Author: DW

Experts are sounding the alarm: The threat of famine in the Gaza Strip is real. If nothing changes, famine would likely start in the northern end of the enclave by May. Half of the people still living in the area are already in dire straits, say experts from the multinational expert group that works on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative. The IPC is made up of representatives from 19 international organizations, including the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, Oxfam, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Bank, the World Food Programme, and Save the Children. The IPC defines…

Poverty, political chaos and a high crime rate have plagued the Caribbean country of Haiti for decades. Now, violence has spiraled out of control again. On February 29, acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced new elections — for August 2025. His term of office had been supposed to end in February so many violent gangs interpreted Henry’s announcement as a call to arms. They attacked the National Palace and prisons, which led to over 3,000 prisoners freeing themselves. These armed groups now control large parts of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and tens of thousands of residents have fled. Henry is currently…

Foreign Secretary David Cameron has accused Israel of delaying UK aid to Gaza, saying some supplies have been stuck at the border for almost three weeks.In a letter to the Commons foreign affairs select committee chair Alicia Kearns, Lord Cameron said it was “of enormous frustration”, blaming “arbitrary denials” by the Israeli government as one of the “main blockers” of the aid. He also contradicted claims by former Israeli spokesperson Eylon Levy – who has been suspended – that the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south of Gaza had been closed on Saturdays at the request of the UN. Please…

As a result of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the summer of 2022, the Russian army was forced to withdraw from the area around Kherson. On November 11, the city was liberated by the Ukrainian army. One of the many consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the months of turbulence in the Kherson region has been the devastation of the cultural sector. For example, at the beginning of November 2022, entire collections were removed from the Kherson Art Museum, the local history museum and state archives. Tombstones of Russian Tsarist commanders and even the remains of Russian Field Marshal Grigory Potemkin, a confidant…

Germany’s national soccer team will start having its kits made by US sportswear giant Nike, dropping its historic partnership with German company Adidas, the German Football Federation (DFB) announced on Thursday. The deal with Nike will start in 2027 and run until at least 2034, the DFB said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Nike and thank them for the trust they have placed in us. The future partnership will enable the DFB to continue to fulfill key tasks in the coming decade with a view to the comprehensive development of football in Germany,” DFB President Bernd…

Skip next section Zelenskyy asks for more air defense systems, amunition at European leaders’ summit03/21/2024March 21, 2024Zelenskyy asks for more air defense systems, amunition at European leaders’ summitWhile speaking at a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged European allies to provide Ukraine with additional air defense systems so it can protect its entire territory. Ukraine was high on the agenda at the summit, with leaders discussing a proposal to use seized Russian assets to supply Ukraine with weapons, a plan towards which Zelenskyy voiced his support, as well as mulling “radical” steps toward a…

Tin (name changed), 27, hails from a neighborhood in the northern part of Metropolitan Manila, the national capital region of the Philippines. Her locality was not spared from the spate of killings that resulted after Rodrigo Duterte, Philippine president from 2016 to 2022, unleashed an all-out war against illegal drugs.   But it never crossed her mind that she would experience a drug-related death in her own family. After all, her husband was not involved with illegal drugs at the time. Still, a year after Duterte stepped down and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took over as president, on October 3 last year,…

Simon Harris has said being a dad is “the most important job I have, and ever will have”.In which case, the father-of-two is about to start the second most important job in his life. In little more than 24 hours, the field of contenders to become Fine Gael leader – and then Taoiseach, or prime minister – has thinned completely.The path to power is now clear for Mr Harris, a softly-spoken rising star equipped with a relentless political hunger. Image: Mr Harris pictured with Leo Varadkar. Pic: PA The 37-year-old minister for further and higher education will snatch the title…

Just when communities were starting to understand the lethal effects of fentanyl and oxycodone abuse, yet another painkiller opioid has emerged from the pharmaceutical archives as a deadly street drug. Commonly known as nitazenes, 2-Benzyl Benzimidazole opioids are said to be up to 500 times more potent than heroin, making people more prone to addiction. Drug and health agencies in the UK, elsewhere in Europe, and the US are reporting a rise in the number of overdoses and fatalities linked to nitazenes. There are indications that while authorities clamp down on fentanyl, and heroin cultivation in Afghanistan slows under the Taliban, nitazenes…

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 will 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 Solvakia the presidency is mostly ceremonial but the country’s president can play a significant role if, as has been…