Author: DW

Skip next section US imposes sanctions on Chinese, Russian entities over Ukraine war05/01/2024May 1, 2024US imposes sanctions on Chinese, Russian entities over Ukraine warThe United States has imposed nearly 300 new sanctions on firms for their support of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The sanctions target more than a dozen companies in Hong Kong and China, which the US says have helped Russia circumvent Western measures. The measures, announced by the US Treasury and coordinated with the State Department, also include sanctions on entities in Azerbaijan, Belgium, Russia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Slovakia. “Treasury has consistently warned that companies will face significant consequences for providing material support…

Arizona’s Senate on Wednesday narrowly approved a bill repealing an 1864 ban on abortion that could have gone into effect if not struck down by state politicians.  Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, is seen as likely to sign the repeal into law after Wednesday’s 16-14 Senate vote and after it cleared Arizona’s House of Representatives last week.  Civil War-era ban with only 1 exception The near-total ban predates Arizona becoming a state in 1912 and permits abortions only to save the patient’s life, with no exceptions, for instance, for survivors of rape or incest. Arizona’s Supreme Court recently suggested it…

Another night of violence has unfolded in Georgia as police have fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters opposing a so-called “Russian law”.The “foreign agents” bill would require organisations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence. Georgian critics say the bill is inspired by laws used to suppress dissent in Russia.It’s been opposed by many civilians, who are opposed to Russia following Vladimir Putin’s brief war on their country in 2008.Despite this, Georgia’s parliament passed the bill to a second reading on Wednesday afternoon. Ever-growing protests have taken place…

Amidst intense clashes inside and outside Georgia’s parliament, lawmakers passed Wednesday’s second reading of the controversial “foreign influence” bill. The proposed law would require media and non-commercial organizations to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad. Critics say it resembles a Russian law used to silence dissent and stifle independent news media. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s ruling Georgian Dream party is determined to get the bill signed into law by mid-May. Scuffles in parliament Wednesday’s vote in Georgia’s parliament was tense. There were scuffles between legislators, and opposition members were expelled. Georgian television…

Around 100 tourists were among those stranded in Kenya’s Maasai Mara game reserve on Wednesday amid ongoing floods that have devastated the country. Torrential rains, amplified by the El Nino weather pattern, have battered the East African nation for weeks, claiming more than 170 lives, blocking roads and sweeping away homes. More than 195,000 people have been displaced. The latest incident occurred when a river broke its banks in the Maasai Mara reserve on Wednesday morning. Local official Stephen Nakola told the AFP news agency that “approximately 100 or more tourists” as well as workers had been marooned by the flooding.The…

Drake has responded to Kendrick Lamar’s latest diss song with a clip from the 1990s romcom 10 Things I Hate About You as the rift between the two star rappers scales new heights.For years both Drake, the world’s most-streamed hip-hop artist in the world, and Lamar, whose fourth album, Damn, won a Pulitzer prize, have been exchanging thinly veiled remarks. But lately their exchanges have become less subtle and more personal as they have increasingly used diss tracks to escalate their antipathy towards each other.Euphoria, Lamar’s latest song, a six-minute track released on Tuesday, alludes to Drake’s executive producing role…

Turkish police on Wednesday arrested more than 200 people who tried to reach Istanbul’s historic Taksim Square for May 1 rallies, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. Police used tear gas and fired rubber bullets to disperse thousands of protesters who defied a ban on celebrating International Workers’ Day there. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had outlawed the annual protest on Taksim Square, but the leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Ozgur Ozel, called for the rally to go ahead.Main roads in Istanbul were closed and public transportation was halted due to a security clampdownImage: Emrah Gurel/AP Photo/picture alliance More than 42,000 police…

Police were called to a number of US colleges on Wednesday amid a wave of pro-Palestinian student protests. Around 300 people were taken into police custody at Columbia University and City College in New York, while clashes between rival groups of protesters broke out in Los Angeles.  The demonstrations were called by students to protest academic and government support for Israel amid its ground offensive in Gaza. More than 34,500 people in the Palestinian territory have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s military operation, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. Israel has pointed to the protests as examples of antisemitism at…

An Israel Defence Forces checkpoint waves our car down, and our passports and IDs are checked by soldiers – we’re then told to pull up behind other cars before a signal is given to follow.The convoy moves off down a road I’ve travelled so many times that I can’t remember how many.We’re taken to the Erez Crossing point, a transit hub between Israel and Gaza.It’s a place where every day for years thousands of Palestinian workers would queue in line to pass across the border; their paperwork, identity, and travel permits, checked and rechecked by soldiers.Like the Palestinians, all foreign…

The US writer Paul Auster, known for acclaimed novels such as 4 3 2 1 and The New York Trilogy, has died at the age of 77.Auster’s death was confirmed on Wednesday by his representatives, the Carol Mann Agency, which has not given further details, though he was diagnosed with cancer in 2022. An author of more than 30 books, his work was translated into dozens of languages and admired overseas – so much so that he was named a chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government in 1991.He was also shortlisted for the Booker…