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DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Germany: 150 percent rise in number of homeless since 2014 German government figures estimate the number of homeless people in the country to total around 860,000 — more than half of whom are refugees.

That number is expected to rise a further 40 percent to 1.2 million by 2018. Figures released on Tuesday by Germanyʼs federal working group for homeless personsʼ assistance (BAG) point to a shrinking supply ofaffordable and social housing, coupled with the governmentʼs decision to allow to almost one million refugees to enter Germany in 2015, as reasons for the countryʼs exponential rise in the number of homeless. According to federal statistics for 2016, 440,000 of the countryʼs 860,000 homeless people were refugees. However, BAG stressed that its data does not show hundreds of thousands of refugees living on the streets, since it also took refugees living incommunal housing and sheltersinto account. Officials said they chose to include these refugees in their latest census as they are also in need of housing.

Tanzanian domestic workers ʼworking like robots,ʼ new report reveals Tanzanian migrant workers in Oman and the United Arab Emirates face excessive working hours, unpaid salaries, and physical and sexual abuse. These are some of the details in a new report by Human Rights Watch.

Beatings, exploitation and harassment are a daily reality for female Tanzanian workers in parts of the Middle East. Nearly all the employers that were subject to the report force women to work up to 21 hours a day and confiscate their passports, leaving many with no option but to flee with the threat of rape and emotional abuse hanging over them.

268/2017 • 16, NOVEMBER 2017

Brexit: British Parliament debates withdrawal bill The debates are set to be a hard test for Prime Minister Theresa Mayʼs fragile government

MPs have proposed at least 186 pages of amendments to the controversial legislation.

The British Parliament on Tuesday started debating the controversial "EU Withdrawal Bill" that is set to test Prime Minister Theresa Mayʼs increasingly fragile coalition government. The bill –also known as the "Repeal Bill"– will import decades of EU law into British law.

According to the government, the bill will help businesses by giving them legal certainty after Britain leaves the union in March 2019. But MPs in the opposition Labour Party and some members of Mayʼs own Conservative Party have warned that the government will use the legislation to reduce MPs say over ministerʼs actions and the terms of Brexit as whole. They will try to introduce 186 pages of amendments to water down the bill in the next few weeks. These include text that would weaken the governmentʼs ability to dictate how EU law is transferred into British law and make provisions to ensure Britain keeps certain EU labor and environmental standards. Labour MPs have also said they will try to get a parliamentary vote on an amendment that

would maintain the status quo for atransition period after Brexit. For its part, the government wants to write in a formal leaving date, a move some lawmakers have criticized for making the timeline of Brexit inflexible. Successful attempts by Parliament to amend the Withdrawal Bill will challenge May, who isalready politically weak after losing her partyʼs parliamentary majorityin a snap election in June. In the last few weeks, she has also lost two senior ministers in separate scandals. The British weekly Sunday Times newspaperhas reported that up to 40 Conservative MPs would vote to oust May in a no-confidence vote. Mayʼs government is alsonegotiating a separate exit deal with the EU in Brussels. Little progress has been made after six rounds of talks as both sides continue to disagree on how much Britain owes the EU for exiting the bloc. On Monday, Brexit Minister David Davis said that Parliament would get to vote on any final deal in what appeared to be a bowing to parliamentary pressure.

Russia accuses US of providing cover for the ʼIslamic Stateʼ militia The US-led coalition in Syria tried to "impede" Russian warplanes from bombing "Islamic State" (IS) militia, the Russian Defense Ministry said. It also accused Washington of allowing the jihadists to regroup in Iraq. The fighter jets of the US-led military coalition were trying to hinder Russian airstrikes by flying inside the bombing zone in the Syrian town of Abu Kamal, Moscow said on Tuesday. The town is one of the last "Islamic State" (IS) strongholds in Syria, located on the Euphrates River near Iraq. In order to ensure "safe passage for the retreating IS forces" the coalition jets "were trying to interfere with Russian fighter jets which were active in the region" said the Russian Ministry of Defense. "With this goal, coalition fighter jets were entering the 15-kilometer (9 mile) airspace around Abu Kamal in order to impede the activities of the Russian air force," they added.

