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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Civilian deaths hit record high in Afghanistan: UN Civilian deaths in Afghanistan rose 1 percent to 1,692 in the first half of 2018, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in its latest report released Sunday. Although overall civilian casualties fell 3 percent, fatalities recorded in the first six months of 2018 were the highest halfyearly death toll since UNAMA started its systematic documentation of civilian deaths in 2009. UNAMA also reported that 3,430 Afghans were wounded in the January-June period, a 5 percent drop from previous years.

In February, the UN said more than 10,000 civilians were killed or wounded in the ongoing war in Afghanistan in 2017, with militant bombings responsible for inflicting a major proportion of casualties. Just hours after the latest UN report was published, at least 10 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up in front of a government ministry building in capital Kabul.

Germany to take 50 migrants from Frontex ships caught in ItalyMalta row Germany told Italy on Sunday it would take in 50 of the 450 migrants that were picked up by two EU border agency ships this weekend in the Mediterranean Sea. "Germany and Italy have agreed that Germany will accept 50 migrants in this case, as part of ongoing talks about more intense bilateral cooperation on asylum," a German government spokeswoman told the DPA news agency. The latest batch of migrants, who had set off from Libya in a wooden vessel, were rescued off the Italian and Maltese coast on Saturday, and eight women and children were taken to the Italian island of Lampedusa for medical treatment.

161/2018 • 17 JULY, 2018

Germans fear Donald Trump more than Vladimir Putin

What is it for: Nord Stream 2 is a gas pipe-

line that would allow Germany to effectively double the amount of gas it imports from Russia. In 2017,Germany used up a record 53 billion cubic meters of Russian gas, comprising about 40 percent of Germanyʼs total gas consumption. Nord Stream 2ʼs delivery system is designed to carry up to 55 billion cubic meters (1.942 trillion cubic feet) of gas per year. Where is it: Berlin and Moscow agreed on the 1,200kilometer (746-mile) route, which would connect the Ust-Luga area near Saint Petersburg with Greifswald in northeastern Germany. The pipes would run across the Baltic Sea, for the most part following the route of the preexisting Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which became operational in 2011.

Poll finds

The United States may be Germanyʼs No. 1 ally, but two-thirds of Germans think that the US president is more dangerous than his Russian counterpart. Thatʼs not surprising when you look at Germanyʼs political priorities.

When asked which world leader was the greater threat to world security, 64 percent of respondents chose US President Donald Trump over his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Thatʼs according to a YouGov poll published onthe eve of Trumpʼs meeting with Putin in Helsinki. And the German antipathy toward Trump doesnʼt end there: 56 percent of respondents thought that Putin was more competent than Trump, with only 5 percent preferring the latter on that score. Thirty-six percent of Germans find Putin more likable than Trump, while 6 percent say the opposite — although most respondents refused to indicate a preference on that question. And, perhaps most surprisingly, 44 percent said Putin was more powerful than Trump, compared with only 29 percent who thought the US president has more power. German conservatives share the general publicʼs dislike of Trump. People who voted for Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) also found Putin more likable, competent and powerful than the US

Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline – What is the controversy about?

president by margins similar to respondents as a whole. In fact, conservative voters were slightly more likely (66 percent) to class Trump as the bigger threat than people overall in the poll. In an interview with the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had a warning for the US president. "Dialogue requires clarity, and President Trumpʼs system of coordinates lacks clarity," Maas said. "Anyone who snubs his partners risks being the big loser in the end. One-sided deals to the detriment of Americaʼs own partners ultimately hurt the US, too."

But Maas also said the bilateral summit could make the world more peaceful. "It would be a step forward if this meeting also produced some impulses for nuclear disarmament," Maas said. On the one hand, Germans fear that Trumpʼs and Putinʼs alpha male tendencies could collide, ratcheting up tensions between the worldʼs two greatest military powers. On the other, theyʼre perhaps even more afraid that Trump and Putin might be too much on the same page.

Finland an East-West nexus as Trump and Putin come to talk he singer ended his song with the rowdy recommendation that "Trump and Putin — piss off!" as the crowd erupted in wild cheers at Sundayʼs special summit-themed concert to cap off a march through downtown Helsinki. Two blocks away from where Donald Trump and Vladmir Putin will meet Monday afternoon, the band stood atop a stage reading "We Really Do Care" in a rebuke to Melania Trump and the nowinfamous outerwear she displayed while visiting detention camps for children on the US border. "Make Human Rights Great Again." Amnesty International pleaded in banners in Helsinki, where it had put up a poster campaign across town.

