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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Journalists go to court over Germanyʼs ʼunrestrictiveʼ surveillance laws Press groups have argued that Germanyʼs surveillance laws are unconstitutional as they allow foreign reporters to be monitored. The case is raising awareness on social media under the slogan "No trust, no news."

Germanyʼs Constitutional Court is reviewing the legality of the governmentʼs surveillance capabilities, after several journalists and rights activists lodged a complaint arguing that the law allows for the "virtually unrestricted" monitoring of foreign reporters. The complaint aims to strip the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), the countryʼs intelligence agency, of its powers to mass surveil foreign journalistsʼ communications, said Frank Überall, chairman of theGerman Federation of Journalists (DJV).

Kenya: Huge crowds at opposition leaderʼs ʼswearing inʼ ceremony Kenya opposition leader Raila Odinga has sworn himself in as "president of the people." The government responded by declaring the oppositionʼs ʼNational Resistance Movementʼ a criminal group. Opposition leader Raila Odinga took an oath of office as what Kenyaʼs opposition coalition has named the "president of the people." "I, Raila Omolo Odinga, do swear that I will protect the nation as peopleʼs president, so help me God," he said. His running mate Kalonzo Musyoka who was supposed to be sworn in as his deputy did not appear at Odingaʼs side. Thousands of opposition supporters had gathered in Nairobiʼs Uhuru Park on Tuesday for the staged "inauguration." Authorities had initially warned the opposition to not gather in the park, but security forces remained at a distance and allowed the ceremony to go ahead. Following the ceremony, the government issued a notice, declaring the oppositionʼs National Resistance Movement illegal.

30/2018 • 06, FEBRUARY 2018

Silvio Berlusconi warns of migrant social bomb in Italy Italyʼs infamous former leader denounced a series of drive-by shootings carried out by a neo-Fascist

He said that "irregular" migrants had to be deported by a new government ahead of March 4 elections.

Ex-Italianpremier Silvio Berlusconisaid on Monday that Italians were "not racist" as he promoted his plan to deport over 600,000 migrants.

Berlusconiʼs comments came after a far-right supportershot and wounded six migrantsin the central town of Macerata, crimes that were fueled by the murder of a local woman, allegedly by an African migrant.

Twin crimes: What we know so far- On Saturday, a Nigerian man was arrested over the murder of an 18-year-old Macerata resident. Her body had been found dismembered in suitcases. - The same day, neoFascist Luca Traini, 28, wounded five men and one woman from Ghana, Mali and Nigeria in drive-by shootings. He told police the news of the 18-year-old girlʼs death made him want to "kill them all."

Traini shouted "Viva Italia" or "Long live Italy" as he carried out his crimes. A raid of his motherʼs home found right-wing literature, including Adolf Hitlerʼs "Mein Kampf" and works by Benito Mussolini. He is also a member of the far-right Northern League party.

- Interior Minister Marco Minniti has said that Traini was part of a larger xenophobic network, and motivated by "racial hatred." Italy has struggled to deal with the great amount of refugees fleeing war, poverty and famine arriving on its shores from northern Africa. About 119,000 people landed in 2017, a 35 percent increase on 2016. "There is very widespread social anxiety stemming from the presence in Italy of huge numbers of irregular migrants," Berlusconi told RAI, calling migration "a real social bomb ready to explode, because these migrants live off expedients and crimes." Berlusconi also reiterated his plan to deport "at least 630,000 irregulars." He added that Italians were "not racist," but merely wanted to "live and work peacefully." Matteo Salvini, leader of the Northern League and an ally of Berlusconiʼs, said that an "invasion of migrants" was to blame for the "social clash."

Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni of the center-left Democratic Party (PD), promised however that "violence will not divide us."

India: 63 million women statistically ʼmissing,ʼ 21 million unwanted The Indian government says sexselective abortions and a neglect of girls have resulted in millions of statistically "missing" women. Despite the numbers, some gender equality indicators have improved for women.

