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Hospitals scrambling for oxygen, people waiting for ambulances that never arrive, crematoriums running out of space. After a relatively controlled first COVID-19 wave, India is now shattering global records of daily infections. On Wednesday, it counted 362,567 new cases and the death toll exceeded 200,000. Real figures are thought to be even higher. "It's like an inferno. It will burn anything that it’s touching," Dr. Shuchin Bajaj, founder & director of Ujala Cygnus Hospitals, said about the massive new wave. Several factors came together to create this unprecedented explosion. Despite being one of the world’s biggest vaccine producers, India does not have enough stock to inoculate its own eligible population.  The government has been criticized for its sluggish vaccine rollout, as variants believed to be more transmissible spread throughout the country. Besides the variants first seen in Brazil, South Africa and the UK, the country has also found another mutation of its own. "It seems that this variant has the potential to attach to human cells more easily. Obviously that would lead to more people being infected and more hospitalizations," said Tarik Jasarevic, spokesman for the World Health Organization. But many people in India had also started to grow complacent, especially as the country kept infection numbers low for several months.  "What we have seen in India is clearly the result of many people letting their guard down," said Udaya Regmi, the South Asia head for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. "At one point, the first wave was almost under control, and people slowly stopped keeping up basic critical life-saving measures, like wearing a mask."  This complacency was not only fueled by pandemic fatigue, according to virologist Vineeta Bal.  Political and religious leaders publically downplaying the severity of the pandemic and calling for mass gatherings also played a role. Despite the coronavirus surge, the government allowed hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees to participate in Kumbh Mela, the country’s biggest religious event.  It also continued holding political rallies during state elections, with the ruling BJP party holding especially big gatherings.  At one such event in West Bengal state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the crowd, saying he had "never before seen such huge crowds in a rally." "All of this gave a common message that it doesn’t matter whether you keep a distance or wear a mask," said Bal who works at the National Institute of Immunology. "That complacency has backfired." Foreign nations are now jumping in to help India weather the crisis. Germany, France, the EU, the UK, the US, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have all promised aid, with the first ventilators and oxygen concentrators arriving on Tuesday. US President Joe Biden pledged to send India AstraZeneca vaccines, but did not specify when this would happen. The Indian government said it will open up its vaccination drive to all adults on May 1.  Meanwhile on the ground, community centers and humanitarian organizations are working to provide masks and curb misinformation. "What we are dealing with is a great amount of vaccine hesitancy, hesitancy to wear masks and to social distance," said Regmi. He says it is unclear how long it will take to take care of India’s sick and to flatten the COVID curve down the line. But until then, he wants to encourage people to prevent the spread of the disease until as many people as possible can get their shot.  "It's clear as day: No one will be safe until everyone is safe."

5Health

Max Verstappen of Red Bull has won the Japanese Grand Prix and was also awarded his second Formula One world championship title after his closest rival was handed a penalty. Governing body FIA said full points had been awarded for the rain-soaked race, even though the race was suspended at one point due to the weather. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc — Verstappen's nearest challenger for the world championship — was handed a five-second penalty after the race for cutting a corner in the final chicane. The penalty saw Leclerc demoted from second to third place, giving Verstappen an unassailable lead in the championship. "The first [championship] is a little more emotional, the second one is beautiful," Verstappen said. There was initially some confusion among spectators and team members after the race at Japan's Suzuka circuit. This was because it was originally assumed that reduced points would be awarded for the event, as rain interrupted the race for some two hours, leading to drivers completing less than 75% of the distance. The deciding race between Verstappen and Leclerc was expected to be the United States Grand Prix later this month. Verstappen himself was only informed that he had won the world championship midway through his post-race TV interview. "It's a crazy feeling because I didn't expect it when I crossed the line," the Dutch driver said.  The race got off to a chaotic start with heavy rain, with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz crashing on the first lap due to aquaplaning. Organizers stopped the race after the second lap, forcing drivers to wait more than two hours before the competition resumed. However, a recovery tractor appeared on the track before the other drivers could return to the pits, prompting controversy. In 2014, Jules Bianchi's car slid off the same track in similar weather conditions and collided with a recovery vehicle. He died after spending nine months in a coma. "I still don't know why we keep risking, in these conditions, having a tractor on track," Sainz said. "You were going to red flag it anyway, so why risk it?" zc/wd (AP, Reuters, dpa, AFP)

9Sports

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered Poland to pay a fine of €1 million ($1.2 million) per day on Wednesday over its decision to ignore an EU ruling on Warsaw's judicial reforms. The top EU court imposed the penalty as Poland has not suspended the disciplinary chamber of its Supreme Court, which critics say allows for the dismissal of judges on political grounds.  The ECJ had ruled in July that the chamber does not guarantee judicial impartiality, and ordered that it be suspended.  The ECJ said in a press release Wednesday that the fine was "necessary in order to avoid serious and irreparable harm to the legal order of the European Union and to the values on which that Union is founded, in particular that of the rule of law." The European Commission had requested "financial penalties" be levied on September 9 after Poland failed to comply with the July ruling. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Other EU nations have insisted that Poland not be allowed to collect EU subsidies while disregarding the bloc's principles.  "You cannot pocket all the money but refuse the values,'' Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Wednesday, adding Poland cannot treat the EU like "a cash machine.'' He also pointed out that Poland is a major recipient of EU funds. On Twitter, Poland's Deputy Justice Minister Sebastian Kaleta called the fine "usurpation and blackmail."  Radoslaw Fogiel, a spokesperson for the right-wing ruling party, claimed that Poland contributes more to the bloc than it receives. However, EU figures show that Warsaw is a net recipient of €12 billion a year. DW spoke with Polish MEP Radoslaw Sikorski about the ongoing dispute. Sikorski, who opposes the current government's stance, said that Poland’s refusal to pay the fine would be a technicality. "Poland doesn't need to pay, the commission will simply deduct the money from funds that flow to Poland," he said. He also rejected claims of blackmail made by Polish lawmakers, saying that "every international organization has some rules" that can incur punishments if broken. As for how Poland will now proceed, Sikorski said: "I would expect Poland to fulfill the judgments of the European Court of Justice, there's no there's no way around it. We voluntarily signed up to the European legal system in our accession treaty." The former Polish minister went on to say that while there is room to debate the relationship between EU and national courts, "the issue here is that the ruling party in Poland has packed the Constitutional Court and it's trying to pack ordinary courts." The disciplinary chamber of Poland's Supreme Court was set up in 2018 by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) and is able to dismiss judges and prosecutors.  To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The ECJ fears this could be abused to inflict punitive sanctions on those who show independence in not bowing to political will. Since then, the chamber is at the center of a row between the PiS and the EU.  Earlier this month, Poland's constitutional court ruled Polish law supersedes EU law when there is a conflict between the two. Last week, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told the European Parliament the disciplinary chamber will be abolished, but he gave no timeline for when that would occur and no draft law has been introduced. Poland has been accused of backsliding when it comes to the independence of the judiciary and press freedom by other EU member states. The EU asserts Poland has politicized the judiciary with the placement of judges loyal to the ruling Law and Justice Party. ab,ar/rt (AP, dpa, Reuters)

7Politics

Wearing a pink-striped shirt, colorful jacket, a slightly daring hairstyle, Georg Stefan Troller went up to the stage of Literaturhaus in Cologne to give a public reading. On that February 2020 evening, shortly before the first COVID lockdown, he shared anecdotes and memories from his life in Paris, the years as a Jewish immigrant in the US, his experience as a young GI in destroyed Germany. He never forgot what he saw there. From there, it was a series of coincidences that eventually led him to become a journalist. Born on December 10, 1921 to a Jewish furrier family in Vienna, Georg Stefan Troller remembers being teased and mocked on the streets and by schoolmates. "You had to live with it, and it got worse under the Nazis," he told audiences. His father made sure he got a good education, and he made him read all the classics; Georg Stefan never forgot the words to the Faust monologue. At 16, he borrowed an old typewriter and brought to paper poems and thoughts he called "Georg Stefan Troller's Collected Works." Not much later, in 1938, he fled Nazi-occupied Vienna, "At night with a smuggler across the border, and after that everything was illegal, without papers." It was the beginning of an odyssey to freedom. In Marseille, he was lucky enough to get a visa to the US, where he arrived in 1941. In 1943 he was drafted into military service by the US Army. During the advance of the Allied troops through occupied France and Nazi Germany, the German speaker provided invaluable service to the Americans. He helped translate in the interrogation of German prisoners of war. "Back then, I never heard the word 'liberation,'" Troller would often say in interviews, adding that freedom and democracy weren't even part of the German way of thinking. "They all admired our jeeps, the walkie-talkies. No wonder you won the war, with that equipment, they would say," he said in a 2005 TV interview with German public broadcaster WDR. In 1945 in Munich, the young GI was present when the US army searched Adolf Hitler's private residence. He pocketed a few "Nazi souvenirs" and sent them to his father in the US, who was shocked. On May 1, 1945, Troller arrived at the Dachau concentration camp, liberated by US troops, to interrogate SS officers captured there. What he encountered there stayed with him his entire life, and it was only through the camera lens that he could bear the sight of the emaciated prisoners and corpses. After a short intermezzo at Radio Munich, Georg Stefan Troller worked as a reporter for Munich's Neue Zeitung newspaper. He longed for his old hometown of Vienna, however. "At that time I walked all the streets I knew, for days, for nights, to satisfy my homesickness," he once said. And he found out that "you can't regain a homeland again any more than you can a childhood." He returned to the USA, studied drama and theater, only to travel to Paris in 1950, thanks to a scholarship to study at the Sorbonne. He enjoyed the lively city on the Seine so much that he decided to stay. "Paris opened my eyes and taught me so much," he wrote in his 2009 memoir. "It was big city life compared to the small-town limitations you found everywhere in Germany," he wrote. In Paris in the early 1960s, Georg Stefan Troller found his calling as a TV reporter. For nine years, he was a correspondent for WDR, delighting audiences with his portraits of a side of Paris that was little known in his "Paris Journal" show. Beginning in 1971, he worked for Germany's ZDF TV broadcaster, which set the course for his life. For 22 years he wrote TV history over the 70 episodes of his legendary unconventional interview show titled, "Personenbeschreibung" (Describing People). Stars including Marlon Brando, Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, Woody Allen, Kirk Douglas and Romy Schneider were among his guests. He saw the camera as a kind of protective shield. "Being a journalist was a means of self-healing," Troller recalled. "My soul as a Jewish emigrant who had escaped the Holocaust and who had lost 19 relatives was wounded," he told the DJV Journal in a 2017 interview, adding that he calls the job he does "healing through other people." A good interview is almost like a confession, he said. Later, he turned to TV films, documentaries, books, photo books and essays for magazines. Troller typed his manuscripts on an old Hermes typewriter. "I don't have a computer and I don't have the Internet," he said during at his 2020 reading in Cologne. "I fax manuscripts or send them to my publisher by mail. I make notes with a four-color ballpoint pen." The cleaning lady in his Paris studio accidentally tossed out his numerous awards and honorary certificates after he had retired. The episode made him laugh years later because his greatest pride was the fact that he had started a new career as a photographer. Photos from his early Parisian period were exhibited and sold at auctions. In 2019 he published a memoir close to his heart, entitled "Liebe, Lust und Abenteuer — 97 Begegnungen meines Lebens" (Love, Desire and Adventure — 97 Encounters in My Life). "That was my life," he smiled.   Adapted from German by Dagmar Breitenbach

4Culture

One person was killed and a large number of students were abducted Sunday at an Islamic seminary in Nigeria's north-central Niger State, a police spokesman said.   Some 200 children were at the school when the incident took place. The Niger state government said "an unconfirmed number" were taken. Wasiu Abiodun, the Niger state police spokesman, said the abduction was carried out by "armed bandits on board motorcycles.'' The gunmen fired "indiscriminately" he said, adding that the attackers shot one person dead in the process. All "tactical teams" have been mobilized to rescue the victims and the police will "ensure that the children are rescued unhurt," according to the police spokesman. The school's owner, Abubakar Tegina, witnessed the attack. "I personally saw between 20 and 25 motorcycles with heavily armed people. They entered the school and went away with about 150 or more of the students," Tegina, who lives around 150 meters from the school, told Reuters news agency. The incident is the latest in a series of mass abductions in Nigerian schools by armed gangs. The groups have been raiding schools in northern Nigeria in recent months, with hundreds of students abducted for ransom in recent months. Since December 2020, 730 children and students have been kidnapped, without taking the Sunday attack into account. The worst incident this year occurred at the Government Girls Secondary School Jangebe in February, when 279 girls were abducted and later released. Many schools in the region have been forced to close due to frequent incidents. On Saturday, 14 university students and staff who had been abducted from Greenfield University in Kaduna state on April 20 were freed after spending more than a month in captivity. sri/dj (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)

7Politics

Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed a new Cabinet on Monday in a move seen as an attempt to pacify ongoing protests that have called for his resignation. The president removed two of his brothers and a nephew from the Cabinet, but kept his older brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, as prime minister. The Cabinet resigned en masse on April 3, after protesters targeted the homes of certain ministers. The political crisis was sparked by rising costs of essential goods which many put down to mishandling by the government — especially the president and his powerful family. Basil Rajapaksa, the former finance minister and Gotabaya's younger brother, as well as the president's eldest brother Chamal, did not make the cut for the new 21-member Cabinet — which has seven fewer members than the previous one. Namal Rajapaksa, the eldest son of the prime minister, and thus the nephew of the president, was also left out. He had been touted as a possible future leader. Sri Lankan ministers are provided with SUVs, unlimited fuel, a team of bodyguards and free housing, as well as an allowance for entertainment. Protesters have expressed anger at the nepotism and corruption they say is rampant in the government. The Rajapaksa clan has held onto power for the past two decades. Opposition parties have rejected an offer to form a coalition unity government, but do not control enough seats to force a change of power. Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy and a lack of foreign currency reserves means that importing foreign goods has become very difficult. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Inflation has also reached a record high and the financial problems are compounding economic woes as a lack of imported fuel has led to countrywide blackouts. The government has been preparing for talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to discuss acquiring a bailout for the country's foreign debt of $51 billion (€47.25 billion). The country announced a default on that debt last week and is seeking $3 to $4 billion to sort out its balance-of-payments problem and to acquire foreign currency reserves again. ab/fb (AP, AFP)

7Politics

Tanzania’s late president, John Pombe Magufuli, was buried on Friday in his ancestral home of Chato, nearly 10 days after his death from suspected heart complications. Magfuli's body was moved through different towns in Tanzania to allow for public mourning. Close family, relatives and friends of the ardent coronavirus skeptic also attended the private funeral service in Chato in the northwest of the country. Also attending the burial was President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the former vice president who succeeded Magufuli to become Tanzania’s first female president. Many Tanzanians followed the proceedings on live TV and radio in the country of 60 million where the populist leader was admired by many for his pugnacious style of leadership and action against corruption. Magufuli’s body lay-in-state as members of the public bid him farewell. He passed away on March 17th from what aides described as heart problems. But opposition leaders charge that he died of complications from COVID-19. Thousands lined up as the hearse containing the coffin made its way into the grounds on Thursday, accompanied by military vehicles. Second Vice PresidentSuleiman Abdalla praised the late president for taking the lead on several development projects in the East African nation. He said that Magufuli left a legacy in all sectors including education, finance, transport and others.  Others, however, are critical of his legacy, saying his rule reduced fundamental freedoms of expression and assembly. Before his death, he had declared that Tanzania was “COVID-free” thanks to three days of national prayer. The late head of state would later express doubt on the safety of masks and vaccines, branding both a western conspiracy. Tanzania officially only has 509 infections and 21 deaths, however this vastly understates the extent of the pandemic.  jf/aw (AFP, Reuters)

5Health

In an unusually long, platitude-laden tweet, the world's richest person on Thursday said he wanted to buy Twitter to "help humanity." Elon Musk, whose $44 billion deal appears to have closed, even admitted that "failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility." "The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,'' Musk, who typically projects his thoughts in one-line tweets, wrote in a long message aimed at advertisers. "There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society,'' he added. He said he doesn't want Twitter to become a "free-for-all hellscape.'' Musk said Twitter should be "warm and welcoming to all'' and enable users to choose the experience they want to have. On Wednesday Musk visited Twitter's San Francisco headquarters for meetings with executives. He also changed his bio on Twitter to "Chief Twit." The tweet from the self-described "free speech absolutist" was aimed at addressing some concerns among advertisers over his likely takeover. "You do not want a place where consumers just simply are bombarded with things they do not want to hear about, and the platform takes no responsibility,'' Pinar Yildirim, associate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School to the Associated Press. Twitter's chief source of revenue is advertising. Ad sales accounted for more than 90% of Twitter's revenue in the second quarter. Though Musk previously said he wanted to move away from the advertising model, on Thursday he wrote he wants Twitter to be "the most respected advertising platform." Musk is funding a large portion of the deal through debt. One of Musk's biggest obstacles to closing the deal was keeping in place the financing pledged roughly six months ago. lo/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters)

0Business

Leaders from around the world have expressed their opinions about the results of Germany's election, which saw the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) leading Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU).  Some countries believe Germany's new government will be a continuation of Merkel's 16-year reign. Others see a possible new coalition government under SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz as an opportunity for greater cooperation.  Here's a look at how various governments reacted to the outcome. "I will be darned... they're solid." US President Joe Biden said when asked by a reporter Sunday evening about the results showing the SPD in the lead.  Biden has previously expressed a desire for closer ties with Germany after a fraught relationship under former President Donald Trump's administration. Merkel visited Biden earlier this year. European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune from France said the election result signified "stability and continuity."  "Here is a country, our close neighbor, that puts great value on moderation, stability and continuity," Beaune told the France 2 broadcaster.  Germany and France are two of the most influential political players in the EU, with the two countries playing a leading role in shaping the bloc's political and security priorities. The two neighboring countries are also close trading partners. European Parliament President David Sassoli hailed the results.  "Congratulations Olaf Scholz and SPD on your victory!" Sassoli tweeted. "After this historic crisis, there is no time to lose: Europe needs a strong and reliable partner in Berlin to continue our common work for a social and green recovery." European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who previously served as defense minister under Merkel, has not yet commented on the results.  Spain's left-wing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the SPD's strong showing could be an opportunity for closer ties between the two countries.  "Spain and Germany were already very united in our Europeanism and now we have the opportunity to be united in the color and orientation of our governments," Sanchez said Monday while visiting the northern city of Santander.  Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said Monday that the Russian government is hopeful for "continuity" after the results.  "Of course, we count on continuity in our bilateral relations," Peskov told journalists. He said although the two countries have disagreements on some issues, "we are united by an understanding that problems can and should be solved through dialogue."   Germany has previously condemned Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and called for the release of imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. At the same time, Merkel has greenlit the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline which extends from Russia and Germany. Poland's conservative PiS government has praised the strong showing by the neoliberal Free Democratic Party, which garnered 11.5% of the vote. The party and its leader Christian Lindner is expected to play a kingmaker role in forming a new government. "The FDP will tip the scales, which is great news for us," Polish Ambassador to Germany Andrzej Pryzlebski said. The Polish envoy said there is not a huge difference between a German government led by the CDU or the SPD.  "As for the SPD, there is a fear that there will be too much empathy shown towards Russia, but that relates more to the party leadership than to Scholz," Pryzlebski said. At the same time, he noted that the the Green Party is more cautious towards Russia, which is in line with Polish foreign policy interests. Although Germany and Poland have close economic ties, the two countries have clashed over LGBTQ rights, World War II reparations and the rule of law, among other issues. "We hope and expect that the new German government continues its pragmatic and balanced China policy," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Monday.  To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video During Merkel's tenure, German-Sino economic ties have grown closer, with major German firms such as Siemens and Volkswagen developing a strong foothold in the country. At the same time, Greens Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock has called for Germany to be tougher on Chinese human rights abuses, such as the treatment of Uyghur Muslims.

7Politics

The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, appealed for European countries to continue their support of Ukraine in an interview with DW on Monday. Over 80% of consumers in Kyiv were left without water on Monday, and some 350,000 apartments were without power, Klitschko said. Speaking with DW anchor Phil Gayle, the Ukrainian politician also said the latest barrage of attacks on infrastructure is part of a ploy by Moscow to stoke discontent among everyday Ukrainians. With governments around Europe facing mounting public pressure over rising inflation and energy costs, Klitschko urged European Union leaders to maintain the vital political and economic aid that Ukraine has been receiving. "Please stay with Ukraine. It's very important for us. Because we are fighting and defending not just our homes and our country. We are defending every one of you in Europe," he told DW. The 51-year-old former heavyweight boxing champion became the mayor of Kyiv in 2014 in the wake of the Euromaidan protest movement which ousted pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych.  "We are fighting for the same democratic values," Klitschko said in the Monday interview, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin won't stop at invading Ukraine. "It's no secret that Putin present himself as someone who collect the former properties of Russia. To rebuild Soviet Empire, the Russian Empire." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Klitschko also said he believes Moscow is deliberately targeting civilians and infrastructure in Ukraine due to setbacks on the front lines. "The Russians change tactic. They didn't succeed on the front line and right now they try to destroy critical infrastructure," he said. Attacks on infrastructure in Kyiv have left hundreds of thousands of apartments without electricity and water. Talking to DW, Klitschko said Russian forces were behaving like "terrorists." "And the people are very angry about that, and we are ready to defend our houses, our cities and our homeland," Klitschko said. On Monday, Ukrainian authorities said that the country had been hit by "more than 50" Russian cruise missiles. A similar wave of Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities took place at the beginning of October after an explosion on the Kerch Bridge linking Crimea to Russia. The missile strikes come as Ukrainian forces remain focused on liberating Russia-occupied territories and preventing Moscow's troops from seizing new regions. Interview conducted by: Phil Gayle Edited by: Darko Janjevic

2Conflicts

Ukraine demanded on Thursday that Russia halts escalating military tensions and reaffirms its commitment to a ceasefire in the eastern Donbass region. Kyiv had earlier accused Moscow of building up military forces near their shared border, and said that pro-Russian separatists were violating a ceasefire. "Russia's current escalation is systemic, largest in recent years," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a statement.  "Russia's actions have brought the situation to a dead end. The only way out is diplomacy," Kuleba added, assuring that Ukraine preferred talks to violence.  The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) recorded hundreds of ceasefire violations in the past few days, including 493 on March 26 alone. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Russia argued that it was entitled to move its troops within its territory. "It should not worry anyone and does not pose a threat to anyone," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.  Meanwhile, Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, warned that any attempts to start a new military conflict over the Donbass region could "destroy" Ukraine, the Russian TASS news agency reported. "The military understands the harmfulness of any action to unleash a hot conflict. I very much hope that they will not be prompted by politicians, who, in turn, will incite the West, led by the United States," Lavrov was quoted as saying. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Since 2014, Russia's annexation of Crimea not only triggered a deadly conflict with Ukraine, but also strained the Kremlin's ties with Western nations.  The European Union on Thursday accused Russia of launching a conscription campaign in Crimea, deeming it a "violation of international humanitarian law." NATO also slammed Russia's military build-up near the Ukrainian borders, according to Reuters news agency.  "Russia's destabilizing actions undermine efforts to de-escalate tensions," a NATO official told Reuters. On Wednesday, the United States expressed concern over the situation in eastern Ukraine. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the US was aware of escalations by Russian troops on Ukrainian borders in recent days. According to Kyiv, the conflict between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed forces in Donbass has killed at least 14,000 people since 2014.  To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video fb/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)

2Conflicts

The US State Department called on Russia to refrain from escalating tensions with Ukraine, in comments to reporters on Monday. Russia has reportedly amassed troops and moved tanks near the Ukrainian border in recent days, as a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine looks increasingly shaky. The movements are the latest point of tension between Russia and the US less than three months after US President Joe Biden took office. "We call on Russia to refrain from escalatory actions," State Department spokesman Ned Price said. Price said the United States would be concerned by any effort by Moscow to intimidate Ukraine, whether it occurred on Russian territory or within Ukraine. He declined to say whether the US believes Russia is preparing to invade the former Soviet republic. "We've asked Russia for an explanation of these provocations," Price said. "But more importantly, what we have signaled with our Ukrainian partners is a message of reassurance." The State Department briefing follows President Biden's first call with Ukrainian President Zelensky on Friday. In their conversation, Biden affirmed Washington's support for "Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia's ongoing aggression". Throughout Europe, US forces raised their alert status in response to the "recent escalations of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine." Last July, all sides to the conflict agreed on a ceasefire in the eastern Donbass area. But starting in mid-February, increased fighting has further undermined an already fragile peace in the region. Since 2014, at least 13,000 people have been killed in the ongoing conflict. The call between the two leaders came after the NATO alliance expressed concern over what is said was a large Russian military buildup on Ukraine's eastern border, warning Moscow against any further escalations of the situation. "NATO will continue to support the sovereignty and territorial Integrity of Ukraine. We remain vigilant and continue to monitor the situation very closely," a NATO spokesman told German newspaper, Die Welt. The "destabilizing actions on the part of Russia" undermined efforts to de-escalate tensions under the OSCE-brokered July 2020 ceasefire agreement, the NATO spokesman said. The alliance would "continue to support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," he added. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed concern on Sunday after a phone call with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in which he pledged the bloc's "unwavering" support for Kiev. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday also said the UK has "significant concerns" over Russian activity in Crimea and on the Ukrainian border. "The Prime Minister reaffirmed our unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Johnson's office said. He expressed his solidarity with President Zelensky's government "in the face of this destabilizing activity and commended Ukraine's approach to the situation." He said the UK would work to "ensure there is no further escalation." In a tweet after the call Zelensky thanked Johnson for his support and said the Ukraine was "not alone" and was "supported by the G7 nations." On Monday Ukraine denied reports that its forces had killed a five-year-old child in an attack on pro-Moscow eastern separatists, following Russia's statement that it would launch an investigation. Russia on Monday denied that its military movements posed a threat to Ukraine and dismissed fears of a buildup even as it warned that it would respond to new Ukrainian sanctions against Russian companies. mb/aw (AFP, Reuters)

2Conflicts

Anastasia Mirolyubova's business is booming. The co-founder of Immigram, a platform that helps tech workers immigrate to the UK, says web traffic has increased 1,000% since Russia invaded Ukraine. The number of clients that signed up in the first quarter of the year was the same as their annual total in 2021. Most of the new users are IT specialists trying to relocate out of Russia and Ukraine. "The business is growing," the 28-year-old Russian told DW. "But it's so sad." As millions of Ukrainians flee a country under siege, next door tens of thousands of tech workers are believed to have left Russia as Western sanctions begin to bite the industry. An estimated 70,000 IT specialists fled Russia in February and March, according to the Russian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEK). The industry group predicts that another 100,000 specialists could leave in April. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Russia has a history of educated people leaving the country following war and conflicts, Mirolyubova says. The poet Joseph Brodsky and novelist Vladimir Nabokov come to mind. "Today, the poets and writers are replaced with technical workers — IT specialists and innovators," she said. "We can see now that a lot of the biggest brains in Russia, who could have created new economies and new innovation clusters, are currently fleeing to different destinations." Since Russia invaded Ukraine, tech workers and tech companies in Russia have found their activities ever more hampered by sanctions imposed by the US, EU and other NATO-aligned countries, which strive to block access to vital components like semiconductors that are usually sourced abroad. "We're going to impair their ability to compete in a high-tech 21st-century economy," US President Joe Biden said in late February, announcing what would be the first of several rounds of sanctions. "Some of the most powerful impacts of our actions will come over time as we squeeze Russia's access to finance and technology for strategic sectors of its economy and degrade its industrial capacity for years to come." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The technology sanctions are also meant to cripple Russia's military. "If you want to build new tanks, you need microchips, because there's going to be a computer that calculates stuff," Niclas Poitiers, a trade and digital economy expert at Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank, told DW. "If you want to build precise missiles, there's going to be chips. Russia doesn't build chips that are competitive in any way … If you're cut off from international supply chains, your life becomes much more difficult." On top of government sanctions, Google, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, SAP and Meta are among dozens of international tech firms that have voluntarily restricted or suspended business in Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. US tech giant Apple blocked its payment service Apple Pay in Russia and a self-imposed ban on the sale of new products there means the country could run out of both Apple and Samsung smartphones as early as June, according to a report by Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND), seen by German news outlet The Pioneer. There will "almost certainly be a significant step backward in the digitization of everyday life, as perceived by Russian society," the BND wrote in the report. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video That change will be felt all the more by technology professionals, whose line of work is severely hindered by the restrictions. With IT specialists in demand pretty much everywhere, the decision to relocate outside of Russia is an easy one for many. "A Russian software engineer, just in the nature of where the technology comes from, is almost guaranteed to have at least a working knowledge of English, which facilitates the ability to find work elsewhere," J. Scott Marcus, an economist and tech expert, also at Bruegel, told DW. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called this new trend of Russians leaving the country a "self-cleansing of society that will only strengthen our country." But Moscow's actions tell a different story. In March, Putin waived income taxes for IT companies and made it possible for young tech workers to defer their obligatory military conscription. There are also reports of tech workers getting held at the border when they try to leave Russia. "Being a technological power is a power," said Poitiers, who suggests that centering the country's economy around hydrocarbons has left Russia overly dependent on foreign technology. "If you want to be a superpower, it's not enough just to have ships and tanks," he said. "You also want to be a big economy and be producing high-end goods and have leverage over other countries." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The threat of cyberattacks and cyberwarfare out of Russia had been one such piece of leverage in the country's arsenal in recent years. The latest exodus of talent is unlikely to defuse that threat any time soon, says Marcus. But much as the country's military action on the ground in Ukraine has turned out to be more of a paper tiger than many had anticipated, at least for now the same appears to be true for their cyberwarfare capabilities. "Given that they're sort of scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to rescue their kinetic warfare, I can't believe that they're just voluntarily holding back," he said. "I have to assume that the [cyber]capabilities were just not as good as a lot of people thought." Edited by: Hardy Graupner

0Business

More than two years after he became president of the United States, Joe Biden will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time in Bali on the sideline of the G20 Summit next Monday, as Beijing and Washington try to "build a floor" for their bilateral relationship amid rising tensions. Before he left for the week-long trip, during which he also made stops in Egypt and Cambodia, Biden told reporters that he wouldn't be willing to make any concessions when he meets Xi Jinping, and he hoped both sides would lay out the red lines and try to resolve areas of conflict, including the Taiwan issue. Analysts say the purpose of the meeting is to strengthen guardrails in US-China relations to ensure their competition doesn't escalate into full-blown conflict caused by misperception. "The very symbolism of a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders conveys that the US and China may be fierce competitors, but not sworn enemies of each other," said Wen-Ti Sung, a lecturer in Taiwan Studies at the Australian National University (ANU). Other experts say since Washington has repeatedly expressed the desire to talk about risk reduction measures with Beijing, there are hopes the in-person meeting may help prevent the bilateral relationship from spiraling. "To stabilize US-China relations, I think the plan is to let the leaders have a strategic conversation and discuss how this relationship shouldn't be allowed to move to conflict," said Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF). "It's always important that the leaders are talking to one another, and it at least provides an opportunity for each leader to present their views, their concerns, and their policies." During the 20th Party Congress last month, Xi highlighted external attempts to "blackmail, contain, blockade, and exert maximum pressure" on China but said Beijing and Washington needed to find ways to "get along." Meanwhile, the US has introduced a series of export control measures aimed at limiting China's access to advanced technologies. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video According to senior White House officials, issues related to Taiwan will be at the top of the agenda, as Biden plans to "be honest" about its concerns about China's recent activities that threaten the peace and stability across and Taiwan Strait, as well as its longstanding concerns regarding human rights violations in China. Tensions have grown between China and the United States since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the democratic island in August, prompting Beijing to respond by staging a week-long military exercise around Taiwan. In addition to its provocative military moves near Taiwan, Beijing also suspended bilateral dialogues and exchanges on several key issues with the US. While Washington hopes to resume military and climate dialogues through this in-person meeting between the leaders, the senior US official said there was no expectation that Biden and Xi would solve all existing problems between the two superpowers. Bonnie Glaser told DW that it's extremely difficult to make progress when it comes to stabilizing US-China differences over Taiwan, especially when the meeting in Bali is the first between Xi and Biden since Pelosi's trip to Taipei. "The Biden administration has made it clear that they believe China used the visit as a pretext to put on a major military display and intimidate Taiwan," she said. "Whereas the Chinese view is that it was the Pelosi visit that was destabilizing and was the cause of the problem. Their perspectives are diametrically opposed and it's hard to envision that there can be a way forward on this issue," she added. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Before the trip, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan told journalists that the US would brief Taiwan on the results of the Biden-Xi meeting, which prompted Beijing to urge Washington not to share details of the meeting with Taipei. "What the US said about briefing Taiwan on the meeting between the Chinese and the US heads of state gravely violates the one-China principle and the stipulations of the three China-US joint communique," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, adding that the move would be "truly egregious" and China firmly rejects it. Sung from ANU told DW that Sullivan's move to publicly announce Washington's plan to share details of the meeting with Taiwan shows the US is actively pursuing public diplomacy in Taiwanese society. "It is to reassure not just the Taiwanese government but also the Taiwanese public opinion," he said. However, Glaser from GMF warns that the move could bring negative consequences to the bilateral relationship between China and the US. "It'll be seen by Beijing as unnecessarily provocative," she told DW. Apart from Taiwan, Biden and Xi are also expected to discuss North Korea and the war in Ukraine. The senior US official said North Korea's repeated missile tests are an area where Beijing and Washington had a history of working together. Jake Sullivan said Biden wouldn't make demands on China but would give Xi his perspective and urge Beijing to play "a constructive role in restraining North Korea's worst tendencies." Additionally, the senior US official also acknowledged that they have paid attention to Xi's remarks about not using nuclear weapons in Ukraine following his in-person meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last week. Since the war broke out in February, China remains reluctant to publicly criticize Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sung from ANU told DW that it'll be difficult for China and the US to cooperate on these issues, and he expects Washington and Beijing to have "straightforward, frank and earnest” conversations on these issues. "Both sides are likely to lay out their interests and positions, but largely talk past one another and fail to find common grounds to develop roadmaps around it," he said. "North Korea is an issue over which scope for US-China cooperation exists, as neither stands to gain from a smaller rogue actor running amok, destabilizing regional order and risk dragging superpowers into conflicts of accidental escalation," he added. Glaser from GMF says she doesn't think there will be any cooperation or dialogue on Ukraine between Xi and Biden. "I think the United States will perhaps say something positive about the fact that Xi said publicly when Scholz visited that China is opposed to the use of nuclear weapons and maybe explore whether he might do something else," she told DW. "My view is that the US will leave it up to the Chinese to decide what they would do. The US assessment is that the direction of travel in the China-Russia relationship is towards closer alignment and a close overlap in Chinese and Russian interests. They see no prospect for driving the wedge between the two countries," she added. As all sides try to predict what might come out of the Biden-Xi meeting, Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at the Renmin University of China, says he expects US high-tech containment, realignment of critical supply chains and diplomatic and the continuation of ideological competitions. "There will be no substantial cooperation over North Korea's nuclear missile development, and there is no indication that the US will dismantle high tariffs on Chinese imports," he told DW. "Climate change cooperation will continue to stay largely at the rhetorical level, with concretes interwoven with mismatches of national policies and competition for influence." "There may be a decision to somewhat restore bilateral military-to-military exchange, as both countries try to put a prime priority to conflict prevention," he added.

