Author: DW

The 21st century will belong to the Pacific, and the economic and political rise of China as a Pacific power means that Beijing and Australia will need to seek out better means of cooperation.  Bilateral relations between China and Australia have been frosty in recent years, but thawed after Anthony Albanese became Australian prime minister in 2022. After coronavirus travel restrictions were lifted, Albanese traveled to China with Foreign Minister Penny Wong in autumn 2023 to bring about a new start. And Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s trip to Australia this week was the most senior-level visit of a Chinese official since…

Dirk Rehahn has every reason to pop the champagne corks: Traffic to his two websites has increased massively since February 23. That was the day the German parliament passed the government’s draft law “on the controlled distribution of cannabis to adults for consumption purposes.” It stipulates that all adults will be allowed to grow three cannabis plants at home and keep up to 50 grams (1.75 ounces) of cannabis there, and may also carry up to 25 grams on their person. On Friday, the legislation — a prominent reform project of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government — was approved by parliament’s upper house,…

South Korea’s hugely popular K-pop, and the broader “hallyu” genre of popular culture, are experiencing something of a crisis, with domestic sales declining, new bands failing to whip up the same frenzy as their predecessors, and shares in the top K-pop agencies plummeting, suggesting that investors are jittery that the bubble may be about to burst.  The domestic slump coincides with those same performers — BlackPink, BTS, and the irascible Psy, who unleashed “Gangnam Style” on an unsuspecting world back in 2012 — growing in popularity on the international music scene. The suggestion is that by attempting to broaden its…

Russia has returned five Ukrainian children to Kyiv with thousands still believed to be held by Moscow.A report from Russian news agency TASS said that six children were reunited with their families after mediation at the Qatari embassy in Moscow. Five of the children were sent to Ukraine, and one was returned to relatives in Russia, the outlet reported.Russia-Ukraine war latest: Missiles rain down on KyivRussian children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova said on Thursday: “In total, 64 children have already returned to Ukraine, six have [been] reunited with relatives in Russia.” Image: A seven-year-old Ukrainian boy, who was the first…

Voters in Slovakia head to the polls to vote in the first round of the presidential election on March 23. Should none of the 11 candidates — all of whom are men — win 50% of the vote, then the two leading contenders would face off two weeks later. The eventual winner will replace Zuzana Caputova. The former civil activist was heralded as a great liberal hope when elected president in 2019 but she has declined to run for a second term. In Slovakia the presidency is mostly ceremonial but the country’s president can play a significant role if, as has been…

Germany’s upper house, the Bundesrat, cleared the way to partially legalize cannabis on Friday. The law is supported by the government and had already passed in the Bundestag, but it could have been derailed by Bundesrat, which is made up of delegates from Germany’s 16 state governments. Some representatives in the chamber argued about negative consequences of the law, and a motion on Friday to send the law to a mediation committee threatened to delay the enforcement of the law. However, the motion did not receive enough votes, clearing the way for cannabis to become legal on April 1. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach advocated…

India’s prime minister has been labelled a “scared dictator” after a key opposition politician was arrested.Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, a prominent anti-corruption campaigner, was detained following a raid on Thursday night. He leads the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) – also known as the Common People’s Party – and the arrest comes weeks before national elections are due to begin. Image: Arvind Kejriwal. Pic: Reuters AAP is part of an alliance of opposition parties who have joined together as the main challenger to Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Rivals claim Mr Modi is using law enforcement agencies to orchestrate…

Skip next section EU planning tariff hikes on Russian, Belarusian produce03/21/2024March 21, 2024EU planning tariff hikes on Russian, Belarusian produceCommission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters of the plans at the closing press conference of the summit’s first day late on Thursday.  “We have prepared a proposal to increase tariffs on Russian and Belarusian imports of cereals, oilseed and derived products,” she said, adding there were “several good reasons for making this proposal.” “It will prevent Russian grain from de-stabilizing the EU market in these products. It will stop Russia from using the revenues from the export of these…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv on Friday ahead of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s the final stop on Blinken’s sixth visit to the region since Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip. Blinken is expected to urge Israel not to go ahead with its planned ground assault in Rafah, and instead put forward alternatives. Earlier in the week, Blinken and Arab leaders discussed efforts for a cease-fire as well as Gaza’s future after the conflict. Security Council to vote on cease-fire Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council will vote for a US-sponsored resolution on…

Action is being taken by schools taking part in Japan’s annual spring baseball tournament to safeguard cheerleaders against upskirting.Some have introduced shorts for the youngsters to wear, while others have used strategically placed teachers to block would-be voyeurs. The competition, being staged at Koshien stadium near Osaka involving 32 schools, is meant to showcase youth sporting talent and act as a potential recruiting ground for professional baseball clubs, but has become marred in recent years with the taking of sexualised images.Female cheerleaders, often dressed in sleeveless tops and short skirts, are photographed without their consent and the pictures then posted…