An Indian government report presented to parliament on Monday has found that about 63 million women are statistically "missing" from Indiaʼs population, due to a preference for male children. The survey, presented with a pink cover, included a chapter on womenʼs issues for the first time with the slogan #MeToo in recognition of the global campaign against sexual harassment. A sex ratio of 943 females per 1,000 males has led to the identification of some 63 million "missing" women, the annual economic survey found. The survey reported the reason for the figures was largely because of sex-selective abortions, better nutrition and medical care for boys and that "families where a son is born are more likely to stop having children than families where a girl is born."

German authorities carry out massive raid targeting illegal work racket Raids across the populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia have broken up an organized crime network involved in illegal employment at construction sites. Hundreds of construction companies are believed to be involved. Hundreds of German police and agents with a special customs task force took part in early-morning raids on Tuesday to bust the organizers and backers of a massive network of illegal, off-the-books construction jobs.

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30/2018 • 06, February 2018

Westjet, Sunwing planes collide on the ground at Toronto airport A Westjet plane arriving from Cancun was hit by a Sunwing aircraft at Toronto airport, prompting the Westjet passengers to evacuate via emergency slides. The other plane was reportedly empty. Two planes collided after landing at Toronto Pearson Airport, starting a small fire and forcing all 168 passengers on one of the planes to leave via the emergency slides. No passengers or crew members were injured, but one member of the emergency services was treated in hospital, officials said late on Friday. The Boeing 737, operated

by Westjet, had landed from Cancun, Mexico, and was waiting to approach the gate, when it was "struck" by a Sunwing plane, Westjet said. No crew or passengers were aboard the Sunwing aircraft, as it was hauled away from the terminal by ground crew.

Record snowfall hits Moscow Downing thousands of trees

Ousted Venezuelan opposition leader escapes house arrest, flees to Spain

Freezing rain and heavy snow have killed one person in Moscow and downed over 2,000 trees. Over half a meter of snow blanketed the Russian capital by Monday morning in what was already dubbed a "snowfall of the century."

Ousted Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma has likened his escape to a film. He plans to take the fight against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro abroad.

Moscow authorities said coming to school was "optional" on Monday as the Russian capital was bracing for more snow and icy weather following the record-breaking snowfall. Some 25 incoming flights were redirected to other Russian cities and over 100 delayed following the weekend storm, which tested even the limits of the famously icy metropolis. Freezing rain accompanied by 43 centime-

The ousted opposition mayor of Caracas arrived in Spain on Saturday after orchestrating a daring escape from house arrest in Venezuela.

Antonio Ledezma landed in Madrid from Bogota, Colombia, where he arrived a day earlier after slipping across the border.

He was greeted by his wife and two daughters who live in Spain.

Ledezma said he planned to organize resistance from abroad to President Nicolas Maduro, under whose rule millions of Venezuelans have suffered from shortages of food and other basic supplies.

"I am going to travel the world to spread the hope of all Venezuelans to escape this regime, this dictatorship," Ledezma said.

The 62-year-old opposition figure was removed as mayor of Caracas and arrested in 2015 on allegations he sought to topple Maduro. He was later put under house arrest due to health issues.

Ledezma was one of the opposition leaders who led protests against the government in 2014, which also resulted in the arrest of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. He remains under house arrest.

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Argentina navy loses contact with submarine with 44 crew on board No one has heard from an Argentinian submarine for at least two days. While authorities initially insisted it wasnʼt missing, Argentinaʼs navy has stepped up its search efforts. Argentinaʼs navy lost contact with one of its submarines and its 44 crew members, it announced on Friday. Although the German-built ARA San Juan has been out of contact for two days, the navy initially did not consider it lost. "Itʼs not that itʼs lost, because to be lost, you have to look for it and not find it," the navy told a local broadcaster. However, after an initial search operation in the submarineʼs last known position, around 430 kilometers (267miles) off the southeastern

ters (17 inches) of snow blanketed the capital within 24 hours. It was the heaviest day of snowfall to hit the Russian capital since the countryʼs weather records began, Russiaʼs meteorological service said. By Monday morning, the blanket of snow thickened to 55 centimeters.

