Satellite images show huge Russian military buildup in the Arctic
Updated 1042 GMT (1842 HKT) April 5, 2021
Russia is amassing unprecedented military might in the Arctic and testing its newest weapons in a region freshly ice-free due to the climate emergency, in a bid to secure its northern coast and open up a key shipping route from Asia to Europe.
EU pledges backing to Ukraine after Russian military buildup
European envoy says Kiev has its ‘unwavering support’ while Moscow denies threatening behaviour
The European Union has pledged its “unwavering” support for Ukraine’s government amid concerns of a military escalation in the east of the country or a possible new offensive against the Nato ally after recent Russian troop movements.
Ukraine has accused Russia of massing thousands of military personnel on its northern and eastern borders as well as on the Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014. Online researchers have identified troops being transferred to Ukraine’s borders from western and central Russia, including artillery from as far away as Siberia.
On Monday, the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said he was “following with severe concern the Russian military activity surrounding Ukraine”. After a phone call with the Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, he also pledged “unwavering EU support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Coronavirus digest: India reports record number of daily cases
India has seen its biggest daily increase in COVID-19 cases so far, with the country's most prosperous state announcing strict restrictions. Follow DW for the latest.
COVID-19 cases in India rose by a record daily amount on Monday — 103,558 — taking the total to 12.59 million.
The news came as the country's richest state, Maharashtra, which accounts for more than half of the new cases, introduced stringent regulations.
The state, which includes India's financial capital, Mumbai, is closing malls, cinemas, bars, restaurants and places of worship.
Palace turmoil, wave of arrests in Jordan over plot to 'destabilise' kingdom
Jordan's Prince Hamzah, accused of a "wicked" plot against his elder half-brother King Abdullah II, has struck a defiant tone, insisting he will not obey orders restricting his movement.
The government has accused Hamzah of involvement in a seditious conspiracy to "destabilise the kingdom's security", placed him under house arrest and detained at least 16 more people.
But 41-year-old Hamzah, who says he has been ordered to stay inside his Amman palace, vowed he would defy orders limiting his movement and communications, in an audio recording posted on Twitter late Sunday.
Singaporeans standing up to Lee’s libel lawfare
PM Lee's use of punitive defamation suits to stifle dissent comes back to bite as Singaporeans galvanize to pay convicted blogger's bills
Leong Sze Hian playfully describes himself as the first person ever to be sued for sharing a news story on Facebook with no accompanying comment.
The 67-year-old financial advisor, blogger and opposition politician is the latest critic to lose a punitive libel suit against Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is widely seen as following in his national founder father Lee Kuan Yew’s footsteps in using lawsuits to stifle dissent.
The offending post came at a steep price. Last month, a court judge ordered Leong to pay the premier, the world’s highest-paid political leader, S$133,000 (US$98,867) in damages for defamation.
‘No other home’: Refugees in Kenya camps devastated over closure
Kenya has given an ultimatum to the UN refugee agency to present a plan over the closure of the Dadaab and Kakuma camps housing more than 400,000 people.
Terrifying, shocking, a rejection of humanity – these are just some of the words used by residents of Kenya’s two largest refugee camps to describe their fear and despondency over the news that the government is trying to have the settlements shut down imminently.
On March 24, Kenyan Interior Minister Fred Matiang’i declared the United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR) had two weeks to come up with a plan for closing the Dadaab and Kakuma camps, which between them host some 410,000 people from more than a dozen countries, including Somalis, South Sudanese, Ethiopians, Tanzanians, Ugandans and Burundians.
Otherwise, authorities warned, they would force refugees to travel to the border with Somalia. In a tweet, Kenya’s interior ministry called this an “ultimatum” and said there was no room for further negotiations.
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