- Sports News
Tokyo 2020: Germany among nations to have gender-balanced flag bearers
For the first time, two flag bearers, one man, one woman, will carry the German flag in the March of Nations at the Olympic Games. While not compulsory, it’s a change that is being encouraged by the IOC: SOURCE: DW News
- World News
COVID, scandals and controversies taint Tokyo Olympics
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games stumbled into a new scandal on Thursday, just hours before the official opening event at the new National Stadium, with a senior organizer of the event dismissed for jokes he made in the past about the Holocaust. Kentaro Kobayashi, a comedian and one of the creative directors of Friday evening’s opening ceremony, was fired after…
- World News
Egypt: ‘Facebook Girl’ may be free, but oppression remains rife
This week’s Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha, brought great news to around 40 detainees in Cairo’s prisons: that they were free to go. Among them were three popular journalists and three human rights activists. However, these releases don’t yet mean they have been acquitted: All 40 still have to appear in court at trials slated for at some time later this…
- World News
Thailand: Critics fear crackdown under COVID emergency powers
Repeated extensions of Thailand’s emergency legislation have granted Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha sweeping powers to curb the spread of COVID-19, but critics have warned that these present a risk to civil liberties. “The emergency decree… has granted the prime minister broad powers… and has threatened the right to freedom of expression and access to information which is an integral component…
- World News
The EU declares war on money laundering
“The rules we have in place to prevent money laundering are among the toughest in the world,” said the vice president of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, “but they must also now be systematically applied.” There hasn’t been enough of this in recent years. In practice, many EU member states don’t actually implement the rules or are simply too lax…
- World News
Kenya: Elephant herds seen from a unique angle
The sunrise at Amboseli National Park is breathtaking. A hot air balloon is prepared for a fascinating experience. Tourists will view animals from a different angle. The balloon can fly up to 20 meters. And the elephants remain undisturbed. The unique view delights everyone. Amboseli National Park has over 3,000 elephants. There has been no single case of elephant poaching…
- World News
AfricaLink On Air – 21 July 2021
News+++Tanzania arrests opposition leader+++Fighting domestic violence in Niger+++Kidnapped Nigerians freed+++Slow Niger Delta clean up angers locals+++Sexual harassment on Rwanda’s mines+++Veritcal farming grows in Kenya SOURCE: DW News
- World News
Nigeria cracks down on separatists as security issues mount in the north
Activist Sunday Adeyemo, known popularly in Nigeria as Sunday Igboho, was arrested in neighboring Benin on Monday evening, according to media reports. He was about to take a flight to Germany at the time. A senior Benin police official confirmed the arrest, saying Igboho “will be extradited to Nigeria as soon as the two countries have agreed on conditions.” It…
- Sports News
Tokyo 2020: IOC claims Games to be gender-balanced, but equality is not so simple
Tokyo will be the most gender-balanced Olympics yet, but the participation of women in sports is not evenly distributed throughout the globe. In which countries are women more likely to succeed in elite-level sports? SOURCE: DW News
- World News
Pegasus spyware allegations leave Indian democracy hanging by a thread
The Indian government has found itself at the heart of a spyware scandal that has sent seismic waves across the entire political world. A collaborative investigation, based on information accessed by non-profit Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International and shared with a host of publications, into the Pegasus spyware has revealed a list of potential targets for surveillance. More than 300…
- Sports News
‘We’re not all bad:’ Football ultras supporting Germany flooding-aid efforts
In the wake of the floods in Germany, help has been arriving. In addition to the emergency services, local aid organizations and other volunteers, football fans have been using their organizational abilities to help out. SOURCE: DW News
- World News
Ethiopia: Fear Tigray conflict could trigger all-out war
Special forces and militias from a number of Ethiopia’s regions are mobilizing to back the federal government’s military operations in Tigray, signaling a widening of the conflict. Regular forces from Amhara — a large region abutting the south of Tigray — have been fighting alongside federal troops ever since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched the military offensive in Tigray…
- Thailand video news
Thailand News Today | Foodpanda boycott? Airlines self-grounding, 32K Covid cases per day? | July 20
Foodpanda is facing a public backlash and calls for a boycott after they said they planned to fire a rider who they branded a terrorist. Asia Aviation, the largest shareholder in Thai AirAsia, says the latest partial lockdown is critically threatening their financial status, with no government aid on the horizon, or even being discussed. Empty or unused school buildings…
- World News
Peru: Pedro Castillo declared president
Former school teacher Pedro Castillo has won the disputed election in Peru and will become the country’s next president, election officials said on Monday. The presidential vote, which had taken place on June 6, had been held up by claims of election fraud by his right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori. Why were the results held up? Castillo had led unofficially by…
- Sports News
Tokyo 2020: Major sponsor Toyota distances itself from Olympic Games
Japanese carmaker Toyota has announced it will not run Olympics-related TV commercials during the Tokyo Games. The decision underlines how polarizing the Olympics have become in Japan as COVID-19 infections rise. SOURCE: DW News
- World News
Commercial space cowboys reach for the stars
In the wake of NASA’s Apollo and space shuttle missions, it seemed that the halcyon days of space exploration had had their run. Interest waned and many people no longer saw the point. More recently, however, interest has been piqued again, not least by the myriad of international missions to Mars. The latest craze is commercial space tourism as offered…
- World News
Czech gold for future generations?
