Author: DW

When it finally came down to it, everything went very quickly. After a brief yet heated debate, the Croatian parliament last week passed a highly controversial amendment to the criminal code during the last session of the legislative period. The bill was passed with the votes of the ruling coalition. According to the new law, the forwarding of information from police investigations to journalists is now a criminal offense in Croatia. If caught, whistleblowers face several years in jail. The government has faced intense criticism from journalists and the opposition in the six months since Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic announced the…

Russia’s election commission on Monday hailed what it called Vladimir Putin’s “record” victory in the presidential election, claiming that he had won 87,28% of the vote. It claimed that turnout was also a record high of 77%. Putin’s three rivals each received between 3.2% and 4.3% of the vote, according to the commission. The results came amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the country’s crackdown on opposition and free speech. Only three candidates were allowed to run against Putin, and none of them opposed his war in Ukraine.Putin’s post-election speech touches on Ukraine war, NavalnyTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider…

Eyewitnesses have suggested that Israeli forces have launched a “reinvasion” of Gaza City after the al Shifa hospital was raided overnight. Residents said military activity had not stopped after the hospital raid, which the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and Israel Securities Authority (ISA) said was a “precise operation to thwart terrorist activity”. But Palestinian authorities described the raid as a “war crime” that had resulted in multiple casualties. Image: IDF launch another raid on Gaza’s largest hospital. Pic: AP Mohammad Ali, who lives a short distance from the hospital, told Reuters: “Suddenly, we started to hear sounds of explosions, several bombings,…

Imagine this: You’re 17 and have never left home. Your father and uncle, merchants who have been absent your whole life, return home before they set off again on their next trip. Only this time, you join them. The journey will cover 15,000 miles (24,000 km) and last 24 years. You’ll see things you could not have imagined and be catapulted into the upper echelons of a powerful empire. And, eventually, you’ll become one of the most famous travelers in Western history.Marco Polo became famous in medieval Europe for his Silk Road journeyImage: akg-images/picture alliance What could be the outline for a…

Christian Streich will leave SC Freiburg at the end of the current Bundesliga season. The 58-year-old has been in charge of the southwestern German club for the past twelve years, making him the Bundesliga’s second-longest serving coach after Heidenheim’s Frank Schmidt. “It is with a very heavy heart that I can announce that I won’t continue my job as Freiburg coach,” said Streich in a simple video posted on the club’s social media channel. “After twelve years, it’s the right time to bring in new energy, new people, new opportunities. I believe the players need this new energy.” “This club is…

Russia’s election commission on Monday hailed what it called Vladimir Putin’s “record” victory in the presidential election, claiming that he had won 87% of the vote. It claimed that turnout was also a record high of 77%. With more than 99% of the votes counted, “almost 76 million people” voted for Putin, said election chief Ella Pamfilova. “This is a record figure,” she said, adding: “In the face of the West we have shown that we are united.” The results came amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the country’s crackdown on opposition and free speech. Only three candidates were allowed to run…

Vladimir Putin has cemented his place in Russian history, with a controversial reelection victory securing him a fifth term as the country’s president. With opposition nonexistent and the media completely under his control, the 71-year-old’s win was no surprise.   Putin begins this next term at the helm facing huge challenges triggered by his 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which has made relations with the West increasingly belligerent. Breakup with the West  As the war continues, Russia’s break with the West seems unbridgeable. A new Putin term is likely to see increased emphasis on Moscow’s ties with Eastern powers, experts have observed. International conflict and war have made relations between Russia and the…

A man has died after falling from a hot air balloon in Australia.The aircraft had only been in the air for around 30 minutes when the passenger went over the side of its basket above the city of Melbourne on Monday. Police said the man’s body was found in a residential street at around 7.30am, while the balloon later landed safely in a park a few miles away.There were several other people in the balloon at the time, including the pilot.They were said to have been left “traumatised” after witnessing the tragedy and counselling is being arranged for them. Image:…

After 88 caps, 14 goals, a European Championship win and an Olympic gold, Germany women’s vice captain, Svenja Huth, has called time on her international career.  Huth said she will look back on her time playing for the national team with “pride and humility.” She will continue playing for Wolfsburg in the Women’s Bundesliga but believes the time is right to exit the international stage. “I’m all the happier that we managed to qualify for the Olympics together at the end. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for the girls in front of the TV and cheering them on,” Huth said. Huth…

A Taliban government spokesperson said on Monday that Pakistani airstrikes killed at least eight people, including three children, in border regions of Afghanistan. Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson, said Pakistani aircraft struck civilian homes in Khost and Paktika provinces near the border with Pakistan at around 3:00 a.m. local time (2230 GMT).  According to Mujahid, all eight people killed were women and children. Mujahid condemned the airstrikes saying Kabul “does not allow anyone to compromise security by using Afghan territory.” President promises retaliation The airstrikes targeted multiple suspected hideouts of Pakistani Taliban inside Afghanistan, two Pakistan security officials told AP news agncy.…