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86/2019 • 13 APRIL, 2019 WEEKEND ISSUE

DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH

ICC rejects Afghanistan war crimes probe The International Criminal Court said that despite "a reasonable basis" to consider war crimes committed in Afghanistan, there was little chance of a successful prosecution. Rights group Amnesty criticized the decision. International Criminal Court (ICC) judges on Friday rejected a request by the courtʼs chief prosecutor to open an investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan, including alleged violations by US forces.

French retailer Decathlon cancels plan to sell sports hijab French sporting goods chain Decathlon has canceled plans to sell a runnerʼs hijab in France following a public outcry and opposition from some politicians who called for a boycott. Decathlon official Xavier Rivoire told the RTL broadcaster on Tuesday that the Muslim headscarf designed for runners would not be sold at its stores in France for the time being.

Read more: Muslim fashion for women: Modesty meets trendy style Decathlon had initially said it would sell the sports hijab to meet "a requirement of certain runners, and we are therefore responding to this sporting requirement."

Several French politicians criticized Decathlon for its plans to sell the product in France, including Health Minister Agnes Buzyn. Such a product is "not forbidden by law," she said on RTL, but "it is a vision of women that I do not share. I would have preferred that a French brand not promote the veil."

Nigel Farage launches Brexit Party to run in EU elections Our two-party system canʼt cope with Brexit, he said.

Farage accused Prime Minister May of a "betrayal" of the British people as he launched his new political party.

Facebook, Instagram ban British farright figure Tommy Robinson Facebook has taken harsh measures against British far-right personality Tommy Robinson, banning him from its platforms and closing his Facebook page and Instagram profile. Robinson is said to have violated Facebookʼs "community standards" by promoting "organized hate" and other prohibited behavior. Specifically, the company noted in a statement that Robinsonʼs pages had repeatedly broken its standards by "posting material that uses

dehumanizing language and calls for violence targeted at Muslims." "This is not a decision we take lightly, but individuals and organizations that attack others on the basis of who they are have no place on Facebook or Instagram," the social media giant said.

Anti-fascist and anti-racist organization Hope Not Hate welcomed the decision, referring to Robinson as "a farright thug who uses his platform to bully, abuse and stir up division."

Dirk Nowitzki: Going out with a double-double After 21 seasons in the worldʼs top basketball league, Dirk Nowitzki has left the court for the last time.

He did so with a strong performance in the same city in which he first burst onto the global stage.

Chen Ying is begging for attention.

The Chinese woman is standing with her boyfriend Xu Wei right behind one of the baskets at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. Itʼs the basket thatDirk Nowitzkiand his Dallas Mavericks teammates are shooting at during the warmup. Ying is far too polite to scream. Instead, she holds a banner above her head, which reads in Ger-

man: "Lieber Dirk: vielen Dank, dass Sie von 13 bis 30 Jahre bei mir geblieben sind.

Liebe aus China" (Dear Dirk: thank you for staying with me from 13 to 30 years. Love from China). Below that is a short request that Nowitzki had already ruled out fulfilling for her or any of his other fans: "One more year." Itʼs been almost 24 hours since Nowitzki announced at his last home game that he was calling time on his playing career.

Ying and Wei were also in the American Airlines Center in Dallas one night earlier. They flew to Texas for Nowitzkiʼs very last NBA game.

Nepal bans popular online survival game after parents complain The government of Nepal has banned the popular video game PlayerUnknownʼs Battlegrounds (PUBG), saying on Friday that the game was having "negative psychological impacts on children and teenagers."

The countryʼs telecommunications authority has instructed internet service providers to block access to PUBG. Nepalese parents had sought the ban after reporting an uptick in violent behavior amongst their children.

Jewish rabbis and Muslim imams to join Bundeswehr chaplains Since he became the first rabbi to complete an internship with the German military chaplaincy in 2004, Konstantin Pal has fought to make the Bundeswehrmore open to different religions.

Back then he accompanied a Catholic priest who was assigned to the marines. "It was no adventure — more like a steep learning curve," Pal, who considers himself liberal, told DW. "Being on board a warship is certainly nothing like being in a university seminar room. But you still learn how to support people spiritually."

weather today BUDAPEST

8 / 11 °C Precipitation: 0 mm

86/2019 • 13 April, 2019 Weekend issue

The Germansʼ annual obsession with asparagus Springtime in Germany means the countdown is on for the countryʼs brief feast on a vegetable known as "white gold." The Germansʼ passion for white asparagus is celebrated in museums — and even by queens.

The harvest in Germany has only just begun but as always, the end is already in sight for this seasonal vegetable: an old farmerʼs saying has it that when the cherries turn red, the time for harvesting asparagus is over.

More specifically, the season ends on June 24, the feast day of St. John.

"Until St Johnʼs, donʼt forget this, you have seven weeks to eat asparagus," according to yet another old proverb.

