ʼPeace is Powerʼ: Yoko Onoʼs works on show in Leipzig Hailed by many as the Godfather of Disco or even the very founder of electronic dance music, at 78 years young of age the multi Academy Award and Grammy Award winning Moroder is embarking on a 15-city European tour in April and May 2019.

The tour production entitled A Celebration of the 80’s will see the pioneering Italian songwriter, producer and DJ perform the highlights from his prolific career in a spectacular stage show with dazzling visuals and lighting alongside his band and vocalists. The Hungarian audience will see this production on 15th May, 2019 in Papp László Budapest Sportaréna, organized by Broadway Event and Multimedia Organisation.

Moroder has been a major influence in the music industry for over 55 years, starting in 1963. He was the first to put dance music to a repetitive

percussive beat and to abandon the laws of harmony and put the synthesizer central to his music. He first gained recognition in the 70s with both his own music and his productions for Donna Summer (“I Feel Love”, “On the Radio” and “Love to Love You Baby”, “Hot Stuff” among others). This led to a string of other collaborations with big names like Cher (“Bad Love”), Blondie (“Call Me”), David Bowie (“Cat People”), Debbie Harry (“Rush Rush”), Freddie Mercury (“Love Kills”), Bonnie Tyler (“Here She Comes”), and Pat Benatar (“Here’s My Heart”).

Disharmony in Berlin as Barenboim fields complaints Acclaimed musical genius, pianist, conductor and author Daniel Barenboim is also lauded as the savior of the Berlin Staatsoper, founder of an important music academy, humanist, peacemaker and one of the most influential musicians in the world. But recently a few new attributes have also been used to describe the star conductor: Some of the musicians who have played under his baton say he is a bullying autocrat and a workaholic who puts the health of orchestra members Following complaints from timpanist Willi Hilgers, who played

with Barenboim for 16 years but has since moved to the Munich State Opera, such accusations have gained momentum, with several musicians contributing their anonymous testimonies on Barenboimʼs leadership style. They say that as a chief conductor, Barenboim is "moody, aggressive, impatient, irascible, unfair." The complainants, some of whom are currently working under his leadership, describe a climate of fear and stress that has led in some cases to health problems, including high blood pressure and depression.

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Culture

Right here, right now!

Fatboy Slim comes to Budapest Akvárium Club BRIGHTON BEATMASTER FATBOY SLIM IS COMING TO BUDAPEST FOR HIS LOCAL CLUB DEBUT AT THE FOCAL AKVÁRIUM ON 25 MAY.

She is arguably the most hated woman in music history. Yet Yoko Ono is not only John Lennonʼs widow, she also stands alone as an artist.

Yoko Ono has over 2,000 square meters (around 21,500 square feet) and three floors of exhibition space in the Leipzig Museum of Fine Arts at her disposal. "Yoko Ono. Peace is Power" is the most extensive retrospective of the Japanese-American artistʼs work in Germany to date. As curator, Onoʼs long-time friend and confidante Jon Hendricks has been on site to ensure that everything is set up in the spirit of the eccentric artist. On display are smaller objects, space-filling installations and sculptures by the 86-year-old Ono. With this one-woman show, the museum is showcasing Onoʼs entire artistic oeuvre since the 1960s. All sorts of media, including films, video works and her solo albums, are included in the exhibition, with rarely shown drawings also on display in Leipzig.

Brighton beatmaster Fatboy Slim is coming to Budapest for his local club debut at the focal Akvárium on 25 May. The veteran of many a festival – Glasto, Exit, Coachella – has played Hungary before but never in the intimate surroundings of a sweaty club.

