title

DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Ukraineʼs comedian candidate skips presidential debate Leading Ukrainian presidential candidate and actorVolodymyr Zelensky failed to show up to a debate with the incumbent candidate, President Petro Poroshenko (pictured above), on Sunday. The candidates are facing each other in a runoff election, which has seen Zelensky, a professional comedian,take a comfortable leadover Poroshenko. But Zelensky has yet to shed light on his policy positions. "I do not like that a presidential campaign in Ukraine looks like a silent movie," Poroshenko said while standing next to an empty podium bearing Zelenskyʼs name at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv. "I must say: Ukraineʼs fate is in danger." Poroshenko took Zelenskyʼs absence as an opportunity to bolster his image. He sang an altered version of a Ukrainian folk song about a no-show date: "You told me on Sunday — Weʼll go to the debate together / I came, you didnʼt — You tricked me, let me down."

Philippines: Tests confirm death of ISlinked chief Abu Dar Officials in the Philippines on Sunday confirmed the death of Owaida Marohombsar, who went by the nom de guerre of Abu Dar, after DNA tests carried out by US authorities. Marohombsar was one of few leaders to survive a2017 attack on the city of Marawi, where he managed to escaped with large amounts of cash looted during the siege.

Philippines authorities feared he would use the wealth to rebuild the Dawla Islamiya group, an alliance of pro-Islamic State (IS) fighters. · Manila confirmed the Islamist leader as one of four insurgents killed in a clash with the Philippine military in March. · The Philippines hailed the killing as a significant development that would hamper efforts by IS to establish a presence in the region.

87/2019 • 15 APRIL, 2019

Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram down across US, Europe, Asia Social media users have been struggling to access their favorite platforms due to site outages

A similar interruption last month that affected millions of people was blamed on a cyberattack.

For the second time in a month, Facebook was not loading for millions of users in the northeastern US, Europe and parts of Asia on Sunday.

Downdetector.com, a website that monitors site outages, showed the social media giant went down at 12:30 p.m. CEST (1030 UTC) in much of the world. At one point, the site registered more than 14,000 outage reports from users, which is believed to represent just a fraction of those affected. The website also showed that WhatsApp and Instagram — both owned by Facebook — also experienced severe outages around the same time. Read more: EU hails social media crackdown on hate speech It showed the WhatsApp and Instagram issues were relatively lower by a count of outage reports from users. ʼWeʼre sorryʼ Hours later, the services were restored, according to a Facebook spokesperson.

"Earlier today, some people may have experienced the trouble connecting to the family of apps. The issue has since been resolved, weʼre sorry for any inconvenience," a spokesman told the Reuters news agency. It was not immediately clear what caused the outage. The hashtags #FacebookDown, #instagramdown and #whatsappdown were all trending on Twitter globally on Sunday. Read more: Assessing WhatsAppʼs 5 years with Facebook Frequent occurrences Facebook has more than 1.52 billion daily active users, according to its website. Last month, the social media giant experienced one of its longest ever outages, when millions of users around the globe faced trouble accessing the site, along with Instagram and WhatsApp for more than 24 hours. Facebook blamed the previous outage on a hack.

Finland PM admits his party are ʼbiggest losersʼ in election Finlandʼs prime minister Juha Sipila offered congratulations to the opposition after his Center Party suffered heavily at the polls on Sunday.

The outcome would appear to give Social Democratic leader Antti Rinne, a former finance minister, the task of finding coalition partners to form the first left-leaning government in two decades. What do the polls say?

The opposition center-left Social Democratic Party was expected to emerge top, with 18.9% support after about half of the votes were counted.The conservative National Coalition Party, which is in the outgoing center-right governing coalition, was garnering 17.2% of the vote by mid-count.Prime Minister Juha Sipilaʼs Center Party initially looked set to clinch third place with 15.4%.The nationalist True Finns party, which had been tipped for third place, was on about 15%.

Libya death toll rising, says UN At least 121 people have died in clashes betweenrival militias fighting for control of Libyaʼs capital,the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday. The WHO said in a tweet that 561 others had been wounded since commander Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive earlier this month to take Tripoli, which is currently controlled by a UN-backed government.

weather today BUDAPEST

8 / 15 °C Precipitation: 0 mm

87/2019 • 15 April, 2019

German teachers fined for treating wasp sting with heated fork Two teachers at a school in the western German state of Hesse were fined for causing bodily harm with their questionable home remedy for a studentʼs wasp sting.

