Author: DW

The Islam practiced in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Sandzak region in southwestern Serbia is considered open-minded and tolerant. For centuries, Sunni Muslims have lived their own form of a European Islam here alongside Christians and Jews. Since the 1990s, however, this Islam has come under repeated pressure from external influences. A crossbow attack on a Serbian police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade on June 29 is now raising fears that a new wave of radicalization could be on the horizon. How the Bosnian War changed Islam in the region Before the Bosnian War (1992–1995), there were no Salafis or…

The measure proposed by the German government under its new so-called growth initiative last week envisages tax incentives of 30%, 20% and 10% for skilled people from abroad who are willing to take up jobs in Germany. This means their taxable income will be lowered by these percentages in the first three years of employment. However, there will be minimum and maximum gross salary limits for the tax credits which have yet to be defined. The measure, which is planned to be reviewed after five years, has drawn strong criticism from German labor unions who’ve dismissed the plan as “two-class taxation.” Supporters believe…

Representatives of Hamas and Fatah are expected to meet in China next week for the second round of Beijing-hosted talks since April, as the vision of a post-war Gaza is widely seen as hinging on reconciliation between the rival Palestinian factions. The last time Hamas and Fatah representatives met in China, Chinese officials did not announce the timing of the meeting, and according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the main takeaway was that both sides “agreed to continue this dialogue process and strive for the early realization of Palestinian unity.” This time around, the stakes could be higher amid ongoing cease-fire…

Israel’s settlement policy in occupied Palestinian territories is in breach of international law, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled.The “transfer by Israel of settlers to the West Bank and Jerusalem as well as Israel’s maintenance of their presence” is “contrary to article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention”, a panel of 15 judges from around the world said. The court said Israel must end the construction of settlements immediately – acts which render “Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful”.Israel’s continued presence is “illegal” and should be ended as “rapidly as possible”, the ICJ added.It also found…

Vietnam’s Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong has died aged 80, state media said on Friday. He held the country’s most powerful position for more than a decade. State media, citing information from Trong’s medical team, said he died in the early afternoon of Friday “after a period of illness.” Vietnamese President To Lam took over Trong’s duties on Thursday when the party announced that Trong needed to focus on medical treatment. Rumors of Trong’s deteriorating health had been circulating for days and he had rarely been seen in public this year. His last public appearance was on 20 June, when he held…

As Donald Trump takes the Republican nomination for the US presidential race, capitals around the world are considering what a second Trump administration would mean for them should he be elected to the White House in November. Tehran was in the crosshairs of the first Trump administration, with a policy called “maximum pressure” aimed at forcing Iran to curb its development of nuclear weapons by applying sanctions on oil exports, banking, and shipping that effectively crippled the country’s economy. A second term could mean more prolonged economic hardship in Iran, increasing public discontent and potential destabilization of the regime.  Trump…

The captain of Japan’s women’s gymnastics team has withdrawn from the Paris Olympics after violating team rules by drinking alcohol and smoking.Shoko Miyata, 19, left the team’s training camp in Monaco after an investigation which confirmed the violation, the Japanese Gymnastics Association (JGA) said. In Japan, the legal age for drinking and smoking is 20.Miyata had been expected to lead a team consisting entirely of first-time Olympians, with Japan hoping to win its first medal in the sport since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.The JGA said the women’s squad would now compete at the games – which begin on 26 July…

The European Union and Serbia signed a deal on Friday to develop a lithium mining project and production chains for batteries essential for electric vehicles. “There will be no project without full protection, and we know it will happen because we are bringing the best experts from Europe to Serbia,” said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic ahead of the signing ceremony. A memorandum of understanding was signed by Serbia’s Mining and Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic-Handanovic and EU energy chief Maros Sefcovic after a critical raw materials summit. The agreement comes days after Belgrade gave the go-ahead for work to resume at…

Skip next section American Airlines resumes operations after grounding all flights07/19/2024July 19, 2024American Airlines resumes operations after grounding all flightsThe major US carrier American Airlines said that it was resuming its flights after the global IT outage grounded all of its planes. “Earlier this morning, a technical issue with a vendor impacted multiple carriers, including American,” the company said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. “As of 5:00 a.m. ET (0900 GMT), we have been able to safely re-establish our operation. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” it added. Numerous airports and airlines around the world were…

The source of the global IT outage has been “identified” and a “fix deployed”, the head of US cybersecurity company CrowdStrike has said.Banks, airlines, train companies, telecommunications companies, broadcasters and supermarkets have been affected. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said the issue is “not a security incident or cyberattack” but is a “defect” in a “single content update for Windows hosts”.Microsoft IT outage: Follow live”Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted,” Mr Kurtz said. “The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.”CrowdStrike will provide “complete and continuous updates” on its website, Mr Kurtz added, referring customers to…