Latest in World Highlight
Latest in World
‘Allah has chosen me’: profile of the Paris attackers
What motivated the Paris attackers? The little that is known about their lives reveals varying motives, mostly personal and psychological. But they all had one thing in common: none had a solid religious background. He was nice, sociable, communicative and open-minded. There was nothing about him that hinted at a future as a violent criminal. …
2 passengers prevented from boarding Southwest Airlines flight for speaking Arabic
Incident reflects global fears after Paris attacks
Sieren’s China: Terrorism is the ‘enemy of humanity’
“Islamic State” militants have killed a Chinese national for the first time. Beijing has reacted – but not with military force in Syria, writes DW’s Frank Sieren. On Thursday, the noon edition of China’s state CCTV channel announced the death of Chinese national Fan Jinghui and Norway’s Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad. Both fell into the hands …
EU border controls ‘have to remain an exception’
In the wake of the Paris attacks, some EU leaders have spoken of stricter controls on Europe’s outer borders. Speaking with DW, EU policy expert Urs Pötzsch said that permanent border checks aren’t an option. DW: Mr. Pötzsch, what do you think about the calls for stricter border controls at the outer borders of the …
Paris ‘may have provided a spark’ for Mali attack
On Friday morning gunmen attacked the Radisson Blu hotel in the Malian capital, Bamako, taking 170 guests and staff hostage. Malian special forces stormed the hotel to free the captives. Several people were killed. The attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali’s capital Bamako came one week after the multiple attacks in Paris claimed …
New technique allows US scientists to witness the birth of a ‘baby planet’
When new planets absorb nearby gases and dust they get hot. A strange light is emitted as a result and that has allowed researchers to watch a distant exoplanet as it is being formed. Using a novel technique, scientists have observed a “baby planet” being formed nearly 450 light years away. Researchers used telescopes in …
African Union criticizes International Criminal Court at member states’ meeting
At a meeting in The Hague, the African Union has been venting disillusionment with the ICC, the world’s only permanent war crimes court. Court officials say member states risk compromising the court’s integrity. “We have arrived at the conclusion that the International Criminal Court, whose establishment was strongly supported by Africa, is no longer a …
German foreign minister on routine Africa tour as Mali hostage-taking unfolds
A tour of Africa by Germany’s foreign minister – with a trade and development agenda – has been overshadowed by an armed attack on a luxury hotel popular with Westerners in Mali at the other end of the continent. The visit by German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier to the southern African nation of Zambia …
People looking to enter the EU can buy fake Syrian passports on social media
Amid a growing refugee crisis and an influx of asylum seekers, people looking to enter the European Union can now buy fake Syrian passports on social media that increase their chances of obtaining asylum in Europe. There are currently close to 20 million refugees around the world. That’s the largest number ever in history. Overwhelmed …
China: 28 ‘terrorists’ killed in western Xinjiang province
China has announced the deaths of 28 people during a police crackdown in Xinjiang, home to many Muslim Uighurs. In September, the group allegedly launched a terror attack at a coal mine, killing more than a dozen people. The Xinjiang regional government said on Friday police had killed 28 members of a “terrorist” group accused …
New Zealand votes in first round to select national flag
New Zealanders have begun voting in the first of two referendums to pick a national flag. The South Pacific country may also keep its current banner, sometimes confused with Australia’s and carrying a British union flag. Voters have until December 11 to choose from five flag options in a postal referendum which were selected by …
What to expect from the India-Singapore ‘strategic partnership’
Indian PM Narendra Modi will embark next week on a visit to Singapore, during which bilateral ties will be elevated to a strategic partnership. But how important is Singapore to India? DW talks to economist Rajiv Biswas. During Modi’s three-day visit to the country, which is scheduled to start on November 23, the Indian PM …
Former US drone operators say strikes fuel ‘Islamic State’ and hatred towards West
Four former US airmen have said that America’s use of drones to kill suspected jihadis is increasing hatred towards the West. The group also said many operators suffered from substance abuse due to psychological trauma. In an open letter to US President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and CIA Director John Brennan, the four …
UK rescues 347 passengers from French cruise ship after fire
British forces have rescued 347 passengers and crew from the French cruise ship “Le Boreal.” A fire broke out on the vessel while it was sailing close to the British-ruled Falkland Islands. UK officials and French operator Ponant said late on Thursday that the liner was just north of the Falklands, en route to South …
State TV: Nearly half of hostages freed from Bamako hotel siege