Officials urged Moscow drivers not to take their cars on the streets, in order to ease the job for snowcleaning crews.

Valdez peninsula, bore no results, Argentina said it was stepping up its search efforts and calling on allies for help. "We have not been able to find, or have visual or radar communication with the submarine," navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters at a news conference. "I donʼt want to dramatize the issue. Weʼre lacking communication and donʼt know what happened."

The incident has formally been upgraded to a "search and rescue" operation, Balbi added.

Cambodia charges 2 journalists with espionage The arrests are the latest in a widening crackdown on media and the opposition in Cambodia ahead of elections next year. The move further

Australia shutters Papua New Guinea detention center Around 600 asylum seekers have refused to leave the facility, citing fears of attacks from locals. Australian lawmakers have warned of a "humanitarian emergency" when authorities in Papua New Guinea shut off the water.

Private security staff at a controversial Australian detention center in Papua New Guinea left the facility for the first time in years on Tuesday ahead of its expected closure.

The facility formed an integral part ofAustraliaʼs expensive offshore detention programknown as "Sovereign Borders." However, Papua New Guineaʼs Supreme Court ruled that the facility is unconstitutional and needed to be closed. Some 600 asylum seekers residing at the facility have refused to leave, saying the alternatives provided are less secure.

Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said the campʼs closure would proceed, and that the asylum seekers have access to temporary residences nearby. "All have been informed for a considerable period of time that there is safe and secure alternate accommodation where health and other services will be maintained," Dutton told Reuters news agency in an emailed statement.

strains ties between the United States and Cambodia. Two Cambodian journalists who worked for a US-funded radio station were charged with espionage on Saturday, the latest move in a widening crackdown on critics of authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Uon Chhin and Yeang Socheameta, former journalists of the Washington-based Radio Free Asia, were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly providing information to a foreign power. The offense carries up to 15-years in prison. Radio Free Asiaʼs Phnom Penh bureau closed its office in September, citing "intimidation" and threats that it was violating tax and registration regulations. The Cambodia Daily newspaper reported the two journalists were accused of setting up broadcasting equipment in the capital and sending news reports to Radio Free Asiaʼs Washington bureau.

30/2018 • 06, February 2018

Ryanair recognizes pilotsʼ union for first time Ryanair has officially signed a deal to recognize a British pilotsʼ union, the first recognition of a union in the history of the carrier. But it remains unclear whether more deals with other unions will follow.

Irish budget airline Ryanair on Tuesday announced it would allow Britainʼs pilotsʼ association to start negotiating on issues such as pay and holidaysafter the carrier recognized a trade union for the first time in its 32year history. Europeʼs largest low-cost airline was forced last year to put the recognition of unions on the agenda in order to avoid a strike over Christmas after it had to cancel 20,000 flights earlier in the year due to a shortage of standby pilots. "Given Ryanairʼs previous hostility toward unions, todayʼs agreement is an historic one," said the

How #MeToo affects the Golden Globes With sexual harassment cases in the backdrop, the Golden Globes are set to launch Hollywoodʼs annual awards season. A black-dress protest will be held — but "men in black" are accused of slacktivism.

Hollywoodʼs biggest pre-Oscars prize-giving ceremony takes place on January 7. It is the first major award ceremony since the start of the #MeToo movement and showcases an industry which, after operating for decades under the motto "sex sells," is having to reinvent itself. Organized by the 90-member Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), a total of 25 prizes are up for grabs on Sunday — 14 in film and 11 in television — at the Golden Globes awards ceremony.

