DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Syriaʼs sexual violence survivors seek justice An analysis of Syrian survivorsʼ interviews from 2012 to date details new accusations of what authors call systematic sexual and gendered violence at state-controlled detention facilities, government checkpoints and house raids by the Syrian army. The report, entitled "Do you know what happens here?," was named after testimony from one witness who, during interrogation, was said to have been asked the question before being led into a room where a detainee was being sexually assaulted by a guard. The Washington-based Syrian Justice and Accountability Center (SJAC) penned the report as part of efforts to deliver transitional justice, including reducing shame and stigma, potential truth commissions and possible prosecutions.
Snapshot of the black hole Here it is! The very first picture of a black hole. At six press conferences simultaneously — in Brussels, Washington, Taipei, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Santiago, Chile — researchers presented the remarkable photo: a dark circle with a flaming orange ring of light. The researchers couldnʼt do this with a telescope. A telescope of this size would have to be as large as Earth. Because this is impossible, the researchers came up with a trick. They connected eight strong radio telescopes around the globe to simulate a giant telescope. Since 2017, they have collected data on data, packed it together, and proved with a picture whatAlbert Einsteinhad already calculated 100 years ago: that there must be something with such a mass that it attracts, swallows and distracts from its orbit anything close to it.
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Israel faces old reality of Benjamin Netanyahu victory anew The vote reflects a deep societal divide. Dana Regev reports from Haifa
Israelʼs general election has put Prime Minister Netanyahu on track for a record fifth term in office, but not everybody is celebrating. The day after Israelʼs general election, itʼs hard to say the country has woken up to the dawn of a new day. In the northern port city of Haifa — known for its mixed Arab-Jewish population and left-leaning tendencies — the warm sunshine is unable to mask the storm in its residentsʼ hearts, as all signs point to a record fifth term in office for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu couldnʼt have asked for a more promising outcome after a tight race between his ruling right-wing Likud Party and the centrist Blue and White alliance of former military commander-inchief Benny Gantz. Gantz, a rising star in the political arena,tied with Netanyahu, with each of their parties earning 35 seats. But almost all the smaller right-wing parties have said they would back Netanyahu to form a coalition. This right-wing bloc has a 10-seat lead, with 65 seats as opposed to the center-leftʼs 55. Gantz conceded defeat Wednesday evening. Before voting had finished, however, promising preliminary results for Gantzʼs party triggered panic on
Likudʼs social media accounts, with Netanyahuʼs supporters launching an aggressive text message campaign meant to persuade undecided voters to head to the polls before they closed. "A dramatic update on low turnout across the Likudʼs strongholds, we have to save the Right!" some of the text messages read. "If you donʼt want to end up with a left-wing government — get out and vote Likud now!" And so the Israeli people have spoken — or the roughly six million who are eligible to vote, at least. Israeli Arabs can vote, though Palestinians cannot, and Israelis living overseas must vote in Israel. In Haifa, not everybody feels victorious. Adi Hagin, 40, is an Israeli living in Frankfurt with her German husband and their two daughters. She flew to Israel for less than 48 hours just to cast her vote. "Itʼs not that I seriously expected any other result, but I felt like I have to fight for the future of my homeland – and I failed," she shares with DW. "Iʼm not sorry I flew here. I am, however, sorry that I couldnʼt change the Israeli reality."
Could Libya be Russiaʼs new Syria? As the conflict in Libya heat up, the words out of Moscow have remained cool and rational. During a recent visit to Egypt, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia′s "task is to help the Libyan people overcome their current differences of opinion, and come up with a stable agreement" to reconcile the sides. And at the beginning of the week Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia will use every possible opportunity to call on all sides to avoid causing bloodshed and the "deaths in the civilian population." Since early April, the forces of military strongman Khalifa Haftar (above) have been pushing towards the Libyan capital Tripoli. That is where the internationally recognized government of Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj is based, which has accused Haftar of attempting a coup. Haftar heads the self-titled Libyan National Army, which is backed by a rival government in the east of the country.
USʼ Mike Pence urges UN to recognize Venezuelaʼs Guaido The UN should admit a representative ofJuan Guaidoʼs Venezuela governmentin place of the envoy appointed by Nicolas Maduro, US Vice President Mike Pence told international representatives on Wednesday. "The time has come for the United Nations to recognize interim president Juan Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela and seat his representative in this body," Pence added. Venezuelaʼs parliamentary speaker Juan Guaido declared himself interim president in January, claiming thathis rival Nicolas Maduro had lost legitimacy.
