Author: DW

In Belarus, there are currently 144 political prisoner per 1 million inhabitants, according to the Belarusian human rights organization Viasna and United Nations estimates. In comparison, Russia, where repression has been drastically increasing, has a ratio of four per 1 million, according to the Russian human rights group Memorial.  Beyond the current estimates, many stories remain unheard: Merely reaching out to independent media can be grounds for punishment in both countries. Nadezhda and Vladimir are the leads of the Belarusian fantasy-folk band Irdorath. They received a two-year prison sentence for performing music at a protest against Alexander Lukashenko, the long-serving president of Belarus.…

Russia is conducting military drills in its Southern Military District that involve tactical nuclear weapons.  The Defense Ministry said on Tuesday, as the operations began, that the first stage envisioned “practical training in the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” including the nuclear-capable Kinzhal and Iksander missiles.  Tactical nuclear weapons are shorter-ranger, lower-yield weapons designed for use in battlefield scenarios against smaller targets, as opposed to the high-yield strategic nuclear weapons designed to target large population centers.  It’s the first time Russia had publicly announced drills involving such weapons, though its strategic nuclear forces hold regular exercises. The drills were…

Controversial comments made on old video footage by Mani Shankar Aiyar, a veteran leader of the opposition Indian National Congress (INC) party, have recently resurfaced — raising eyebrows as India’s elections enter their final two phases. In the footage, Aiyar described Pakistanis as the “biggest asset of India” and recommended that India should resume dialogue with Pakistan. His views were echoed by Farooq Abdullah, the former chief minister of the Muslim-majority state Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan plays into India’s elections The video’s reappearance provided Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leaders of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) an opportunity to corner the…

Tens of thousands of mourners have followed a funeral procession for Iran’s late president, foreign minister and the other victims of a helicopter crash.Ebrahim Raisi died along with seven others in the crash near the country’s border with Azerbaijan on Sunday.Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led prayers for the victims at the funeral at Tehran University.The caskets of the dead, including the late foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, were draped in Iranian flags with their pictures on them.On the late president’s coffin sat a black turban, signifying him as a direct descendent of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.”Oh Allah, we didn’t see anything…

Laser technology is advancing rapidly within the military industry. Armed forces in countries including the US, China, the UK and Israel have reported significant developments in laser weapons that can heat, disrupt, or burn aerial targets such as drones and cruise missiles from tens of kilometers away. Meanwhile, the internet is inundated with dubious claims about the latest advanced laser weapons stationed in space, including claims related to the helicopter accident involving the Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi.  Do space lasers capable of downing a helicopter exist? Claim: “The president of Iran obviously had his helicopter shot out of the sky by a space laser!” wrote…

Following recent election victories of pro-business candidates in Argentina and Ecuador, voters in Panama also chose a staunch free market advocate as their next president in a poll held earlier this month. Jose Raul Mulino, a 64-year-old former security minister in the government, stormed to victory on the campaign slogan “La Promesa de Chen Chen,” meaning “A promise of money in your pocket.” In November last year, far-right libertarian Javier Milei won the presidency in Argentina vowing to “exterminate” rampant inflation and “put a chainsaw to the state.” A month earlier, banana fortune heir Daniel Noboa became Ecuador’s youngest president at 35. The…

Whether or not to recognize a Palestinian state is a decades-old debate. Advocates say the move would have legal and symbolic power, but critics argue it would not change the situation on the ground. Source link

Anti-government protesters in Iran have told Sky News they have received calls from officials urging them to attend mourning events for late president Ebrahim Raisi.The activists, who did not want to be named, said authorities were “desperate” for public displays of sadness following the leader’s death in a helicopter crash on Sunday. It comes after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared five days of national mourning, with funeral events getting under way yesterday.Iranian media said the crash near the country’s border with Azerbaijan killed a total of eight people, including Mr Raisi’s foreign minister and three helicopter crew members.On…

Vietnam’s National Assembly elected Public Security Minister To Lam as the country’s new president on Wednesday. In a secret ballot, 472 out of 473 deputies voted in favor of his nomination, as reported by state media. Following his election, Lam promised to try his best “to fulfill all the tasks assigned,” promising his loyalty to the nation, the state and the people. Lam, 66, has been the public security minister since 2016 and joined the Politburo in 2021. Anti-corruption crackdown takes down bigwigs The recent major leadership reshuffle in the one-party state follows an anti-corruption campaign led by Communist Party General…

A 50-year-old man has been caught on camera jumping off a pleasure boat to try and “body slam” an orca in New Zealand, in what was branded “disgraceful” and “pathetic” behaviour.”Shocking” footage of the man diving into the sea to land on the orca with his body has sparked uproar on social media after New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DoC) posted it on its Instagram account. The man has been fined $600 (£288) as a consequence of his actions off the coast of Devonport, Auckland, in February, which saw him aiming for an adult male orca and a calf.People can…