Alpine skier dies in tragic accident French skier David Poisson has died after a fall in training in Canada.

Eyewitnesses report a lack of protection on the course. French skier David Poisson has died after a training accident at the Canadian ski resort of Nakiska, Franceʼs national ski federation has said. Poisson, 35, is survived by his wife and eighteen-month-old son. The Frenchman - a bronze medal winner in downhill at the 2013 World Championships was reportedly preparing for scheduled World Cup races due to take place in North America later this month.

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268/2017 • 16, November 2017

Germany recovers from deadly Storm Herwart The second major storm to hit Germany in a month has flooded city streets and caused havoc for transport. Four people were killed when the brutal winds brought down trees in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Germany was still reeling from the aftermath ofStorm Herwarton Tuesday after days of train standstills, flooding and traffic chaos that destroyed historic buildings and caused Berlin to declare a state of emergency. In the Czech Republic and Poland, Herwart claimed the lives of four people who were struck by falling trees. On the North Sea island of Langeoog, a freight ship remained stranded on the beach after flood waters receded. The town has called in top salvage experts, who remained stumped two days after the worst of the storm. Over the weekend, the storm wrecked havoc on the nationʼs transport system.

The trains in much of northern Germany, including Hannover and Hamburg, came to a complete stop – forcing rail operator Deutsche Bahn to send thousands of passengers in cramped taxis, sometimes for hours, to destinations as far away as Berlin.

German police detain Syrian for ʼpreparingʼ explosives attack

A 19-year-old Syrian has been detained on suspicion of planning to carry out a terror attack in Germany.

The man was ready to carry out the attack using highly explosive materials, according to prosecutors.

A Syrian man suspected of planning a terror attack was detained in the northern German city of Schwerin, the Federal Prosecutorʼs Office said on Tuesday in a statement. The suspect, identified as 19-year-old Yamen A., was taken into police custody. Prosecutors said in a statement that the teen is "strongly suspected of having planned an Islamist-motivated attack" that involved "highly explosive" materials.

Authorities added that Yamen A. had already "concretely prepared" the attack. In July this year, the suspect made the decision to detonate an explosive device in Germany "in order to kill and injure as many people as possible," the statement read. Yamen A. then began to procure components to make an explosive device, including chemicals. It was not initially clear whether the suspect had selected a location to carry out the attack, prosecutors said. They added that there are no signs that Yamen A. was connected toany terrorist organizations.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the suspectʼs arrest prevented a "serious terror attack in Germany."

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Tillerson expected to press Myanmar military to end Rohingya crisis The crisis facing Myanmarʼs Rohingya shows no sign of abating

The US response has been muted, but Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to press military leaders to end the violence in a meeting on Wednesday.

As part of his trip to Asia, Tillerson is set to visit Myanmarʼs capital, Naypyitaw, on Wednesday to consult with senior leaders over what theUnited Nationshas called a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing."

More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar since late August, driven out in a brutal campaign by Myanmarʼs military in Rakhine state.

Despite international outrage and criticism of national leaderAung San Suu Kyi – once hailed as the Nelson Mandela of Southeast Asia – for failing to halt the atrocities, the Trump administra-

Donald Trump to new Fed boss: Youʼre hired!

US President Trump is turning the announcement of a new Federal Reserve head into a reality TV experience like his show The Apprentice. But is it just a distraction from other problems? Jens Korte reports from New York. US President Donald Trump is looking for a suitable candidate to take over the US Federal Reserve Bank, which is by many accounts the second most important position in America after the president. But the casting for the job is a throwback to his days on the reality TV show "The Apprentice" when he played himself, Donald Trump, the real estate mogul and businessman. In the show, he selected candidates from a group of

tion has been muted in its response to the situation in Rakhine, where Myanmarʼs MuslimRohingya live, observers say. In late August this year, an attack by a Rohingyamilitant groupthat killed a dozen Burmese security forces triggered an unimaginable retribution: looting and burning of Rohingya villages, mass rape and extrajudicial killings.

