At 51 years old, Mary Ann Domingo has finally fulfilled her lifelong dream of graduating from high school. However, she wishes her son, Gabriel, and husband, Luis, could have attended her graduation.

Past midnight on September 15, 2016, a group of 15 to 20 men, some police in uniform, and others in plain clothes wearing masks, burst into Domingo's home for what they claimed was a drug bust operation.

It was the height of the Philippines' anti-drug campaign administered by former President Rodrigo Duterte, and Luis was their target.

Domingo said she and her children were dragged out into the street. But Gabriel, 19, refused to leave his father. The police shot and killed them both, claiming that the two men had resisted arrest.

In June, four policemen involved in the incident were convicted of homicide by a court in Caloocan City, north of Manila. However, filing a case against the police for allegedly killing her husband and son came at a heavy price.

For eight years, Domingo and her family have been constantly moving from threats as part of an informal witness protection program loosely organized by religious groups and human rights organizations.

"We were exhausted," said Domingo, adding that, as witnesses to the killing, she and her family felt unsafe and fled their home.

The scale of the drug-related killings left religious organizations scrambling to provide sanctuary for the dozens of families of those killed.

"They were all so scared. They did not know where they could go or who they could trust. They just knew that they had to run," Jun Santiago, a Redemptorist Brother at the Baclaran Church, told DW.

Years searching for justice

Kristina Conti, secretary general of the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL), has been Domingo's lawyer since 2018. She told DW how Domingo turned her grief into challenging the authorities.

"It was groundbreaking for the family of those killed to sue the police. When we filed the case, there was a small shred of hope," Conti said. She added that despite occasionally doubts whether the case would move forward, Domingo "never wavered in her fight for justice."

Conti said officials tried to cover up police responsibility in the drug war killings. 

"We expected a cover-up and encountered it in many ways: incomplete evidence, withheld documents, a shoddy investigation into the legitimacy of the police operations," she said.

Domingo's witness testimony was their strongest piece of evidence. To bolster her testimony, the bodies of Gabriel and Luis were exhumed for a post-mortem autopsy to determine the cause of death. The findings of the Philippines premiere forensic pathologist, Dr. Raquel Fortun, revealed that the men sustained multiple gunshots indicating an intent to kill.  

Santiago was with Domingo during the exhumation and forensic autopsy.

With gloved hands, Domingo gently cradled Gabriel's head, folding the edges of the body bag around him as if it were a blanket. The necktie that she had bought for him before he was killed was now black and dusty.  

The day before he died, Domingo bought her son a necktie to wear at his new catering job. It meant no more chasing temporary jobs for scraps of money just to get by. Gabriel never got to wear the necktie to work. Instead, he wore it for his own funeral.

"The forensic autopsy was necessary to gather more evidence, but it was incredibly traumatizing for Mary Ann to see her son and husband like that," said Santiago.  

Looking ahead to the future

On her graduation day, Domingo was surrounded by her family. Eight years ago, they had consoled each other when Gabriel and Luis were buried. 

Now, Domingo's daughter, Alexa, has graduated from college with honors and recently passed a teacher's license exam. Gabriel's son, Gab, is 8 years old and looking more and more like his father. "Gabriel would have been so proud of me. He wanted this so much for me," Mary Ann Domingo said.

Years ago, Domingo had decided to pursue a high school education at Gabriel's prodding. She had joined her son in an alternative learning program.

"We sat next to each other in class. He was always showing me off to his friends, saying: 'Look at my momma, so determined to get an education.' He could have been on that stage with me. We could have been sharing this moment together," said Domingo. 

Domingo plans to get a degree in community development and become a social worker. She also plans to pursue a case against the other men implicated in the killing of her husband and son.

"They are no longer with us, but their dreams stay with us. Their dreams will carry us forward," said Domingo. 

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said sorry on Saturday for introducing South Korea's athletes as coming from North Korea during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Paris Olympics.

The gaffe happened as the South Korean delegation sailed down the Seine river in the French capital on Friday evening.

The team was introduced as being from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the full name for North Korea. South Korea, meanwhile, is formally known as the Republic of Korea.

The sign on the boat carrying the South Korean athletes did show the correct name.

With the Winter Olympics counted, France is hosting its seventh Olympic Games until August 11.

How did the IOC respond?

"We deeply apologize for the mistake that occurred when introducing the South Korean team during the broadcast of the opening ceremony," the IOC said in a post in Korean on X, formerly Twitter.

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said the error was "clearly deeply regrettable."

"An operational mistake was made. We can only apologize, in an evening of so many moving parts, that this mistake was made," Adams said in response to a question from a South Korean journalist during a news conference.

Seoul reacted angrily to the faux -pas, with President Yoon Suk Yeol telling ICO chief Thomas Bach that they were "bewildered" by the mix up.

Yoon requested that the error not be made again, while Bach told Yoon that it was an "inexcusable incident."

South Korea's sports ministry earlier called the gaffe an "incomprehensible mistake."

Seoul also said it would file "a strong government-level complaint" with the French government.

Longtime foes, tensions rising

North and South Korea are technically still at war as no peace deal from the 1950-1953 war was ever reached, although open hostilities ceased.

Relations between the two neighbors are at one of their lowest points in years over the North's military and nuclear ambitions.

The two countries are sensitive over their national identities, especially North Korea, which openly shows irritation when it is not referred to by its official name.

North Korea was criticized for boosting ties with Russia when both countries agreed last month to provide immediate military assistance if either faces armed aggression.

South Korea's delegation includes 143 athletes competing in 21 events. North Korea, which is returning to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes.

London Olympics showed wrong Korean flag

Friday's gaffe was the second incident at an Olympics to cause embarrassment on the Korean Peninsula.

During the 2012 Olympics in London, a South Korean flag was shown on a jumbo screen, just as a North Korean player was introduced before a women's soccer match.

The match was delayed for nearly an hour when the North Korean team refused to go on the pitch.

In another glitch toward the end of Friday's opening ceremony in Paris, the Olympic five-ring flag was displayed upside down.

mm/wd (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

Bangladeshi authorities say three leaders of recent protests who were forcibly removed from the hospital by plainclothes detectives on Friday have been taken into custody for their own safety.

The three students include Nahid Islam, the head of the protest group Students Against Discrimination, and two other senior members. Islam earlier this week told AFP news agency he was being treated at the hospital in the capital, Dhaka, for injuries police inflicted on him during an earlier round of detention. 

The trio coordinated recent nationwide street rallies that triggered a police crackdown during which at least 200 people are estimated to have died.

The protests were initially prompted by reintroduced rules reserving government jobs for particular groups but have sometimes metamorphosed into general protests against the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

What have authorities said?

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan confirmed the arrests late on Friday after police initially denied they had taken place.

Khan told reporters that the three "were feeling insecure."

"They think that some people were threatening them," he said.

"That's why we think for their own security they needed to be interrogated to find out who was threatening them. After the interrogation, we will take the next course of action," he added.

Khan did not confirm whether the trio had been formally arrested.

Activist refutes government's claim

However, in an interview with DW, student activist Prapti Taposhi said she did not believe what the authorities have said.

"I think they're just lying. The government of Bangladesh, the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, she is just blatantly lying to the international media," she said.

"They're actually trying to threaten us," she added, saying that authorities wanted to scare students so "we don't talk, we don't share anything or don't post anything to the Facebook or social media websites."

Taposhi said the current situation for student protesters was very precarious.

"Right now, the students of Bangladesh [are] living in a war zone. They are living in complete terror, complete fear, because like our three coordinators, normal students, the students who were on the roads protesting, they are being abducted from their homes. They are being abducted; they are being picked up from the roads." she said.

Huge protests

Bangladesh's government previously deployed both the police and the military to quell the protest movement over job quotas that government critics say rewarded loyalists of the prime minister.

In a partial victory for the protesters, however, the country's top court revised down the number of reserved jobs from 30% to 5% for the relatives of people who fought in the 1971 independence war against Pakistan. Another 2% are to be reserved for ethnic minorities or people with disabiliites.

However, protest groups have not been completely mollified by the court's ruling. Many are also accusing Bangladeshi security forces of using undue force during the protests.  

Hasina, who won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition. has lamented the damage caused during the unrest. 

"This does nothing but cripple our economy and turn us into a nation of beggars," she told reporters. 

"I want justice," she said.

This article uses reporting from the AFP news agency.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery 

The Philippines has completed a resupply and rotation mission at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea without any confrontations with China, the South Asian country's Department of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.

This was Manila's first mission to the Second Thomas Shoal — which has been the site of violent clashes between the naval forces of China and the Philippines — since the two countries reached an agreement a week ago for the supply of daily necessities and rotation missions for Filipino troops.

