Author: DW

The judge presiding over former US President Donald Trump’s case, for allegedly mishandling classified documents after leaving office, indefinitely postponed the start of his trial on Tuesday. Trump had been scheduled to go on trial on May 20 but US District Judge Aileen Cannon said that was not possible because of the number of pre-trial motions before the court. Cannon, a Trump appointee, did not set a new date for the start of the federal trial and it is unlikely to take place before the presidential election, which will take place in November. Cannon said in a five-page order that it would be “imprudent” to…

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed the name of the contractor running the Ministry of Defence’s payroll system that was hacked by China. Mr Shapps told parliament that SSCL (Shared Services Connected Ltd) is the contractor and their work is being reviewed across government following the cyber attack – which China has denied. Politics Live: ‘Malign actor’ behind MoD hack – but government refuses to name ChinaThe cabinet minister initially did not name the company operating the payroll, but told MPs that there is evidence of “potential failings” which “may have made it easier for the malign actor” to gain…

In February 2019, Somesh Jha, an Indian journalist who used to work for the Business Standard newspaper, got his hands on a “smoking gun” of a story.  Jha found out that an official survey had flagged shocking levels of unemployment in the country, but the authorities had chosen not to publish the findings, which had been made by the federal government’s statistics department. The newspaper published the report showing that India’s unemployment rate stood at 6.1% in 2017-18. That is the highest unemployment percentage for India in the previous 45 years. It is well known that post 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and the…

Japan on Tuesday lamented a “regrettable” recent comment by US President Joe Biden that “xenophobia” was hampering economic growth in the Asian country. “We lodged representations to the United States that the comment was not based on the correct understanding of Japan’s policy and regrettable,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters. But Hayashi added that Japan’s relationship with its security ally was stronger than ever, and Tokyo would work to strengthen it further. What exactly did Biden say? Last week, at a fundraiser for his 2024 re-election campaign in Washington, Biden said, “One of the reasons why our economy’s…

A company has been named in parliament as the contractor running the Ministry of Defence’s payroll that was hacked by China – an accusation the country has denied. Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey claimed in the House of Commons on Tuesday that SSCL (Shared Services Connected Ltd) is the contractor after Sky News revealed the night before that the Chinese state had hacked the Armed Forces’ payroll system. China has said the accusations were “completely fabricated and malicious slanders”.Defence Secretary Grant Shapps gave a statement to MPs on Tuesday about the hack – but he did not say who…

Skip next section Ukraine’s SBU says uncovers Russian assassination plot05/07/2024May 7, 2024Ukraine’s SBU says uncovers Russian assassination plotUkraine’s SBU State Security Service says it has caught Russian agents within the Ukrainian state guard service who were plotting to kill President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other senior government officials. “Counterintelligence and SBU investigators thwarted the FSB’s (Russia’s security service) plans to eliminate the president of Ukraine and other representatives of the top military and political leadership,” the SBU said on Telegram. A statement said that two colonels in the State Guard of Ukraine, which protects top officials, were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the plan. Both were…

Ulrike Holzgrabe believes China wouldn’t need an atomic bomb to deal a fatal blow to Europe. Just stopping its supplies of antibiotics would also do the trick, the professor for pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry at Würzburg University in southern Germany told DW. Europe’s huge shortage of medical masks during the coronavirus pandemic has laid bare the continent’s vulnerability to ensuring a steady supply of basic medicinal products. In 2020, the European Parliament stated in a report that public health could be a “geopolitical weapon that can bring down an entire continent.”Big pharma, made in ChinaTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider…

The spontaneous celebrations on the streets of Gaza didn’t last long on Monday night. Shortly after Hamas had announced that it had accepted a cease-fire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar, heavy explosions were reported in the eastern part of Rafah, where the Israeli army had ordered people to evacuate immediately on Monday morning. Late on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Office said that the cease-fire proposal fell short of Israel’s demands and that the war cabinet had agreed to continue the operation in Rafah. Officials suggested that Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by the US, the EU and…

There are many in Israel who don’t believe Benjamin Netanyahu wants a new hostage deal, and they’re not just the families of those still being held in Gaza.Such is the scepticism with which Israel’s prime minister is now regarded, a growing number of Israelis are starting to think their embattled leader wants to string out the fighting as long as possible as a means to remain in office. Having spent much of Monday blaming Hamas for collapsing ceasefire talks, the group’s dramatic acceptance of a ceasefire proposal last night certainly threw the Israeli government. Please use Chrome browser for a…

At least three people have died and dozens more are believed to be trapped under rubble after a building under construction in South Africa collapsed.Officials in the city of George, on the country’s southern coast, say 51 people are still trapped while 24 have been taken to hospital after the disaster on Monday afternoon, local time. Western Cape premier Alan Winde said: “Seventy-five members of construction crew have been confirmed on site at that time of the incident.” Image: CCTV footage shows the building before it collapsed. Pic: Reuters CCTV footage obtained by Reuters showed a cloud of dust as…