7Politics

Zimbabwe has a new opposition party. The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) is so new that its website isn't even finished yet, full of dummy text where its political goals should be. But although it was only registered in January 2022, the CCC already had its first taste of success in late March, winning 19 of the 28 newly allocated parliamentary seats in by-elections. "I can tell you that what we have just done is a teaser," party leader Nelson Chamisa told reporters. "[We are] putting the nation and the world on notice that CCC is the next government. There's nothing that will stop us from forming the next government." Chamisa has set an ambitious target for the election scheduled in April 2023: "We're on this march to a two-thirds majority in parliament come 2023." Emmerson Mnangagwa is the third president of Zimbabwe since the country's independence 42 years ago. The ruling ZANU-PF party veteran was closely linked to longtime ruler Robert Mugabe, who was ousted in 2017. Like his late predecessor, the 79-year-old also governs with an iron fist. Many in Zimbabwe say things have gotten worse under Mnangagwa, and have now pinned their hopes on the new party. In 2018, 44-year-old Nelson Chamisa was already the top candidate of the then-main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance. The original MDC was founded in 1999 and has since witnessed numerous spin-offs. Along with Chamisa, several other party members have also switched to the new CCC. The MDC brand has simply worn itself out, says prominent Zimbabwean analyst Alex Magaisa. He was formally the office manager of MDC Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai during the coalition government from 2008. Today, he teaches law in the UK. Magaisa is confident the CCC will gain power from ZANU-PF: "The CCC has brought in a fresh kind of energy," he told DW. "It is attracting young people and there we are also seeing a huge participation of the diaspora in rising funds to support political activities at home." He admits that securing a two-thirds majority is an ambitious goal. But a simple majority is by no means impossible. "It is a strong party that has the capability of winning power from ZANU-PF," he says. But analyst Gibson Nyikadzino — who often lends his comments to the state-controlled Zimbabwe Herald — believes the CCC is a new party on paper only. "They don't have a constitution, for instance, they don't have a manifesto, they don't have — or rather they didn't have — primary elections when they were selecting their candidates to represent them in the by-elections and they did not go for an inaugural congress," he told DW. However, Nyikadzino also believes that the CCC will take on the old role of the MDC and will be ZANU-PF's main competitor in April 2023. Meanwhile, opposition civil society is still in an uproar over another issue: At the end of 2021, the government announced its intention to regulate certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) more strictly in the future. In doing so, the government wants to give itself far-reaching powers — meaning it could even replace the leaders in organizations it accuses of illegal activities. The change in the law hasn't yet been officially decided. But domestic and foreign NGOs are already up in arms. Members of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) are also alarmed. "From an international perspective, this is going backwards in terms of restricting civic space and it will have a severe impact on the funding to the non-profit sector in Zimbabwe and the government itself," ZLHR spokesperson Fiona Iliff told DW. "The health sector will be severely impacted and the education and sector and humanitarian organizations will also be severely restricted." Alex Magaisa points out that — from his point of view — Zimbabwe is an authoritarian state. "There is an authoritarian regime that is constantly trying to curtail civil rights," he says. "The new NGO law is a nefarious piece of legislation designed for rigorous actinon against civil society organizations." For their part, the government rejects such accusations. It refers to its fight against two areas of crime for which Zimbabwe isn't yet known: Money laundering and the financing of terrorists. "We are not just prescribing a law where there is no need," government spokesperson Nick Mangwana told DW. "There is a need. People have nothing to panic about. The law is simply there to regulate and close loopholes that are there and could be abused and that are being abused by civil organizations and other foreign powers to influence our politics and processes." Many NGOs and Zimbabweans critical of the government often make such accusations against the ruling ZANU-PF and the institutions it controls. The NGO Freedom House currently gives Zimbabwe only 11 out of a possible 40 points in the political rights category and points to unfair competition to the detriment of the opposition. The country's recent by-elections sparked criticism of the Electoral Commission and its electoral rolls from various sides. And the rising CCC opposition party has complained of harassment during its own election campaign. Lawyer Alex Magaisa hopes that from now on, the regional African and international communities will "keep a watchful eye" on what is happening in Zimbabwe over the next year. "Because this is what Zimbabwe needs," he says. "Zimbabwe needs a legitimate outcome of its electoral processes so that it can restore relations within the community of nations around the world. Privilege Musvanhiri contributed to this article. Edited by: Benita van Eyssen To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

7Politics

More than half of the 307,000 premature deaths due to air pollution in the EU in 2019 could have been avoided with new air quality guidelines, according to a new report published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) on Monday. The report said that air quality — measured by the amount of fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone in the air — had improved from 2018 to 2019. This had a positive impact on health. But new guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO), published this year, could have reduced the number of premature deaths caused by air pollutants by some 178,000, or 58%. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Air pollution is the biggest environmental risk factor to human health in Europe. It can lead to heart disease and stroke, the main causes of premature death, as well as lung disease and lung cancer. The report makes clear that meeting the air quality recommendations from the WHO could have helped the bloc reach its goal of 55% fewer premature deaths from exposure to fine particulate matter by 2030. The EU's Zero Pollution Action Plan targets are part of the European Green New Deal. Current reductions in air pollution mean that the EU is already on course to meet its targets. WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Henri Kluge welcomed the report and said: "To breathe clean air should be a fundamental human right. It is a necessary condition for healthy and productive societies." "Investing in cleaner heating, mobility, agriculture and industry delivers better health, productivity and quality of life for all Europeans and especially for the most vulnerable," EEA Executive Director Hans Bruyninckx said. "These investments save lives and also help accelerate progress towards carbon neutrality and strong biodiversity," he added. The report comes days before European leaders meet for the EU Clean Air Forum. It also follows the conclusion of the international COP26 summit, the outcomes of which have been questioned by scientists and climate campaigners. Edited by: Rob Turner

5Health

The Claims Conference, which negotiates payments for Holocaust survivors with the German government, announced Wednesday it had secured pensions for an additional 6,500 Holocaust survivors who endured the siege of Leningrad, as well as other groups who were able to flee Nazi terror in other parts of Europe.  In its annual negotiations with the German government, the NGO works to expand the number of people eligible for compensation. The 6,500 survivors who will benefit from the latest announced payments will start receiving monthly pensions of €375 ($435) from July. "As this last generation of survivors age, their needs increase," said Gideon Taylor, president of the Claims Conference. "Even 75 years after the Holocaust, these symbolic payments provide recognition and restore a piece of the dignity taken from survivors in their youth," he added. The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, better known by its truncated name the Claims Conference, is a New York-based NGO with offices in Germany and Israel that has negotiated with the German government for payments for survivors of the Shoah since its inception in 1952. The group was founded by representatives of 23 major international Jewish organizations. The beneficiaries of Wednesday's announcement, approximately 4,500 survivors who endured the Siege of Leningrad, 800 French Jewish survivors and 1,200 Jews who made it through the war in Romania, have also already received one-time payments. Now they are also eligible for the newly authorized regular pension. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video During the 2.5-year siege of Leningrad, now the city of St. Petersburg, Russia, over 1 million died from either hunger or air or artillery bombardments.  While it is true that all who endured the siege suffered, even as Nazi Germany sought to invade Russia, Jewish people were singled out for acts of humiliation and blamed for the overall hardships of the time.  Nazi Germany dropped leaflets into Leningrad urging residents to identify their Jewish friends, neighbors and colleagues. Spies were also sent into the city to instigate rioting that could then be blamed on Jews. Nonna Revzina, 85, a survivor of the siege who will receive the new pension currently lives in a Berlin elder care center. She said as a child that her family understood "had the Nazis conquered the city, all of us Jews would have been murdered immediately.'' The retired librarian trembles recalling how she watched from the sixth floor of her tenement building as the Nazis bombed Leningrad, cutting off supply lines into the city. In an interview with The Associated Press, Revzina teared up recalling her father. He died of hunger and disease in 1942, and her mother had no choice but to take his body away on a sled to a nearby spot where hundreds of dead had been left before him. Revzina still does not know where her father was buried. Lana Solovej, 23, Revzina's granddaughter, and a university student who often helps her grandmother with errands, told AP, "This is great news for her," and that the new pension would "make a great difference." Revzina immigrated to Germany in 1996, following her two adult children who had moved a few years before her. She helped raise all three of her grandchildren in the German capital.  "The pension is very helpful for me," she said. "I like going to cafes. I can do that more often now." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This story was written using material from the Associated Press

2Conflicts

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Thursday dismissed an appeal raised by families from Europe, Fiji and Kenya that aimed to force the European Union to impose stricter climate measures. Families from Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Kenya and Fiji filed the case against the EU to implement higher targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  The EU's top court argued that the plaintiffs were not "individually" affected by the bloc's climate policies, confirming an earlier decision by the European General Court.   "The fact that the effects of climate change may be different for one person than they are for another does not mean that, for that reason, there exists standing to bring an action against a measure of general application," ECJ said in a statement.  Dubbed "People's Climate Case," the lawsuit raised by 10 families and joined by a Swedish youth organization argued that the EU's 2030 climate goals were inadequate. The plaintiffs include families from areas struggling with heatwaves, droughts and forest fires, which threatened their health and livelihood and their businesses, as most of them worked in agriculture and tourism sectors.  They filed the lawsuit against the EU Parliament and Council, claiming that the bloc's emissions violated their rights of livelihood, even beyond European borders. At the time, the EU was aiming to cut its gas emissions by at least 40 percent compared to 1990s levels. But last year, the bloc reached a deal to step its target and cut its emissions by at least 55%.  In 2019, the European General Court recognized the effects of climate change on the plaintiffs but rejected the case on procedural grounds. So, they took their appeal to the ECJ. The EU is the third-largest greenhouse gas emitter with 10% of worldwide emissions. China and the United States occupy the top two ranks.   fb/sms (AP, dpa)

6Nature and Environment

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had major consequences for Germany's foreign policy. Following Russia's attack on Thursday morning, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took to Twitter to say: "The situation is serious. The peace in Europe is built on not changing borders. We must return to these principles: State sovereignty is respected. Borders will not be moved." Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was more emotional, warning that the world would "not forget this day of shame."  "Germany is stunned, but not helpless," she said, announcing a package of "massive sanctions." Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, former defense minister in Chancellor Angela Merkel's previous center-right government, admitted policy failures. Taking to Twitter in English on Thursday she wrote she was angry at Germany for not preparing any deterrence and showing military strength. "This attack will have severe political and economic consequences for Russia," Vice Chancellor and Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck, from the Green Party, said. Finance Minister Christian Lindner, the party chairman for the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), said on Thursday that Russia faces tangible and painful sanctions, but his goal of limiting new borrowing in Europe's biggest economy to €100 billion ($113 billion) in 2022 was a benchmark that remained unchanged in the crisis. Germany imports 55% of its natural gas from Russia, but Scholz's decision to put Nord Stream 2 on hold on Monday, following Moscow's recognition of the two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, was itself an awkward U-turn for a chancellor who has not yet been in office for three months. At the start of his tenure in December, Scholz was still describing the gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea — recently completed but not yet online — as a purely private economic project, even though it is owned by a company that the Russian state has a controlling stake in. Now, Nord Stream 2 proves to be very much the political tool that many of Germany's geopolitical partners, especially the US government, had always seen it as. The Kremlin's move also leaves the policies of Scholz's predecessor, Angela Merkel, in ruins. Following the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Merkel invested much effort into putting the Minsk Protocols into place: joining France in efforts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine and create a fragile peace. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "What is also in ruins now are the Minsk Protocols, and that is a large part of Germany's Russia policy," said Thomas Kunze, head of the Moscow office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation — an institution affiliated with Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). "Germany, the former chancellor and the current chancellor have all been working hard to implement Minsk. Now, with Russia's decision, that is no longer possible." The latest course changes reflect fluctuations in Germany's policy toward Russia that reach back decades. Gustav Gressel, a senior policy fellow at the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), told DW that the psychological roots of Germany's ties to Russia lie deep in their shared history in the 20th century. "The Russia-centeredness rested on two main motives," he wrote in an email. "First, guilt from World War II [which was started by Germany and cost tens of millions of Russian lives — eds.] and the longing for historic reconciliation, and secondly on sympathy for Russia based on a common sense of victimhood and being deprived of historical rights by the West." In other words, Gressel argues that what Versailles was to Germany after World War I, when many Germans felt aggrieved by the punitive terms of the treaty, the post-Cold War order was to Russians. "Russia dislikes the post-Cold War order, the dissolution of the USSR, etc," said Gressel. "They often described it in front of a German audience as 'Versailles.' They want to reverse that order, if necessary by military force." Nevertheless, the Federal Republic's first chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, drove a hostile policy toward the Soviet Union, and worked hard to orient West Germany toward its Western allies, the so-called Westbindung or Westintegration. That was modified by Social Democrat Chancellor Willy Brandt (who governed from 1969 to 1974), whose famous "Ostpolitik" aimed to normalize relations with Communist Eastern Europe. "The concept of Ostpolitik has changed its form numerous times since it was coined by Willy Brandt in 1969," said Rafael Loss, security policy specialist at ECFR. "He wanted to establish productive relations and overcome the historical burden that Germany had accumulated with the terror of the Second World War. But Willy Brandt was only able to pursue his kind of Ostpolitik because Germany was so integrated into the Euro-Atlantic political West." The idea of hoping to soften the Soviet Union with friendship, also taken up by Brandt's successor, Helmut Schmidt, was a policy summed up in a phrase coined by one of Brandt's most influential Cabinet ministers, Egon Bahr: "change through rapprochement." The 1980s and 1990s may have been the high point of German-Russian relations, when Chancellor Helmut Kohl enjoyed an increasingly fruitful relationship with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. That led to various deals ensuring that Russian troops left East Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. More recently, the German government has been eager to turn a softness on Russia into economic benefit. Change through rapprochement became "Wandel durch Handel," or "change through trade." "Germany has benefited from fairly cheap energy over the last 20 years," said Rafael Loss.  But economic rapprochement has sometimes embarrassed the German government: Former SPD Chancellor Gerhard Schröder spent much of his last few months in office ensuring that Nord Stream deals would be in place to bring Russian gas to Germany. He later joined the boards of the companies operating the pipeline. But the past few weeks have shown that those policies, beneficial as they have been economically, have not necessarily granted Germany special influence over Russia. On Thursday, Schröder took to LinkedIn to write that there had been many mistakes on both sides. "But Russia's security interests do not justify the use of military means either." Schröder wrote in a post on LinkedIn. "With the necessary sanctions, care must be taken not to completely cut the remaining political, economic and civil society ties that exist between Europe and Russia," Schröder wrote.  But on Thursday even the staunchest Russia supporters on the fringes of German politics did not voice support for Putin's invasion. Edited by: Rina Goldenberg This article was first published on February 22 and updated with German government reactions to the invasion on Thursday, February 24. While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.  

7Politics

Brazilians braced themselves for the coldest day of the year on Friday after some locals in southern regions saw snow for the first time. Over 40 cities in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul reported ice, with 33 even getting snow on Thursday, up to a meter high in some places, according to weather specialists Somar Meteorologia. While it gave some people the possibility of making their first snowmen, fears have grown that essential export crops like coffee, sugar cane and oranges could be damaged by frost. Polar air pushed through to the southern region of Rio Grande do Sul on Thursday and Friday, bringing subzero temperatures to higher altitude towns and cities. The strange phenomenon in Brazil is happening all the more often in certain meteorological conditions and especially in areas that are between 900 and 1,900 meters (2,900 and 6,200 feet) above sea level, experts warned. Roads lined with freshly fallen snow might be a common sight in temperate regions, but for some in Rio Grande do Sul it was their first time coming into close contact with snow. "I am 62 years old and had never seen the snow," trucker Iodor Goncalves Marques of Cambara do Sul told the countryꞌs TV Globo channel. "To see nature's beauty is something indescribable," he added. The snow arrived in Brazil with less pleasant 80 kilometers per hour (49 miles per hour) winds in Goias and Mato Grosso do Sul, a rare occurrence in these areas. Weather forecasters expected the icy air mass to continue to move upwards toward the Sao Paolo metropolis and Minas Gerais agricultural districts. These Brazilian states are known for their major sugar, citrus and coffee farms, and experts are concerned about the possibility of frost spoiling valuable crops. For now though, Brazilians were just excited about the idea of snow falling on normally sun-drenched areas. Joselaine da Silva Marques told TV Globo how "marvelous" it was to see these cities blanketed in white. "You almost do not feel the cold because of how exciting the snow is," said da Silva. Radical changes to weather patterns have been attributed to climate change in recent years. jc/sri (Reuters, EFE)

6Nature and Environment

Finally people can travel again, happy to hit the road after the coronavirus travel restrictions. Join DW to discover destinations in Germany that are well worth a visit. "Hi, I'm on the road near Dresden. I'm driving my little green Beetle to places that I expect to be quite romantic," says Hannah Hummel, inviting the reader to join her when she explores the eastern state of Saxony, officially called the Free State of Saxony. The German-Scottish presenter feels really comfortable behind the steering wheel of her Beetle, which takes her to cultural and scenic attractions. First she heads for Moritzburg Castle. A magnificent building from the Baroque period, it was not completed until the 18th century under Augustus the Strong. From there, the route continues to Radebeul and its vineyards. Karl May, a German writer famous for his novels set in the American Wild West, was born in the town, and his ancestral home is now a museum. These destinations kick off the first episode of the new series, "Destination Culture," a multimedia project by Deutsche Welle.  On her journey through Saxony, Hannah Hummel takes plenty of time to share her personal experiences. Muskau Park, for instance, which Hummel heads for in the second episode, was influenced by English landscape gardens, the park's director tells the traveler — here, nature and culture come together to form a total work of art. The seven-part series, which starts on November 6 on DW Deutsch, DW Deutsch+ and DW English, on YouTube and on dw.com, is very much a grand tour. From Moritzburg Castle near Dresden and Muskau Park in Bad Muskau, the tour continues to the August Horch Museum in Zwickau, a watch manufacturer in Glashütte and the porcelain museum in Meissen. The Schminke House in Löbau and the cotton spinning mill in Leipzig are also stops on the journey. The fact that DW is launching its new series in Saxony is no coincidence. "The state of Saxony is one of the richest and most diverse German cultural landscapes," says DW director Peter Limbourg, adding that "makes it the perfect introduction to the format." Barbara Klepsch, Saxony's Minister of State for Culture and Tourism, says the series is a perfect introduction to the region's sights. "The 'Destination Culture' series combines the themes of travel and culture. It is a delightful presentation of the many places and sights in our state that are unique and worth seeing, especially from a cultural point of view." DW's multimedia broadcasts, she says, offer opportunities to help "show a worldwide audience Saxony's rich cultural heritage, and recommend them as a travel destination." Hannah Hummel is in no hurry on her relaxed round trip. The VW Beetle, which is over 40 years old, was converted to electric. Tradition is combined with modernity, a central theme throughout the series' episodes. Every stop is a cultural highlight, commented on by many protagonists and influencers. The result is a road trip worth seeing, past extraordinary museums, enchanted castles and picturesque landscapes that can only be found in Saxony.  Hannah Hummel was impressed by the large number of castles and palaces she discovered in Saxony. "I think there are even more castles and palaces here than in my native Scotland," Hummel said at the format's preview in Radebeul on November 4.   "You can show how tradition and modernity come together," said Deutsche Welle program director Gerda Meuer, adding that is why the state was chosen to kick off the series. "We want to inspire young target groups who are best reached via social media," she said. "Destination Culture" will be available on the DW Doku Youtube channel. You can find more clips and specials under the hashtags #AusfahrtKultur and #DestinationCulture on DW's social media channels: on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok. Filming in other German regions is currently being planned. This article has been translated from German.

4Culture

Russia is attacking Ukraine not just with tanks and rockets, but also in cyberspace — where routers, electricity grids and government websites were targeted even before the actual invasion. Experts strongly believe that an attack on the Ka-Sat satellite network operated by US firm Viasat was also masterminded by Russia. Ka-Sat provides internet connections to parts of Europe, including Ukraine and the Mediterranian region, and is completely independent of terrestrial infrastructure. The aim of the attack had been to disrupt communication channels in Ukraine. The impact was felt in other European nations as well. Germany's Enercon, a producer of wind energy technology, reported the destruction of 5,800 satellite-based modems in wind turbines, meaning the turbines could no longer be maintained remotely. According to Dirk Häger from Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the attack on Enercon has so far been the only case of collateral damage in Germany. The BSI told DW that since Russia's invasion of Ukraine there had been some unrelated security incidents with only limited effects, but added that the potential risks of such attacks were rising. "There's a threat, no doubt about that," Häger said, prompting the BSI to raise the orange alert and call on businesses to increase their vigilance. "We're already noticing increased scanning activities focusing on IT systems and potential vulnerabilities," said Sebastian Artz from Germany's IT industry group Bitkom. "Attackers are looking for open ports that could be used to hack into systems," he said. Such activities were nothing new, he argued, but if their frequency increased further, a major attack could be in the pipeline. Artz conceded, though, that there was no proof that those activities were steered by Russia. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden warned against Russian cyberattacks in the US, saying the country had a very sophisticated cybercapacity. He claimed there was "evolving intelligence" that Moscow was looking to carry out cyberattacks in response to Western sanctions. Sectors dealing with critical infrastructure — including energy, IT, water management, health care systems and financial institutions — have been advised to prepare for such attacks. In both the US and Germany, a large part of this critical infrastructure is in private hands. For Bitkom's Artz it's not a cause for alarm. "In Germany, there's a legally binding protection of such infrastructure as laid down in the 'Security Bill 2.0,'" he told DW. Companies active in such sectors are forced to take special technical and organizational precautions to protect the systems in question, he said. Manuel Atug, the founder of a German independent critical infrastructure association Kritis, is not so sure. "You've got the whole spectrum among German businesses and regional institutions," he told DW. "Some are forearmed, others are not so well prepared and others again just chance it." However, Atug added it was not so easy to disrupt critical supply services over a longer period via a cyberattack. "That's difficult to achieve and doesn't happen very often," he said, adding that there were two such attempts in Ukraine in 2015 and 2016 respectively. "In both cases, blackouts didn't last very long. Some 230,000 people were cut off from electricity for just an hour in winter." In May 2021, though, the US East Coast faced a major fuel shortage after a cyberattack forced top US pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline to turn off the tap. "Strictly speaking, that wasn't a failure of critical infrastructure, but a step taken to protect economic interests," Atug explained. "The state could have covered the costs temporarily at any time to make the oil flow again." The fact that larger cyberattacks have not occurred in Germany so far may have to do with Putin not anticipating that his war in Ukraine would drag on for so long, Artz says. Hence cyberattacks against the West may not have been part of his initial strategy. Planning such attacks cannot be done overnight and need several months of preparation, the expert explained. What also needs to be taken into consideration is that "a large-scale attack on critical infrastructure in the West could bring NATO into play," said Sven Herpig, a cybersecurity expert at the Berlin-based foundation Stiftung Neue Verantwortung. It could lead to the invoking of the alliance's Article 5, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all members. This would lead to an escalation that Putin is not keen to see at the moment. In spite of it all, new phishing activities coming from Russian IP addresses and targeting Western government institutions have been observed recently, says Matthias Schulze from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Businesses and institutions should take precautionary measures like making regular backups of their data, recommends Atug. "This is something that they should have done before the war and should keep doing now," he said. This article was originally written in German.

0Business

When Monika Grütters receives guests in her offices on the seventh floor of the Chancellery, she shows them the magnificent view over Berlin's Tiergarten. Only German Chancellor Angela Merkel resides above her. And although the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) is not an official minister, she still sits in the cabinet. Parliament traditionally approves the cultural budget, along with the chancellor's budget, first. "The connection to the chancellor's office has put culture in the pole position of politics, so to speak," Monika Grütters told the newspaper Das Parlament in 2018. Judging by the amount of money Grütters is able to provide for the German cultural landscape, this is no exaggeration. The cultural budget topped the €2 billion ($2.35 billion) mark for the first time in 2021, supplemented by 1 billion for the "New Start for Culture" economic stimulus and rescue program — launched due to the coronavirus pandemic.  Never before has the federal government spent so much money on culture. When the Social Democrat Party (SPD)'s Olaf Zimmerman — now executive director of the German Cultural Council — lobbied to appoint a federal cultural commissioner in early 1998, there was a storm of indignation, especially from states wanting to maintain their cultural sovereignty.  It was only after the SPD won the September election that calls to install a culture tzar became a reality. Still, when Chancellor Gerhard Schröder installed the former Rowohlt publisher Michael Naumann as the first federal commissioner for culture that year, the reaction remained ambivalent. Some derided the office; others eyed it with jealousy. "The SPD chancellor, himself a friend of artists, wanted to hark back to the times before the [Helmut] Kohl era, when Günter Grass still wrote speeches for Willy Brandt," recalled the Süddeutsche Zeitung. A major cultural project to be addressed by the new federal culture head was Berlin's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Michael Naumann, the first federal cultural commissioner, was an avowed opponent of the Holocaust memorial design by US architect Peter Eisenmann. Nevertheless, in 1999, the German Bundestag voted to erect the memorial and it was up to Naumann to implement the design based on an undulating field of 2711 concrete monoliths. Thanks to Naumann's persistence, however, the memorial was supplemented by an underground "Place of Information," which to this day documents the crimes of the Nazi era in themed rooms. After only two years, Naumann resigned and applied — in vain — for the office of Mayor of Hamburg. Julian Nida-Rümelin, a philosopher and until then cultural adviser in Munich, moved into the seventh floor of the Chancellory. The establishment of another national culture body, the Federal Cultural Foundation, in the early 2000s is considered his most important legacy. Like his predecessor, Nida-Rümelin stayed only two years. The non-partisan literary scholar Christina Weiss took over in 2002, the first woman to hold the post, and stayed until the end of Schröder's second chancellorship. Today, Weiss is credited above all with reforming film funding, meaning the bright glow of the red Berlinale carpet is also her work. When Angela Merkel became chancellor in 2005, she maintained this culture bureaucracy apparatus. The BKM remained in competition with the federal states over cultural policy. And the Federal Foreign Office also reigned over cultural policy, and continues to do so today, for example regarding the Goethe-Institut, a huge global cultural organization. At the time, Merkel chose Bremen politician Bernd Neumann as the new Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. Neumann worked to increase the BKM's budget and to put provenance research into the origin of museum collections on the agenda. Both he and his successor Monika Grütters, who took office in 2013, "firmly anchored the BKM in the political establishment," the Berliner Zeitung noted in retrospect.  Today, Grütters is head of around 300 employees and her agency funds cultural institutions and projects of national importance. The spectrum ranges from the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation to the German Center for the Loss of Cultural Property; from the Berlin Humboldt Forum to film funding; from the Federal Foundation for Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship to the Federal Archive and the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle. And Grütters also plays a prominent role in the country's cultural debates, whether about Nazi looted art, Germany's colonial heritage or the pandemic's impact on the cultural landscape. But what will happen after the critical federal vote next month? "After the Bundestag elections, we'll see whether the new federal government is ready to take the next, long overdue, step toward strengthening federal cultural policy," said Olaf Zimmermann of the German Cultural Council. The question remains whether this will happen via a new bona fide Federal Ministry of Culture. The article was translated from German.

4Culture

From a riveting royal drama to high-stakes turf wars in space, the nominees for this year's Emmy Awards — to take place in September this year — feature a mixed bag of newcomers and feel-good TV shows.  In terms of shows, Netflix's The Crown and Disney+'s The Mandalorian are leading the pack, tied at 24 nominations apiece.  Reflecting the sign of the times with stuck-at-home viewers increasingly turning to streaming services during the coronavirus pandemic, HBO and its new HBO Max streaming platform led all networks with 130 nominations. Following on its heels was Netflix Inc with 129 nominations, while Apple TV+'s streaming service bagged 35, mostly for the comedy Ted Lasso. With its fourth season focusing on the early years of the troubled marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, The Crown not only earned a nod for best drama series. Josh O'Connor and Emma Corrin received best actor nods for playing the not-so-blissful royal newlyweds, while Olivia Colman was also nominated for her role as a middle-aged Queen Elizabeth. "We are all pinching ourselves that after four [seasons], 'The Crown' is still being embraced and enjoyed in this way," series creator Peter Morgan said in a statement. Meanwhile the Disney+ Star Wars spinoff drama The Mandalorian, which features the Baby Yoda character, was nominated for best drama series, writing, and special effects, among others. "It's incredible how much content there is. All these shows that are coming through streamers are shaking up the Emmys race like never before," said Marc Malkin, editor of Variety magazine, in an interview. In fact, 75% of the nominees in the comedy category were new to the field. The story about an American coaching an underdog English soccer team, Ted Lasso, led this field with 20 nods, including one for its star and co-writer Jason Sudeikis, who also won a Golden Globe in 2021 for his role.  But while the pandemic drove viewers to consume the diverse offerings of streaming services, it also halted production for some previous winners, such as Succession and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel both of which will have to sit it out this year. The nominees for best actor,  announced on Tuesday, also reflect the push for greater race and gender diversity when casting leads in TV series.  Mj Rodriguez became the first transgender performer to pick up a lead acting Emmy nomination for her role in the LGBTQ drama series, Pose. Her co-star Billy Porter got a nod too. "I do believe this is a pivotal moment," Rodriguez told Variety. "I feel like that pushes the needle forward so much for now the door to be knocked down for so many people — whether they be male or transfemale, gender-nonconforming, LGBTQIA+, it does not matter."  Other actors of color who earned nominations include Rosie Perez for The Flight Attendant, Sterling K. Brown for This is Us, and Uzo Aduba for In Treatment.  Meanwhile, Netflix's popular series Bridgerton not only won a best drama series pick, but also an acting nomination for breakout Black British star, Regé-Jean Page. Speaking of his 19th-century British romp with a modern twist, creator Chris Van Dusen said: "At the end of the day, 'Bridgerton' is a beautiful, escapist world that you get to enter in. It's a show about romance and love and joy."  Meanwhile, Disney+'s Marvel superhero dramedy WandaVision received 23 nominations, including for stars Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen.  Revolving around the lives of Marvel characters Wanda Maximoff (Olsen) and Vision (Bettany), the love story minus a happy ending was created by Jac Schaeffer — who called it a love letter to television during the lockdown.  "I think people had spent the previous year retreating into their content because we were all trapped at home and we were all afraid and angry and grieving, and the sort of balm to those wounds was oftentimes TV," she was quoted as saying. A documentary on Britney Spears, and Oprah Winfrey's eyebrow-raising interview in March with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle also earned nominations.  The Emmy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on September 19 and will be hosted by actor Cedric the Entertainer. 

4Culture

Filipino nationalism and its electoral politics have long been associated with yellow, red, and blue. But now new candidate, Vice President Leni Robredo, is bringing a new color, pink, to theupcoming presidential race set to take place on May 9. In the Philippines, electoral campaigns are very colorful. The colors define territories, allies, and enemies. They help politicians make these relations evident throughout the electoral race.  "Through this embodied and relational practice in Philippine elections, color is a way of identifying affiliations, alliances and also antagonisms," explaines Oscar T. Serquina, Jr., assistant professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman.   Vice President Leni Robredo's pink wave has seen mammoth rallies.  A Filipino news outlet reported that she drew 200,000 supporters in a demonstration in a province northwest of Manila earlier this month – despite no local endorsements.  Through pink, she is breaking away from her old affiliation with the former Liberal Party's (LP) administration, which was characterized by the color yellow. Robredo is now an independent presidential candidate with a clear mission to unite the opposition and the dissenting voices against sitting President Rodrigo Duterte.  She is campaigning for an end to corruption, bringing greater rights to women and better governance as well as an end to what she has termed a culture of violence in the country.    Pinky Nepomuceno, campaigning for the team of Leni Robredo, explained that the color pink was chosen by the people. Social media broke into a "pinksplosion" in October 2021 when the vice president announced her candidacy. "Robredo's supporters posted photos online with elements of the color pink in them," Nepomuceno told DW.  Therefore, Robredo's decision to initiate a pink campaign is seen as a response to "people's demands", she said. It is understood that her supporters chose pink because it is a "feminine color." Liane Reyes, another volunteer, told DW: "A perceived weakness of this campaign is that Leni is a woman, and pink is a blatantly feminine color. She has taken that weakness and turned it into the biggest campaign strength."  Supporters of the pink wave have pledged allegiance to "Kakampink" – a derogatory term for fierce Robredo supporters who are out to convince others to join the race. The term is worn as badge of honor among her allies.  The pink wave is facing off against poll frontrunners Ferdinand "Bong-Bong" Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte, the former Davao mayor and daughter of the outgoing populist president. Together they are campaigning with the colors red and green. The Marcos-Duterte camp aims to steer the nation out of the economic meltdown caused by the pandemic. They have also promised to create employment. Marcos Jr., the son of the former Philippines dictator of the same name, has picked red as his campaign color. He's a former senator and currently part of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) party.   Red benefits from its strong links to Filipino nationalism, something critics say that the pink color lacks. Charles Ladia, associate professor at University of the Philippines Diliman, specializing in persuasion, says: "Pink is not part of the Philippine flag unlike yellow, red and blue, which are aspects of nationalism." The outgoing president's daughter, Sara Duterte, abandoned her father's use of red in the 2016 polls, opting for green instead. Campaigning on a red-green spectrum also looks to be a savvy political move. "What could potentially mean a discord between father and daughter is a "divide and conquer" strategy for the Marcos-Duterte tandem," Ladia told DW. Red and green, opposites on the color wheel, are also targeting different geographical terrains. Marcos Jr. is targeting the north,  while Duterte is campaigning in the south. "Some will go for red, and some will go with green … This way they can divide and conquer certain local candidacies and endorsements," he told DW.  Manila Mayor Isko Moreno's presidential campaign is associated with blue, but he has not actively promoted himself using this color.  Sociologist Athena Charlanne Presto weighed in on Moreno rejecting the mainstream trend. "He has packaged himself as a centrist candidate for those who don't want to vote for Marcos Jr. or Robredo," she said.  Moreno is also seen as the "third force" – a candidate who does not have the same baggage as Marcos Jr. or Duterte. Therefore, his affiliation with blue is not a statement beyond color.   Livelihood programs are the center of his campaign. He has also vowed to avert the decades-long armed conflict in Mindanao, the country's second-largest island.  The ruling party, PDP-Laban, encompasses the signature combination of red, yellow and blue.  "Sometimes parties coalesce with one another to create a new brand", said Ladia, elaborating on the multi-party yet personality-driven nature of Filipino politics.  Incumbent Duterte used red as his campaign color in the 2016 polls. For the 2022 race, the party has nominated Senator Manny Pacquiao, who is creating his brand using blue and red. The key themes of his campaign are fighting poverty and corruption.  Pacquiao has criticized President Duterte over his cozy relationship with China. He believes that the Philippines should protect its sovereignty in the disputed South China Sea.  Aries Arugay, a Filipino voter, believes that colors are a way of expressing commitment to a candidate. He sees it as "a convenient way of segregating electoral support." The color-rich campaigns prevail in the race up to May 9. It remains to be seen whether Philippine politics will accommodate pink amid the more typical yellow, red and blue. Edited by: Kate Martyr

7Politics

Pope Francis appointed 20 new Roman Catholic Cardinals at a ceremony in St Peter's Basilica on Saturday.  The 85-year-old presented the new intake with the red square caps and rings typical of their new stations. During the ceremony, the Argentine pontiff born Jose Maria Bergoglio told the new cardinals to show concern for ordinary people despite the high rank that will bring them into contact with the powerful of the earth.  "A cardinal loves the Church, always with that same spiritual fire, whether dealing with great questions or handling everyday problems, with the powerful of this world or those ordinary people who are great in God's eyes," Francis said.  It's the eighth time since becoming pope in 2013 that Francis has named a new group of cardinals, who will serve as his most senior advisors and administrators both in Vatican City and around the world.  Sixteen of the 20 are under the age of 80, which means they would be eligible to vote for a new pope from among the ranks of cardinals should such a papal conclave take place in the coming years.  Pope Francis has in the past hinted that he might resign as pope if his health deteriorates further, but he also said in a recent interview with Reuters that he was not planning to do so in the near future.  Francis' predecessor, German-born Pope Benedict XVI or Joseph Ratzinger, in 2013 famously resuscitated the idea of a pope retiring prior to his death, becoming the first pope in almost six centuries to leave the job while still drawing breath.  Francis has also made a point of appointing a higher proportion of less elderly people to the position than was historically the case.  Almost all parts of the globe were represented in Saturday's group; with every continent except Oceania (and Antarctica, strictly speaking) represented.  The new cardinals come from Britain, South Korea, Spain, France, Nigeria, Brazil, India, the United States, East Timor, Italy, Ghana, Singapore, Paraguay and Colombia.  Church analysts said most of the appointees fitted with the more modern and egalitarian ambitions of the first ever pope from Latin America. But rifts over some of the more divisive modern issues for the Catholic Church like abortion and LGBTQ rights were also visible even among the intake.  For instance, US Catholics noted that Rory McElroy was among a small group of US bishops signing a statement expressing support for LGBTQ rights and opposing a bid to block politicians in favor of abortion from taking Communion.  Meanwhile, Ghana's Richard Kuuia Baawobr has spoken out against LGBTQ rights, working in a country that still retains colonial-era laws, now defunct back in former colonizer Britain, outlawing same-sex sexual acts. Baawobr could not attend the ceremony as he was hospitalized owing to a cardiac issue. Archbishop Ulrich Steiner of Manaus, Brazil, also became the first ever cardinal from the Amazon region.  The youngest cardinal in the new group is just 48, Archbishop Giorgio Marengo is an Italian missionary working in Mongolia, which boasts only around 1,300 Catholics.  msh/lo (AP, Reuters)

7Politics

Berlin's Bethel Hospital in the tranquil south of the capital is a rather small institution, far removed from the hustle and bustle of large clinics. But of course, the coronavirus pandemic has changed all that.  A once-vacant ward has been converted for vaccinations. But what is still missing is the vaccine itself, as with so many other locations in Germany. That is somewhat frustrating, says senior physician and pandemic officer Hans Weigeldt. After all, he says, the vaccine is required to offer a glimmer of hope after months of hard work, to lift the spirits of health workers.  Intensive care nurse Sebastian Schmidt also wants to be vaccinated against the coronavirus as soon as he can. "I see coronavirus-related deaths every day at work and see how patients suffer, how seriously ill patients are because of this virus, and I definitely want to get vaccinated against it," he tells DW. "Also not only to protect myself but also my relatives. I have a responsibility to do my bit to protect others."  This, one would imagine, is the general attitude of all doctors and nurses towards the long-awaited vaccination. But in fact, the picture is far more nuanced. The view of nurse Vivien Kochmann, at the Bethel Hospital, is an example of this. For months, she has been meticulously observing the social distancing rules, wearing a facemask, washing her hands. As a mother of a small child, she has had to take extra care, drastically reducing her contacts.  But when it comes to vaccinations, she says, she doesn't want to go straight to the front of the line, preferring to wait: "I'm cautious here and a bit wary of the whole thing. I'm worried because the vaccine hasn't been around long enough to be able to just say: 'Ok, I'm now 100% convinced of it.' But that's just my personal feeling."  But Kochmann is not an anti-vaxxer. Indeed, she has been vaccinated against many diseases. But she has been working at the hospital long enough to know how much time is needed before a vaccine really takes effect. Maybe, she hopes, the vaccines will get better over the course of the year. And, above all, so will the information about the possible risks involved.  Skepticism is not uncommon among medical staff in Germany. A survey conducted by the "German Society for Internal Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine" (DGIIN) and the "German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine" (DIVI) back in December last year showed that only 73% of doctors, and just under 50% of nurses, in Germany want to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. Although a clear majority of respondents said the vaccine was important to contain the pandemic.  A spokesman for a German federation of care homes, BPA, however, paints a rather confusing picture. BPA President, Bernd Meurer, said: "We know of care facilities where almost 100% of the staff are vaccinated. In others, two-thirds have refused to do so." Health Minister Jens Spahn struck a similar note this week. He spoke of nursing homes where vaccination is already being carried out and where the vaccination rate among the staff has reached 80%. However, in other homes he said, the rate is only 20%.   The reasons for this vaccine skepticism are currently the subject of heated debate in Germany. The health expert of the SPD in the Bundestag, Karl Lauterbach, himself an epidemiologist, suspects that many doctors and nurses believe that they do not belong in the high-risk group and are well protected by special clothing.  In contrast, the survey in December identified fear of long-term side effects, as the main reason for rejecting the vaccine. In fact, the staff at other clinics in Berlin told DW that some women were worried about the risks involved if they later went on to become pregnant. BPA president Meurer brings another argument into play: even after receiving the vaccine, nurses would still have to wear a mask, so the inoculation would not bring any immediate relief. And it is still unclear whether one could infect others even after receiving the vaccine.   A nurse at a hospital in Brandenburg, who spoke to DW under the condition of anonymity, said he was skeptical of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine, of which he had already received the first dose. "It does not prevent infection with the coronavirus. It only prevents the actual outbreak of the COVID-19 disease. So I can imagine that others prefer to wait for other vaccines." Many doctors and nurses, he adds, have already been infected with the virus, recovered, and have formed antibodies. And therefore do not need the vaccine.  But in his work environment, he says all colleagues would get vaccinated. "We have seen too often in the last few months what the virus can do." Meanwhile, the overall willingness to be vaccinated has increased in Germany. The monthly Deutschlandtrend poll records 54% of those polled as saying they want to be vaccinated. That is a marked rise compared to last November. Added to this are 21%, who say they'd "probably" want to receive the vaccine. German scientists have said over 60% of the population needs to be vaccined to achieve the so-called herd immunity. This, in turn, would be enough to contain the pandemic. This article has been translated from German.