US hails success, but slams China

The latest mission was carried out by a civilian vessel that was escorted by a Philippine Coast Guard, the department said.

"The lawful and routine rotation and resupply mission within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone is a credit to the professionalism of the men and women of the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard," it said.

The success of the mission was praised by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in Laos for an ASEAN summit.

"We are pleased to take note of the successful resupply today," Blinken said, adding: "We applaud that and hope and expect to see that it continues going forward."

Blinken also hit out at what he called China's "escalatory and unlawful actions taken against the Philippines in the South China Sea over the last few months."

China warns Philippines against violations

While the "provisional arrangement" between the two countries seems to have alleviated hostilities at the shoal, the Philippines and China both said the agreement would not change their positions on territory.

China's top envoy, Wang Yi, told his Filipino counterpart on Friday that Beijing would "respond resolutely" if Manila breaches the agreement.

Wang called upon the Philippines to "honor its commitments" under the deal rather than "backtracking or creating complications," according to the minutes of his meeting with Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo at the ASEAN summit in Laos.

"Otherwise, China will definitely respond resolutely," Wang said.

Manalo said he also hoped Beijing would keep its side of the bargain.

"I think that would be an important step forward in diffusing tensions and hopefully lead to other areas of cooperation on the South China Sea."

China claims the entire South China Sea as its territory — a claim vehemently contested by countries in the region and that, according to an international court ruling, has no legal basis.

China sour on US missile deployment in Philippines

In the ASEAN meeting, Wang also warned the Philippines over the deployment of intermediate-range US missiles and said such decisions could raise tensions between the two countries.

The US deployed its Typhon missile system in the Philippines as part of joint military exercises earlier this year.

"If the Philippines introduces the US intermediate-range missile system, it will create tension and confrontation in the region and trigger an arms race, which is completely not in line with the interests and wishes of the Filipino people," Wang said.

mfi/dj (AFP, AP, Reuters)

 

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his country's increasing concerns about Beijing's growing assertiveness to his Chinese counterpart on Saturday.

Blinken held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meetings in Laos. 

"The United States will continue to take necessary actions to safeguard our interests and values, and those of our allies and partners, including on human rights," Blinken told Wang, according to US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

It was their sixth meeting since last year and despite the constant contact the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, "the US has not stopped its containment and suppression of China and has even further intensified it." 

Blinken also raised "US concerns about provocative actions" by China, including a simulated blockade of Taiwan following the May inauguration of its new president Lai Ching-te.

US-China competition in the region

It is also Blinken's 18th visit to Asia since taking office more than three years ago. The frequency of travel reflects the competition between Washington and Beijing in the region.

The trip will also see him visit Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Mongolia.

The US and China remain at odds over trade, human rights and the status of the self-ruled island of Taiwan, over which Beijing claims sovereignty.

China said the risks to China-US ties "are still accumulating and the challenges are also rising" and that "it is necessary to constantly calibrate the direction, manage risks, properly handle differences, eliminate disturbance and promote cooperation."

The visit also comes two days after the foreign ministers of China and Russia met with the 10-nation ASEAN bloc, and each other, on the sidelines of the summit.

Wang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had discussed "building a new security architecture for Eurasia" and agreed to jointly "counter any attempts by extra-regional forces to interfere in Southeast Asian affairs," according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Tensions in the South China Sea

The talks come at a time of high tensions in the South China Sea, where a series of clashes between Philippine and Chinese vessels have taken place on flashpoint reefs in recent months.

Tensions remain high between Manila and Beijing, despite an agreement last week to resupply Philippine troops stationed on a disputed reef.

Blinken criticized Beijing's "escalating and unlawful actions" in the South China Sea.

The US top diplomat "made clear that the United States, together with our allies and partners, will advance our vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific," he said, according to the US State Department.

China claims nearly all of the waterway, despite an international tribunal ruling that its claim has no legal basis. Beijing has also insisted that the United States has "no right" to interfere in the South China Sea.

lo,dh/sri (AP, AFP, Reuters)

Philippines' authorities on Friday were racing to contain an oil spill from a tanker that sank in Manila Bay on Thursday. 

The ship, transporting some 1.4 million liters (370,000 gallons) of industrial oil, faced stormy seas as Typhoon Gaemi passed by the Philippines on the day before.

The tanker's crew was hoping to steer the vessel to port, but the ship capsized and sank.

The Philippines coast guard rescued 16 out of 17 crew members despite bad weather. But a sailor was confirmed dead as of Friday morning.

Now, authorities are making sure the spill doesn't threaten the capital Manila.

Cargo tank with fuel appears to be holding

The source of the oil sheen in the sea appeared to be coming from the ship's engine and not its cargo tanks which were carrying a large volume of industrial fuel.

The main oil reservoirs on the sunken vessel are believed to be holding. This gives officials a chance to siphon off the oil before it can leak out over a vast stretch and threaten Manila and the surrounding coastline.

"No oil has been leaking from the tank itself, so we're racing against time to syphon the oil so we can avoid the environmental catastrophe," coast guard spokesperson Rear Adm. Armando Balilo told reporters.

The shipping company has already hired a different private company to retrieve the oil, according to Balilo.

Typhoon Gaemi leaves destruction in its wake

On Friday, the Philippine coast guard met with the "contracted salvor" company and the ship's owners to discuss the timeline, with Balilo saying the operation could be completed within seven days.

Balilo also said there was "nothing to be worried about for now." The coast guard was putting up floating barriers and sending out ships that would deploy oil dispersant  in case a large spill did occur.

The coast guard divers were still waiting for the weather to improve before launching an underwater inspection of the sunken vessel, which is at a depth of 34 meters (112 feet). 

While Typhoon Gaemi did not impact the Philippines directly, it exacerbated seasonal monsoon rains and prompted flooding in Manila, with 32 people losing their lives.

It eventually hit mainland China, bringing torrential rains and strong winds to the country's Fujian province. Nearly 300,000 people were evacuated out of its path.

Despite weakening into a tropical storm, Gaemi is expected to reach further inland to China's Jiangxi, Hubei, and Henan provinces.

dj/rm (AP, AFP, Reuters) 

At least four people were missing in Japan after heavy rains led to rivers bursting their banks, authorities said on Friday.

Some 200,000 people were asked to evacuate as exceptional rainfall pounded northern Japan this week, according to the fire and disaster management agency.

Public broadcaster NHK reported that some 4,000 people had been moved to shelters. 

Video footage showed landslides and flooded roads with several cars being carried away.

Some roads as well as bullet trains, known as Shinkansen in Japan, were suspended.

Japan's northwestern regions record record rainfall

Two regions in Japan's northwestern prefecture of Yamagata recorded the most rain in 24 hours since 1976, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

Shinjo recorded 389 millimeters (15 inches) and Sakata 289 millimeters, JMA said.

The weather agency said the next three days will see 100 to 200 millimeters of rain per day.

"Three people, including two police officers who were on a mission searching for a missing man, are unaccounted for," an official told AFP news agency.

The military was sent to Yamagata to join rescue activities carried out by police and fire department officials, a government spokesperson said.

At least one dead, four missing: reports

At least one person has died in Akita city, the capital of Akita prefecture in the northern Tohoku region, according to AFP news agency.

Four were reported missing due to heavy rain in Yamagata and Akita prefectures of Honshu island.

Among those missing was a man in his 60s from Yuzawa City and an 86-year-old man from Akita City, said police.

In Yokote city, located in Akita prefecture, rescue workers evacuated 11 from a flooded area using a boat.

More than 3,000 houses had no electricity and more than 1,000 had no running water, according to authorities.

tg/rm (AFP, AP)

North Korean hackers have waged a global cyberespionage campaign to steal classified military secrets in support of Pyongyang's banned nuclear weapons program, the United States, Britain and South Korea said in a joint advisory on Thursday.

It was co-authored by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the US National Security Agency (NSA) and cyber agencies, the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS).

What do we know about Andariel?

The North Korea-backed hackers, known as Andariel or APT45 by cybersecurity researchers, have targeted or breached computer systems at a wide range of defense or engineering companies, including the makers of tanks, submarines, naval ships, fighter jets, missiles and radar systems, according to the joint advisory.

Andariel has been identified as an arm of Pyongyang's spy agency.

"The authoring agencies believe the group and the cyber techniques remain an ongoing threat to various industry sectors worldwide, including but not limited to entities in their respective countries, as well as in Japan and India," the advisory said.

"The global cyber espionage operation that we have exposed today shows the lengths that [North Korean] state-sponsored actors are willing to go to pursue their military and nuclear programs," said Paul Chichester at the NCSC, a part of Britain's GCHQ spy agency.

How does the group steal secrets?

According to the FBI, Andariel has used software vulnerabilities to launch cyberattacks, including malware and phishing, to access sensitive data and information.