Mali special forces have stormed the upscale Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako and freed around 80 hostages. Suspected Islamist miltiants had taken around 170 guests and staff hostage in brazen daylight attack. Mali’s state-run broadcaster reports that special forces had stormed a luxury hotel, freeing many hostages held by suspected Islamist gunmen. Friday’s attack …
Of refugees and returnees
Many are calling for stricter control of the refugee flow fearing that terrorists could be among the refugees. Others say German or French extremists who fought in Syria and are returning home pose a bigger danger. After it became known that police found the passport of a Syrian refugee at one of the crime scenes …
Eastern Europe is concerned about its own security
More and more Europeans are linking the latest surge of Islamist terrorist attacks to the mass refugee influx in Europe. Security concerns are growing. The tense security situation in the wake of last Friday’s attacks in Paris has incited a strong response in central and eastern European countries against the current refugee crisis in the …
South Korea agrees to meet with North in effort to ease tensions
Seoul has accepted an invitation from Pyongyang to hold government-level talks within a week. The decision comes after a tense border standoff in August, after which the two pledged to improve ties. South Korean leaders agreed to meet with their North Korean counterparts for a high-level government meeting to take place on November 26, the …
Playing with fire in Donbass
Most tanks have apparently been withdrawn from the buffer zone in eastern Ukraine but not the heavy artillery, complains the OSCE. The truce is still on shaky ground. DW’s Frank Hofmann reports from Kyiv. Eastern Ukraine is far from Kyiv: there, barely anyone has witnessed the disputes that observers of the Organization for Security and …
Russia inks deal to build Egypt’s first nuclear power plant
Russia has signed an agreement with Egypt to build the country’s first nuclear power plant. The deal includes a loan to cash-strapped Egypt, which has considered building a nuclear plant since the 1980s. Under the agreement signed on Thursday Russia’s state-owned nuclear company Rosatom would build and operate four 1,200 MW nuclear reactors at Dabaa …
‘IS’ releases photo of ‘Sinai jetliner bomb’
‘IS’ releases photo of ‘Sinai jetliner bomb’
Hollande searches for ‘large coalition’
Fighting “Islamic State” is the priority in Syria, not Al-Assad, say Russian and French analysts
Blast kills 32 in Nigeria, Tunisia foils terrorist attack
A night-time attack took place at a fruit and vegetable market in north-eastern Nigeria
Two Air France flights diverted after ‘security incident’
Two separate Air France flights bound for Paris have been diverted, due to a “security incident.” The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said both planes have landed and all passengers have disembarked. In a brief statement released early on Wednesday, Air France confirmed that both flights had been the “subjects of anonymous threats received after their …
France seeks help from its EU partners
For the first time, an EU member country has activated a largely unknown solidarity clause. France also wants military aid from its partners – and EU defense ministers have pledged support. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini described the meeting as “emotional” after the first morning session in Brussels. She had called the terrorist attacks …
From Podgorica to Paris – Terror in the shadows
Does a Montenegrin citizen, who was arrested in Bavaria, have links to the Paris terror attacks? In the Balkan country there is a unregarded Islamist scene. Nemanja Rujevic reports. Kalashnikov submachine guns, handguns, grenades and explosives. – a whole weapons arsenal discovered by German investigators in a routine check on the Autobahn 8 highway near …
German politician: ‘France needs to investigate why its own citizens become so radical’
Following the terror attacks in Paris, German politician and Merkel ally Michael Fuchs urges France to examine the causes of Islamist violence on this week’s Conflict Zone with Tim Sebastian. In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris that left 129 people dead, a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel conservative party urged France …
Turkey’s Erdogan tasks Davutoglu to form new government
After reclaiming their parliamentary majority in November, AKP lawmakers are set to retake key positions in the government. The Turkish prime minister has been instructed to form the new government. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday reappointed Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Ahmet Davutoglu as prime minister, providing the conservative leader with a …
Global terrorism in 2014: the most casualties ever
The Global Terrorism Index shows that in 2014, more people died through terrorism than ever before. And five countries bear the brunt. Terrorism – many, if not most, people right now will associate the attacks in Paris with this word after the horrific events that the French capital saw over the weekend. A new statistic …
Britain must join airstrikes on ‘IS’ in Syria – Cameron
UK Prime Minister David Cameron says he’ll present a “comprehensive strategy” to deal with “Islamic State” in Syria. In his first parliamentary question time since the Paris attacks, he said airstrikes were on the table. Despite losing a parliamentary vote two years ago over whether Britain’s should told an international coalition to launch airstrikes on …