- 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
Greece tightens its border with Turkey amid ‘tough but fair migration policy’
The river Evros forms the land border between Greece and Turkey. The waters of this river and its tributaries have made the Evros region one of the most fertile in Greece. Here, on both sides of one of Europe’s most controversial external borders, rolling green hills lined with small deciduous forests stretch as far as the eye can see. “Refugees…
- 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…
- Sports News
Germany go full throttle towards Euros
Upcoming games against Bulgaria and Serbia may be World Cup qualifiers in name, but they’re more like warm-ups for next year’s Euros. A mini-tournament in February also gives Martina Voss-Tecklenburg extra preparation. SOURCE: DW News
- 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,…
- Sports News
Champions League: Manchester City hit RB Leipzig for six
Jesse Marsch’s debut as RB Leipzig head coach was more than disappointing as the Bundesliga side were outplayed and outscored by a ruthless Pep Guardiola team. SOURCE: DW News
- Sports News
Sheriff Tiraspol: The Champions League club without a country off to a winning start
Sheriff Tiraspol from breakaway Moldovan region Trans-Dniester, or Transnistria, beat exiled Shakhtar Donetsk on their Champions League debut on Wednesday. Sheriff’s name offers a clue to their murky but successful past. SOURCE: DW News
- Sports News
Champions League: Jude Bellingham leads Borussia Dortmund to victory
In Borussia Dortmund’s first game of the 2021/22 Champions League season, it was 18-year-old Jude Bellingham who led the Bundesliga to victory. Whether Dortmund can build off this win though, remains as unclear as ever. SOURCE: DW News
- 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
Rwanda: The mysterious deaths of political opponents
The death of former Rwandan lieutenant Revocant Karemangingo, a critic of President Paul Kagame, is the latest addition to a list DW has compiled of Rwandan opposition voices that have died under suspicious circumstances. The regime of President Kagame, who has effectively ruled Rwanda since 1994, is accused of suppressing dissenting views. International rights groups claim opposition politicians, journalists, 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
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,…
- Sports News
Champions League: Bayern Munich ease to win in Barcelona
In the first game of the 2021/22 Champions League season, Julian Nagelsmann’s Bayern Munich faced Barcelona in one of the most anticipated games of the competition. In the end, it proved a mismatch. SOURCE: DW News
- 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…
- Sports News
Sheriff Tiraspol: The Champions League club without a country
Champions League debutants Sheriff Tiraspol from the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria face exiled Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Sheriff’s name offers a clue to their murky but successful recent past. SOURCE: DW News
- Sports News
Champions League live: Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich
The Champions League group stage kicks off on Tuesday evening, with Bayern Munich traveling to Barcelona. The last time these two sides met, Bayern won 8-2 on their way to winning the trophy in 2020. SOURCE: DW News
- 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
South Africa eases lockdown restrictions despite low vaccination rates
The road to Thulamahashe is full of potholes. The town is located close to Kruger National Park in the province of Mpumalanga, one of the poorest in the country. But the roads remain quite busy — especially on social grant payday, as hundreds make their way from the villages to the nearest town over. Carlos Mavanga is one of them.…
- 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…