The FBI urged companies involved in defense, aerospace, nuclear and engineering sectors "to remain vigilant in defending their networks from North Korea-state-sponsored cyber operations."

The FBI said Andariel had been trying to obtain information such as specifications and design drawings for uranium processing and enrichment as well as missiles and missile defense systems.

This article unfortunately had the incorrect spelling for the Andariel hacking group. We have corrected the error.

dh/sms (AFP, Reuters)

Fuel oil from a Philippine tanker that sank amid bad weather in Manila Bay on Thursday has begun leaking from the vessel, the coast guard said on Saturday.

A coast guard spokesman said divers had discovered a "minimal leak" from the ship's valves, but said it was "not alarming yet." 

Previously, the coast guard had said leaking oil appeared to be only the diesel fuel used to power the vessel. 

The sinking of the MT Terra Nova, which is carrying some 1.4 million liters (ca. 370,000 gallons) of industrial fuel oil, has the potential to become the worst oil spill disaster in the country history. The capital Manila and surrounding shoreline are considered at risk.

The tanker is currently on the sea bed, some 34 meters (116 feet) under water. 

One crewmember died and 16 were rescued after the vessel capsized and sunk on Thursday . 

What do we know?

The spokesman, Rear Admiral Armando Balilo, said there was only a "small volume" of oil emanating from the ship.

"We're hoping that tomorrow we will be able to start siphoning the oil from the motor tanker," he said, adding that a vessel had been sent to the area to carry the recovered oil.

He called for a temporary halt to fishing in the waterway, which thousands of fishers and tourism operators rely on for their livelihoods.

The oil slick has reportedly more than tripled in size from Thursday, reaching an estimated length of 12-14 kilometres (7.5-8.7 miles) across the bay.

Poor spill record for Philippines

The Philippines has suffered a number of oil catastrophes in recent years.

In 2023, a tanker with 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil on board sank off the central island of Mindoro, with the resulting contamination devastating the fishing and tourism industries for months.

Another tanker sank off the central island of Guimaras in 2006, causing a massive oil spill  that destroyed a marine reserve and ruined local fishing grounds.

tj/dj (AFP, AP)

Abhishek Kumar had spent seven years working with the Indian government and the Central Bank of India when he realized he wanted to launch an international career.

"I always felt like I was behind a glass wall, longing to be more connected with the world," he told DW.

In 2022, Kumar was awarded a scholarship to take part in the EU's Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's Degree (EMJMD) program. He left home in Mumbai to study financial journalism at City, University of London, in the UK, which despite not being an EU member still has limited cooperation with the EMJMD.

"The quality of education here is top-notch, and the opportunity to study in two European countries offers a broader perspective," said Kumar. "Receiving a scholarship makes it significantly easier to focus on studying."

Kumar is one of a growing number of Indian students who have received the highly competitive Erasmus Mundus scholarship to study in Europe.

Indian students top list of scholarship recipients

In 2024, 146 Indian students were awarded the scholarship. Since the program began in 2004, over 2,000 Indian students have received the scholarship, making India the "the largest beneficiary of the program," according to a press release by the EU's delegation to India marking the 20th anniversary of the scholarship program.

The EU's Erasmus program was established in 1987 to promote academic and cultural exchange between universities and higher education institutions across Europe. Over the years, the program has been expanded and is now called Erasmus+.

This expansion has also created opportunities for students outside of Europe, including the EMJMD program. The scholarship fully covers tuition and, travel costs, and provides a living stipend. The student gets an opportunity to study and do research at two or more universities in different European countries, earning joint or double degrees. 

Combining all of Erasmus+ scholarship opportunities for students coming from outside of the EU, more than 6,000 Erasmus+ short and long-term scholarships have been awarded to Indian students since 2004.

In June, Herve Delphin, ambassador of the European Union to India, congratulated the 2024 Indian recipients of the Erasmus Mundus scholarship at an event in New Delhi.

"The fact that India ranks as the top recipient of Erasmus+ scholarship since its inception, despite its competitive nature, speaks volumes about the caliber of Indian students," Delphin said, according to a press release.

"Over 80,000 Indian students are studying in Europe, reflecting a growing appreciation for the continent's diverse academic offerings, rich cultural heritage and unparalleled opportunities for personal and professional growth," he added.

Indian applicants remain competitive

Bettina Anderson, coordinator for the Erasmus Mundus Journalism, Media and Globalization program, told DW that Indian students "seem to have one of the highest success rates in terms of scholarships."

"Indian applicants are always among the top three in numbers, which also statistically increases their chances of receiving scholarships," she added. However, Anderson emphasized that quality, not nationality, is the main criteria when awarding a scholarship.

"We select students based on their academic background and portfolio. We have never given a scholarship to someone who was not good enough. In recent years, we have incorporated application essays to ensure a fair evaluation of students from different backgrounds. Grades alone are difficult to compare across countries, so we look at both academic and practical experience," she said.

"Indian students have consistently demonstrated high quality in both academia and journalism," added Anderson.

Hailing from Mumbai, 24-year-old Priyal Shah is currently enrolled in media studies at Germany's Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Shah comes from a humble economic background, and the scholarship was necessary to allow her to study in Europe.

"When I found out I had been awarded the Erasmus Mundus scholarship, I was relieved to know that I would get the best education without worrying about financing," she told DW.

EU–India partnerships increase chances to study abroad

The Indo-Pacific strategy of the EU also includes collaboration with India through higher education programs.

European institutions, supported by Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020, the EU's research and innovation funding program, have developed partnerships with Indian counterparts.

Similarly, India's New Education Policy also promotes internationalization, allowing dual degrees, joint programs and foreign campuses in India.

The number of Indian students studying abroad is projected to more than double from the 2019 total, potentially reaching up to 1.8 million by 2024, according to data from the International Consultants for Education and Fairs.

"Many Indian students who join the Mundus Journalism program aspire to return to academia and teach future generations with their gained perspectives," said Anderson. "The broader perspectives and freedom of speech they learn in this program are often more comprehensive than in their national programs."

Indian institutions are intensifying what is being called "internationalization at home" through formal and informal curriculums, seeking to make up for the limited study abroad opportunities for Indian students.

This has led to more collaborative online international learning programs, where online courses bring together students and teachers from the around the world in a virtual learning space.

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

Every morning, schoolteacher Mahananda Joshi walks for hours through his remote village in western Nepal to find a corner where his phone picks up a signal.

When he finds a connection, he scrolls through multiple international news portals, hoping for news about a cease-fire between Israel and the militant Hamas group in Gaza.

So far, the headlines have not been optimistic. Joshi's 23-year-old son, Bipin Joshi, is believed to have been kidnapped from a kibbutz in southern Israel by Hamas terrorists on October 7. Joshi's only hope for his son is that a cease-fire will lead to a hostage release.

"I keep my mobile volume high even while I am teaching in class or trying to take nap during the night. I don't sleep. I fear missing a single call," he told DW.

His wife, Padma Joshi, tries to call him if any updates appear.

"The wait has been long. But what we have received so far are just false assurances," she lamented, complaining about how the Nepalese government has been unable to confirm whether her son is alive.

Internship of a lifetime

Bipin Joshi, from Kanchanpur district in the southwestern corner of Nepal, was studying agriculture at Sudurpaschim University. He went to Israel for an internship in September 2023, along with 48 fellow students.

The 11-month-long program, called "Learn and Earn," combined work on Israeli farms with classroom learning.

The Nepalese students were divided into groups and assigned to different farms around southern Israel. Some worked on mushroom or lemon farms, while others were involved in poultry or dairy farming.

Joshi regularly shared his experiences with his family back home via video calls. "He showed us the lemon farm where he worked and shared his vision of opening a farm upon his return," his mother recalled.

All of them were due to receive their first salary in the second week of October. On October 6, a few of them gathered virtually to discuss what they planned to buy with their first paycheck.

"Getting an iPhone had been our dream for a long time. Before going to bed, Bipin and I talked over the phone about buying it together," said Louish Rijal, a fellow student.

Around 7 a.m. on October 7, the interns woke up to a terrible sound, with the building shaking and smoke everywhere.

They exited the building, and Rijal said they heard the sound of gunfire.

"It seemed like firecrackers to us. I took a video and posted it online," Rijal told DW.

"Bipin called me and told me to remove the video. At first, I refused. When he mentioned that a few of our friends had been shot dead, I started shivering and regretted capturing it," he said.

The Nepalese students were on four different farms and they tried to reach out to one another. Rijal said no one was responding to his calls except Joshi.

At 11:50 a.m., Joshi messaged Rijal, pleading for help to get them out of there. "That was the last text from him," said Rijal.

A few hours later, there was an update that 10 Nepalese students in Kibbutz Alumim has been killed in the terror attacks. Four were injured and taken to the hospital, and one was kidnapped by Hamas.