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161/2018 • 17 July, 2018

EU opens legal case against Poland The European Commission launched legal proceedings against the Polish government on Monday, a day before many of the countryʼs Supreme Court judges are being forced into early retirement due toa controversial new law. Brussels and Warsaw have been at odds over the judicial reforms for two and a half years, with the European Union arguing that Poland is undermining "the principle of judiciary independence." "Given the lack of progress and the imminent implementation of the new retirement regime for supreme court judges, the Commission decided today to launch the infringement procedure as a matter of urgency," spokesman Margaritis Schinas said. Poland has argued that the law is a necessary reform to outdated regulations that go back to communist rule, but the EU has consistently maintained that it is an attack on democratic checks and balances.

Too expensive to die in Hong Kong Despite having an area of just 1,100 square kilometers, Hong Kong is home to 7.3 million people. This makes the Asian financial hub one of the worldʼs most densely populated and expensive cities to live in. In fact, Hong Kong retained its title of "worldʼs least affordable city" for the eighth consecutive time this year.

According to Demographia, an American research institute, it will now take an average income household more than 19 years to buy a place to live. That too, if they donʼt pay taxes and have no other expenses. It is not unusual for families to live in cramped "sub-divided" units where one flat is partitioned into several self-contained housing units. Also known as "coffin cubicles," these wooden boxes are no bigger than a twin-sized bed. These poor living conditions have made international headlines, which many find a stark contrast to the cityʼs affluent metropolitan image. Space is so limited in Hong Kong that it is not only unaffordable for the living, but now also for the dead. Hong Kong is facing a shortage of columbarium niches – spaces for storing urns that hold cremated remains of the deceased. Public columbarium niches cost around $330 (€283.72) apiece.

But with roughly 43,000 deaths each year over the past decade, and with the provision of only 500 spaces annually, families have to wait at least four years for an urn niche.

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Turkeyʼs Erdogan flexes new powers with decrees on second anniversary of coup New constituional powers have consolidated the authority of the prime minister

Erdogan has defended his new-found powers but critics say the country is lurching towards authoritarian rule.

President Recep TayyipErdogan, sworn in for a new term less than a week ago with sweeping new powers, exercised his new authority on Sunday by issuing a series of decrees that will reshape political, military and bureaucratic institutions. The moves coincided with the second anniversary of a failed coup attempt. The checks and balances of a parliamentary democracy are now essentially gone, replaced by a president with broad powers that include the authority to appoint and remove senior civil servants. The prime ministerʼs position has been abolished, leaving the president as both the head of state and

Medical exodus leaves Romania, Bulgaria in pain Florina Venera, an 11-year-old girl from the village Bunești, in Brașov county, central Romania, was diagnosed with bone cancer in her leg seven years ago. It was operated on at the time, but Florinaʼs mother, Adriana Rusu, is worried again because her daughter recently started complaining of pain in the leg. Florinaʼs last checkup was in 2014. Rusu says they now have nowhere to go to see if the girl is healthy. The family doctor in Bunești, who could refer Florina to an oncologist, quit last spring and since then there has been no replacement. Florinaʼs family, including her parents, two brothers and a baby sister, live in a single-room house in a part of Bunești where the streets are unpaved and thereʼs no gas supply. They live off so-

government.Erdoganʼs new powersinclude authority over the judiciary and the ability to rule by decree.

He insists that a powerful presidency is necessary to improve government efficiency, enhance economic growth and ensure security. His critics scoff at such claims, insisting the changes are nothing more than a power-grab that is pushing the country towards authoritarian rule. In all, the countryʼs Official Gazette published seven decrees affecting various state institutions, including the National Security Council, the Defense Industry Directorate and the State Supervisory Council. cial benefits and work odd jobs. To them, private healthcare is out of their reach. To see a doctor now, Rusuʼs family from Bunești would have to travel to Sighișoara, 30 kilometers (18 miles) away. Thereʼs no public transport from that part of Bunești though, so the only other option would be to hire a car at an average fare of €20 ($23) — a fortune for many of the locals.

