Climate change: 2015 will be the hottest year on record 'by a mile', experts say
'Illegal' Malaysian protests demand PM Najib Razak’s resignation
Organisers say past rallies show police will use force against thousands calling for the government to address multi-million dollar financial scandal
Malaysians are staging protests calling for the resignation of the prime minister, Najib Razak, who is battling the fallout from a damning financial scandal.
The government was quick to condemn the weekend-long rallies, calling them illegal and blocking the website of the organisers, a coalition of non-governmental organisations.
This is the fourth demonstration by Bersih, which means “clean” in Malay, and is expected to be the largest. It is scheduled to last 34 hours from Saturday through to Sunday, to protest about what the group calls “one of the greatest multi-billion dollar corruption scandals in Malaysia’s history and the government’s most oppressive crackdowns on free speech”.
Dispelling myths about refugees
Most refugees come to Europe; they take our jobs away from us; and people who come from the Southern Balkans are just economic migrants anyway. DW takes a look at these migration myths and misconceptions.
DW reporters Diana Hodali and Sven Pöhle clear up general misconceptions about refugees. Their findings refute widespread notions in the German population - many of which exist in other European countries as well.
Why do we even accept refugees?
Germany has defined asylum laws: article 16a of the German constitution states that "politically persecuted persons have the right to asylum." This also applies to people who are severely marginalized in their home country for their political beliefs, to the point that their human dignity is violated.
Myth: Refugees get more money than Germans do
For about 20 years, asylum seekers and people who are classified in other refugee categories received about 30 percent less in German government benefits than what is considered to be a decent minimum standard for living in Germany. In July 2012, Germany's Federal Constitutional Court criticized the benefits as "clearly insufficient" and subsequently, increased them. While welfare recipients in Germany receive 399 euros (450 USD) per month, the amount set for asylum seekers is 281 - 352 euros (317 - 398 USD).
India's prosperous Patels seek change in caste status. Why?
Crowds of up to 500,000 have rallied in Gujarat, Prime Minister Modi's home state, to press for affirmative action. Riots left nine dead and led to curfews and the deployment of paramilitary troops.
MUMBAI — For the past week the western Indian state of Gujurat has seen a prominent community known as the Patels holding mass rallies led by a charismatic 22-year-old political activist.
The Patels are a farmer caste that has risen to become synonymous with entrepreneurship and trade. Now they are seeking affirmative action in the form of inclusion in a category of “backward” class designation that would give them government benefits. And that demand is playing out as a challenge to how modern India has adjudicated its still-existing caste system.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the former chief minister of Gujarat, called for peace this week as violence erupted after authorities tried to arrest Hardik Patel, the young activist.
Queen Elizabeth has revolutionised the British throne, over 63 years
August 29, 2015 - 12:47PMNick Miller
Europe Correspondent
Almost seven decades ago, a confident young woman in a pearl necklace sat at a small round wooden table in the shady corner of a Cape Town garden, facing a BBC radio microphone.
It was 1947, and she was turning 21.
I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.The Queen, 1947
"There is a motto which has been borne by many of my ancestors, a noble motto, 'I serve'," she said in a clear, high voice. "I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.
"God help me to make good my vow."
Less than five years later her father was dead and she was queen.
Ethiopia races to preserve 'Africa's Jerusalem'
Archaeologists face a race against time to save 800-year-old structures crumbling away from moisture damage.
Charles Stratford |
Conservationists are facing a race against time to prevent one of Ethiopia's most sacred religious site from crumbling away.
The ancient churches of Lalibela in northern Ethiopia have been a place of pilgrimage for local Christians since they were constructed 800 years ago.
The 11 churches were carved out of the mountainside during the reign of the priest-king Lalibela, who hoped to give Ethiopians a place for pilgrimage inside the country and help them avoid making the dangerous journey to Jerusalem.
However, moisture is eating away at the structures and the sacred site is literally crumbling away.
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