The missing person was Joshi, as witnessed by his friends. His phone was later traced to Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Other than being spotted in video footage weeks after his capture, Joshi's condition is unknown.

Nepal asks for help 

It has been nearly 10 months since the October 7 terror attacks. Securing Joshi's release has been raised numerous times in Nepal's parliament and in international forums.

When Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, visited Nepal in April, the Nepalese government made an official request for Joshi's release, as Qatar has served as a mediator between Israel and Hamas.

Despite the uncertainty, Joshi's family believes that he will return home soon.

"With the current political turmoil, we are uncertain how this instability might be affecting diplomatic efforts for his release," his father said.

Nepal's government said it has taken action to secure Joshi's release.

"Since we don't have direct contact with Hamas, we are seeking help from third parties, especially from countries like Qatar, which maintains good relations with the militant group," Amrit Bahadur Rai, a spokesperson for Nepal's Foreign Affairs Ministry, told DW.

Hamas is designated as a terror organization by the United States, Germany, Israel and several other countries.

Rai mentioned receiving some positive responses from international actors but added, "we haven't received a concrete answer from anywhere yet."

Family still waiting

After the terror attacks, Nepal's government halted the "Learn and Earn" program.

Kumar Bahadur Shrestha, spokesperson and deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Nepal in Israel, told DW that the embassy speaks regularly with Israeli diplomats to confirm Joshi's well-being and ensure the safety of Nepalese living in Israel.

According to the embassy, nearly 5,000 Nepalese are living in Israel, most of them working as caregivers.

Despite the well-meaning efforts of Nepal's government, Joshi's family is still desperately waiting for all of the "reassuring words" to turn into action.

His father occasionally comes down to the city of Bajhang from the family's Kanchanpur village to follow up on the progress of efforts by the government and other agencies. Joshi's mother checks every new face that turns up near the house, hoping it might be their son. His 82-year-old grandmother is distressed daily by the fear that she will pass away without seeing her grandson's face again.

Joshi's 17-year-old sister returns from school every day hoping there's good news about her brother, who will come back soon and help her with homework.

"The only thing keeping us alive is the hope of returning our son. We must stay strong and spread our words louder so that our son might hear us from some corner of the world," said Mahananda Joshi.

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

Thousands of protesters in Pakistan's northwestern Bannu area held a demonstration last week to demand an end to military operations in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.

The peaceful rally turned violent after a gunfire triggered a stampede. Two people were killed and dozens were injured as a result.

The rally organizers condemned the use of violence against the protesters.

"We are protesting against state atrocities, removal of land mines, recovery of missing persons and for a claim on our [regional] natural resources. We also seek accountability for the military operations in our areas," Idrees Pashteen, an activist belonging to the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), told DW.

Rights groups have criticized authorities for their alleged use of violence to break up the march, with Amnesty International saying that the "use of lethal force at a peaceful rally advocating for peace is unlawful."

The rights watchdog demanded a prompt investigation to "hold to account officials responsible for the attack."

Security officials have denied firing at the protesters.

New military operations and more resistance

At the heart of these demonstrations is the PTM, an Pashtun rights movement and anti-war group, which has gained considerable strength in the past seven or eight years, and has drawn tens of thousands of people to its protest rallies.

Its supporters are critical of wars, which they say have ravaged the Pashtun-majority areas in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The PTM demands an end to extrajudicial killings and arbitrary detentions of Pashtuns in the name of war against militants.

Earlier this month, Islamabad launched a new military operation aimed at stamping out militancy and tackling a surge in armed violence.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government named the new operation "Azm-e-Istehkam," meaning Resolve for Stability in the Urdu language. It is the latest in a series of operations that Pakistan's military has launched against militant groups.

But another military operation in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province risks further upsetting the locals.

Uptick in militancy

Pakistan has witnessed a dramatic increase in violent attacks over the past two years.

The attacks have claimed the lives of at least 62 soldiers, including two officers, so far this year. The military said it had killed 249 and arrested 396 terrorists in more than 13,000 intelligence-based operations.

Most of these attacks are claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan — an umbrella group of Islamist militant outfits known by the acronym TTP — which has been waging a war against the state to try to overthrow the government.

The TTP wants to run Pakistan as an Islamic state governed by its own harsh interpretation of Islam.

The group is ideologically aligned with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021 as US and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.

The mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has long been a hive of Islamist militant groups, including the TPP and the local chapter of the "Islamic State" group.

Pakistan's civilian government and the military leadership believe that rooting out the TTP-led militancy is the need of the hour.

Pashtuns have long experience with war

Those who live in the areas along the border with Afghanistan fear another full-scale military operation will result in mass displacement and deaths.

Afrasiab Khattak, a former senator, told DW that Pashtuns know that the military operations have only brought "death, destruction and displacement" to their region.

PTM supporters blame both the Pakistani military and Islamists for this.

"The Taliban have no place in our area, and there should be no violence," said the PTM's Pashteen.

Khattak said there have been widespread protests and demonstrations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province against both Islamists and the militarization of the region by Pakistan's military generals.

Analysts have said Pashtuns have a "structural disagreement" with the Pakistani state for its Afghanistan policy.

"Pakistan first supported militants [in the 1980s] and then targeted them [after 9/11] in the border region with Afghanistan," Qamar Cheema, an Islamabad-based analyst, told DW, adding that all of this has resulted in mayhem and tribulation.

Pashtun activists said Prime Minister Sharif's government has not done anything to address their demands.

While there is scant coverage of anti-war rallies in the mainstream Pakistani media, the lawmakers' inaction on the issue has also strengthened the idea that Pashtuns have been left on their own.

"The parliament is silent, and the issue of mistrust has not been addressed at the national level," said Cheema.

Pakistan's jailed former prime minister, Imran Khan, said last week that he opposed any new military operation in the northwestern and southwestern parts of the country and directed his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which currently governs the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, to stand against it.

But Khan's party itself is facing a government crackdown and is unable to play a crucial role on this issue.

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba visited China for the first time on Wednesday after being invited for talks by his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, as Beijing seeks to expand on its position as a mediator in helping end the war in Ukraine.

"I am convinced that a just peace in Ukraine is in China's strategic interests, and China's role as a global force for peace is important," Kuleba said in opening remarks. He is the highest-ranking Ukrainian official to visit China since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Before the three hours of talks on Wednesday in the southern city of Guangzhou, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang emphasized that Ukraine and China continue to maintain cooperative relations "despite complex and ever-changing international and regional situations."

In June, Wang reiterated China's "position on the Ukraine crisis" that Beijing "adheres to promoting talks for peace."

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said Kuleba told Wang that Ukraine is "ready to negotiate with the Russian side at a certain stage, when Russia is ready to negotiate in good faith, but stressed that currently there is no such readiness on the Russian side."

China takes on role as mediator

Despite Beijing's positioning itself as a neutral arbiter, China is widely seen by Ukraine and its allies in the US and Europe as providing an economic lifeline for Russia to continue its war in Ukraine.

Beijing is also accused by the US and Europe of providing machine tools and microelectronics used to produce Russian weapons. Beijing denies providing Russia with any military support, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at the G7 summit in June that Chinese President Xi Jinping "gave him his word" that China would not provide weapons to Russia.

China has maintained that talks on ending the war should take Russian and Ukrainian interests into account. This is seen as a nonstarter in Kyiv, as Ukraine has said any peace settlement is contingent on Russia's withdrawal from Ukrainian territory. After more than two years of war, Russia now controls some 18-20% of Ukraine.

"Engaging with Ukraine ensures that China is not seen as favoring Russia excessively. While China has not explicitly supported Russia's war against Ukraine, its actions suggest indirect support through economic ties, financial systems and diplomatic maneuvers," said the head of DW's Chinese service, Petra Aldenrath.

"China seeks to expand its influence in Eastern Europe and position itself as a key global mediator," she added.

"Beijing's approach is driven by a mix of strategic interests, economic considerations and a desire to maintain its global diplomatic standing," she said.

Will China support a peace summit?

One item expected on the agenda during Kuleba's visit is lobbying Chinese officials to attend another peace summit expected before the US presidential election in November.

China did not send a representative to a peace summit hosted by Switzerland in June, which also did not include Russia.

Before the June summit, Wang said China had "put forward constructive suggestions" to Switzerland, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.

"There are many summits in the world today. Whether and how to participate, China will decide independently according to its own position," Wang added.

President Zelenskyy told the Shangri-La Dialogue defense forum in Singapore last month that Russia was attempting to use China's influence on smaller Asian countries to "disrupt" the peace summit.