But the mood in Los Angeles in the wake of widespread sexual harassment claims is rather heavy. As was the case two years ago with the #Oscarssowhite campaign, social media was a driving force in this new reality check for Hollywood. Even before the launch of Hollywoodʼs annual awards season, the fallout of the scandal has already managed to change the face of the industry in various ways — and appears to be set to do so for the foreseeable future.

general secretary of the British Airline Pilotsʼ Association (BALPA), Brian Strutton. "While we were initially skeptical about Ryanairʼs sincerity in offering recognition to us […] our conversations and meetings with them have shown that they are genuine in wanting a constructive trade union relationship," Strutton added.Ryanair is also negotiating withother European unions who have demanded to meet collectively with the carrier, saying that individual talks were unsatisfactory. The airline has so far refused those demands.

Is the Czech Republic moving closer to China and Russia?

The re-election of President Milos Zeman is seen by some as a sign that the Czech Republic will strengthen ties with Russia and China. Is the country headed toward a rift with the European Union? The leaders of Russia and China were among the first to heartily congratulate Milos Zeman onhis re-election to a second termas the president of the Czech Republic last week. Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Zemanʼs "authority," and Chinese

President Xi Jinping emphasized the "strategic partnership between China and the Czech Republic." In terms of statements, no other head of state or government in the EU has been as eager over the last several years to pledge a desire to improve cooperation with Russia. Last fall, he told a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that sanctions against Russia were "destructive and ineffective," and called the annexation of Crimea a "done deal."

Authorities take precautions as rivers across Germany continue to flood Snowmelt in the Alps and volatile weather patterns have caused rivers across Germany to burst their banks. Europeʼs most important shipping routes have been closed off to traffic, with some areas facing evacuation. Days of heavy rain and melting snow have caused water levels of the Rhine, Moselle and Danube rivers in Germany to rise, with authorities warning flooding is likely to continue through the weekend. The Rhine in the countryʼs southwest has witnessed a particular surge in recent days after the Eleanor weather pattern brought rainstorms to the entire continent.

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30/2018 • 06, February 2018

Can the ad industry become sustainable?

A look at an entrepreneur who wants to revolutionize the ad industry. Andrea Henao is a former advertising executive who left the corporate world to found her own business — a boutique ad agency that vets its clients. ndrea Henao wants to change the ad industry. Two years ago, the Berlinbased French entrepreneur founded an ad agency that only works with sustainable brands. I met Henao in her offices, not too far from the Berlin’s notorious Alexanderplatz.

The premises are decorated with secondhand furniture that she bought online, and art pieces collected and made with friends and colleagues. While showing me around, she shared the stories about the furniture and art.

Henao understands the importance of stories. And she knows just how brands come up with stories that appeal to customers with certain values.

With rising consumer awareness about environmental issues and labor practices, brands increasingly emphasize ecological footprint and employee working conditions. Unfortunately, ad campaigns do not always tell the truth — they exaggerate, embellish and lie. And this is something Henau wants to change. "We really believe that we are responsible for the ad that we promote, hence we promote exclusively sustainable brands," she tells me. The ad industry has yet to play a significant role in ensuring brands tell the truth.The onus to reveal false claims has generally fallen on activists, consumer groups and the media. But Henao believes advertisers can play a bigger role.

US December job creation disappoints The US has added fewer jobs lately than expected by labor market experts, fresh government figures have shown. The overall unemployment rate held steady at a 17-year low in the worldʼs largest economy.

The US economyʼs job creation ability decreased in December 2017 despite solid hiring in the manufacturing and construction sectors, government data showed Friday. While theunemployment rate remained unchanged at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent, employers across the nation added just 148,000 jobs in the final month of last year. The figure was far below expectations of 200,000 new positions and even below the sluggish 155,000 jobs reported in December 2016. Economists had been more optimistic especially after payroll services firm ADP said Thursday that private hiring experienced a boost in the final four weeks of December 2017.