5Health

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will become the first foreign leader to meet US President Joe Biden in person when he visits the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, underlining the importance both sides place on the trans-Pacific alliance.     The two leaders have a number of pressing issues on their agenda, not least the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games, the crippling worldwide shortage of semiconductor chips, human rights concerns and the threat posed by North Korea's missiles and nuclear weapons. But their discussions will inevitably circle back to one overarching area of concern: China.  "I think it's important — and significant — that Suga is the first foreign leader to meet Biden face-to-face, and I think there will be high hopes on both sides that this will help to further cement the bilateral relationship," Hiromi Murakami, a professor of political science at the Tokyo campus of Temple University, told DW.   "I'm sure they will talk about trade, the coronavirus and environmental issues, but China is going to be the key issue for both sides," she said.  Both Tokyo and Washington have repeatedly expressed concern over Beijing's aggressively expansionist policies in the Indo-Pacific in recent years, particularly as there are no indications that China has any intention of ratcheting down geopolitical tensions in the region.  Chinese forces continue to occupy atolls and reefs in the South China Sea that are claimed by a number of other nations, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. The latest flashpoint in the dispute revolves around Whitsun Reef, an outcrop that is within the Philippines' territorial waters but where hundreds of Chinese fishing boats are anchored. Despite demands from Manila that the vessels leave the largest reef in the Union Banks archipelago, there appears to be no indication of the ships leaving. China has also become embroiled in disputes with South Korea and India over territory, while it is becoming increasingly belligerent towards Taiwan, which Beijing views as a renegade province that will sooner or later be incorporated into a greater China, by force if necessary.  To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Japan has its own territorial concerns with China, with both sides claiming sovereignty over a chain of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. The disputed islets known as the Senkaku by Tokyo and the Diaoyu by Beijing are currently being administered by Japan. Beijing, however, insists that the archipelago is historically Chinese territory. And in recent years, Chinese Coast Guard ships and aircraft have deliberately entered the waters around the islands and ignored demands from Japanese authorities to leave.  "Suga is going to want Biden to reiterate that the Senkakus are covered by the US-Japan security agreement, even though Biden administration officials have already stated that clearly since he was sworn in," Murakami said. "For Japan, it never hurts to have that position clearly stated again." Robert Eldridge, director of Northeast Asia for the Global Risk Mitigation Foundation, is less sure and said Japan repeatedly asking the US to reiterate its support makes the security agreement look "weak."  "It has been stated repeatedly that the Senkakus are under the agreement, but to keep asking for the same thing every time these officials meet tells the world that the security pact is not reliable or strong," he told DW.  Eldridge, who is a former political adviser to the US Marine Corps in Japan, proposes that Tokyo and Washington adopt a more proactive approach to security in the East China Sea, including by resuming the use of a military bombing range in the Senkaku Islands for the US forces. In return, Biden may exert pressure on Tokyo to play a larger role in the security of the region and to enlarge its military forces.  Japan has in recent years certainly taken a bigger role in the diplomatic and geopolitical situation in the region and is today one of the four members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad, with the US, Australia and India. Tokyo has also been providing developing nations in Southeast Asia with military equipment, such as patrol boats, on top of the official development assistance that it has traditionally provided.  It is similarly working hard to build new security and trade alliances with countries that are further afield, including Great Britain, France and Germany, all of which have committed to sending military units to East Asia this year. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Eldridge anticipates that Suga and Biden will want to put on a firm "show of unity" in their first meeting and the joint statement that is released after the conclusion of their discussions will reiterate the two nations' shared commitment to a "free and open" Indo-Pacific region, democracy, human rights and a rules-based international order - all of which could be seen as pointed criticisms of China. But there will also be a degree of the two leaders trying to get a better grasp of each other.  "There is suspicion on the US side about just how committed Japan is in dealing with China, in light of its deep economic ties, while the Japanese side will be concerned about whether Biden intends to continue [former President Donald] Trump's approach to Beijing," Eldridge said. "The rhetoric has been there from Biden, that he will be tough, but not everyone trusts that rhetoric," he noted, pointing out that the administration of Bill Clinton started out in 1993 being "harsh" on Beijing, "but ended up being very close to China in the end."  Tokyo has a long memory and will hope that another Democrat in the White House will not follow a similar path.

7Politics

"We want to set the record straight — everyone has a right to self-determined death." With these words, Free Democrat Member of Parliament Katrin Helling-Plahr introduced a cross-party draft bill to the German parliament that would regulate legal assisted suicide for the first time. The ban on so-called business-like assisted suicide in Germany was lifted almost a year ago by a ruling of the constitutional court. But without legislation to regulate the process, the right has existed "only on paper" for many people, as Helling-Plahr put it on Twitter. According to the bill, which was introduced by Helling-Plahr along with center-left Social Democrat and medical doctor Karl Lauterbach and Left party MP Petra Sitte, the person willing to die has to want to end his or her life "out of autonomously-formed free will." They must be able to "weigh the pros and cons on a sufficient basis of assessment in a realistic manner" and "the suicide-willing person must be aware of alternative courses of action to suicide." However, under the draft no one should be forced into assisted suicide, a point which is particularly important for physicians. Those seeking to commit suicide should be able to obtain the appropriate medication in Germany without having to go abroad. The debate around assisted dying has been a contentious issue in Germany for a number of years. Neighboring countries like Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands have long allowed greater freedom for those living with painful and incurable conditions who want to end their lives. Statistics agency Statista reported that Germans have topped the list of nationalities who traveled to Switzerland to end their lives every year since 2001. The specific ban on "business-like" assisted suicide in Germany was introduced in 2015 under Paragraph 217. The ban referred to "anyone who, with the intention of assisting another person to commit suicide, provides, procures or arranges the opportunity for that person to do so and whose actions are intended as recurring." "If a doctor helped his wife to end her life with her consent, that would not have been illegal, but if he had done it as part of his job then it would have been," medical ethics expert Wolfgang Putz explained to DW. Putz was a plaintiff in the overturning of Paragraph 217 by the constitutional court in February 2020, which he described as the "most important" moment of his legal career. Despite the careful wording of the new bill to avoid assisted suicide being turned into a business, opponents say that the risk still exists. "The fact that assisted suicide for payment is not a punishable offense is a mistake," Eugen Brysch, chairman of the German Foundation for Patient Protection told DW in a statement. "If organized assisted suicide has to be paid for, the self-determination of the person willing to die falls by the wayside," he added. But ethics expert Putz said that patients in Germany are already well-protected under a different law — Paragraph 216. "We have some of the strictest legislation against assisting suicide without consent under Paragraph 216," he said. "Anyone found guilty of this can face life in jail." The draft bill put forward Friday also requires a lengthy counselling period for patients. This aims to allow for changes of heart and to remove the possibility of a patient being forced. But Brysch believes this will not go far enough. "Even state-legitimized counseling centers cannot determine whether a decision has reached a decision autonomously," he said. "There are no checklists, nor deadlines, nor undefined legal terms that are suitable for this purpose." And even if the bill is passed into law, some medical organizations in Germany may still refuse to directly offer assisted suicide, instead referring patients to other organizations. "There can be no offer made [of assisting in suicide] in Catholic institutions," Peter Neher, president of Germany's largest charitable employer Caritas, told DW in a statement. The Catholic organization manages hundreds of assisted living homes and retirement facilities across the country. "In our facilities, it cannot be our task to organize the suicide of residents," he added. "Instead, it consists of accompanying people and opening up alternatives."  "Self-determination is a valuable asset for which he have the highest respect; but Catholic organizations will not actively offer assistance to suicide," a spokeswoman added. In the Protestant Church, the issue has been debated more freely, with some prominent German members supporting doctors in their facilities directly aiding in suicide. But the new bill will "never force a doctor to assist in suicide," Left party MP Sitte stressed in parliament. "Nobody has to help — but everyone is allowed to," Helling-Plahr explained. As a draft, the bill will now enter a lengthy discussion period in parliament. "It would be good if we could agree on the regulation before the end of this legislative period," Karl Lauterbach said, referring to the end of the current German parliament sitting this fall. "It would not be ideal if that was dragged into the election campaign," lawyer Putz said. "It is a very polemical issue." Health Minister Jens Spahn, of Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Christian Democrats, has largely kept out of the debate so far. But in a statement following the introduction of the bill, his ministry said, "It is only logical that the parliament abide by a decision, which was made by the constitutional court." However this debate ends, parliament does not have the power to overturn the decision of the constitutional court. Assisted suicide under certain, specific circumstances will remain legal in Germany — but the decision for how it will be regulated now lies with the parliament.

8Society

"Volkswagen subsidiary in Brazil is responsible for serious human rights violations and abhorrent crimes," says Brazilian prosecutor Rafael Garcia in the "Weltspiegel" program broadcast on German public television. "We are certain that Volkswagen will acknowledge its responsibility and that a settlement will be reached so workers of that time are compensated." Garcia has led a task force investigating modern slavery across Brazil since 2015. Prosecutors have summoned representatives of Volkswagen to appear in Brasilia on June 14, 2022, to discuss a possible out-of-court settlement for the victims. The task force has also examined the time of dictatorship from 1964 to 1985. In 1973, the military regime invited VW to buy 140,000 hectares of land in the state of Para in the Amazon region. The carmaker was looking to expand its operations and intended to clear the land to use as a massive cattle farm. Fazenda Vale do Rio Cristalino in Santana de Araguaia became known as the Fazenda Volkswagen. A German carmaker raising cattle in the rainforest? This might appear strange, but it was part of a national strategy. By contributing to the development of the Amazon, Volkswagen would not only be earning money. The project would also be in keeping with the military regime's preference for using resources rather than giving them away, as per the motto "integrar para nao entregar" ("integrate so as not to surrender"). The farm managers commissioned an employment agency to clear the rainforest, recruiting temporary workers from the region's remote villages and promising them good wages. Instead, the workers faced exploitative working conditions and debt bondage. "On the farm, we could only buy food at absurd prices," recalls former worker Jose Pereira. "By the time we had cleared the first 100 hectares, we had a lot of debts with the contractor. He said to us: 'You want to go? No! You have to work off your debts first.'" Pereira is one of the main witnesses for the case against Volkswagen. He and others also spoke with the German broadcaster ARD for the "Weltspiegel" program. They talked of being tied up after trying to escape, of being forced to work at gunpoint, and they also mentioned deaths. "If someone tried to escape, the overseers would chase them and shoot," Pereira said. "They beat up people who tried to escape. On the street, in the shacks, everyone saw it." The case is also based on records compiled by Catholic priest Ricardo Rezende, who was responsible for providing pastoral care to agricultural workers at the time and campaigned for human rights and land reform. He too received many death threats. He documented several hundred cases, but little happened for over 40 years. In 2020, however, after VW faced up to its involvement in human rights violations during the dictatorship in Brazil and agreed to pay reparations to some of victims, Rezende saw a new chance. He handed his material to the public prosecutor's office, which launched an investigation. On May 22 of this year, he was named an honorary citizen of Rio de Janeiro, where he teaches at the University of Brazil, by the city parliament for his campaign against modern slavery. Today, the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) continues to campaign against slavery in Brazil. In a statement, it said that a form of slave labor existed in all of the country's states. "Since 1995, over 58,000 have been liberated from slave-like working conditions," however.  The Swiss agronomist and former manager of the cattle farm in Santana de Araguaia Friedrich Brügger describes the allegations that VW engaged in modern slavery as "complete nonsense." "As if there were nothing more important today than improving the past," he told "Weltspiegel." He started work at the cattle farm in 1974, spending 12 years managing it until VW sold the business in 1986 after it became less lucrative. He returned to Switzerland after spending 40 years in Brazil.  "The responsibility of a company ends somewhere," he said, explaining that it was important to consider the circumstances. "When there are over 1,000 men in one room, things aren't always gentle. That's obvious. Especially in the middle of the jungle," he said. These comments did not go down well at Volkswagen. "We would like to point out that Mr. Friedrich Brügger does not speak for Volkswagen AG and that his statements contradict Volkswagen's values," reads a statement provided to DW. VW took the incidents described at the Fazenda Rio Cristalino "very seriously." This article was translated from German.

8Society

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday said a law that allows Russian authorities to crack down on NGOs, media outlets, and others — by designating them "foreign agents" — violates its human rights convention. Russia uses the term to label organizations that it claims are engaged in political activity with foreign support. The ECHR said the law violated freedom of assembly and association, as part of the European Convention on Human Rights, in the case of 73 groups designated as foreign agents. The court said the use of "political activity" as a criterion to designate groups "produced incoherent results and engendered uncertainty among NGOs wishing to engage in civil society activities relating to, in particular, human rights or the protection of the environment or charity work." The NGOs in question filed their complaints to the court between 2013 and 2018. They complained of heavy-handed auditing and bureaucratic requirements after being deemed foreign agents because they received funding from abroad. The judges in Strasbourg upheld the claims, saying "the interference with the applicant organizations' rights had been neither prescribed by law nor 'necessary in a democratic society.'" They ordered Russia to pay the applicants a total of €1.02 million ($1.1 million) in damages, plus €119,000 for costs and expenses. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he would not comment on the court's ruling, adding that the Russian parliament had signed off on legislation ending the ECHR's jurisdiction last week. "Russia no longer implements these decisions," Peskov told reporters. However, the Russian human rights groups Agora, which was one of the applicants in the case, hailed the ruling as a "big victory." "The court fully agreed with the applicant organizations that the law on foreign agents is not only unpredictable but also hinders the legitimate work of civil society," Agora lawyer Kirill Koroteyev said. The designation meant the organizations had limits placed on their public gatherings and other activities. They could also be subject to hefty fines for failing to identify itself as foreign agents. Russia's foreign agent law dates back to 2012 when it originally applied to non-governmental organizations receiving funds and grants from abroad. In December 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed new legislation that expanded the legal definition of who can be considered a foreign agent. The law now includes any private individual or group who receives any amount of foreign funding, whether from foreign governments, organizations or even citizens, and publishes "printed, audio, audio visual or other reports and materials." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Affected individuals or organizations are required to label anything they publish  — including social media posts  — with a 24-word disclaimer indicating their status as a foreign agent. They are also required to file regular financial statements and reports on their activities every six months with the government, and undergo annual audits. The term "foreign agent" carries negative Soviet-era connotations in Russia, suggestive of spying. It was used by the Soviets for political dissidents. Critics say Russian authorities use the legislation to crack down on organizations and people that are critical of the Kremlin. The Kremlin has denied the foreign agent legislation amounts to censorship and President Putin has said the law is needed to protect Russia from foreign meddling. Although Moscow had long been a signatory to the 1953 convention, it was excluded from the Council of Europe last March. That decision followed Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. As a result, Russia will cease to be so-called "contracting party" to the convention in September. That means Russian citizens will no longer be able to lodge cases alleging government rights abuses with the ECHR. rc/dj (AFP, Reuters)

7Politics

The European Commission's president, Ursula von der Leyen, is leaving nothing to chance. A few days before the meeting between officials from the European Commission and the African Union, she flew to Dakar to personally clarify details with the Senegalese President and current AU chairperson, Macky Sall. "Our two unions share the same vision of a common area of stability and prosperity. This summit must ascertain concrete ways and means to achieve it," von der Leyen said after meeting Sall. Signaling Brussels' goodwill, she added that the EU would mobilize €150 billion ($170 billion) over the next few years to help develop African infrastructure. The EU needs the meeting to be successful because relations with the African Union have been frayed for a long time. The summit planned for 2020 fell through — officially because of the pandemic. Observers saw other reasons for the cancellation. "It was also a political signal," Niels Keijzer of the German Development Institute told DW. The signal came from Africa specifically because the list of grievances from Europe's neighbors has grown long in recent years. Economist Carlos Lopes from the University of Cape Town explained the consequences. "We are still living a colonial model, where Africans are only exporters of commodities that are not transformed. There is a lot of frustration that pushes Africa to look for new partnerships that contribute to the industrialization of the continent," he told DW. China, Russia and Turkey have accordingly expanded their influence in Africa. "Of course we have differences," the website Politico quoted AU Commission chief Moussa Faki as saying after a meeting with von der Leyen in 2020. They ranged from international criminal justice to the issue of sexual orientation, the death penalty or AU's role in African crises, Faki said at the time. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the situation. Many African leaders bitterly resent the lack of vaccines for even getting started on sufficiently inoculating their population, while Europe is already boosting its people. South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, called it "vaccine apartheid." The EU is countering these negative views through a charm offensive and a lot of paperwork. "African countries and the AU would prefer the current agendas to be implemented and completed. The EU has put more focus on developing new ideas and strategies. That has sometimes caused some tension in the relationship," said analyst Keijzer. Africa is not very excited about Brussels' many new plans. "The European Union has the right to develop and publish its own strategies. What we regret is that there is little consultation before the announcements, and that the implementation of these announcements often falls far short of expectations," said Lopes. These issues are unlikely to play an official role at the summit. "Since the 2007 debates, the EU has tried to keep controversial issues like the Economic Partnership Agreements away from the summits. They want to focus on new strategies and initiatives," said Keijzer. Nevertheless, the summit could help solve at least some of the problems, like the issue of vaccines. "Africa's interests include the agreement on vaccine production, better access to vaccines and a common structure for the partnership [between the EU and the AU]. And so far I think it looks promising; we are going to have those outcomes," Lopes believes. For their part, the EU is keen to adopt a common vision with Africa for 2030. But whether the African side wants to embrace that is questionable. This story was originally written in German.

7Politics

An explosion damaged the Kerch Bridge earlier this week. The bridge connects Russia with the city of Kerch in Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Images and videos of the blast have been going viral since then. But some of these are old or manipulated, even fooling media organizations. DW takes a closer look.  Some reports purport to show the perpetrators of the Crimea bridge explosion, which Russia has classified as a terrorist attack. Investigators with Russia's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB) claim Ukraine's military intelligence agency, known as HUR, is responsible for the blast and provided what they allege is proof: a suspicious truck. Claim: "A video shows the inspection of a truck carrying an explosive device,” Russian news agency, RIA Novosti reported, citing the FSB intelligence agency. An X-ray image of the truck is said to show its explosive cargo. Verdict: False. The truck in the X-ray photo isn't identical with the truck in the video widely accepted as showing the vehicle responsible for the blast. This difference is obvious if you compare a screenshot from the video alongside the X-ray image (shown below). The video which is allegedly surveillance footage, shows the search of a truck at a customs post in Taman, Russia. The image, according to Russian media citing the FSB, is allegedly an X-ray of the truck carrying the explosives hidden among pallets loaded with rolls of film. The most striking discrepancy between the two vehicles is the different number of wheels, or axles. In the X-ray image, the second wheel on the front right is missing. The truck in the surveillance video has a total of three axels, while the truck in the X-ray image has only two. The spare wheel towards the end of the trailer is also in a different position in each image. Additionally, the X-ray image doesn't have a grill on the side between the two sets of tires that are visible on the truck in the surveillance video. As such, it is clear that the video and the X-ray show two different trucks. Only four days after the explosion on the Crimea bridge, Russian state media such as RIA Novosti, citing the FSB intelligence service, published a false tip-off of who the perpetrators were, which caused Russian investigators to be ridiculed. Some say the cause of the explosion was not on, but rather under, the bridge. Claim: Footage from a surveillance camera allegedly shows a boat under the Crimea bridge just seconds before the explosion. So writes this Twitter user, among others: "It's now clear that this explosion didn't come from the so-called kamikaze truck but from an underwater drone or a small boat filled with explosives." Verdict: Unsubstantiated. The video posted in the tweet is surveillance footage of the Crimea bridge showing the car bridge from the direction of Kerch on the right side of the image. At 00:03 in the video, a wave-like movement is visible on the water. However, it's not possible to make out what exactly caused the water to move because just a second later, the explosion obscures the view. Many other users on social media also used the video clip to claim a boat caused the explosion. Here for example, people allege that a boat is recognizable in slow motion. DW's fact-checking team found no evidence of a boat at the time of the explosion. Nick Waters, a digital image analysis expert at Bellingcat, an investigative organization, can't see a boat in the image either. In his Twitter thread on the Crimea bridge, Waters writes: "Some have claimed a boat is visible in this still. If there is, I can't see it. I can see some waves, which might or might not be indicative of something, but I can't see a boat." The surveillance camera footage doesn't prove that there was a boat under the Crimea bridge at the time of the explosion. Claim: "The moment of the strike on #Crimea bridge," writes one user about a video that quickly went viral on Twitter.  Verdict: False. The 12-second footage of a car driving on the Crimea bridge appears to show the car being hit by a blast. At the 00:05 timestamp, a cloud of smoke can be seen rising in the background. Many users doubt the authenticity of this video, as the lighting conditions in the video (a bright day) don't match those during the explosion at 6 a.m. local time on October 8, 2022, which was in the dark morning hours, as the surveillance camera footage shows. This isn't the only inconsistency. When DW's fact checking team performed a reverse image search for individual keyframes of this video, we located older versions of this video that predate the blast. Among others, we found this video in a tweet from May 9, 2022. When the video was tweeted in May 2022, the recording was presented as an explosion on the Crimean bridge — with success: Leading Russian media, such as the state news agency TASS and the weekly newspaper Argumenty i Fakty reported the explosion, citing eyewitnesses. But on the same day, the video recording was declared a fake by the self-proclaimed government of Russian-annexed Crimea. Digital forensics experts have also cast doubt on the video's authenticity. Analyzing the recording on behalf of AP news agency, Hany Farid from the University of California found indications of manipulation: Two individual frames of the video are almost identical, which is very unlikely given the movement in the video. Traces of manipulation of the soundtrack were also detected by Catalin Grigoras of the National Center for Media Forensics at the University of Colorado, according to AP. What is certain in any case: The video doesn't show the explosion on the Crimea bridge on October 8. An image of a Ukrainian ID card that allegedly belongs to a suicide bomber responsible for the explosion also spread on social networks. Media such as the newspaper Euro Weekly News, the largest English newspaper in Spain, published the claim along with the picture. What's behind it? Claim: "Russian officials reportedly have found the perpetrator behind the Kerch Bridge explosion in occupied Crimea," said one Twitter user. Verdict: False. Everything points to a forgery. The number of the ID card in the lower right-hand corner consists entirely of zeros, just as it does on Ukrainian ID card samples. Online copies of these samples are easily found on Wikipedia and elsewhere. Additionally, the signature and the expiry date on the ID card of the alleged perpetrator are identical to the online samples. Furthermore, the upper chest of the person in the photo is naked, which would hardly have been acceptable to any authority. Also, the spelling of the surname in English does not follow tnhe Ukrainian rules for transliterating names into the Latin alphabet. When DW's fact checking team performed a reverse image search of the ID, it found older posts on social networks that used the ID in other contexts. Sometimes the ID was said to show a fallen Azov leader, in other cases it was linked to the death of Daria Dugina, the daughter of Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin. Many hits lead to meme pages. The photo on the ID is actually of US comedian Sam Hyde. His name and image have often been used by internet trolls, for example, in rampages, to portray him as the alleged perpetrator. In spring 2022, under the name Samuyil Hyde, the American was also portrayed as the so-called "Ghost of Kyiv," an alleged Ukrainian pilot who shot down a particularly large number of Russian aircraft. Many of the user profiles sharing the information that the ID was fake belong to the North Atlantic Fellas Organization, or NAFO for short. This Internet meme and social media movement fights Russian disinformation online. This DW fact check shows how to recognize trolls on the Internet. Edited by: Kate Hairsine    

7Politics

Andreas Melzer runs a sawmill in Rüdersdorf just outside Berlin. The fact that a lot more people have engaged in DIY projects at home during the coronavirus pandemic means his order books are full. Asked about media reports suggesting a severe shortage of wood on the market, the entrepreneur insists he hasn't had to worry about timber supplies. There's never been so much unprocessed wood around in Germany, he says. Backing up his claim, Germany's Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) in 2020 confirmed a national logging record, the highest level since German unification in 1990 (see infographic below). Such an increase in logging is partly due to rising demand in various key markets. But about half of it is a result of the damage done to trees due to the effects of climate change. "The vast scope of logging last year can at least partly be attributed to the need to remove so many more trees damaged by storms or infested by bark beetles," Holger Weimar from the Hamburg-based Thünen Institute of International Forestry and Forest Economics told DW. He said the logging figures provided by Destatis were indicative of recent trends in their own right, but did not fully include logging activities last year. "It needs to be said that the official logging figures are up to 25% lower than the real figures as official stats do not include logging activities in privately owned forest areas," Weimar pointed out. So where is all that timber going? For the moment, quite a bit of it is going nowhere. Huge wood stacks are piling up in forests across the country as they wait their turn to be processed at a sawmill. Mills in Germany haven't had a dull moment in recent months, trying their level best to handle the increased workload. "The sector says sawmills across the nation have long been working at full capacity. They just can't cope with more timber," Weimar said. "That's partly a technical issue as there are not enough sawmills around, but there's also a lack of skilled labor." The expert said the problem was brought to the fore as demand for lumber products soared even as the coronavirus crisis raged on. Timber hose construction has gained momentum and so have DIY projects in private households, as more and more people have been forced to stay at home. In addition, there's also been growing demand in key overseas markets. "In the US, building activities already went up tangibly last spring, but wood-processing capacities are limited, especially since many sawmills were shut down during the global financial crisis," Weimar elaborated. His view is echoed by Carsten Merforth, managing director of Mercer Timber Products, a Thuringia-based company specializing in softwood lumber products.  "There's a wood construction hype in the US right now, fueling lumber demand as the economy is in catch-up mode. And the large-scale investment programs announced by the Biden administration are also contributing to higher demand and a spike in prices," Merforth told DW. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Against the backdrop of this multifaceted situation, many German buyers and end users of lumber products feel there might not be enough left for them on the home market. There's no lack of media reports on people failing to get their hands on enough lumber for their businesses. "The current hype in the US has been spilling over to Germany, and some market participants are hoarding lumber, filling their storehouses beyond their own needs, speculating on further price hikes and thus making that excess wood unavailable for others," Merforth commented. Added to the tense situation is the fact that many carpenters in Germany are arguably making unjustifiably high demands on the quality of sawn lumber. "The standard they ask for cannot always be met, with so much timber infested by bark beetles — other customers abroad gladly use this same material for construction projects." And there's no reason not to, insists Peter Aicher, owner of the Aicher Holzbau family-run business in Bavaria and chairman of the Association of German Carpenters. "Storm-damaged or infested timber is by no means an inferior resource," Aicher told DW. "Products from it have about the same properties as non-infested lumber. Apart from some blemishes, the material keeps its original load-bearing capacity when used in construction." Mercer Timber's Carsten Merforth concludes it would therefore be inaccurate to speak of a general scarcity of lumber products. Domestic demand has risen, he agrees, but so has supply from the sawmills. He doesn't understand calls by some German policymakers for export restrictions. "In 2020, the German sawmill industry exported just 600,000 cubic meters of sawn lumber more to the US. That's almost negligible," Merforth pointed out, adding that the US still gets the bulk of its imports from Canada and only 4%-5% from Germany. "In the case of China, we're mostly talking about the export of storm-damaged or infested timber that no one here in Germany wants to use," he added. A large part of the 2020 exports to China were whole shiploads of logs from forest owners trying to relieve local markets. Roughly 6.1 million cubic meters of logs were exported from Germany, but only 900,000 cubic meters of lumber. While not neglecting customers in other regions and at home, Merforth makes no bones about his company currently doing brisk and lucrative business with the US where clients are willing to pay a lot more now. "There was a period of 15 years when sawn lumber prices were extremely low, and nobody back then thought of supporting us so that we'd be better off," he said, stressing that his company had invested a lot in improving productivity and efficiency during that time. Merforth pointed out that log prices at the time were very high by international standards, meaning his firm had to diversify in various markets, including internationally, to survive that trying period. "For about six months now, prices have finally been going up, and some folks are immediately making a fuss about it," Merforth complained. The price level wouldn't stay that high for long anyway, he added. Forest economics expert Holger Weimar agrees. He doesn't think the price rally for lumber will continue long into the future, although, he concedes, there's little experience with such extreme spikes. "The US is about to expand its own capacities again to produce more at home," Weimar said. "Timber house construction may slow down a bit in Germany, and some bigger projects here may be postponed, but that's mere speculation for the time being." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

0Business

Police in Sweden said late on Monday that two women have been killed following a knife attack at a Swedish school. According to authorities the incident took place at the Latin School in the city of Malmo, 615 kilometers (382 miles) south west of Stockholm. Police said in a statement that they received an emergency call shortly after 1600 GMT. When police and paramedics arrived on the scene, two women in their 50s, who were employed at the school, were found seriously injured. They were rushed to hospital, but they were unable to be saved. Around 50 people were at the school at the time of the incident, all of whom were evacuated from the building. According to police an 18-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder. The motive for the attack is being investigated. "We arrived early and were able to arrest the perpetrator. Now we have a lot of work to do to understand what happened and the underlying motive for this terrible incident," said Asa Nilsson, head of the Malmo North local police area. kb/jsi (AFP, dpa)

3Crime

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that its troop contingent sent to Kazakhstan to help stop violent unrest in the central Asian country has returned home. The Russian troops were part of a "peacekeeping force" numbering around 2,000 deployed by the Collective Treaty Security Organization (CSTO), which is a Russia-led coalition made up of six former Soviet states, including Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Russia's defense ministry tweeted that the troops and equipment had arrived, saying all planes with Russian peacekeepers from the "collective peacekeeping forces of the CSTO" arrived from Kazakhstan at the Severny air base near the city of Ivanovo.  The CSTO began a phased withdrawal of troops on Wednesday, which is set to continue until January 19. It is unclear if troops from other CSTO countries remain in Kazakhstan.  According to a tweet from CSTO secretary-general, Stanislav Zas, there were no clashes between the peacekeeping force and "militants" during the troops' deployment in Kazakhstan. The forces were mustered after a plea for assistance from Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Violent unrest broke out in the former Soviet nation after protests over rising fuel prices spread across the country. The demonstrations morphed into wider discontent against President Tokayev's government. In Almaty, the former capital and largest city in Kazakhstan, protesters set fire to government buildings and briefly took control of the airport. Tokayev announced a state of emergency and gave a shoot-to-kill order to security forces — sparking international condemnation.  The president also claimed the protests were sparked by foreign-backed "terrorists" but did not provide any evidence. The Health Ministry briefly reported that over 160 people had been killed in the unrest, although the report was later deleted without a reason being provided. Dozens of people were also injured. Around 12,000 people have been arrested in the aftermath of the demonstrations. The Kazakh government said the situation has been stabilized. kb/wmr (AP, dpa)

2Conflicts

At least six people were arrested in northern Mexico on Wednesday for allegedly trafficking fake coronavirus vaccines. "We have direct evidence that fraudulent vaccines… were sold for up to 40,000 pesos (around $2,000) per dose," said Assistant Health Secretary Hugo Lopez-Gatell at a press conference. The fake shots were presented as BioNTech-Pfizer vaccines, which are only available in Mexico through government vaccinations teams, he said. Authorities found a private clinic offering fake vaccines for sale in the city of Monterrey, in the border state of Nuevo Leon. "The seizure of fake vaccines was carried out in Nuevo Leon, a fact that we regret because the use of this type of apocryphal immunizations puts the health of the population at risk," said Mexico's Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez. "You don't play around with health, and in these moments of the pandemic, nobody should be profiteering," Rodriguez said. She further urged people to only visit government vaccination centers and report any business, hospital, or internet site offering vaccines to authorities. He added that no private entity had been authorized to purchase COVID-19 vaccines from abroad for commercial purposes and that the shots were only administered by the government free of charge. Experts have long worried about the criminal gangs in Mexico attempting to steal, hijack, or counterfeit vaccines or medications during the pandemic. While oxygen tanks and medicines have been stolen in the past, this was the first reported instance of criminal activity related the vaccines. Mexico began its vaccination drive on December 24, starting with medical personnel and a small number of teachers in the east of the country. Last Monday, it began inoculating people over 65 years of age. While the country has administered over 1 million coronavirus vaccines so far, it has not yet fully vaccinated its 750,000 front-line health care workers. adi/aw (AP, EFE, AFP)

5Health

US-led talks on cybersecurity strategy opened on Wednesday, with Russia not among the 30 countries invited despite the many ransomware gangs believed by Washington and others to be operating from the country. The exclusion of Russia from talks on a topic where it is a key player reflects the overall poor relations between Moscow and Washington, including in the area of cybersecurity. Some US officials say the Kremlin tacitly approves the ransomware networks conducting attacks from its soil while not exercising any direct control over them. The two days of virtual discussions will partly center on ways of breaking up and prosecuting ransomware networks of the kind that was behind a cyberattack on the US Colonial Pipeline Company in May, a senior administration official said. That attack was blamed on a Russia-based gang of cybercriminals. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Addressing the opening session of the meeting on Wednesday, Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said "international cooperation [was] foundational to our collective ability to deal with the ransomware ecosystem, to hold criminals and the states that harbor them accountable, and to reduce the threat to our citizens in each of our countries." "No one country, no one group can solve this problem," Sullivan said.  Countries and entities taking part in the six discussion sessions include India, Australia, Germany, Britain, Canada, France, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Ukraine, Ireland, Israel, South Africa and the European Union. President Joe Biden has tasked the most senior levels of his administration with ensuring the country's cybersecurity after a number of attacks this year that threatened to disrupt energy and food supplies in the United States. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Germany at the event recalled that a local government in the eastern district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld declared a state of "cyber disaster" this summer after being shut down by a ransomware attack.   An official said the fact that Russia had not been invited to attend the meeting did not mean that it would be kept out of future events. The US-Kremlin Experts Group, established by Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, is one forum where Washington has an ongoing exchange with Moscow on the issue of ransomware, the official said, adding that Russia had taken initial steps to address issues raised there. Although Moscow denies any responsibility, Russian-speaking hacker groups or organizations operating from Russian territory have been blamed for recent ransomware attacks targeting the US. tj/wmr (AP, Reuters)

3Crime

When Leroy Sane was substituted at half-time, he didn't even emerge from the changing room to take his place on the bench. In a goalless first half, a lackluster Bayern Munich had failed to break down a defensively solid Cologne and played 45 misplaced passes. Winger Sane had been responsible for seven of those and had been comfortably kept in check by Cologne captain Jonas Hector. Julian Nagelsmann, on the hunt for his first Bundesliga win in charge of Bayern following the opening day draw away at Borussia Mönchengladbach, acted. Sane, to the sound of a few boos from the stands, was replaced by Jamal Musiala. Within five minutes, the 18-year-old had torn into the penalty area and cut back for Robert Lewandowski to give Bayern the lead. Ten minutes later, Serge Gnabry made it two. The substitution paid immediate dividends and Bayern, finally, were up and running. "We shifted our play a bit further up the pitch in the second half and tried to keep the ball better, rather than losing it as much as we had done in the first half," Gnabry explained to DAZN at full-time. But the problems weren't quite solved. Incredibly, within three minutes, Cologne were level. First, Hector crossed from the left for the unmarked Anthony Modeste to power a free header past Manuel Neuer. Then, Kingsley Ehizibue repeated the trick from the right, allowing Mark Uth to equalize. "The goals were badly defended," admitted Nagelsmann, lamenting how an apparent lack of communication had allowed Cologne to play through Bayern's midfield with ease. "Alphonso [Davies] and Jamal [Musiala] should be closing those spaces down together," he said. "Especially since they speak the same language." Nagelsmann had complained in Mönchengladbach that open games, while perhaps entertaining for spectators, are a nightmare for coaches. His team were embroiled in just such a game again here, which suited his Cologne counterpart Steffen Baumgart just fine. "Our lads didn't drop off or hide after going 2-0 down; they came back and continued right until the end," he said. "But we know we're playing against Bayern Munich, one of the best teams in the world, and we know they're going to have moments of individual class to decide games." Just such a moment came twenty minutes from time. Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn could only punch as far as Joshua Kimmich who nodded the ball down into the path of Gnabry, who in turn fired first time into the top corner. It was a strike which the late, great, Gerd Müller, honored with pre-match tributes from the Bayern hierarchy and a huge banner from the absent ultras, would have been proud of. Leroy Sane would have appreciated it, too. "I heard the boos," said Nagelsmann afterward. "The fans should support the players. There isn't a player in the world who doesn't want to perform at his best." At full-time, Sane emerged from the dressing room to complete a warm-down with other substitutes on the pitch as the stadium emptied. It wasn't his day, but Bayern — and Nagelsmann — have their first Bundesliga win of the season.

