Author: DW

The depth of the ties between Burkina Faso and Russian President Vladimir Putin was made clear a few days ago, when Moscow decided to help the country’s military junta out by sending 100 military staff to Ouagadougou — even as the war in Ukraine continues unabated. According to a Telegram post, these soldiers are supposed to help protect junta leader Ibrahim Traore as well as the general public from terrorist attacks. But as members of the newly established Russian Africa Corps landed in the capital city, it was clear they would de facto be taking over from the defunct Wagner Group — Russia’s infamous private military contractor led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who…

A man wielding an axe and knife as he held 15 hostages on a train in western Switzerland has been shot dead by police.Swiss police said the perpetrator was a Farsi and English-speaking 32-year-old Iranian asylum seeker. Fourteen passengers and the driver were held by the man for almost four hours before police stormed the train and killed him.”The hostages were all released unharmed,” police said in a statement on Friday.No details were given regarding the assailant’s motives. The incident began on Thursday night on a train between Baulmes and Yverdon-les-Bains in the mountainous district of Vaud at around 6.35pm.The…

Almost 100 Russian tourists arrived at Pyongyang International Airport in North Korea on Friday to enjoy a private skiing and sightseeing tour. The visitors are the first tourists to be allowed into North Korea since it closed its doors during the coronavirus pandemic. What we know about the tour Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency said 97 Russians had left Russia’s far eastern city of Vladivostok for North Korea on a group tour. The group was said to include teenage ski athletes. A North Korean-operated Air Koryo flight carried the visitors to Pyongyang, the Russian Embassy in North Korea said in…

The February 8 elections have failed to end the political turmoil that has plagued Pakistan for almost two years. Pre-election opinion polls had predicted a clear win for former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in the 342-strong National Assembly, Pakistan’s lower house of parliament. But the incarcerated ex-premier’s party failed to secure a simple majority, according to unofficial results. PTI-backed candidates are projected to win a little over 100 seats, while Khan’s main rival and three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League is likely to bag around 80. The Pakistan People’s Party, headed by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, has…

Jailed former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has claimed victory for his supporters in the country’s general election – via a video generated using artificial intelligence (AI).The clip of the former cricket star was uploaded on social media on Friday just hours after his rival Nawaz Sharif also claimed to have won despite vote counting continuing. Many candidates from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were forced to stand as independents in the election after an alleged crackdown which saw senior party figures jailed and their campaigning activities restricted.In the video, Khan is heard telling independent candidates to celebrate their win,…

Oleksandr Syrskyi has been named the new chief of Ukraine’s armed forces after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy carried out a long-awaited military reshuffle this week. Zelenskyy said “urgent changes” were required, as Ukraine was not able to “achieve the goals of our state on the ground.” The Ukrainian president has allegedly had a strained relationship with Syrskyi’s predecessor, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, since the failure of Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive. There have also been persistent rumors that Zaluzhnyi is planning to enter politics and run against Zelenskyy once elections are scheduled in the war-torn country, although the popular general has never publicly voiced any political ambitions. In recent months,…

Any deal between Israel and Hamas including the possible release of Marwan Barghouti, arguably the most famous Palestinian prisoner at present, as part of cease-fire negotiations has yet to be approved by the warring sides. However, earlier this week, Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, put Barghouti’s name on a list of demands. Barghouti, 64, is regarded as one of the leaders of the first intifada, from 1987 to 1993, and was accused by Israel of also having a leading role the second intifada, the  Palestinian uprising that ran from September 2000 to February 2005. Currently behind bars in Israel, Barghouti is a member of the executive arm of Fatah, a Palestinian nationalist…

Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the evacuation of Rafah, the southern Gaza city on the border with Egypt where an estimated 1.4 million people have been driven by Israel’s military offensive.The order from the Israeli prime minister comes ahead of an expected ground offensive in the area, where Palestinian refugees, unable to leave the territory, are living in makeshift tent camps or overflowing UN-run shelters with severe shortages of food and medicine. Follow Middle East latestA statement from Mr Netanyahu’s office said: “It is impossible to achieve the war objective of eliminating Hamas and leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah.”On the…

Ireland’s women’s basketball team refused to shake hands with the Israel players at their EuroBasket 2025 qualifier in Riga on Thursday. Prior to the game, the Israeli Basketball Association published an interview with player Dor Saar in which she made allegations about antisemitism in the Ireland team. “It’s known that they are quite antisemitic, and it’s no secret,” said Saar. “Maybe that’s why a strong game is expected.” Basketball Ireland reacted with a statement prior to the match, calling the comments “inflammatory and wholly inaccurate.” The organization said the team would not participate in “traditional pre-match arrangements,” such as the exchange of gifts or…

Tensions have been mounting between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea, one of the world’s most important trade routes. The yearslong dispute centers around Second Thomas Shoal, called Ayungin Shoal by the Philippines, which is part of a group of islets and shoals called the Spratly Islands. Second Thomas Shoal is in an area militarily occupied by the Philippines but claimed by several countries, including China. In 1999, the Philippines purposely ran aground a World War II warship, the BRP Sierra Madre, on the reef — leaving it manned with a handful of marines to reinforce its claim…