- World News
Afghanistan: What Taliban takeover means for the region
The Chinese government has so far appeared to be at ease with the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban’s takeover of the country. “The Chinese embassy in Afghanistan is continuing to operate as normal, and its ambassador and embassy staff will remain in their posts,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Monday. Most Chinese citizens in Afghanistan…
- Sports News
Bundesliga: How Matarazzo and Mislintat are shaping a brave new era at Stuttgart
Stuttgart opened their Bundesliga season with a rout of Greuther Fürth. Tougher tests lie ahead, but their coach and sporting director are shaping an exciting new era for an old powerhouse of German football. SOURCE: DW News
- World News
Meet the Middle Eastern migrants trapped in Lithuania
The trip from the center of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, to the refugee reception center in Rudninkai takes about 40 minutes. It’s not that easy to get there. We have to stop and ask for directions several times. But eventually we park our car at the edge of a forest and then follow a well-trodden path through the undergrowth toward…
- World News
Taliban triumph means more worries in Africa
For over a decade now, there’s been a surge in the activities of extremist groups in the east and west Africa, the Sahel and parts of southern Africa. Many are Islamist militant groups with some form of affiliation to al-Qaeda, an organization the United Nations has said shares links with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Somali-based media affiliated to the homegrown…
- World News
Indonesia: Will the army’s ban on ‘virginity tests’ last?
The chief of staff of the Indonesian army, General Andika Perkasa, recently announced that the army will no longer conduct virginity tests on women applying to join the forces. He was referring to the invasive two-finger examination that was conducted to determine whether female applicants’ hymens were intact. The practice, used in the past by the military to determine recruits’…
- World News
Afghanistan: Pakistan rejoices at Taliban victory as West flounders
Afghanistan has a familiar power back in place. Kabul has fallen. The Taliban have won. And Pakistanis are euphoric. To many a foe, but to others a friend, the cloistered group of extremists has long-held cordial ties with Islamabad, and the Taliban’s recent rise from the flames has left many Pakistanis in raptures. Khan: Removal of the ‘shackles of slavery’…
- World News
In Kabul, terrified Afghans wait for the call to safety
In a crowded Kabul cellar earlier this week, seven men acted out a desperate, terrifying scenario: One of them pretended to be a Taliban militant, the others had to convince them that they were students — not men who had spent years working for the German army. “We practiced our role: We are studying this, we are studying here,” one…
- World News
Taliban victory: A likely boost for Islamist extremists in the Middle East
While the West is anxiously watching developments after the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan, “Islamic State” (IS), al-Qaeda and other terror militias are also observing what is happening with keen interest — to say the least. “We have to expect that not only IS, but also al-Qaeda and other smaller groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan will become stronger,” Guido Steinberg, a…
- World News
Why the Afghan army folded to the Taliban
US President Joe Biden on Monday addressed the nation to share his views on the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover of the war-ravaged country. As Biden justified his decision to pull all US troops out of Afghanistan, he blamed the Afghan leadership for not resisting Taliban advances in recent weeks. “The truth is: this did unfold more…
- World News
The conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia
Who’s fighting who? Ethiopian government soldiers and Tigrayan fighters are battling for control of the country’s northern Tigray region. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) sees Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as a bitter enemy: in the 25 years before he became Ethiopia’s leader in 2018, the TPLF domintated national politics, and controlled ministerial, government and military appointments. Critics called…
- World News
Japan, South Korea wary of China’s post-US clout in Afghanistan
Japan and South Korea shuttered their respective embassies in Kabul and evacuated the last of their diplomats and aid workers from the Afghan capital after the Taliban effectively seized control of Afghanistan on Monday. Neither Tokyo nor Seoul sent military forces to Afghanistan, but both have been significant providers of infrastructure development aid over the two decades of US and…
- World News
Who are the Taliban?
