Latest in World Highlight
Latest in World
Historic Saudi election sees several women win seats
A number of women have won seats on municipal councils in the first-ever Saudi election allowing female voters and candidates, officials and media say. The result marks a milestone in the conservative kingdom’s history. At least nine women were elected into public office in Saturday’s landmark vote, Saudi officials and media said on Sunday. The …
COP21: A historic agreement reached in Paris to limit temperature rises
The agreement is “balanced”, says Fahmy
In Cartoon: Us Israeli Propaganda
Cartoon by Mohamed Sabry
High hopes for Libya talks in Rome
Delegates from Libya, the UN, and other global powers have gathered in Italy to broker a deal for a unity government. Rival factions have already tentatively agreed to a truce in order to fight ‘IS’ terrorists. Delegates from Libya’s rival factions met in Rome on Sunday in a fresh diplomatic push to end years of …
Climate change: Skeptics and believers
Isaac and Hasnaa are both in their late 20s and they are both passionate about the world they live in. But there’s one fundamental difference. Isaac is a climate change skeptic and Hasnaa believes it’s happening. The debate over climate change is everywhere. It’s in the newspapers we read, on the TV shows that we …
Saudi Arabia sees first female elected official
A woman has been elected to the town council of Madrakah in western Saudi Arabia. Salma bint Hizab al-Oteibi ran in the first round of ballots contested by women in the country’s history. Salma bint Hizab al-Oteibi made history on Sunday by being elected to a municipal council seat in a town near Mecca, Saudi …
Historic climate agreement reached
For the first time in history, industrialized and developed countries alike have commited to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to prevent catastrophic climate change. Andrea Rönsberg reports from Paris. Laughter, applause, and cheers broke out in the plenary hall after French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, presiding over the climate conference, said the words apparently everybody had …
195 countries reach historic climate change agreement in Paris
The deal is the first to commit all countries to cutting carbon emissions
Swiss authorities begin criminal investigations against two Syrians in Geneva
Swiss prosecutors say they have opened proceedings against two Syrians on suspicion of making and transporting explosives and toxic gases. A car was stopped in Geneva Friday on a road leading to neighboring France.Swiss authorities on Saturday said they had begun proceedings against the two men of Syrian origin, saying they were also accused of …
In Cartoon: Fundamentalist rights leads elections in France
EU wants centralized policing powers for its borders
The EU’s external borders have more holes than a block of Swiss cheese. That is why the European Commission now wants its own border police. Not all member states like the idea. Bernd Riegert reports from Brussels. Until now, member states alone were responsible for protecting the European Union’s borders. They placed great value in …
Thousands protest in Iraq against Turkish troop deployment
Mass demonstrations have been staged in Baghdad and Basra calling for the withdrawal of Turkish troops from near the northern city of Mosul. Some protesters threatened violence against the soldiers. Thousands of Iraqis, many of them members of Shiite militias, gathered in Tahrir Square in the capital, Baghdad, on Saturday to call on Ankara to …
Car bomb kills 15 in Al-Zahraa neighborhood of Homs just days after local Syria truce deal
At least fifteen people have been killed and dozens more wounded after a car bomb struck the central Syrian city of Homs. The blast happened a few days after a truce had been agreed with rebels in the Waer neighborhood. The blast hit the mainly Alawite neighborhood of Al-Zahraa in Homs on Saturday, according to …
COP21 final agreement postponed for further talks
Adequate measures should be taken to avoid further negative consequences in Egypt’s coastal areas, experts say
Unity government in Libya poised to proceed
Libya’s opposing parties aim to form a unity government at a meeting in Rome. The conference will also aim to mobilize international aid for the country. Time is short, as “IS” is growing stronger in Libya. Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has issued an urgent warning: Europe should concern itself more with its southern neighbors …
‘Moment of truth’ as Fabius submits final Paris Pact draft
A new draft pact has been presented to ministers gathered at the Paris climate conference. They now have time to deliberate, before attempting to adopt a global agreement. With an emotional appeal, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, who presides over the conference, presented negotiators at the Paris climate conference with a new draft agreement that …
Paris climate summit in final push
Some 195 represented countries have made a final push to reach a deal this weekend aimed at averting catastrophic climate change. Divisions remain over how to keep global temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius
Putin claims support to Syrian rebels
Syrian rebels are being provided with military support and air cover against Islamist militants, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. If confirmed would be a shift in Moscow’s Syria policy
‘Islamic State’ tries to stop refugees from leaving
Every day, people flee from the regions that “IS” has declared as its territory. The extremists have problems accepting this, as the fact of people leaving the caliphate does not fit with their worldview.
Report: German authorities seeking man in connection with Paris attacks
Authorities are searching for a man from the German town of Dinslaken, according to magazine “Der Spiegel.” The man is said to have been close with Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the purported mastermind of the Paris attacks
Shut off from the Balkan route, asylum seekers flood into Athens
Athens has become the new center of Europe’s migration crisis after receiving more than 2,300 asylum seekers in the space of two days. They had been evicted from the Macedonian border on Wednesday. The mass relocation, coupled with a daily flow of new arrivals from the Greek islands, has left humanitarian aid workers scrambling for space and supplies to house an unprecedented influx of people to the capital
Outcry as Oromo protests in Ethiopia turn violent
Opposition groups say security forces have killed 20 people in three weeks of protests over a government re-zoning plan. Members of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group view the plan as a further infringement on their rights.
Sieren’s China: Reform of the People’s Liberation Army
By reforming the army, Chinese President Xi Jinping is not only enhancing China’s international role but boosting his own position at home, says DW’s Frank Sieren. China’s head of state and party chief is not slacking, even as the year draws to a close – there’s work to be done on restructuring the country, as …
In veiled threat to Ankara, Putin orders stronger military action against opponents in Syria
In a meeting with defense leaders, Vladimir Putin has called on the military to take a tough stance against threats in Syria. His words were seen as a reference to Ankara, which shot down a Russian plane last month
Chinese feminist honored as 2015 ‘Global Thinker’
“Foreign Policy” magazine has listed Chinese feminist Li Ting-ting as one of its 2015 Global Thinkers. Li told DW the honor is a chance for China’s feminist and LGBT rights movements to gain attention at home and abroad. Li Ting-ting (main picture, left), also known as Li Maizi, was honored by the US publication “Foreign …
New blood test warns of arthritis 16 years in advance
Scientists at Britain’s Oxford University have developed a blood test that will predict arthritis more than a decade before it strikes. They hope that early diagnosis will allow for better treatment of the disorder. A team from the university’s Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology have developed a blood test that looks for antibodies that recognize the …
Overtime for Paris climate conference
After negotiations on a global climate agreement hit a wall early on Friday morning, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, presiding over the event, postponed the release of a new text to Saturday
Syria’s rebels agree to work together to defeat Assad
Syrian opposition groups meeting in Riyadh have agreed on a common strategy for the future of their country. But not all groups support the agreement. Some were not even invited.
France’s civil libertarians alarmed by emergency powers
The French government has said it wants to change the constitution to fight terrorism. Civil libertarians say emergency powers are already being used against non-violent activists. Jacob Resneck reports from Paris.
Two Koreas hold talks, but expectations are low
Seoul wants to reduce border tensions and guarantees on reunions of families separated since the Korean War, whereas Pyongyang seeks resumption of tours to Kumgang. Julain Ryall reports from Tokyo.