Author: DW

The Chinese Communist Party has wrapped up a series of high-level meetings with a communiqué that China watchers have described as vague and lacking detailed policies. The meetings, called the Third Plenary Session, usually deal with major economic and political policy changes in China. This year, the session has approved decisions on “further comprehensively deepening of reform and promoting Chinese-style modernization.” According to the official communiqué released on July 18, the four-day meeting was attended by 199 Central Committee members and 165 alternate members. It stated that the Beijing authorities will focus on “improving the (Communist) Party’s capacity for leadership and…

A German man has been sentenced to death in Belarus over alleged crimes including “terrorism” and “mercenary activity”, the Viasna human rights group said Friday. Rico Krieger, aged 30, was convicted by a court in Minsk in a secretive trial at the end of June, the group reported. What do we know so far? AFP news agency reported that the conviction was said to be related to the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment, a military unit made up of Belarusian citizens fighting alongside Ukraine against Russia. The regiment is named after the Belarusian-Polish writer, journalist, lawyer and revolutionary, who was executed in 1864 for…

Two large oil tankers have collided and caught fire off Singapore’s coast, the UN’s shipping agency has said.”Salvage and firefighting assets have been arranged by both vessel owners to support the firefighting efforts and subsequent towage of the vessels to safety,” a spokesperson with the International Maritime Organisation said. “Navigational traffic is not affected.”The status of the vessels and any pollution is currently unknown at this time.”Photographs released by the Singapore Navy showed thick black smoke billowing from one tanker and crew being rescued from life rafts and flown to hospital. The tankers – Singapore-flagged Hafni Nile and the Sao…

There’s no vaccine for HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS. And stories about people being cured of HIV are still read as miracles. HIV can, however, be prevented, controlled and treated with tablets — sold as Truvada. But since 2020, Europeans living with the sexually transmitted infection have had an alternative to a daily regimen of pills: an injectable medicine. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved rilpivirine and cabotegravir (sold as Rekambys and Vocabria, respectively, and together as Cabenuva). They are used in combination to treat patients with HIV-1, the most widespread type of the virus worldwide.   In…

“The Russian police threatened to have me raped in prison,” recounts 21-year-old Yusif Muradov. He had to flee Russia after authorities started cracking down on him for being openly queer. As of 2024, 64 countries in the world criminalize homosexuality. In at least 10 countries like Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Iran, consensual same-sex acts can even lead to the death penalty.  In several other countries, like Russia and India, same-sex relations are legally permitted, nevertheless LGBTQ+ people are still persecuted — leading to a de-facto illegality.  Four openly queer people spoke to DW about why they had to leave their country and come to Germany to live their lives freely,…

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…