Almost half of the Rohingya who have fled across the border to Bangladesh are children.They refugees now find themselves stranded in the border region, traumatized and unwanted by either side. applicants who were then allowed to work for him as an "apprentice." The process was long and accompanied by as much spectacle as possible. As president, Trump is now staging what the political website The Hill mockingly called "Central Bank Apprentice." For months, Trump has been tossing out names — such as Gary Cohn, formerly the number two at the investment bank Goldman Sachs, and who was seen as a favorite for the position for several months — only to drop them unceremoniously.

German job agency seeks minimum wage worker to trawl child porn photos from home

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.

A Bavarian job ad sounded enticing until potential employees were told what it actually involved. Investigators have questioned the practise of unskilled, minimum wage workers sifting child porn collections from home.

A German business that posted job ads seeking workers to sift through troves of child pornography images came under scrutiny this week for its questionable handling of child abuse images. A data analysis business in the Bavarian city of Augsburg offered potential employees the chance to work from home in exchange for €450 ($525) a month, as part of a so-calledtax-free Minijob.

The job advertisement called for a "forensic image analyzer," according to local news outlets. Applicants needed their own computer and some computer experience. They would be given four to five days of training after which they could work from home.

268/2017 • 16, November 2017

Taliban night vision attacks in Kandahar, Farah kill dozens Taliban attacks on checkpoints in the Afghan provinces of Kandahar and Farah have left dozens of security personnel dead. The night-time assaults coincide with a survey showing Afghans deeply worried about their safety.

Night vision technology had likely been used by the Taliban in two Monday night attacks on Afghan checkpoints, said a spokesman for the western province of Farah. Nine Afghan National Army soldiers were killed along with three civilians, said Farah governor spokesman Naser Mehri. "There are signs the Taliban may have used night vision technology to approach and surprise our forces," said Mehri, adding that the attackers had "suffered casualties" as they were repelled. Farah

Anti-Semitic Anne Frank football stickers appear in Germany Stickers displaying Anne Frank wearing football jerseys have appeared in Germany as an antiSemitic provocation by neo-Nazi fans. Dortmund and Leipzig ultra groups appear to be copying their Italian counterparts.

An anti-Semitic campaign by far-right Italian football supporters appears to have spread to Germany, after stickers featuring murdered Jewish child diarist Anne Frank wearing a Schalke 04 football jersey have appeared in social media posts and stuck up around Düsseldorf, near the cities of Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen, where the club Schalke is based. The fake Panini-style stickers were first reported by local blog Ruhrbarone, which published a photo of them it said had been found on the Facebook profile of a neo-Nazi active in the local far-right scene. No one has taken responsibility for creating the image, but the fact that Anne Frank is pictured wearing the jersey of Schalke 04, biggest rival of football club Borussia Dortmund (BVB), seems to corroborate Ruhrbaroneʼs speculation that the neo-Nazis are BVB supporters.

provincial council member Jamila Amini said fresh backup troops and air support enabled Afghan forces to retake one post held briefly by attackers.

Afghanistanʼs southern province of Kandahar saw 15 attacks on security posts in areas bordering Helmand province, said Kandahar police spokesman Matiullah Hilal. The Taliban had sent suicide bombers and used heavy weapons, leaving 22 police officers killed and 15 others wounded, said Hilal.

Emmanuel Macron — French savior or tormentor?

Elected six months ago on a platform of hope and change, French President Emmanuel Macron is taking no prisoners both at home and abroad in a bid to make his country great again.

Elizabeth Bryant reports from Paris.

