- World News
Opinion: Culinary ignorance can breed racism
One would think that a man who has two Pulitzer Prizes under his belt would be judicious enough to do some research before writing an opinion piece in The Washington Post. But not only did Weingarten have the audacity to club anchovies and blue cheese together as foods that didn’t suit his palate, he decided to club all “Indian food”…
- World News
‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero awaits verdict on terrorism charges
The verdict on Paul Rusesabagina, a long-time critic of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, is scheduled for Monday, September 20. His trial attracted international attention due to his role in rescuing hundreds of people during the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsis. President Kagame, in early September, defended the trial of Rusesabagina saying the 67-year-old former hotelier was in court not…
- World News
Ghana’s children scavenging for scrap
These children are eking out a living picking through rubbish. They are scavenging for plastic and metal. From tin containers to iron bars and zinc. Children are at the frontlines of the scrap business. Plastic is harder to sell than the scrap metal. They sell it to the dealers who roam the streets. Dealers melt down the tin and aluminum.…
- World News
Belarus men holed up in Swedish embassy one year on
“If we had known it would take this long, we would have considered a different option, though you don’t know if that would have been an improvement,” says Vladislav Kusnetshik. For the past year, he and his father Vitalij have been hiding out in Sweden’s Minsk embassy to avoid persecution by Belarus authorities. The two men arrived at the embassy…
- World News
AfricaLink on Air — 17 September 2021
What next for Guinea after ECOWAS leaders imposed sanctions on coup leaders, among them holding elections in six months? +++ Gambia’s President Adama Barrow finally defends his alliance with former dictator Yahya Jammeh ahead of the December elections+++Zambians are divided on the fate of the expensive presidential jet. SOURCE: DW News
- World News
South Korean students embrace ‘niche’ learning alternatives
As a teenager, Young-chae Song studied German at his South Korean high school and had to pass an exam in the language to enter university. During that time, in the early 1980s, most high school students in South Korea would study English, plus another foreign language, typically German, French or Japanese. But today, young Koreans are turning their backs on…
- World News
Tanzania: First female defense minister ignites gender debate
“I have decided to break the longtime myth that in the defense ministry, there should be a man with muscles,” President Samia Suluhu Hassan said earlier this week as she administered the oath of office to Stergomena Tax. “The minister’s job in that office is not to carry guns or artillery,” Suluhu Hassan declared. Tax’s appointment was part of President…
- World News
COVID: How is India tackling a surge in fake test reports?
Indian officials are reporting a surge in the use of fake negative COVID-19 test reports across the country. Last week, police from the eastern state of Odisha busted a racket in which fake PCR test reports were being provided to devotees who wanted to visit the auspicious Jagannath Puri temple. Police arrested 12 people, including the mastermind of the well-organized…
- World News
African Swine Fever: China’s other pandemic
During a teleconference more than two years ago, Chinese Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua urged health authorities to step up efforts to rein in a growing pandemic despite initial “positive results,” and suggested that “enhancing quarantine and monitoring” measures would help prevent the spread of the virus. Hu’s comments came before the discovery of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Instead, he…
- World News
Osmani: If Kosovo delivers, the European Union should also deliver
In an interview with DW, the president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, confirms her commitment to EU integration and NATO. She also emphasizes the country’s full support of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers war crimes court. SOURCE: DW News
- World News
Sahel terror threat persists despite the killing of al-Sahrawi
The war against armed Islamist extremists in Africa received a boost on Thursday following the killing of Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi. The self-proclaimed leader of the so-called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) claimed responsibility for attacks in Niger in 2017 when four US troops and four Nigerien soldiers died. France also wanted him for the killing of six…
- World News
Lebanon: Influencers join together to fight hate speech
Lebanon has no shortage of thorny issues sparking controversies that are often carried out on social media. The country has a tech-savvy population: Internet penetration is close to 80% — which translates to 5.3 million people — 4.37 million of whom are active on social media, according to datareportal.com. Seeing as the small country has a population of just 6.8…
- World News
Kenya’s shelter for suspected witches
These elderly people had to run away from home. Some have been brutally beaten. They are accused of practicing witchcraft. Many were persecuted by their own children. Kadzo Ngala has lived in this camp for two years. It’s a haven for those accused of sorcery in Kilifi County. Some in the region believe gray hair is a sign of witchcraft.…
- World News
Ghana’s children scavenging on rubbish dumps
These children are eking out a living picking through rubbish. They are scavenging for plastic and metal. From tin containers to iron bars and zinc. Children are at the frontlines of the scrap business. Plastic is harder to sell than the scrap metal. They sell it to the dealers who roam the streets. Dealers melt down the tin and aluminum.…
- World News
Why COVID cases are rising again in some Indian states
After India’s deadly second wave in April and May, cases declined all over the country, even as restrictions eased. The past couple of months have seen a spike again in the western state of Maharashtra and the southern state of Kerala. Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 3,783 new coronavirus cases and 56 fatalities, taking the infection tally to 65,07,930 and the…
- World News
Afghanistan’s Hazara refugee women stitch future dreams
Some Afghan women refugees who fled to India a few years ago have found livelihood in a startup that aims at building sustainable communities of artisans. The women who work here have faced tremendous hardships in the past. Now they worry for their relatives back home under the Taliban rule. SOURCE: DW News
- World News
Will Russia swallow up Belarus?