The incident occurred during a school trip to a youth hostel in the neighboring state of RhinelandPalatinate in May 2017, when a 14-year-old student was stung by a wasp. In response, a 39-year-old male teacher heated the handle of a fork with a lighter and pressed it on the boyʼs hand where heʼd been stung. After a blister formed, another 40-year-old female teacher cut it open and treated the wound with cream. The studentʼs lawyer said that as a result of the sting, the boy had to wear a protective glove for a considerable period of time. The German daily Bild newspaper reported that the boyʼs hand became infected and that he wasnʼt able to attend an internship as a result. A district court in Cochem fined the male teacher €2,700 ($3,160) for causing bodily harm.

The female teacher was also fined €2,500 ($2,900) for both assisting and causing bodily harm to the student.

Dutch shipbuilder in dock over North Koreanʼs Polish slave claims The first case in the Netherlands of worker exploitation involving a Dutch company for alleged crimes committed outside the country could be nearing an end in the coming weeks, lawyers said, and if successful may open the door to more such cases. Barbara van Straaten, the lawyer representing a North Korean worker, said Dutch law criminalizes the act of profiting from exploitation. The name of the Dutch shipping company sued by the worker couldnʼt be disclosed for safety reasons, she added. Under the countryʼs anti-trafficking law, offenders can be jailed for up to 18 years and face fines of €83,000 ($95,000). The plaintiff claims he was sent to Poland by the Pyongyang regime and forced to work12-hour days for low wages in awful conditions. The lawyer did not say when this happened. Van Straatenʼs Amsterdam-based law firm, Prakken dʼOliveira, said the North Korean worked for the Polish company Crist. Crist received financial assistance from the European Regional Development Fund, a loan of €37 million in 2009.

2

Slovakia takes a stand against Orban-style populism Zuzana Caputova has been elected president of Slovakia, by a large majority

Her win highlights a trend in the region that has received little attention to date: the desire to put an end to populism and demagoguery.

The majority of her compatriots had never heard of her a few months ago.

At the start of the year, when opinion polls indicated that she was gaining support, government politicians started vilifying her: as a candidate whose "orientation" was "not normal," an "extremist liberal," the "product of media marketing," an "inexperienced girl." Now she has actually done it: The 45-year-old lawyer, civil rights activist, and political novice Zuzana Caputova has been elected the next president of Slovakia — the first woman ever to

Syria blames Israel for ʼattack on Damascus airportʼ Israel launched missiles at a target near the Syrian capital of Damascus, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on Sunday. "Our air defenses responded to an Israeli missile attack on Damascus international airport and shot down a number of hostile missiles," said a military source cited by Syriaʼs SANA news agency. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an independent war monitor that relies on a network of on-the-ground sources, said the missiles had targeted an arms depot near the airport,likely used by Iranian forces or the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

History of attacks An Israeli Defense

lead her country. One year afterthe murder of the investigative journalist Jan Kuciakand his fiancee Martina Kusnirova, her victory sends a clear signal that the vast majority of Slovaks want fundamental change. They are demanding that theirs become a "respectable country" — the motto of many of its civil rights activists.

The election result makes this very clear: Zuzana Caputova won about 60 percent of the vote, which put her some 20 percentage points ahead of her rival Maros Sefcovic, the EU Commissioner for the Energy Union.

Forces (IDF) spokeswoman said Israel does not comment on reports by foreign media. However,it would not be the first time Israel has targeted assets on Syrian soil. Earlier this month, an Israeli official said the IDF has hit more than 200 Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria.

World Bank offers financial assistance to disaster-hit Indonesia The World Bank announced Sunday it would provide up to $1 billion (€860 million) in loans to the Indonesian government to help relief and reconstruction efforts in areas hit

Germany ready to ʼhelp Iraq back on its feetʼ German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Iraq on Saturday to discuss her countryʼs intention to develop its military assistance program in the country. Von der Leyen said that followingthe "Islamic State" militant groupʼs military defeat in Iraq, it is time to move forward with other endeavors, includingstabilization and reconstruction. "Now it is important to shape and protect the reconstruction of the country under a new mandate," said von der Leyen.