9Sports

Suicide or premeditated murder disguised as suicide? Those are the main hypotheses authorities in Kyiv are currently investigating in the death of Vitaly Shishov, according to National Police of Ukraine boss Ihor Klymenko. Shishov, a 26-year-old Belarusian activist who co-founded the Kyiv-based Belarusian House in Ukraine (BHU), was found hanged in a forest on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital on the morning of August 3. He was reported to have left a nearby high-rise building to go jogging the day before. He never returned. "We started worrying after lunch," a fellow activist — who preferred to remain anonymous out of fear of his own life — told DW. "Vitaly wasn't somebody who would get lost or break off contact. He was responsible and stable." Friends and volunteers, then police, searched the forest for Shishov, whose corpse was finally found in the early morning hours after his telephone was traced. The BHU claims his nose was broken, indicating he had died violently. Police have refuted the claim, only saying that there were scratches on Shishov's body and face that suggested he may have fallen. Nevertheless, Ukrainian authorities have also stated that there is a discrepancy in the relationship between the size of the body and the height of the branch and length of the rope it was found hanging from — which authorities say does not support the hypothesis of suicide. Shishov hailed from the Belarusian region of Gomel. In August 2020, he took part in local protests against Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and soon felt compelled to leave the country. He emigrated to Ukraine and found work as a computer programmer, living in a Kyiv suburb with his girlfriend. Rodion Batulin, a co-founder of BHU, told DW that he met Shishov in November 2020: "Some Belarusians had set up a memorial for Raman Bandarenka in front of the Belarusian Embassy, which was removed the next evening. So spontaneously, some people set up a protective guard that I joined, which is how I got to know Vitaly. We started helping Belarusian migrants and drawing attention to the crimes of the Minsk regime."  Bandarenka was a 31-year-old activist who was brutally beaten in a Minsk courtyard by masked men, thought to have been plainclothes Belarusian police, on November 11, 2020. He died from his injuries in a nearby hospital the next day. The European Parliament condemned the murder, blaming the Lukashenko regime. Rodion Batulin, a professional mixed martial arts athlete who moved to Ukraine well before Shishov, makes no secret of his connections to the far-right Azov Battalion and particularly to one of its leaders, Sergei Korotkich, who acquired Ukrainian citizenship in 2015. The battalion is one of the many paramilitary organizations of volunteers that has fought against pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Batulin insists that he has never fought there himself. Shishov, however, had nothing to do with far-right ideology, other acquaintances say. The BHU pointed out that he did everything to help migrants, supporting anti-Lukashenko campaigns and asking Ukrainian authorities to support the Belarusian diaspora in Ukraine. But Belarusian opposition activist Vyacheslav Sivchik, coordinator of the Razam Solidarity Movement, pointed out that the BSU was in cooperation with the far-right Ukrainian National Corps party and the Azov movement in a certain sense. He said the BHU had announced joint military and tactical exercises with the Azov-linked group "Avangard" and that National Corps activists had also helped search for Shishov when he went missing.  Asked about the "Belarusian Diaspora" charitable foundation that he and Shishov co-founded, Batulin says it does not accept donations and was founded to "secure the name" to prevent other migrants from "exploiting the word 'diaspora' for themselves." On Tuesday evening, Belarusian political exiles gathered in front of the Belarusian Embassy in Kyiv to commemorate Shishov. Almost all those with whom DW spoke believed that he had been killed by the Belarusian secret services. One BHU member told DW that Shishov had noticed he was being watched and followed. A statement issued by the organization reads: "Vitaly was under surveillance. That fact was reported to the police. Also, we were repeatedly warned by both local sources and our people in Belarus about all sorts of possible provocations, including abduction and liquidation. Vitaly was stoic about the warnings and took them with humor, claiming they might finally help the BHU gain some media attention." Kyiv police say they had no information about Shishov being under surveillance. Activist Vyacheslav Sivchik told DW that Belarusian exiles in Kyiv do not feel safe, citing the murder of journalist Pavel Sheremet and other contract killings that have taken place there. "Maybe that is why for most of these migrants, Ukraine is just a transit country," he speculated, saying that the Ukrainian authorities should investigate more thoroughly. "However, whether you're in Kyiv or in London, there is no feeling of safety when you're dealing with secret services that function like terrorist organizations," Sivchik added. Batulin says the Belarusian opposition could learn a lot from Ukraine despite the risks: "It is a country with a lot of Russian agents, even among the Ukrainians. But there is no better model to gather experience in protests, regime change and volunteer movements." Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian journalist at the international investigative journalism website Bellingcat, told Russian broadcaster Echo of Moscow that his group would look into the affair. "Even without prior information, I would say this is not suicide," said Grozev. "But I would not write it until we have a complete picture of events. We can suppose that this is a special operation, this is a fact. We have been working for several days on the information we have obtained that there are Russian FSB officers in Kyiv who have infiltrated Belarusian opposition groups in Ukraine. Of course, this may be a coincidence. And now, we hear this news. This means that we are now devoting all our resources to investigating this murder, if it is a murder." Adapted from the German translation of a Russian text

8Society

The small, young, but venomous, Cape coral snake (Aspidelaps lubricus) prompted 10 Cologne households to flee their apartment building before dawn on Monday. "They were all tossed out of bed at 6 a.m.," a neighbor told Cologne's tabloid-style Express. "Their nerves are shot." City authorities, deploying 20 fire and animal rescue personnel to search, said the terrarium's owner, who had permits to keep snakes — 12 in all — had noticed his 20-centimeter (7-inch) juvenile missing on Sunday.  Failing to find it, he then alerted the city's fire brigade, which in turn consulted with experts at Cologne Zoo during its response. Sawdust to detect crawling movements and food traps had been laid, and the man's apartment had been sealed off, said the city.  Searchers also checked the basement and the area outside the building. If located there, authorities said, the snake was likely to have fallen into a torpor — a state of considerably reduced physiological activity, as exhibited in hibernating mammals — because of the extreme cold.  The venomous nocturnal hunter of lizards and rodents, normally found in arid regions of southern Africa, lifts itself upright like a cobra when attacking. In the event of a bite, "mild to moderate reactions" wold be expected from a smaller Cape coral snake, Cologne city authorities advised, urging "extreme caution." Alerts of dangerous animals are not new in Germany. In January, a preschool teacher spotted a snake in a kindergarten cellar in Bochum in the Ruhr District. Firefighters found snakeskin, but concluded late in January that the 1.5-meter python had escaped.  Of the estimated 3,000 species of snakes worldwide, only seven are endemic to Germany. Five are adders and two are vipers. They are regarded as shy and are protected under federal conservation law, in part because of shrinking natural habitats. ipj/msh (dpa, AFP)

6Nature and Environment

68% of Germany's population has had at least two COVID jabs. Gea rmany's latest COVID figures shows that infections are soaring where the vaccination rate is lower than the national average. Many of the districts with the highest infection rates are in the eastern states of Saxony which reports its 7 day incidence per 100,000 inhabitants at 969, with a vaccination rate of 57.7%, and Thuringia with an incidence of 685 and a vaccination rate of 62%, and Brandenburg with an incidence rate of 600 and a vaccination rate of 61.7%. In the north and northwest of the country the picture is very different: Schleswig-Holstein has a vaccination rate of 72.4% and an incidence of 144, in Lower Saxony, 69% of the population has been fully vaccinated and the incidence rate stands at 181, and the city-state of Bremen, the vaccination roll-out has been the most successful and stands at 79.7% has an incidence rate of 183. But even in Bavaria — where the vaccination rate is at 66.2% only slightly lower than the national average — there are hot spots with dramatically high numbers. Top of the list is the district of Freyung Grafenau with an incidence rate of over 1,600. As it is bordering Austria, which was affected by the pandemic earlier than Germany, Bavaria dealt with higher than average numbers at the beginning of the pandemic, and that is still the case. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Can a lack of willingness to be vaccinated be put down to a lack of education or to a certain political ideology? Heike Klüver, of the Institute for Social Sciences at the Humboldt University in Berlin, published a study into Germans' willingness to be vaccinated, based on a representative group of 20,500 people surveyed in March 2021. Some 67% of those asked were already vaccinated or willing to be, 17% were undecided and 16% rejected being vaccinated altogether. "We see a significant correlation between education and rejection of vaccination. The lower the level of education, the higher the rejection," Klüver told DW. "The people who reject vaccination are more likely to be voters for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and more likely to have held right-wing positions. In addition these are people who have low trust in politics, the government, the media, and the health-care system as a whole." Saxony's district of Sächsische Schweiz/Obererzgebirge proves the point: The vaccination rate stands at 52%, the incidence rate at 1,600, the AfD emerged by far the strongest party in September's general election, winning well over 30% of the vote. By comparison in Bremen, where vaccination is especially high and incidence especially low, support for the AfD was also particularly low at under 7%. Many people who oppose vaccination against the coronavirus appear to share political views on other matters too. "We see relatively clear skepticism when it comes to migration," says Klüver. "As early as March, we could see that these anti-vaxxers did not adhere to mask or social distancing rules." The lack of social distancing also contributed to driving up infections in the AfD's strongholds in the eastern states. The group opposing vaccination has long had a common spirit, according to Josef Holnburger of the CeMAS research group. CeMAS, short for Center for Monitoring, Analysis, and Strategy, conducts research primarily on radical right-wing issues and conspiracy narratives online and is funded by the Alfred Landecker Foundation, among others. It has published its recent research under the headline: "Political spatial culture as an amplifier of the Corona pandemic? Factors influencing regional incidence trends in Germany in the first and second pandemic waves in 2020."  "If it becomes known that someone in this scene has been vaccinated, then that leads to indignation from others," Holnburger said. "Because it means someone is seen to have given in." He added that vaccine skepticism was being deliberately instrumentalized by right-wing groups, especially in the east. "That's surprising insofar as these are states that traditionally had a particularly high vaccination rate, for example against measles or tetanus." This was a kind of late legacy of the communist German Democratic Republic, where numerous vaccinations were mandatory, unlike in West Germany. Holnburger, like Klüver, sees a direct connection between state-rejecting, right-wing slogans and vaccination refusal. "There are people who have a closed ideological worldview, who have a different view on reality and cannot be convinced with arguments," he said. "We see that with other issues, too, with measures against climate change, for example." In Saxony and Thuringia, there is a growing number of reports that people who want to be vaccinated and doctors who administer vaccinations have become targets of verbal attacks and threats of violence. Critics of anti-coronavirus measures are also strong in Germany's south, in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Most scientists and physicians agree that politicians should not let the radical opponents of vaccination stop them from taking drastic measures against the pandemic. "There could be further polarization, but trust in existing institutions was already very low," says Klüver. On the other hand, a clear majority of Germans are still willing to be vaccinated and stand by most of the coronavirus measures, even the painful ones. This article was translated from German and has been updated for clarity. While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing, to stay on top of developments as Germany enters the post-Merkel era.

8Society

France's President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he hoped to ease tensions with Algeria after a deepening spat between the two countries saw French warplanes banned from Algerian airspace. In comments to the public broadcaster France Inter, Macron called for further dialogue and praised his relationship with Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune.  "My wish is for a calming down because I think it's better to talk and to make progress," Macron said, describing his relations with  Tebboune as "truly cordial". Over the weekend, the North African country recalled its ambassador from Paris for consultations and said it would no longer allow French military planes in its airspace.  The move came after France said it would slash the number of visas issued to Algerians, followed by reports that quoted Macron saying the former French colony had "totally re-written" its history based on its "hatred of France". Paris has maintained the decision on visas was necessary due to Algeria's failure to facilitate the return of its illegal migrants from France. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video During his presidential term, Macron has sought to deescalate tensions with Algeria linked to colonial history, while being more transparent about France's colonial legacy. For example, Macron has apologized on behalf of the French government for abandoning some 200,000 Algerian fighters who fought on its side during the nation's war of independence, after failing to keep promises to take care of them. In 2018, he admitted that France had created a "system" that facilitated torture during Algeria's war for independence. France uses Algeria's airspace to deliver support to its ground troops while carrying out military operations targeting insurgents in the Sahel region of northern Africa.  There are around 5,000 French troops fighting Islamist insurgents in Mali and Niger. France has said the military operations in the region will conclude in early 2022.  go/wmr (Reuters, AFP)

7Politics

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday asked opposition leader Yair Lapid to form a new government. It came after  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to establish a governing coalition by a midnight deadline. Rivlin said he had consulted with all parties in the Knesset, and that Lapid had the best chances of forming a government. "It is clear that Knesset member Yair Lapid has a chance to form a government that will earn the confidence of the Knesset, even if the difficulties are many," Rivlin said. Lapid now has four weeks to reach a deal with other parties. He said he would act quickly to form a unity government "as soon as possible, so we can get to work for the people of Israel." "We need a government that will reflect the fact that we don't hate one another,'' he said. "A government in which left, right and center will work together to tackle the economic and security challenges we face. A government that will show that our differences are a source of strength, not weakness." Four consecutive elections in the past two years have led to a deadlock. Following the March 23 elections, Netanyahu tried again to form government, even reaching out to the leader of a small Islamist Arab party, but ultimately failed.  Lapid leads the opposition Yesh Atid party, which is popular with secular and middle-class voters. It has been critical of Netanyahu's ties to ultra-Orthodox parties and called his resignation over corruption charges. Yesh Atid came in second in the latest election, winning 17 parliamentary seats to 30 for Netanyahu's Likud. The 57-year-old former journalist once served as finance minister, but he did not get along with Netanyahu and the coalition crumbled. Netanyahu is Israel's longest-serving prime minister, holding the post for a total of 15 years, including the past 12.  The president has a largely ceremonial role, but is responsible for helping the country form a government. Lapid has been speculated to be considering a power-sharing agreement in which the centrist would rotate in office with ultranationalist Naftali Bennett, 49, of the Yamina party. aw/rs (AFP, AP, Reuters)

7Politics

The US women's basketball player Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to a drug smuggling charge in a court in Khimki, Russia on Thursday, in a case that drew international attention. Speaking quietly in English in court, Griner said, "I'd like to plead guilty, your honor. But there was no intent. I didn't want to break the law." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned against outside political pressure in the case, saying that "attempts by the American side to make noise in public," would not "help the practical settlement of issues." If convicted of large-scale drug trafficking, Griner could face ten years in a Russian jail. But Griner said she was packing while "in a rush." "And the cartridges accidentally ended up in my bag," she added. Russian police brought Griner into court in handcuffs. She was wearing a bright red T-shirt and sporty pants as she walked past the press. Russian media has speculated about a prisoner swap for a Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout, who is known as the "merchant of death". Bout was apprehended in Thailand and extradited to the US. Her lawyer Alexander Boykov called for "as soft a sentence as possible."  In February, Griner was detained at Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow when vape cartridges with cannabis oil were found in her suitcase. On Wednesday, Biden spoke with Griner's wife Cherelle to assure her the White House was doing all it could to secure her release. That conversation comes after Griner wrote a letter addressed to Biden expressing fear that she would never return home. The US State Department has classified hers as a case of wrongful detention and placed Griner's case under the supervision of its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, the government's lead hostage negotiator. Griner plays for the Phoenix Mercury, a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team in the US. She also played in Russia for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Russian Women's Basketball Premier League to earn more money during the WNBA off-season, like other American players. Her trial in Russia began last week but was halted after two witnesses failed to appear in court. Griner's family and wife Cherelle have called for her release and US President Joe Biden has stepped up efforts to secure her release. Pressure has mounted for the Biden administration to help Griner as her detention extends well into its fourth month. Russian authorities have authorized her detention through December 21 and have suggested her case could drag on for months. ar/dj (AP, Reuters)

9Sports

The scope of fraud plaguing Germany's pandemic relief efforts is greater than previously thought, a newspaper reported on Sunday. About 25,400 suspected cases of fraud are being investigated by authorities in all of Germany's 16 states, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported. In all, fraudsters are believed to have made off with a "significant" sum of coronavirus aid — estimated to be a "three-digit million amount," according to the report. More than a quarter of the current cases stem from Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia — with over 4,600 concrete cases logged so far. Berlin has the second-highest number of cases, with 2,600, followed by the southern state of Bavaria with 1,500. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The figures stem from the country's 16 state investigation bureaus and the Financial Intelligence Unit at Germany's customs office. The actual number of cases is likely even higher, authorities said. "This is just a small portion," said Jochen Sindberg, the head of the economic crime unit at Berlin's state investigative bureau. He told the paper that his unit has more than 10,000 unprocessed criminal complaints about suspected subsidy fraud linked to coronavirus aid. The financial aid programs seek to provide quick relief to small business owners and others hit by coronavirus pandemic restrictions. Fraud issues have plagued the programs since they were launched in the early months of the pandemic in 2020. In January, a trial opened in Munich into a man accused of attempting to defraud several German states of about €2.54 million ($3.08 million) in COVID aid payments. rs/mm (AFP, epd)

3Crime

​​​​​India started vaccinating people aged 15 to 18 on Monday, as the country contends with a rising caseload caused in part by the omicron variant.  Doses were administered by state governments across the country at special vaccination sites. From January 10, India will also offer a third or booster dose to health care workers, frontline workers, and vulnerable senior citizens.  Data from the health ministry filed on Monday reported 33,000 new cases from the previous day. Authorities say even though cases are on the rise, hospitalizations have not gone up as yet. Many states have imposed night curfews and restrictions in the past few days.  Here's a look at coronavirus-related news in other parts of the world: Local authorities in China's Xi'an city said two officials were sacked to "strengthen" their fight against the virus, as the number of cases fell on Monday. A recent outbreak of cases in the city of around 13 million residents prompted a strict lockdown as the city briefly propelled China toward a caseload it had not experienced since March 2020. The downward trend continued on Monday, however, with 90 new cases reported.  Indonesia plans to start giving booster shots to the general public. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said around 21 million people would be covered under the scheme.  Australia reported a record of more than 37,000 new cases on Monday, with a rise in hospitalizations in the last 24 hours. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said authorities would continue with the process of reopening, considering the milder impact of the omicron variant.  "We have to stop thinking about case numbers and think about serious illness, living with the virus, managing our own health and ensuring that we're monitoring those symptoms and we keep our economy going," Morrison said in an interview with Channel Seven.  Daily cases in Germany rose for the fifth day in a row, according to the figures released by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Monday. The seven-day incidence of new infections per 100,000 people reached 232.4, up from 222.7 on Sunday. The rate of infection in Germany had been falling after seeing its biggest surge in cases since the beginning of the pandemic in the past few months. The omicron variant is not yet dominant in Germany, despite neighboring countries such as France and Denmark seeing omicron-related surges. Opponents of Germany's coronavirus restrictions were out on demonstrations once again on Monday in cities across the country. While some of the protests had been permitted, many were illegal and many of the protesters failed to abide by hygiene rules such as the required wearing of masks. Many of the gatherings were small and in the eastern city of Potsdam, the local mayor joined a counter-demonstration where he called on protesters not to walk with far-right and neo-Nazi groups that have tried to capitalize on the movement. Starting on Monday, France's rules on wearing masks in indoor public spaces will be expanded to apply to children aged 6 or older. Previously, only children above 11 were required to wear masks. The government wants to avoid a shutdown of schools after the holidays, as classes resume on Monday. Children will have to wear masks in public transport, in sports complexes and at places of worship.  Protests in Amsterdam on Sunday led to clashes between demonstrators and Dutch authorities, with 30 arrests being made. Masses had gathered at the city's main square, and police and anti-riot officers forced them to leave. Arrests were made for offenses such as assault, public disorder, possession of a forbidden weapon and not respecting security forces. Local media reported at least two protesters and four officers injured in the clashes. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson said government had instituted the correct measures to cope with the surge of COVID-19 infections caused by the omicron variant. Johnson said maintaining the current course was necessary. "The way forward for the country as a whole is to continue with the path that we are on," he told the media on Monday. "Of course we will keep all measures under review, but the mixture of things that we are doing at the moment is I think the right one," Johnson said. Hospitals in the UK are under pressure as hospital staff have either fallen ill or are self isolating. The country also saw record numbers of cases in the close of 2021. Air travel in the United States remained disrupted, with more than 2,600 flights being canceled on Sunday. Bad weather and staff shortages faced by airlines has led to many flights being grounded during the holiday season.  Flight schedules have been impacted worldwide, but the US has been worst-affected, contributing to more than half the flights canceled globally. Almost 8,600 flights in the US were delayed. Twitter said on Sunday that it had permanently suspended the account of Republican US representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, owing to several violations of the platform's COVID-19 misinformation policy.  "Twitter is an enemy to America and can't handle the truth. That's fine, I'll show America we don't need them and it's time to defeat our enemies," Greene said on messaging app Telegram, calling Twitter's move "un-American." Botswana's government on Monday said that President Mokgweetsi Masisi has tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating. "The president does not have any symptoms and will continue to receive close medical monitoring by his medical doctors," it said in a statement. Just under 44 percent of the country's population has been fully vaccinated. ab, tg/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)

5Health

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) agreed Friday to extend cross-border aid deliveries into Syria for another 12 months. The UN mandate enabling the deliveries was set to expire on Saturday. The 12-month extension was made possible by an unspecified last-minute compromise involving Russia, which has veto powers as a permanent member of the UNSC and had voiced opposition to the extension. The UN mandate, originally established by a UN resolution in 2014, is subject to annual renewal. Recently, Russia — a steadfast ally of the Syrian regime — used its power in the Security Council to close three of the four border crossings the UN had used to transport food and medical supplies into the country.  Prior to Friday's unanimous UNSC vote, Russia had said the last border crossing at Bab al-Hawa in northwestern Syria should be closed. Observers warned that closing it would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe. Two different proposals had been floated before Friday's vote, one from Norway and Ireland calling for a 12-month extension and another from Russia that called for a 6-month extension. Moreover, Russia had proposed that all aid first be sent to the capital, Damascus, and then distributed by the authoritarian regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. The UN and other parties rejected the idea of the Assad regime controlling the distribution of goods to the northwestern Idlib province — the last rebel stronghold in the country — saying such a scheme would leave the more than 2 million displaced Syrians in the region subject to the strongman's whims.  "The Syrian government has shown time and time again that it has no interest in allowing humanitarian aid to go across the front lines," according to Louis Charbonneau, United Nations director at Human Rights Watch (HRW). "On the contrary, they've done everything they could to obstruct it," he told DW. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Observers at the UNSC say two factors may have played a role in Moscow's change of heart. The first is the shift in relations set in motion by US President Joe Biden, with whom Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Syria when the two met in Switzerland in June. It has also been suggested that Moscow's political and economic ties with Turkey may have been key. Ankara has expressed fears that it would be inundated with a new wave of Syrian refugees should the Bab al-Hawa be closed. "It seems that Russia enjoys being the kingmaker, the chief power broker here, and is able to throw its weight around and try and get concessions," said HRW's Louis Charbonneau. According to the UN, Turkey already houses more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees.   Nearly half of Syria's 22 million citizens have been displaced since the country's civil war erupted in 2011. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a group that tracks human rights abuses, some 494,438 people have been killed. Mark Cutts, the UN's deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for Syria, told DW Friday that the decision prevented a "catastrophe" as millions of people rely on humanitarian aid.  "I mean, we're talking about almost two million displaced people who are living in tents and makeshift shelters in horrific conditions. Many of them do not have enough food or they don't have enough clean water and medical supplies and other support." "They're entirely reliant on this aid operation. It would have been a catastrophe if we were not able to continue this," he said.  js/rt (AP, dpa, Reuters)

2Conflicts

Two of the 17 US and Canadian missionaries taken hostage last month in Haiti have been set free, the country's national police confirmed on Sunday. Haitian officials said a gang that snatched them after a visit to an orphanage had demanded a $1 million (€885, 815) ransom per person in return for their release. The freed hostages "are safe, in good spirits and being cared for" said the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries group which arranged the trip. The 400 Mawozo gang, as they are known, kidnapped one Canadian US and 16 missionaries on October 16, bringing the matter to the attention of the US authorities. The armed bandits surpised the group, which included an 8-month-old baby, in the neighborhood of Croix-des-Bouquets they dominate, 8 miles (13 kilometers) outside the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. A Haitian man who identified himself as the leader of the gang said in a Youtube video posted last month that he would kill "these Americans" if the ransoms were not paid. The kidnappers have also demanded the release from prison of one of their leaders, according to the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights.   "We cannot provide or confirm the names of those released, the reasons for their release, where they are from, or their current location," Christian Aid Ministries said. "While we rejoice at this release, our hearts are with the fifteen people who are still being held," it added. US officials have led efforts to bring the North Americans to safety, and in November said they had evidence the missionaries were still alive. Since the October 16 attack, US President Joe Biden has received regular briefings of any progress made by law enforcement. FBI agents were sent to Haiti to investigate the incident. The 400 Mawozo gang went from being small-time thieves to become one of Haiti's most dangerous criminal groups. In April, five priests and two nuns, including French citizens, were kidnapped in the same Croix-des-Bouquets neighborhood. They were released later that month. The Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, which follows Haitian hostage scenarios, reported there have been over 800 kidnappings until October this year, with an increase of 300% since July. It follows major political upheaval after the assassination of the country's president Jovenel Moise. The country also suffered an earthquake which left over 2,000 dead last summer. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video jc/ab (Reuters, AP, AFP, EFE)

3Crime

US President Joe Biden and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro held their first face-to-face meeting Thursday on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. The hastily arranged meeting between the two followed Biden reaching out to Bolsonaro, a populist and admirer of ex-presdient Donald Trump, as Washington sought to shore up attendance at a summit overshadowed by a political boycott.  Bolsonaro, meanwhile, is on the domestic campaign trail against an election opponent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was famed for frosty ties with the US during his tenure and his support for precisely the governments the US excluded from its summit — left wing Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.  At the forefront were Brazil's efforts to preserve the Amazon Rainforest and the upcoming Brazilian presidential elections in October. "We have a wealth in the heart of Brazil — our Amazon, which is bigger than Western Europe, with incalculable riches, biodiversity, mineral wealth, drinking water and oxygen sources," Bolsonaro said during the meeting. "Sometimes we feel that our sovereignty is threatened in that area but Brazil preserves its territory well," he added. "On the environmental issue we have our difficulties but we do defend our interests." Deforestation of the Amazon has increased under Bolsonaro, with the Brazilian leader clawing back environmental protections. The rainforest is seen as playing a crucial role in soaking up carbon dioxide emissions, acting as a bulwark against climate change. "I think the rest of the world should be able to help you preserve as much as you can," Biden said. The White House said following the meeting that the two leaders vowed to prevent further deforestation of the region.  To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Regarding Brazil's upcoming elections, Biden lauded the Latin American country's "vibrant, inclusive democracy and strong electoral institutions." Bolsonaro has cast doubt on the country's election system as he trails in the polls. The Brazilian leader's claims have drawn alarm internationally, as Bolsonaro has also praised Brazil's former military dictatorship. Recent polling suggests former leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva currently has the edge over Bolsonaro in the campaign amid high inflation and after a botched federal response to the pandemic. "We do wish to have honest, clean, transparent, auditable, reliable elections," Bolsonaro said, so that there is no "shadow of a doubt whatsoever following the elections." "I came to office through democracy and I am quite certain when I leave office it will also be through democratic means," the Brazilian leader said. He also seemed to imply he was confident of victory in October by telling journalists "I think we'll have more meetings soon" after Thursday's talks with Biden. This would be considerably less likely if his time in office is numbered, given that their first face-to-face encounter only took place well over two years into Biden's presidency.  wd/msh (Reuters, AFP)

7Politics

Africa will hold state or parliamentary elections in 17 countries in 2023. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, these elections will significantly impact the continent. The Economist Intelligence Unit also warned the election period could bring volatility in Africa and that there is a high risk of political protests, mass demonstrations and strikes in several countries. "First of all, it remains to be seen whether the coup drama we saw on the continent in 2022 will continue or whether 2023 will mark a break with this phenomenon, especially in light of the recent coup attempt in Sao Tome and Principe," Fonteh Akum, executive director of the Institute for Security Studies, told DW. According to authorities, the island nation in the Gulf of Guinea had a failed coup attempt on November 25, 2022.  One of the critical questions in 2023 will be whether democracy is consolidated or pushed back further. "The key elections to watch are in Nigeria, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe, with violence likely in some of these countries," said Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at London-based think tank Chatham House. Nigeria has seen a wave of civic and political engagement by young people ahead of the upcoming presidential election in late February. However, the lead-up to the polls in Africa's most populous nation has been marred by political violence and unrest. "The Nigerian elections are really important because it's one of the largest economies on the continent and Nigeria is struggling with security issues," said Akum. The election is also important because of the youth vote in Nigeria, who could shift the balance of power between the major political parties one way or the other. The political atmosphere in the country of 217 million people is tense ahead of the February vote. Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari is not running again after two terms in office, making it an election of change, said Akum. The ruling All Progressives Congress party and the largest opposition party, the People's Democratic Party, will be the main contenders. But Akum noted that a third candidate could significantly impact the contest. Peter Obi, a businessman and presidential candidate for the Labor Party, enjoys massive support from young Nigerians. West Africa is marked by increasing instability and the spread of violent extremism, Akum said. In the Sahel countries of Burkina Faso and Mali, the military recently staged coups — in Mali for the second time in a short period. It will be important to see how their transition unfolds, Akum added. The continent's crises will persist in 2023, according to Alex Vines. "Especially in the Sahel, particularly in Mali and Burkina Faso, but also in Niger," he said. The situation remains worrisome in Cameroon and Nigeria, as there is great insecurity in parts of those countries. For Vines, it remains to be seen whether the peace agreement signed in November between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front will hold. In addition, northern Mozambique remains a cause for concern, where jihadi terror is driving people to flee. Eastern Congo is also considered a trouble spot. The conflict there puts the spotlight on the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for December 20, 2023. According to Akum, the decisions of incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi on how to react to the violence by rebel militias in the east could impact the conduct of the election. But he added that what matters in all elections is how the electoral commissions effectively manage the processes and handle electoral challenges. Tshisekedi is widely expected to run again and could face a challenge from opposition politician Martin Fayulu. In South Africa, the ruling African National Congress that has governed the country since the end of apartheid in 1994 reelected President Cyril Ramaphosa as its leader at the ANC party congress shortly before the new year. Public interest in the vote was high, because the ANC president has traditionally been viewed as the top candidate and ultimately head of state since 1994. South Africa's presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in 2024. Ramaphosa faced an uphill reelection battle. He has been accused of money laundering and corruption, and the opposition has demanded his resignation. The ANC party is now at a crossroads, with its undisputed position of power in elections at stake. Political observers say the blame lies with years of poor governance, contradictory policies, maladministration and corruption on a grand scale. In neighboring Zimbabwe, the newly formed Citizens Coalition for Change, the largest opposition party, led by opposition veteran Nelson Chamisa, is likely to run against President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the presidential election slated for next year. But the brutality with which Zimbabwe's ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front has responded to challenges to its rule in the past raises fears of unrest. The southern African country has been plagued by instability for over two decades. In addition, hyperinflation has impoverished the once-thriving country. "Africa's economic recovery from the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis in 2022 has been disrupted by a series of shocks," said Vines. These include supply shortages and rapidly rising inflation, also fueled by the global impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As a result, he said, debt repayment remains a problem for many countries. Added to this, he said, are high borrowing costs under the worst conditions ever. "This trend will continue in 2023, but there will still be African economic growth." The major economies of Nigeria and South Africa are likely to grow more slowly, according to Vines, but commodity prices, particularly for energy products, metals and minerals, will continue to rise. Investors and buyers are also trying to diversify their supply chains away from Russia. Vines said several countries, including Angola, Nigeria, Congo, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia, will benefit. This article was originally written in German

7Politics

Authorities in Belgium said six people had died after a car plowed into a crowd waiting to attend a carnival in the town of Strépy-Bracquegnies on Sunday. "A car drove from the back at high speed. And we have a few dozen injured and unfortunately several people who are killed,'' Jacques Gobert, mayor of the neighboring town La Louviere said.  Prosecutor Damien Verheyen said 26 people were injured, 10 were in critical condition. The incident took place early morning around 5 am local time (3:00 UTC) during a traditional carnival ceremony. Local news outlet Bel RTL quoted Gobert as saying that around 150 people had gathered to get ready for the annual folklore parade, involving costumes and drums. "At this stage, there are no elements to suggest that the attack had a terrorist motive," Verheyen added.  Police denied earlier media reports indicating the car was involved in a high-speed chase. The driver and another man who was in the car were arrested. They are from the area and were not previously known to the police.   First responders rushed to the scene and the town has triggered its emergency plan.  Many of those injured have been taken to a hospital in La Louviere, which is now in the pre-alert phase, local broadcaster Bel RTL reported. Doctors have been called in and at least four people were being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU), it added. Bel RTL reporter Fabrice Collignon was among those who witnessed the event. "We heard an immense noise...and the car literally went into the group of people," he said. "It's a scene I never thought I'd see in my life," Collignon said, adding that "there was music and smiles and three seconds later, there were people screaming." Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden expressed her condolences to the families of those killed and injured. "What was supposed to have been a great party turned into a tragedy. We are monitoring the situation closely," she said in a tweet. adi, lo/jcg (AFP, AP, dpa, EFE, Reuters)

3Crime

The European Commission on Monday asked Neelie Kroes, the former EU digital chief, to submit more information about her alleged involvement in the Uber lobby. Leaked files published a day earlier implied that Kroes, the former vice-president of the EU commission, helped the carsharing giant petition European politicians.  A data-based investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists alleged that Uber had built a secret lobbying operation of policymakers and politicians to push the company's agenda.  French President Emmanuel Macron is also under fire after a report release by France's Le Monde daily said that Uber came to a secret "deal" with Macron during his two-year tenure as economy minister between 2014 and 2016.  Opposition deputies have come out to decry the French president and his alleged actions.  "[This is] against all our rules, all our social rights and against workers' rights," Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel wrote on Twitter. He said that Le Monde's report offered "damning revelations" about Macron's role in the development of Uber in France.  President Macron's office told the AFP news agency that as former minister Macron had "naturally been in contact" with many companies that were changing the face of services in the country which should be "facilitated by unravelling certain administrative or regulatory locks." The Uber Files investigation was assembled from thousands of leaked documents submitted by an anonymous source to Britain's Guardian newspaper. The investigation has been coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists with 42 media partners around the world.  asw/fb (AFP, Reuters)

7Politics

With the tournament less than two years away, players are now joining human rights campaigners, fans and sections of the media in questioning Qatar's suitability to host 2022 World Cup, given the reported deaths of thousands of migrant workers on building sites and the country's highly questionable human rights record. After Erling Haaland's Norway wore printed T-shirts reading "Human rights, on and off the pitch" on Wednesday, German players unveiled a similar but more makeshift effort ahead of their comfortable victory over Iceland the following day.  "We have the World Cup coming up and there will be discussions about it. We wanted to show we are not ignoring that," Leon Goretzka, who scored the opener in a 3–0 win, told German broadcaster RTL. "We wrote the letters ourselves. We have a large reach and we can use it to set an example for the values we want to stand for. That was clear," he said. Germany's traditional footballing rivals the Netherlands also wore shirts bearing a similar message before their game against Latvia on Saturday. It's not the first time Goretzka has expressed a social conscience, with his criticism of far-right German political party the AfD and his establishing of the "We Kick Corona" initiative together with teammate Joshua Kimmich earning him a reputation for decency. Such a principled public image is less apparent for Goretzka and Kimmich's club, Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga champions have been training in Qatar for a decade and Goretzka, Kimmich and the rest of the squad run out for matches with the logo of the state–owned airline on their sleeve. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other rights organizations have routinely condemned the working conditions for stadium laborers as "inhumane," but despite criticism from Bayern fans CEO Karl–Heinz Rummenigge insists that working with Qatar is the right thing to do. "Everybody who deals with the Gulf states will confirm to you that, in terms of developments regarding human rights and workers' rights, Qatar has made steps in the right direction," he said recently. Bayern are not the only club with ties to Gulf states that are widely considered human rights abusers. Ilkay Gündogan, who plays for UAE–owned Manchester City, is another German international who is effectively being paid by the countries who they wish to stand against. Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and plenty of other top European clubs have links to regimes that many observers find unpalatable. Nevertheless, the recent public displays have drawn further attention to an issue that refuses to die down. British newspaper The Guardian reported last month that nearly 6,500 workers have died on stadium construction sites since the World Cup was awarded to the Gulf state in 2010. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has always backed one of his pet projects, but his organization appear to have softened their longstanding aversion to anything they consider political. "FIFA believes in the freedom of speech, and in the power of football as a force for good," FIFA said in a statement after Norway's win over Gibraltar. "No disciplinary proceedings in relation to this matter will be opened by FIFA." Many would suggest that FIFA are taking a similarly lax approach to the Qatari organizers. But the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), who are responsible for the operation of the World Cup, dispute the claims made by the Guardian and human rights organizations. "We have always been transparent about the health and safety of workers on projects directly related to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022," a spokesperson said on Thursday. "Since construction began in 2014, there have been three work-related fatalities and 35 non-work-related deaths. "The SC has investigated each case, learning lessons to avoid any repeat in the future. The SC has disclosed each incident through public statements and or Annual Workers’ Welfare Progress Reports."  Whichever figures you believe, pressure on Qatar is mounting just as the build up to the tournament cranks in to gear. On Friday, the Germany football association (DFB) said they were opposed to boycotting the Qatar World Cup despite supporting the players' actions while Kimmich said "we're 10 years too late to boycott" the tournament. 

