Author: DW

Hong Kong’s lawmakers on Tuesday unanimously passed a proposed national security law on top of a similar law imposed by Beijing four years ago that has already largely silenced opposition voices. “Today is a historic moment for Hong Kong,” said city leader John Lee, who added that the law would come into effect on March 23.  The vote was held in special session one day before the regular Wednesday meeting of the Legislative Council.  Government’s desire to fast-track legislation The bill was unveiled on March 8. The legislature, which is packed with Beijing loyalists, accelerated debate after Lee called for the law…

A French tennis player collapsed mid-match on court at the Miami Open.Arthur Cazaux was forced to retire from his qualifier against Harold Mayot on Monday after he fell to the ground during the third set. Cazaux had levelled the match by winning the second set 7-5 after Mayot took the first 6-4.Footage posted on social media shows Cazaux fall to the ground as he begins to ready himself for his opponent to serve at 2-1 up in the third set.In the video, Cazaux, dressed in a white T-shirt and black shorts, goes down to his left and falls on to…

Four professional footballers from Argentinian premier division football club Velez Sarsfield were provisionally taken into custody on Monday as part of an investigation into allegations they raped a female sports journalist in a hotel room earlier in March. The four players – Uruguayan goalkeeper Sebastian Sosa (37), Paraguayan midfielder Jose Florentin (27) and Argentines Braian Cufre (27, defender) and Abiel Osorio (21, striker) – were ordered to be detained for 48 hours until a judge decides whether they should remain under arrest pending the investigation. The plaintiff, a 24-year-old sports reporter, alleges she was invited by Sosa to a hotel room…

Neighbors like the Dominican Republic have increased border security as Haitians seek to flee the fightingImage: Fran Afonso/REUTERSAt least 10 people were found dead on Monday in a wealthy suburb of Haiti’s capital, as gang violence takes grip of the country amid political instability following the announcement of the Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation. Witnesses reported seeing the bodies, some with bulletholes, in the affluent Petion-Ville neighborhood on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Armed gangs attacked homes, a bank and a gas station in the area. There were reports of shooting and looting in the nearby area of Laboule. “We don’t…

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…

Gambian lawmakers voted on Monday to advance to the next parliamentary stage a bill reverse the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM), which has been in place since 2015. Lawmakers voted 42 in favor and four against to send the bill to a parliamentary committee for at least three months for further scrutiny before it returns for a third reading. What are the arguments for and against the ban?   Lawmaker Almameh Gibba, who presented the repeal bill earlier this month, said during Monday’s debate: “The bill seeks to uphold religious loyalty and safeguard cultural norms and values.”   But activists and human rights organizations say the suggested…

At least 12 people have been killed in the latest wave of violence in Haiti after armed gangs went on the rampage in two affluent areas of the capital, as chaos grips the poverty-stricken Caribbean country.Gunmen looted homes in Laboule and Thomassin early on Monday, with desperate residents fleeing and calling radio stations, pleading for help from police. Up until now, the two neighbourhoods had been mostly peaceful despite an escalation in gang violence across the capital Port-au-Prince, which started on 29 February. Image: Police take cover during an anti-gang operation in the Portail neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. Pic: AP The…

A new artwork by British street artist Banksy appeared in London and was confirmed by the anonymous artist on his social media account Monday.   The work, which appeared in the Finsbury Park area of northern London, uses green paint sprayed across the side of a four-story building to imitate the missing leaves of a heavily pruned tree that stands a few meters in front of it. It also shows a small figure holding a pressure hose next to the leaves. When viewed from certain angles, the green paint lines up with the tree’s branches. Corbyn hails ‘environmental’ message of Banksy piece Independent…

The next frontier in the future of golf could be determined this week at Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida with power brokers from LIV Golf and the PGA Tour reportedly set to meet as early as Monday. US PGA Tour policymaker Peter Malnati, one of six players on the PGA Tour Policy Board, admitted during the Players Championship in the southern US state that the best players in the world being divided between the established PGA tour and upstart LIV Golf, funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), was not a sustainable future for the sport. “It would be even better…

03/18/2024March 18, 2024Amnesty says Moscow suppressing Ukraine identity in CrimeaUK-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International lambasted Moscow’s policies in the Crimean Peninsula on Monday, which marks the 10-year anniversary of the Russian annexation of the peninsula. In a 19-page report, Amnesty said Russia has been seeking to suppress the Ukrainian identity in Crimea, as well as the identity of other minorities, including the Crimean Tatars. “In 10 years of occupation, Russia has done everything in its power to delegitimize Ukraine’s sovereignty over Crimea,” Amnesty said, describing policies Moscow has used “to alter the ethnic makeup” of the peninsula. It warned…