Author: DW

Italy reported its first-ever case of Oropouche fever, a mosquito-borne disease, on June 15. It’s also the first case ever to be detected in continental Europe. Latin America and the Caribbean have already seen outbreaks this year.  The patient diagnosed in Italy had recently returned from a trip to the Caribbean, Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported, citing public health authorities.   Oropouche virus disease is transmitted through the bites of infected midges and mosquitos. Although the disease has long been circulating in Central and South America and the Caribbean, some countries have seen a sharp rise in diagnosed cases this year.…

From putting down their racket to picking up a paintbrush, from hanging up their boots to bringing down the curtain, sports stars don’t always take a conventional path once their careers are done. Take tennis legends Venus Williams or Michael Stich. Or former soccer hardman Vinnie Jones. Or the mercurial Manchester United legend Eric Cantona. All of whom have sought a very different thrill to what they enjoyed during their sporting career. In the case of Jones and Cantona, they have rarely been seen near the sport that was once so dear to them, dedicating almost their entire post-soccer careers to a…

Police in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Tuesday reportedly fired live rounds to break up demonstrations as thousands took to the streets across the country to protest proposed tax rises.  Reports emerged that some of the protesters had been shot. Some demonstrators entered parliament at about the same time, with the building set on fire soon afterward. The country’s youth-led protest movement has become a major headache for the government, with organizers calling for protests and a general strike. What’s the latest on the protests? A heavy police presence met hundreds of chanting demonstrators in Nairobi’s business district — previously the focus of protest…

The International Criminal Court in The Hague is now seeking the arrest of Russian former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and current military Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.  The charges pertain to alleged crimes committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  Attacks on energy infrastructure at heart of the warrants The court said in a press release on Tuesday that there were “reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects bear responsibility for missile strikes carried out by the Russian armed forces against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023.”  Ukraine looks…

Attacks on Jews and Muslims in Germany have surged since the outbreak of the recent Israel-Hamas war, new figures showAntisemitic incidents rose by more than 80% last year, compared to 2022. Some 4,782 episodes were recorded – an average of 13 per day.The figures from the monitoring group the Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS) show there was a major up tick following Hamas’s 7 October attacks.In the three months following, 2,787 incidents were documented. That’s more than the whole of 2022 when 2,616 were recorded.While many complaints were linked to anti-Israel activism, authors of…

Historian and journalist Anne Applebaum has been named by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association as the winner of the German Book Trade Peace Prize for 2024. “At a time when democratic values and achievements are increasingly being caricatured and attacked, her work embodies an eminent and indispensable contribution to the preservation of democracy and peace,” the award citation said of Applebaum.  The Polish-American journalist is a writer for US magazine, The Atlantic, and has written extensively about Central and Eastern Europe. According to Appelbaum’s biography, she is considered an expert in Eastern European history and “warned early on of Vladimir…

Following Croatia’s 2-2 with Albania on Wednesday, Jovan Surbatovic, general secretary of the Football Association of Serbia (FSS), said his organization had submitted a formal complaint to UEFA, claiming that the two sets of fans had chanted, “Kill, kill, kill the Serb” during the match. He even indicated that the FSS would be prepared to withdraw from Euro 2024 if UEFA, which governs European football, fails to take what it sees as sufficient action. “What happened is scandalous and we will ask UEFA for sanctions, even if it means not continuing the competition,” he told Serbian state-owned broadcaster RTS. “If UEFA…

The Schisto refugee camp is located in a barren landscape on the outskirts of Athens, around half an hour’s drive from the city center. By early morning, temperatures are already over 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit). Despite the dry heat, a barefoot boy of around 5 runs across the dusty gravel to watch a group of firefighters carry out a safety drill. Schisto is currently home to 193 such children under the age of 17. Most of them are from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq. There are no longer any unaccompanied minors here. In the past, there was a so-called “safe zone”…

For a few days, a subway station in Dalian, China, will be renamed. Instead of simply Congress Center it is now plastered with huge decals that say “Annual Meeting of the New Champions.” Outside, the streets and sidewalks are sparkling clean, access roads all around have been cleared far and wide. Colorful flags flutter in the wind. Dalian, a city on the Yellow Sea in northeast China, is the proud host of this year’s “Summer Davos,” as the meeting is more commonly known.  The World Economic Forum (WEF) event is taking place in China for the 15th time. From June 25…

American civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit against Louisiana on Monday after the state made it mandatory to display the Ten Commandments from the Bible in school classrooms. The complaint was filed by American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, all representing nine families with children enrolled in Louisiana public schools. “The state’s main interest in passing H.B. 71 was to impose religious beliefs on public school children, regardless of the harm to students and families,” the lawsuit says. It added that requiring public schools to display the…