The booking represents a major coup for the Akvárium, whose line-up for 2019 also includes John Digweed and Kruder & Dorfmeister. Tickets have not yet gone on sale for Fatboy Slim in the Main Hall of the Akvárium – but keep an eye on theclub’s websiteas they’re bound to sell out in no time. Slim, who successfully shifted from indie to electronica in the 1990s, reignited his career with the hit Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat, in 2013. The DJ star is currently playing a series of huge arenas in the UK, from London to Glasgow. Akvárium Klub District V. Erzsébet tér 12

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78/2019 • 4 April, 2019

West Ham v Liverpool: Manuel Pellegrini wants to help Man City with win

West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini wants to get his sideʼs season back on course by beating Liverpool on Monday - and do his old side Manchester City a favour at the same time. Premier League leaders Liverpool are two points clear in the title race but have a game in hand over rivals City, whobeat Arsenal 3-1 on Sunday. Pellegrini won the league in 2014 during a three-year spell at City. "If we win, I will be very happy for our club first," said the Chilean. "We need a good performance against the leaders.

"After that, if we can give a hand to Manchester City, itʼs not our problem, but of course I am a fan of Manchester City also."

Noughty Boys: Didier Drogba was the ʼclutchʼ centreforward who united a nation

In 2010, BBC Radio 4embarked on a questto find 100 objects that summed up the past 2,000 years of human history. Made in collaboration with the British Museum, they covered great artworks, historical artefacts, and all manner of inventions to help define how far humankind had come. When it came to their final episode, they had to pick an object that best defined 2010 and the world going forward.

The object they picked wasDidier Drogba’s Chelsea kit - a shirt belonging to an Ivorian who grew up in France and played for an English team owned by a Russian billionaire, sponsored by a Korean phone brand, and manufactured by a German sportswear company.

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Aleksandar Kolarovʼs free kick stunner secures Serbia win over Costa Rica A brilliant second half free kick from captain Aleksandar Kolarov led Serbia to a deserved win over Costa Rica. Serbia were wasteful in front of goal but did enough to secure three vital points in Group E. Another World Cup day, another sublime freekick. If Cristiano Ronaldo’s ice-cold effort tosnatch a point against arch-rivals Spain on day two was the current goal of the tournament front-runner, the Portuguese may have just met his match. Aleksandar Kolarov, take a bow. A combination of poor finishing and sublime goalkeeping had kept the scores level until Serbia’s no.11 produced his moment of magic. Kolarov’s powerful left foot is no secret, but few inside the stadium would have expected such a thunderous strike when the Roma defender stood over a free kick midway through the second half. His shot was unstoppable; a side-footed missile which screamed into the top corner of the Costa Rica net.

Kaylor Navas, who kept his team in the game with several crucial saves either side of half time, was nowhere near it.

Reinhard Grindel wonʼt be missed Grindelʼs downfall was all his own making

Reinhard Grindel, once the head of German football, has resigned after months of pressure. He failed to live up to his promises or his remit, and his silence on major issues was deafening.

At the end of Reinhard Grindelʼs parting statement, the now former DFB (German Football Association) president asked how this had happened. It seems he was a politician to the end. This isnʼt reallyabout the watch. This is about Grindelʼs inability to do the job he was appointed to do. Grindelʼs downfall was all his own making, although the DFB deserve criticism for appointing a politician as president of the largest sports association in the world. A politician who, during his time as a CDU member of

the German Bundestag, said that multiculturalism was a grand illusion. Grindel walked into a job where his political background was supposed to clean a house covered in corruption dirt. Upon his appointment, Grindel said he wanted to bring transparency and openness back to the DFB. It sounded, as it often does at the start, so promising.

Instead, he departs with an apology delivered in a cramped room to a handful of journalists in which he apologized for "confirming the stigma about football executives."

January transfer window: Kevin-Prince Boateng in shock Barcelona loan deal

The former Frankfurt forward has moved on loan until the end of the season. Meanwhile, Florian Kainz has joined Cologne from Bremen, Stuttgart have broken their club transfer record and BVB have brought in a defender.

Kevin-Prince Boateng (31) has made a shock loan move to Spanish giants Barcelona until the end of the season.

The Berlin-born Ghanaian international has been under contract at Italian side Sassuolo since leaving German

Cup winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer but the La Liga club have signed the forward on loan until the end of the season - an agreement which includes an €8 million($9 million) option to buy. Journeyman Boateng has played in all of Europeʼs top four leagues, including spells at Hertha Berlin, Tottenham Hotspur, AC Milan, Schalke and Las Palmas. January 18 Florian Kainz has left Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for second division Cologne.