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84/2019 • 11 April, 2019
Germany speeds up asylum process German authorities took a little over six months on an average to process asylum requests in the third quarter of 2018, according to an Interior Ministry response to a parliamentary question by the Left party. The average processing time was 9.2 months in the first quarter and 7.3 months in the second quarter, newspapers of the Funke Medien‐ gruppe quoted. In 2017, the asylum seekers had to wait an average of 10.7 months for a decision. The time that the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) officials needed to process asylum requests in the third quarter is still way below the target of three months that Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed with state premiers in 2015. "Instead of the costly and mostly ineffective process of questioning the protection status that has already been granted, as is currently happening hundreds of thousands of times in the context of the revocation investigations, the BAMF staff should be deployed to examine the asylum applications and gain better qualifications," Left Party domestic policy expert Ulla Jelpke told Funke newspapers. This could effectively shorten the length of procedures "without compromising the quality of the procedures," she said.
Germanyʼs migrants: wooed and discriminated "We are Hamburg. Are you in?" Thatʼs the slogan Hamburg is using to advertise municipal jobs to migrants. From police officers to teachers, doctors, bookkeepers and prison workers — the city is hoping to hire more employees with an migrant background. And itʼs not just Hamburg making this push. All throughout Germany, the business and public sectors alike are focusing on the countryʼs newest residents. Rising education levels Thatʼs because the average education level of migrants in Germany is on the rise. In 2011, one-quarter of young migrants between the ages of 18 and 25 had completed their "Abitur," or high school certificate exam. By 2015, that figure had climbed to 33 percent. During that same period, the percentage of youth without a migrant background who completed high school rose from 32 to 39 percent. 2
Germanyʼs taxi drivers protest Uber deregulation plans
Taxi drivers are rallying against plans to open Germany to riderhailing services like Uber
Iraq braces for more unrest as Basra protests gather pace An estimated 200 protesters gathered on Monday morning at the main gate leading to three of Iraqʼs major oil fields in the southern oil-exporting city of Basra. Protests in Basra, Iraqʼs second-largest city, started last Tuesdaywhen security forces opened fire, killing one person and wounding five. They soon spread to other provinces. Read more: Iraq hangs 13 ʼISʼ prisoners as PM Haidar al-Abadi calls for ʼjust retributionʼ The oil hub of Basra and other parts of the Shiʼite south have long been neglected, first by Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein and then by Shiʼite-led governments. But an ongoing political crisis and the recent rhetoric of Grand Ayatollah alSistani, the top Shiʼite cleric in the country have also clearly aggravated the situation.
An industry body has called the demonstrations "the largest taxi protest" in Germanyʼs modern history. Taxi drivers across Germany on Wednesday protested against government plans torelax regulations that would allow ride-hailing servicessuch as Uber to operate in the country. The German Taxi and Rental Car Association (BZP) called it "the largest taxi protest in the history of the federal republic." Currently, the taxi industry has managed to stave off greater access to
Germany: Auditors slam pricey naval ship repairs "Severe" mismanagement within the German navyand Defense Ministry led to massive cost overruns in restoration work on a naval training ship, according to a confidential report seen by Der Spiegel magazine. Repair estimates on the Gorch Fock were originally priced at under €10 million ($11.5 million), but skyrocketed to €135 million last year, the 39-page report from the National Audit Office found. The agency blamed military officers for inadequately examining the sailing shipʼs deficiencies, ignoring information vital for the repair work and failing to fully inform Defense
the German market for such services. Uber has permission to operate in Berlin, Munich and Dusseldorf, albeit under heavy restrictions, including requiring special licenses for drivers. The government has proposed relaxing those restrictions. However, the taxi industry has urged Berlin to shelve the reforms, saying it would decimate the livelihoods of taxi drivers. Minister Ursula von der Leyen. Work on the shipʼs hull and renewal of its upper and middle deck began in 2015 without an economic feasibility study, and without considering the case for constructing a new ship, auditors said. A Defense Ministry spokesperson said the ministry would submit a formal reply to the Federal Audit Officeʼs accusations by April.