"Germany is ready to continue helping Iraq get back on its feet. That is why I am here." ʼOther forms of engagementʼ In February, von der Leyen saidthe role of the Bundeswehr — Germanyʼs armed forces — needed to evolveto meet the "needs of Iraq." At the time, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Baghdad wanted a "commitment from Germany" for "other forms of engagement," including training and logistics. Since 2014, Germany has provided Iraq withmore than €1 billion ($1.16 billion) in humanitarian and development aid, making the Middle Eastern country one of the largest recipients of German foreign assistance.

by recent earthquakes and a tsunami.

Kristalina Georgieva, the bankʼs CEO, unveiled the funds in Bali during its annual meeting. "Disasters will continue to hit, and with climate change there will be more," said Georgieva, who earlier visited Palu City, which was hit by a 7.5magnitude quake and a resulting tsunami last month. "The best memorial we can build for the victims of disaster is to build better, so next time when a disaster hits, fewer people are affected, fewer lives are lost, and there is less damage," she added. Indonesia sits on one of the most tectonically active parts of the world, and is prone to earthquakes as well as occasional tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. On Saturday, torrential rains triggered flash floods and landslides on the island of Sumatra, killing 27 people, including a dozen school children.

87/2019 • 15 April, 2019

Daimler: New emissions cheating software discovered An unknown "illegal defeat device" was found in one of the carmakerʼs Mercedes models, a German newspaper reports. The countryʼs auto sector is struggling to restore its reputation following the Dieselgate scandal.

German automaker Daimler on Sunday faced fresh allegations of emissions cheating after revelations about a previously unknown manipulation software were made public. The countryʼs vehicle regulator has begun a formal investigation after discovering a new device in the companyʼs Mercedes-Benz model GLK 220 CDI, the Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported. According to Bild, the investigation is focusing on another "illegal defeat device" installed in around 60,000 vehicles produced between 2012 and 2015 with the exhaust emis-

Grief and shock, but ʼstill homeʼ in Christchurch the day after terror attacks Abbas Nazari first arrived in Christchurch as a child refugee from Afghanistan. He and his family were taken in after the international sea rescue standoff in 2001, known as the Tampa Affair. New Zealand gave them and fellow Afghans "a home, a place, a future, hope," he said. Now itʼs where they have also experienced terrorism. Read more: ʼStand together,ʼ urges New Zealandʼs human rights commissioner On Saturday, Nazari turned out to support the dozens of people at an emergency response center set up for friends and relatives of the victims of Fridayʼsdeadly terror attacks on two of the cityʼs mosques.

Guarded by armed police, the center, along with a nearby site where people gathered to lay flowers and tributes, were busy locations in a city that was otherwise subdued. Nazari told DW that everyone in Christchurchʼs small, tight-knit Afghan community knew someone who was in the hospital or had died.

He said he came out to help them coordinate relief efforts.

sion standard 5. Bild reported that regulators discovered the controversial software in late 2018. It said further emissions tests with a GLK model then confirmed their suspicion. The paper said the European Unionʼs emissions limit of 180 milligrams of nitrogen oxide per kilometer was clearly exceeded once the software was deactivated during the tests. Software has been updated Bild said the newly-discovered cheating software had been subsequently removed secretly during software updates by Daimler.

George Clooney calls for Brunei-owned luxury hotel boycott over anti-gay laws

George Clooney used a guest column in the online magazine Deadline to call on fellow celebrities to boycott the nine hotels of the Dorchester Collection, owned by the Sultan of Bruneiʼs Investment Agency.

They include The Beverly Hills Hotel in California and the Dorchester on Londonʼs Park Lane.Next week, on April 3, a harsh interpretation of

the Sharia, the Islamic penal code, is to be imposed on the 428,000 people who live in the tiny, oil-rich state on the island of Borneo in the South China Sea. The laws include penalties for gay sex of stoning offenders to death. The 72-year-old Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has described the implementation as "a great achievement."

Italy probes death of Silvio Berlusconi ʼbunga bungaʼ sex trial witness Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into the death of Imane Fadil, a Moroccan-born model who testified in one of the inquiries linked to former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconiʼs "bunga bunga" parties. Fadil, 34, died in Milanʼs Humanitas hospital on March 1. She had been undergoing treatment since January 29 for symptoms of poisoning, Milan prosecutor Francesco Greco said, according to the ANSA news agency.