9Sports

England will be moving to end all lockdown restrictions by the end of June, but this road would be "gradual and cautious," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday. Britain is one of the countries hardest hit globally by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 120,000 deaths. But it was also the first nation to begin a mass vaccination campaign. Johnson said there would be four phases to ending the restrictions in England. The measures in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland are decided by each nation's devolved administrations. But Johnson warned that all of these dates were subject to change based on scientific data. The prime minister said there was "no credible route" to completely eliminating COVID-19 from the country and the world. At the same time, he said it was necessary  to  ease the lockdown across England.  "We cannot persist indefinitely with restrictions that debilitate our economy, our physical and mental well-being, and the life chances of our children." he told UK lawmakers. "That is why it is so crucial that this road map is cautious but also irreversible," Johnson said. "We’re setting out on, what I hope and believe, is a one-way road to freedom." To stem the spread of infections, Britain has rolled out COVID-19 vaccinations at high speed. More than 17 million people have received a first dose of the jab so far. A new study by Scottish scientists published on Monday found that people who received the first vaccine dose were less likely to be admitted to hospital with the disease. The researchers from the University of Edinburgh, the University of Strathclyde and Public Health Scotland found that people who received the BioNTech/Pfizer jab were 85% less likely to be hospitalized four weeks after the first dose. They also said that people who had a AstraZeneca/Oxford jab were 94% less likely to be hospitalized. jf/dj (AFP, dpa, Reuters) 

5Health

The European Union's decision to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova is historic , both for the former Soviet republics as well as for the EU. It is a turning point. Ukraine has been knocking on the EU's door for about 20 years, but Brussels did not want to open it. The first signals were sent in the first years of the new millennium by authoritarian President Leonid Kuchma, who sought to maintain a balance between Russia and the West. The window of opportunity opened only after his departure and the victory of the Orange Revolution in Kyiv in 2004, when the pro-Western politician Viktor Yushchenko succeeded him. But things did not work out. The democratic change in Ukraine took place in parallel with the first major EU enlargement to the east, which was accompanied by fears among many Western Europeans of an influx of cheap labor. Those fears did not materialize, but the EU was reluctant to continue expanding at the same pace. Brussels took a break, then came the financial crisis of 2009 and later the migration crisis of 2015. But the most important reason why Ukraine has not been allowed to get closer to the EU so far was the resistance of influential EU founding members. It suited them only too well that the enormous country formed a kind of buffer zone between the EU and Russia. Western Europe also feared that Ukraine's accession would change the balance in favor of the countries of Eastern and Central Europe, with which Brussels already has a complicated relationship. It was not discussed publicly, but Western Europe long accepted that Ukraine would remain within Moscow's sphere of influence, citing longstanding ties between "brother countries and peoples," as EU officials put it. Ukrainians themselves underlined this in 2010 by electing as president the Russian-backed Viktor Yanukovych, whose pro-European rhetoric was just camouflage. The EU hoped that Ukraine would be satisfied with its Neighborhood Policy and a free trade zone. This was a fatal, a historic mistake that indirectly contributed to triggering Russia's current war against Ukraine: Europe did not want to integrate Ukraine, while Russia wanted to bring the ex-Soviet republic back under its control — at any cost. But both the EU and Russia underestimated the determination of Ukrainians. As they demonstrated during two revolutions, in 2004 and 2014, Ukrainians value freedom and democracy above all. And, as they are also showing every day, they are ready to die for it. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has now forced the EU to correct its mistake. How consistent Brussels will be remains to be seen. Of course, there will be attempts to slow down this process, but a change of direction is no longer possible. Candidate status for Ukraine and neighboring Moldova means that the era of buffer zones in the middle of Europe is coming to an end. Both post-Soviet countries are heading west, the countdown is on, the new Iron Curtain is lowering. It is the last stage of a reorganization of the continent that began with the end of the Cold War. And what of Georgia, which in 2003 became the first post-Soviet country to announce its Western orientation with the Rose Revolution? The government in Tbilisi submitted an application for membership to the EU at the same time as Kyiv and Chisinau, but did not get the green light. The EU merely certified Georgia as having a "European perspective." Various reasons were given for this — including a political crisis in 2020, when after the parliamentary election the opposition accused the government of election fraud. Brussels has made the right decision by making it clear to Tbilisi that it won't turn a blind eye to such problems, even if there have been many successes. The decision on Georgia is also a signal to Ukraine and Moldova not to expect preferential treatment in the long run. Both countries will have to prove with deeds that they are ready for further integration and painful reforms. But there is no doubt — they will succeed and join the EU. And sooner than many think. This commentary was originally published in German

7Politics

The man who stabbed four people on a train in the southern state of Bavaria on Saturday did so "indiscriminately," police said during a press conference Sunday presenting the first results of their investigation into the attack.  Prosecutor Gerhard Neuhof said the suspect had been suffering from delusions and a preliminary mental health evaluation has indicated he likely suffers from a psychiatric disorder. Police have said there is no basis for a terrorist motive for the stabbing. The suspect was arrested without resisting and had pleaded for "help" during the incident, he added. He was taken into psychiatric care on Sunday. "There are no indications of an Islamist background" to the attack, said Sabine Nagel, the criminal director of Oberpfalz in Bavaria. She stressed that the investigation was still in its early stages. Three men aged between 26 and 60 were injured in the stabbing that took place on the high-speed ICE train traveling from the Bavarian city Passau to Hamburg. Two of the injured are still being treated at a hospital.  The 27-year-old suspect has been living in Germany since 2014 as a refugee, having come from war-torn Syria. He has been living in Passau and had recently lost his job, police said.  Neuhof said that preliminary assessments had concluded the suspect suffers from a form of schizophrenia and that he believed people were following him. The suspect claims he had felt threatened by a man on the train, the prosecutor added. Police were unable to find anything suspicious during a search of his home. They were still waiting on an analysis of the suspect's phone records. The suspect had one run-in with the law for a misdemeanor in 2020. Some 208 people were on board the train at the time of the attack. The suspect had moved from one carriage to another before police apprehended him. Local police president Norbert Zink thanked other passengers who helped to stop the attacker from injuring more people. The violence had not been preceded by an argument, dpa reported. A folding knife with an 8 centimeter (3.1 inch) blade is believed to have been the weapon used in the attack after being found on the suspect. According to police, the suspect said he had regularly carried the knife for protection, claimed he had felt threatened for a long time.

3Crime

Perhaps Luna, too, will never forget the two weeks she spent on the run: the hectic departure from her home in the city of Kharkiv, the ride in the packed train cars in the arms of 21-year-old Adana, the four newborn cats on a blanket on a fellow traveler's lap, and the arrival in Cologne after stops in Poland and Hanover. Now Luna scurries like a little whirlwind through the apartment, making a giant leap onto a nearby chair, back to the floor and from there onto the sofa. Luna is a Jack Russell terrier, just six months old. For Adana, who fled Ukraine with her mother and two little brothers, she has long been more than a dog. She is a ray of hope, a lifeline and a rock in these dark times. "When we are very sad, we play with her. Luna makes sure that we all stay close. She gives us positive feelings and helps us work through bad emotions," said Adana. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Luna was a New Year's gift for Adana and her three siblings — her oldest brother, 18, had to stay behind in Ukraine. The family briefly considered leaving the dog with him in Kharkiv, but then decided against it. And when they finally arrived in Cologne, exhausted, it was Luna who helped the family find a place to stay. Jan, a volunteer helping Ukrainian arrivals at Cologne train station, noticed the dog and knew instantly that he had to help the family. "I imagined that I was a refugee and had to flee; then, of course, I would take my two dogs with me. And I had read a newspaper report on how difficult it was for families with pets to get accommodation. So then I decided to take them in," he said. And so, Luna from Ukraine now lives together with two other dogs: Wanda from London and Lilou from Paris. Jan is a photographer, he quickly emptied his photo studio to make room for the refugee family. Luna's first order of business was a trip to the veterinarian. "We had her vaccinated against rabies," said Jan. "And then the vet said Luna also had to be chipped and quarantined for three weeks." Luna has had her microchip and registration since Friday, an effort organized by the aid organization Blue-Yellow Cross. The German-Ukrainian association has already brought more than 400 Ukrainian refugees to Cologne. Many of them have brought pets, but it hasn't always been that easy. Unlike Germany, Ukraine is not yet considered to be free from rabies. Animals entering the country from there aren't allowed to stay in refugee shelters; instead, they're sent to an animal shelter upon arrival, where they are vaccinated and must remain in quarantine. Following the strict regulations, German animal shelters are at risk of being overloaded. And Ukrainian children, already traumatized, are further upset by being separated from their pets. "All Ukrainians must be provided with accommodation allowing them to keep their pets," said Thomas Schröder, president of the German Animal Welfare Federation. "A separation would be an additional burden for humans and animals, to be avoided under all circumstances." Since the conflict began in late February, German animal welfare activist Babette Terveer has made two trips to Ukraine. "It is unacceptable that we shift responsibility to countries like Hungary and Poland, which already have problems with animal protection," she said. "Germany does not allow the direct entry of animals from Ukrainian animal shelters because of rabies, but instead insists on a 30-day quarantine in EU countries like Hungary. And there they have to be vaccinated, even if they have documented vaccination from a shelter in Ukraine." On her first rescue operation, Terveer set off in the direction of Ukraine with a 12-ton truck, four vans and 18 tons of animal food. She unloaded the food at a spot some 15 kilometers (9 miles) beyond the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, and in exchange took 35 dogs from animal shelters in Kyiv. The convoy also arranged to transport six refugees along with their pets, including a woman who was inseparable from her 10-year-old German shepherd. "The refugees are all totally exhausted, and so are the animals," she said. "Many pets have just been packed into shopping bags, because everything has to happen so fast when they flee." Every few days, she added, volunteers risk their lives to drive to Kyiv and rescue 10 to 15 dogs per trip. The animal shelters in Ukraine are full of dogs and cats. But there are special cases, too. Magdalena Scherk-Trettin is a wildlife project coordinator for the German branch of the animal protection organization Four Paws. "We have long been cooperating with partner organizations in Ukraine," she said. "After the war broke out, we were contacted by an organization that runs a sanctuary in the Kyiv region with seven bears, who had been rescued from abusive captivity. And they were afraid for the animals. We then evacuated them to our sanctuary near Lviv." The bear sanctuary in Domazhyr, western Ukraine, already cares for 29 bears. For three of the seven new arrivals, the journey has since continued on to Germany. Bear cubs Asuka and Popeye are now romping through a bear park in Thuringia, and one bear has traveled on to a sanctuary in northern Germany. A happy ending, at least, for these animals, said Scherk-Trettin. This article was originally written in German. While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.

8Society

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has instructed the withdrawal of Najib Alikhil from Islamabad along with all senior diplomats. This comes after the 26-year-old daughter of the ambassador, Silsila Alikhil, was allegedly kidnapped on Friday evening while in her rented vehicle in Islamabad. She was tortured for several hours. Silsila suffered blows to her head, had rope marks on her wrists and legs and was badly beaten. Her father said the young woman "escaped" and "feels better now." He said the authorities of both Afghanistan and Pakistan were concerned by the "inhuman attack." In a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Afghan envoy was recalled from Pakistan until all security threats are addressed including the arrest and trial of the perpetrators. "An Afghan delegation will visit Pakistan soon to assess and follow up on the case and all related issues; subsequent actions will follow based on the findings," the statement read. Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh said the abduction of Afghan ambassador's daughter and her subsequent torture "has wounded the psyche of our nation." Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the country's Interior Ministry to "utilize all resources to apprehend the persons involved" in the incident. The Islamabad police have launched an investigation but no suspects have been arrested so far. Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad has meanwhile reportedly claimed that the whole affair was an "international racket" organized by India's foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). The Dawn newspaper quoted Ahmad as having told a TV news program that investigations so far had shown that no kidnapping had taken place. "I want to tell the entire nation, this is an international racket, an international conspiracy, this is the agenda of RAW," he said, according to the paper. There has been no confirmation of the veracity of Ahmad's remarks. on/dj (AFP, AP, Reuters)

7Politics

Speaking virtually to the World Economic Forum in Davos, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said there was a clear commitment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Moscow has stationed about 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine, something the West has interpreted as preparation for invasion in order to force NATO to make concessions on issues like the possible accession of Ukraine into the bloc. Scholz said it was not yet possible to say whether the intensive diplomatic contacts could de-escalate the situation on Russia's border with Ukraine, but added that "borders must not be moved by force." "After years of growing tensions, silence is not a reasonable option," Scholz said in his first forum speech as chancellor, adding that the strength of the law must be upheld, and not the law of the strongest. "The Russian side is aware of our determination. I hope it is also aware that the benefits of cooperation are significantly higher than the price of further confrontation," he said. Scholz became Germany's chancellor in December after 16 years with Angela Merkel at the helm, pledging his center-left-led coalition would offer a "new beginning" for Europe's top economy. His "traffic-light coalition" has an ambitious program. It includes slashing carbon emissions, overhauling digital infrastructure, modernizing citizenship laws, lifting the minimum wage and legalizing marijuana. More pressingly, Scholz also faces the task of dealing with the fears of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine and guiding Germany out of the coronavirus crisis. Touching on the pandemic, Scholz said a genuine effort must be made to vaccinate globally so that new virus variants could be prevented from emerging. "Without a truly global immunization campaign, we will soon run out of letters in the Greek alphabet to name new virus variants," Scholz said. Normally a face-to-face gathering of political and corporate power players in the Swiss Alps, the forum is online for the second year in a row due to the coronavirus pandemic. Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday urged other powers to discard a "Cold-War mentality'' — apparently a veiled criticism of the United States. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the occasion to pledge his country's commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070. UN chief Antonio Guterres told the forum that the world must vaccinate everybody against COVID-19 to ensure a way out of the pandemic. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday touted his country's success in vaccinating against coronavirus and said allowing money to flow back into Iran could lead to "terror on steroids." rc/rs (dpa, AFP, AP, Reuters) To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

7Politics

Earlier this week Mahmoud, an Iraqi civil servant, had an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination appointment in Baghdad. The 34-year-old had easily been able to register for an AstraZeneca injection. But he didn't go to the hospital.  "The Europeans said it wasn't safe," explained Mahmoud, who didn't give his full name because he works for an Iraqi government ministry and staff are not supposed to talk to media. Mahmoud has other, slightly more unfounded reasons too. "The vaccine has come here so fast," he told DW. "But that's so strange. In Iraq, with things like this, you usually can't get access without some corruption, or you have to pay somebody. But it [the vaccine] is for free and it's available for everybody. It's a bit suspicious," he said. Despite being well educated and even knowing three people who died of COVID-19, Mahmoud is what's known as "vaccine hesitant." This is different to being an anti-vaxxer. Immunization experts define it as a "delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccination despite availability." In 2019, the World Health Organization listed vaccine hesitancy as one of top 10 threats to global health. More recently, data scientists have said that the idea of "herd immunity" against COVID-19 is endangered by vaccine hesitation because herd immunity requires a faster rollout of immunization campaigns.  A number of surveys would seem to suggest that Mahmoud is far from alone in the Middle East. "The Middle East was among the regions with the lowest vaccine acceptance rates globally," reported a January study published in the medical journal, Vaccines, that looked at willingness of people to be vaccinated around the world. The researchers were particularly alarmed about vaccine acceptance rates of just 23% in Kuwait and 28% in Jordan.  There are similar stories coming out of other Middle Eastern nations. In Iraq, a January study by local researchers found that, of 1,069 locals surveyed, almost all would eventually take the vaccine. However the same survey also found that — just like Mahmoud — almost two-thirds, 64%, would wait before getting a jab. A poll of over 27,000 Egyptian medical students, also from January, came up with similar results: Almost all the students eventually intended to get vaccinated, but 46% wanted to wait. At the end of March, a US-based study noted that 52% of all Egyptians were not sure or unwilling to be vaccinated. A February telephone surveyof 1,219 Tunisians discovered that only about a third wanted to vaccinate. In Lebanon, local officials have blamed vaccine hesitancy for the slow pace of registrations on the government's official portal for vaccinations. By April 15, only around 17% of the Lebanese population had registered. Informal public opinion surveys in the Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen by journalists from independent media outlet, Daraj, found that most people there were not enthusiastic about COVID-19 vaccines either. In a February poll they conducted of 121 residents in the city of Aden, over 84% didn't want to be innoculated. From the various surveys, it's clear that vaccine hesitancy in the Middle East is partially based on the same safety concerns: a fear of the potential side effects, and the speed at which the COVID-19 vaccine was developed. But where countries like Iraq, Tunisia and Lebanon really differ from others is the low level of trust they have in local government and public health care systems. Ongoing work by the Arab Barometer, which studies public opinion in the Middle East, has long found that, on average, many citizens don't have a lot of faith in their own governments' performance, believing it to be corrupt, inept or both. Some Arab nations have been more successful in managing the pandemic response and vaccination rollouts. This can be explained by quicker, harder lockdowns — such as in Morocco, early on in the health crisis — or cooperation with vaccine manufacturers, such as the ongoing work with Chinese state-owned company Sinopharm in the United Arab Emirates. This may also correlate with the higher rates of willingness to be vaccinated in those regions. For example, in March, 82% of residents in the UAE wanted to be vaccinated, according to YouGov's online tracker. A February phone survey of 1,238 Moroccans found that 88% were satisfied with their government's handling of the crisis, while a whopping 91% were willing to be vaccinated. There could be another reason for increased vaccine hesitancy in this region: high levels of disinformation. In some countries, such as the UAE or Saudi Arabia, media is more tightly controlled — and so is the official messaging on vaccinations, explained Mahmoud Ghazayel, a Lebanese expert in open source verification. In March, surveys suggested 62% of residents of Saudi Arabia were willing to be vaccinated. But in other countries like Iraq, where the majority of media outlets are funded by, or aligned with, opposing religious or political groups, locals don't trust mainstream news. So they get their information elsewhere. "People are turning not only to 'alternative' media and news websites but to groups on [messaging apps] WhatsApp or Telegram, or to Instagram, all of which are free to publish whatever they want, with no restrictions or verification," Ghazayel told DW. It's there that Arabic speakers find lies about how COVID-19 vaccines could contain traces of alcohol or pork — something Muslims may never ingest — or how vaccines are a plot to alter the genetics of Muslim babies. Strange antidotes are also touted on social media. In March, 46% of Tunisians told pollsters from the Partnership for Evidence-Based Response to COVID-19 that they thought the illness could be cured by herbal remedies. "A reliance on social media as the main source of information about COVID-19 vaccines was associated with vaccine hesitancy," confirmed Jordanian researchers who published a January study looking at vaccine conspiracy theories in Jordan and Kuwait. The good news is that vaccine hesitancy fluctuates. Market research company YouGov has been tracking attitudes to vaccines since November 2020 and has noted growing acceptance in many countries. And as vaccinations gather pace in some Arab countries, local authorities are also becoming more aware of the need to deal with vaccine hesitancy. There is no compulsory vaccination in the Middle East as yet. Instead, governments in the region are increasingly making certain privileges and positions contingent on vaccination. Last Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi issued a new set of health rules for the country. This included a compulsory certificate of vaccination or immunity for all health workers, for retail store staff and those working in hospitality. Governments in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE have taken similar steps, making vaccination compulsory for certain jobs.  "In my opinion, the best way to deal with the high level of vaccine hesitancy is to give clear, truthful and transparent messages … at all levels but especially from key figures, religious leaders and women," Hazem Rihawi, a Syrian expert in public health working with the American Relief Coalition for Syria in the US, told DW. "The importance of vaccination has always been enshrined in our societies and we need to remind people of that." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

7Politics

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin on Tuesday, with the two leaders welcoming diplomatic efforts to resolve the Ukraine-Russia crisis. The German and French leaders discussed a coordinated response should Russia move forward with an invasion of Ukraine.  Scholz called on Russia to pursue "clear steps" to de-escalate tensions.  Scholz said a Russian threat to Ukraine's territorial integrity would  bear "serious consequences" for Moscow.  In addition, he defended how the German government has handled the crisis. "We have done a great deal to actively support economic development and democratic development in Ukraine," Scholz said.  Macron said the two countries are "united" in the need for de-escalation in Ukraine.  "If there is an attack, there will be retaliation and the price (for Russia) will be very high," Macron said.  At the same time, the two leaders said diplomatic talks will continue.  "We will never give up dialogue with Moscow," Macron said. Representatives from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France will meet in Paris tor talks on Wednesday in what's known as the Normandy format, a development which was praised by Scholz.  The French president also said he would hold phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, as part of a "demanding dialogue" with the Kremlin.  Both Germany and France have expressed concerns about additional sanctions against Russia.  Scholz has previously said European states must consider the cost of sanctions towards Russia, and how that could affect their own economies. Germany, for example, is a major importer of Russian gas. Franco-Russian commercial ties plummeted by about a third soon after the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and amid the EU sanctions imposed in response, but they have been recovering steadily since.  Macron has previously said sanctions do little to deter Russia's actions.  France has also called for a European solution to the crisis, such as the aforementioned "Normandy format" talks,  instead of relying on the US. An area of disagreement between the two allies revolves around weapons exports. France has expressed a willingness to provide additional arms to Ukraine, while Germany has blocked exports to Kyiv. Ukraine's foreign minister has criticized Germany's reluctance to send "defensive" weapons, and said the move is encouraging Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Military exports have been a sensitive issue in Germany ever since World War II. On principle, the country claims to almost never export weaponry to active conflict zones, although critics allege that these rules are not always kept.  Both France and Germany are aligned, however, on providing both diplomatic and financial support for Ukraine.  Ukrainian leaders on Tuesday urged citizens to remain calm amid tensions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Western countries pulling out personnel from embassies in Kyiv does not signal an imminent conflict.  "Protect your body from viruses, your brain from lies, your heart from panic," Zelenskyy said in video remarks. US President Joe Biden, meanwhile, said Washington could hit Russian President Putin with personal sanctions in the event of a Russian invasion.  At the same time, Biden told reporters he has "no intention" of dispatching US troops to Ukraine. wd/msh (Reuters, dpa)

2Conflicts

The Hungarian goverment on Monday announced plans to produce the Chinese-developed Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine locally. Hungary is the only EU country to inoculate its citizens with the Chinese jab after domestic regulators approved its use. Speaking in China, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said officials would open a planned €157 million ($193 million) vaccine plant in the eastern town of Debrecen. The announcement came after Szijjarto met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. He said that the goal would be carrying out the entire production process inside Hungary. MTI, the country's state news agency, reported that the move would make Hungary self-sufficient in vaccine production from the end of 2022. Here's the latest on coronavirus from around the world.  France has decided to open up vaccination appointments to adults of all ages as the government looks to speed up its current jabbing drive. From Monday, anyone over the age of 18 can sign up to get their first dose. More than 48% of France’s adult population has had at least one dose, and more than 20% have had two, according to statistics compiled by the country's public health authorities. After a slow start, France has now administered more than 36 million vaccine doses. French President Emmanuel Macron said in a tweet that he has been vaccinated for COVID-19. He did not specify with which vaccine. At a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, the European Commission signed off on a European Medicines Agency decision to allow 12 to 17-year-olds to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The decision by the EU executive, which is the last legal formality in the approval process of drugs or medicines in Europe, clears the way for member states to accelerate their vaccination programs. The FDA, the US regulator, issued a similar decision earlier this month that expanded the use of the German-developed jab for 12 to 15-year-olds. Authorities in Russia say they will resume flights from Moscow to London from June 2 as the health situation improves in the United Kingdom. But the country's coronavirus task force decided to keep a flight ban in place on departures to Turkey and Tanzania until June 21 inclusive. It said there will be three flights per week from Moscow to London. In Geneva, Switzerland, the head of the World Health Organization called for all of its member states to agree upon a new pandemic treaty. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, told its annual ministerial assembly that the UN agency faced a “serious challenge” to maintain its COVID-19 response at the current level and required sustainable and flexible funding. Earlier, health ministers from the 194 countries who are part of the WHO agreed to look at suggestions made by independent experts to strengthen the capacity of both the WHO and countries to contain new viruses. They will meet from November 29 this year to decide whether to launch negotiations on the pandemic treaty. Denmark's government has asked the country's health authorities to rethink their ban on the use of the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines. Officials excluded both vaccines over a potential link to a rare but serious form of blood clot. "We are now further into the epidemic, and the vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca have now been in use in Europe for some time, Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said. "There is a larger data base worldwide to assess the effect and side effects of the vaccines," he said. Portugal's northern region health authority on Sunday advised people who got up close to the Champions League fanfare in the city of Porto to avoid contact and monitor for coronavirus symptoms over the next 14 days. In the days before Saturday's final between Chelsea and Manchester City, crowds of English fans gathered in Porto's riverside area to drink and chant team slogans.  The celebrations came amid concerns that the event could lead to a rise in the caseload after COVID-19 curbs were eased for the match and also because of the highly virulent COVID-19 variant, first identified in India, spreading in England. Germany's Robert Koch Institute reported 1,978 new COVID cases on Monday, and 36 deaths related to the virus. The caseload continues to fall, with the seven-day incidence now at 35 cases per 100,000 people per week. Meanwhile, live music shows are making a return tin the east of the country. The Dresden Music Festival is to stage the city's first live concerts in over a year after a series of lockdowns and social distancing rules forced a slew of events to be canceled. In Brazil, the city of Serrana has seen a 95% decline in coronavirus deaths after it finished inoculating almost all adults, TV Globo reported on Sunday Around 45,000 people live in the city located in the southeastern state of Sao Paulo. Serrana was the subject of research by Instituto Butantan, which produces the Coronavac vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech in Brazil. At the beginning of the study, the city was experiencing a swelling case tally but the outbreak was contained once 75% of the population was vaccinated.  In overall terms, Brazil has suffered the second-most coronavirus-related deaths of any country in the world after the US. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Indianapolis Speedway in the United States on Sunday hosted the largest post-pandemic crowd in the world for a sports event on Sunday, with around 135,000 spectators permitted to attend the Indy 500.  The figure, deemed safe in the pandemic,  was only 40% of the capacity. Fans were allowed to attend if they could demonstrate they had been vaccinated, over 90,000 were inoculated at the speedway itself. In Australia, the second-most populated state of Victoria and the country's latest COVID-19 hotspot, 11 new cases of local transmission were reported on Monday. Victoria has been in a rigorous seven-day lockdown since Friday after new infections in the state capital of Melbourne broke its three-month streak of zero community transmissions. Meanwhile, Australian cricketers were released from a hotel quarantine in Sydney after being evacuated from  India amid a deadly second wave of COVID-19.  The players, including former captain Steve Smith and David Warner, had been in a two-week quarantine following the suspension of the Indian Premier League.  China has reimposed COVID-19 travel restrictions in the southern province of Guangdong after the region recorded 20 new local infections. Taiwan's parliament on Monday earmarked over $15 billion for COVID-related economic and social aid for people and companies impacted by the ongoing outbreak.  The Serum Institute of India said on Monday that it would raise production of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to about 90 million doses in June from the roughly 65 million per month that it is currently producing. India recorded its lowest daily rise in infections since April 11 with 152,734 cases and 3,128 deaths in the previous 24 hours. The country has now registered a total of 28 million infections.  Vietnam is planning to test all 9 million people in its largest city for the coronavirus as it imposed further restrictions in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday to tackle a growing COVID-19 outbreak.  Residents in the city will now be allowed to leave their homes only for essential activities and public gatherings of more than 10 people have been banned for the next two weeks.  State newspaper Vietnam News said the authorities in the city, which is the country's economic hub, were planning to test its entire population with a testing capacity of 100,000 samples a day. Vietnam's government also said on Monday that it would suspend incoming international flights to the capital, Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh City took a similar step for its airport late last week. dvv/msh (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

5Health

China's military flew tens of fighter aircraft as many as 149 times toward Taiwan in recent days, in what is the most recent attempt at putting pressure on the self-governing island by displaying Beijing's military might.   Even though all flights were in international airspace, they prompted Taiwanese defense forces to scramble jets in response and raised fears that any miscalculation could lead to an inadvertent escalation. Taiwan's defense minister described the current situation as the most severe in 40 years. "It's been the toughest situation in 40 years of my military life," Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told parliamentarians on Wednesday. The comment was made a day after Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-Wen warned of "catastrophic consequences" if the self-ruled island falls to Beijing and stressed that Taiwan will do whatever it takes to defend itself if its democracy and way of life are threatened. The sorties come as China faces greater pushback from countries in the region and an increasing naval presence from the US and other Western democracies in Asia as Taiwan pleads for more global support and recognition. Beijing views Taiwan as a Chinese province that split from mainland China amid civil war in 1949. And China has increasingly mobilized military, diplomatic and economic pressure to undermine Tsai's independence-leaning administration while threatening to bring the island under Chinese Communist Party control. The record number of Chinese military flights near Taiwan over the past week shows that Beijing is prepared to step up pressure on the Taiwanese leadership. Song Yu-Ning, a senior editor at Defence International magazine, told DW that China's military activities are meant to put pressure on Taipei. "We don't know the reason behind it, but the intensity of military exercises could increase the chances of incidents that would start a war," he said, warning that Taiwan should be careful in its response to Beijing's provocations. Still, some experts say the risk that the latest tensions could spiral out of control remains low. "We should not only focus on the number of aircraft, but the type of fighter jets," Lin Ying-yu, an assistant professor of Asia-Pacific affairs at Sun Yat-sen University, told DW. For instance, if the PLA sends KJ-500, a third-generation airborne early-warning and control aircraft, to Taiwan's air defense identification zone, it could be "alarming, but is still too arbitrary to say from these signs whether China will invade Taiwan," Lin said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Wen-Ti Sung, a lecturer of Taiwan Studies at Australian National University, told DW that China currently has neither the military capability nor the political will to launch a full-scale military attack against Taiwan. He said Taiwan was an important issue, but not an urgent one for China. Sung added that the Chinese leadership is currently more focused on dealing with domestic issues such as the upcoming sixth plenum of the 19th Communist Party of China Central Committee and the 20th party congress, which is set to seal the deal in terms of President Xi Jinping's and his era's place in the party history. "Also, the economic goal of 'common prosperity' is a priority," Sung said. What makes more sense for China is to remain strategically patient and wait until the military balance is more favorable to Beijing before considering the option of unification by force, the expert underlined. Lin, the assistant professor, also believes that ​​starting a war is the last choice for China. He stressed that shaping Taiwan's view on China, the CCP and unifying the island peacefully with the mainland is Beijing's preferred choice. Despite fears of an inadvertent military escalation between the two sides, the Taiwanese people appear not too worried about the situation. "China's provocations are obvious. It seems like your neighbor firing toward your backyard — I am not scared but feeling angry," 36-year-old Joyce Huang told DW. She added that, the more fighter jets China sends, the more hostility Taiwanese people would feel. People in Taiwan have been used to China staging military exercises in the island's vicinity since Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016. "It is a routine already. They usually deliver the 'performance' during big days. I am not scared because it happens too frequently," Huang said. A middle-aged Taiwanese woman said she hoped that Taiwan and China would be able to get along with each other peacefully. "We don't need to seek independence, just keep the status quo," she said. Sung, the China-Taiwan relations expert, said the Taiwanese People were used to this type of low-intensity Chinese military provocations. "They have been living in the near-constant presence of Chinese military and diplomatic pressure for over a quarter century since Taiwan held its first direct presidential election in 1996," he said.

