Author: DW

India and the Untied Arab Emirates inked a trade deal on Tuesday to connect the subcontinent with Europe via ports in the Middle East. The deal was announced during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Abu Dhabi, where he met Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “This would build on previous understandings and cooperation on this matter and foster India and the UAE cooperation furthering regional connectivity,” India’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Sheikh Mohammed said “our region is going through a difficult time but because of our relationship with [India], we are building a…

Recent fighting near the city of Goma in Eastern Congo has alarmed the United Nations Security Council, which said on Monday that it was worried by the “escalating violence”. The council condemned the offensive launched earlier this month by M23 rebels. Also on Monday, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that his country was deploying 2,900 troops as part of a joint effort of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to quell the fighting in the Congo. SADC forces are already combating alongside Congo’s army. Confrontations between M23 and government forces are concentrated around the town of Sake. With its roughly 50,000…

South Africa has submitted an “urgent request” to The Hague to consider if Israel’s operations targeting Rafah are a breach of court orders.Last month, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent the deaths of Palestinian civilians, after South Africa accused its military of genocide in Gaza. With Israel’s forces threatening a ground invasion of the southern Gazan city of Rafah – where 1.4 million Palestinians have fled – South Africa has sent a follow-up request.Follow live: IS arrest at nuclear power plant”The South African government said it was gravely concerned that the…

Elon Musk’s SpaceX started providing Ukraine free access to its Starlink internet service shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. The strategic benefits were clear: Access to the internet for the people of Ukraine and the country’s military after Russia disrupted internet connections early on in the war. The technology has been instrumental in guiding Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russian tanks and positions. But according to Ukraine’s intelligence services, Russian soldiers have been using the technology for months in the territories they occupy. That would mean Russia was circumventing sanctions by importing products via third parties or unspecified “Arab countries”. Starlink’s operator and the Russian government have both…

Last week, India’s northern Uttarakhand state passed a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which seeks to replace religion-based personal laws governing things like marriage, divorce and co-habitation with a common set of rules that apply to all citizens equally. In the South Asian country, personal laws governing marriage, divorce and inheritance are rooted in religious scriptures and traditions. Major religious communities like Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs each adhere to their respective personal laws. Political debate on creating common civil laws in India has gone on for decades.  And the nation’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now prioritizing making the UCC a…

What will it take for Europeans to work more? That’s the question facing some of the continent’s wealthier countries as they confront worker shortages despite record employment.  Governments and businesses in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria are now debating how to make additional hours more attractive to workers, from expanded child care to friendlier tax policies and more flexible work schedules. They’re competing with an employee preference for more free time. Average work hours continue to fall as part-time positions grow and unions push for cuts to full-time hours.  “There’s this saying, ‘work to live, don’t live to work,'” Martin…

Counter-terrorism police in Turkey have arrested a suspected member of the so-called “Islamic State” group who was working at a nuclear plant, authorities said on Tuesday. Local media reported that the suspect was a Russian national who had been working at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant under false identity papers. The suspect was brought before a court and jailed pending trial. Turkish authorities crack down on IS suspects The Akkuyu nuclear facility is a $20 billion (€18.5 billion) project being built by Russian state-owned energy giant Rosatom in Mersin province on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. It is slated to start generating…

Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand and Manchester City owner, has been granted parole after six months in prison.Thaksin, 74, returned from a 15-year self-imposed exile in August last year to serve a prison sentence for corruption and abuse of power committed while in office. Justice minister Tawee Sodsong announced the ruling on Tuesday, and while he did not confirm the date that Thaksin will be released, it is expected it could be as soon as this weekend.The official also told reporters in Bangkok that the former premier is one of 930 inmates who qualified for early release…

With Nigeria’s current minimum wage set to expire in April, a federal panel consisting of state governors and trade unionists, private sector and labor leaders is reviewing by how much the minimum wage should increase. Currently, the minimum monthly wage stands at 30 000 naira ($20, €19). Economic reforms introduced after Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration nine months ago, have left ordinary Nigerians battling to keep their heads above water amid soaring living costs. “The cost of everything has gone up from food items, rent, school fees, tariffs, water, electricity, transport,” says Benson Upah, spokesman for the unions’ platform Nigerian Labour Congress.Nigerian…

More than 200 farmers’ unions have called on their supporters to march to the Indian capital to protest against unfulfilled demands on a wide range of issues including prices and pensions.Tear gas was used on farmers who tried breaching the barriers at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana, about 145 miles from the capital, New Delhi. Drones were also used to drop tear gas canisters on the thousands gathered, while several farmers were detained at the border. Image: Police guard a highway near Delhi to stop farmers entering the capital. Pic: AP The farmers – who have a 12-point…