Zelenskyy added he believes it is "unfortunate" that China was an "instrument" in the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Ukrainian officials spearheaded the summit to highlight international support for what Zelenskyy has called a "peace formula" to end the war. A major point is "restoring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine" to internationally recognized borders, including Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Ahead of the Switzerland conference, China, along with fellow BRICS member Brazil, published a separate six-point peace plan that did not include the restoration of Ukrainian territory, but called for an "international peace conference held at a proper time that is recognized by both Russia and Ukraine."

Ahead of his visit this week, Kuleba said on social media "we must avoid the competition of peace plans."

Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, told the AFP news agency that Kuleba's visit could attempt to "convince China that it should participate in a second peace summit."

What is China's vision for peace?

China has never condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and two weeks before Russia launched the war in early 2022, Xi and Putin lauded the "no limits" cooperation between their countries. Part of this is China and Russia both advocating a "multipolar" world order as an alternative to the United States and Europe.

In a 2023 document outlining China's position on a "political settlement of the Ukraine crisis," China called for upholding "sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries," while advocating peace talks and ending hostilities.

It also called for "abandoning the Cold War mentality," emphasizing "the security of a region should not be achieved by strengthening or expanding military blocs," the document said, in a thinly veiled reference to NATO expansion that both China and Russia have framed as a root cause of the war in Ukraine.

After Putin met with Xi in May, the Russian president blamed Ukraine for rejecting peace negotiations, while lauding China's diplomatic efforts.

In statements during such meetings, Moscow also claims to seek "dialogue" to end the war it started.

These statements are made as the Russian military continues to expand ground offensives on Ukrainian territory, bomb Ukrainian cities and target civilian infrastructure, including the recent attack on a children's hospital in Kyiv.

Written using material from DW's Chinese service, The Associated Press and AFP.

Edited by: Shamil Shams

As part of its Belt and Road Initiative, China has provided Laos with billions of dollars in loans to develop energy infrastructure and high-speed rail lines in the hopes of bolstering long-term economic growth.

China-funded hydroelectric dams on the Mekong River, and other energy infrastructure, aimed to make Laos the "battery" of Southeast Asia. However, both China-funded projects have yet to see the economic returns Laos had hoped for.

And recent economic data show Laos is facing a mountain of debt, with $13.8 billion (€12.7 billion) in total public and publicly guaranteed debt at the end of 2023, which is over 100% of the tiny country's GDP.

Loans from China, Laos' biggest creditor, amounted to half of Laos' $10.5 billion foreign debt, according to data published in Bloomberg.

Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington who focuses on Southeast Asia, said Laos has a major debt problem.

"It's not just debt to China. Laos has a crushing amount of debt. Debt in itself is not bad if it is going to productive uses, but Lao debt has not. They have over capacity in hydroelectricity," he told DW.

"The rail line has been an absolute white elephant, although now with a connection to Bangkok, it should have greater returns. All of that has led to a 30% decline in its currency's value in 2023 and soaring inflation, which is now the second highest in the region," he added. 

Chinese loans not the only problem for Laos

China has said it's "doing its best" to help Laos with its debt burden, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson told Bloomberg.

Laos keeps close ties with China, with which it shares a similar political ideology. The Laos government is run as a Communist one-party state, ruled by the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. 

Beijing has been criticized by experts for its so-called "debt-trap diplomacy" by financing big-ticket projects in developing countries that end up struggling with huge Chinese loans and become economically dependent. 

China's Foreign Ministry has frequently called such claims a US-led narrative aiming to deter Beijing's goals at working with developing nations. 

Abuza said the Laotian government must shoulder some of the responsibility for its economic mess.

"China is not all to blame. The blame needs to go to the Laos government that took on too much debt for projects that did not deliver the economic returns that they anticipated," he said.

The expert added that Chinese loans "are not cheap" and come in at 4% interest, which is high for development projects. He added Japan and the World Bank usually charge under 1%.

"China's argument is that they are a lender of last resort and assume high political risk. Because most Chinese Belt and Road Initiative loans are through state-owned enterprises or state-owned banks, they are collateralized, which means that should Laos default, they will lose either money parked in Bank of China escrow accounts, or they will lose assets in debt for equity swaps," he said.

Economic woes affect ordinary Laotians

Overall, Laos' economy has struggled since the COVID pandemic, with rising inflation, a weak exchange rate against and sluggish GDP growth.

In June, inflation in Laos to over 26% in June 2024, slightly up from May's reading of 25.7%

The World Bank has said Laos' GDP grew by 3.7% in 2023 with a forecast 4% in 2024. Prior to the pandemic, growth was 5.5%.

One Laotian, who requested to be anonymous for security concerns, said ordinary people in Laos are starting to feel the burden of economic downturn, with public services, road maintenance, education and health services all lacking.

"Since COVID, many small businesses have been closed, and many have not been reopened. Those who have some land have resorted to growing their own food and going back to a subsistence form of livelihood," they said.

They added most Laotians do not connect economic woes to debt.

"Most people will not know the scale of the debt, nor will they associate the debt to Chinaas having any direct impact on their lives," they said. "They will associate their daily challenges with the downturn of the Laotian economy which had started since COVID and has continued even after. They experience the rising costs of living."

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

Job creation has emerged as a major test for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term, as India's young workforce struggles to find employment.

Last year, India overtook China as the world's most populous country, with more than 40% of the estimated population of 1.4 billion younger than 25 years old.

Joblessness was a significant factor behind Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) performing below expectations and falling short of an overall majority in India's general elections.

As India's government announced its 2024 budget on Tuesday, it earmarked $24 billion over five years to foster job creation.

"In this budget, we particularly focus on employment, skilling, small businesses and the middle class," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

In the budget, Sitharaman announced that the government will launch a scheme to provide internship opportunities to 10 million youth in 500 top companies over five years.

Reacting to the budget in a series of tweets, Jairam Ramesh of the opposition Congress party criticized the BJP government.

"After 10 years of denial […] the union government seems to have finally come around to tacitly admitting that mass unemployment is a national crisis that requires urgent attention," he said.

"It's far too late, and as it turns out, far too little — the budget speech is more focused on posturing than action," added Ramesh.

Shrijay Sheth, founder of consultancy firm LegalWiz, told DW that he expects "larger incentives given to companies to choose India for obvious cost benefits and access to a large young workforce, along with preferential access to Indian markets."

"This is significant. Hyundai eyeing an Indian IPO, or talks with Tesla to establish Indian manufacturing with production are indicative examples," added Sheth. 

India's growing job crisis

In Mumbai last week, a job event at Air India Airport Services was called off after 25,000 job seekers showed up to apply for 2,220 maintenance jobs.

In February, nearly 4.7 million applicants appeared for an exam to select around 60,000 police constables in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. These are not isolated incidents, as India faces a growing unemployment crisis.

"The government and all its agencies are living in denial about unemployment," said economist Arun Kumar. "All ground reports and data suggest that unemployment is a major issue where youth are struggling to get work," he added. 

According to the latest data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, an independent think tank, India's unemployment rate came in at 9.2% in June, a sharp increase from 7 % in May this year. 

"All this is contrary to the official [government] narrative of massive employment generation. Why not admit the problem and act, lest the growing youth frustration boil over?" added Kumar. 

Economic growth not leading to jobs

India's government is predicting a GDP growth rate of between 6.5% and 7% for the 2024 fiscal year, after seeing a 8.2% expansion in the previous fiscal year that ended in March.

Despite these strong numbers, India has struggled to generate enough jobs for the millions of young people entering the labor market every year.

Development economist Santosh Mehrotra told DW that India needs to develop a labor-intensive manufacturing strategy similar to that in China.

"In India, the demand for jobs will only be met if several different factors come together. Construction activity needs to continue at its current brisk pace. But, for the next year or two, it must be led by public sector investment, as private investment remains sluggish," said Mehrotra, a visiting professor at the Centre for Development Studies at the University of Bath, England. 

According to World Bank data, India's manufacturing sector comprises 13% of GDP. In China, manufacturing is over a quarter of GDP. 

He added that labor-intensive manufacturing by small and medium-sized enterprises require a sustained support, through development programs fostering this manufacturing sector, along with training schemes for young people.

"A right to apprenticeship is essential," he added. 

Lekha Chakraborty, a professor at National Institute of Public Finance and Policy in New Delhi, said training programs are essential to solving unemployment.

"The labor market is dynamic and unless we prepare the youth with required skills, unemployment problems cannot be solved," she said, emphasizing that it is important to bridge the gap between formal education and developing skills across agriculture, industrial and service sectors.

Formalizing India's economy

India's informal sector, where the vast majority of jobs are found, has shed 16 million jobs, with 6.3 million informal sector enterprises shutting down between 2016 and 2023, according to a report by credit markets rating agency, India Ratings.

An informal economy comprises unincorporated enterprises owned by households, or jobs that are not officially taxed or monitored, and include domestic workers, street vendors and day laborers.