The countryʼs 39-year-old president has been likened to Jupiter, Napoleon and Louis XIV — not necessarily in glowing terms— even as his approval ratings have plummeted from Mayʼs giddy post-election highs. But so far, Macron has crucially managed to duck themassive and crippling street proteststhat sunk previous efforts to

shake up the countryʼs sluggish economy and slash its near 10-percent unemployment rate. And the implosion of politics-as-usual in France that has seen traditional parties and leaders struggling to survive— and his fledgling La Republique En Marche party catapulted to power — has left him a clear path to govern. "In France, you cannot reform anything and remain popular," says analyst Philippe Moreau Defarges, of the Paris-based French Institute of International Relations. "And if he doesnʼt act quickly, he will lose."

Austrian full-face veil ban comes into effect Austriaʼs prohibition of full-face coverings has officially come into force. The government said the ban helps uphold Austrian values and promotes integration despite criticism from Muslim and refugee groups. People in Austria are now banned from covering their faces in public.

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268/2017 • 16, November 2017 German teachersʼ association calls for €10 billion for school repairs

Billions of euros are needed to renovate Germanyʼs schools, the teachersʼ association has said. Fixing unhygienic conditions and faulty heating systems has been "scandalously" delayed, the associationʼs head said.

The German Teachersʼ Association called on the next German government to approve billions of euros to renovate dilapidated schools in the country, according to a report published Monday.

"In light of the scandalous renovation backlog at numerous schools, the [next] coalition agreement must include a comprehensive investment program for school renovations and refurbishments," the associationʼs chairman Heinz-Peter Meidinger told the German daily newspaper Bild. The association is urging a minimum commitment of €10 billion ($11.6 billion) over the next four years. The Credit Institution for Reconstruction (KfW) previously estimated the total cost of repairing Germanyʼs crumbling schools at €34 billion — far above the associationʼs request, noted Meidinger. Meidinger, who is also a principal of a school in the southern state of Bavaria, expressed shock at the learning conditions at some schools in Germany. He listed cases of schools with "leaky roofs, mice and rats in the utility ducts, intolerable hygienic conditions in the toilets, poor thermal insulation and crumbling plaster on the interior and exterior walls and a lack of regular cleaning."

The conditions were a "shame" for Germany, Meidinger added.

Climate change: World way off track on Paris accord goals

Existing national goals will only meet one-third of the Paris climate target, according to a UN report.

The study comes less than a week before the world climate conference kicks off in Bonn.

As the United Nations prepares to welcomedelegates from across the world to Bonnon Monday for the two-week COP23 climate summit, it released a stark warning today. The national pledges currently on the table by the signatory countries will only bring a third of the reduction in emissions required by 2030 to meet global climate targets. The biggest roadblock is not with national governments, says the United Nations Environment Program report. Rather, the private sector and regional governments arenʼt increasing their climate action at a rate that would help close this gap. The Paris goal is to limit global warming to at least under 2 degrees Celsius — and to 1.5 degrees if possible — in order to avoid catastrophic climate change.

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Puma accused of defacing Indian heritage building with graffiti The German sportswear giant is being accused of causing permanent damage to a 17th-century building in Delhiʼs historic quarter. The historic architecture was painted with graffiti for a Puma shoe commercial.

A new Puma shoe commercial is getting some unwanted attention in India. The advertisement, which Puma says is a "creative endeavor that captures the grit of Indian streets," has ruffled the feathers of conservationists who accused the German sportswear company of defacing a centuries-old heritage building with graffiti. Two other buildings in the neighborhood have also been painted. "Itʼs a heritage area. You canʼt just go and paint what you like," Swapna Liddle from the Indian National Trust for Art

Trump likely to pick Powell as new United States Fed chair Under pressure from fresh allegations against his campaign team, US President Donald Trump is preparing to announce Fed governor Jerome Powell as his choice to replace Janet Yellen at the head of the central bank. Sources familiar with the matter told the news agency Reuters on Monday that Jerome Powell was the leading candidate of the Trump administration, with the White House sayingthe US presidentwas being expected to make the official announcement on Thursday. A US Federal Reserve governor since 2012, Powell is a well-known figure among bankers and investors. He worked as a partner at Carlyle Group from 1997 to 2005 after serving briefly in the administration of George W. Bush as US Treasury Secretary. Donald Trump has been deliberating between Powell alongside current chair Janet Yellen, and John Taylor, a Stanford economist who were also on the White House short list.

