Author: DW

Belarus said Saturday it was holding “consultations” with Germany, a day after it emerged that Minsk had ordered the execution of a 30-year-old German man. Rico K. was convicted by a Belarusian court last month under six articles of the criminal code, including “terrorism” and “mercenary activity,” the country’s human rights group Viasna reported Friday. He was sentenced to death by firing squad, according to an article on the group’s website. What have Belarusian authorities said? “Taking into account a request from the German Foreign Ministry, Belarus has proposed concrete solutions on the available options for developing the situation,” said Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman…

A series of Israeli strikes have been launched against the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeidah in Yemen.The attack on oil refinery facilities resulted in fatalities in the western coastal city, according to the Houthis’ own TV station Al Masirah. Explosions were reportedly heard throughout the city during the bombardment, citizens told the Reuters news agency.The strikes come a day after the Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone strike near the US embassy in central Tel Aviv, which left one person dead and injured up to 10 others.The Israeli military said in a statement: “A short while ago, IDF fighter…

For rising British athlete Jake Odey-Jordan, the phrase ‘it’s not over til it’s over’ has never reigned more true.After leading the pack for most of the men’s 200m race at the European Athletics U18 Championships, the 16-year-old slowed down far too early, so half of his competitors caught him up and beat him to the finish line. Commentators speaking over the race in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, called the youngster’s performance a “disaster”.”He has eased up way too early,” the European Athletics commentator is heard saying, adding: “This is going to be a lesson learnt the very, very hard way.”Odey-Jordan eventually…

Olympic refugee swimmer Alaa Maso had never planned to come to Germany. But eight years after first arriving here, it is a country he is now proud to call home. “I don’t believe that home is where you grew up or where you were born,” Maso told DW in a recent interview at his training base in Hanover. “I just believe that home is wherever you feel yourself at home. You’re given that feeling by the people surrounding you.” Back in 2015, with his native Syria in the full throes of civil war, Maso had little choice but to leave…

Iryna Farion, a former Ukrainian nationalist politician known for speaking out in defense of the Ukrainian language and against the use of Russian, has been shot dead in Lviv, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko announced in the early hours of Saturday. Farion was shot in the head outside her home on Friday evening by an unknown gunman. She later died from her injuries at a local hospital. What do we know about the attack? Klymenko said that authorities were examining multiple theories to explain the killing. “The main theories currently under consideration are personal animosity, social and political activities of Ms Farion.…

Weeks of escalating student protests over a quota reform for government jobs have spiraled into Bangladesh’s worst unrest in living memory with over a hundred deaths in the past few days. The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has imposed a nationwide curfew and deployed the military, following clashes between demonstrators and police during student protests. Most local news outlets have not updated their online editions since Thursday night, after the government largely cut off internet, telephone, and SMS connections. The curfew was only briefly lifted during lunch timeImage: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images After several attempts, DW’s Bengali service managed to…

Nigeria has issued a $220 million (€202 million) fine against US tech giant Meta for violations of antitrust, data protection and consumer rights laws. Meta is the parent company of the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as of the WhatsApp instant messaging service. What did Nigeria accuse Meta of? Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) on Friday accused Meta of discriminatory practices, abuse of market dominance, sharing Nigerians’ personal data without authorization and denying Nigerians the right to determine how their data is used. It said it had “significant evidence on the record” after launching a…

At least 11 people died, and 30 people were missing after a bridge collapsed amid torrential rains in northwestern China, state media said on Saturday. “Nearly 20 vehicles and more than 30 people” are missing after the collapse of the highway bridge, local broadcaster CCTV said. The bridge in Zhashui County in Shangluo City, Shaanxi province, collapsed at 8:40 p.m. on Friday local time due to sudden downpours and flash floods, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing authorities. What we know about the rescue misson Rescue operations are ongoing, with five vehicles recovered from the water so far. All 11 confirmed deaths were bodies…

Bangladesh’s army has imposed a “shoot-at-sight” curfew across the country after days of clashes between student-led protesters and the police.At least 105 people have been killed and thousands injured this week, according to data from hospitals around the south Asian country. Internet and mobile services have been blocked since Thursday, cutting off Bangladesh from the rest of the world as the police continued to crack down on demonstrations since banning public gatherings. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:47 Violent protests in Bangladesh escalate The protests over the allocation of civil service jobs began weeks ago…

Alexander Lukashenko came to power in the first elections in independent Belarus on July 20, 1994. There have not been any elections that opposition parties and western states have recognized as free and fair since. Experts believe the country has been on the path to totalitarianism for the past four years at least. “The last real opportunity to topple Lukashenko was in 1996,” said Ales Mikhalevich, a presidential candidate in the 2010 elections. That summer, there was a confrontation between the Supreme Council, the Belarusian parliament and Lukashenko, after dozens of lawmakers signed a petition to impeach him. The year before, riot police had beaten…