"This period also coincided with the rise in the formalization of the economy, which has led to robust tax collections. While formalization of the economy is the way forward, the reduced unorganized sector footprint has implications for employment generation," said Sunil Kumar Sinha, the principal economist of India Ratings. 

Finance Minister Sitharaman said Tuesday the government's budget will implement schemes for employment incentives, including providing a month's wage to new entrants to workforce in all formal sectors.

The scheme aims to create jobs in the manufacturing sector by incentivizing the hiring of first-time employees.

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

Bangladesh's top court on Sunday largely scaled back a decision to reintroduce a quota system for government jobs following a week of deadly clashes between student demonstrators, police and pro-government groups.

Over 150 people have been reported killed and thousands injured in the worst unrest the country has seen in decades. 

Demonstrations started after the government said it would reinstate a quota system for well-paid and secure government jobs, reserving more than half for specific groups.

This included 30% for descendants of "freedom fighters" who fought for Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971. It was seen as favoring supporters of long-serving Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ruling Awami League, a claim the party has denied.

In its recommendation, the Supreme Court advised 93% of all appointments are to be based on merit with immediate effect, with 5% going to descendants of freedom fighters, and 2% to people from ethnic minorities or with disabilities.

However, the court also said the government is still permitted to change the recommended quota ratio.

Protesters say demands not fully met

Internet connectivity and text messaging have been largely cut off in Bangladesh since Thursday after protests intensified. This was followed by a curfew and military deployment to help the civilian administration keep order.

Despite the crackdown and the Supreme Court recommendation, some student protesters have vowed to continue.

Sarjis Alam, one of the quota reform protest coordinators, told DW that the court decision doesn't fully address their demands, as it essentially leaves it up to the government to decide on how to implement to quota system.

"The court said the quota issue is a policy decision of the government and the authorities can change the ratio of the quotas if they want," said Alam.

He added that the court has asked the government to quickly issue information on how it intends to reform the quota system.

"We want to see how fast the government is, and whether it reforms quotas for all government jobs or not. We will react based on the percentage of quotas the government announces," he added.

Meanwhile, the student protesters are also demanding justice for those killed during the demonstrations. Alam has accused political wings of the ruling party of being involved in the protesters' deaths, a charge the government has denied. Protesters have also said they were beaten by police.

Human rights group Amnesty International said video evidence from clashes last week showed that Bangladesh's security forces had used unlawful force.

On Monday, representatives of protesting students said they would halt protests for 48 hours, calling for the government to restore internet connectivity and lift the curfew. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters that "normalcy will return within one or two days." 

Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, said Hasina's government had miscalculated in assuming that the protesters could be appeased simply by addressing the proximate cause of their demonstrations.

"In reality, this court decision is not the exit ramp that Dhaka thinks it can be. The government appears to be tone-deaf and not fully appreciating the depth of the anger in the streets, which has morphed into a rage directed at far more than the quota system," he said.

"If the government maintains its severe clampdown and continues to arrest protest leaders, that will make it tough to keep up the movement. And yet, such actions would also further intensify the public anger and grievances, creating another potential powder keg for the government," Kugelman added.

Government 'did not expect' uprising against quotas

Ali Riaz, a political science professor at Illinois State University, thinks the court's recommendation has "come too late" and leaves the ball in the government's court.

"Until a law is passed by the parliament, it will remain the prerogative of the executive branch to change it at some point," he said. "But the court decision smacks of the executive branch's influence. What ensures that this cannot be changed in the future?"

Riaz added that the government did not expect such a violent reaction to the quota reform.

"Violence spread and lives were lost because the government was not expecting such a reaction around the country. The ruling party was quite complacent after the January election and thought it was invincible," he said.

"Unfortunately, the victims of the quota movement won't have justice, definitely not under the present government," Riaz stressed, adding that Hasina's government has a track record of resorting to "brute force" to tamp down opposition.

Opposition parties 'taking advantage'

Bangladesh's government has blamed opposition parties for instigating violence and has arrested some of their leaders over the past few days.

"Opposition political parties tried to topple the government by taking advantage of the situation. But, their attempt failed," M. A. Mannan, a ruling Awami League party parliamentarian and ex-planning minister, told DW.  

Mannan acknowledged that the government could have solved the quota issue better, and much earlier, but, he thinks that "the situation is under control" now.

However, South Asia expert Kugelman said Prime Minister Hasina has been damaged politically by the unrest over quotas.

"Her aura of invincibility— the idea that she can maintain control and keep any dissent in check — has been shattered. Her legitimacy, already fragile after returning to power in an election boycotted by the opposition, has been greatly weakened," he said.

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

After a 14-year-old boy died of Nipah virus Sunday, July 21, 2024, in the southern Indian state of  Kerala, authorities tried to stop a new outbreak — just a year after the last outbreak in 2023.

Kerala State Health Minister, Veena George, said the boy died after suffering a cardiac arrest, which was apparently brought on by the virus. A further 60 people had been identified as being at high-risk, she said. 

Nipah is most common in fruit bats, which live in wooded areas close to the highly populated state of Kerala. It's also found in pigs.

Humans can pick up an infection from animals either directly, through droplets, or indirectly via contaminated surfaces. Human-to-human transmission is also possible. An infection can trigger encephalitis and lead to mild to severe illness, but also death.

The World Health Organization classifies Nipah as a priority pathogen, which means it has the potential to trigger an epidemic.

How is the virus transmitted?

Nipah virus is commonly found in fruit bats (Pteropodidae), which feed on nectar and pollen, as opposed to vampire bats which eat insects and drink the blood of animals. Fruit bats are much bigger and use their eyes, and not ultrasound, to orient themselves.

Scientists still don't conclusively know how the virus is transmitted from fruit bats to pigs, cattle or even humans. However, there are indications that both humans and animals can get infected by coming in contact with the contaminated saliva and urine of fruit bats.

The 2018 outbreak in Kerala was probably due to the contamination of a drinking water source. Dead fruit bats were later found in a well belonging to the house of an infected family in Changaroth. First, many of the family members fell ill. Later, their acquaintances also got sick. 

Why is the virus so dangerous?

The Nipah virus aggressively inflames the brain. The US Centers for Disease Control cites an incubation period of five days to two weeks.

Initial symptoms resemble those of the flu: fever, nausea and severe headache. Some patients experience respiratory problems. Later, disorientation, dizziness and confusion follow.

Within one to two days, patients can slip into a coma and die. The mortality rate for Nipah disease is 70%. 

How can the disease be treated?

There is no vaccination or medication against the Nipah virus — neither for animals, nor for humans. Medications have so far only been able to alleviate the symptoms.

In principle, patients have to be immediately isolated and taken to an intensive care unit, where vital body functions can be supported.

Contact persons or suspected cases have to be quarantined to stop the spread of the infectious disease. 

Where does the Nipah virus come from?

Nipah virus was first discovered in 1998 in the Malaysian village of Sungai Nipah. Febrile encephalitis — an illness caused by the virus entering the brain — and, in some cases, severe respiratory infections were observed in 229 individuals.

Men who worked in slaughterhouses were the first to catch the infection. It became apparent that one could contract the disease from animals.

Around the same time, a comparatively mild outbreak of a respiratory infection caused by an unknown pathogen was observed in pigs in Malaysia.

Only later did scientists find that the workers and the pigs had been infected by the same virus. As a precaution, more than 1 million pigs — half the country's total pig population — were culled in Malaysia.

Since then, cases of the virus have been reported in Bangladesh in 2001 and 2003, and in Kerala in 2018, 2021 and 2023.

Update: This article, original written in German, was substantially revised on September 8, 2021, September 14, 2023, and again July 22, 2024.

Leaders from 18 member states and regions of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) recently concluded a three-day summit hosted by the Japanese government in Tokyo, with concerns over climate change and regional stability in Oceania topping the agenda.

Japan hosts a meeting with PIF leaders every three years, allowing Tokyo the opportunity to position itself as a partner for the region, which is seeking international support to ensure a "peaceful, safe and secure Blue Pacific region that contributes to global peace and security," according to a joint declaration.

The declaration called for Japan to provide greater support and cooperation in climate change, maritime security and defense and economic development.

"Japan has long been proactive in reaching out to developing nations, particularly those in the Pacific that were the scenes of great destruction during World War II," said Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, an assistant professor of international relations at the University of Tokyo.

However, the rise of China in recent years has seen Beijing attempt to extend its sphere of influence into the Pacific, for example, through infrastructure projects and security deals.

"China is trying to build greater influence in the region, which runs completely counter to Japan's calls for a free and open Indo-Pacific," Hinata-Yamaguchi told DW. "Japan is not able to rip these countries out of China's arms, but it can provide beneficial alternatives."