Some events are long in the making. Back in 1999, the leaders of Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on creating a “union state.” For the past three years, Moscow has been pushing Belarus to move toward greater integration on the basis of that treaty. The leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, made repeated trips to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin,…
- World News
Afghan journalists ‘have to get out of the country’
It was an almost clandestine press conference that the organization Reporters Without Borders (ROG) held this Wednesday at its headquarters in Berlin. Only 20 journalists were allowed in, and unlike the normal routine since the coronavirus pandemic began, there was no live video transmission on the internet. The reason: In the room, there were journalists from Afghanistan who fear for…
- World News
An end to neo-Islamism in the Middle East?
Last week, the party that previously held a majority in the Moroccan parliament suffered a crushing setback. In the country’s federal elections last Wednesday, the Justice and Development Party lost 113 of the 125 seats it had won in the last election. In previous ballots of 2016 and 2011, the party, commonly known as the PJD, ended up with a…
- World News
Tanzania: Unlocking Lake Tanganyika’s economy
The women fishers of Kigoma want to increase their income. Annually, fishers catch more than 53,000 tons of fish from Lake Tanganyika. The volume could be higher if proper equipment were available. Fish spoil due to lack of proper storage. Fishers need basic items and guidelines for the business. Hundreds work in seafood processing that lacks refrigerators, processing facilities, and…
- World News
What does the end of the Merkel era mean for Southeast Asia?
Germany’s federal elections this month are unlikely to dominate the headlines in Southeast Asia. But experts agree that the outcome of the ballot will be important for the region nevertheless. The elections mark the end of Merkel’s 16 years as chancellor. Pundits think there is also a chance that the new government will be formed without Merkel’s once-dominant alliance of…
- World News
German Africa Prize 2021 goes to Ethiopian rights activist
Daniel Bekele, currently Chief Commissioner of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), will receive the German Africa Award for his fight for democracy and human rights. The prize is the highest award of its kind in Germany. It honors outstanding personalities from the African continent who are committed to peace, reconciliation, and social progress. “I am delighted that the independent…
- World News
Romania: The new mayor looking to clean up local politics
It’s a sunny Monday morning and the mayor, Zoltan Soos, is in a good mood as he walks into the conference room. A few members of the planning team are already there and the rest arrive in dribs and drabs until all 15 are present. The key officials from the municipal administration greet each other warmly. No one is subservient,…
- World News
Pakistan: How ‘blood money’ laws allow murderers to be pardoned
In January 2018, Asma Rani, a medical student in her third year, was on a semester break in her hometown of Kohat in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Asma and her sister-in-law were on their way back to their house when two men opened fire. Three bullets hit Asma. Before her death, she identified her attacker as Mujahidullah Afridi, a…
- World News
Indonesia’s deadly prison blaze highlights region’s overcrowded jails
A blaze broke out at Tangerang prison near Indonesia’s capital city Jakarta last week while inmates were sleeping. In total,41 prisoners died and eight others were seriously injured. The facility houses over 2,000 inmates, exceeding its official limit of 600, according to government data. Block C, where the fire broke out, housed 122 inmates at the time — far over…
- World News
Germany and the Middle East: A tale of morals and markets
On its homepage, Germany’s foreign ministry lists, “peace and security, the promotion of democracy and human rights, and commitment to multilateralism,” as the guiding principles of German foreign policy. Just a few lines later, however, there is another commitment whereby Germany, as a trading nation, has a particular interest in an effective external economic policy, “that helps companies to tap…
- World News
The EU’s 4 persistent problems still dogging the bloc
The findings of a recent Eurobarometer survey, commissioned by the European Union itself, are clear: Citizens in the bloc believe that the main issues it should be addressing are climate change, the COVID pandemic, health care, the economic situation and social inequality. These are thus the themes that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will broach in her second…
- World News
Why Pakistan’s new school textbooks are sparking backlash over gender
Pakistan’s ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) launched its revised Single National Curriculum (SNC) in August this year, deeming it “a milestone to end disparity in the education system.” Following the recent release of the curriculum’s accompanying new textbook, many have taken to social media to criticize what they view as patriarchal gender norms in the book. The outrage is similar…
- World News
Africa: COVID lockdowns blamed for increase in teenage pregnancies
“I’m five months pregnant by a young man who works in the barracks,” says 16-year-old Elsa. “He is a soldier and helps me buy food and other things for school, because my family could not afford to send me to school otherwise.” Elsa is one of many girls in Africa who have found themselves in a similar situation during the…
- World News
Afghanistan: The Taliban are trying to silence the voices of journalists
Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, claiming to have full control of the country, they’re trying to present themselves as more tolerant than 20 years ago. Some even speak of a Taliban 2.0. In their first press conference in late August, the militant Islamists said, journalists would be allowed to continue working in Afghanistan. Three weeks later, this statement…