3

87/2019 • 15 April, 2019

Older German diesels face reckoning German government ministers met at Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs offices on Friday to discuss the vexatious diesel question. After years of wrangling, a solution is dearly sought, but what are the realistic options? Is Germanyʼs seemingly never-ending diesel debate edging towards its endgame? On Friday, German government ministers for transport, finance, the economy and the environment met at the offices of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to try and reach an agreement on the thorny subject of how to reduce pollution from diesel cars as quickly as possible. Read more: New analysis reveals deadly scale of diesel emissions Last weekend, German government figures and car manufacturers were in talks over potential hardware retrofits for older diesels, but no deal was reached. With diesel bans allowed in Germany since rulings earlier this year, the debate has entered a decisive phase.Hamburg began a partial ban in May, while Stuttgart,Frankfurtand Düsseldorf are among the other cities expected to follow. Car manufacturers are vehemently opposed to such bans, as they have added to uncertainty over dieselʼs future and hit sales. The debate in the Chancellery once more centered on a few key questions around whether older diesels should be banned outright, retrofitted with new hardware or gradually phased out through incentivized buyback schemes. On top of that is the fundamental issue of who pays to make things better.

Sri Lanka seeks investment, but China questions linger You donʼt need to be an expert on international trade routes to look at a map and understandthat Sri Lankaʼs location is one of potentially serious economic advantage. The island nation — population 22 million — sits at the southern tip of India, almost as close to the Middle East and the Horn of Africa as it is to South East Asia. The value of this location has not been lost on its northern neighbor China.Under Xi Jinpingʼs so-called ʼBelt and Road Initiative,ʼ the Chinese government has pumped billions into Sri Lanka in the form of both foreign investment and loans in recent years. This reliance on Chinese money is part of a longstanding Sri Lankan problem. With a major trade deficit, as well as crippling levels of debt, the country needs foreign money. China has rushed to fill the gap more enthusiastically than anyone else. The current Sri Lankan government came to power in 2015, when it replaced former President Mahinda Rajapaksaʼs administration.

4

Roundup cancer case: Monsanto ordered to pay US man $80 million In a blow to German chemical giant Bayer, a jury has ordered subsidiary Monsanto to pay $80 million to a man who said Roundup weed killer caused his cancer. Monsanto is facing hundreds of similar complaints in the US. A US jury has awarded $80 million (€71 million) in damages to a California man who blamed Roundup weed killer for causing his cancer. The ruling is a blow to German chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer, whose subsidiary Monsanto makes the herbicide. The trial could pave the way for more cases linking Roundupʼs main ingredient, glyphosate, to cancer. The jury in San Franciscodecided earlier this monththat Roundup was a "substantial factor" in the 70-year-old

Can the European Union control Chinaʼs connectivity in Europe?

Last week, the EU announced a proposal for a "new and comprehensive strategy to better connect Europe and Asia." As European countries and industry expand infrastructure and network connections with Asia, and China in particular, the EU is seeking to level the playing field and ensure that joint projects develop with Brussels setting the standard. DW spoke with Mathieu Duchâtel, senior policy fellow and deputy director of the Asia and China Program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, about the EUʼs strategy on connecting Europe and Asia. Mathieu Duchâtel: This proposal is the EUʼs response mainly to Chinaʼs Belt and Road initiative, with the aim of making European values on connectivity clear. I think itʼs the result of a feeling in the EU that it wasnʼt in the driverʼs seat on the connectivity discussion in Eurasia. This, of course, includes infrastructure because thereʼs no connectivity without infrastructure.

Thermal Hotel Visegrád****superior 2025 Visegrád Lepence-völgy, hrsz.: 1213 Phone: +36 26 801 900 Fax: +36 26 801 918 info@thv.hu www.thv.hu

Knorr-Bremse set to become German IPO of the year Knorr-Bremse said on Friday that strong investor demand for its 35 million shares to be publicly listed on October 12 could value the stake at up to €4.21 billion ($4.77 billion). The German braking and technology group now hopes to sell its newly-floated shares at a price of between €72 and €87.

Earnings from the 30-percent stake in the company could make the flotation the biggest in Germany this year, overtaking that of Siemens Healthineers — the worldʼs largest maker of medical imaging equipment — which sold for €4.2 billion. The companyʼs chief executive Klaus Deller, said Knorr-Bremse would welcome new investors as it was heading toward further growth. "We have received very positive feedback from investors and other stakeholders...confirming our strong belief that this IPO is the next logical step for us," he said in a statement.