UK reveals fighter jet ʼTempestʼ for post-Brexit era Williamson said the "world-beating" jet can be used unmanned, as a drone, or with pilots. It is scheduled to be operational by 2035. The UK is to invest 2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion, €2.3 billion) to 2025 in the stealth
warplane, which will involve British companies BAE Systems and RollsRoyce as well as Anglo-Italian Leonardo and pan-European MBDA. Aiming to ensure UK leadership in defense Williamson said the program was designed to ensure Britainʼs continued leadership in fighter technology and control of airspace in future conflicts. Last year,France and Germany signed an agreementto develop Europeʼs next-generation fighter jet to replace the aging Rafale and Eurofighter jet by 2040, involving Europeʼs Airbus and Franceʼs Dassault Aviation. Following the 2016 Brexit referendum, Airbus moved to partner with Dassault at the expense of Britainʼs BAE Systems. There are concerns in Britain that its defense industry may be shut out from EU plans for next-generation fighter jets, although, officially, both projects have invited other companies to join.
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German politics: Are immigrants left out? A new study says that Germans with an immigrant background trust the countryʼs political system, but lack the confidence to engage with it. Political analyst Jan Schneider talks to DW about how this could change. In Germany, around 20 million people (almost a quarter of the population) have an immigrant background, which means they or at least one of their parents do not have German citizenship by birth. However, around half of these people now have a German passport and are therefore eligible to vote in local, state and federal elections. TheExpert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration(SVR) recently conducted a study on the extent to which people with an immigrant background in Germany engage in politics. The SVR, which is an independent body, regularly com-
Reform Germanyʼs welfare state, urges communal association A simplification of Germanyʼs welfare state is wanted by its Association of Towns and Municipalities (BStGB). Only then, it says, will communities be able to cope with demographic aging and future economic strains. Germanyʼs11,054 communal authoritieswere overburdened with complicated welfare delivery and needed "debureaucratization" to stay within budget in the future, asserted association chief executive Gerd Landsberg on Tuesday. "Every problem is met with the promise that there is more money and naturally more personnel," he said, adding that, long-term, Germanyʼs highly legislated welfare state would not function, given finite taxation revenues, populations withmore elderly, and regions facing loss of industry and jobs. Landsberg told newspapers run by the Funke MedienGruppe (media group) – which is based in Essen in the once coal and steel-dominated Ruhr region – that the reform should start with the reexamination of welfare grants and tax relief for families.
piles statistics on migration, but this study marks the first time it has conducted a survey on political selfefficacy. The aim of the study, in essence, was to measure the level of political engagement among people with immigrant backgrounds living in Germany. Do they understand the political system? Do they feel politicians represent their interests? Do they feel they are in a position to be involved in politics? Generally, when it comes to these issues, people with an immigrant background often view themselves as worse off compared to those without an immigrant background.
Angela Merkel advocates longer Brexit extension
In a short statement to Germanyʼs parliament, the Bundestag, on Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel reported on government discussions following her meeting with UK Prime Minister Theresa May in Berlin on Tuesday, ahead of the European Council meeting in Brussels in the evening. She confirmed theposition set out by Council President Donald Tuskfor another extension but with conditions to prevent any disruption to the EUʼs program or operations. Merkel said there was a need to find a solution. "It may well be a
longer extension than the one the British prime minister asked for," Merkel said, adding that while an extension should be as short as possible, "it should also give us a degree of calm, so that we donʼt have to deal with the same topic every two weeks." "Thatʼs why Iʼm advocating, if thereʼs a large majority for it today [at the summit], that we can very well make the extension run for several months — but without dragging anything out. Instead, the exit should be possible as soon as the UK has decided [on how it wishes to leave]."
ʼMiss Germanyʼ goes to police officer, cyber crime investigator Freshly crowned Nadine Berneis said Saturday she would apply for one yearʼs leave from her Stuttgart police precinct for her new role as German beauty emissary. "My dream has come true," said Berneis, originally from Dresden in Germanyʼs eastern state of Saxony, and an enthusiast of endurance fitness training and cycling. The 28-year-old was picked by a four-member jury, including the British dancer Nikeata Thompson and former German "law-and-order" federal parliamentarian Wolfgang Bosbach.