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Indiaʼs domestic workers face abuse without legal protection Indiaʼs labor ministry is currently preparing legislation to provide social security for domestic workers.

But rights groups say more legal protection against mistreatment is necessary. Stories ofwealthy families in India physically abusing and mistreating young women employed as domestic workers in metropolitan areas are becoming more common in India. In a high-profile case last July, a 26-year-old domestic worker from Bangladesh lodged a compliant with Indian police saying she had been beaten up and held captive by her employers at a home located in the upscale gated community of Noida, a suburb of New Delhi. She was freed after friends and family gathered in protest outside the apartment complex where she was being held. Her employers accused her of theft, but it was later discovered that she had not been paid for two months. The case is indicative of a larger trend of domestic workers in India being mistreated.

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and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) told Agence France-Presse news agency.

"Permanent damage has been done to the carved sandstone, limestone plaster and Lahori bricks. Those who made and approved this advertisement, those who stood by while this was done, are all responsible for this insensitive treatment." The Indian Ex‐ press newspaper reported that the walls of the building, which is listed as a heritage site, were painted over a month ago, but the issue was brought forth by INTACH on Sunday.

ʼOldestʼ evidence of grape winemaking dates to 8,000 years ago, say archaeologists

The ʼoldest evidence of grape winemakingʼ has been discovered in Georgia, according to researchers.

The fermented beverage is "central to civilization," said one of the studyʼs co-authors.

Scientists announced on Monday that the worldʼs earliest traces of grape wine-making were discovered in Georgia, dating back to nearly 8,000 years ago. The study published in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) said the "discovery dates the origin of the practice to the Neolithic period around 6,000 BC, pushing it back 600 – 1,000 years from the previously accepted date." The researchers – hailing from the US, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Israel and Georgia – analyzed chemical compounds found in ceramic casks discovered at two archaeological sites called Gadachrili Gora and Shulaveris Gora, roughly 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Tbilisi. Using a combination of the latest mass spectrometry and chromatography techniques, analysis "confirmed tartaric acid, the fingerprint compound for grape and wine," the report said.

268/2017 • 16, November 2017

Delhi is choking on its smog Delhi is experiencing some of the worst smog ever

At COP23 in Bonn, the world discusses emissions reductions. Meanwhile, Delhi is experiencing some of the worst smog ever.

As the world meets in Bonn for COP23 to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work towards a more sustainable future, on the other side of the world, Indiaʼs capital Delhi is suffocating in record-breaking smog.

As is, the city is known as the worldʼs capital with the worst air quality. Making things worse is the approaching winter. While the colder season wonʼt bring snow to the city of 20 million, the cooler air keeps smog near the ground, effectively trapping it in the city.

Another factor that has contributed to the bad air quality is Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, which took place recently. The five-day festival involves the burning of large amounts of fireworks and brought a lot of additionall traffic to the megacity. As a first measure, the city government has lowered fares for public transportation and hiked up the cost of parking to discourage driving and thus reduce traffic emissions. It has also ordered a closing of all schools for the rest of the week.

Self-driving bus starts first route in Germany Railway company Deutsche Bahn has introduced an autonomous bus to drive passengers along a preprogrammed route in Bavaria. In case of an emergency, a human driver can take control with a joystick.

The electric vehicle delivered its first passengers on Wednesday in Bad Birnach, Bavaria, starting on its eightminute route from the townʼs hot springs to the central area and the railway station. The EZ10 bus has six places to sit and can take in a further six standing passengers, and the ride is free of charge. Itʼs the first time a selfdriving bus has been incorporated in Germanyʼs public transport system.

