Kim Jong-nam, the stepbrother of the North Korean head of state Kim Jong-un, died on Tuesday in the departure lounge of an airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, reportedly after being attacked with a toxic chemical. The victim was waiting to board a flight to the autonomous Chinese region of Macau when he was poisoned by two women who have not officially been identified yet. Three suspects were initially detained, an Indonesian woman, a Malaysian man thought to be her boyfriend and a Vietnamese woman. An autopsy was completed on Wednesday, but the results have not been revealed. South Korean intelligence officials claim that the attack was carried out on behalf of the secretive North, possibly as a result of Kim Jong-nam’s criticism of his stepbrother’s leadership. The reign of Kim Jong-un is well-known for its history of purges and executions of people threatening the leader’s power and authority or the regime itself.

Kim Jong-nam was considered to be the main candidate to inheriting the leadership of North Korea until he and his family were caught using fake Dominican Republic passports in an attempt to enter Japan in 2001. He spent most of his time in Macau, enjoying a liberal, modern lifestyle.

©Alchetron

stepbrother = Stiefbruder

head of state = Staatsoberhaupt

departure lounge = Abfahrthalle

reportedly = angeblich

to poison = vergiften

suspects = Verdächtige

to detain = festnehmen

intelligence agents = Geheimdienstbeamte

to carry out = durchführen

on behalf of = seitens

secretive = verschlossen

reign = Herrschaft

purges = Säuberungsaktionen

executions = Hinrichtungen

to inherit = (hier) übernehmen

fake = gefälscht

 

For more information on this murder mystery, visit http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38988981

©2017 SID

The Bavarian team spectacularly defeated the “Gunners” on Wednesday in the first leg of the last-16 stage of the current Champions League edition.  The Bayern nightmare continues for the Londoners, as this will very likely be the third time in the last seven seasons that they are eliminated by the German champions at this stage of the competition. There was still hope for Arsenal at the break, with the scoreboard showing 1-1 following goals by Arjen Robben and Alexis Sanchez. However, the game was soon settled by Bayern in the second half after ten minutes in which Thiago Alcantara scored two times and Robert Lewandowski once. Later, Thomas Müller added his contribution to the clear victory of his team, bringing the score to 5-1 and making it extremely difficult for the Londoners to continue to hope for a qualification to the next stage of the Champions League.

The other German team competing in the Champions League, Borussia Dortmund, lost 0-1 against the Portuguese club SL Benfica.

to trash = (hier) demolieren

stage, leg = Etappe

scoreboard = Anzeigetafel

to settle = erledigen

 

Access http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/38962425 for a complete report of this dramatic match

Last Sunday, the Grammys for the best musical productions of 2016 were awarded at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, USA. The most successful nominee of the night was Adele, who won a total of five Grammys in the categories Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album. Adele was followed by the late David Bowie, who was posthumously awarded four Grammys for the Best Rock Song, Best Alternative Music Album, Best Rock Performance and Best Engineered Non-Classical Album. The British artist, who died of cancer in January 2016, obtained these distinctions for his highly appreciated single and album entitled “Blackstar”.

©APA/AFP/ROBYN BECK

Among others, the evening was marked by Adele’s reactions to obtaining her Grammys. She especially won appreciation for praising her fellow nominee Beyoncé, admitting that the latter had deserved the Grammy for the Album of the Year more than she did, and even breaking her award in two in order to share it with her competitor. Another highlight of the event was Adele’s tribute to George Michael, who passed away on Christmas Day last year. Unhappy with her live performance, she stopped halfway through Michael’s 1996 hit “Fast Love” with a not very elegant expression of indignation and then started over, at the end receiving a standing ovation for her emotional tribute to one of her artistic inspirations.

 

late = (hier) verstorben

to be marked by sth = durch etw gekennzeichnet sein

to praise = loben

fellow nominee = Mitnominierte

the latter = die Letztere

competitor = (hier) Rivale

highlight = Höhepunkt

tribute = Hommage

halfway through = inmitten

indignation = Verärgerung

to start over = von vorn anfangen

standing ovation = Stehbeifall

 

For a more detailed account of the evening, read the article at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/adele-george-michael-grammys-performance-triumphed-despite-going/