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84/2019 • 11 April, 2019
German firms warned about Chinese ʼcloud hopperʼ hackers Germanyʼs BSI information security agency, tipped off by America, has identified small weak-link service firms as the gateways used to hack German industry, Germanyʼs Süddeutsche Zeitung daily newspaper said on Wednesday. Referring to US President Donald Trumpʼs trade row with China and citing the "well-informed"website Axios, the paper said the BSI "acted promptly." Their actions in late November came after the US, via diplomatic channels, named German firms apparently targeted by "cloud hopper" hackers — allegedly from China. German mechanical engineering and material research concerns were targeted in particular, the Munichbased newspaper said. Cyber experts have long warned that Germany, with its high level of manufacturing and engineering expertise, would be keenly targeted for industrial secrets by hackers. The BSI - in a5 December press release — said the worldwide-circulating malware (malicious software) "Emotet," with the potential to paralyze enterprise networks, had led to a "heap" of severe incidents in Germany. Categorized as Advanced Persistent Threats (APT), these were "highly professional" attacks adapted and automated the use of Emotet within infected networks, said BSI president Arne Schönbohm.
Mann+Hummel: Hidden champion fights fine particles It only takes the weather to be unfavorable,and megacities across the world sink into wafts of mist. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some 7 million people die every year partly as a result of inhaling polluted air over longer periods. Increasing traffic has no doubt contributed to creating "thick air." Many nations are in the middle of campaigns to reverse the trend by pushing e-mobility, arguing that electric vehicles donʼt have exhaust pipes as sources of poisonous nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. But a closer look reveals that fine particulates cannot be reduced drastically through electric cars. "Irrespective of a carʼs transmission system, it will always produce a lot of particulate matter," says Jan-Eric Raschke, who heads the fine particulates/filtration division at the German company Mann+Hummel. He explains thatroughly 90 percent of all particulate emissions in cars stem from tire wear and the braking system. 4
CEP study: Germany gains most from euro introduction A new study from the Centre for European Policy in Freiburg has shown Germany to have gained "by far the most" from the introduction of the euro. Italy and France saw a drop in prosperity over the last 20 years. Germany gained almost €1.9 trillion ($2.1 trillion) between 1999 and 2017 as a result of the euroʼs introduction, according to a report by the Centre for European Policy (CEP). The Freiburg-based think tank is part of the Stiftung Ordnungspolitik, and examines and evaluates EU policy. Researchers Alessandro Gasparotti and Matthias Kullas on Monday published their study "20 Years of the Euro:
German air traffic software glitch one of several problems afflicting sector The headquarters of DFS — the stateowned company in charge of all air traffic control matters in Germany — doesnʼt look all that imposing as you drive toward it through the quiet, tree-lined backstreets of Langen, a small town 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) south of Frankfurt. But this is one of the most important places in the country. In a given week, staff at the DFS (which stands for Deutsche Flugsicherung, or "German air traffic control") manage and handle up to 60,000 flights from four control centers, one of which is in Langen. Its fluent operation is central to aviation in Germany and Europe. But things are far from fluent at the moment. Software problems have affected DFS since Wednesday, with computer glitches impacting air traffic control systems at Langen,forcing the cancellation of several flights, including 46 from Frankfurt Airport on Monday alone. According to DFS, the software malfunction is affecting flight operations at airports in Frankfurt, Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf, four of the eight busiest airports in the country.
H-1056 Budapest, Só u. 6. Telephone: +36 1 577 0700 Fax: +36 1 577 0710 bhzinfo@zeinahotels.com www.boutiquehotelbudapest.com
TikTok: Worldʼs most successful video app faces security concerns Fifteen-second videos and an endless stream of music; this, in a nutshell, is what the TikTok app promises its users. You may have heard of it. You may even have downloaded it and probably deleted it quickly because the amount of bizarre content was too terrifying. Thatʼs alright, Some 40 percent of the appʼs users are under the age of 24. TikTok is a social media app for "vertical video" streaming powered byartificial intelligence (AI). Once youʼve downloaded it and even before signing up, you already receive short videos in your feed. Content is sampled automatically and mainly features videos of of people dancing, singing, lip syncing and performing all sorts of stunts. On average, users spend 52 minutes a day using the app, which adds up to roughly 200 videos per day. TikTok is structured around a never-ending video feed.
