Author: DW

Tensions between West African neighbors Niger and Benin began with the July 2023 military coup in Niger and the arrest of the country’s democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum. West African bloc ECOWAS condemned the coup and imposed sanctions on the Nigerien military regime led by General Abdourahamane Tiani. In Benin, the protests against the coup leaders were particularly explicit. Beninese President Patrice Talon loudly demanded Bazoum’s reinstatement and even advocated for a military intervention by ECOWAS troops against the coupists in Niger.A conflictual relationship: Benin’s President Patrice Talon (left) and Niger’s ruler General Abdourahamane TianiImage: Yanick Folly/AFP/Getty Images, ORTN/TÈlÈ Sahel/AFP Niger closes borders to…

Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Beijing on Thursday for his first trip abroad since his reelection. The two-day trip is the Russian leader’s second to China in six months. Increasingly isolated internationally more than two years after launching a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, Putin is searching for military and financial support from his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, to sustain his effort in the face of growing global sanctions and a war that his troops have been unable to win despite advantages in arms and numbers. Putin was welcomed by Chinese officials as well as a military honor guard…

This weekend’s undisputed heavyweight clash is “D-Day” for both fighters, Tyson Fury has warned, as he renewed his verbal feud with his opponent. The British boxer is set to face off against Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday. While he had nothing but praise for his boxing, ahead of the estimated $240m clash, he restated that he regarded Usyk as “an ugly little rabbit dosser”.The long-awaited fight will see the unbeaten rivals face each other for the first time as well as an undisputed champion crowned for the first time since 1999.The fight…

What is Sports Free? Sports Free is an initiative that advocates for greater visibility and acceptance of queer athletes in professional sports. The initiative was started by Diversero, a global community that advocates for diversity and against bullying. Marcus Urban is the co-founder of the organization. Who is Marcus Urban? In 2007, Urban became Germany’s first former football player to come out as gay. Born in 1971 in the former East Germany (GDR), Urban was one of the most talented young footballers in the communist state. As a midfielder for Rot-Weiss Erfurt he played in the highest youth leagues and…

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili told DW on Wednesday that she still planned to veto the contentious “foreign influence” law that passed a third and final reading in parliament the previous day.  Even though her veto can ultimately be overridden by another vote in parliament, Zourabichvili said that the law had become a “symbol of a number of laws and measures and rhetoric that is taking Georgia away from its European path,” and that she therefore planned to veto it as such. Law ‘taking Georgia away from its European path’To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web…

Pro-Palestinian protests and the response by law enforcement have shaken US university campuses in recent weeks. Similar incidents have been unfolding on campuses across Europe. Protests against Israel’s conduct in its war against Hamassince the October 7 terrorist attacks are also beginning to raise questions in the corporate sector. The most high-profile example so far is Google. The tech giant fired 50 workers in April for participating in pro-Palestinian sit-in protests at two of its US offices. “Ultimately we are a workplace and our policies and expectations are clear: this is a business, and not a place to act in a…

The French government declared a 12-day state of emergency in the Indo-Pacific territory of New Caledonia on Wednesday after four people were killed and others wounded during riots and looting on Tuesday night. The unrest came after French lawmakers passed a contentious voting bill, according to New Caledonia High Commissioner Louis Le Franc, who said that “a curfew and a ban on TikTok” were now in force. “Soldiers from the armed forces have been deployed to secure the New Caledonia ports and the airport,” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced in Paris. Le Franc said Attal had requested the troops. French President Emmanuel Macron, who canceled a planned trip to Normandy on Wednesday…

You’ve heard of the transatlantic ‘Special Relationship’. This is the “No Limits” partnership – a term coined when Vladimir Putin visited Beijing in February 2022.It was just days before he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A lot’s changed for Russia since then, of course.It’s now an international pariah. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is China’s support.Why? For one, Presidents Xi and Putin share a similar outlook. Both oppose external “interference” in domestic affairs, and long for a “multipolar” world. There are economic benefits for both, too. But this is not an equal partnership. The power lies with Beijing.”Because…

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is in a “life-threatening condition” in hospital after being shot in what his office has called an “assassination attempt.” “Today, after the government meeting in Handlova, there was an assassination attempt on the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Robert Fico,” the government said in a post on social media. Local broadcaster TA3 reported that four shots were fired in the central Slovakian town, one hitting Prime Minister Fico in the stomach. Handlova hospital director Marta Eckhardtova told the AFP news agency:  “Mr. Fico was brought into our hospital and he was treated at our vascular surgery clinic.”…

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has been injured in a shooting following a government meeting and been taken to hospital. Local broadcaster TA3 reported that four shots were fired, one hitting Prime Minister Fico in the stomach. Emergency services said a helicopter had been dispatched to the central Slovakian town of Handlova, where Fico’s cabinet had been meeting, after a 59-year-old man was shot. Handlova hospital director Marta Eckhardtova told the AFP news agency:  “Mr. Fico was brought into our hospital and he was treated at our vascular surgery clinic. The prime minister was later transported from our hospital, he is…