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Germany to Redesign Adidas Soccer Jersey After Concerns About Nazi Symbol Resemblance
A soccer jersey supplied by Adidas that was pulled from its website due to the number “44” and its resemblance to the Nazi SS logo. Photo: X/Twitter
The German Football Association (DFB) announced on Monday that it will redesign the country’s national soccer jerseys after social media users noted that the font used to spell out “44” is reminiscent of the Schutzstaffel (SS) logo of the Nazi paramilitary organization.
The DFB unveiled Germany’s new uniforms, which will be worn by both the men’s and women’s national teams, in late March. The men’s team already wore the new jerseys during a match against France, and the new uniforms will also be worn when Germany hosts the 2024 UEFA European Championship this summer.
Adidas, the official supplier of the uniforms, has an online customization service on its website that allows customers to personalize the jersey with a number, from 00 to 99, and a name that is up to 10 letters long. Even though “44” is not currently used by Germany’s men’s or women’s teams, customers used the customization service on the Adidas website to create shirts with the number and shared images online of the jersey. They pointed out that with the font provided by Adidas, “44” resembles the SS logo, which looks like a lighting bolt and is a symbol commonly used today by white supremacist and neo-Nazis, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
#Adidas bringing back the lightning to Germany pic.twitter.com/Cx8pXDrj1m
— Sir Fisher Man (@SirFisherMan) March 31, 2024
The DFB said in a statement shared on X/Twitter that it submitted designs for numbers 1 to 26 to the UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, for review and “none of the parties involved saw any proximity to Nazi symbolism in the creation process of the jersey design.”
Adidas spokesperson Oliver Bruggen told German media that it will “block the number 44 as quickly as possible,” according to Reuters. The spokesperson added: “As a company we actively oppose xenophobia, antisemitism, violence, and hatred in any form.” The option to customize the German team’s jerseys has since been removed from the Adidas websites.
The DFB recently announced that Nike will replace Adidas as the official shirt supplier for Germany’s national soccer teams starting in 2027.
The post Germany to Redesign Adidas Soccer Jersey After Concerns About Nazi Symbol Resemblance first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with government officials in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Donald Trump on Saturday of lying when the US president said during his Gulf tour this week that he wanted peace in the region.
On the contrary, said Khamenei, the United States uses its power to give “10-ton bombs to the Zionist (Israeli) regime to drop on the heads of Gaza’s children.”
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on Friday that Iran had to move quickly on a US proposal for its nuclear program or “something bad’s going to happen.”
His remarks, said Khamenei, “aren’t even worth responding to.” They are an “embarrassment to the speaker and the American people,” Khamenei added.
“Undoubtedly, the source of corruption, war, and conflict in this region is the Zionist regime — a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumor that must be uprooted; it will be uprooted,” he said at an event at a religious center in Tehran, according to state media.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Trump speaks about peace while simultaneously making threats.
“Which should we believe?” Pezeshkian said at a naval event in Tehran. “On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing.”
Tehran would continue Iran-US nuclear talks but is not afraid of threats. “We are not seeking war,” Pezeshkian said.
While Trump said on Friday that Iran had a US proposal about its nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a post on X said Tehran had not received any such proposal. “There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes…” he said.
Araqchi warned on Saturday that Washington’s constant change of stance prolongs nuclear talks, state TV reported.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process,” the broadcast quoted Araqchi as saying.
Pezeshkian said Iran would not “back down from our legitimate rights”.
“Because we refuse to bow to bullying, they say we are source of instability in the region,” he said.
A fourth round of Iran-U.S. talks ended in Oman last Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.
The post Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday
Doha, Qatar. Photo: StellarD via Wikimedia Commons.
A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar’s Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday.
He said the two sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions.”
Nono said Hamas was “keen to exert all the effort needed” to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was “no certain offer on the table.”
The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek “operational control” in some areas of the war-torn enclave.
The return to negotiations also comes after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza’s growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.
The post Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
i24 News – Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan has stepped down temporarily as an investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct by United Nations investigators is nearing its final phase, Reuters reported on Friday citing sources from the international court.
Khan allegedly forced sexual intercourse upon a member of staff on multiple occasions, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, linking the allegations to Khan’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant.
A statement is expected later today announcing that Khan is going on administrative leave, according to a source in the prosecutor’s office.
The post Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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