Author: DW

The head of China’s state planning body, Zheng Shanjie, told the press on Wednesday that the country’s economic  growth target of 5% is achievable. This comes a day after Premier Li Qiang announced the country’s growth goal at the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s highest legislative body. Over 3,000 lawmakers are meeting in Beijing this week for their biggest political event of the year.China’s annual parliament session starts this weekTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video State acknowledges challenges China’s top state planner Zheng was speaking at a briefing on…

Yulia Navalnaya has suggested Russians should write Alexei Navalny’s name on their voting ballots and urged them to protest at the upcoming elections.Ms Navalnaya said she had drawn hope from the huge crowds that turned out last week for the funeral of the prominent opposition leader, who died in prison last month. Her call for Russians to turn out to vote at the same time at noon on 17 March – a form of protest in tightly controlled Russia – echoes a call made by her late husband before his death.His idea was that people could register a protest, without…

Dozens of endangered animals were discovered by Thailand’s customs agents on Wednesday at the Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport, prompting authorities to arrest six Indian nationals on suspicion of animal smuggling. The red panda, which is classified as an endangered species because of the loss of habitat and hunting, was seen peering out of a storage basket in photos released by the customs department. The officials found other animals placed in checked-in luggage, including snakes, parrots and wild lizards. The photos showed plastic tubs with lizards and snakes coiled together in cloth bags. The Sulawesi bear cuscus, seen here, is on the vulnerable species list in the…

US Republican Party presidential contender Nikki Haley has announced ending her presidential campaign on Wednesday. “The time has now come to suspend my campaign,” Haley said in a press conference on Wednesday. “I said I wanted Americans to have their voices heard. I have done that. I have no regrets. And although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in.” Haley addresses American ‘retreat,’ decries Congress ‘dysfunction’ In her speech, Haley addressed several aspects of US politics, both on the domestic and international fronts. She warned of the national…

China’s National People’s Congress began its most prominent annual parliamentary meeting on Tuesday, kicking off a week of sessions that provide an opportunity for the outside world to gain insight on Beijing’s policy direction for the upcoming year. On Taiwan, Chinese Premier Li Qiang told the rubber-stamp legislature that Beijing would be “firm in advancing the cause of China reunification” as part of the “overall strategy” of the Chinese Communist Party (CPP) to “resolve the Taiwan issue in the new era.” Beijing considers self-ruled Taiwan to be Chinese territory, and President Xi Jinping has made “reuniting” the democratic island with…

At least two sailors have died after a suspected Houthi attack in the Gulf of Aden, according to the British Embassy in Yemen.The incident marks the first time the Houthis’ attacks in the Red Sea and surrounding areas have caused fatalities. Earlier today, the True Confidence was hit by a missile about 50 nautical miles southwest of the Yemeni port of Aden.In a statement on X, the British embassy wrote: “At least two innocent sailors have died.”This was the sad but inevitable consequence of the Houthis recklessly firing missiles at international shipping.” The Barbados-flagged True Confidence is no longer under…

Moscow plans to contribute its expertise in “nuclear space energy” to a joint lunar program with China, including a nuclear power plant on the moon,  Russia’s space agency chief Yuri Borisov said on Monday. Borisov warned that solar panels would not be enough to ensure a reliable supply of electricity to potential lunar settlements. “Today we are seriously considering a project — somewhere at the turn of 2033-2035 — to deliver and install a power unit on the lunar surface together with our Chinese colleagues,” Borisov said during a youth event. Borisov (r) served as Russia’s deputy prime minister before taking…

The killing of Chad’s opposition presidential candidate Yaya Dillo, came as a shock to rights activists and critics of interim president Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno. Dillo — a cousin of Mahamat Deby — was killed under circumstances not fully disclosed when security forces attacked the headquarters of his Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF) in Chad’s capital city of N’djamena last Wednesday. “I’m devastated,” Max Loalngar, exiled leader of the Chadian Human Rights League LTDH, told DW the following day.President Mahamat Deby is widely expected to win the May 6 presidential electionImage: AFP ‘Death of democrats’ “This death is the death of all of us democrats, all of us who…

Germany’s ambassador to the UK has said there is “no need” for his country to apologise after a recording leaked by Russia revealed the head of the air force discussing secret details about alleged British troops in Ukraine.UK military sources and other NATO allies have expressed serious concerns over the security breach which German chancellor Olaf Scholz described as “very serious”. Berlin has launched an investigation after Russian media obtained a recording of the intercepted conversation between Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, the head of the German air force, and three senior German air force officers.Follow latest: Russia considering putting nuclear…

Several days after the leak of a recording of a discussion between high-ranking German officers regarding the war in Ukraine, this topic remains on the front pages of the Russian media. An uninformed viewer of local TV might even think it is Russia that has been attacked by Ukraine, and not vice versa. The leak coverage mostly reflects the traditional Russian state media narrative about the country fighting the entire western world in Ukraine, which aims to explain why the attempts to capture the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in three days failed two years ago.German Defense Minister warns it’s all “Putin’s game” referring…