Australia ends direct aid to Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said there was concern the PA was financing activities Australia "would never support." Australia will instead send its aid to the UN Humanitarian Fund for the Palestinian Territories. Australia on Monday announced it had ended direct

EU says US risks $294 billion hit over auto tariffs The European Union warned on Monday that up to $294 billion (€252 billion) worth of US exports could become the target of countermeasures if President Donald Trump remained serious about his threat to impose a 20percent tariff on cars imported from the EU. In a letter to US authorities, the European Commission, which handles trade policy for the blocʼs 28 members, said "up to $294 billion of US exports ... could be subject to countermeasures across sectors of the US economy." This was the equivalent to 19 percent of US total exports in 2017, it added. The EU executive underlined that European car companies were important contributors to the US economy and "well established" there. "In 2017, US-based EU companies produced close to 2.9 million automobiles, which accounted for 26 percent of total US production," it said. Also read:Canada hits US with retaliatory tariffs on metals, whiskey, maple syrup Pointing to sites in South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee — southern US states known for their unwavering support for Trump — the EU said its companies supported 120,000 direct and indirect US jobs in plants across the country.

aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) government over concerns the funds could be used to assist Palestinians convicted of political violence. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Australia would no longer be giving its yearly funding of A$10 million (€6.9 million, $7.5 million) to the World Bankʼs trust fund for Palestinian recovery and development. Read more: What would Donald Trump ending US aid mean for Palestinians? "I wrote to the Palestinian Authority on May 29, to seek clear assurance that Australian funding is not being used to assist Palestinians convicted of politically motivated violence," Bishop said in a statement. "I am confident that previous Australian funding to the PA through the World Bank has been used as intended," Bishop said. "However, I am concerned that in providing funds for this aspect of the PAʼs operations there is an opportunity for it to use its own budget to activities that Australia would never support," she continued.

161/2018 • 17 July, 2018

French actress Catherine Deneuve awarded Japanʼs highest Arts prize The French actress, and the star conductor Riccardo Muti, are among those honored with the Praemium Imperiale.

Revered French actress Catherine Deneuve has been awarded one of the worldʼs most important culture prizes, the Praemium Imperiale. The winners were announced by the nomination committee at the Japanese Embassy in Berlin on Wednesday, who recognized the 74-year-old movie star, along with the Italian conductor Riccardo Muti and the Belgian-French painter Pierre Alechinsky. Other prizes were awarded to the Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya and the French architect Christian de Portzamparc.

Belgium charges couple for allegedly plotting terror attack against Iranian group Belgian prosecutors suspect a married couple of "having attempted to carry out a bomb attack" at a conference of an Iranian dissident group, officials said on Monday.

The 38-year-old man and the 33year-old woman, both Belgian nationals of Iranian heritage, allegedly intended to target a militant group calledPeopleʼs Mujahedeen of Iran, also known as MEK.The controversial group, listed as a terror organization by the US from 1997 to 2012, held a summit on Saturday in the French town of Villepinte outside of Paris. Belgian police intercepted the couple ahead of the event and found about half a kilogram (one pound) of home-made explosives in their car, alongside a detonator. "We can say we arrested them just in time," Belgian federal magistrate Van der Sijpt told the AP news agency.

They will all be formally recognized at an awards ceremony in Tokyo on October 23. The Praemium Imperiale, sometimes called the Nobel Prize for the Arts, is awarded by Japanʼs imperial family and endowed with the equivalent of €116,500 ($136,000).

Always hitting the headlines Deneuve is not only an awardwinning film and theater actress known for her often-glamorous roles.

She also regularly courts controversy with her outspoken views on politics and social issues.

Mali: French soldiers killed in attack

The upsurge in violence underscores the fragile security situation in the West African nationas it prepares to go to the polls on July 29. Sundayʼs attack occurred as an African Union summit opened in neighboring Mauritania, with security crises on the continent, including unrest in the vast Sahel region, high on the agenda. "We need to avoid a disaster like the one we experienced in Rwanda, and my personal opinion is that vigilance must remain

in place to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible not only for the good of Mali but also, for the good of the whole region," Ibrahima Thiaw, special advisor to the secretary-general of the United Nations told DW. "The borders are porous and the same people circulate through them. Therefore it is important that the situation is stabilized for the good of Mali, from the West African region and finally from all over the world," he further said.

Germany set to deport alleged bin Laden bodyguard German officials said on Monday that they had detained a 42-year-old Tunisian man alleged to have served as a bodyguard to the former head of terror group al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden, and were planning to deport him back to his homeland. His case had caused a public outcry in Germany in recent months when it was reported that the man, identified as Sami A.,could not be deported despite being seen as a security threat because a court had ruled that he could face torture in Tunisia.