China building influence in Pacific

Japan, the US and other regional countries were caught by surprise in 2019 when the government of the Solomon Islands severed its diplomatic ties with Taiwan and switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing.

In return, China has funded the construction of a new sports stadium in the country, along with advanced health care facilities, mobile telephone equipment, roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

On July 17, Beijing announced that it would inject an additional $20 million (about €18.4 million) into the country and help cover the cost of expanding its only international airport.

China and the Solomon Islands also signed a security pact in 2022. And while official details of the agreement are secret, leaks have suggested it includes a clause that permits China to deploy military personnel to the islands, for Chinese warships to be replenished locally and to use the country as a base for aerial surveillance of other Pacific Islands and Australia.

China has also been actively wooing Vanuatu, for example, by donating a $31-million presidential palace. There are reports that the government in Port Vila is considering allowing China to construct a military base and naval facilities.

The tiny Pacific state of Nauru has also switched its allegiance away from Taiwan, severing ties with Taipei in January 2024 and signing a new diplomatic pact with Beijing the following week.

Pacific nations have strategic significance for China

"China wants to increase its diplomatic influence over many of the small island states across the Pacific in order to expand its own sphere of influence," said Hiromi Murakami, a professor of political science at the Tokyo campus of Temple University.

"And it does not matter that these nations are geographically very small and have tiny economies," she told DW. "They control large maritime areas in the Pacific, they are strategically located and loosening their ties with the US, Australia, New Zealand or other countries would benefit Beijing immensely."

The joint declaration, while carefully avoiding specifically mentioning China, called for "the importance of the free and open international rules-based order in line with the international law."

The communique also opposed "unilateral attempts to change the status quo by the threat or use of force or coercion."

China's Foreign Ministry issued a statement shortly after the summit concluded on Thursday, saying Japan and other Pacific states should "help to promote peace, stability and development" in the region instead of criticizing China.

The Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper also accused Japan of using the summit to "economically entice" and, simultaneously "politically and militarily pressure" Pacific states to fall into line with its wishes.

What role can Japan play?

Much of the three days of discussions were given over to efforts to reduce the impact of rising sea levels due to climate change, which many Pacific states have called the single greatest threat to their survival.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan would "mobilize technology, know-how and financial resources” to assist islands in efforts to mitigate the effects.

Member states also agreed a joint action plan under which ships and aircraft of Japan's Self-Defense Forces will make more frequent visits to Pacific states and step up training and defense cooperation. 

A number of bilateral meetings yielded more specific assistance, with Japan agreeing to provide grant aid totaling 5 billion yen (€29.3 million/$31.5 million) to rebuild the terminal building at the Marshall Islands' airport, with the US contributing a further 1.2 billion yen.

Tokyo is also donating a fishery research ship to each of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu to help local officials to monitor fishery resources.

"Japan is also keen to use its soft power to assist these countries and that kind of outreach is far better than what a lot of other governments are doing," said Hinata-Yamaguchi.

"Tokyo knows it is far better to talk with these governments than to take the relationship for granted," he added.

However, Japan has yet to sign on to the Pacific Resilience Facility, which is a financing mechanism led by Pacific island finance and economic ministers to bring in international donors to risk-proof infrastructure against climate change.

"We welcome Japan's indication that they are considering a contribution to the Pacific Resilience Facility, but we encourage Japan to confirm earlier rather than later," said forum chair Mark Brown, the prime minister of the Cook Islands.

According to the PIF secretariat, China made an initial support pledge of $0.5 million to the facility. The US has pledged $4.5 million, Australia $2.8 million, while Saudi Arabia has pledged $50 million.

The Pacific Islands Leaders' Meeting (PALM) was launched by Japan in 1997 and has become Tokyo's primary diplomatic tool to build relationships with Pacific island countries. Representatives from 18 Pacific Islands Forum members and Japan participate in PALM.

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

Weeks of escalating student protests over a quota reform for government jobs have spiraled into Bangladesh's worst unrest in living memory with over a hundred deaths in the past few days.

The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has imposed a nationwide curfew and deployed the military, following clashes between demonstrators and police during student protests.

Most local news outlets have not updated their online editions since Thursday night, after the government largely cut off internet, telephone, and SMS connections. 

After several attempts, DW's Bengali service managed to communicate with its correspondents in Dhaka to get a firsthand experience from the city cut off from other parts of the country and the rest of the world.  

'Risk of casualties'

Correspondent Harun Ur Rashid Swapan said Saturday that protesters who were protesting in several areas of Dhaka on Friday were still holding their positions even after the curfew was announced. 

"Army and security forces took positions in those areas. But the protesters are large in number," he told DW. "So, there is a risk of casualties if security forces try to disperse the protesters."

Samir Kumar Dey, another DW correspondent based in Dhaka, said that the protesters refused to back down even when police opened fire: "The situation has reached a level that the protesters don't back down even when shots are fired. What I have noticed since yesterday is that the involvement of activists of political parties is more visible in the student protests."

The controversial quota system

The student groups are demonstrating against a high court order announced last month to reinstate quotas for government jobs. The quota system had been abolished in 2018 following massive student protests.

Under the quota system, more than half of civil service jobs are reserved for specific groups. For example, 30% of government jobs are reserved for family members of veterans who fought in the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.

"Most of the students want to have a government job in Bangladesh. Social security is one of the reasons behind this," Lamia Rahman Supti, a Dhaka University student who has been participating in the protests, told DW.

She said protesters do not see the logic in reserving government jobs for the grandchildren of people who fought in the liberation war more than 50 years ago, commonly called "freedom fighters" in Bangladesh. Other groups, like women and the disabled, are allotted a smaller percentage.

Some 3,000 such government jobs were open to nearly 340,000 graduates last year, according to government data.

Nasiruddin Yousuff Bachchu, a well-known freedom fighter and cultural personality based in Dhaka, also thinks the quota system should be reformed, but he opposes reducing it drastically, which the quota reform protesters demand.

''The quota system should be reduced to 20% from the current 56%," Bachchu told DW. "The 10% quota we have for women should be increased to 15% as we still need to see more women in government jobs. Also, we need to keep quotas for ethnic minorities, persons with physical disabilities, and marginalized communities."

Toughest unrest in decades 

Veteran journalist Harun Ur Rashid Swapan says he hasn't seen such wide and violent unrest for many decades. In his experience, no protests can compare to the scale of the ongoing quota reform protests that have seen many casualties and attacks on government properties. In one case, protesters managed to release prisoners from jail.

"I have seen a mass uprising against Ershad [military dictator in the 1990s]," Swapan told DW. "Considering the current movement's pattern and activities, I think it's a big one. The violence has reached a high level."

Samir Kumar Dey remembers two other protests that took place in the past decades. In 2006, when current Prime Minister Hasina was the opposition leader, her party was able to stage a powerful anti-government protest in Dhaka that led to the fall of the BNP government. And, in 2013, the hardline Islamist group Hefazat e Islam's protest at the center of Dhaka failed after security forces dispersed the protesters. 

"Both protests took place in two specific areas of Dhaka," Dey told DW. "But I haven't seen a wide and violent protest like the current one before."

Dhaka at a standstill 

Both journalists told DW that the streets are largely empty in the capital, apart from the areas where protests are taking place. Many citizens avoid appearing on the main streets while security forces are patrolling the streets.  

"People can't roam outside," Swapan said. "Shops are largely closed. In some places, goods are sold at higher prices. I went to Kawran Bazar, the biggest commodity marketplace in Dhaka, this morning. But sales aren't taking place there."

He pointed out that day-laborers are suffering in particular, as they have been out of work for days due to the protests.

Both correspondents think that while many people support the students' demand for quota reform and believe that the issue could have been solved long before it turned violent, they also see divisions in the population. "One side thinks it's okay to try to topple the government," said Samir Kumar Dey. "However, the other side thinks that the government shouldn't be toppled over such an issue."

Government announces curfew 

Prime Minister Hasina had been due to leave the country on Sunday for a planned diplomatic tour but abandoned her plans after a week of escalating violence. The government curfew went into effect at midnight Friday, and the premier's office asked the military to deploy troops after police again failed to subdue the protests.

Swapan said that some government ministers have been trying to negotiate with the protest organizers to calm the situation.  

"I don't think the movement is limited to quota reform anymore," he told DW. "It has been spread in other directions too. It's difficult to say if the curfew or the current course of action can calm the situation in the coming days now."

Meanwhile, the police have arrested thousands of protesters, including some coordinators of the movement, in the past days. 

Editor: Ben Knight

The Chinese Communist Party has wrapped up a series of high-level meetings with a communiqué that China watchers have described as vague and lacking detailed policies.

The meetings, called the Third Plenary Session, usually deal with major economic and political policy changes in China. This year, the session has approved decisions on "further comprehensively deepening of reform and promoting Chinese-style modernization."

