Author: DW

An Italian court in Milan on Thursday ordered a journalist to pay €5,000 ($5,450) in damages to Giorgia Meloni for “body shaming” the prime minister on social media. The Milan court also gave Giulia Cortese a suspended fine of €1,200 over another post on X, formerly Twitter, about Meloni’s height. “Italy’s government has a serious problem with freedom of expression and journalistic dissent,” Cortese said in reaction to the sentence. Social media exchanges ended up in court Meloni launched legal action against the journalist three years after the two women clashed on social media. Cortese published a mocked-up photo of Meloni…

A suspected arson attack in the southeastern French city of Nice has left seven people dead, including three children and a teenager.  The fire, which police believe was arson, tore through a top-floor apartment in a block of flats in the western suburb of Moulins at about 3 a.m. local time on Thursday morning. Nice prosecutor Damien Martinelli later said investigators were looking into a “criminal” cause for the fire. “In light of the initial evidence, I have opened an investigation into acts of arson leading to death,” he told reporters at the scene. First Deputy Mayor of Nice, Anthony Borre, said on X that “These actions…

US President Joe Biden was facing fresh doubts from Democratic Party leaders over the viability of his candidacy.  Former President Barack Obama has privately expressed concerns that Biden’s path to victory has greatly diminished, several people familiar with the private conversations told the Associated Press in a report published on Thursday. The Washington Post reported that Obama thinks Biden should “seriously consider the viability of his candidacy.” Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reportedly among those who have privately told Biden he cannot win and that he is putting Democrats’ chances at winning control of the House of Representatives at risk.  Biden and…

Israel’s parliament voted overwhelmingly against the creation of a Palestinian state on Thursday. The resolution said that the Israeli parliament “firmly opposes the creation of a Palestinian state (on land) west of Jordan.” “The creation of a Palestinian state in the heart of the land of Israel would constitute an existential danger for the state of Israel and its citizens, would perpetuate the Israel-Palestinian conflict and destabilize the region,” the resolution added. It claimed that “promoting” a Palestinian state was “a reward for terrorism and would only encourage Hamas and its supporters” after the October 7 terror attacks. Hamas is classified…

It’s in Zullighöven, a small village in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, that I meet Dorothee Hochgürtel, a farm owner. When I arrive at her farm on a Friday morning in July, she is already waving at me from a distance and pointing to the wooden gate through which I should enter the farm. I immediately notice the pleasant lush green as far as my eyes can see, giving me the impression of a place seemingly cut off from the rest of the world.  The 65-year-old has been running the farm since 2001. She keeps more than a hundred  animals,…

Ursula von der Leyen faced a seemingly endless queue of well-wishers in the chamber of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday, in scenes that would likely have stunned the very same legislature five years ago when she was thrust as an unknown candidate into one of the top jobs in the European Union (EU). The German conservative sailed through a vote by EU lawmakers over whether she could stay on as European Commission President until 2029. Of the 707 votes cast, she received a comfortable majority of 401 votes in favor — well ahead of the necessary threshold of 360. In 2019, she had edged through the same…

Remarks earlier this week by US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that Taiwanshould “pay” the US for protection from China have sown doubt on the self-ruled island about Washington’s commitment to defense should Trump win the presidency. Trump’s remarks have sparked heated debates and blanket media coverage in Taiwan, with headlines warning of “Trump security fees.” The US is Taiwan’s most important security benefactor as it faces a persistent threat from China, which considers the democratic island to be a breakaway province that one day will be “reunited” with the mainland, by force if necessary. In the interview published Tuesday, Trump said…

In the villages of the Jadar Valley in western Serbia, even recent scorchingly high temperatures haven’t stopped farmers from working in the fields. About 18,000 people live in this area, mostly young families with children who rely on the valley’s fertile land. In the last five years, their lives have been turned upside down by the plans of Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto to open a lithium mine in the area. The family of vet and farmer Zlatko Kokanovic has lived here for generations. He knows the area like the back of his hand and is certain that the mine and the…

Thousands of students armed with sticks and stones clashed with armed police in Bangladesh following days of violent confrontations local media say have killed at least 16 people.The students were demonstrating in the country’s capital, Dhaka, over the way government jobs are allocated. On Wednesday, the protesters announced they would enforce a “complete shutdown” across the country on Thursday in response to attacks on campus demonstrators. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:42 Bangladesh protest has ‘become a war’ Police fired tear gas to scatter protesters near the University of Dhaka campus, and some mobile internet…

Remarks earlier this week by US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that Taiwanshould “pay” the US for protection from China have sewn doubt on the self-ruled island about Washington’s commitment to defense should Trump win the presidency. Trump’s remarks have sparked heated debates and blanket media coverage in Taiwan, with headlines flashing statements warning of “Trump security fees.” The US is Taiwan’s most important security benefactor as it faces a persistent threat from China, which considers the democratic island to be a breakaway province that one day will be “reunited” with the mainland, by force if necessary. In the interview published…