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161/2018 • 17 July, 2018

Interpol seeks arrest of Indian diamond merchant Nirav Modi Interpol said on Monday that it had issued a red notice for the arrest of Indian billionaire Nirav Modi. The jeweler, believed to be connected to a major bank scam, is thought to have fled last month to the UK, where he reportedly claimed asylum. A red notice is a "request to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition," according to Interpol, though countries must volunteer to do so and are not legally obliged to follow it. The state-backed Punjab National Bank (PUB) in India claims that Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi defrauded them of about $1.8 billion (€1.54 billion). Modi, 47, is known for his personal brand of diamond jewelry, which caters to such celebrity clients as Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet. His Nirav Modi Global Diamond Jewellery House has several retail locations around the world and his personal wealth is valued at around $1.73 billion, making him the 85th richest Indian according to Forbes magazine. His sudden disappearance last month sparked a national outcry. Although he is not related toIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, some have accused the leader of helping the jeweler flee. Nirav Modi has been charged with money laundering, something his lawyer has said he vehemently denies.

The never-ending story of Germanyʼs ghost money Nostalgia can be a powerful temptation. But the dozens who line up each morning at Germanyʼs central bank, the Bundesbank, are perhaps among the less sentimental. A smorgasbord of the elderly, young mothers with children in tow and students, they have one thing in common and more often than not itʼs hidden inside a heavy bag. Nearly 28 years after the complete demise of the East German mark and 16 years after the introduction of the euro, these people are patiently waiting to hand in some of the billions of old deutschmarks still in circulation. Read more: German banker takes 6 months to count 1.2 million inheritance pennies by hand Today German marks are travel souvenirs, bits of history forgotten at the back of a drawer or still stashed in safety deposit boxes. Most assuredly, marks are not an old-fashioned alternative to cryptocurrencies.

Yet with so much of the cash still out there, many more Germans are holding onto the old currency than will probably ever own bitcoin, the most famous digital asset.

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Erdoganʼs son-in-law says heʼll run a clean central bank Turkeyʼs new finance minister has offered a few words to reassure skeptical markets amid nepotism allegations. The lira, already under strain, has taken a further beating since Berat Albayrak assumed the post this week.

As the lira falls precipitously against the euro and the dollar, stocks plummet, and inflation soars, the man put in place to steward Turkeyʼs economy earlier this week is seeking to reassure domestic markets, but observers remain highly skeptical. The lira has dropped over 6 percent against the dollar since Berat Albayrak — the 40year-old husband of President Recep Tayyip Erdoganʼs eldest daughter, Esra — began leading Turkeyʼs newly combined Treasury and Fi-

Trumpʼs China trade dispute: Is it a war for tech supremacy?

US President Donald Trump is set to step up his trade war with Beijing bybanning Chinese companies from investing in US technology firms, and by blocking tech exports to China. The Wall Street Journal on Monday cited unnamed White House officials as saying the plan will be announced later this week, to head off Chinaʼs ambitious plans to close the technology gap with the West in 10 key sectors. Despite US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin later saying the plans were "not specific to China, but to all countries that are trying to steal our technology," the move was widely seen as aimed at Beijing. The Made in China 2025 initiative, which was first unveiled in 2015, seeks to turn the country from the worldʼs factory into a global technology leader, including in biotech, robotics, aerospace and clean-energy cars.

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Dip in Chinaʼs CO2 emissions sparks cautious optimism China is the worldʼs top CO2emitting nation: its carbon dioxide emissions have grown enormously over recent previous decades, and now make up nearly one-third of the global total. Now, a study finds that the country may already have passed peak emissions:carbon emissions are decreasing. Chinaʼs CO2 emissions have gone down every year from 2014 onward, according to a research team from China, the United Kingdom and the United States. That amounts to a drop of 4.2 percent from 2014 to 2016, they reported Monday in Na‐ ture Geoscience. This emissions drop is coming much sooner than other scientists had predicted: British researchers, for example, had expected peak emissions not to occur before 2025. The decline might not seem too much: 9.2 gigatons of CO2 in 2016, compared to 9.53 gigatons in 2013. But this is a hopeful sign regardless, the researchers write.

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nance Ministry on Tuesday, falling sharply to reach a record low of 4.9767 against the dollar late Wednesday. By late Thursday, it had recovered slightly, to 4.82 to the dollar and 5.63 to the euro. However, currency exchange offices in Istanbulʼs historic Grand Bazaar werenʼt taking risks.

They stopped selling dollars on Thursday morning because of the increased volatility, the daily newspaper Sozcu reported.

