Author: DW

The father of a 16-year-old accused of stabbing two Christian clerics in Australia saw no signs of his son’s extremism, a Muslim community leader has said.The boy spoke in Arabic about the Prophet Muhammad after he appeared to stab Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and the Reverend Isaac Royel during a church service in Sydney on Monday, which was being streamed online.Neither cleric suffered life-threatening injuries.The boy, who was overpowered by the Orthodox Assyrian congregation, remains in an undisclosed hospital under police guard. He suffered severe hand wounds in the struggle.After the incident, officials said around 600 people gathered outside Christ…

The Venice Biennale, which runs this year from April 20 to November 24, is one of the world’s most prestigious international art shows. It is also held alongside the Documenta in the German city of Kassel. The lagoon city will once again become the center of the international art world in the coming weeks and months. Over 800,000 art lovers made a pilgrimage to the previous Biennale held two years ago, and two-thirds came from abroad, a new record. Israeli pavilion to remain closed in protest The Israel-Hamas war is having a direct impact on the prestigious art show.  A collective of pro-Palestinian activists,…

The jailing of 12 Shiite Muslim men in Saudi Arabia has highlighted the dangers for fans who want to travel for sporting events such as the World Cup, according to human rights campaigners and an exiled Saudi Shiite. The men were summoned, along with more than 100 other fans, for questioning after being filmed singing a religious song celebrating the birth of Imam Ali, an important figure in the Shiite Muslim faith at a match between their team, Al Safa, and Al Bukiryah in January. Those 12 jailed have received sentences of either six months or a year, though with little…

On Wednesday, Croatian citizens will elect a new parliament and prime minister. Polls had long favored incumbent Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, leader of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). The opposition is widely viewed as weak, with local victories few and far between. In 2021, the green-left Mozemo! (We Can!) movement won the mayoral election in the capital, Zagreb. But now, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic is shaking up an election that seemed as if it had been decided before it had even begun. He threw his hat in the ring as the lead candidate of the Social Democrats (SDP) just four…

The strengthening of the US dollar has emerged as a significant concern for countries worldwide, triggering alarm bells not only in emerging economies (EMs) but also in advanced industrialized countries. The currencies of the G20 group of major economies are almost all depreciating against the dollar. The Turkish lira has been leading the decline since the beginning of the year at 8.8%; the yen has fallen 8% and the South Korean won 5.5%. Both developed and emerging economies have seen currencies weaken at an accelerating pace, with the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, and euro falling 4.4%, 3.3%, and 2.8%, respectively. Why is the US dollar…

Social media platform X has blocked posts in India involving political speech following orders from the country’s election commission ahead of upcoming polls, the company said late on Tuesday. “In compliance with the orders, we have withheld these posts for the remainder of the election period,” X said in a statement. Despite complying, X expressed disagreement with the action and maintained that “freedom of expression should extend to these posts and political speech in general.” The posts, which will be hidden from Indian audiences during the election period, included unverified claims about political opponents, the Election Commission of India said in…

Julian Assange’s wife has accused the United States government of “blatant weasel words” as she tries to stop her husband being sent to America to stand trial.The US wants the WikiLeaks founder to be extradited from the UK to face 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse stemming from his website’s publication of classified documents nearly 15 years ago. American prosecutors allege Assange, 52, put lives at risk when he helped former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks put online in 2010. Image: Activists show their support for Julian Assange…

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with China’s Defense Minister Dong Jun on Tuesday in the first such engagement in almost 18 months. In the video conference call, the two superpowers’ defense leaders laid out where they stood on “defense relations and regional and global security issues,” according to a Pentagon statement. Austin: US, China must continue ‘open lines’ of communication The call comes after US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping resumed direct military talks last year in an effort to manage rising tensions in the region, especially over Taiwan and other Chinese territorial claims in the South China…

A United Nations-led donor conference in Geneva raised almost $630 million (€592 million) on Tuesday to assist millions of Ethiopians impacted by climate change and conflict. “The humanitarian situation in Ethiopia is critical — but there is a window to act right now to break the downward spiral,” the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. However, the funds raised fell short of the $1 billion urgently needed, according to the UN, to tackle the crisis in Africa’s second-largest country where over 21 million people require assistance amid an escalating food shortage. ‘Humanitarian situation very fragile’ According to OCHA, “cycles of…

Myanmar’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest, according to the country’s military government.Ms Suu Kyi’s government was overthrown by a military coup in 2021 and she has been detained since then, facing 27 years in prison for crimes ranging from treason and bribery to violating telecommunications law. Junta spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun said the 78-year-old had been moved “since the weather is extremely hot”.In comments reported by four media outlets, he added: “It is not only for Aung San Suu Kyi… for all those who need necessary precautions, especially elderly…