Author: DW

The Israeli economy is showing signs of a return to normality despite the strain the war against Hamas has put on it. Although official economic data for the first three months of 2024 has yet to be released by the government, recent labor market data from the Central Bureau of Statistics and credit card transaction data from the Bank of Israel suggest the country’s economy is rebounding from the shock of the October 7 terror attacks and the war that has followed. Israel’s economy suffered a major contraction in the final quarter of 2023, following the terrorist attacks. Its economy…

China on Wednesday decried a fresh package of US military aid for Taiwan, which is intended to boost the island’s defenses in the case of a possible Chinese invasion.  The US Senate passed the $8 billion (€7.48 billion) military aid package late Tuesday, as part of larger legislation that includes fresh assistance for Israel and Ukraine. Having already passed the House, the bill will now head to US President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. How can Taiwan defend itself from China?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video China: US aid…

Mae Tao clinic in Mae Sot, a frontier town along the border with Myanmar, is a harrowing window into a civil war that has suddenly escalated.In the searing heat of early morning, the wards are packed full of patients, some with catastrophic injuries. We walk into a room full of amputees, many recently injured by airstrikes and landmines.Lying on a bed with his stomach held together by a bandage, we meet Maung Maung.His voice is incredibly strained, and he can hardly move. He’s just lost his two daughters. One was two years old, the other 14. “They were hiding in…

Police in Germany shot a man who was allegedly wielding a machete at the University of Mannheim on Tuesday afternoon. The suspect, a 31-year-old German national, later died in hospital. What happened at the university? The incident occurred when the man was reportedly being disruptive in the library of the economics faculty. Police said the man assaulted a library employee and was allegedly holding a large machete when officers arrived at the scene. Officers responded to the “threatening situation” by shooting the man, police said. The Mannheimer Morgen newspaper reported that lectures were taking place at the time and the building was subsequently evacuated.…

Lawmakers in the US state of Tennessee passed a law on Tuesday that would allow teachers to carry concealed guns in schools. The bill passed 68-28 vote in Tennessee’s Republican-dominated legislature, as protesters shouted from the visitors gallery, “Blood on your hands.”  It will now be sent for consideration by Governor Bill Lee, a Republican. “What you’re doing is you’re creating a deterrent,” said Republican State Representative Ryan Williams, who sponsored the bill. “Across our state, we have had challenges as it relates to shootings.” All Democrats plus four Republicans voted against the proposal. “My Republican colleagues continue to hold our…

The Senate has passed $95bn (£76.2bn) in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after months of delays and rows – with Joe Biden set to sign the legislation later.The bill passed the Senate on an overwhelming 79-18 vote late on Tuesday after the House had approved the package on Saturday. Once signed, the president will start the process of sending weapons to Ukraine, which has been struggling to hold its front lines against Russia.The legislation would also send $26bn (£20bn) in wartime assistance to Israel and humanitarian relief to citizens of Gaza, and $8bn (£6.4bn) to counter Chinese threats…

A newspaper chief was Donald Trump’s “eyes and ears” and killed unfavourable stories about him in the run-up to the 2016 election, a court has heard.Trump has made history as the first former US president to face a criminal trial. He stands accused of paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels in an effort to cover up their alleged affair and falsifying business records in order to do so.David Pecker, the former boss of publisher AMI, took the stand as the first witness in the trial, as he described participating in a “catch and kill” scheme with Trump and…

The landslide victory of President Mohamed Muizzu’s party, securing 70 out of the 93 seats in the Maldives parliamentary elections over the weekend, could mark a pivotal shift towards a pro-Beijing foreign policy in the country. The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), led by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who is widely perceived as a pro-India leader, held 65 seats in the previous parliament but won only 15 seats this time round. Muizzu, who ran the “India Out” campaign, has made no secret about his anti-India and pro-China stance since he assumed office in November last year. Cutback on Indian military operations…

The great lawn in the center of Columbia University’s Manhattan campus is normally where students meet up to study in the sun, or before heading to the Morningside Heights neighborhood for drinks. But these days, it has become the central gathering point for protesters in a controversy that has spread from the Middle East to New York and universities across the US. Columbia president called police on pro-Palestinian protesters On Thursday, April 18, Columbia University President Nemat Minouche Shafik called the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to campus, where officers in riot gear arrested more than 100 students who had set up tents on…

Plenty of people have died on small boats trying to cross the Channel. But this was different.The people who perished in the waters off Wimereux died not just because of the greed of people smugglers, or the inadequacy of their boat. This is a story about violence. What really killed these people was a hijacking, and by the increasingly dangerous and volatile atmosphere that lingers over the lives of migrants in northern France who are trying to get to Britain.Often we have heard stories of feuds and of weapons being used between rival groups in camps. Now, it seems that…