Italians likely to scupper EUCanada free trade deal

The Italian government has reiterated its opposition to the CETA free trade deal between the European Union and Canada. The deputy prime minister said parliament would not ratify the agreement formally signed in 2016.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio told a farmersʼ association gathering in Rome Friday that Italy would not ratify the European Unionʼs free trade agreement with Canada. "Soon CETA [Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement] will arrive in parliamentand a majority will reject it and will not ratify it," Di Maio told his audience. "If so much as one Italian official continues to defend treaties like CETA, they will be removed," added Di Maio, who leads the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement governing with the right-wing League. The CETA accord needs to be approved by all 28 EU member countries to take full effect, meaning that Italyʼs refusal to ratify it would scupper the whole agreement.

161/2018 • 17 July, 2018

What Germans eat in the summer (You can still expect a few sausages and potatoes, though.)

Germans donʼt eat sausage, sauerkraut and potatoes all the time.

Here are some of the lighter dishes theyʼll typically prepare during the summer.

"Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dine like a pauper" is an old adage in Germany. The German tradition of "Abendbrot," which literally translates as "evening bread," is a very attractive option during the summer, as no cooking is involved.

Instead of a big meal, a typical Abendbrot is made up of a selection of cheeses, cold cuts or sausage, and pickles served with slices of dark bread. Add a beer or an "Apfelschorle" (apple juice mixed with carbonated mineral water) to your meal, and youʼll definitely be doing it the German way. Other-

On an early summerʼs evening in Berlin, a growing crowd of crows (a "murder", if you will) are gathering, somewhat ominously, around two large trees in a small park. There are possibly 100 or more of them, but they donʼt seem happy. They are cawing and squawking loudly as they fly around, circling each other, a growing urgency in their cries. After the lengthy conference, they fly off together into the distance, the mystery of the crow cacophony no clearer.

What could explain such behavior?Despite the "bird-brained" misnomer, crows — and other members of the Corvidae family, such as ravens, rooks, jays and magpies — are intelligent creatures. Various studies have shown their ability to develop and shape their own tools for gathering food, recognize individual human faces and even learn modes of human speech.

Greenland iceberg could cause tsunami

wise, the classic German summer dishes presented in the gallery above are also easy to prepare.

Donʼt be fooled, simplicity can be very addictive. If regional and seasonal products are the stars of summer cuisine in Germany, potatoes remain the year-long supporting act.

Hereʼs more insight into the Germansʼ insatiable love affair with potatoes. If ever it suddenly gets cold and you feel like warming up to a hearty meal, you can also turn to one of these German comfort foods typically prepared during the winter for inspiration.

A unique nature insurance policy aims to preserve Mexicoʼs Great Mayan Reef "Welcome to my office," shouts guide Herlan to his crew of tourists before diving into the crystal clear waters off Mexicoʼs Caribbean coast. This 35mile (60-kilometer) stretch of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System is among the attractionsdrawing millions to the booming Riviera Maya tourism hub in Mexicoʼs Yucatán Peninsula, generating around $10 billion (€8 billion) annually and contributing nearly 8 percent of Mexicoʼs GDP. Mass tourism to towns Cancún and Playa del Carmen in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, though making money, has also degraded the regionʼs

The killing of a sacred crow

reef. The 600-mile Mesoamerican Reef stretches down to Honduras, and is the second-largest in the world after the Great Barrier Reef off Australia.

The United Nations World Heritage Committee recently removed the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System from the list of world heritage sites in danger, after determining that Mexicoʼs southern neighbor had effectively safeguarded its section of the reef by checking oil extraction and unsustainable development.And despite the impacts of tourism on the Mexican portion of the Great Mayan Reef, this is not the only threat.

Greenland is monitoring a giant iceberg drifting off its coast, with fears it could break up and flood a part of the Danish autonomous territory. A rising number of icebergs are increasing tsunami risks in the region.

Authorities warned shoreside residents of Innaarsuit Island in Greenland they were at risk of being flooded, after a 100meter (300 feet) high iceberg was spotted drifting off the coast on Thursday. The police are on high alert and have moved a searchand-rescue helicopter closer to the remote village, which has about 170 inhabitants. "We fear the iceberg could calve and send a flood towards the village"

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Culture

From capers to yuzu – Budapest’s best gin and tonics A G&T is always a good idea. It’s a drink with a long and interesting history: alcohol flavoured with spices and juniper berries was first created in the Low Countries and conquered today’s Holland and Belgium. In the 1700s, the English took a shine to it and there were times when gin consumption in London was out of control. Prohibited in the past, gin is an indispensable part of modern bar culture today. Gin is best mingled with tonic, but more spices and a sprinkle of magic make it it the perfect summer drink. See where to find the best G&Ts in Budapest.