Among the first group to ride the selfdriving bus was Richard Lutz, the head of the German railway giant Deutsche Bahn (DB), the company behind the pilot project. "Weʼve just driven, completely autonomously, into a new era of transport," he said in a statement after the first trip. The bus was developed by the French start-up EasyMile. It is equipped with sensors which can detect obstacles and activate brakes.The vehicle moves along a pre-programmed route with its speed initially limited to 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) per hour on a road with a 30 kph speed limit. Also, the bus is not yet capable of avoiding obstacles on its own.

Netflix to release Hungary’s Oscar Entry ‘On Body and Soul’

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."

On Body and Soul’ by eminent Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi receives its U.S. premier on November 12th at the prestigious American Film Institute Fest in Los Angeles, before being made available from February on streaming service Netflix. Hungary’s Oscar entry for Best Foreign-Language Film in 2018 will be the first Hungarian feature to be released on Netflix. Budapest-born Enyedi has already been awarded the Berlinale, the FIPRESCI Prize and, a first for a Hungarian and a woman, the Sydney Film Prize.

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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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268/2017 • 16, November 2017

US soccer star Hope Solo accuses Sepp Blatter of sexual harassment

Former US goalkeeper Hope Solo has said ex-FIFA boss Sepp Blatter groped her backside during the 2013 Ballon dʼOr ceremony. Sexual harassment wasnʼt just a problem in Hollywood but in womenʼs football as well, she said. Hope Solo, a star goalkeeper and former member of the US football team, accusedformer FIFA President Sepp Blatterof sexually harassing her, in an interview published on Friday. "Sepp Blatter grabbed my ass, it was a few years ago at the Ballon dʼOr ceremony just before I got on stage," Solo told Portuguese newspaper Expresso.

Rafael Nadal pulls out with a knee injury

Rafael Nadal has confirmed that he will pull out of the ATP World Tour Finals. The world number one has been dealing with a knee injury and had to pull out of a tournament in November. After losing to Belgian David Goffin 7-6 (5), 6-7, 6-4 in his first match at the ATP World Tour Finals in London on Monday, menʼs world number one Rafael Nadal said he was pulling out of the tournament with a knee injury. "My season is finished," the Spaniard told reporters after the match. "My commitment was to try. Iʼve missed this event too many times in my career."

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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.

Mario Götze: The return of the king?

Götze is yet to fully recapture his old form

When he scored the winner in the 2014 World Cup final, Mario Götze looked set to be one of the worldʼs best players. But with Russia 2018 looming, Tuesdayʼs game may be one of his last chances to re-establish himself.

After almost a year of absence, Mario Götze has finally made his comeback to the German national squad. However, the Dortmund midfielder had to watch from the bench asGermany played out a goalless draw against England at Wembleyon Friday night. His muchanticipated return to “Die Mannschaft” is likely to happen in Tuesday’s friendly against a highcaliber French team. “I feel very,

very good. I believe I’m at 100 percent,” Götze assured reporters during a press conference last week.

The 25-year-old’smetabolic illness sidelined him for large parts of last seasonbut he has already featured in eight Bundesliga matches this year with Dortmund.

Nevertheless, Götze is yet to fully recapture his old form - heʼs failed to score in 12 appearances for his club this term.

Jerome Boateng: We absolutely want to defend our World Cup title Jerome Boateng has given a German newspaper a frank assessment of his injuries, a pivotal night in Paris and the challenge facing Germany in Russia. The Bayern Munich man says heʼs not been at his best for five years.

Boateng has been a regular in Bayern Munichʼs starting line-up since joining from Manchester City in 2011, but of late has had to endure one of the most testing periods of his professional career. Since the start of the 2016/17 campaign, the 68-cap German internationalʼs list of injuries reads like a whatʼs

what of footballing ailments. "Youʼve got to be careful," warned Boateng when discussing the physical toll modern footballers have to cope with, both on and off the pitch with Süddesutsche Zeitung. "Even off the pitch, there are constant demands. We know theyʼre important, but turning off is becoming increasingly more difficult." The Berlin native has only made 30 appearances in all competitions for the German record titleholders since the start of last season, but is hoping heʼll reap the long-term benefits of a patient approach to recovery.