Jilove u Prahy is a picturesque town with almost 5,000 inhabitants and a great many historical monuments. This region, along the River Sazava, a tributary of the Vltava near Prague, is a popular recreational area for citizens of the Czech capital. In the 14th century, Jilove u Prahy was the third-most-important town in the kingdom of Bohemia, after Prague and…
- World News
Belgians pick up the pieces after deadly floods
The Belgian town of Pepinster, southeast of Liege, has just woken up from a nightmare. Wading through knee-high brown water with his wife and son, local resident Paul Brasseur looked back at what was left of their family home. “We’re alive and that’s all that matters — not everyone was so lucky,” he said. The Brasseurs’ house on the banks…
- Sports News
Tokyo 2020: ‘Zero fairness’ in Olympic Games preparation
For athletes gearing up for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, preparation has been anything but easy. But there have been huge discrepancies from sport to sport and country to country, and fairness has gone out the window. SOURCE: DW News
- Sports News
Racist abuse sees Germany’s men’s football team walk off in pre-Olympics friendly
Germany’s men’s Olympic football team walked off during a pre-tournament friendly against Honduras five minutes from time due to alleged racist abuse. Centre-back Jordan Torunarigha was the target of the insults. SOURCE: DW News
- World News
Getting paid to play — Kenya’s esports boom
The future of professional sports in Kenya — from where some of the world’s top athletic performers originate — is still rather uncertain in the face of the COVID pandemic. Athletes preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, or anyone wanting to get out and exercise, have had to make do with alternative spaces as coronavirus measures put many gyms and stadiums…
- World News
Survey: Deutsche Welle would like to know more about users
You’re a dw.com user? We’re interested in getting to know you better! We would like to invite you to participate in a short survey. It should only take around 5 to 10 minutes. The questionnaire is about your personal interests and your reasons for using DW. There are no right or wrong answers — you will help us best if…
- World News
EU left behind as US pushes ‘vaccine diplomacy’ in Southeast Asia
The European Union’s international vaccine drive runs the risk of falling behind other major international powers, especially in Southeast Asia, where the United States is ramping up their vaccine-donation programs to compete with China’s contributions. US President Joe Biden pledged in May to donate 80 million vaccines worldwide from America’s domestic-supply, of which approximately 75% will be shared through the…
- World News
A battle for sacred lands as nature wins new rights
In Uganda’s Albertine Rift, an immense network of grasslands and mountains that supports great biodiversity, two energy giants are preparing to extract the largest onshore oil deposit in sub-Saharan Africa. SOURCE: DW News
- World News
Vaccines are latest regional power play in the Middle East
Last week, Egypt announced that it had successfully manufactured its first million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. It’s an important step for Egypt’s 104 million people, of whom only about 1% are fully vaccinated. But it could also be seen as progress toward the country’s foreign policy goals, as vaccine diplomacy gathers pace in the Middle East. Vaccine diplomacy refers…
- World News
EU proposes sweeping ‘Fit for 55’ emissions reduction plan
The European Commission has proposed a plan to reduce the EU’s carbon emissions by 55% compared with 1990 levels by 2030. The “Fit for 55” package comprises 12 legislative proposals aimed at hitting the target. The overarching goal is to make the EU carbon neutral by 2050 as part of the European Green Deal. “We already have the goals,” European…
- World News
Why is India deploying female soldiers to Kashmir?
India deployed female soldiers to the restive Indian-administered Kashmir for the first time, in a bid to improve local relations and promote gender equality within the ranks of its paramilitary. However, the efforts have drawn widespread criticism and questions over how effective the move is, both in strengthening ties with local women and improving gender equality within the armed forces.…
- Sports News
Naomi Osaka: Netflix, nationalism and marketing at the Tokyo Olympics
A month has passed since Naomi Osaka withdrew from the public eye citing depression. The 23-year-old tennis star is set to return to the court at the Olympic Games in Tokyo – and her marketing company is in overdrive. SOURCE: DW News
- World News
India: COVID dashes career hopes for young graduates
Simran Tandon, a top graduate of a commerce degree program, was preparing to join an investment banking firm before the coronavirus pandemic hit India in March of last year. The firm then revoked the offer, and the economic havoc caused by COVID-19 led to rejections from several other firms. Tandon is just one of millions of young people who have…
- World News
George W. Bush on Angela Merkel: ‘A woman who is not afraid to lead’
The Bush estate is located directly on the Atlantic Ocean near Kennebunkport, a car trip of just less than two hours from Boston, Massachusetts. While our camera team prepares the brightly lit living room with screens of blackout fabric, George W. Bush suddenly appears, an hour ahead of our scheduled interview time. He is wearing shorts and a bright green…