Barside BeefBar Budapest Bestia GoodSpirit Whisky & Cocktail Bar Impostor & Baotiful St. Andrea Wine & Skybar St. Andrea goes hand in hand with premium wines and top-notch gastronomy, but here we focus on its bar culture. In the repertoire of the Wine & Skybar on Vörösmarty tér, the cocktails, premium drinks and the best wines and champagnes share equally importance. You might be offered a mixed drink first blessed with a touch of Kaiken malbec wine before it is poured into a big glass, augmented with ice then drowned in BCN gin and Peter Spanton lemongrass tonic.

The whole concoction is made complete with some rosemary in the end. The colour is pretty pink and the flavour divine.

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161/2018 • 17 July, 2018

Robert Lewandowski in Niko Kovac’s Bayern Munich plans

When it came to his own personal ambitions, Kovac claimed his previous experience would give him a "slight advantage”. "Iʼm hoping to repay the faith Bayern have shown in me,” said the 46-year-old, who won the league and cup double in his final season in Munich. "I know how they think and I know what it takes to be successful here. My aim is to get the very best out of every single player.

Weʼll have to see what comes out of that. At the end of the day, weʼre here to win titles.” Bayern will kick off their pre-season preparations later this month. Kovac will, however, be without his World Cup stars who wonʼt start training until 25 July. As a result, they will all miss out on Bayernʼs tour of the USA at the end of the month.

Roger Federer returns from hiatus in search of 21st major title

Roger Federerʼs strategy ofskipping the clay court seasonin order to focus on the grass, his strongest surface, has helped extend the career of the gameʼs most decorated man. He skipped Roland Garros last year and it paid off, returning to win his eighth Wimbledon title. The Swiss is hoping he can pull off the same trick again this time around. But, this year, the defending champion heads to south west London after a surprise defeat in three sets to 21-year-old Croatian Borna Coric in the final of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle last week.

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Is eSports about to be recognized as a sport in Germany?

Politicians in Germany are mulling recognizing eSports as a sport. Their decision would have wide-ranging repercussions in the gaming industry in the country and further legitimize the digital sport phenomenon. eSportsʼ continued growth has pushed competitive gaming ever-more into the public eye. This has sparked a debate about gaming’s role within German society, and whether eSports should be officially classified as a sport. And it is looking increasingly like it will. Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs grand coalition of her Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) agreed to recognize eSports as a sport as part of the coalition agreement they reached earlier this year.

However, the legislation necessary to do so has not yet been passed. "eSports were long considered a niche topic, generally only discussed by experts. It has now reached a tipping point where it has become a meaningful topic to all of society and cannot be ignored," Konstantin von Notz, deputy chair of the opposition Green Party in the lower house Bundestag said.

Tour de France champion Chris Froome cleared in doping row Froome hopes to win the prestigious French tour for a recordequaling fifth time in July

The British cyclist has been cleared following an investigation into the alleged misuse of an asthma drug.

Four-time Tour de Francechampion Chris Froomehas been cleared of a potential anti-doping violation by the ruling body UCI and could now be able to compete in the prestigious French race, which starts in less than a week. The Team Sky cyclist has been under a cloud since he was found to have twice the permissible

amount of asthma drug Salbutamol in his system during Septemberʼs Vuelta a Espana,which he won.

"The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) confirms that the anti-doping proceedings involving Mr Christopher Froome have now been closed," cyclingʼs ruling body announced.

LeBron James to sign with LA Lakers, leaves Cleveland Cavaliers One of the NBAʼs greatest players will leave his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers for a second time in eight years. James has appeared in eight consecutive finals and won three.

StarNBA basketball player LeBron Jamesis set to sign a four-year $154 million (€132 million) contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, his representatives announced in a Tweet on Sunday night. "LeBron James, four time

NBA MVP, three time NBA finals MVP, fourteen time NBA All Star, and two time Olympic gold medalist has agreed to a four year, $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers," the Tweet by Klutch Sports Group read. James can ink the contract as early as Friday. He will again be departing the Cleveland Cavaliers, his hometown team, to join one of the NBAʼs most storied franchises.