Author: DW

Belarus’ former ambassador to Germany Denis Sidorenko has died unexpectedly, aged 48, Belarus’ government announced this week. After serving in Germany since 2016, Sidorenko was recalled from his position in Berlin earlier this year by Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko and not given a new position. What do we know so far? Independent Belarusian media outlet Nasha Niva reported that Sidorenko had fallen to his death from an apartment block in the country’s capital, Minsk, on June 23. Nasha Niva said Sidorenko had died by suicide after being questioned repeatedly by Belarus’ security services. The media outlet cited an undisclosed source as saying the former ambassador “constantly underwent polygraphs [lie detector tests] and interrogations.”…

A global anti-money laundering watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), said on Friday it had added Monaco to a list of countries “under increased monitoring.” Venezuela was also added on Friday, while Turkey and Jamaica were removed from the same list. Why was Monaco added to the FAFT’s gray list? The Paris-based FATF monitors efforts by over 200 countries and jurisdictions to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism, adding them to its “gray list” if it detects “strategic deficiencies.” A total of 21 countries are on the gray list, while a separate “black list” includes countries and…

Who says no man is a prophet in his own land? Just a few weeks ago, the senate of the German state of Hamburg decided to rename a section of a street Karl Lagerfeld Promenade. Although it is only 150 meters (490 feet) long, it is very central and even close to Felix Jud, Karl Lagerfeld’s favorite bookshop. The Hamburg native was known to be a book lover. Meanwhile, the French, who are usually skeptical of German fashion, have dedicated a glossy streaming series to the designer called “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld.”  Behind the project is the venerable French film group Gaumont, which was founded…

What incidents of provocation have occurred at Euro 2024 so far? Perhaps the most provocative case was the reported chanting by Croatian and Albanian fans at their Euro 2024 Group B match in Hamburg last Wednesday. After the match, the general secretary of the Serbian Football Association (FSS), Jovan Surbatovic, claimed that both sets of fans had been heard chanting “Kill, kill, kill the Serb.” In a separate incident, Albania striker Mirlind Daku was observed using a megaphone to lead fans in nationalist chants about Serbia and North Macedonia. UEFA subsequently suspended the player for two games, although he has…

“Salam Aleikum,” I greeted the gentleman at the cash desk of the Grand Mosque in the central Chinese city of Xian. “Wa aleikum assalam!” he greeted back in Arabic. “You are a Muslim. Free entry!” he said, inviting me in. No, I’m not a Muslim. I just wanted to visit the old mosque. It is now a tourist attraction in the city, a former capital of China, known as “Chang’an,” or “Eternal Peace” in English. Non-Muslims visiting the mosque need to pay the equivalent of €5 to enter the place of worship, a hefty entrance fee in Xian. The man…

A British man has died off the Greek island of Spetses.He had been taking part in a yachting regatta and authorities said he was found dead on Friday. The man, who was in his forties, was found in a bay area of the island with what appeared to be injuries on the left side of his head, according to the coastguard.The Greek island, which is part of the Saronic Islands group, has an area of 27km² and is home to just over 3,700 people.The coastguard added that he was taken to a local hospital where he was confirmed dead. Local…

An inconspicuous mountain road in the north of Spain. The ribbon of asphalt winds its way from the Alto de Olaeta down into the valley. The road descends at a gradient of up to 14% — steep, but nothing out of the ordinary for professional cyclists. And yet the small mountain road in the Basque Country could be a deciding factor in this year’s Tour de France. Not because a mountain stage ends there, but because it was the scene of a distressing incident during one of the preparatory races. In April, three of the four favorites for the Tour de France raced…

A week may be a long time in politics — for some, a day is quite enough — but in rocket science, not even a single year would get you passed the first post. It took Ariane 6 — Europe’s flagship heavy-lift rocket — two full years just to get a green-light to be developed. And another eight years being built before its inaugural flight in 2024. Building a whole new rocket system takes more than just creating a new rocket that shoots satellites into space. A rocket system not only includes the rocket, often in various constellations, but also its engines, the…

Manchester United are once again in the spotlight over their treatment of their women’s team after reports emerged that the women’s set-up is to be temporarily moved into portable facilities in order to accommodate the men’s team while facilities at the club’s training ground are renovated. The news, first reported earlier this week by British daily The Guardian, came a week after the club’s new minority owner, British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, admitted to Bloomberg that his focus so far had been solely on the men’s team, and coincided with an exodus of key players for the second summer in…

The Italian aircraft carrier Cavour is to make a port call in Japan in August and take part in military exercises with units of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, with Rome becoming the latest European nation to step up its political and defense ties with Tokyo. The deployment of the 27,100-ton flagship of the Italian Navy was announced this week in Rome by Defense Minister Guido Crosetto. He also confirmed that the carrier’s complement of up to 10 advanced F-35B stealth fighters will take place in the drills “to ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific,” Kyodo News reported. Detachments of the German, French…