Author: DW

Last week, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted several photos on his social media accounts showing him enjoying the white sands of Lakshadweep, an Indian archipelago of 36 islands off the coast of Kerala state. The prime minister was shown meeting with locals, enjoying the pristine coastline, and going snorkeling. “I am still in awe of the stunning beauty of its [Lakshadweep] islands and the incredible warmth of its people,” he tweeted, sharing several pictures that went viral among Modi’s supporters. However, Modi’s visit conveyed the impression to Maldivian lawmakers that Lakshadweep is being pitched to Indian tourists as an…

At least 17 people have been killed and dozens of others were injured after a mudslide in western Colombia, officials said.A search operation will get under way for people who may be buried under the debris after the landslide covered a highway connecting the cities of Quibdo and Medellin in Choco province on Friday. Footage showed the moment the side of a mountain slid over the main road, covering some cars.An unknown number of people are still missing.”So far 17 bodies have been recovered from the area of the tragedy,” the government of Choco said on its X account. At…

This won’t be the first time Timo Werner has swapped Leipzig for London. But it is the first time he’s done so with quite so much to prove. When the forward moved from RB Leipzig to Chelsea in 2020, he was Germany’s first-choice striker and hottest property after a 28-goal Bundesliga season. He returns to the English capital three-and-a-half years later, this time to Tottenham Hotspur, having failed to make a Germany squad this season and with the homecoming project accepted as a failure. “It’s right that Timo is looking for a loan. Timo would like to go to the European…

For many people in Ukraine, 2024 started just like 2023 ended — with Russian air assaults and rocket and drone attacks on infrastructure and homes. What’s new is the scale of the bombardment: the Russian military is trying to get past Ukraine’s air defenses by beefing up its firepower. “The recent attacks and relentless hostilities have left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity and water supplies, at a time when forecasts indicate that temperatures might drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius [minus 4 Fahrenheit] in the coming days,” said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Russian missile attacks on residential areas…

The Palace of Peace, an ornate red-brick building in The Hague that houses the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is a long way from the bombed-out streets of Gaza or the Israeli Kibbutzim laid to waste on October 7. But on Thursday and Friday, its Great Hall of Justice was transported to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Legal teams from Israel and South Africa painted competing pictures of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza for the consideration of the UN top court’s judges, not to mention the rest of the world. In one, South Africa accused Israel of carrying out…

A passenger plane has returned to its departure airport in Japan after a crack was found on the cockpit window of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft mid-air.All Nippon Airways Flight 1182 was on a domestic journey heading to Toyama airport but then headed back to the Sapporo-New Chitose airport. The crack was found on the outermost of four layers of windows surrounding the cockpit, a spokesperson for the Japanese airline said.”The crack was not something that affected the flight’s control or pressurisation,” the spokesperson said.No injuries were reported among 59 passengers and six crew, the spokesperson added. Boeing has come under…

A few words that Nia Künzer said as she was unveiled as the first sporting director of the German women’s national team at the German Football Association’s (DFB) Frankfurt headquarters on Thursday will have been music to the fans’ ears. “We have a high-quality squad of well-trained players who are capable of competing at the highest level,” the former national team defender said. “The quality is there.” While this also would have been true last summer, Künzer noted that the team that failed to advance to the knockout phase of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand displayed an…

Authorities issued an emergency warning over fires in the state of Western Australia on Saturday, with residents urged to evacuate. A bushfire burned relentlessly in the shire of Chittering, about 60 kilometers (35 miles) north of Western Australia’s capital, Perth. Over 40 bushfires were raging in the state altogether. What did officials say about the fire? Australia’s Fire and Emergency Department urged residents of the parts of Chittering affected by the fire to “act immediately to survive,” warning of a “threat to lives and homes.” “If the way is clear, leave now for a safer place,” the department said, urging…

With several kilometers of white sand and turquoise waters, Ngapali Beach, in the south of Myanmar’s Rakhine state, is your archetypal tropical idyll. At least, that is what it should be. The country’s premier beach resort, once known for drawing an international crowd of holidaymakers, is currently experiencing tough times, with deserted beaches and businesses struggling to stay afloat. The situation here has deteriorated in the past few weeks, nearly three years after a military coup overthrew the elected government, reigniting Myanmar’s multifaceted civil war. In October, the Arakan Army, the armed wing of the Rakhine independence movement, conducted a…

Lai Ching-te and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have made history.This is the first time in Taiwan’s nearly 30-year-old democracy that the same party has won three consecutive terms. And it’s absolutely significant they have done so while constantly standing on a platform of standing up to China.Indeed, Mr Lai has consistently characterised this campaign as a choice between “democracy and autocracy”. Image: Lai Ching-te casts his vote in Taiwan Even at the polls today while casting his ballot, he made sure to emphasise that Taiwan’s democratic process has been “hard-won” and “should be cherished”. It is a message that…