Author: DW

In Iraq, most people eat tomatoes with a meal at least once a day, sometimes more. Which is why, when tomato prices go up, people really start complaining, says Kholoud Salman, an Iraqi journalist based in Baghdad. “Tomato prices went from 750 Iraqi dinars [$0.56, €0.52] for a kilo to 2,000 or even 2,500 last summer,” Salman told DW. “People start posting complaints about it on Facebook. Last year I read a post by a young guy, who said that tomatoes were so expensive, his mother was guarding their refrigerator!” Prices for food like tomatoes regularly change at local markets…

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed off on an executive order to “gain control” of the southern border with Mexico, as he looks to present a tougher stance on immigration ahead of November’s US election. The long-expected sweeping measures include a temporary closure of the border whenever arrests of illegal migrants by US Border Patrol exceed 2,500 per day. Given current figures, the measure will therefore come into immediate effect as of Wednesday and will remain in place until the number of apprehensions drops back to below 1,500 per day. The executive order also facilitates a swifter deportation of illegal…

The cheers and chants of hundreds of party workers broke out when Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked through the gates of the BJP office earlier today.He had just won a historic third term in the world’s largest ever democratic exercise – but this time with diminished numbers that fell short of an outright majority. His victory lap at party headquarters betrayed no disappointment on his part, as he hailed the victory as a turning point in Indian politics.Addressing the party workers Modi said: “Your affection, your love, for this blessing, I am indebted to all citizens.”Today is an auspicious day.…

If you read German reports about the recent flooding disaster in the southern part of the country, you will likely come across mention of “Vb weather conditions.” These conditions, which are seldom reported in English-language media, were first described in 1891 by German meteorologist Wilhelm Jacob van Bebber, who cataloged typical paths of low-pressure systems and labeled them with Roman numerals. Although the terms Va, Vc and Vd have since fallen out of popular usage, Vb (pronounced five-B weather conditions, V = Roman 5) is still used by meteorologists to describe a rare pressure system that can bring heavy rainfall,…

Eight Holocaust survivors have urged young people to shun far-right parties and vote to protect democracy at the upcoming European Union elections. “For millions of you, the European elections are the first election in your lives. For many of us, it could be the last,” read the open letter, unveiled in Berlin on Tuesday. “We couldn’t stop it back then. But you can today,” the eight authors wrote. ‘Our democracy must be defended again and again’ The letter was published by rights group Avaaz and signed by eight men and women aged between 81 and 102 who witnessed the Holocaust first-hand.…

The results of India’s six-week-long national election, the world’s largest, started trickling in on Tuesday, showing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was on track to secure a third term, but with a reduced parliamentary majority.     With vote counting nearing its end, the NDA was ahead in about 290 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament, contrary to exit poll predictions of a landslide win. The BJP was also short of a majority of its own. This means the party will likely be forced to rely on coalition partners to remain…

Germany is considering resuming deportations of criminals to Afghanistan, the interior minister said on Tuesday. Germany stopped repatriating migrants to Afghanistan after the Taliban took power in 2021, because it does not deport people to countries where they are threatened by death. But after an Afghan refugee was accused of fatally stabbing a police officer in Mannheim last Friday, authorities are now reconsidering this policy. “It is clear to me that people who pose a potential threat to Germany’s security must be deported quickly,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters. “I am also quite adamant that Germany’s security interests clearly outweigh…

Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the French Open ahead of his quarter-final match.The tennis world number one was due to play Casper Ruud on Wednesday but has withdrawn due to a knee injury. The Norwegian will therefore go straight into the semi-finals.His withdrawal means Djokovic’s hopes to extend his record with a 25th grand slam trophy will not be realised.The Serbian will lose the world number one ranking to Italy’s Jannik Sinner later this month. Organisers said Djokovic had been forced to withdraw from the Roland-Garros tournament “due to a torn medial meniscus in his right knee”.The NHS website…

If you read German reports about the recent flooding disaster in the southern part of the country, you will likely come across mention of “Vb weather conditions.” These conditions, which are seldom reported in English-language media, were first described in 1891 by German meteorologist Wilhelm Jacob van Bebber, who cataloged typical paths of low-pressure systems and labeled them with Roman numerals. Although the terms Va, Vc and Vd have since fallen out of popular usage, Vb (pronounced five-B weather conditions, V = Roman 5) is still used by meteorologists to describe a rare pressure system that can bring heavy rainfall,…

Whenever Hungarians go to the polls, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has a habit of peddling bizarre conspiracy theories. The run-up to this week’s European Parliament elections has been no different. Speaking at a rally in Budapest on Saturday that organizers called a “peace march,” Orban claimed that the European Commission in Brussels is under the influence of US-Hungarian billionaire George Soros, who Orban said plans to send European citizens to war against Russia. He also claimed the continent would subsequently be settled by millions of non-European migrants and that Hungary would cease to exist as a nation. Orban told the crowd…