Published by: Mega Media Kft. 1075 Budapest, Madách I. út 13-14. +36 1 398 0344 www.hotelujsag.hu

plaintiff Edwin Hardemanʼs nonHodgkin lymphoma, finding that Roundup was defectively designed, that Monsanto failed to warn of the herbicideʼs cancer risk and that the company acted negligently. Monsanto has repeatedly pointed to studies showing glyphosate is safe. But the France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as a "probable human carcinogen" in 2015.

Will Germany become the worldʼs largest market for medicinal cannabis?

The use of medicinal cannabis has been allowed in Germany for two years now. But because domestic cultivation hasnʼt gotten off the ground yet, the plant has been imported, mainly from Canada. That might change soon.

As Europeʼs biggest cannabis investor conference kicks off in Berlin on Sunday, the most important topic will be the future cultivation of the plant in Germany, according to German Hemp Association (DHV) Chief Executive Georg Wurth. He finds it rather pathetic that there still is no cannabis cultivation in Europeʼs biggest economy. For two years, Germany has allowed cannabis cultivation for medical purposes. But picking suitable growers hasnʼt been all plain sailing. A competitive tendering process had to be started from scratch following initial procedural errors. According to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfarM), there will be clarity in a couple of months as to which enterprises will get a license to produce cannabis at the behest of the state.

Frankfurt-based entrepreneur Niklas Kouperanis believes that is an unrealistic deadline.

87/2019 • 15 April, 2019

Cats actually understand their own name

We need men to talk about periods: Oscar winner Guneet Monga

Japanese researchers are now proving that this is indeed the case

tary about the deep-rooted stigma attached to menstruation in the village of Hapur in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. For generations, women here did not have access to sanitary pads, leading to health issues and girls dropping out from schools.

Directed by award-winning IranianAmerican filmmaker Rayka Zehtabchi, the film is created by The Pad Project, an organization established by a group of students at the Oakwood School in Los Angeles and their teacher, Melissa Berton. The movie has been produced by 34-yearold Guneet Monga (pictured above), who was born in Delhi and heads the production company, Sikhya Entertainment. She has been involved in several critically acclaimed Indian movies, including Lunchbox, Gangs of Wasseypur and Masaan, which won the International Jury of Film Critics Prize at Cannes in 2015. Monga is brimming with ambition and confidence after her Oscar victory and hopes the movie will help change mindsets and hard-wired attitudes, especially among males, towards menstruation.

For many cat lovers itʼs already clear: Garfield, Findus and Simba all know their own name and respond to it.

When Felix is called, Felix actually comes. At least when thereʼs something to eat, or an offer of a cuddle with its owner. And, of course, when the cat just feels like it. Even if most domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) are fiercely independent, the fact that they recognize the name given to them and respond to it is something assumed to be true by their owners. So far, however, there has been no scientific evi-

dence to show that this is the case.

Until now, that is — thanks to Japanese researchers. Cats can actually distinguish their name from other words. This is what Atsuko Saito from Sophia University in Tokyo and his team found in a study recently published in theScientific Reports journal. Itʼs the first experimental proof that cats can actually understand verbal expressions from humans.

German museum returns stolen colonial era artifacts As "Kaptein," Hendrik Witbooi was one of the most important leaders of the Nama tribes in Namibia during the German colonial period and revolted against German power in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He accepted the Christian faith by way of missionary influence in the then "South West Africa."

Witbooiʼs personal bible, together with a cattle whip, have been given back to the Namibian nation at arestitution ceremony on Thursday, held in the resistance heroʼs hometown of Gibeon. The objects were probably captured in 1893 during an

attack by German colonial troops. In 1902, they were donated to the Linden Museum in Stuttgart, which actively participated in their return as part of its provenance research.

However, there were conflicts in the negotiations over the return as to whether the bible should not be handed over directly to the legitimate descendants. Namibian President Hage Geingob has promised to give the bible to the family at a later date. In an interview with DW, Sandra Ferracuti, Africa consultant at the Linden Museum, explained what makes this return so important.

