Venezuela protests: Looting, shootings leave 13 dead in one day
Updated 1012 GMT (1812 HKT) April 22, 2017
After weeks of violent protests that left at least 22 people dead, Venezuelans will take to the streets Saturday dressed in white to pay tribute to those killed in anti-government demonstrations this month.
The peaceful demonstrations planned nationwide come after at least 13 people were killed in one day in the capital of Caracas.
Nine of the victims were electrocuted as they tried to loot a bakery Thursday during chaotic anti-government protests in Caracas, according to the nation's minister for communication.
Three others were fatally shot and an additional death was reported in the city, but details were not immediately available.
Six people also suffered gunshot wounds as several other businesses, including two liquor stores, were looted and attacks were reported in the city's metro system, he said.
France’s identity crisis: ‘People just don’t know what to think any more’
France goes to the polls on Sunday in a presidential election shaped by economic insecurity, cultural paranoia and terrorism. Natalie Nougayrède travels to the south-west and tries to make sense of the most important vote of her lifetime
The quiet, lovely medieval towns and soft, rolling hills covered with orchards and vineyards of south-west France are an unlikely setting for a citizens’ uprising. Yet just days before the presidential election, conversations with the inhabitants of this once leftwing region, stretching from the city of Toulouse to the rural settings of the Tarn-et-Garonne, offer a glimpse into France’s mood of rage and confusion. Popular resentment, fears and frustrations set the stage for a major political upheaval, almost 60 years after De Gaulle founded the country’s Fifth Republic.
France is a republican quasi-monarchy. Its institutions are centred on the president. But what is at stake in this vote isn’t just the choice of a personality, nor only an economic or political programme. The very essence of France’s democracy hangs in the balance, as well as the survival of the 60-year-old European project. Much of what is at work resembles the trends that produced Brexit in Britain and Trump in the US – not least the disgruntlement of those who feel they have lost out to globalisation. But there are also specific, distinct elements of a collective French identity crisis.
Taliban attack underlines shortcomings in Afghan security
Taliban militants have attacked an army compound in northern Afghanistan, killing more than 140 army personnel. Some say intelligence failures and other mistakes by Kabul and its foreign allies led to the incident.
Thirteen Taliban militants disguised in military uniforms launched an attack on the Afghan army base in northern Balkh province on Friday, storming it in three military vehicles. They killed most of their victims in a mosque inside the compound where army personnel were at Friday prayers.
"They are getting closer to our building and shooting anyone they see," a medical staffer of the 209th Shaheen Military Corps told DW only minutes after the attack on the army base had started.
"Pray for me," the medical staffer begged in his telephone conversation with DW, as if those were his last words.
The programme teaching Arabic speakers to debate
In countries where freedom of expression is limited and the opposition is often stifled, it’s not easy to teach young people to debate and exchange opposing ideas. Yet since 2011, the online video platform Munathara [“debate” in Arabic] has been trying to challenge young Arabic-speakers from all over the world to improve their debating skills.
Every six weeks or so, the team at Munathara post a broad question on their platform, like “Should liberty of expression be restricted?” Any Arabic-speaker under the age of 30 is free to upload a video that responds to the question. They have 99 seconds to express their opinion and provide support for their argument.
Next, spectators can vote on their favourite videos. The makers of the top six videos are then invited to a special workshop held in Beirut, Istanbul, or Tunis. There, they take part in an initial debate, then the two winners of that debate—who each represent an opposing side—participate in a grand finale debate with a host of VIPs in attendance.
Cologne tense as anti-immigration AfD holds conference
Tensions run high as thousands descend on German city to protest against a key conference of anti-immigration AfD party.
More than 50,000 demonstrators are expected to descend on Cologne to protest against the politics of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as the party holds one of the most important conferences in its four-year history.
The AfD, known for its populist, anti-immigration stance, is hoping to enter parliament for the first time in Germany's general election on 24 September.
About 4,000 police officers have been deployed to avert clashes on the city's streets between anti-AfD protesters and party supporters.
American Airlines suspends employee after clash over pram
American Airlines has removed an employee from duty after an ugly clash over a baby's pram in San Francisco.
A passenger who uploaded video of the aftermath of the incident said a mother had been struck with the pram as it was forcibly removed by the employee.
The video shows the employee saying, "Hit me! Come on, bring it on", when challenged by another male passenger.
American Airlines said it was "deeply sorry for the pain we have caused" the woman passenger and her family.
The incident follows another high-profile clash on a United Airlines plane two weeks ago, when a passenger was violently removed from an overbooked flight.
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