Author: DW

Europe’s top human rights court has sided with a 2,000-strong group of elderly women who said Switzerland’s government had not done enough to combat climate change. Senior Women for Climate Protection, whose average age is 74, say older women’s rights are especially infringed on because they are most affected by the extreme heat that will become more frequent due to global warming. This is the first time the court has ruled on climate change.Judgments from the European Court of Human Rights are not legally binding for all 46 of the European Council’s member states, but they set a legal precedent…

Insults, hostility, and hate speech are a major problem in public spaces and on social networks. Governments around the world are seeking to take firmer legal action against these phenomena. Germany, for example, introduced the Network Enforcement Act in 2017. The European Parliament has called for a more forceful prosecution of hate crimes throughout the EU. Initially, then, it appeared to be a good thing that the Scottish government had decided to tighten the existing regulations. What are the rules in Scotland? The new Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act came into force on April 1. It extends existing regulations, in that racially motivated acts…

Yemen’s fishermen set out at dawn to take on seas where they know they could face pirates, smugglers, and now Houthi militant missile attacks.”We’re always scared,” Awad tells us as he sits on the edge of the wooden fishing boat. “Because you don’t know when you will be attacked.”The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden have become the new battleground in the spreading war in Gaza.Houthi missiles targeting international shipping routes have caused havoc to global trade, led to a rise in food prices and brought heightened misery to the Yemenis who rely on the waters for their livelihoods.…

A South African court on Tuesday overruled electoral authorities’ decision to bar former President Jacob Zuma from running in the country’s general elections next month. South Africans will on May 29 vote for a new parliament, which will in turn elect the president. What do we know about the decision? “The decision of the Electoral Commission… is set aside,” the Electoral Court wrote in its ruling seen by AFP news agency.  The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) decided last month to bar Zuma from running for a seat in Parliament on behalf of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK). The IEC disqualified Zuma over…

Thousands of people protested on Tuesday in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, against a plan to reintroduce a law that would allow the government to more easily monitor NGOs and the media. The ruling Georgian Dream party announced last week it intends to bring back the bill. It had been abandoned last year following widespread protests. The law would require groups receiving more than 20% of their funding from overseas to register as an “organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power.” The previous version of the law that was dropped in 2023 used the wording “agent of foreign influence.” Georgian Dream…

One of the most anticipated moments of the year has come and gone as a total solar eclipse swept across North America.As millions of spectators gazed at the phenomenon from the ground, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite captured the eclipse during an orbit. Astronauts from NASA witnessed the event from space as the International Space Station shared a clip that showed the shadow of the moon passing over the Earth.Read more:Best pictures and videos of the eclipse X This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission…

The political landscape in Turkey experienced a significant shift as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) suffered a historic defeat in local elections on March 31. The center-left Republican People’s Party (CHP) celebrated a resounding victory that echoed throughout the nation, as it secured wins in 21 smaller municipalities and claimed victory in 14 major cities, including the crucial centers of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. The victory has revived hopes among the opposition, which was deeply disappointed by Erdogan’s reelection victory in last year’s general election. The streets were filled with people celebrating and cheering for the first time in a…

The Supreme Court in the southwestern US state of Arizona ruled on Tuesday that the state can enforce an 1864 law banning most abortions. The law will open the door to prosecuting doctors who perform the procedures. What do we know about Arizona’s 1864 abortion ban? The long-dormant law predates Arizona’s statehood and provides no exceptions for rape or incest but would allow abortion in the case of danger to the mother’s life. The law carries a sentence of two to five years in prison for anyone assisting in an abortion. Arizona’s Supreme Court had reviewed a 2022 decision by…

An Iranian journalist has described the moment he was stabbed outside his home in what he believes was a state-sponsored attack.Pouria Zeraati, a 36-year-old presenter at London-based broadcaster Iran International, was attacked by three unknown assailants in Wimbledon on 29 March. In his first live interview, Mr Zeraati told Sky News’ The World With Yalda Hakim he “lost a lot of blood” in the stabbing. Image: Pouria Zeraati shared photo of himself from his hospital bed after being stabbed. Pic: X/ @pouriazeraati He said he was walking towards his car when a man approached and asked for £3 in cash.When…

The US Congress reconvened this week with all eyes on a potential vote for approving a long-delayed $60 billion (€55.3 billion) military aid package for Ukraine.  The foreign aid package, which altogether totals $95 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, was passed by the Democrat-controlled Senate in February, but has been stalled in the lower house of Congress, where Republicans hold a thin majority.  However, prior to the recess in March, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson hinted that the House would quickly take up voting on the foreign aid package proposal. Johnson faces opposition from hardline Republicans opposed to any further funding of Ukraine. Johnson…