They call themselves “students” ― that’s the verbatim translation of the word “Taliban” from Pashto. Today, the name of the Islamist militant movement doesn’t conjure up images of men and women bent over books, though, but rather of terror and destruction. After the Taliban completed their take-over of Afghanistan on Sunday by capturing the capital Kabul and moving into the…
- Sports News
Supercup: Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich – live blog
With the first title of the season on the line, German Cup winners Borussia Dortmund play host to Bundesliga titleholders Bayern Munich on Tuesday. Der Klassiker with new head coaches. DW’s live blog has the latest. SOURCE: DW News
- World News
Afghans fear return to the past after Taliban victory
After the Taliban entered the Afghan capital on Sunday, Suhail Shaheen, a spokesperson for the Taliban, said on Twitter that their fighters were under strict orders not to harm anyone. The militant group took over Kabul without facing any resistance from Afghan government forces. “Life, property and honor of no one shall be harmed but must be protected by the…
- World News
Afghan women fear dark days ahead as Taliban return to power
When the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan, women and girls suffered terrible hardships and were stripped of their rights. As the militants prepare to take over the country again, many women fear for the future. SOURCE: DW News
- World News
EU and Poland battle it out over the rule of law
This Monday (August 16) Poland faces yet another European Commission deadline in Warsaw’s years-long fight with Brussels over the restructuring of its national judicial system. This time, Warsaw could face stiff financial penalties if it fails to heed the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and immediately halt the work of a new Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court deemed illegal…
- World News
Opinion: Europe’s migrants are part of the solution
Twenty-three million, an estimated 5% of the European Union’s nearly 450 million residents, were born outside of its borders. This figure is perhaps most noticeable in culture and sports. England’s Euro 2020 football squad only had three players that did not have a migration background. And at the Eurovision Song Contest in May, two refugees took part. One of them…
- World News
Tenacious Unicorn Ranch: Sanctuary and target
The Tenacious Unicorn Ranch has become a haven for transgender individuals but not everyone is a fan. Now, residents are arming themselves as death threats mount. SOURCE: DW News
- Sports News
Bundesliga: Haaland runs riot as Marco Rose wins in style on Borussia Dortmund debut
The Marco Rose era got off to an emphatic start as Borussia Dortmund blew away Eintracht Frankfurt. Erling Haaland was involved in all five goals as the Black and Yellows sent an early message to Bayern Munich. SOURCE: DW News
- Sports News
Vaccine protest in Dortmund: 50 people return BVB jerseys in protest at stadium entry regulations
Around 50 people returned their Borussia Dortmund jerseys in protest at the club’s stadium entry regulations. Among them were people wearing symbols associated with the extreme right and the ‘Querdenker’ movement. SOURCE: DW News
- Covid-19 News
Covid UPDATE: 22,086 new infections, provincial totals
The Thai public health department announced another 22,086 new infections to Thailand’s total. 270 of today’s cases stem from the Thai prison system. 217 Covid-related deaths were also announced. 23,672 people were released from hospital care. 60% of people who died in the past 24 hours were 60 years old plus. 18 of the total died at home. The median age…
- World News
Greece: Abandoned to the flames on Evia
The sun loungers have been abandoned in the seaside resort of Rovies. In parts of this village, the flames blazed their way right down to the beach. Just a few days ago, Evia’s hills were covered in thousands of its characteristic pine trees. All that’s left of them now are black stumps, split open by the heat, standing in a…
- World News
India: Chhattisgarh conducts survey to map Maoist presence
Indian security forces this year have stepped up operations against ultra left-wing guerrillas deep in the forests of the mineral-rich central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, which has regularly seen clashes between the rebels and security forces in recent years. The Maoists, also known as Naxals, have waged an armed struggle against government forces for decades. They are considered India’s biggest…
- World News
The dying art of papier-mache in Kashmir
His family has been in the business of papier-mache art for well over a century, but for Akhtar Hussain Mir, his trade is gradually disappearing before his eyes. Mir learnt the art at the age of 10 but now, five decades later, he feels disheartened as the craft is slowly vanishing from the Himalayan Valley of India-administered Kashmir and little…
- World News
As migration is rising, so are border barriers
Although thousands of miles apart, Lithuania and the Dominican Republic have something very specific in common: Due to increasing migration from their respective neighboring countries, both recently decided to tightened their borders. Both countries are showcases of an ongoing trend: The world today is seeing ever more refugees and asylum-seekers than two decades ago. Political conflicts and the effects of…
- World News
Lebanon: Dollars shield some from hyperinflation crisis
Long queues outside gas stations, empty shelves in pharmacies and often more than 20 hours of power outages a day — the situation in Lebanon was grim even before the Central Bank decided to lift the subsidies for fuel imports this week. Signs of the crisis are easy to spot everywhere in Lebanon: The elderly woman who asks for money…
- Sports News
Bundesliga live buildup: Gladbach vs. Bayern Munich
The 2021-22 Bundesliga season kicks off on Friday with a clash between two of the biggest clubs in Germany. Both sides have new coaches, with Julian Nagelsmann tasked with making it 10 straight titles for Bayern. SOURCE: DW News
- World News
Victims of Belarus police violence: ‘they said we should just die’
At a press conference earlier this week, broadcast by state television, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko rejected allegations that those who were arrested for protesting the outcome of the presidential election in August 2020 had been tortured. Only 47 people work in Minsk’s Okrestina prison, Lukashenko said during his exchange with journalists and handpicked citizens. “And they are supposed to have…
- World News
Angolan bets on rabbits in economic crisis
Octávio Simão has been farming rabbits for six years after tough economic conditions forced him to try something new. Many said his enterprise was foolish, but rabbit farming sustains his family today. At 25, he has a degree in Business Management. Simão raises over 100 rabbits consisting of four breeds. The rabbit breeder sells 10 to 20 rabbits a day.…
- World News
Venezuela: Uncertainty around government-opposition talks
A new round of talks to defuse Venezuela’s prolonged national political crisis will kick off in Mexico City on Friday. Norway will mediate the negotiations between Nicolas Maduro’s government and the opposition coalition led by Juan Guaido. The focus will be on regional elections as well as international sanctions facing the country. Besides the lifting of these sanctions, Maduro’s government…