Weather

Tue

7 / 10

Whether youʼre sightseeing, shopping, exploring or relaxing on the beach, this "Belly" bag can attach around your waist practically or be worn across your shoulder. www.hoegl.com

Thu

7 / 11

9 / 12

Hungary

Period. End of Sentence is a documen-

This bag should never miss a single holiday! A perfect travel companion from Högl

Wed

Budapest: Debrecen: Eger: Hévíz:

6/15 5/16 4/16 5/15

Athens: Berlin: Bratislava: Bucharest: London: Madrid:

4/8 0/13 5/7 6/15 3/17 10/13

Kecskemét: Keszthely: Siófok:

5/15 4/16 6/13

Europe Moscow: Paris: Prague: Rome: Varsaw: Vienna:

0/14 5/10 5/8 10/13 5/16 5/15

Culture

Red Bull Air Race moves to Zamárdi at Lake Balaton Zamárdi on the south shore of Lake Balaton will host the popular Red Bull Air Race this July. The event, staged in Budapest from 2003, failed to receive the necessary permit from the city mayor István Tarlós, and so had to be relocated. The decision represents a major coup for Zamárdi, which will also host several key music festivals this summer, including Balaton Sound and STRAND. Instigated by star Hungarian pilot Péter Besenyei, the Red Bull Air Race has been a huge crowdpleaser since first hosted in Budapest in 2003. Of all the 40-plus prestigious cities to stage this annual global series – New York, London, Rio – the Hungarian capital always put on the best show.

The thrill of seeing planes zoom under Chain Bridge attracted an estimated 135,000 spectators in 2018. But in the immediate aftermath of June’s activities, Budapest mayor István Tarlós went on TV to apologise to local residents for the disturbance, and to vow that planes would not race here again.

Despite this, tickets were sold for another Budapest event in 2019 while sites were sought elsewhere, Lake Balaton the obvious candidate. Keszthely and Fonyód were also in the frame as potential hosts, but Zamárdi’s track record in staging major gatherings got it over the line.

5

87/2019 • 15 April, 2019

Louis van Gaal on his sacking, his legacy and life in retirement

It is almost three years since Louis van Gaal walked into a Wembley news conference and slammed the FA Cup on to the table. The Dutchman had just completed what he regards as his greatest managerial achievement: "Winning a trophy despite having a noose round my neck for six months."

Within minutes of the final whistle of Manchester Unitedʼs victory with 10 men against Crystal Palace, it was reported he would be sacked and replaced by Jose Mourinho. I met Van Gaal in Portugal last week for his first written interview with a British journalist since that day.

F1: Lewis Hamilton capitalizes on Ferrari failure to win Bahrain Grand Prix

London Broncos have long-term 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."

Joachim Löw hits back at criticism for ousting Bayern Munich trio The national coach has received a lot of backlash for the way he informed the trio

Joachim Löw defended his decision to omit Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels and Thomas Müller from Germanyʼs squad.

In his first comments sinceousting World Cup winners Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels and Thomas Müller from the German national team, Joachim Löw hit back at critics who questioned the way he delivered them the news.

His decision to no longer include the Bayern Munich trio in his squad drew a backlash last week. Many, includingBayern and Germany defender Joshua Kimmich, openly questioned the course of action.

Read more: Bayern Munich criticize

timing of Joachim Löwʼs decision to axe trio On Wednesday, Sport Bild also reported that Löw, who flew to Munich 10 days ago to inform the three players in person of his decision, only spent a handful of minutes with each player. "I find it strange when people make judgments about respect and values even though they did not take part in the discussions. Time is also no indicator for the quality of a conversation," Löw said at a press conference in Frankfurt.

Mick Schumacher eighth in standings after Formula 2 debut at Bahrain Grand Prix In total contrast to the opening race of the 2019 season, the Grand Prix in Bahrain was wild from the start.

Charles Leclerc looked set to secure his first ever GP win just a day after securing his first ever pole, but with 11 laps to go the Ferrari driverʼs battery died, opening the door for Hamiltonʼs Mercedes. Leclerc held onto a podium spot but the race was a nightmare for Ferrari, who also saw Sebastian Vettel finish fifth.

6

Mick Schumacher, son of Formula 1 great Michael, sits eighth in the Formula 2 standings after his debut weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The 20-year-old German finished eighth in race one on Saturday, meaning he started on pole in Sundayʼs second race after grid positions were reversed. On Sunday, Schumacher came sixth in the sprint race, won by Luca Ghiotto. Italyʼs Ghiotto occupies top

spot in the standings leading into the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 28 April.

Schumacher Jr, who drives for Prema Racing, took eight points from the opening weekend and sits 29 points behind leader Ghiotto. The German began the second race on pole thanks to the reverse grid system for the top eight finishers of race one. His father is the only driver in history to win seven F1 titles, and also has the all-time record of 91 grand prix victories.