Author: DW

EU foreign ministers met in Brussels on Monday to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine, Belarus, the situation in the Middle East and other current affairs. The meeting was led by the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who earlier on Monday had an informal discussion via video conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “A solid compromise has been agreed at the working level and I hope that this will be continued until full adoption soon, but the political agreement is there,” Borrell told reporters afterwards. EU sanctions Israeli settlers for first time The bloc agreed to impose further sanctions on…

Campaigning is in full swing in Senegal with rallies, motorcades and door-to-door canvassing just days before the presidential elections, which are scheduled for Sunday, March 24. This year though, because of delays to the polls, which originally were scheduled for February, presidential candidates were given a shorter campaign period than normal. The 19 candidates have just over two weeks in total to convince the West African nation’s more than 7 million registered voters to choose them. Bassirou Diomaye Faye, one of the election frontrunners, has even less time: He had been held in prison since April 2023 and was only freed as part…

Extreme weather events were “off the charts” in 2023, according to a new report aiming to send a “red alert” to the world about the need for action on climate change.Global temperatures broke records “by a clear margin” last year, United Nations climate scientists have said. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said in its annual report that the air and ocean were the warmest yet in modern times in 2023, with records shattered for both the rise in sea level and the retreat of glaciers and Antarctic ice.Heatwaves, floods, droughts, wildfires and rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones caused “misery and mayhem,…

Christian Streich has long been a coach who follows his own path. And the long-serving Freiburg boss lived up to that reputation when he became one of relatively few prominent figures active in football to publicly question the morality of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) acquiring a controlling interest in Newcastle United. “There are always things happening in football that have exceeded all limits. In this case it is  unbelievable who is part of this consortium,” Streich said ahead of his high-flying side’s home match with RB Leipzig this weekend. The Premier League last week approved the PIF’s takeover bid after receiving…

Skip next section Russia says it captured Orlivka03/19/2024March 19, 2024Russia says it captured OrlivkaRussia’s Defense Ministry says its forces have captured the village of Orlivka in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. It lies 9.5 kilometers (5.9 miles) northwest of Avdiivka. Ukrainian forces withdrew from the city last month. Earlier on Tuesday, the Ukrainian General Staff said that Kyiv’s forces had repelled nine Russian attacks around Orlivka. https://p.dw.com/p/4dtXvSkip next section Ukraine requires drones for battlefield advantage, says Syrskyi03/19/2024March 19, 2024Ukraine requires drones for battlefield advantage, says SyrskyiUkraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi says that the development of drones is key to giving Kyiv…

Female genital mutilation (FGM) remains illegal in Gambia — for now. A decision in Gambia’s National Assembly on whether to overturn the ban on FGM has been postponed for at least three months. The divisive issue led MPs to ask for more consultation on the matter, referring the bill to a parliamentary committee which will examine it for at least three months. The bill will then be returned to parliament. According to the AFP news agency, hundreds of people were seen protested outside parliament on Monday, with most supporting a repeal of the ban on FGM. The tiny West African nation had explicitly criminalized FGM, also called cutting or female circumcision, in…

The boyfriend of tennis player Aryna Sabalenka has died.Konstantin Koltsov, a Belarusian former professional hockey player, was 42 years old. The news was announced by Salavat Yulaev, the Russian hockey club that Mr Koltsov played for and later worked for as an assistant coach.”It is with deep sorrow that we inform you that the coach of Salavat Yulaev, Konstantin Koltsov, has passed away,” a statement by the team said on Tuesday.His cause of death has not been released. The club described him as a “strong and cheerful person” who was “loved and respected by players, colleagues and fans”.The statement added:…

For decades, modesty, continuity, and youth development have been central at SC Freiburg. The strategy is clearly working. Club President Eberhard Fugmann told DW that plenty of the credit belongs to their enigmatic frontman.  “I can see a certain development within the last 10 years with Christian Streich being our head coach. Even with him we were relegated twice but we always came back. The last three seasons always being among the top 10, this tells me as well that we are not an underdog anymore.” The club from southwestern Germany’s Black Forest are now grappling with a clash between their culture of…

Taiwan’s Vice President-elect, Hsiao Bi-khim, is visiting the Czech Republic after a low-key trip to the United States, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Hsiao was invited to the Czech Republic by the Sinopsis think tank and will speak with them and meet other “friends” in the country to exchange views before her inauguration, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu said. Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil, who visited Taiwan in 2020, posted a picture on X, formerly Twitter, of him meeting and chatting with Hsiao. Hsiao, who has served as Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the US, will take office with…

With poverty rising and inflation dropping, the first 100 days of Javier Milei’s presidency in Argentina have given cause for hope and concern. The Social Observatory of the Catholic University (UCA) found that poverty had risen from 45% to 57% in Argentina. And the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) expects the country’s child poverty rate to climb from 62% to 70%. These growing societal tensions pose an ever-greater problem for Argentina’s new libertarian-conservative government under President Milei. Inflation slows The rise in poverty opposes the first fiscal achievements. Milei has overseen an inflation drop from around 25% in December to…