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Turkeyʼs Erdogan criticizes EU leaders for lack of support, especially against terror Turkish President Erdogan has insisted in an interview that Turkey should still join the EU. The comments came despite mounting pressure against the Turkish leaderʼs human rights record and his intervention in Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the Italian La Stampa newspaper in an interview that he still expects the European Union to eventually admit Turkey as a full member, stressing that "we wonʼt accept any other solution." "Turkey has done everything it needed to do to fulfill criteria for entry into the European Union," Erdogan

Germany bans sale of childsnooping smartwatches

A German regulator has banned the sale of childrenʼs smartwatches that have one-way monitoring functions.

Officials said parents had been using the watches to listen in on teachers while their children were in class.

Certain smartwatches for children can no longer be sold in Germany as some of these models are equipped with a "wiretapping" function, a regulator said on Friday Germanyʼs Federal Network Agency, orBundesnetzagentur, announced the ban saying that these watches can be classed as "unauthorized transmitters." "According to our investigations, parents were using the watches, for example, to listen in on teachers during class," said Bundesnetzagentur President Jochen Homann. Germany Germany bans sale of child-snooping smartwatches A German regulator has banned the sale of childrenʼs smartwatches that have one-way monitoring functions.

Officials said parents had been using the watches to listen in on teachers while their children were in class.

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Norwegian wealth fund plans to divest of oil and gas Norwayʼs trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund is proposing to drop oil and gas companies from its holdings, saying it already has enough exposure to the industry and wants to protect against fluctuating oil prices. Oslo is set to decide in the fall of 2018 on backing a proposal from the countryʼs sovereign wealth fund —the worldʼs biggest— to cut oil and gas companies from its benchmark index.

In a letter to the government, the Norwegian central bank, which manages the fund, said on Thursday that the move would make Norway "less vulnerable to a lasting decline in oil prices." "This advice is based exclusively on financial arguments and analyses of the governmentʼs total oil and gas exposure," the bankʼs deputy governor Egil Matsen said in a statement. "It does not reflect any particular view of future movements in oil and gas prices or the profitability or sustainability of the oil and gas sector," he added.

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told the newspaper, adding that according to his view, the EU was responsible for blocking Turkeyʼs accession process by blaming the country for a lack of progress. "I call on the EU to remove these artificial obstacles to our membership, and to be more constructive. Internal politics should not stand in the way of the accession process."

ThyssenKrupp steelworkers back merger with Tata Steel

Workers at German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp have voted in favor of a labor agreement that will safeguard jobs and plants in the wake of a proposed joint venture with Indiaʼs Tata Steel.

A vote among ThyssenKruppʼs 20,500 steelworkers saw 92.2 percent of them accept an agreement — struck just before Christmas — which foresees no forced layoffs or major site closures until September 30, 2026, Germanyʼs metalworkersʼ union IG Metall announced on Monday. In September, ThyssenKrupp and Indiaʼs Tata Steel unveiled plans to merge their European steel operationsand forge Europeʼs secondlargest steel group after ArcelorMittal, a move which has led to fears over significant job cuts. The two companies said the deal would help them to tackle overcapacity in Europeʼs steel market, which faces cheap imports — mainly from China — subdued construction demand and inefficient legacy plants. They have already announced 4,000 job cuts as part of the tie-up, with 2,000 steelworkers planned to be made redundant in Germany.

30/2018 • 06, February 2018

Car exhaust monkey test backfires on VW, German carmakers Carmakers wanted test results kept secret

Daimler says it too has suspended an official implicated in a 2015 diesel exhaust test on monkeys, following VWʼs suspension of its chief lobbyist.

