Author: DW

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday said a constant dialogue with China and its neighbors was needed to prevent an escalation of current tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, while underscoring Washington’s regional security commitment. Austin’s comments at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore come as the US deepens defense ties with several Asian-Pacific countries in the face of growing territorial assertion by China. The conference is taking place a week after China carried out military drills around the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, as a “punishment” for comments seen as advocating separatism made in the inauguration speech of…

Israel has offered Hamas a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, Joe Biden has announced.Mr Biden outlined the proposal’s three phases during a surprise address at the White House on Friday. Here’s a look at what we know about the deal so far, how it compares with previous proposals and how both sides have reacted to the US president’s address.First phaseThis would be a “full and complete ceasefire” lasting six weeks, Mr Biden said, adding it would see Israeli forces withdraw from all densely populated areas of Gaza. During this time, Hamas would release an unspecified number of…

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is being taken to court over an alleged insult to the kingdom’s royal family during a 2015 interview. He is expected to be indicted under Thailand’s controversial lese majeste law, one of the strictest in the world, which carries lengthy prison sentences  — up to 15 years per offense — for those who criticize the monarchy. Thaksin is also expected to be indicted for violating a computer crime law that outlaws the entry of false data into a computer system that is likely to cause damage to Thailand’s security or public safety.The new charges against…

Residents in Germany’s southern states of Bavaria and Baden Württemberg have been urged to be careful, with some even being evacuated, amid ongoing storms. The district of Günzburg in Bavaria has warned of a flood and declared a state of emergency, as a result of the continuous rainfall. Campsites on the Günz, Kammel and Mindel rivers were evacuated on Friday evening. “We are taking the situation very seriously”, said District Administrator Hans Reichhart. Residents of Bavaria, Baden Württemberg asked to evacuate An apartment building in Lindau, Bavaria was evacuated on Friday evening as a precautionary measure. Water had made its…

Mukesh, a 22-year-old from Munak in the northern state of Haryana, shows Sky News the scars all over his body he says are from torture in a Russian prison.He alleges prison guards stubbed their cigarettes out on him and regularly beat him up for months while he was incarcerated. Mukesh is one of the many young men from Haryana who have taken dangerous journeys in search of work abroad. Image: Mukesh, 22, shows injuries he claims were inflicted in a Russian prison Sky News has reported on several men who have ended up trapped and forced to fight for the…

“I’m hurt. All the Saturday mothers are hurt. Every new day is worse than the last when you have no certainty, no gravestone to visit,” Emine Ocak says. At 88, the co-founder of a protest movement demanding answers about disappearances in state custody finds that her memory isn’t what it used to be. For her daughter, Aysel Ocak, things are a little different. “When it comes to my brother Hasan, the memory, the pain is still fresh,” she says. The last time they heard from Hasan was March 21, 1995. Over the phone, he promised to bring fish and cake that…

The United States announced plans for new sanctions on Chinese officials on Friday after 14 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong were convicted a Beijing-imposed national security law. A court found the 14 pro-democracy activists guilty in a landmark subversion trial that critics pointed to as evidence of a continued crackdown on civil liberties. “The United States is deeply concerned by the guilty verdicts announced in the national security law trial of pro-democracy organizers in Hong Kong,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. “The defendants were subjected to a politically motivated prosecution and jailed simply for peacefully participating…

Israel has offered a comprehensive new ceasefire deal to Hamas, according to US President Joe Biden.The deal would involve the return of Israeli hostages from Gaza and the reconstruction of civilian areas.Mr Biden urged Hamas and prominent figures in Israel not to “lose this moment” after ceasefire talks ground to a halt at the start of the month when Israel refused a permanent end to the war and ramped up its assault on the city of Rafah.”Everyone who wants peace now must raise their voices and work to make it real. It’s time for this war to end,” the president…

In an AI-generated image that has gone viral, tent camps for displaced Palestinians can be seen against a backdrop of mountains. The white tents are arranged in such a way that the words “All Eyes on Rafah” can be read. The image has been spreading across social media since May 27, the day after an Israeli airstrike killed dozens of civilians in the southern Gazan city of Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the attack, which has prompted widespread condemnation worldwide, a “tragic mistake.” More than 47 million Instagram accounts have shared the picture since a Malaysian user…

Authorities in France have arrested an 18-year-old who was suspected of plotting an “Islamist-inspired” terror attack during the Paris Olympics. The suspect was an “18-year-old of Chechen origin” who was arrested in Saint-Etienne, in southeast France, on May 22. “He intended to attack spectators but also security forces and die as a martyr,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Friday night. The ministry said the arrest marked the “first foiled attack against the Olympic Games.” What do we know about the alleged terror plot? According to the Interior Ministry, the suspect was accused of “actively preparing an attack” against…