Author: DW

FC St. Pauli (pronounced Sankt Pauli) will play in the Bundesliga for the first time since the 2010-11 season. The club, based in Hamburg’s central quarter which carries the same name, secured the second division’s top spot after beating Wehen Wiesbaden away on the last matchday of the season on Sunday. FC St. Pauli has become known around the world for standing behind left-wing values. Refugee rights, LGBTQ+ rights and the fight against various forms of discrimination stand at the heart of the Hamburg club and its fans. The Millerntor Stadium, located at the heart of the St. Pauli quarter,…

05/21/2024May 21, 2024Baerbock in Kyiv calls for increased international support for UkraineGerman Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday morning for an unannounced visit in a show of support for Ukraine. In Kyiv, she called for increased international support for Ukraine’s air defense amid the ongoing Russian offensive. “To protect Ukraine from the hail of Russian missiles and drones, it urgently needs more air defense,” she said, urging Kyiv’s allies to “join forces.” The trip had not been announced for security reasons.  Baerbock also warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to be prevented from sending troops to…

The governments of Australia and New Zealand said on Tuesday they are sending planes to New Caledonia to evacuate their nationals amid violent unrest in the French Pacific territory. According to reports, hundreds of tourists have been trapped in hotels during weeks of violent turmoil. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed receiving clearance from the French authorities for two flights to evacuate citizens and tourists from the French territory. “We continue to work on further flights,” Wong posted on X on Tuesday. Official reports said there were about 300 Australians in New Caledonia. Thousands stranded amid turmoil New Zealand is also…

Joe Biden has said ‘what is happening in Gaza is not genocide’ following an arrest warrant request by the International Criminal Court prosecutor for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.The US president branded the warrant request as “outrageous,” adding “whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas.” “What’s happening in Gaza is not genocide. We reject that,” Mr Biden said at a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House.He said American support for the safety and security of Israelis is “ironclad”.International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan KC has applied for…

Spain’s Foreign Ministry summoned on Monday Argentina’s ambassador to demand an apology from President Javier Milei over derogatory comments about Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s wife. Without naming her, Milei called Sanchez’s wife “corrupt” during a far-right rally in Madrid last week. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said he expected an apology from the Argentinian president. Madrid’s prosecuting authority had appealed to throw out a case accusing Sanchez’s wife of influence peddling and business corruption, citing lack of evidence. Sanchez decided to stay in office after taking five days to weigh his political future, in light of the accusations.…

William Lai Ching-te, of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was sworn in as president of the self-governing democratic island on Monday. In his inauguration speech, Lai vowed to defend the island’s democracy, and called on China to end its military intimidation. “In face of the many threats and attempts of infiltration from China, we must demonstrate our resolution to defend our nation and we must also raise our defense awareness and strengthen our legal framework for national security,” the new president said. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory. And under China’s leader Xi Jinping’s rule over the past decade, it has…

The inauguration of Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, is more about handing over the baton than any dramatic change in policy for the island which is overshadowed by its large and powerful neighbour, China.It’s expected Lai Ching-te (also called by his English name, William Lai) will stay the course set by his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen. But his first speech as the new president was closely watched in Asia for any clues about how Taiwan will handle its difficult relationship with China.In a careful and considered address, Mr Lai urged China to “stop threatening Taiwan” and called for “peace and stability”…

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made a “hard landing” on Sunday, said Ahmad Vahidi, Iran’s interior minister. “The esteemed president and company were on their way back aboard some helicopters and one of the helicopters was forced to make a hard landing due to the bad weather and fog,” the minister said in comments aired on state TV. The Iranian Cabinet convened for an emergency meeting chaired by Mohammad Mokhber, the first vice president, on Sunday, state news agency IRNA reported.  He initiated further measures for the rescue operation. According to protocol, Mockber would become president in the event of Raisi’s death.…

Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, took office on Monday amid escalating tensions with China and a divided parliament. Lai and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim were sworn in at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. The event was attended by international delegations, including from the United States, Japan and Canada. In his inauguration address, Lai was expected to express goodwill toward China and call for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to pursue peace. China views Lai, 64, as a “dangerous separatist” who will bring “war and decline” to the region. Lai and his vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim were sworn in at the Presidential…

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has died after the helicopter he was travelling in crashed in a mountainous area of northwest Iran.Rescuers found the burned remains of the aircraft on Monday morning after he had been missing for more than 12 hours.”President Raisi, the foreign minister and all the passengers in the helicopter were killed in the crash,” a senior Iranian official told Reuters.Live updates – Iranian president killed in crashIran’s Mehr news agency reported “all passengers of the helicopter carrying the Iranian president and foreign minister were martyred”.State TV said it had smashed into a mountain – there has been…