Myong Suk is hunched over her phone, desperately trying to make another sale. A shrewd businesswoman, she is secretly selling minuscule amounts of smuggled medicine to those who desperately need it - just enough so she can survive the day. She has already been caught once and could barely afford the bribe to stay out of prison. She cannot afford to be caught again. But at any moment there could be a knock on the door. It is not just the police she fears, it’s her neighbours. There is now almost no-one she can trust.
This is not how it used to be.
Myong Suk’s medicine business used to be thriving.
But on 27 January 2020 North Korea slammed shut its border in response to the pandemic, stopping not just people, but food and goods, from entering the country. Its citizens, who were already banned from leaving, have been confined to their towns. Aid workers and diplomats have packed up and left. Guards are under order to shoot anyone even approaching the border. The world’s most isolated country has become an information black hole.
Glum Chinese graduates go viral with pictures of misery amid jobs anxiety
Photos shared on social media show students draping themselves over park benches or stairs in poses of dejection
As millions of young people in China graduate from university this month, the traditional pictures of joyful students throwing their hats and gowns into the air have been replaced by photos of them lying on the ground or throwing their degree certificates into the bin.
Some photos show students draping themselves over bridges or park benches in poses of dejection. In others, students lie face down on stairs or in grassy fields.
The pictures, which have been going viral on social media, allude to the fact that 11.6 million students are about to enter a difficult jobs market for young people. On Thursday youth unemployment hit a record high for the second consecutive month as the economy’s post-Covid growth spurt faded.
Greek boat ‘had up to 100 children’ in its hold as it sank
Rescue operations continue for the hundreds still missing – with at least 78 confirmed dead
Survivors from a fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Greece – in one of Europe's worst such disasters – say that up to 100 children may have been on board.
Hundreds are people are missing – feared dead – in the wake of the shipwreck, with suggestions that between 400 and 700 people may have been aboard. At least 78 bodies have been recovered so far. Citing initial testimonies from survivors, the Save the Children charity said they believed around 100 children were in the boat's hold.
This is the deadliest turn of events off the country’s coast since the height of the 2015 migration crisis.
How Ukrainian air defense fends off Russian attacks
Portable air defense systems are an important part of Ukraine's defensive plan. Fighters from a mobile task force told DW how they protect the airspace over the Kyiv area.
A few fishermen sat alongside a reservoir in the greater Kyiv area as families nearby on folding chairs enjoyed the sunny weather when a black and green Humvee military vehicle with a mounted Stinger anti-aircraft system suddenly pulled up. The people quickly packed their belongings and checked their mobile phones for a missile warning they might have overlooked.
Two soldiers got out of the vehicle and reassured the people, saying it was only a mobile air defense unit exercise. Oleksandr, the commander, made it clear, however, that in the event of an air attack, everyone should leave the area immediately.
"It is life-threatening to be out in the open near a body of water because from time to time, Russian missiles and Iranian Shahed drones fly along here, which we intercept," the 36-year-old told DW. The other soldier, 39-year-old Ivan, walked the area fully armed, looking closely at everything on the water, on the opposite shore and in the surrounding area.
Istanbul's popular opposition mayor faces new corruption trial
Istanbul's popular opposition mayor went on trial Thursday on fresh corruption charges that could further cloud his hopes of succeeding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ekrem Imamoglu has turned into one of Erdogan's most outspoken and openly ambitious rivals since beating the president's ally in Istanbul's 2019 mayoral race.
The 52-year-old was initially stripped of his narrow victory and forced into a controversial rerun that he won by a massive margin.
His success in Erdogan's native city shattered the powerful president's aura of invincibility and turned Imamoglu into a hero for the ruling party's secular and liberal foes.
But his overt presidential ambitions have made him into a hate figure for both Erdogan and his Islamic-rooted AKP.
Cyclone Biparjoy live news: Storm makes India landfall in Gujarat
- India’s Meteorological Department says landfall has made landfall near the southwestern port town of Jakhau, in the state of Gujarat.
- Howling gales and crashing waves are pounding the coastline of India and Pakistan, hours before powerful Cyclone Biparjoy makes landfall.
Cyclone will lose intensity as it moves inwards: India’s disaster relief official
An official of India’s National Disaster Response Force says the cyclone will lose intensity as it moves inwards in the direction of central Gujarat state and neighbouring Rajasthan.
“The main impact will be in Kachchh [district] and Saurashtra area of Gujarat, and it [impact] has begun,” Narendra Singh Bundela, the inspector general of NDRF told local media.
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