7Politics

It's difficult to overstate just how important the Rhine river is for the countries it flows through.   This mighty waterway serves as an economic lifeline in western Europe, connecting industry in Germany, France and Switzerland with the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.   Each year, more than 300 million tons of cargo are shipped along its length, from chemicals to coal, grain to car parts. Major companies have riverside plants that rely on these shipments. And when navigation is disrupted by low water levels — as was the case during this year's drier-than-average summer — the costs can be huge.  It's a scenario the German government is keen to avoid.   As part of an action plan to protect shipping, it's boosting the number of vessels adapted to low water. More controversially, it also wants to deepen a section of the Middle Rhine Valley — a proposal that has been welcomed by businesses but viewed with skepticism by environmentalists and some locals.  The focus is a 50-kilometer (31-mile) section of the World Heritage-listed Middle Rhine — where the river is flanked by craggy cliffs, hilltop castles and wine-producing villages.   The shipping channel in this part of the Rhine is shallower at certain bottlenecks. That means vessels coming from the North Sea, for example, need to carry less cargo during times of low water to be able to pass through safely on the way to Germany's industrial southwest.  "When in doubt, it has to load much less," said Sabine Kramer from the Rhine Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSA) and the area manager for the project.   The government's plan envisages deepening the navigation channel by 20 centimeters (about 8 inches) — from 1.9 meters at low water to 2.1 meters — to bring this potentially tricky stretch in line with areas further upstream and downstream.  It sounds like a small change, says Kai Kempmann, head of the Committee for Infrastructure and Environment at the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR). "But for inland navigation, that is a lot. You can transport a lot more with those 20 centimeters."  According to the WSA, each ship would be able to carry at least an extra 200 tons.   Adapting the river this way is a "gain for shipping, because they can load more cargo and there are expected to be fewer ships traveling as a result," said Kramer.  To raise the Rhine's level, engineers with the federal waterways authority have proposed installing hydraulic structures that run parallel to the bank, as well as groin-like constructions that extend into the river. These would divert flowing water toward the middle of the Rhine and hold back sediment. Shaving jutting rock from parts of the riverbed and dredging in gravelly areas are also part of the plan.    The project is scheduled to be completed by 2030 and has an initial estimated cost of €180 million ($173 million), 40% of which is for ecological measures.   That hasn't convinced the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND), though. The NGO fears channeling more water to the middle of the river will harm fish and mussels.  "It is a huge intervention," said Sabine Yacoub, BUND chairperson in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate. "We fear this will significantly change the riverbanks and impact on fish populations because this is where the fish lay their eggs."  Yacoub is also worried that ecologically important shallow areas could dry out permanently as a result of the changes.   Kramer from WSA Rhine said the deepening measures would not be allowed to cause environmental deterioration. "An environmental impact assessment is underway, and fish stocks are also currently being taken into account," she said. Philipp Rahn is also wary of the plans. He is the mayor of Bacharach, a town on the Rhine's banks that relies on tourism for over 90% of its budget. He says he fears any new structures in the river will negatively alter the picturesque landscape.    "These groins would have an enormous impact on our coast here," he said. "We have a rowing club. We have watersports association. We have a public beach ... And all of these would no longer be able to exist."  "The Rhine is part of our identity," he added. "And we would lose parts of the Rhine here, right in front of us."  The project is still in its planning phase, so it is not yet certain which structures will be installed. Kramer says that although they would be visible when water levels are low, they are "less than many people imagine we are building, so it won't have quite as big an impact on the landscape as many fear at the moment."  Periods of low water could become more frequent with climate change, threatening to undermine the Rhine's role as a provider of cheap and energy efficient water transport. At the same time, the alpine glaciers that feed the river are disappearing. According to Sabine Yacoub from BUND, that's what makes this project "short-sighted."  "By the time it is implemented, climate change may well have shifted the goalposts to such a degree that different measures are required and even those may not solve the problem."  In her view, "we should focus on adapting the ships to the Rhine and not vice versa."   Low water in August forced companies to lighten their loads, which led to delays in deliveries and soaring freight costs. It's too early to calculate the damage. But the drought in 2018, which halted traffic on the Rhine altogether, caused a loss of almost €5 billion for German industrial output in the second half of that year.  Some companies, such as chemical giant BASF, have already started upgrading their fleets. BASF's complex in Ludwigshafen on the Rhine transports 40% of its raw materials via river transport. It backs deepening the river as part of a range of measures, including better water-level forecasting.  In a statement, the company said it was "increasingly chartering modern ships suitable for low water" and "increasingly relying on alternative modes of transport, in particular rail."  It's not yet clear when construction on the Middle Rhine could begin. The transport minister has called for the process to be sped up — the energy crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine has only made the transport of fossil fuels on the waterway more urgent. But with community needs, environmental concerns and business interests to weigh up, finalizing the project may take some time yet. Edited by: Sarah Steffen

6Nature and Environment

After the political conflict, power is arguably the second-biggest topic for the residents of India-administered Kashmir, who have been complaining that New Delhi is eyeing up control of their hydropower resources. Kashmir has the potential to produce 20,000 megawatts (MW) of hydropower, which can become a major driving force for its economic growth, but it currently produces a mere 3,263 MW. After militancy faded away in the early 2000s, energy needs have been at the heart of policies among political parties in Kashmir vying for power. Regional political parties have been demanding the return of seven power projects currently under the stewardship of the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) — a government of India enterprise. Of the current 3,263 MW hydropower generation capacity, the NHPC generates 2,009 MW from these projects but shares only 13% of that with Kashmir, which has to purchase electricity at higher prices from India's northern grid to meet its requirement. "In this harsh winter and subzero temperatures, we don't even get six hours of electricity. We depend on timber to heat water for bathing and washing our clothes," said Naseema Rasool of Wagoora town in northern Kashmir's Baramulla district. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Rasool pointed out that patients with respiratory illnesses and schoolchildren, who are appearing in examinations, are the ones who suffer the most. "Our children can't afford to study late in the evening or early morning because there will be no electricity," she said. In the absence of an elected government in Kashmir after the abrogation of the region's special constitutional status on August 5, 2019, New Delhi has signed agreements — so-called MoUs — to hand over another five power projects to the NHPC, triggering unease among locals. Last week, New Delhi had to reverse course on a proposal to merge the region's power department into the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) after facing protests from local employees, resulting in the region witnessing a major power breakdown in the midst of an extreme cold wave. At the heart of the power crisis in Kashmir is the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) — a World Bank-brokered water-sharing agreement between India and Pakistan to regulate the flow of the transboundary Indus River and its five tributaries — and a fight to control their water resources. The IWT gives New Delhi unrestricted control over the three eastern rivers — the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej — while Islamabad has control over the three western rivers — Jhelum, Chenab and Indus — flowing through India-administered Kashmir and into Pakistan. However, India can use 20% of the water of the three western rivers for purposes of irrigation, transport and power generation. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "New Delhi and Kashmir-based pro-India political parties were never on the same page on the construction of power projects along the western rivers. Both sides wanted to gain maximum control over the water resources," said a senior officer in the power department who asked not to be named due to the sensitive nature of the issue. "The popular sentiment in Kashmir has been that hydropower projects should not create water shortage in Pakistan. So regional political parties never encouraged building water storage facilities," he said. After Narendra Modi's BJP government came to power in 2014, New Delhi started weighing options either to move completely out of the IWT or exploit the water resources as much as it can. Given that the notion of scrapping the treaty entirely would have consequences, New Delhi decided to use the water resources to the maximum possible extent. India's major push for maximum exploitation of the waters came after the abrogation of Article 370 when authorities started handing new power projects with a generation capacity of 4,136 MW to the NHPC, said Raja Yaqoob Farooq, the managing director of Jammu Kashmir Power Development Corporation. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "In the last six to eight months, the MoUs we have signed with the NHPC, under the guidance of Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), will pave the way for generating 3,500 MW of additional power in the next 4-5 years," said Manoj Sinha, the New Delhi-appointed lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Under the IWT, India has been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run-of-the-river projects on the western rivers, subject to specific criteria for design and operation. The treaty also gives the right to Pakistan to raise objections to designs of Indian hydroelectric projects on the western rivers. In the past, Pakistan has raised strong objections to multiple hydropower projects, such as Baglihar and Kishanganga in Kashmir, over their design. These projects were allowed to go ahead only after correction in their design, albeit after a delay of many years. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In August, a parliamentary committee of India tabled its report in the legislature. The committee recommended renegotiating the IWT with Pakistan in order to examine the utilization of the irrigation and hydropower potential. It asked the government to take the necessary diplomatic measures to renegotiate the IWT with Pakistan. Edited by: John Silk

7Politics

They are proud of their national colors in Saudi Arabia: All things considered to be of importance in the Gulf state tend to come in green and white. So it comes as no coincidence that Premier League club Newcastle United's new away kit features the same color scheme. The classic badge featuring two seahorses remains, but for the first time, instead of it being mainly grey, black and white, it is green and white.   Newcastle fans will have to get used to this departure from tradition, after the team from the northeast of England was taken over by a Saudi consortium for around €400 million ($397 million) roughly a year ago. The sale of Newcastle United was one of the most protracted and controversial takeovers in the history of English football, mainly because of who was doing the investing.  Saudi Arabia, which has been repeatedly criticized by human rights organizations, has had a huge image problem since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the country's consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. The consortium that took over the club is 80% owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the PIF (Public Investment Fund). The news of the takeover bid immediately sparked speculation about the motives behind it, with critics seeing it as an effort to polish up their tattered reputation through sports – a practice that has become known as "sports washing." "For Saudi Arabia, the English market in particular is an enormously important trading partner. And they have seen in their neighborhood how you can significantly improve your image via a successfully supported football club," Sebastian Sons of the Bonn-based think tank Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO) told DW. Sons has been traveling to the region for years in his role as a researcher on Islam. The neighboring United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar in particular, have served as models for the Saudis. Qatar may seem like a strange example for Saudi Arabia to follow on any issue, as Riyadh has long been at loggerheads with Doha. Since the 1990s, the small emirate has intensified its efforts to raise its international profile and present itself as an attractive regional partner. When, in 2010, Qatar secured the rights to host the 2022 World Cup, Qatar emerged from the shadow of its much bigger neighbor. Qatar's rise has been a thorn in the side of several of its neighbors, who have sought to put the tiny emirate in its place. The situation escalated in 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt united to impose a blockade of Qatar that lasted until 2021.  "The goal was to isolate and weaken Qatar so much that it would see the small neighbor's right to host the World Cup withdrawn," Sons explained. At the same time, though, "there was a growing realization in the Gulf states that Qatar's path wasn't all that bad, and that it would make sense for the entire region to close ranks."  So instead of continuing to work at weakening its small neighbor, Saudi Arabia decided to more or less copy what Qatar and its other neighbor, the UAE  were doing – at least in terms of their activities in the global football market.  The UAE has been heavily involved in English football since 2004, when one of its flag-carrier airlines, Emirates, became a sponsor. In 2006 Arsenal's new home ground adopted the corporate moniker "Emirates Stadium." The UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, went even further,taking over the then-financially struggling Premier League club Manchester City in 2008, going on to transform it into a top international player.  Qatar dipped its foot into club football in 2010, when it reached a deal to become Barcelona's first jersey sponsor. This was followed in 2011 by the takeover of the Paris St. Germain by Qatar Sports Investment (QSI), which is under the control of the Qatari sovereign wealth fund. In addition, relations with Bayern Munich were intensified, with the club's winter training camp being held in Qatar for the past several years.  In autumn of 2021, Saudi Arabia followed suit by buying Newcastle United. The aim being for the traditional club to be built into an international heavyweight using the Gulf state's oil money. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as "MBS" for short, is driving a charm offensive to improve his country's reputation, especially after the Khashoggi murder.  "They want to become socially acceptable again in order to establish themselves as an interesting and approachable economic partner," said Sons. It seems this has already had the desired effect, with the Chinese, US and French heads of state having recently visited the country. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is due to travel to Riyadh next week. There has also been considerable investment in domestic football as they look to transform the country from a football dwarf into a football giant. In September 2021, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) unveiled its vision "Our Tactics for Tomorrow" with seven cornerstones and the aim of establishing the men's national team among the top 20 in the world by the 2034 World Cup. Included in the SAFF's roadmap also included the promotion of women's football with 11-a-side competitions for girls set to be established throughout the country. In addition, men's clubs will soon be allowed to admit women – a milestone in an otherwise deeply conservative desert state where women were not even allowed to drive until 2017.  "They are serious," said Monika Staab. The German has been employed in the country as a national coach for two years and has seen first-hand the steps taken. "The women's football project has been adopted by the regular football association. They support me and my work 100% and the progress is enormous." Newcastle United fans, meanwhile, will not only have to break with their traditions, but exercise patience too. Unlike Qatar, which has clearly set its sights on winning the Champions League after investing millions into Paris St Germain, Saudi Arabia is taking a more cautious approach. Instead of signing the biggest superstars available this summer, Newcastle brought in solid players with international class to keep the recently relegation-threatened club in the league. In addition, investments were initially made in the backroom staff to build a more efficient, professional and loyal team. After installing a new sporting director, Dan Ashworth, who was hired in February, Newcastle hired a new executive chairman in Darren Eales. There has also been investment in new analysts, sports scientists, physiotherapists and in new jerseys – which are now in Saudi colours. This article was translated from German.

9Sports

The number of beds in German hospitals being occupied by patients in 2021 remained unchanged from the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, and well below the pre-pandemic rate, the Federal Statistics Office of Germany (Destatis) reported on Tuesday. Average bed occupancy last year was 483,532 for the whole year, of which 27,394 and 7,494 were intensive and intermediate care respectively — a deviation of less than 1% from the previous year. The challenges posed by COVID-19 meant that many hospitals postponed treatments where possible, and patients opted to not spend the night unless absolutely necessary. The bed occupancy rate in 2021 was just 68% in 2021 in comparison with 77.2% in 2019, before the pandemic. This equates to 16.7 million cases last year and 19.4 million cases two years before that. Although overall occupancy rates were reduced, healthcare workers had different challenges to face, including stricter hygiene standards and personal precautions such as testing and vaccination regiments aiming to limit COVID's spread. Over 147,000 people have died in Germany from the virus since the beginning of the outbreak. Cases in 2022 have not reached the summer lows seen in the previous two years, partly due to more contagious variants, partly due to theeasing of measures, and also because the virus is becoming more prevalent in the population, if not even endemic. But the situation has still left health care workers worried about another surge of cases in fall and winter. Frontline hospital workers bear the brunt of rising infections, both from higher workloads and higher risks of being infected themselves, which in turn increases the workloads for their colleagues. ab/msh (AFP, dpa) While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.

5Health

On July 12, 2016, the world began to hear about one of the most momentous legal decisions in recent Asian history. For the first time, an international tribunal had been asked to rule on some of China's claims in the South China Sea. And in a remarkable ruling, five judges sitting in The Hague decided that most of them had no basis in international law. The Permanent Court of Arbitration judgment said nothing about territorial claims — which country is the rightful owner of each rock and reef — but almost everything about who owns the resources in between those rocks and reefs. The tribunal decided that a line drawn on Chinese maps since 1947 (often called the "nine-dash line") did not amount to a legal claim on the oil, gas, fish and other resources of the sea. Just as importantly, it ruled that none of the disputed reefs and rocks in the southern part of the sea was large enough to justify a claim on those resources either. On 14 out of 15 points, it supported the claims of the country that had brought the case: the Philippines. It was a stunning victory. The Chinese authorities, on the other hand, were furious. They had refused to participate in the case, and the response of then Vice-Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin was to call the ruling "nothing more than a piece of waste paper" and one that "will not be enforced by anyone." Julian Ku is a professor of law at Hofstra University in the United States and monitored China's compliance with the ruling in the months after. He says that China made a point of not being seen to comply. "For a while, there did seem to be some soft acquiescence such as allowing Filipino fishing at [the disputed reef known as] Scarborough Shoal," he says. "But any such acquiescence was framed as a matter of bilateral diplomacy rather than compliance." Since then, however, China has even been pretending to comply, he added. If it had been followed, the Hague ruling would have ended most of the confrontations on the South China Sea. Although it is only binding on China and the Philippines, its principles could apply just as easily to Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Indonesia. With clear guidelines on where each country could fish and drill, most of the heat would be taken out of the disputes. Making the situation more complicated, the Philippines had a change of government just 12 days before the ruling was delivered. The country's new leader, Rodrigo Duterte, refused to damage his friendly relations with China by making use of it. Duterte has, in his own words, kept the "piece of paper" in his "back pocket." With the Philippines unwilling to make use of the judgment, potential supporters have been left sitting on the sidelines. The Philippine journalist Marites Vitug says Duterte has consistently undermined his own position. "He has squandered an opportunity to use the ruling as a leverage in dealing with China, unable to prevent Chinese incursion in Philippine waters," Vitug says. In exchange for his silence, Duterte was hoping to gain aid and investment from Beijing. But, says Vitug, "there is little to show for Duterte's appeasement of China. Only a fraction of the $24 billion (€20 billion) China pledged in investments in 2016 has come to the Philippines." In terms of official aid, Japan is still the top donor. And the Philippines was among the last in Southeast Asia to receive its supply of Sinovac, a China-made vaccine, according to Vitug. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Despite Duterte's often colorful rhetoric toward China and the United States, the tribunal ruling remains the foundation of Philippine government policy toward the South China sea, says Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea at the University of the Philippines. He says this can be seen in "the recent lifting of the Philippines moratorium on petroleum exploration, the resumption of an active government presence in the disputed areas, and protests against illegal and destructive Chinese fishing." According to Batongbacal, "Duterte’s silence and derision of the award is not shared by the majority of the Filipino people, and not completely reflected by the actions of the government at sea." Vitug points to recent comments by Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. to the effect that the award is "final" and that Manila "firmly rejects attempts to undermine it" as evidence of a determination to hold on to the country’s legal victory. Nonetheless, China's pressure against the Philippines and the other Southeast Asian claimants is getting tougher. According to Julian Ku, "China has not lowered its rhetoric of noncompliance, and has ratcheted up its actual noncompliance through kinetic actions. It shows no signs that it will alter this approach in the near future." The disputed waters have seen an increased presence from China's navy, Coast Guard and maritime militia. Boats from the Philippines and other countries have been  chased away from their traditional fishing grounds. The Philippines is facing a looming energy crunch. Gas from its Malampaya field (which generates a fifth of the country’s electricity) is due to run out in a few years. Reserves from a part of the South China Sea known as the Reed Bank could keep the lights on. Duterte has said his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, threatened him with "war" if the Philippines went ahead with the project — even though the tribunal ruling gives Manila every right to do so. At first sight, China does appear to have been successful in consigning the tribunal ruling to the wastepaper basket. However, key figures in the Philippines, other Southeast Asian governments and their international supporters are keeping it on the table. For the past five years, China's lawyers have been trying to develop new arguments to justify their government’s actions, suggesting that even they know that the ruling cannot be simply wished away.

7Politics

One day after the last US forces left Afghanistan in August, Taliban official Inamullah Samangani said in a speech that the war was over and that the Taliban would now have to focus on rebuilding Afghanistan's economy. It looks like road construction is where the group has decided to begin. Since then, the Taliban have announced several road construction projects. These include the route from Kabul to Maidan Shahr, the capital of nearby Wardak Province, in Gardez, the capital of Paktia to the east, and projects in the provinces of Kunar and Logar. However, a repaving project of the road over the Salang Pass 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Kabul is especially important. The route connects Kabul, and by extension, all of southern and eastern Afghanistan, with the northern parts of the country. The road over the pass has fallen into serious disrepair. In September, the Taliban marked the start of roadwork at the Salang Pass with a televised ceremony. Taliban officials gave speeches and underscored how they will make good on their promises and bring progress and prosperity. The officials used the occasion to deride the former government as corrupt and ineffective. The work at Salang Pass is set to repair a total of 30 kilometers of road, comprising two stretches of 15 kilometers on each side of the pass, said Mohammad Ashraf Haqshinas, the Taliban spokesman for Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Works. Haqshinas told DW the project would cost around $660,000 (€570,000) and would be funded by the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," referring to the Taliban's self-designated name for the country. As the Taliban seized power by force while appointing people on terrorist blacklists to key positions in their new government, most international aid to Afghanistan is currently suspended, despite international pledges to continue supporting the country's economy. Additionally, the accounts of the Afghan government have been frozen, and the Taliban's financial resources are limited. This means that questions remain as to where the money for repairing the road over the Salang should exactly come from. Previous construction projects contracted by the toppled Afghan government were made possible by foreign funding. For example, heavy rain and landslides in spring 2021 heavily damaged the main road to Parun, the provincial capital of the remote province of Nuristan. Bilal Tawab Construction Company, a company contracted by the former government to repair the road, told DW its excavators and machinery have stood idle by the roadside since the Taliban takeover. "The reason for this is that the suspension of US funding led to lack of funds in the new Afghan government," a representative of the company told DW. "The Taliban told us in private that they want to see the work on the road resumed," the representative added. "But whether this will happen depends on whether there will be again funding from international donors," he said. Almost 90% of all road construction projects in Afghanistan are facing the same fate, the representative estimated.  Taliban officials in Watapoor District in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province showed DW a printout of a scheme for plans to rebuild roads in several villages. The Taliban's governor's office in Kunar even tweeted pictures of work being done on a road. However, a DW reporter in late September visited a simple construction project, where men were repairing a road in harsh terrain with pickaxes and shovels. A local Taliban member told DW that the Taliban have no hand in the project. "The work is organized and done by local people without the help of the emirate," he said. "The emirate currently does not have the means to repair roads," another man openly admitted.  To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Presenting the road construction plan to a gathering of villagers in Watapoor, the Taliban spokesman of the Kunar government told a group of local men that they "need the assistance of non-governmental organizations" to complete their proposed road project. "We have resolved the security issues," Nasar Mohammad, the mayor of Kunar's capital, Asadabad, told DW, referring to the Taliban victory over the former government. "Now it is necessary that [aid] organizations help," he added. This echoes the apparent Taliban position that the group wants to rule and provide security but that public services should be funded by international aid.  While it is true that the former Republic of Afghanistan relied heavily on international aid to fund and provide basic services, the previous government had an open cooperation with the international community and accepted certain conditions. In contrast, the Taliban, although describing themselves as ready to cooperate with the international community, have explicitly rejected the conditions placed on them for aid. Additionally, the Taliban government is not officially recognized by any country. International donors are wary of sending funding to a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan because of the group's human rights record. Until the group realizes that its vague assurances to adhere to human rights are not enough to assuage concerns of international donors, the outlook is bleak, with limited or no aid to a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to be expected. A young Taliban member told DW that the situation gets worse every day. "I don't say that the emirate can't resolve the situation. But without money you can't build anything," he told DW.

8Society

People once again took to the streets in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, on Friday, a day after a brutal police crackdown on protesters left at least nine dead. Funeral marches for the deceased quickly turned into public expressions of anger against the military that has ruled the country since a coup in October 2021. Thursday's protests were the largest seen in months, and the police crackdown was also the most violent. Some 113 people — including 18 children — have been killed in the weekly protests since last year's coup. The Sudanese protesters are demanding a return to the country's transition to democracy that began in 2019 after a popular uprising ousted strongman President Omar al-Bashir. The military takeover by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has disrupted the fragile process. A group of major stakeholders, including the UN's mission to Sudan and the African Union, has been trying to broker a return to the transition but so far without success. On Friday, protest groups released a joint statement expressing "disappointment over the continued use of excessive force by security forces and lack of accountability for such actions, despite repeated commitments by authorities." The UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet on Friday condemned the killing of protesters on Thursday, saying, "I am alarmed by the killing of at least nine protesters by security forces in Sudan yesterday — including a 15-year-old child — even after the police had announced they would not use lethal force to disperse the demonstrators." She said security forces reportedly used "live bullets" and that "most of those killed were shot in the chest, head and back." Bachelet reminded the Sudanese authorities that "force should be used only when strictly necessary" and not "to dissuade or intimidate protesters from exercising their rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly." "I call on authorities to conduct an independent, transparent, thorough, and impartial investigation into the response by the security forces," the UN human rights chief said. Thursday's protests marked the mass rallies in 2019 that ultimately brought the military to the negotiating table to form an agreement with pro-democracy groups on implementing elections. The 2021 coup scuppered these plans and led to the pro-democracy groups calling for the immediate removal of the generals from power. Although Western governments have thrown their support behind the protesters, they have also drawn their ire by engaging with the military leadership, a tactic the pro-democracy movement now rejects. "We are heartbroken at the tragic loss of life in yesterday's protests,'' the US Embassy in Sudan said in a statement Friday. "We urge all parties to resume negotiations and call on peaceful voices to rise above those who advocate for or commit violence.'' ab/sms (AP, AFP)

8Society

German doctors are warning that a surge in pediatric infections and a shortage of staff mean the country is critically short of intensive care beds for children.  The massive wave of respiratory illnesses has been particularly exacerbated by the human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a highly contagious virus that infects babies and toddlers. The warning was raised by the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI) after a survey revealed the extent of the bed shortages. It found that, in pediatric intensive care units, there were on average only 0.75 free beds per hospital — less than one per site. Of the 110 hospitals that were surveyed, 43 facilities also had no vacant beds available for children in their ordinary wards.  One in two hospitals surveyed said they had to turn away a child in the past 24 hours after a request from the ambulance service or emergency department. "This is a catastrophic situation, there is no other way to describe it," said DIVI General Secretary Florian Hoffmann. "We, therefore, demand the immediate optimization of working conditions in the children's hospitals, the establishment of telemedical networks between the pediatric facilities and the establishment of specialized children's intensive care transport systems. We have to act now." RSV (or respiratory syncytial virus) is among many viruses that cause illnesses of the nose, throat and lungs.  It usually spreads from late autumn through to early spring. Almost all children catch RSV at least once before they are 2 years old and, for most healthy children, the symptoms are no more severe than a cold. However, some children get very sick with RSV. Mask-wearing and physical distancing mean there were far fewer cases of RSV during lockdowns and even later, when COVID-19 restrictions remained tight. Since the relaxation, the disease has spread once again, at a time — also because of the pandemic — when children's immune systems aren't primed to fend off the disease. "The RSV wave continues to build up and makes treatment with respiratory support necessary for many children," said Sebastian Brenner, head of the pediatric intensive care unit at University Hospital Dresden. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach urged support measures for the acutely overburdened sector. He announced that the government would ease some regulations to make it easier to transfer nurses to pediatric units and provide an additional €600 million ($630 million) to pediatric hospitals over the next two years. "The children need our full attention now," said Lauterbach, himself a trained epidemiologist, and added the news was "very worrying." "We are confronted with a situation where Germany has fewer than 100 intensive care beds available for children." The minister also made an appeal to adults. "If you feel cold symptoms, then please wear a mask, especially if you are in contact with children under the age of two," he said. However, Lauterbach said that, while the RSV wave was not over, the situation was under control and would be helped by the planned measures. rc/dj (dpa, Reuters)

5Health

The Iranian government issued a critical response on Sunday to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had used his weekly video podcast to express support both for protesters in Iran and for further EU sanctions against the regime in Tehran.  Scholz's "provocative, interfering and undiplomatic" comments would cause "damage over the long term," Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Sunday.  He said the comments risked sabotaging the historical relationship between the two countries. "We recommend that the German government find the way back to discretion so as to avoid further disruption of bilateral ties," Kanaani said.  Scholz had spoken about the protests sweeping much of Iran in recent weeks since the death of young Kurdish-Iranian woman Jina Mahsa Amini in police custody, and the often violent crackdown by Iranian authorities.  At one point, he addressed the Iranian government directly, asking: "What kind of government does it make you if you shoot at your own citizens? Those who act in such a way must expect us to push back."  He said that Germany would be supporting talks at the EU level scheduled for Monday on further sanctions targeting "all those who are responsible for this violence against their own people." Several sets of new EU sanctions were imposed in October, mainly concerning the crackdown but also the allegations of Iran providing drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. Scholz's foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, will be at those talks in Brussels.  Scholz said the protests, which often started with young women taking off their headscarves in public, had long morphed into something more than "merely a question of dress codes."  "Pupils, students, mothers, fathers, grandparents — all of them are fighting on the streets for more freedom and justice," Scholz said, adding that it was difficult in Germany to appreciate how much courage it took to do this in the face of a repressive state.  Iran, meanwhile, has taken to referring to the protests as "riots." Its local state-sponsored media reported a string of arrests on charges connected to rioting on Sunday. However, the government in Tehran rejects claims from rights groups abroad that more than 14,000 people have been arrested in the unrest in recent weeks, an estimate Scholz also alluded to in his video. Iran also sanctioned DW's Farsi language service last month over its coverage of the protests. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video msh/aw (AFP, dpa)

7Politics

An infant who has just been resuscitated is admitted to a fully occupied children's hospital. For this to happen, a 3-year-old must wait the third day in a row for the heart operation he urgently needs. Then there is the child who was transferred 150 kilometers (93 miles) one night from Hannover to Magdeburg because every bed was full — and the other 21 nearby hospitals also had no space. There are hundreds of children who spend the whole night gasping and wheezing in the emergency care waiting area only to be sent back home. Or who are being treated in normal wards when they should really be in the intensive care unit. "Children die because we can no longer care for them," warned Michael Sasse, senior physician of pediatric intensive care medicine at the Hannover Medical School (MHH). Drastic words for a drastic situation. For Mehrak Yoosefi, this warning comes dangerously close to reality. The pediatrician at Berlin's Charite hospital said: "All of the children's medical care facilities are currently operating 24/7. Our capacities are exhausted; we can no longer ensure care. We must ensure that we manage it so that no child dies in this time."  To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This time — December in Germany — is the peak season for cold viruses. According to the Robert Koch Institute, the country's public health agency, almost one in 10 people in Germany is currently suffering from a respiratory illness — that equates to about 9 million people. The viruses are particularly rampant among schoolchildren aged between 5 and 14. The common and contagious Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is usually experienced as mild by most adults and older children — but it can be especially dangerous for young children and babies. It affects the respiratory tract and can cause severe illness, with some patients needing artificial respiration. The fact the virus is now hitting Germany with full force has a lot to do with the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of mask-wearing mandates and lockdowns, young children were less likely to be infected with RSV in recent years — and now the infections are catching up. That has dire consequences for the German health system, which was already chronically overloaded. Yoosefi, who also wears a mask to avoid becoming sick herself, said: "Sometimes we are unable to admit these children to hospital because we have no available beds. Sometimes we cannot give children breathing support because we do not have enough equipment available to monitor their oxygen saturation. These are children who might be having trouble breathing. Children are currently being discharged earlier than they normally would or being transferred earlier out of intensive care to general wards." According to a survey by the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI), half the clinics in Germany have had to turn away children for pediatric intensive care. Out of 110 children's hospitals, 43 had no beds available in their general wards. What's more, although there are enough pediatric intensive care beds, almost 40% cannot be used due to a lack of staff. "We are all totally overworked," said Yoosefi, the pediatrician from Berlin's Charite teaching hospital. "There are not enough staff to cope with this huge influx." It is not as if the German children's hospitals failed to anticipate what is facing them this winter. In January, Mehrak Yoosefi approached politicians with the Initiative Berliner Kinderkliniken, an action group of pediatricians from clinics across Berlin. There was no response. The group sent a second open letter with their urgent pleas to the top Berlin health official, Ulrike Gote of the Greens, and federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), in September. "We predicted this wave of illness. And now, of course, there is utter dismay because it has turned out to be so much worse than we thought." Politicians did react, but slowly — too late for this winter. The Bundestag, Germany's federal parliament, approved a package of health legislation that is to inject more cash into the struggling children's hospitals. An extra €300 million ($314 million) is due to be provided in 2023 and 2024, plus €120 million to support maternity facilities. But what really upsets Yoosefi is the proposal from Lauterbach — a trained epidemiologist — to manage the current crisis: to pull staff from other wards to work in the children's departments. In January 2020, Germany's Ministry of Family Affairs proudly announced that training to become a qualified nurse was becoming more modern and attractive. However, almost three years later, the children's hospitals have come to the painful realization that the so-called generalized nursing training, with which employees are permitted to work across all age groups and areas of care, has some disadvantages. Professor Jörg Dötsch, cirector of the pediatric department of the University Hospital of Cologne and president of the German Society of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, sees a threatening gap in nursing.    "A few years ago, it was decided to bring German nursing training in line with European customs. And it was hoped that some of these people might then specialize in pediatric nursing. The problem is that not enough of them are. Perhaps even more critical is the fact that in some states, these opportunities for specialization are not offered at all," he said. The way German health funding is structured also puts children's hospitals at a disadvantage. Since 2004, hospital services have been paid for at a flat rate based on the diagnosis or procedure, instead of the amount of time and effort taken to complete it. While drawing a blood sample from an adult usually takes only a few minutes, taking one from a small child and explaining things to her or his parents takes half an hour. "You need a lot of energy and time because children and young people — and their parents — have vastly different care needs," pediatrics director Dötsch said. Still: Health Minister Lauterbach has announced that in future, medical necessity rather than economic constraints should guide decisions on hospital treatments. The current health funding system of "low price, high volume," like in discount supermarkets, should soon be over. Mehrak Yoosefi, the Berlin pediatrician, can hardly wait. "Pediatrics needs to be out of this flat-rate payment system; there needs to be another way of funding it." This article was originally written in German. While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.

5Health

Until now it was an entry point that was only rarely used by refugees from countries like Syria and Iraq. But in the last few months, the route through Belarus and Poland to eastern Germany has seen a lot more refugees trying to enter the EU. Most eventually arrive in the German state of Brandenburg, which borders the capital Berlin. In August, 209 people were picked up at the border; the number rose to 1,164 in September. So far in October, there have been around 2,000. Apart from Brandenburg, there are two other German states that border Poland: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony. In total, the border is 460 kilometers (286 miles) long. According to border police, there have been over 6,000 illegal border crossings this year, mostly by individuals from Syria or Iraq. Dealing with the situation in a humanitarian and legal way is a challenge, especially as many fear it will only escalate the siuation further. Many Germans remember the situation in 2015-2016 when hundreds of thousands of refugees arrived in Germany. So far in 2021, there have been 80,000 new asylum applications — far fewer than during that time. But some politicians, like Ralph Brinkhaus, parliamentary spokesman for the conservative Christian Democrats, warn that the number would increase. He said that the situation "could develop" and added that in 2015 people did not pay enough attention to "early indicators." That should not be repeated, Brinkhaus believes. This is a "big challenge" but is "not at the same level we saw in 2015," Saxony's Premier Michael Kretschmer said. But he added that capacities have to be increased and people have to be "properly housed." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video For initial accommodation, there are four facilities set up in Brandenburg. The state does not yet seem unduly alarmed by the rising numbers of refugees, and is receiving enough financial aid from the federal government. In the city of Eisenhüttenstadt, near the border, Olaf Jansen is head of the initial reception facility. There, they offer support for hearings, registrations, and the filing of asylum applications. There is absolutely no question of an impending collapse, as some media have reported, Jansen explained. "We have learned from 2015 and are prepared for such situations. Our goal is to know exactly who arrives here and in what condition," he said. At the moment, the main challenge is pandemic management, according to Jansen. Belarus is a high-risk area. Refugees who have been there must be quarantined on a staggered basis after their arrival. But capacity is limited. "There are about 1,600 people here now — the capacity is about 2,100," Jansen said. To fundamentally resolve the situation, Jansen believes more diplomacy between the countries is needed. Away from the facilities, there is also management to be done at the border. Currently, eight 100-strong police squads are on duty. However, the federal police union admitted that on the other side of the border, controls were only selective. "With this search corridor, the risk is very high that there will be uncontrolled immigration after all," said Heiko Teggatz, chairman of the union. The situation in Poland is also tense, he added. "That's why we need a second control line on the German-Polish border." The German government is discussing what such a "control line" might look like. For example, there are to be joint patrols primarily on Polish territory. This would "identify possible border crossers, but also to arrest smugglers," Seehofer said. However, Polish authorities still have to agree to this arrangement. There will be no closing of the border, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has said, and on that point there is widespread agreement. Border closures also have far-reaching consequences for the economies of both countries. Miles of truck traffic jams could significantly impede the movement of goods. Corresponding images from the particularly critical phase of the coronavirus crisis are still in people's minds. The current situation at the German-Polish border also touches on fundamental migration policy issues in Europe. According to EU law, those seeking protection must file their asylum application in the EU country they enter first. But this arrangement, called the Dublin Regulation, no longer works in many places, Seehofer said in Berlin. Many refugees do not stay in their first country of reception, Poland, but travel on to Germany.  "We are now sending some of the people back to Poland so that the Polish authorities can take care of them," FDP politician and member of the Bundestag, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, told DW. The German government believes Belarus is to blame for the developing situation. This is "a state-organized, or at least state-supported, smuggling activity" by the Belarusian government, Seehofer said. "Migrants are being used as a political weapon — this is a form of hybrid threat." President Alexander Lukashenko had said in response to EU sanctions that he would no longer stop migrants heading to the EU. But Russia also plays a role, Seehofer said. He said he could hardly imagine that this was happening without approval from Moscow. In the Bundestag, this assessment is shared with regard to Lukashenko. "We have to get to the root of the problem, which is human trafficking by an authoritarian leader in Belarus," SPD parliamentary group foreign policy spokesman Nils Schmid told DW. "If we want to stop this, we must prevent airlines from third countries from bringing refugees to Belarus and then sending them to the EU border via Belarus." According to Seehofer, this has already happened in the case of an airline from Iraq. Germany is now hoping for further help from the EU — including possible new sanctions against Belarus and problematic airlines. This article has been translated from German. While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society, with an eye toward understanding this year's elections and beyond. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing, to stay on top of developments as Germany enters the post-Merkel era.

