Author: DW

Ever since last week’s surprise announcement that Jürgen Klopp would be stepping down as Liverpool head coach at the end of the season, speculation as to his possible successor has sent football’s rumor mill into overdrive. And nowhere more so than in football-mad Thailand, where police have warned fans not to fall for online scammers impersonating Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso. Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) has told supporters to watch out for a viral message which purports to show Alonso confirming via his Instagram account that he will be taking over from Klopp as Liverpool coach but asking for…

Skip next section Russia destroys 21 Ukrainian drones: reports01/30/2024January 30, 2024Russia destroys 21 Ukrainian drones: reportsRussian air defence systems destroyed or intercepted 21 Ukraine-launched drones over the Crimean Peninsula and other regions, Russian news agencies said citing the Defense Ministry. Eleven of the drones were destroyed over Crimea, RIA state news agency reported. Mikhail Razvozhayev, governor of Sevastopol in Crimea, said on the Telegram messaging app that there was no damage in the port city. Reports said drones were also destroyed over the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga and Tula regions. Kaluga Regional Governor Vladislav Shapsha said on Telegram debris fell on the roof of a non-residential building,…

Germany’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.3% in the last quarter of 2023, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported on Tuesday, confirming their previous estimates. Facing high inflation, high interest rates, a low demand for German exports and a series of strikes, Europe’s largest economy saw its GDP also fall 0.3% for the entire year of 2023, according to the preliminary government data. Germany is also expected to face a rough 2024, with economists predicting further shrinking in the first quarter of this year. “The German economy has not grown for almost two years and there is no turnaround…

What was the Woermann Company?  The C. Woermann shipping and trading firm — from Hamburg — first set up shop in Douala, Cameroon, in 1868. It traded along the West African coast. Adolph Woermann took over the family business of his father, Carl Woermann, in 1874. The ambitious younger Woermann believed Africa was a market in which to sell cheaply-made German products, like alcohol, and a source for cheap labor to produce valuable raw materials for German factories. An idyllic depiction of colonial-era Woermann Company factory in Douala, Cameroon. But for most Cameroonians, the exploitative practices of German colonialists caused much…

Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets. Khan’s former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also given a 10-year jail sentence as part of the case. It was alleged that Khan shared the contents of a secret cable sent by the country’s ambassador in Washington to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.Khan claimed the cable was proof of a conspiracy by the Pakistani military and US government to topple his governmentin 2022, after he visited Moscow just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.He also previously said the contents of…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday asked the United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) to immediately look into the “deeply troubling” allegations that some of its staff were involved in the deadly October 7 attacks in southern Israel. “It is imperative that UNRWA immediately, as it said it would, investigate, that it hold people accountable as necessary, and that it review its procedures,” Blinken said at a news conference. Last week, the US announced it was temporarily suspending funds to the agency, pending an investigation, alongside several other donors. Blinken stressed the importance of UNRWA, which provides education, medical care…

Brazilian federal authorities searched on Monday the house and office of Carlos Bolsonaro, the son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, over suspected illegal spying on political opponents during his father’s presidential term. The Supreme Court justice and electoral court chief Alexandre de Moraes, an alleged target of the espionage, authorized the raids. Federal police said Monday’s events were the latest phase of their investigation into a “criminal organization set up in the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) to illegally monitor public officials and others.” Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing by his family. What do we know about the search? Police…

The three US troops who were killed in a drone attack on an American base in Jordan have been named.The Pentagon has identified those killed in the attack as Sgt William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia, and Spc Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia. The three US army reserve soldiers were assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade in Fort Moore, Georgia.Officials said that of the more than 40 wounded, most had cuts, bruises, traumatic brain injuries and similar wounds.Middle East latest: ‘Drone mix-up’ led…

The European Union (EU) has indicated it would await the outcome of investigations into “very serious allegations” that several staff members of the Palestinian refugee agency were involved in the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel before deciding on future contributions. Nearly a dozen western states have already announced funding freezes to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The European Commission, which coordinates aid for Palestinians paid for by joint EU funds, said in a press release published Monday that it would “review the matter in light of the outcome of the investigation…

Iran and Pakistan agreed to expand security cooperation on Monday in a bid to improve relations following deadly cross border strikes earlier this month. Tensions between the two neighbors were raised after Iran killed two children when it conducted unilateral strikes against suspected insurgents in Pakistani territory. Pakistan then conducted strikes against suspected insurgents in Iranian territory in retaliation. On Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with Pakistan’s caretaker foreign minister, Jalil Abbas Jilani, in Islamabad. Amirabdollahian said the two countries “strongly respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of each other,” and would solve future issues through diplomatic means. “All these…