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DW's Limbourg: "Israel must ensure safety of journalists"

DW's Limbourg: "Israel must ensure safety of journalists"

DW21 hours ago
On July 4, a DW correspondent from the DW office in Jerusalem and a DW cameraman were pelted with large stones and chased by Israeli settlers north of Ramallah, during an attack on the village of Sinjil.
They managed to reach safety without physical injuries, but the cameraman's car was severely damaged: a window was shattered and the bodywork was dented.
DW Director General Peter Limbourg: "DW condemns this attack on our colleagues who had traveled to Sinjil to cover a planned protest against settler violence. We are relieved that they were not physically injured in the attack and were able to get to safety. There is no justification for this attack. We strongly demand that the Israeli government guarantee the safety of all journalists in the West Bank. Freedom of the press – and therefore the safety of journalists – is an indispensable pillar of any democracy."
Sinjil is located in the Palestinian-administered part of the West Bank. Other journalists, mainly Palestinians, also had to flee. In addition to DW, other international media were on location to report, including AFP, the New York Times and the Washington Post. The DW employees wore press vests and were therefore clearly recognizable as media professionals.
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Israeli Negotiators Due In Qatar For Gaza Truce Talks
Israeli Negotiators Due In Qatar For Gaza Truce Talks

Int'l Business Times

time28 minutes ago

  • Int'l Business Times

Israeli Negotiators Due In Qatar For Gaza Truce Talks

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Germany updates: Thousands to join Cologne's CSD parade – DW – 07/06/2025
Germany updates: Thousands to join Cologne's CSD parade – DW – 07/06/2025

DW

timean hour ago

  • DW

Germany updates: Thousands to join Cologne's CSD parade – DW – 07/06/2025

The western German city is preparing for this year's Pride event with some 60,000 participants expected. Meanwhile, Pride events also took place in eastern Germany, amid far-right protests. Follow DW for more. Cologne's annual Pride event, Christopher Street Day (CSD), is kicking off on Sunday with hundreds of thousands of people expected to attend. The annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts people from around the world. Cologne is preparing for hundreds of thousands of people to show up for the Christopher Street Day (CSD) demonstration on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. (0930 GMT). Organizers and police are expecting around 60,000 participants. Some 90 floats are also expected to join the march. CSD traces its origins back to the Stonewall riot in New York on June 28, 1969, when people at the Stonewall LGBTQ+ bar fought back against a police raid. The incident is an important historical date for the LGBTQ+ community. 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Thousands have protested at regular rallies against mass tourism and a housing shortage. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video from Bonn! We are continuing our coverage of news from Germany over the weekend. Anti-tourist graffiti was sited on the Spanish Mediterranean island of Mallorca, a beloved holidaying spot for Germans. Wildfires continued to rage in eastern Germany. Stick around for the latest on these stories and much more from DW. German Education Minister Karin Prien recently suggested she could be open to introducing limits to the number of foreign-born students allowed into German classrooms. The minister is a member of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Prien, speaking on a recent broadcast of the show Welt TV, said a Danish model limiting the number of foreign students in a given classroom could be one that might work in Germany. 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"The firewall politics has made the AfD even stronger and should not be continued," she added. Wagenknecht formed her eponymous party after splitting from the Left Party after years of discord between her and other parts of the party for her populist and anti-immigrant rhetoric. But the BSW failed to make it across the 5% threshold to get into the Bundestag in February's federal election by a razor-thin margin. The AfD secured the second-highest vote share with 20% of the votes. The comments from the AfD and the BSW come after Wagenknecht said her party will vote with far-right parties in the European Parliament in a no-confidence vote against European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. Other German parties have criticized Wagenknecht for cozying up to the far-right, with Janis Ehling from her former Left Party saying: "Whoever snuggles up with fascists betrays everything it means to be a left-winger." Police have searched 21 properties in Burgenlandkreis in the south ofSaxony-Anhalt and five more in Saxony as part of an investigation led by the Halle public prosecutor's office. Six men aged 25 to 36 have been taken into custody in the two eastern states. Officers seized about 70 kilograms (about 155 pounds) of marijuana, six kilograms of crystal meth, 3.5 kilograms of cocaine and one kilogram of ecstasy — with a street value estimated at €1.3 million ($1.5 million). They also found two high-end vehicles, several thousand euros in cash, knives, blank-firing guns and banned fireworks. Authorities suspect organized trafficking of large quantities of drugs and cannabis products. The six suspects are due to appear before a judge on Friday. A new survey of major German retailers has found a rise in theft, committed by organized gangs or by individuals who find it ever more difficult to make ends meet. But some criminologists doubt the figures. Read the full story on the reports of increasing shoplifting cases in Germany here.

Germany to follow Austria and deport convicted Syrians
Germany to follow Austria and deport convicted Syrians

Local Germany

time2 hours ago

  • Local Germany

Germany to follow Austria and deport convicted Syrians

The ministry had instructed the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) to take action against "dangerous Syrian individuals and delinquents", a spokesman told AFP, confirming a report appearing in the Sunday edition of Welt newspaper. The spokesman stressed that committing serious crimes meant one was excluded from the protection afforded by asylum and could lead to the revocation of any such status already granted. An agreement reached by the coalition made up of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives and the Social Democrats provided for deportations to Afghanistan and Syria "starting with delinquents and people considered a threat," the spokesman added. To that end the ministry was in contact with the relevant Syrian authorities, he said. Between January and May, the BAMF has opened more than 3,500 procedures that could lead to the revocation of asylum rights granted to Syrian nationals, the ministry said in an answer to a question in parliament. Refugee status had been withdrawn in 57 cases and lower-level protection in 22 other cases, said the ministry. During the same period, around 800 Syrians have returned home as part of a voluntary repatriation programme funded by Germany, to which 2,000 have so far signed up. READ ALSO: How German media reveals its bias when foreigners commit crimes Around a million Syrians live in Germany, most of whom arrived during the major exodus between 2015 and 2016. Advertisement But since the December 2024 fall of president Bashar al-Assad, several European countries, including Austria and Germany, have suspended asylum procedures as far-right parties have campaigned on the issue. Austria's interior ministry on Thursday deported a Syrian criminal convict back to Syria, saying it was the first EU country to do so officially "in recent years". Germany has in recent months suffered several deadly attacks by jihadists using bladed weapons as well as far-right violence, which has pushed the issue of security up the political agenda.

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