Published by: Mega Media Kft. 1075 Budapest, Madách I. út 13-14. +36 1 398 0344 www.hotelujsag.hu
Winners and Losers," which uses a "synthetic control method" to analyze which countries have gained from the euro and which ones have lost out. They found Germany and the Netherlands to be the only countries to have gained substantial benefits from the euro. In Germany during this two-decade time frame, the new currency created an additional €23,000 per inhabitant.
European Commission finds German automakers illegally colluded on emissions technology
German car giants VW, Daimler and BMW colluded to restrict the development of technology to clean emissions from passenger cars, the European Commission said in preliminary findings from its antitrust probe. German car manufacturing giants Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW illegally colluded to hinder competition on emission cleaning technology, the European Commission said on Friday. The initial findings froman investigation by the EUʼs antitrust regulatorscame nearly two years after authoritiescarried out raids on their headquarters. What the Commission found: From 2006 to 2014, the three German automakers conspired to limit the development and rollout of emission cleaning technology for passenger cars sold in Europe.The talks were aimed at restricting competition and "breached EU antitrust rules."Two types of technology, specifically, were restricted: one to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel cars and another to reduce harmful particulate matter from petrol engine cars.The companies "denied consumers the opportunity to buy less polluting cars" despite the technology being available.
84/2019 • 11 April, 2019
The Germansʼ annual obsession with asparagus Take the ʼAsparagus Roadʼ
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 pleas-
ing 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.
Kaiser Ottó: Sights and Tastes of Hungary This fascinating „chef album” is a special journey in itself. It takes you through the beautiful regions of Hungary and offers the opportunity to explore the flavours of Hungarian cuisine. The landscape and food photos by photographer Ottó Kaiser are accompanied by recipes from interna-
tionally acclaimed master chef Ottó Laczkó – all this complete with a hint of history, culture, geography and even ethnography. Western Transdanubia, Middle Transdanubia, Lake Balaton, Southern Transdanubia, Budapest, Northern Hungary, Northern Great Plain, Southern Great Plain
Hungary at a Glance (Published by Scolar Publishing Company) It is a unique feature of the Carpathian basin that its relatively small area hosts an unparalleled variety of ethnic groups, religions and civilizations. This cohabitation gave birth to a common culture, while a truly multi-layered nation was also formed. For centuries the descendants of the founding Hungarian tribes lived alongside ancient peoples who preceded them and the people migrating here from neighbouring nations. Hungarians, Slovaks, Romanians, Serbs and Germans shared a common land here, just like the members of the different faiths – Catholics, Calvinists, Lutherans and Jews – did. Our book is a special project, as it tries to convey the colourful nature of Hungary and its people. This unique “guidebook” covers everything from history to cultural heritage, from the achievements of the arts and sciences to the extraordinary music scene. Although these pages will give you only a glance, we do hope that this glimpse will inspire real love for this country in all our readers.
Budapestʼs historic Lotz Hall café reopened as Café Párisi
After two years of undesired silence a new café has opened its gates in Budapest’s neo-renaissance styled jewellery box, the former Paris Deparment Store (Párisi Nagy Áruház). Situated in the heart of the city on Andrássy avenue, Café Párisi is the perfect location for those who wish to enjoy the luxury of early 20th century Budapest. The newly reopened location is already one of Budapest’s hidden gems: set in the Paris Department Store’s mezzanine level just below the iconic frescos created by renowned Hungarian painter Károly Lotz. Párisi Café has everything you could ask for from traditional Hungarian cakes like the Eszterházy or the Gerbaud slide to alternative milk-based cafés. Open everyday from 9:00 - 21:00
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Culture
Illés Andrea: World Heritage Sites in Hungary Every country in the world has breathtaking landscapes and imposing monuments of which it can be genuinely proud. This is certainly true of Hungary, where the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has already inscribed several sites as part of the world heritage. In 1987, the Budapest panorama from the banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and the village of Hollókő were the first to be included on the World Heritage List, while the most recent additions, in 2002, were Andrássy Avenue and the Tokaj historic wine region. Between these two dates, five Hungarian sites were granted world heritage status: the caves of the Aggtelek karst, the Benedictine Archabbey of Pannonhalma, Hortobágy, the Early Christian necropolis of Pécs and the Fertő Lake area. This impressive, lavishly illustrated book introduces readers to the World Heritage sites of Hungary, along with sites that may be awarded UNESCO protection in the near future. Scolar Kiadó is the first publishing house to have compiled a complete overview of Hungarian World Heritage sites and of the nominated sites on UNESCO’s tentative list, sharing these treasures through the skills of renowned photographers.