Germanyʼs Bild newspaper cited a 58page US laboratory report and accompanying emails Wednesday indicating that a VW Beetleʼs exhaust fumes piped to monkeys inside cabinets over four hours were worse than exhaust gases from a Ford pickup truck. The result was the opposite, said Bild, of what the sincedisbanded European Research Group on Environment and Health in the

Transport Sector (EUGT) had expected from the testing at Albuquerque in the US state of New Mexico. The newer Beetle, allegedly fitted with "defeat" software to obscure its motorʼs nitrogen oxide output, was supposed to emerge "cleaner" and "healthier." Instead, monkeys who inhaled VW fumes showed a higher degree of bronchial inflammation in blood and endoscope samples.

in registry of births, court rules An intersex person has won a court case to allow them to enter a third gender into the registry of births.

The case was appealed to the Federal Constitutional Court after failing at lower levels.

Germanyʼs Federal Constitutional Court on Wednesday called for a third gender option in the registry of births. Intersex people, who are neither male nor female, should be able to register their sexual identity as such, the Karlsruhe court ruled. The court found that the general right to the protection of personality in Germanyʼs Basic Law meant the register had to be altered to allow a third gender. The court ruled seven to one that lawmakers must create new legislation by the end of 2018 to allow for a third sex, providing the examples of "intersex," "diverse" or another "positive designation of sex." Another possibility raised was to scrap gender entries altogether. "Assignment to a gender is of paramount importance for individual identity; it typically plays a key role both in the selfimage of a person and in the way in which the person concerned is perceived by others. The gender identity of those persons who are neither male nor female is protected,"the court ruled.

Melinda Dovák: Layers of reality KUBIK Coworking

Teachers for AI — can robots create more jobs than they retire?

While headway in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry has many worried about potential jobs losses, others see this as a perfect opportunity to nurture an economy that is completely human-based.

Workers can spend anywhere from 5 minutes to 40 hours a week going through simple tasks on a smartphone, making AI all over the world more intelligent and efficient. By building platforms and crowd sourcing a large supply of workers, the companies that train AI were smart to realize the data needed could be processed by anyone with steady access to the internet. From this developed companies like Clickwork, Neurala,

and Alegion Inc., which utilize "human taggers" to push AI education.

With over a million "clickworkers" signed up, thereʼs an estimated 100,000 people logged on at this very moment, sifting through droves of information and lending a human touch to robot training. "Staring at security cameras or an airport scanner, remote-controlling a robot, driving trucks up and down a mine did not exist as jobs until recently," says Massimiliano Versace, CEO of Neurala, "and will probably not exist as jobs occupying a full-time human as they are today. Humans were created to do much more complicated and elevated tasks than watching videos 24/7."

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Germany must allow third gender

The synthesis that comes from mixing styles can result in endless new meanings, and this is what Melinda Dovák explores through her paintings. Using different techniques, she projects several sides of herself and her state of being on the canvas. This way she aims to depict a more complete, objective reality. This is the young artist’s first independent exhibition, which will also be a sort of summary of her university works showing her experiments and development from step to step.

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Culture

New Hungarian film Aurora Borealis now screens in Budapest Becoming a mother is a miraculous time in a woman’s life. However, there are certain scenarios when the arrival of a newcomer is not entirely wonderful news. The new motion picture by eminent Hungarian director Márta Mészáros, Aurora Borealis, tells a touching tale, taking viewers back in time in Hungary and leaving them reaching for the Kleenex.

The story has two timelines. One transports viewers back to a western Hungarian village in 1953, where a descendant of an aristocratic family, Ákos, falls for a village girl, Mari. They try to escape to Austria together, but unfortunately with no success, and after being harassed by soldiers, Mari has to start a new life alone and pregnant in occupied Vienna. The other storyline is in the present, unfolding the events through the recollections of old Mari, now a pensioner living in her old village.

One day she gets a letter from Russia and falls into a coma. Her daughter Olga, a lawyer living alone in Vienna, comes back to care for her. Suspecting something about her mother’s past isn’t quite right, she starts investigating. This is only a fraction of the story, as anything else would be a major spoiler. However, even the trailer foretells that Olga’s dad might not be who she thinks after all.