7Politics

As the players applauded their home supporters at full-time, one chant resonated more loudly and clearly than any other around the stadium: "Deutsche Meister wird nur der FCU!" — "Only Union will be German champions!" These are heady days for Union Berlin. Four home wins from five and they comfortably outplayed Borussia Dortmund on Sunday to go four points clear at the top of the Bundesliga. It's only mid-October but could we be witnessing the start of a Bundesliga miracle? Surely not. All of the ingredients are there though: champions Bayern Munich have underperformed in the league and the likeliest candidates to challenge them — RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, and Dortmund themselves — are stuttering too. Enter the underdog. Union are a team in the truest sense of the word, greater than the sum of its parts, and coached by Urs Fischer to play one way exceptionally well. "Everyone knows what to do in every situation," Union midfielder Rani Khedira said after the game. "It almost doesn't matter how the opponent plays." Without wishing to get too excited about the still-outlandish prospect of a new Bundesliga winner for the first time in a decade, some faint parallels with Leicester City's miracle title-winning season in the Premier League are starting to appear: a team that defends as a collective, ruthlessly efficient in attack, and coached to excel within a singular strategic blueprint. In a season when all but a few of Union's players will be staying at home while rival players gear up for the intensity of a mid-season World Cup, Union will pick up in January rested and raring to go. The Bundesliga's other surprise challengers, Freiburg, will enjoy a similar advantage too. The first target for Union, only promoted to the top-flight in 2019, is to get to the World Cup break still at the top of the tree. So far, so good, but as you'd expect, Fischer isn't getting ahead of himself, even with their next game an outing to bottom side Bochum. "The league position is extraordinary," Fischer reflected, before returning to script: "...but it is just a snapshot." Union were gifted the best possible start against Dortmund when goalkeeper Gregor Kobel's calamitous slip as he attempted to clear the ball let in Janik Haberer for a tap-in after seven minutes. A jittery Dortmund, playing three at the back to accommodate Niklas Süle into the backline and give Raphael Guerreiro and Thomas Meunier license to get forward, always looked exposed on the break. Jude Bellingham and Emre Can were swamped every time Andras Schäfer or Haberer mounted a Union breakaway. Dortmund coach Edin Terzic switched things up at the break, moving to a more attacking formation but the damage was already done. Dortmund were tactically trumped by a slicker and better drilled team, and while the opener may have been lucky, this wasn't a defeat that Dortmund can feel aggrieved about. There's no hiding from the fact that while they're only three points off second, they languish in eighth following their worst start in the league since 2014/15. For them, the title has rarely looked further away. After Haberer's silky second had sealed the deal, Union rolled up their sleevs and defended resolutely until they were over the line. Every second half save by Union goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow was celebrated like a goal — this is a team and a fanbase that appreciates the dirty side of the game as much as the craft. The DFL's chief executive Donata Hopfen has been vocal about her desire to make the Bundesliga more competitive and has even floated end-of-season playoffs to make the top end of the league less predictable. As she watched on from the soft seats in Berlin, she may just have to put those plans on ice. Edited by: Matt Pearson

9Sports

The head of the World Health Organization blasted growing vaccine inequality on Monday. The gap in the number of vaccinations administered in rich and poor countries was "growing every single day, and becoming more grotesque every day," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. "Some countries are racing to vaccinate their entire populations, while other countries have nothing," Tedros said. The head of the UN health body added that this approach was giving rich countries a false sense of security. Tedros has frequently warned that if the virus spreads unhindered in some parts of the world, mutations and variants can pose a threat everywhere. Many rich countries have pledged to support the COVAX global vaccine-sharing initiative to give poorer countries access to vaccines, but few so far have shared their stocks. While many low-income countries have not yet received a single vaccine dose, some wealthier countries have ordered enough doses to inoculate their populations twice. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Here is an overview of the latest coronavirus news from around the world. Uruguay has confirmed that it has detected the presence of two coronavirus variants that originated in neighboring Brazil. Early studies suggest they can overcome some antibodies, increase a person's chances of reinfection and decrease the efficacy of vaccines, meaning the variants are tougher to tackle. Brazil's Health Ministry has recorded over 49,000 new cases of coronavirus and 1,383 new COVID-19 deaths. The country has the world's highest daily caseload at present as it battles the two virus mutations. Germany is extending its lockdown until April 18, the country's 16 state leaders and Chancellor Angela Merkel have announced after over 12 hours of meetings. According to data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases (RKI), the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 7,485 to 2,674,710. The reported death toll rose by 250 to 74,964, the tally showed. The seven-day incidence rate was at 108 on Tuesday, above the 100 threshold at which hospitals can become overwhelmed. France must vaccinate people against coronavirus "morning, noon and evening", President Emmanuel Macron said, while visiting an inoculation center in Valencienne in northern France. "We're going to change pace from April," he said, adding there should be "no weekend and days off when it comes to vaccinations." "Vaccination is a national priority," Macron told reporters. Spain's health minister says the country will resume the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday and extend its use to adults under 65 years. Like several other European countries, Spain stopped administering the AstraZeneca vaccine last week, amid unfounded concerns over possible links to blood clots. South Korea's President Moon Jae-in has received AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine from a community clinic near his office in Seoul. He got the shot ahead of an overseas trip to the United Kingdom for a G7 summit in June. South Korea has started inoculating more senior citizens and health workers in an effort to accelerate its vaccination drive. kmm/rt (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)

5Health

Norwegian authorities say they have detained a Russian man who may have illegally entered the country seeking asylum on January 13. The individual in question, Andrey Medvedev, is a former member of Russia's notorious Wagner Group, a private militia active in Ukraine as well as in Africa and Syria. Medvedev, who deserted to Norway after fighting in Ukraine, has asked for asylum, saying he faces certain death if deported to Russia. Norwegian authorities admitted arresting Medvedev as they are trying to determine whether he entered Norway illegally. Medvedev escaped across the border between the two countries at the Arctic Circle after witnessing militia members being brutally killed for "disobeying orders" within the group. The man says he came under gunfire from Russian border guards as he evaded dogs and fled past the barbed-wire border. The 26-year-old Medvedev immediately applied for asylum upon entering Norway. His Norwegian lawyer, Brynjulf Risnes, says a conflict ultimately arose between Medvedev and Norwegian authorities over living conditions at a safe house. The fact that Medvedev had been in a safe house was confirmed by Vladimir Osechkin of the Russian dissident group Gulagu.net, which helped Medvedev escape. "He was staying at a safe house on a volunteer basis," said Risnes. "If he refuses to be there, they have to either let him go or detain him." Jon Andreas Johansen of Norwegian immigration police on Monday told told Associated Press (AP) news agency that authorities had decided to detain Medvedev not as a means of punishment but rather protection. Medvedev has publicly expressed fears of being deported, Norwegian authorities say he has nothing to fear and Medvedev's lawyer Risnes says chances of deportation are "zero." Norway's National Criminal Investigation Service, which is investigating war crimes in Ukraine, said Medvedev "has the status of a witness" and spoke to investigators Friday. Medvedev, an orphan who joined the Wagner Group last July after first serving in the Russian army then doing time in a Russian prison, says he objected to the militia extending his four-month contract with the group without his consent. Medvedev claims he wants to "punish" Wagner Group founder and boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, a billionaire buddy of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Medvedev says Prigozhin is responsible for sending people to their deaths on the frontlines to aid Putin's war plans. "My goal in coming here was firstly of course to save my life and secondly to tell the truth to the people and the world," Medvedev told Gulagu.net in a phone interview recorded Monday. Though he denies personally having participated in war crimes, Medvedev says he would be willing to share with Norwegian authorities information about crimes he witnessed. Gulagu.net, says Medvedev faces "brutal murder and death" at the hands of Wagner for coming forward. "We do not whitewash Medvedev. He has done many bad things in his life. But he has seen the light, he has realized this, he is ready and willing to cooperate with the world, with the international investigation and with the authorities of Norway, he wants to live and testify" against Wagner and Prigozhin, said Vladimir Osechkin of Gulagu.net. Increasingly, Wagner Group, which has been involved in some of the most brutal battles waged in Ukraine, has recruited members from Russia's vast prison population. In November, a video appearing on a Telegram channel linked to Wagner showed one such recruit being brutally beaten to death with a sledge hammer after he had surrendered to Ukrainian forces yet returned to Russia, perhaps as part of a prisoner exchange. Last week, the US labeled the private militia a "transnational criminal organization." js/wmr (AP, Reuters)

2Conflicts

Hong Kong and Macau have recently introduced new pandemic measures to rein in a fresh COVID wave by extending China's controversial "zero COVID" policy in the cities. Macau imposed a citywide lockdown on July 11 and put over 20,000 residents under mandatory quarantine. Casinos and other businesses in the city have suspended their operations, while residents are not allowed to leave their homes apart from carrying out essential activities like grocery shopping. On July 16, authorities in Macau announced the lockdown extension until July 22. While more than 90% of the city's population has been fully vaccinated, authorities still decided to impose a strict lockdown to contain COVID's highly transmissible omicron variant. Macau, a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China, has built makeshift hospitals. More than 500 medical personnel from China have arrived in the city to assist health officials to contain the number of infections. In Hong Kong, authorities have introduced electronic wristbands and health codes to contain the omicron spread. On Monday, Hong Kong reported 3,436 new COVID cases, with health officials describing the increasing number of hospitalized patients as "worrying." The wristbands are mandatory for people who are quarantined at home after testing positive for COVID-19. Hong Kong's health secretary, Chung-Mau Lo, said the measure will ensure that home isolation is executed more precisely.   According to authorities, people in home isolation must activate the wristband at the start of their quarantine. During the isolation period, the app will analyze communication signals in their neighborhood. Any change in the signals that prompt officials to believe someone may have left their isolation place may result in a warning or an arrest. In addition to the wristband, authorities are also contemplating introducing a health code system similar to the one that is implemented in China. The aim is to restrict the movement of people who have been infected by COVID and those arriving from overseas. According to the city's health secretary, the system would require real-name registration, and anyone who tests positive would receive a red code as a way to identify them. While authorities insist the new measures will ensure quarantine compliance and curb the spread of the pandemic, some experts in Hong Kong believe these measures will have minimal effect on reducing transmission. "There is a potential that [the wristband] will slightly reduce transmissions, but I don't think it will have a huge impact," Ben Cowling, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Hong Kong's School of Public Health, told DW. The timing of when the wristband must be worn is unclear, leading Cowling to suggest that if infected individuals only begin to wear them three days after contracting COVID, the virus may already have been transmitted to other people. "What we understand of COVID is that the majority of transmission occurs from infected people around the time their symptoms begin to show and around the time they first test positive," he said. "If the wristband comes more quickly, it could have a small impact, but to what extent does that affect transmission, I don't know. "For the health code, we will have to see how it's implemented, because I think we are still waiting for some details," he added. Other analysts have expressed concern about the health code's privacy issue. "If they are implementing a health code, they will have to collect more personal data than what they are collecting right now with the LeaveHomeSafe app," said Chung-Ching Kwong, the Hong Kong campaign coordinator for the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. "There are already many controversies around security and encryption when it comes to the LeaveHomeSafe app, so it's unconvincing that they will be able to step up their security game when they are increasing the amount of personal data that they plan to collect," she told DW.   Apart from data privacy concerns, Kwong said there is a possibility that the health code could become a tool for authorities to conduct surveillance or censorship, citing examples from China's Henan province where hundreds of bank depositors were unable to join a planned protest after their health codes turned red. "Would this also happen in Hong Kong? There is no way Hong Kongers can find that out and make sure this won't happen here," she added. Although Hong Kong authorities have mentioned the possibility of gradually relaxing strict border controls, they have not given a definite time frame. Earlier this month, Hong Kong's Health Secretary Chung-Mau Lo said in an interview with the South China Morning Post that the city could potentially allow quarantine-free arrivals by November, but only under certain conditions. Cowling said the new strict measures are not consistent with these statements, and Kwong is of the view that the Hong Kong government is "doing exactly what Beijing wants them to do." "The current [COVID] policy in Hong Kong is more of a political consideration to demonstrate how loyal they are to Beijing when it comes to dealing with the pandemic," she said. "In the past, Hong Kong officials still had their own considerations and agenda, but right now they are doing what Beijing wants them to do." Edited by: Shamil Shams

8Society

This week, most Middle Eastern countries reacted in one way or the other to the new omicron coronavirus variant. So far only Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have recorded omicron infections. But amid omicron-related concerns, Lebanese health authorities have just announced a night curfew for people who have not been vaccinated or are without a recent negative PCR test, starting on December 17. For three weeks, people in these categories will not be allowed to leave their homes between 7 p.m and 6 a.m. It is yet to be announced what kind of penalties are planned if the rules are violated. Health Minister Firass Abiad said during a press conference on Wednesday that "the new measures aim to limit socializing as Lebanese expatriates flood home for the holiday season." While Lebanon has yet to register an omicron case, COVID-19 infections skyrocketed in the country after Christmas last year, bringing the health system to the brink of collapse. Following the announcement of the new omicron variant in South Africa, the countries of Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia have suspended air travel from up to two dozen African nations. Among them are South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho and Eswatini. Morocco and Israel have even suspended all incoming international commercial flights for the next two weeks. However, while imposing travel restrictions to protect the population has become a regular reaction for many countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned this week that "blanket travel bans will not prevent the international spread, and they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods." This comes as international actors have been increasingly focusing on vaccine diplomacy in the Middle East, using vaccine supplies as a tool to project soft power. Poorer countries are still heavily affected by the fact that, so far, only 13% of doses contracted by COVAX — the program meant to deliver vaccines to the world's most vulnerable people — have been delivered. "China and Russia have stepped up their efforts in vaccine diplomacy" in the region, Professor Eckart Woertz, director of Middle East Studies at the Hamburg-based German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), told DW.  As early as last March, Wang Yi, China's minister of foreign affairs, celebrated a new joint venture for vaccine production in the United Arab Emirates between the China National Pharmaceutical Group, which is generally referred to as Sinopharm, and the Emirati company Group 42, often abbreviated as G42. The two companies envision producing up to 200 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine per year in the UAE. "Morocco and the UAE are both trying to establish their countries as regional Sinopharm hubs," said Woertz.  Early this year, Morocco signed a contract with Sinopharm and "hopes to turn into a vaccine distribution hub for West Africa," Woertz and co-author Roie Yellinek wrote in a paper in March.  Russia, on the other hand, has already cut a deal with Egypt. The underlying idea is that new production facilities for Russia's Sputnik vaccine are to turn Egypt into the main distributor for North Africa.  A second, equally important aspect of vaccine diplomacy is domestic politics. "Successful vaccination rollouts can strengthen the position of beleaguered incumbents, such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, and King Mohammed VI of Morocco," Woertz wrote in March, before Netanyahu was succeeded by Naftali Bennett.  However, given that the new coronavirus variant is unlikely to be the last, it is most probable that vaccine diplomacy will accelerate further in the near future. "While the new omicron variant is by far too new to analyze its political scope, it is safe to say that vaccine diplomacy has entered the political dictionary and is there to stay," said Woertz.  To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Edited by: Timothy Jones

7Politics

Amid a fatal second wave of the pandemic, with a spiraling number of new cases and deaths, Nepali leadership has been consumed with power struggles rather than coming up with effective plans to deal with the unfolding public health disaster. In the country of about 29 million, more than 834 people have died and almost 50,000 have tested positive for COVID-19 within just five days. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Populations on Thursday said that at least 8,960 new cases and 214 deaths were recorded within the past 24 hours. It's a trajectory that gives cause for concern. Critics say the Himalayan nation's top political leaders have been preoccupied with reforming the government. "We have been going through a tough time over the last two weeks. In the meantime, the prime minister has not been seen at many public events. He has not given much attention to the fatal second wave of the pandemic," Gagan Thapa, a former health minister and opposition parliamentarian, told DW. He said the government is too busy covering up Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli's poor management of the pandemic, rather than working actively to upgrade the health care system and improve access to medical and oxygen supplies.  On Monday, Oli sought a vote of confidence from the 275-seat House of Representatives, but failed to secure enough votes. He secured just 93 votes, while 28 parliamentarians of his own ruling CPN-UML party didn't vote for him and remained absent. Oli had earlier garnered majority support of more than two-thirds when he was sworn in as prime minister in February 2018. Oli had dissolved the House of Representatives in December 2020, but it was reinstated by the Supreme Court in February, which said the move was unconstitutional. After Oli lost the confidence motion, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari called on political parties to come up with a proposal to form a majority coalition government of two or more parties, within three days. The leadership of all four political parties represented in the House — the leading Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), the Communist Party-affiliated Maoist Centre, the socialist Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) and Nepal Workers' and Peasants' Party (NWPP) — were busy in internal meetings and intra-party discussions as to whether or not to keep the Oli government intact. "The prime minister could have postponed the confidence vote for the time being, after observing the record numbers of new cases and deaths," Krishna Pokhrel, a political science professor at Tribhuvan University in Kirtipur, told DW. "Politically, the prime minister should have sought the confidence vote right after the House was reinstated in late February." Pokhrel said that if the deadline to form a majority coalition government was missed, there would be a high chance of holding an early election within the next six months. Former Health Minister Thapa said the prime minister failed to gauge the gravity of the unfolding public health situation, and was busy disseminating false and misleading information about the coronavirus. Just a few months earlier, the prime minister had claimed that the coronavirus was like a normal flu, and could be wiped out by drinking and gargling herbs like turmeric and guava tree bark. But while addressing the parliament, Oli defended his government's handling of the pandemic and accused the opposition party of failing to recognize the achievements made by his government. Critics say, however, that Oli has been preoccupied with planning rallies and political meetings. Since the dissolution of the House in December, hundreds of political rallies have been organized by both the ruling and opposition parties. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Most of the largest rallies were led and addressed by the prime minister himself. As late as the last week of April, while the second wave of the pandemic surged in the region, Oli was working on improvements to Kathmandu's iconic Dharahara Tower, with the presence of thousands of supporters. Meanwhile, most public hospitals were issuing notices that they were becoming overwhelmed with the new number of critical cases, and that they couldn't take in new patients in the absence of oxygen support, beds, ICUs and ventilators. Additionally, Nepal's pioneering COVID hospital, the Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, has stopped conducting polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for the virus until further notice, due to a lack of supplies. Shatosh Paudel, head of the National Trauma Center in Kathmandu, wrote a Facebook post calling for swift management and an increase in access to oxygen supplies.  In his post, Paudel said that many patients' lives could have been saved if they had been treated on time. He added that the situation could spiral further out of control if medical supplies and oxygen were not immediately made available.  On Wednesday, another major health institution, the Bhaktapur Hospital, started having patients sign contracts that the hospital wouldn't be held responsible for their death in the absence of a sufficient supply of oxygen. Samir Bohara from the northwestern city of Nepalgunj — a COVID-19 hotspot along the Nepal-India border — told DW that people have also started dying due to a lack of drinking water at hospitals and isolation centers. "Hospital beds are filled up. Patients are kept in corridors and open yards and left to wait for check-ups, in temperatures of over 35 degrees Celsius [95 degrees Fahrenheit]," said Bohara. "They do not have enough drinking water, let alone medical oxygen and access to immediate treatment," he said. He added that even though some remote hospitals have a few ventilators on standby, those ventilators are useless due to a lack of staff qualified to operate the machines. Jageshwor Gautam, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, told DW that the government was doing its best to manage the situation. He said the country is importing oxygen cylinders and ventilators from China, some of which have already arrived. He further stated that the government has extended lockdown measures in major cities and COVID-19 hotspots, including the capital city Kathmandu, for the next 15 days. Earlier this week, the government had directed large private hospitals to install oxygen plants within the next 15 days. In response, the chairman of the Association of the Private Health Institutions of Nepal, Basanta Chaudhary, said the plan could not be sufficiently carried out within such a short span of time.  

5Health

The US State Department has announced plans to expand its "Level 4: Do Not Travel" guidance to about 80% of countries worldwide, citing the "unprecedented risk to travelers" from the coronavirus.  The US already had 34 countries, including Chad, Kosovo, Kenya, Argentina, Russia and Tanzania on the Level 4 warning. About 130 more will be added now. Americans were already restricted from traveling to much of Europe due to COVID-19. Washington has also barred entry to almost all non-US citizens who have recently been in most of Europe, China, Brazil, Iran and South Africa. "The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose unprecedented risks to travelers. In light of those risks, the Department of State strongly recommends US citizens reconsider all travel abroad,'' a statement from the department said. The US hasn't had a global travel advisory warning in place since August, when guidance was revoked by the Trump administration.   Authorities in Colombia say there will be an extension of rules such as a nighttime curfew and limitations on shops and businesses, as the country tries to counter a third wave of infections. Colombia will also be going into a planned three-day weekend lockdown. Cities with an ICU occupancy of above 85% will have a curfew from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m., while those with between 80% and 85% capacity will have curfews beginning at 8 p.m. In the capital, Bogota, total ICU occupancy is currently at 84.2%, according to local authorities.  "We are literally between life and death, between the possibility of the health system collapsing and ICU occupancy reaching its limit," said Claudia Lopez, the mayor of Bogota.  Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador received his first AstraZeneca shot on Tuesday as he called on all older people to get the vaccine. "There are no risks whatsoever," Lopez Obrador said, who contracted COVID-19 in January. Schools opened in Mexico's southern state of Campeche for the first time in a year on Monday. This was the first state to get its teachers vaccinated. Grade school students were allowed back, but in small groups. They were asked to wear masks and face shields, and maintain social distancing.  The European Union is planning to send some 651,000 coronavirus vaccine doses to Balkan countries that are not part of the bloc. Austria is coordinating the campaign, which runs from May to August, on behalf of the EU. The Pfizer-BioNTech doses were already reserved for delivering help to EU neighbors, and so are not expected to have any effect on the bloc's own vaccination program. Vaccines will be distributed according to need, rather than on a per capita basis. Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and North Macedonia, where few people have had a shot, will get almost 500,000 doses. The remainder will go to Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. Serbia is the least in need of help having already administered Russian and Chinese vaccines on a massive scale and given at least one dose to 26% of the population. The UK has announced plans to set up a new international expert group to help bolster the world's preparedness for the next pandemic and expedite the development of vaccines against future diseases. It will be launched under Britain's presidency of the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations. The Pandemic Preparedness Partnership (PPP) will report to the G7 leaders summit in June this year.   Germany registered 9,609 more cases on Monday, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The death toll rose by 297 to 80,303.  Israel says it has registered eight cases of the coronavirus variant initially detected in India, and that it believes the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine is at least partly effective against it. "The impression is that the Pfizer vaccine has efficacy against it, albeit a reduced efficacy," the health ministry's director-general, Hezi Levy, told Kan public radio. The Philippines has approved emergency usage of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson and India's Bharat Biotech. These are the fifth and sixth vaccines to receive approval in the country, which has been battling one of the worst outbreaks in Asia.   The Philippines' Food and Drug Administration said both vaccines can be administered to people aged 18 and above. Johnson & Johnson is conducting late-stage clinical trials for its COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines. An Auckland airport worker has tested positive for COVID-19, barely 24 hours after New Zealand and Australia opened their travel bubble. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters the virus was detected in a person who boards aircraft to clean them after they have arrived carrying passengers from countries considered coronavirus "red zones." jsi, tg/nm (AFP, AP Reuters, dpa)

5Health

Austria named four Russian diplomats, two at the Russian Embassy and two working at Moscow's mission to the UN in Vienna, personae non gratae, the Austrian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The diplomats are alleged to have acted "in a manner incompatible with their diplomatic status," the ministry said. Diplomatic expulsions are rare in neutral Austria, which enjoyed close relations with Russia before Moscow invaded Ukraine. The four Russians have one week to leave Austria. Western European nations and Russia have expelled diplomats on several occasions since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine started nearly a year ago. sms/kb  (Reuters, AFP, AP)

7Politics

Investigators uncovered a total of 23 metric tons (25 US tons) of cocaine with a street value of billions of euros in a cross-European drugs bust, German customs said Wednesday. The cocaine was uncovered in Germany and Belgium. The mega shipments together are an "absolute record," Dutch police said in a statement. "Never before has so much cocaine been intercepted at once," they added. A company based in the Netherlands gave German authorities a tip-off. This led to them finding 16 metric tons of cocaine at the port of Hamburg on February 12. The cocaine was hidden inside containers from Paraguay. Customs officers at the port took a closer look at the Paraguayan containers after noticing "clear irregularities" with its contents — tin cans that were meant to be filled with putty. The customs officials ordered for the containers to be unloaded. They found that "beyond a layer of genuine goods packed just behind the container door, numerous tin cans were in fact filled with other goods." In all, some 16 tons of cocaine was eventually found in more than 1,700 tin cans. Each contained eight cocaine packages weighing more than 9 kilograms (20 pounds) each. Joint investigations into the stash led authorities to find another 7.2 metric tons of cocaine at the port of Antwerp in Belgium, German customs said. Antwerp is Europe's second largest port. The stash in Belgium was hidden in a container full of wooden blocks, investigators said. The drugs were all bound for "the same destination in the Netherlands," Dutch police said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The 28-year-old owner of an import company in the major port city of Rotterdam was arrested early Wednesday in the Netherlands over the illicit cargo. The arrest was made as Dutch police searched two premises  — one in Rotterdam and another in the nearby village of Vlaardingen. "It's now important for the Dutch investigators to find out if he's really responsible for this large cocaine operation or if he's more like a man hiding a larger criminal network," Benedikt Strunz, a drugs trade and organized crime expert with the German public broadcaster NDR, told DW. "We are estimating a street sales value of between €1.5 billion and €3.5 billion ($1.8 billion and $4.3 billion) for the 16 tons," Hamburg customs office chief Rene Matschke told news agency AFP, speaking on the amount found at the German port. The higher value would apply if the drug was sold "cut" or diluted with other substances. Dutch prosecutors estimated the wholesale value of the combined shipments at some €600 million ($730 million). To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In all, 102 metric tons of cocaine headed for the European continent were intercepted last year by an international law enforcement project co-implemented by the UN. The majority of the shipments arrived at Antwerp. Last year, a total of 65.5 metric tons were seized there in 2020 —this is an all-time record for the port. The drugs come from Latin America — mostly from Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador. Strunz put Wednesday's drugs haul into context for DW: "We are facing an enormous cocaine wave floating all over Europe. And this is causing enormous problems" both in terms of addiction and crime. "The criminal networks are not focusing so much on one nation. They don't really care in Europe about national borders," Strunz said. "Security experts say this huge cocaine seizure here in the port of Hamburg has to be a wake-up call for European politicians," he added. "We are probably only seeing the tip of the iceberg," Germany's Green Party lawmaker Irene Mihalic said on the latest bust. Further investigations are set to be carried out on behalf of the Hamburg public prosecutor and in close coordination with Dutch authorities. kmm/aw (AFP, dpa)

3Crime

Condolences have been pouring in from all over the world after Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday. She was the country's longest-ruling monarch and met with many world leaders during her decades on the throne. She was aged 96 when she died. Following the Queen's death, her eldest son replaced her as monarch, taking the title King Charles III. US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden released a joint statement describing Elizabeth as "a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States," with the White House saying she had met with 14 US presidents. The Bidens later went to the British Embassy to pay their respects. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply saddened" and offered his "condolences to her bereaved family, the government and people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the wider Commonwealth Nations." Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Tweet that he learned of the queen's death with "deep sadness." Even Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote a telegram to King Charles, wishing him "courage and perseverance in the face of this heavy, irreparable loss." Chinese President Xi Jinping said the late queen's death "is a great loss to the British people" and pledged to work with the new king to strengthen relations between Beijing and London. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video German leaders also joined in the chorus of condolences, highlighting the queen's role in repairing the relationship between the UK and Germany after the Second World War, during which she had volunteered in the Women's Auxiliary Territory Service, working primarily as a mechanic.  Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the queen "was an example and inspiration to millions, also here in Germany. Her commitment to German-British reconciliation after the horrors of World War II will never be forgotten. She will be missed, not the least for her wonderful humor." President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement that "her natural authority, her immense experience, her exemplary performance of duty will remain in our living memory." He added that after World War II, "the hand of reconciliation was also the hand the of the Queen." "We mourn, with our British friends, the loss of Queen Elizabeth II," Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on Twitter. "She was a source of strength and confidence for her country… Germany remains eternally grateful to her for reaching out to us for reconciliation after the terror of the Second World War." European monarchs joined the outpouring of mourning, with messages from kings of the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Spain. "With sadness, my family and I have today received the news that my dear relative, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, has passed away," King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden said. "Your mother was very important to me and my family. She was a towering figure among the European monarchs and a great inspiration to us all. We shall miss her terribly," Danish Queen Margrethe wrote to the new King Charles. Margrethe, a third cousin of Queen Elizabeth, was set to mark her own 50th anniversary on the throne in a postponed celebration over the weekend. French President Emmanuel Macron called the Queen "a friend of France" who "embodied the British nation's continuity for over 70 years." Condolences also came from Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin. "On behalf of the Government of Ireland, I would like to convey my deepest sympathy to the British people on the loss of their beloved monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth," he said. "Her State Visit to Ireland in 2011 marked a crucial step in the normalization of relations with our nearest neighbor," the prime minister added. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen offered her "heartfelt condolences to the Royal Family and the British people." "Once called Elizabeth the Steadfast, she never failed to show us the importance of lasting values in a modern world with her service and commitment," European Council President Charles Michel said. At her death, the queen was head of state not just of the United Kingdom but 14 other former British colonies, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. "She was our queen for almost half of Canada's existence and she had an obvious deep and abiding love and affection for Canadians," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. "She was one of my favorite people in the world, and I will miss her so," he added. New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called her "extraordinary." The country will mark her death with a national period of mourning. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet that he had been "pained" by her death, adding that in life she had "personified dignity and decency in public life." Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also sent his "heartfelt condolences" while President Arif Alvi called her a "great and beneficent ruler." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "The Ghanaian people have very fond memories of the two visits she made to Ghana during her reign, and, on both occasions, we remember the friendliness, elegance, style and sheer joy she brought to the performance of her duties," Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo said. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said "Her life and legacy will be fondly remembered by many around the world" while Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari called her a "towering global personality and an outstanding leader." Condolences also came in from formerly colonized islands in the Caribbean, including Jamaica, one of several countries considering dropping the monarchy and becoming a republic. "Undoubtedly, she formed a special bond with the people of Jamaica,'' Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said. "We are saddened that we will not see her light again, but we will remember her historic reign.'' ab/rc (AFP, AP, Reuters)

8Society

Alphabet's Google and Apple have removed jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's tactical voting app from their stores, his team said on Friday. The "Smart Voting" app was removed as Russia goes to the polls to elect a new parliament. The ruling United Russia party, which supports the policies of President Vladimir Putin, is expected to win the three-day vote amid a historic crackdown on the opposition. The app was developed by allies of Navalny to organize a tactical voting campaign in a bid to challenge United Russia. Ivan Zhdanov, director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation who is in exile abroad, on Friday slammed the removal of the app. "Removing the Navalny app from stores is a shameful act of political censorship," Zhdanov said on Twitter. After opposition figures slammed the tech giants for caving in to Moscow's pressure, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov put out a statement lauding the companies for their complying with Russian law. "This app is illegal in our country, both platforms were notified accordingly and seemingly made this decision in accordance with the letter of the law," Peskov said. Peskov said the Kremlin viewed the app negatively and claimed the application's voting recommendations were "totally provocative efforts, which are actually harmful to voters." The app showed users which candidate running against United Russia they should back in order to have the best chance of beating the Kremlin-aligned politicians in each of the country's 225 electoral districts. Before heading to cast their ballot, a user could enter their address into the app which would then respond with the name of the candidate they should vote for. The app urged them to back mostly Communist Party candidates to weaken the ruling party, but candidates from any parties would be eligible, as long as they were opposing United Russia. Russia demanded this month that Apple and Google remove the app from their stores, saying a refusal to do so would be treated as meddling in its parliamentary election. On Thursday, Russia said official approaches had been made to the two companies' chief executives. "Entities and personalities associated with Apple and Google should be aware that their knowingly illegal actions and criminal inaction after receiving appropriate warnings from official Russian officials will inevitably have legal consequences for them, up to and including criminal ones," Novaya Gazeta reported, quoting the first deputy head of the International Committee of the Council of the Russian Federation Vladimir Jabarov. Novaya Gazeta cited Navalny's team which reported that a Denial-of-Service attack took place on the Smart Voting website and Telegram bot the night before the app was removed. Apple and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters news agency reported. kmm/sms (Reuters, AFP)

7Politics

US President Joe Biden launched a broadside at his Chinese and Russian counterparts as he departed the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow on Tuesday, accusing them of failing to show leadership. Biden, who has been keen to promote the US as being back at the forefront of efforts to tackle climate change, said Beijing and Moscow had lost influence by not being present. The US president began by criticizing the decision of China's President Xi Jinping — whose economy is the largest overall emitter — not to attend the summit, at the beginning of the 13-day climate negotiations. "The fact that China, trying to assert, understandably, a new role in the world as a world leader, not showing up? Come on!" said Biden. "The single most important thing that's gotten the attention of the world is climate. Everywhere. From Iceland to Australia, it just is a gigantic issue. And they've walked away. How do you do that and claim to be able to have any leadership mantle?" "The same with Putin and Russia," said Biden, turning his focus to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "His tundra is burning — literally, the tundra is burning. He has serious, serious climate problems, and he is mum on willingness to do anything," he said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Biden has trumpeted US climate action with promises to have zero carbon emissions by 2050, sharply in contrast to his predecessor and climate skeptic Donald Trump. However, the president still faces tough domestic hurdles in implementing those policies at home. Chinese President Xi Jinping is not known to have left his country since the pandemic began. Instead, he addressed observers and delegates in a written message on Monday. Xie Zhenhua, a special climate envoy for China, spoke to reporters at the summit, dismissing a reporter's question about whether China, as the world's current biggest carbon emitter, bore any special obligations. Xie, who played a pivotal role in negotiations that achieved the 2015 Paris climate accord, underscored China's longstanding position that the US — given its historic position as the world's largest polluter — and other developed nations should do more, not China. "We have wasted already five years," Xie said, referring to the US withdrawal from the Paris climate accord under Trump. "And now we need to work harder and catch up." No reason has been given for the Russian president not attending in person, although his country is struggling with a dire COVID situation, hitting repeated daily records in case numbers.   In a video address, Putin told the COP26 leaders meeting on Tuesday that Russia's vast swaths of forest would help keep Moscow on track for carbon neutrality by 2060. Experts have questioned calculations on just how much carbon Russia's forests can absorb, particularly after recent devastating forest fires. World leaders promised to protect Earth's forests, with summit host the UK saying it had received pledges from leaders representing more than 85% of the globe's forested areas. They promised to stop and reverse deforestation by 2030. Among them are several countries with huge areas of tree cover. They include Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Indonesia, Russia, and the US. President Biden also launched a plan to reduce emissions of methane, a particularly potent greenhouse gas. The announcement was part of a broader effort with the EU and other countries to bring down overall methane emissions worldwide by 30% by 2030. In a separate initiative, the US, Britain, France, and Germany said they would provide $8.5 billion (€7.34 billion) in loans and grants over five years to help South Africa phase out coal. The country generates some 90% of its electricity from coal-fired plants, which are a major source of emissions. More than 120 world leaders were on their way home after the first two days of COP26. During that time, they were warned about the dangers posed by climate change by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, naturalist and television presenter David Attenborough and British monarch Queen Elizabeth II. There were also powerful contributions from citizens countries and regions already facing drastic climate upheaval. rc/jsi (dpa, Reuters, AFP, AP)

7Politics

PEN International (which stands for Poets, Essayists, Novelists) serves as the voice of persecuted writers around the world. The association, which was founded 100 years ago in London, now counts some 150 autonomous PEN Centers worldwide, including PEN Germany, which was created in 1924. The German PEN Center on Tuesday elected the German-Turkish journalist and author Deniz Yücel as their new president. He replaces Regula Venske. "I am very much in favor of intellectual, political and cultural confrontations with the enemies of an open society," said Yücel in his speech to the members of the PEN Center at their annual general assembly at St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt. "I am convinced that we as authors, that we as PEN, as our guiding principle and for the sake of our credibility, must always be in favor of freedom of speech and art," he said, emphasizing that even flawed or questionable art and books need to be protected. Yücel told DW he felt "very honored" to become the new president of the association. In 2017, the correspondent for the newspaper Die Welt was arrested in Turkey for alleged terrorist propaganda. He was detained and held in custody for a full year and was only released and allowed to leave the country after a political tug-of-war. A court in Istanbul has convicted him in absentia of terrorist propaganda. He currently faces another charge of "degrading the Turkish nation" and insulting its president. His application for the position of PEN president "definitely had something to do with this experience," Yücel told DW, even though he was determined after his release to never see himself reduced "to the role of the person who sat in the caliph's dungeon" — that would correspond, in his view, to another form of imprisonment. Still, he said, he realized that his situation also entailed a certain responsibility to protect freedom of speech and art. "I have decided to face this responsibility not only as a journalist, but also as president of the German PEN Center," he said. Yücel's election comes shortly after a diplomatic crisis involving 10 countries — including Germany — and Turkey. Ambassadors from Germany, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the US had issued a joint statement in support of philanthropist Osman Kavala, who has been imprisoned in Turkey for the past four years. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to expel the ambassadors from his country. The embassies have meanwhile backtracked by stating that they would abide by a diplomatic convention not to interfere in a host country's internal affairs. That seemingly settled the issue, although it did not help Osman Kavala's case. Yücel served time in the same high-security prison as Kavala in 2017. "But only for a year," he said. "Kavala has already been there for four years," and his continued detention despite the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights are a scandal, added Yücel. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The new PEN president has called for the suspension of Turkey's membership in the Council of Europe, based on its "systematic disregard of the European Court of Human Rights, personally ordered by Erdogan." "All signatory states to the European Convention on Human Rights have recognized the European Court of Human Rights as the highest authority on human rights issues," said Yücel, who has also appealed to the Strasbourg judges on his own behalf. "It is a violation of current Turkish law and of the current Turkish constitution that judgments of the European Court of Human Rights are not followed in Turkey." The Berlin-based journalist Yücel has won several awards for his work, including the 2011 Kurt Tucholsky Prize for Literary Journalism for his parodic column "Vuvuzela" about the 2010 World Cup. He received further prizes in 2017, many of which were meant as a show of solidarity for his case, including the Theodor Wolff Prize. Yücel reported on the period of his imprisonment and the political conditions in Turkey in a book, Agentterrorist (Terrorist Agent), which was published in 2019. Deniz Yücel joined the German PEN Center in May 2019. Now, as the newly elected German PEN president, the outspoken journalist is joined by Astrid Vehstedt as the new PEN vice president and Writers-in-Exile representative.   This article was translated from German.

