Syria war: US welcomes 'milestone' as UN endorses peace plan
A UN plan for Syria is a "milestone" in the efforts to end the conflict there, says US Secretary of State John Kerry.
He said the plan gave Syrians a "real choice... between war and peace".
The resolution, passed unanimously by the UN Security Council, sets out a timetable for formal talks and a unity government within six months,
However, the resolution makes no mention of the future role of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Western countries have called for his departure, but Russia and China say he should not be required to leave power as a precondition for peace talks.
Mr Kerry said Mr Assad had "lost the ability to unite the country" but he also said that demanding Mr Assad's immediate departure was "prolonging the war".
Fatal drug overdoses hit record high in US, government figures show
In 2014 more people died in America from drug overdoses than from car accidents, with heroin and opioids responsible for the majority of deaths
Deaths from drug overdoses have surged across the US to record levels, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nationwide, overdose deaths last year exceeded 47,000, more than the number of people killed in car accidents and up 7% from the previous year.
The CDC said 61% of the deaths involved some type of opioid pain relievers and heroin. The count also included deaths involving powerful sedatives, cocaine and other legal and illicit drugs.
CDC director Tom Frieden said the rise in overdoses related to opioid use, up 14% from 2014, was particularly concerning.
British American Tobacco 'bribed' Kenyan politician Martha Karua to stop action against cigarette smuggling
Exclusive: Whistleblower reveals payment to try to stop rival firm winning contract
One of the UK’s biggest companies made secret political donations to a presidential candidate in Africa in a bid to block a rival firm winning a multimillion-pound contract.
British American Tobacco (BAT) paid £50,000 to Kenyan politician Martha Karua, a former Justice Minister, to prevent a rival company supplying Kenya with technology to combat cigarette smuggling.
In return for the donations, paid in cash via a middle man, BAT obtained key confidential Kenyan Revenue Authority (KRA) documents outlining the £100m five-year contract for new technology designed to stamp out tobacco smuggling. They then had the contract deliberately delayed while they secretly lobbied to get their own system chosen.Opinion: Poland has a resilient democracy
After the mass protests last weekend, opponents of the nationalist conservative government have decided to organize more demonstrations. The Poles will defend the nation's democracy, writes DW's Bartosz Dudek.
Poles are resilient people. Threatened by foreign powers for centuries, divided, occupied and enslaved, they have learned to stand up for themselves and also the freedom of other people. In the 20th century, they even performed two great feats in this field: the first time, in 1920, they stopped the Red Army advance towards Western Europe and thus prevented the spread of the Russian Revolution. The second time, between 1980 and 1989, they wisely and peacefully launched a movement that ultimately led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The establishment of a democratic nation and the ensuing economic miracle on the Vistula has become a model and a standard for other countries when it comes to taking initiative.
Now, after 26 years of success, Polish voters have made a decision that seems strange to outsiders: they chose to oust a pro-European and liberal government, even though they were able to come up with Europe's best economic statistics. Instead, they put their faith in a euroskeptic and nationalist conservative party that had promised a "good change" and major social benefits. However, only four weeks after the change of power, many Poles are already disenchanted.
Customers ransack lender’s offices in China
Angry customers ransacked several offices belonging to Chinese peer-to-peer lender eZubao last week, stripping the workplaces of everything from computers right down to the furniture. After authorities froze the startup's assets amid a government probe into its activities, clients, fearing that they wouldn't be able to get their money back, raided the offices.
Launched back in 2014, eZubao is a peer-to-peer lending firm that belongs to the Yusheng Group. The private company gives individuals and businesses the opportunity to invest, boasting yields that reach a staggering 15 percent.
In order to offer such a high rate of return, the startup has gambled on offering loans at similarly high interest rates.
Investing at such high rates is without doubt a risky endeavour. But in China, where public companies have monopolised the country's banking system, getting access to a loan can be a tricky business, leaving investors more prone to be lured in by offers like these.
Satire as US voters support bombing Aladdin's Agrabah
Social media sends up some 30 percent of Republicans who say they would support bombing the fictional Disney nation.
Anealla Safdar | | Politics, Arts & Culture, US & Canada, Social mediaBombing Agrabah
Some 30 percent of US Republican primary voters and 19 percent of Democrats who said they would support bombing Agrabah, a fictional nation in Disney's Aladdin animation feature, are sent up on social media for their ignorance.
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"Welcome to Agrabah, a city of mystery, of enchantment, and the finest merchandise this side of the river Jordan, on sale today. Come on down". Those are the words that open the Disney animation Aladdin, a feature made in the early nineties. Agrabah, a fictional land, has enjoyed renewed attention as a national survey showed that a not insignificant number of people would support its bombing.30% of Republican primary voters nationally say they support bombing Agrabah. Agrabah is the country from Aladdin. #NotTheOnion
We asked the Agrabah question to Dem primary voters too. They oppose bombing 'it' 36/19, while GOP supports bombing 'it' 30/13
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