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30/2018 • 06, February 2018

IOC concerned over possible design flaws of doping test bottles

The International Olympic Committee says it is concerned about potential flaws in doping sample bottles.

The organization wants assurances that the bottles cannot be tampered with ahead of the Winter Olympics.

After potential issues with the security of the bottles were aired, the IOC has asked the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to ensure that antidoping tests at the forthcoming Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang "can be conducted credibly and reliably," an International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson said Tuesday.

Formula One to stop using grid girls amid #MeToo movement

Grid girls have long been a staple of Formula One but the sportʼs new owners have decided to end the practice, days after darts did the same with its walk-on girls. The concept has often been labeled as sexist. Formula One will no longer use walk-on grid girls before races this season, after deciding the practice is oldfashioned amid the current debate oversexual harassment. "Over the last year we have looked at a number of areas which we felt needed updating so as to be more in tune with our vision for this great sport," Sean Bratches, Managing Director of Commercial Operations at Formula One, said in a statement.

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Athletics doping: IOC confident over Russia doping reform plans International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach believes Russia will resolve its doping issues and field athletes at next yearʼs Rio Games.

Russia was provisionally suspendedfrom world athletics after an independent World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) report alleged "state-sponsored doping". Bach met with his Russian Olympic Committee counterpart Alexander Zhukov to discuss the report. He said he was "confident" in the measures put forward by the ROC. Council members of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on Friday voted 22-1 in favour of Russia being banned. As it stands, Russian athletes may not enter international competitions, including the World Athletic Series and Rio Olympics, which begin on 5 August next year. Russia will also not be entitled to host the 2016 World Race Walking Cup in Cheboksary and the 2016 World Junior Championships in Kazan. "We are confident that the initiatives being proposed by the ROC, with the responsible international organisations - Wada and the IAAF - will ensure compliance as soon as possible in order to provide participation of the clean Russian athletes at the Olympic Games," said IOC president Bach.

Lindsey Vonn completes Garmisch hat-trick with 80th World Cup win Vonnʼs time was just good enough to claim victory by two thousandths of a second

With the winter Olympics just days away, US ski sensation Lindsey Vonn claimed the 80th World Cup win of her career on Saturday as she won the downhill at Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the third straight year.

Vonn clocked a time of 1 min 12.84sec, just 0.02 secs faster than overall World Cup downhill leader Sofia Goggia, while Austriaʼs Cornelia Hütter finished third. "Itʼs a big number," said Vonn of her 80th victory. "I remember when I got my 50th win here, I never thought I would get close to Annemarie Moser-Proellʼs record [of 62 wins].

Now I am getting closer to Sten-

markʼs. Itʼs incredible. I am so thankful that I have gotten myself in a position to get these wins coming into the Olympics." The 33-year-old is now just six World Cup wins short of matching Ingemar Stenmarkʼs all-time alpine record and will race again in Sundayʼs downhill race, the final tune-up before the Olympics open in Pyeongchang on Thursday.

Germany midfielder Mesut Özil signs new Arsenal deal After much uncertainty, the Germany World Cup winner has committed to Arsenal and will reportedly be paid €398,000 a week. He was linked with other clubs but has opted to stay after Arsenalʼs recent transfer moves.

Amid all thecomings and goings at Arsenal, one man is staying put until 2021 and that might end up being the best bit of news for fans of the London club. Media reports say Germanyʼs Mesut Özil signed a new deal that runs until 2021 on transfer

deadline day, seeminglyruling out a departureat the end of the season, when his previous deal was due to run out. Reports say his new Arsenal contract is worth a whopping €398,000 ($495,000) a week, making him the clubʼs highest paid player ever. Özil at his majestic best is hard to beat, perfect passes, great control and ocassionally wonderful finishes. But even his biggest fans at Arsenal will concede he has not done it often enough, too often drifting out of games.