The plant simply needs to recover for the next year and a new cycle of pleasing Germans with nutrient-rich spears low in calories — as long as you donʼt smother the vegetables in melted butter or Hollandaise sauce!

The southwestern city of Schwetzingen, which presents itself as Germanyʼs "Asparagus Town," offers a host of asparagus-related events in April and May, including art projects, photo exhibits, tours, workshops on how to cut the vegetable and the traditional Schwetzingen Asparagus Run over five and 10 kilometers.

Trump quashes Cuba baseball agreement For decades, players from baseballmad Cuba have defected to the US in the hope of signing professional contracts. Finally, an Obama-era agreement promised an end to the days of risking everything for a baseball career. But then Trump came to town.

Arjen Robben set to miss Der Klassiker but hopeful of final Bayern Munich appearance

Clashes with Borussia Dortmund have been pivotal in Arjen Robbenʼs long Bayern Munich career, with memories good and bad.

But the Dutchman admits injury is likely to deny him a last chance to face Bayernʼs title rivals.

As the opponent heʼs both faced and lost against most in his career, those with an eye for a narrative arc would have hoped Arjen Robben might have played one last time against Borussia Dortmund, before leaving Bayern Munich and riding off in to the sunset. But the 35-year-old Dutch winger, who will leave the club he joined in 2009 at the end of the season, believes the April 6

meeting will come too soon. "I still donʼt know whether I will be fit, we will have to see, but I think it is probably unrealistic," Robben told Munich newspaper Abendzeitung on Wednesday. "I am on the road to recovery, but I am not yet training with the team," he added. "I think it will take a bit more time. All I can do is keep working hard and fighting to get back on the pitch."

Madonna to perform at Eurovision in Tel Aviv for million-dollar fee Madonna will put on a guest performance at the final of the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Israel.

American pop star Madonna will perform at theEurovision final in Tel Avivnext month, her public relations firm has confirmed. The 60-year-old is expected to sing two songs during the competition, which will also feature musical acts from more than 40 countries. Israel was chosen to host the event afterlocal singer Netta Barzilai won the 2018 contest in Portugal with the song "Toy." CanadianIsraeli businessman Sylvan Adams, who reportedly extended the invitation to Madonna, will also cover her estimated $1.5 million (€1.3 million) fee for the show. Itʼs tradition for the winning country to host the following yearʼs Eurovision, but Israel has proven a controversial venue, with

pro-Palestinian activists calling for performers to boycott the event. In January, around 50 British celebrities, including Peter Gabriel, Roger Waters and Julie Christie, signed a letter urging the BBC to cancel coverage of the 2019 contest. "Eurovision may be light entertainment, but it is not exempt from human rights considerations — and we cannot ignore Israelʼs systematic violation of Palestinian human rights," the letter said. It followed a boycott appeal earlier this year from more than 60 LGBTQ organizations from nearly 20 countries, who accused Israel of using Eurovision "to distract attention from its war crimes against Palestinians." In recent years, artists like Nick Cave and Radiohead have beencriticized for performing in Israel, while others such as New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde have canceled concerts there following intense public pressure.

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Weather forecasters put climate change on their maps Now the climate is changing, so are their jobs. Many see it as their role to help raise awareness.

Though it was a couple of years ago, weathercaster Anju Singh clearly recollects the message she delivered to camera when unexpected heavy rains started pounding and destroying crops in parts of India. "We convinced farmers to do water harvesting, so at least water was not wasted and could be used later when there is scarcity," Singh told DW. "Because the pattern has totally changed." As has the job of a weather forecaster.

When she started out almost 15 years ago, "the role of weather presenters was just to talk about the weather forecast," Singh said. "But now they are educators and a kind of bridge between (the) masses and the scientists." She is a senior presenter atDD Kisan,the agriculture television channel with Indiaʼs public service broadcaster Doordarshan. Sheʼs also a member ofClimate without Borders, a global network of weather presenters from more than 100 countries pushing to include more climate change talks in their daily work.

Belgium vows to amplify EU voice on UN Security Council Belgiumʼs foreign minister says his country will use its temporary UN Security Council seat to make the EU more influential on the global stage. Belgium and Germany are to scheduled to take up their seats on January 1. Belgium will use its two-year seat on the United Nations Security Council to bolster the European Unionʼs influence within the global body, Belgiumʼs foreign minister has said. Didier Reynders told Germanyʼs Neue Os‐ nabrücker Zeitung news outlet that Belgium aims to help harmonize each EU member stateʼs diplomacy so that they "send the same message with different voices." Belgium will take up its temporary seat on the Security Council,the UNʼs highest decision-making body, along with Germany on January 1. "We have an important role to play in supporting multilateralism," Reynders said. "There is no better place for it than in the United Nations Security Council."