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84/2019 • 11 April, 2019
Two Germans win second gold medals at Nordic World Ski Championships
Germanyʼs Markus Eisenbichler on Sunday helped destroy the opposition to win gold in the large hill skijumping team event — his second world title at this yearʼs FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld, Austria. Eisenbichler and his compatriots Karl Geiger, Richard Freitag, and Stephan Leyhe led from start to finish on Innsbruckʼs Bergisel hill, winning 987.5 points overall, a massive 56.5 points — or 31 meters (101 feet) — ahead of hosts Austria, who took silver, and Japan (bronze). Eisenbichler won individual gold ahead of Geiger on Saturday on the Innsbruck hill and now joins compatriot Nordic combined skier Eric Frenzel and Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo as a two-time Seefeld champion.
Celtic & Scotland striker to return to training after absence
Aleksandar Kolarovʼs free kick stunner secures Serbia win over Costa Rica A brilliant second half free kick from captain Aleksandar Kolarov led Serbia to a deserved win over Costa Rica. Serbia were wasteful in front of goal but did enough to secure three vital points in Group E. Another World Cup day, another sublime freekick. If Cristiano Ronaldo’s ice-cold effort tosnatch a point against arch-rivals Spain on day two was the current goal of the tournament front-runner, the Portuguese may have just met his match. Aleksandar Kolarov, take a bow. A combination of poor finishing and sublime goalkeeping had kept the scores level until Serbia’s no.11 produced his moment of magic. Kolarov’s powerful left foot is no secret, but few inside the stadium would have expected such a thunderous strike when the Roma defender stood over a free kick midway through the second half. His shot was unstoppable; a side-footed missile which screamed into the top corner of the Costa Rica net. Kaylor Navas, who kept his team in the game with several crucial saves either side of half time, was nowhere near it.
Simona Halep through to semis Miami Open 2019:
Simona Halep moved closer to reclaiming the world number one ranking after defeating Chinaʼs Wang Qiang 6-4 7-5 to reach the Miami Open semi-finals. Halep only needs to reach Saturdayʼs final to knock Japanʼs Naomi Osaka off the top womenʼs rankings. The 27-year-old from Romania was 5-1 down in the second set but fought back by winning six consecutive games. "My coach said I was rushing a bit so I managed to calm down," she said. "That was great advice. I started well and played some smart tennis but in the
second set, she started to raise her game." Halep converted seven of eight break points and hit 24 winners compared to 14 from Wang. She will play the winner of an allCzech contest between world number five Karolina Pliskova and Marketa Vondrousova in the next round. The other semi-final will be played between Anett Kontaveit of Estonia and Australiaʼs Ashleigh Barty.
David Moyes keen on Scotland job ʼin timeʼ but would prefer club management Leigh Griffiths will return to training with Celtic this week after being out of football since early December dealing with mental health issues. The Scotland forward, 28, will begin "fitness and performance work" with medical staff with a view to returning to full training "in the future". Celtic manager Neil Lennon said there is "no timescale" on a return to first-team action for the striker. "Iʼd like to thank everyone for showing me such support," Griffiths said. "I am so grateful to the club for everything they have given me and the way in which they have supported me so strongly." 6
Former Manchester United manager David Moyes says he would like to manage Scotland "in time" but his preference is a return to club management. Scotland manager Alex McLeish has come under pressure followingdefeat by Kazakhstanin the Euro 2020 qualifiers. Moyes left West Ham United in 2018 after achieving Premier League safety in his six-month spell in charge. "Club football would be my choice, but Scotlandʼs my country and Iʼm really passionate," Moyes told the BBC. "Iʼve followed Scotland to all the tournaments when I was a young man, I
used to go to Wembley regularly with my dad, so Iʼve got some great memories of being a Scotland supporter." Scotland at ʼrock bottomʼ - captain RobertsonScotland atmosphere ʼtoxic and horribleʼNerves & changes affected display - McLeish McLeishʼs side lost 3-0 in Kazakhstan to kick off their Group I qualifying campaign, and the team was booed off the pitch three days later following anunconvincing 2-0 win over San Marino. Moyes believes that fundamental issues with player development are at the root cause of Scotlandʼs international struggles.