4Culture

German police carried out raids on Tuesday in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in one operation targeting international money-laundering gangs and another focused on a local biker group. A number of sites suspected of connection to money laundering were searched, state prosecutors in the western German city of Duisburg confirmed to DW. The raids took place as part of an international operation. The European Union's police agency, Europol, was also involved; several arrest warrants had been executed in NRW. More written details were set for publication later on Tuesday. Raids were also carried out in Italy, Switzerland and the southern German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, German news agency DPA reported, with Italian financial police saying they had arrested 22 people and confiscated some €41 million ($46 million) in real estate, cryptocurrencies and on bank accounts. Italian justice authorities accuse the gangs of having formed fake companies that claimed to have carried out energy-saving renovations on houses without this ever happening. German companies are suspected of being involved by paying these companies for services they never provided to bolster their credibility. The gangs are suspected of having raked in more than €27 million through certificates. In the other set of raids in NRW, more than 250 officers searched properties belonging to a rocker group in Cologne and the nearby town of Pulheim. Police said the raids were carried out as part of an investigation into attempted murder launched after a former Hells Angels member was shot at in Cologne at the end of October. They said the investigation targeted 15 men aged 23 to 51, all members of a local Hells Angels group. The searches were carried out to find evidence and find the weapon used in the shooting. No one was injured during the attack on the 31-year-old, but one of the three bullets fired pierced the blinds of an apartment belonging to someone unconnected with the incident, police said. The Hells Angels have often been implicated in a variety of violent crimes in Germany. tj/msh (dpa)    

3Crime

Every morning at six o'clock, Alexandra Heisterkamp arrives at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the University Medical Center in the central German city of Münster. The first thing she sees: three empty beds. So-called intensive care beds. So, why aren't they in use? "We can't use them,” Alexandra explains, "because we don't have enough qualified staff.” And, she adds: "It's the same story throughout the ward and I can't see any sign that things are going to improve. It certainly doesn't bode well for the challenges that are coming our way.” Three unused beds sounds like a manageable problem. But across Germany as a whole, the total number of ICU beds is down by 6,300 compared to last year. Around 50 districts — COVID-19 hotspots — are already reporting that their intensive care capacities are exhausted. The worst affected are the southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. So, while there are still plenty of ICU beds ready to go in Germany's hospitals, the crucial problem remains an acute lack of specialized staff. At the beginning of the pandemic, the Münster University Medical Center had a capacity of 135 ICU beds. That figure has now fallen to 110 as highly-qualified nurses and caregivers burned out, stopped working or went part-time. Alexandra Heisterkamp is not among those worst affected. She's been on the ICU staff at the University Medical Center for 17 years and now only works part-time, which helps to remove some of the pressure. But she, too, says that it's hard to understand how Germany managed to get so much so badly wrong in underestimating the peril posed by the fourth pandemic wave. "You can't help feeling pretty angry,” she says. She's also angry that nearly two years into the crisis, her profession still isn't getting the recognition and appreciation that it deserves: "There's a very strange and widespread perception of what intensive care is all about. And just for once, people really need to ask themselves: 'What kind of treatment do I want for myself when I find myself in here at the end of my life?'” Alexandra Heisterkamp is a member of DIVI, the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine. In recent weeks and months, the doctors, nurses, caregivers, and therapists represented by the DIVI have said their early warnings went unheard. Time and again the organization had spoken out, pointing to the likelihood of a dramatic rise in infection rates and forecasting that it would inevitably leave ICUs desperately understaffed. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Tensions are running high — as is clear from e-mails addressed to the DIVI. Like this one: "The politicians are letting us go to wrack and ruin. We're in the midst of a fourth wave, but nobody's interested in the problems facing ICU units.” Three of Germany's political parties are currently working to forge a new coalition government following the autumn election. The DIVI has been doing what it can to get its voice heard at the negotiating table. That includes putting forward concrete proposals on how to prevent so many colleagues from abandoning their careers as nurses and carers. However, says the DIVI, the response has not been encouraging. "We urgently need a clear and unambiguous signal that people appreciate what we do. It needs to be loud and clear so that those who are committed to our profession stay on board. And I don't just mean ICU staff, but all nurses and caregivers. These are people who in tough times have made their contribution, helped others, done their bit,” says DIVI President Professor Gernot Marx. His concrete demand: "For at least six months salaries should be tax-free. Or, at the very least, night shifts. That would be a sign that the political decision-makers are finally getting onside with ICU workers." There has been criticism of politicians who don't seem to properly understand the workings of intensive care units. Wolfgang Kubicki of the liberal Free Democrats, for instance, sparked controversy when he came up with the idea of activating an emergency contingency of 10,000 intensive care beds. But it's not that easy: "Dear Wolfgang Kubicki: let me tell you that a bed alone can't bring a person back to good health. You also need highly-qualified professionals. And it's not the kind of thing you can pick up on a 24-hour crash course," says Kathrin Hüster: "It's just populist grandstanding. No real understanding. No real expertise." It can still send Hüster into a fury when politicians come up with unhelpful proposals like Kubicki's. This is despite the fact that she's no longer on the front line. A year ago, she stopped working as a carer following 20 years on the job, the last eight working in ICUs in the populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia. If you really want to know just how bad things are, this is the go-to woman. "It's what anybody in the profession will tell you. We're just numbers. A faceless mass of health service providers," says Hüster. "Sooner or later, it catches up with even the hardiest colleagues. And when they talk about solving the problem by bringing in thousands of medical students? Well, that too is questionable." It's taken a while, says Kathrin Hüster. Now, though, she's finally getting a full night's sleep. Mostly, that is. Still, three or four times a week she dreams of her work in the ICUs. Kathrin spent her last summer holiday at a campsite. And during that stay, she suddenly heard a respirator alarm tone that somebody had programmed into their cellphone as a ringtone. "I immediately told myself: quick, up, run — somebody's in trouble. There I was: back on the ward again.” Some 1.7 million people in Germany are currently employed as nurses and caregivers for others who are ill or elderly. That's about the same number as the population of the country's second-largest city, Hamburg. But it remains a sector that has no really effective lobby. In recent times, there's been plenty of applause and heartfelt praise. And even a promised coronavirus cash bonus (which many, however, didn't actually ever get). Hüster says it's high time for an official care industry commission to meet weekly with health ministry representatives. "An advisory body that would include frontline personnel." One thing is for sure: Things can't go on as they are. Germany simply can't afford to see people drifting away in droves. But, says Kathrin Hüster, maybe we need to be confronted with the worst-case scenario before the politicians finally wake up: "And that would be when so many people quit their caregiver jobs that care for the ill, the infirm and the elderly would become a luxury that only the rich can afford.” This article has been translated from German. While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing, to stay on top of developments as Germany enters the post-Merkel era.

5Health

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that war-torn Ukraine would have the backing of Brussels for as long as necessary as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues. "We will never be able to match the sacrifice that the Ukrainians are making... but what we can tell you is that you'll have your European friends by your side as long as it takes," she said during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday in Kyiv. Von der Leyen also said that Ukraine's accession process to join the European Union "is well on track" and congratulated Ukraine on its recent military accomplishments in the war with Russia. For his part, Zelenskyy said that his country wants to join the European single market ahead of a decision on whether to grant Kyiv full EU membership. Von der Leyen had announced her visit on Wednesday during her State of the European Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, for which Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was present. Thursday's visit marks von der Leyen's third trip to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February. "So much has changed. Ukraine is now a European Union candidate," von der Leyen wrote on Twitter. Ukraine applied for membership of the EU while under Russian bombardment and was granted candidate status in less than four months. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Here's a roundup of some of the other key developments regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine on September 15. Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed that Germany will help Ukraine "as long as necessary" at a ceremony in which Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko received a media award on behalf of the Ukrainian people. "We are helping with heavy military equipment, with ammunition, with the training of Ukrainian soldiers, because their fight is also our fight," Scholz said in Potsdam, where Klitschko accepted the M100 Media Award on behalf of the Ukrainian people. Germany will maintain this support — "reliably and for as long as necessary," Scholz asserted. This would continue to be done in close coordination with European and international partners. The M100 Media Award was bestowed in Potsdam, near Berlin, alongside an event on media freedom. It was awarded to Ukrainians who "with heroic courage, stoic fortitude and indomitable will... have been defending themselves against Russia"s brutal invasion for months now." Pope Francis said it was morally legitimate for nations to supply weapons to Ukraine to help the country defend itself from Russian aggression. Speaking to reporters aboard a plane returning from a three-day trip to Kazakhstan, Francis also urged Kyiv to be open to eventual dialogue, even though it may "smell" because it would be difficult for the Ukrainian side. "I would not exclude dialogue with any power that is at war, even if it is with the aggressor. ... Sometimes you have to carry out dialogue like this. It smells but it must be done," he said. The United States will cross a "red line" if it provides Ukraine with missiles of longer range and become a party to the conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "If Washington takes a decision on delivering missiles of greater range to Kiev, it will cross a red line," she said. "In a case like that, we will be forced to react correspondingly," she added, making reference to defence by "all possible means." Ukraine has repeatedly called for missiles with a range of 300 kilometres, noting that it could use them to strike a recently built bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula to Russia over the Kerch Strait. According to Zakharova, the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine was dragging out the conflict and causing civilian casualties. International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution demanding that Russia end its occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The Russian military and the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom should suspend all activities at the nuclear plant and hand control back to Ukrainian authorities, the IAEA's decision-making body in Vienna demanded. The text was passed with 26 votes in favour, two against and seven abstentions, diplomats said, adding that Russia and China were the countries that voted against. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, has come under repeated fire in recent weeks. Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for the attacks. Germany will supply two more multiple rocket launchers to Kyiv, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said. "We have decided to deliver two more MARS II multiple rocket launchers including 200 rockets to Ukraine," she told a Bundeswehr conference, adding the training of the Ukrainian operators was expected to start in September. In addition, 50 Dingo armored vehicles would be delivered to Ukraine, Lambrecht said. the Dingo is an armored vehicle that the German military extensively used during NATO's military operation in Afghanistan. She also said a deal on a circle swap of infantry fighting vehicles with Greece and Ukraine was almost completed. According to Lambrecht, Germany would soon hand over 40 Marder IFVs to Greece while Greece, in turn, would pass on 40 of its Soviet-built BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine. The first tranche of payments from the European Investment Bank's (EIB) €1.59 billion ($1.59 billion) Ukraine Solidarity Urgent Response credit package has been released. The €500 million will be used to support Kyiv covering short-term financing needs as well as funding urgent repair work on Ukrainian logistics impacted by the war. European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovski said this payment will "have a real impact on the ground in Ukraine." "This emergency package was prepared jointly with the European Commission, to assist Ukraine in facing urgent investment needs, from infrastructure networks to the delivery of basic services to the population," EIB President Werner Hoyer said in a statement published by the European Commission. This is the second emergency support package from Europe to Ukraine, with €668 million disbursed shortly after Russia first invaded. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has told media that Germany's ruling coalition should decide soon whether to deliver advanced battle tanks to Ukraine as Kyiv's troops carry out a counteroffensive against invading Russian forces. In an interview with the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published on Thursday,  Baerbock said the decision must be a joint one by the three-party coalition of her Green Party, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) and the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), along with international partners. "But in the decisive phase that Ukraine currently finds itself, I also don't believe that it's a decision which can be delayed for long,'' she was quoted as saying. Germany has so far shown reluctance to supply its Leopard-2 battle tanks to Ukraine, despite Kyiv's request that it do so, in a policy that is in line with its Western partners, who fear that the delivery of such weapons could be seen by Moscow as tantamount to their active involvement in the conflict. Germany has, however, delivered other heavy weaponry such as howitzers and self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Group of Seven (G7) wealthy democracies aim to draw up a global investment plan that would help Ukraine recover from the ravages of Russia's invasion, according to German Economy Minister Robert Habeck. "It's about creating a big global-wide fund with a lot of money to be raised from private investors," Habeck said, speaking at a meeting of G7 trade ministers in Neuhardenberg, a town to the east of the German capital, Berlin. He said it should be made easier for foreign companies to invest in Ukraine. The meeting was also attended by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Syyrydenko. Germany currently heads the G7 group, which also includes France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the United States and Britain. Teams were working to repair a hydraulic system that was damaged on Wednesday when eight Russian cruise missiles hit a dam in the city of Kryvyi Rih — the largest city in central Ukraine, with a pre-war population of around 650,000. Some 112 homes were reportedly flooded after water escaped from the Karachunivske reservoir, Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Kryvyi Rih military administration said on Telegram. He added that the "flooding was receding" and repairs on the dam had begun. In an overnight address, President Zelenskyy slammed the Russian strike, saying "the objects have no military value at all." "At the site of the missile attack on Kryvyi Rih, everything is being done to eliminate the consequences of this yet another Russian vile act," he said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The daily intelligence update from the British Ministry of Defense highlighted the varied manner with which Russian troops retreated from certain areas amid Ukraine's surprise counteroffensive last week. "The way in which Russian forces have withdrawn in the last week has varied," the update on Twitter said. "Some units retreated in relatively good order and under control, while others fled in apparent panic." It also gave an example of the abandonment of several pieces of "high-value equipment" by retreating Russian forces. The ministry also said that this likely evidenced "localized breakdowns in command and control." ab/fb (Reuters, dpa, AFP, AP)

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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he held "productive and constructive" talks with Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan on Saturday. The diplomatic forum in Turkey marks the first time foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia met for sit-down talks since 2009. Cavusoglu told reporters that they were "making efforts for stability and peace." Armenia's Mirzoyan echoed similar sentiments, saying "we are continuing the process of normalizing relations without preconditions… we are making efforts." The meeting, which lasted for 30 minutes, was held in the southern Turkish city of Antalya. Turkey and Armenia are historically bitter rivals and share no diplomatic relations. The main issue between the countries stem from the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces in 1915, during World War I. Armenia calls it a genocide, and says 1.5 million Armenians were killed that year. Turkey has rejected the genocide label and has denied that it was systematically orchestrated. Ankara accepts that a large number of Armenians were killed, but says the numbers are exaggerated by Armenians and that Turks were killed as well.  The German Parliament in 2016 recognized the killing of Armenians as constituting a genocide, as did the United States in 2021. A dozen other bodies and countries like the European Parliament, France and Canada recognize Ottoman killing of Armenians as genocide. Additionally, normalization of ties between Turkey and Armenia have been hampered by fierce dispute between Turkey's ally Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought violence wars over the region in the late 1980s and 1990s, with tensions flaring most recently in 2020. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Turkey cut diplomatic ties and shut its border with Armenia in 1993, in solidarity with all Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan was at the time engaged in a conflict with Armenian separatists in Karabakh. Azerbaijan is majority Muslim, while Armenia is majority Christian. In 2009, Armenia and Turkey signed a landmark peace accord to restore ties and open borders, but the deal was never ratified amid pressure from Azerbaijan. In 2020, during the bloody Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Ankara once again supported Azerbaijan and accused Yerevan of occupying Azeri territories. A Russian-brokered truce that ended the conflict removed Turkey's main objection to talking to Armenia, which was Yerevan's support for the local Nagorno-Karabakh government's claim of independence from Azerbaijan. The war also saw Azerbaijan restore control over large parts of its former province of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The first commercial flights for two years between Turkey and Armenia resumed in early February, but the land border remains closed.  rm/dj (Reuters, AFP, AP)

7Politics

After 10 days of scheduled maintenance, Russian gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline resumed on Thursday, though not at full capacity. Still, it led to a sigh of relief in the European Union, and especially in Germany. The EU's largest economy had feared that Russia might use some pretext to completely shut down this critical Baltic Sea transport route for natural gas. The episode makes clear that President Vladimir Putin does not want to cede control of his gas — a popular and still very potent weapon. If he had ordered Gazprom not to resume deliveries via Nord Stream 1, he would have effectively burned all bridges. By now, even the most naive Germans seem to have realized that Putin is the one making such geostrategic decisions in Russia, especially now during the war against Ukraine and the head-on confrontation with the West. Had Russia not turned on the taps, the EU would have declared the highest alarm level and immediately put into effect its plans for a gas supply emergency. There would have been an embargo on Russian gas, only it would have been imposed not by the EU, but by Russia itself. After that, it would have been difficult for Russia to resume deliveries again. That would have looked like a sign of weakness, a concession to the West, or even a de facto admission that without its European customers, Gazprom has nowhere to sell its vast quantities of West Siberian gas. Instead, the Russian state-owned company will now continue to generate foreign currency for the country, which is important for Russia as a major player in the raw materials market, especially given that Russian coal will disappear completely from the European market in three weeks due to EU sanctions, and Russian oil largely by the end of the year. But in the current situation, something else is obviously much more important to the Kremlin: By resuming Nord Stream 1 operations, Moscow retains the possibility to continue scaring the Europeans by threatening them with a complete gas freeze. Last month, Gazprom blamed the absence of a Siemens gas turbine undergoing repairs in Canada for cutting gas flows to Germany via Nord Stream 1. That happened just before the leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Romania visited Kyiv to push for Ukraine to be granted EU candidate status. The company could use similar technical excuses to suddenly cut supplies in the future. And Putin will be able to continue to announce delivery reductions, as he did recently in Tehran, when he said that volumes flowing through Nord Stream 1 would have to be reduced to one-fifth of existing capacity, or that the Europeans would have to bring Nord Stream 2 online. It's a very humiliating situation and one in which the EU and particularly Germany, which is mainly responsible for Europeans' current gas reliance on Russia and its regime, have no choice but to grit their teeth and bear it to gain time — time that will be needed to pump as much gas as possible into European reservoirs by winter. Currently, gas storage facilities in the EU are on average 65% full, which is very good. That makes the target of 80 to 90% in three-and-a-half months a realistic one. Poland, Sweden and Denmark have already reached this target. In Germany, the figure is currently 65%. There is a chance of reducing the currently exorbitant gas prices if the storage facilities are filled to the maximum. But for Europeans, something else is taking priority: In the coming winter months, they need to equip themselves against a fundamental energy shortfall, which could inevitably lead to the restriction or even suspension of gas supplies to industries. If that happened, other sectors could grind to a halt. This would be a direct path to recession. The focus is now on the coming winter. Things will get better as early as 2023 because gas deliveries via pipelines from other countries will increase significantly, new LNG terminals will be operational and several energy-saving measures will kick in. The German government believes it can end its dependence on Russian gas by the summer of 2024. But for now, the EU's dependence on Russian gas is still too high, making it economically and politically vulnerable and limiting its ability to help Ukraine. The most important task for the EU now is to quickly fill its gas storage facilities — a goal that involves putting up with Putin's gas games and even playing along. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Does Putin think he can use gas to toy around with Europe? Then let him think that! Does he rejoice in the illusion that it will still be possible to revive Nord Stream 2? Then let him rejoice! Did he want the return of the Siemens turbine from Canada that he held up as an excuse for slashing gas flows to Germany? Returning it was the right move! Will he need other equipment for Nord Stream repairs? In such a dispute, as in a real war, you have to be able to temporarily give up some positions to maintain your overall combat capability. While Putin is playing all his gas games and telling Russian television viewers that everything is going according to plan, EU states are filling their gas storage facilities day by day. Seen in this light, the resumption of supplies via Nord Stream 1, albeit in a severely limited form, represents an important late-stage victory for the Europeans. They have gained time and at least some gas deliveries. This opinion piece was originally written in Russian

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The streets are deserted. Every few minutes, a missile whistles past and explodes nearby. Yevhen Tkachov and other volunteers from the aid organization Proliska are the only people moving around Bakhmut, supplying the remaining residents with food and toiletries. The western part of the contested city in the region of Donbas is almost unrecognizable. Many houses are now nothing more than piles of bricks. Remnants of advertising billboards and damaged streetlights dangle over the roads and pavements, which are littered with overturned and burnt-out cars. Most windows are shattered; provisional coverings are stretched across the frames. Broken doors slam open and shut in the wind. "Of course it's dangerous. But what can we do? People need help, because the stores don't open here anymore and not everyone has money," says Yevhen, getting out of the car. He has stopped in a courtyard surrounded by several apartment buildings. Here, too, many of the windows are broken. A man is trying to cover one with foil when there is the sound of an explosion very close by. The man ducks for cover, but gets back to work a few seconds later. Some people approach the volunteers' car. "Humanitarian aid! Humanitarian aid!" Yevhen shouts, coaxing more residents out of the houses. They all have their identity cards with them, because they have to fill out a form with their personal data and sign it when they receive the aid. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Suddenly, something flies just over the roofs of the houses, whistling loudly, and explodes nearby. Nobody even ducks this time; they just keep filling out the forms. "We're used to all sorts of different whistling sounds and explosions," a woman called Nina says. Bakhmut is the focus of a war of attrition between Russian attackers and Ukrainian defenders. The front line is getting closer. There has been no electricity here for several months, no drinking water, and no gas. Nina says there are around 100 people living in her neighborhood. Volunteers and the Ukrainian military have provided them with generators, but they only switch them on intermittently: to charge a lot of phones at once, or to do the occasional load of washing. The next gas station is in the town of Chasiv Yar, about 12 kilometers (seven miles) away. "We drive there in the car, which also requires gas. That's why we're saving energy," says Nina. Drinking water is also supplied by the Ukrainian army or aid workers. Otherwise, they go looking for it themselves, searching for wells in the interior courtyards of private houses. They cook food on the street, on makeshift grills or cast-iron stoves. Outside two of the apartment buildings, men are chopping wood. One of them, 35-year-old Dmytro, carries the logs into his apartment, where a sick relative is lying. "We've put stoves in the apartment, and we heat them with firewood," he says. "You can put a pot or frying pan on it and prepare food." From the courtyard, you can see pipes sticking out of several windows, with smoke rising from them.  Whole families have remained in Bakhmut because of sick or elderly people who cannot, or don't want to, be evacuated. A man approaches with his teenage daughter. The girl doesn't want to speak to the journalists; she hides her face. "We can't leave our very sick grandmother alone in Bakhmut," her father says. The girl is the only child to be seen. Almost all children were evacuated from Bakhmut by September. As early as last spring, as the front was approaching the city, people in this part of Bakhmut cleaned their cellars out thoroughly and set up furniture down there, some of which they made themselves. Down there, there are almost no communication links, says Nina. She walks ahead down a dark corridor that leads to the "rooms," only switching on her torch once we get there. There are shelves on the concrete walls, with tea and porridge. The six beds are neatly made. It's warm, thanks to a stove in the corner. The women there are boiling water on it, and they offer us tea. There is no ventilation in the cellar, so they regularly go up to the front door to get some fresh air. For this reason, they say, they also try to use fewer candles at night. During the day they mostly stay in their apartments, but because the shelling goes on all night, they usually go down and sleep in their "bunker," as Nina calls it — although, as she admits, "This cellar won't save us from a rocket." These people know they are living in danger. Yet they still insist that they're not prepared to choose "capitulation or evacuation." "The people of Bakhmut have long known the meaning of war and shelling," says Mykyta. The young man points out that fighting in Donbas began long before the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Ever since 2014, "something has hit the city" from time to time. Mykyta says he couldn't leave his parents, and they're too attached to their house to agree to evacuation. He can only hope that "the Ukrainian armed forces will drive the enemy out of the city." Nina, too, has not yet given up hope. Her daughter has fled "to Europe," she says, but she wanted to stay in Bakhmut with her husband. "I'll stay here as long as the Ukrainian army is here," she insists. However, both agree that civilians should be evacuated if the situation deteriorates further.  This article was originally written in Russian.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has presided over the first day of a high-level meeting of the ruling Workers' Party that is to discuss strategic planning for the coming months, state media reported on Tuesday. The plenary meeting, one of the highest-level decision-making bodies in the country, opened on Monday amid problems posed by the coronavirus pandemic and a diplomatic deadlock with the United States. A report from the state news agency KCNA said the conference would review this year's policies and decide on "the strategic and tactical policies and practical tasks for dynamically guiding the struggle of our party and people to usher in a new period of the development of socialist construction to the next stage of victory.'' North Korea is facing international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, which has been expanded under Kim during his 10 years at the helm. The program has brought the country into conflict notably with the United States, which has imposed multiple sanctions along with several other countries, the United Nations and the European Union. Negotiations between North Korea and the US have been at a standstill since a failed meeting between former US President Donald Trump and Kim in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019. Pyongyang has so far rejected proposals for talks by the Biden administration. North Korea also has economic problems caused by climate-induced natural disasters and the coronavirus pandemic. The country's economy contracted by 4.5% in 2020, largely owing to the pandemic, though little is known about the effects of the disease within North Korea itself. It was one of the first countries to lock down its borders when Beijing announced the presence of the new coronavirus in early 2020. Previously, Kim has used the meetings to make announcements related to his stance on the US or South Korea, or on his country's nuclear program. In January, at such a conference, he called the US North Korea's "biggest enemy" and announced he was expanding the regime's nuclear arsenal. It is not known how long this week's meeting will last. In 2019, a plenary meeting took place over four days. tj/rt (dpa, AP)

7Politics

Two weeks after starting its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Israel leads the world in immunizations per capita. On Tuesday, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said 1.37 million Israelis had received their first doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine. Compared with other countries that started their immunization drives in December, Israel has become "a world champion in vaccinations," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Twitter. Vying for reelection in snap polls in March, Netanyahu is promising Israelis that the country could be the first to "emerge" from the coronavirus pandemic — provided that they take their jabs. A so-called green passport, which would allow more freedoms to people who have been vaccinated, has been dangled to encourage Israelis to enlist for vaccination. "I think there is a readiness in society to start coming out of it and to feel some control over their lives again," said Diane Levin-Zamir, a professor of public health at the University of Haifa. "The metaphor of a vaccine is just helping people to see that we are taking giant steps out of the corona pandemic." The government had secured several million doses of the two-stage BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine early on. The Moderna vaccine was approved on Tuesday, but the first batches are not expected until March, according to the Health Ministry. The fast rollout of immunization is thanks in part to the relatively small size of Israel, the provision of vaccines and the country's digitized health care system. Every citizen has to register with one of the four nongovernmental health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that provide care. Now, clinics, hospitals and makeshift vaccination centers are working almost 24/7 to administer the shots. "Israel has this infrastructure that on the one hand is very community-oriented," said Levin-Zamir, who also works as director of the department of health education at the HMO Clalit. "It is very dispersed — there are many primary care clinics in every neighborhood or small towns — but we also have the centralized health care system." For now, anyone over 60, health care workers, caregivers and people with underlying health conditions are given priority. Stories of younger people simply walking into clinics or being called up to receive surplus doses of vaccine which would otherwise be wasted, have also circulated on social media. An opened BioNTech-Pfizer vial has to be used within a short time. Israel continues to struggle with a soaring coronavirus infection rate. The death toll stands currently at 3,445 people. Health officials have suggested that the third nationwide shutdown, which was imposed in December, would be tightened this week. "Full vaccination is only a week after the second dose," Health Minister Yuli Edelstein wrote on Twitter. "In the meantime, morbidity is rising quickly. Therefore, there's no choice but a full and fast closure." As logistical, financial and political problems abound, it remains uncertain when vaccination will commence for the 5 million Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Both the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority-administered West Bank have seen rising infection rates in recent months. More than 1,600 people have died from COVID-19. The timing of this spike and media coverage of the vaccination campaign in Israel have Palestinians wondering when vaccination is planned for them. Some fear that immunizations will be delayed as rich countries inoculate populations first. Many have discussed Israel's responsibilities to immunize Palestinians in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have mostly access to the vaccination program through their local Israeli health care providers. In an open letter, several Israeli human rights organizations appealed to the government, as the occupying power, to supply or to help fund vaccines for Palestinians. Some officials have suggested that the government might turn over any surplus once Israel's population has been vaccinated. Sources have pointed out that this would be in the national interest as thousands of Palestinians commute across the border daily or work in Israeli settlements.This would increase the pressure on the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority to secure vaccines from different countries and pharmaceutical companies. The Russian-made Sputnik V and UK-produced AstraZeneca vaccines have been reported as possibilities. "We are trying our best to get vaccines and have made requests to several companies," said Dr. Yaser Bouzieh, the director-general of the Public Health Department at the Palestinian Health Ministry. There is no agreed timeline as of now, he added, but "we expect delivery by the end of February or in March." In addition, the Palestinian Authority has signed up for a special partnership mechanism with the World Health Organization and the Gavi Vaccine Alliance. The WHO-administered COVAX program aims to help low-income countries to get an equitable share of vaccines. As such, it would help provide vaccines in stages for up to 20% of health care workers and people over 60 or who have preexisting conditions in the West Bank and Gaza. "We don't know exactly yet when vaccines will become available for distribution, as many potential vaccines are being studied and several large clinical trials are underway," said Gerald Rockenschaub, the head of office of the WHO office for the Palestinian territories. Ninety-two countries participating in the program are awaiting emergency use approval of the vaccines before distribution begins. "We estimate that it could be in early to mid-2021," Rockenschaub said. In recent days, local media have reported that an expected temporary shortage of vaccine supplies would slow down the inoculation. "The Achilles' heel lies in the chain of supply of the vaccine in January," Amos Harel wrote recently in the newspaper Haaretz. To continue the successful campaign, Israel will need a steady supply of the pledged vaccines.  

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The German government on Sunday added Austria to its list of high-risk travel destinations, meaning all nine of Germany's neighbors now have the designation. Anyone crossing the borders who has not been vaccinated or recently infected must go into quarantine for 10 days. The isolation period can be shortened if they provide a negative test. The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Poland and Denmark were already on the list. Austria was taken off the list in December. EU countries have been reporting record infections as the omicron variant spreads.  Almost 140 out of about 200 countries in the world are designated high-risk by Germany. Germany itself has recorded a new high in its seven-day incidence of new cases, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control said on Sunday. There were 515.7 new infections per 100,000 people per week on Sunday, marking the first time the measure has exceeded 500 in the country.  A day earlier, the figure stood at 497.1 a day earlier and it was 362.7 a week earlier. German health authorities recorded 52,504 infections in the last 24-hour period, with 47 deaths. A week earlier, with a daily count 36,552 was recorded. On Saturday, Germany saw protests in several cities against coronavirus measures. Here's a roundup of the latest developments on COVID-19 from around the world: The United Kingdom is drawing up plans under which people will not be legally obliged to self-isolate after contracting the coronavirus, British newspaper The Telegraph reported on Sunday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to scrap emergency COVID laws as Britain's cases continue to fall, the report said, adding official guidance would stay in place but there would be no fines or legal punishment if flouted. In Denmark, cultural and entertainment spots are being reopened after about a month, as — despite a high number of infections — the government relaxes rules. Museums, zoos and amusement parks were all opened up again, along with cinemas, theaters and concert halls. Capacity limits are still in place and, in most places, visitors must wear masks. Nightlife venues will stay closed until the end the month. With a population of just 6 million, Denmark has regularly recorded more than 20,000 case per day, with more than 25,000 cases on Saturday alone. As numbers in Europe spiral upward, the World Health Organization has warned of a "closing window of opportunity'' for European countries to keep their health care systems from being overwhelmed by the omicron variant. Germany's army, the Bundeswehr, is investigating 50 to 60 soldiers who have refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19, despite a vaccine mandate for all 180,000 soldiers, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Sunday. The refusal to get the vaccine has been classified as insubordination since the end of November. Soldiers who still refuse may face disciplinary action. A far-right, anti-vaccine and anti-immigration protest marched through the Hungarian capital Budapest on Sunday. Around 60% of the population is fully vaccinated and around a third have received a booster shot. But the spread of omicron has caused a surge of cases, facilitated by the lack of restrictions. Thousands of protesters in the Netherlands marched through Amsterdam on Sunday to express opposition to the government's COVID-19 restrictions and vaccination campaign. The Dutch government eased its almost monthlong lockdown earlier in the week under public pressure, despite rising infections. The country reported another record number of cases on Sunday, reaching over 36,000 in one day. Malta saw one of its biggest protests against coronavirus restrictions on Sunday. Hundreds of people marched through the capital Valetta in opposition to new rules requiring people to show a COVID certificate to access most public venues. The Mediterranean island nation has one of the highest vaccination rates in the EU with some 95% of people fully vaccinated and around three-quarters of adults having received the booster shot by Sunday. Peru's Health Minister Hernando Cevallos has urged COVID-19 vaccine companies to extend expiration dates past the current limit of 3 months. The aim, he said, was to reduce the risk of losing dosses by them being thrown away unnecessarily. Cevallos said the government had asked one of the laboratories that supply vaccines to issue them with an expiration of up to 6 months. The producer — which was not named on the grounds of confidentiality — refused, saying the dates were pre-set. Peru has one of the highest per capita COVID-19 mortality rates in the world. It has contracts with China's Sinopharm, the US companies Moderna and Pfizer and UK-based AstraZeneca. The country of some 33 million people, which is in the middle of a third wave of infection, on Saturday recorded almost 50,000 new infections. Chile saw a new record of daily cases with 9,284 new infections and 21 deaths in 24 hours reported for Saturday. Colombian health authorities also reported a new record, of 35,575 new daily cases out of 51 million people. Mexico also reported its highest figures since the start of the pandemic, with 47 daily infections in a country of 129 million. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video As China prepares for the Winter Olympics next month, host city Beijing is demanding that travelers get a COVID-19 test within 72 hours of arrival there, after the city reported its first local infection with the highly transmissible omicron strain. The case involved an individual who had visited a number of shopping areas and restaurants in the previous 14 days. The new rule is effective from January 22 to the end of March. Elsewhere, a cargo train from North Korea pulled into a Chinese border town on Sunday, according to media reports, in what's thought to be the first such crossing since anti-coronavirus border lockdowns began. The train crossed the Yalu River railway bridge to arrive in the Chinese town of Dandong on Sunday. North Korea has sported no COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began and has introduced strict measures against the virus. These have included the border closures and domestic travel restrictions. In India, some 60% of the adult population of 900 million has received two doses of the coronavirus vaccine, as the country marks a year since the start of its vaccination campaign. The nation of some 1.3 billion people started its vaccination program with the aim of covering the adult population by the end of the year.  Although that target has been missed, the government said that, so far, at least one dose had been administered to 93% of the population. Daily infections of coronavirus in Australia have dropped below 100,000 for the first time in 5 days, amid expectations that omicron has reached its peak in the worst-hit state New South Wales. Meanwhile, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic is set to leave Australia after losing a legal battle over his coronavirus vaccination status. The player said he was "extremely disappointed with  a unanimous Federal Court decision not to block his deportation. The ruling was deliver over fears he could stoke anti-vaccine sentiment. The decision ends Djokovic's dream of clinching a record 21st Grand Slam title. jsi, ab, rc/wmr (dpa, AFP, Reuters, AP)

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The European Central Bank (ECB) opened the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the introduction of euro cash with a light show at its headquarters. The building in Frankfurt was lit up at midnight on January 1, and will be illuminated every night until January 9, 2022.  Information about the euro will be displayed in 15 European languages until January 9 from 5:30 pm until 11:30 pm CET.  "Clearly, Europe and the euro have become inseparable. And for young Europeans, who have only ever known the single currency, it must be almost impossible to imagine Europe without it," ECB chief Christine Lagarde wrote in a blog post.  The euro is the world's second-most widely used currency, after the US dollar. It accounts for 20% of global foreign exchange reserves compared to 60% for the US greenback. Its various red, blue, and orange notes feature illustrations of generic Gothic, Romanesque and Renaissance architecture typical of the continent. In December, the ECB announced a redesign of the notes , which is likely to be rolled out in 2024.  The euro first become legal electronic tender in 1999, for 11 of the then 15 member states.  "It is fair to say that the euro has had an eventful first two decades," members of the eurogroup of finance ministers said in a joint article.  The euro had faced a debt crisis that began in Greece and spread to other nations. Apart from Greece, bailouts were given to Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus. Austerity measures were imposed on these economies in return.  During the economic crisis created by the pandemic, nations rolled out huge stimulus programs. The ECB deployed a huge bond-buying scheme to keep borrowing costs low and drive economic growth. "It's proven its mettle in dealing with great challenges and great crises," said Irish Finance Minister and head of the Eurogroup Paschal Donohoe. tg/rc (dpa, AFP)

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