According to the official communiqué released on July 18, the four-day meeting was attended by 199 Central Committee members and 165 alternate members.

It stated that the Beijing authorities will focus on "improving the (Communist) Party's capacity for leadership and long-term governance," with a goal of completing all tasks by 2029, the 80th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

President Xi in focus

Despite the emphasis on "reform" this time, Beijing has not made significant breakthroughs in economic and social policies as most political observers had anticipated.

Hsin-Hsien Wang, a professor at Taiwan's National Chengchi University's Institute of East Asian Studies, told DW that people shouldn't view the Third Plenum purely from economic and social perspectives, but rather focus onPresident Xi Jinping's positioning.

Wang believes that Beijing is essentially maintaining the policy direction set since the 20th Party Congress in 2022, with Xi Jinping "firmly grasping the dominant role in overall policy-making" and that by adding 2029 to the timeline, Xi could be implying "he would still be in power by then."

"He's setting the stage, suggesting that he may indeed have a fourth term," Wang told DW.

Xi began an unprecedented third term as China's leader in 2022, which is set to end in 2027.

Wen-Ti Sung, a non-resident fellow with the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub, had a similar observation.

"That tells you that the goal is for a continued, stable and durable leadership going into the next five years," said Sung.

"In that sense, the Third Plenum isn't so much about unleashing major new reform packages. It's more about driving home the point that the defining characteristic of the new era of reform is the centrality of core leadership," he added.

Maintaining stability is the focus

On the opening day of the meetings, China's official Xinhua News Agency referred to Xi Jinping as a "reformer" in a 10,000-word special article, comparing him to China's former leader Deng Xiaoping, who oversaw major reforms and the opening-up of the country in 1978.

The Chinese article was later reported to have been removed and is no longer accessible on the news agency's website.

Despite the calling for reform, the Plenum communiqué reflects Beijing's intention to continue existing policies with a greater emphasis on "pursuing progress while ensuring stability."

Scholar Sung told DW that the keyword of the Third Plenary Session was, in fact, "stability."

"When [Xi] talks about deepening reform with a keyword of 'persistence,' this means continuing on the current path," Sung said. "That continuity, first and foremost, is about the stability of durable top-level leadership."

Security still surpasses economy

The political meetings came as China faces internal challenges such as an economic slowdown, high debt in the real estate sector, high unemployment rates, and an aging population.

On top of it are a number of external challenges, including the US-China tech war and increasingly tense geopolitical relations, most notably in the South China Sea.

China watchers have paid close attention as to whether Beijing would use this moment to rebalance national security and economic issues, like, for example, moving towards more open markets and private sector development.

In the communique, Beijing addresses the need to better leverage the role of the market, saying it will "lift restrictions on the market while ensuring effective regulation."

However, when discussing security, the communiqué still stressed that "national security provides a pivotal foundation for ensuring steady and continued progress in Chinese modernization."

Sung believes that Beijing is sending "mixed messages" that emphasize economic development while further stressing the stability of the leadership.

That may likely entail further tightening of political control, Sung told DW, "which at some point can logically entail various restrictions when it comes to economic opening to the outside world."

Edited by: Ole Tangen Jr

As Donald Trump takes the Republican nomination for the US presidential race, capitals around the world are considering what a second Trump administration would mean for them should he be elected to the White House in November.

Tehran was in the crosshairs of the first Trump administration, with a policy called "maximum pressure" aimed at forcing Iran to curb its development of nuclear weapons by applying sanctions on oil exports, banking, and shipping that effectively crippled the country's economy.

A second term could mean more prolonged economic hardship in Iran, increasing public discontent and potential destabilization of the regime. 

Trump has made no secret that he considers the administration of current US President Joe Biden to be too soft on Tehran.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Trump said that had he been elected in 2020, Iran would have "had to deal."

"Iran had no money … I would have made a great deal with them—no nuclear weapons," Trump said. "I saw what was happening, they were on the path to a nuclear weapon. I ended the Iran nuclear deal, which was very important to do, it was the stupidest deal," Trump told Bloomberg.

Trump wants a 'deal'

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the nuclear deal, was reached in 2015 between Iran, the US and several other major economies.

It envisioned billions in sanctions relief in exchange for Iran dismantling its nuclear program and allowing international inspections. In May 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the deal, saying it allowed Iran access to money used to fund proxy warfare in the region and supply a ballistic missile program.

Although the Biden administration said it would re-enter JCPOA, intermittent negotiations have failed to yield results.

Meanwhile, during the Biden administration, Iran's oil revenues have grown significantly.

The Financial Times reported on April 30 that Iran's oil exports reached their highest level in the last six years with China as the main customer of these shipments. 

Biden has been criticized by Republicans for failing to enforce sanctions on Iran, including those designed to limit oil shipments to China. A major talking point has been that this allows Iranian money to fund proxy terror organizations in the Middle East, like Hamas and Hezbollah.

"The problem is Biden has done nothing with [the deal]. I ended it. But we would have had a deal … they were broke. They didn't have any money for Hamas … they had no money for Hezbollah," Trump told Bloomberg.

Azadeh Eftekhari, a political analyst and managing editor at Independent Persian, told DW that a second trump administration will be dealing with a Islamic Republic under different conditions.

"Today, there are two significant wars: the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war, which now also involves Hezbollah, one of the Islamic Republic's arms in the region. Iran's nuclear program has also seen significant development under the Biden administration," she said.

Hawkish overtones at RNC 

Trump's running mate, JD Vance, recently criticized Biden's policy, adding that Trump had prevented Iran from accessing money and "controlled" the behavior of the Iranian regime.

Vance also criticized the Biden administration's strikes against the Houthis in Yemen and Iranian proxies in Iraq as "weak little bombing runs."

Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who has appeared with Trump on the campaign trial, said at the Republican National Convention (RNC) that "the Islamic Republic was bankrupt during Trump's time, but under Biden, it has money to support terrorism." 

Trump told the convention that Iran is "on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons."

"The nuclear issue will be one of the main issues between the Islamic Republic and a potential Trump administration," Eftekhari said.

"An increase in pressures and the imposition of sanctions, which had been almost suspended under the Biden administration, is foreseeable," she added.

Iran denies reports of plot to kill Trump

Trump also targeted Iranian interests with force during his administration.

In April 2019, Trump designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization. In January 2020, Qassem Soleimani, head of the IRGC's Quds Force, was killed near Baghdad Airport in a US drone strike ordered by Trump.

Iran has repeatedly promised revenge for Soleimani's death, although publicly, Iranian officials say Trump should be brought to justice in a court of law.

This was brought to light again this week after US media reported that US intelligence uncovered an Iranian-backed assassination plot against Trump. The alleged plot was said to have no connection to Saturday's assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. 

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani denied the reports as having "malicious political motives and objectives." However, he added that Iran still intends to "prosecute" Trump over Soleimani's death.

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

An Olympic dream has come true for Kinzang Lhamo and Lam Dorji from the small Himalayan state of Bhutan , who are bound for the Paris Games .

"It has always been one of my dreams, to compete at such a stage," marathon runner Lhamo told DW. "I never expected to one day have the opportunity, but I am so grateful to have been given the chance to represent Bhutan."

Lam Dorji, an archer, expressed a similar sentiment.

"Every athlete's dream is to one day compete in the Olympics. It will be my biggest achievement just to participate in such an important competition," he said. "I will always remember this moment."

Marathon runner with no experience on flat ground

Both are among Bhutan's best athletes. Lhamo won the Bhutan International Marathon last March in the small town of Punakha in the west of the country. In 2022, she came second in the Snowman Race, an extreme event through the mountains of Bhutan. The five daily stages covered 203 kilometers (126 miles), with the highest point coming at 5,470 meters.

The Olympic Games will be the 25-year-old athlete's first competition outside of Bhutan.

"My first goal is to complete the marathon and then break my own personal record," she said. "It will be my first time participating in an international competition, and my first time in Europe."

Her best time is 3:26 hours, set in March at the marathon in Punakha. What sort of time she could run on the much flatter course in Paris is anybody's guess.

In pursuit of a personal best

Dorji also remains modest in his choice of Olympic aim.

"The best of the best will be there, and competing against those incredible archers will not be easy, when some of them have been competing many times in the Olympics already," he said. "But I hope to be competitive and break my own personal record."

His personal best is 664 out of a possible 720 points. At 184th in the world, he is well down the world rankings.

The fact that athletes like Dorji and Lhamo have the chance to compete at the Olympic Games in Paris is due to the Olympic Charter. It stipulates the goal of the greatest possible universality.

In other words: if possible, all 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) should be represented at the Games.

The whole world at the Olympics

However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) only officially invited 204 NOCs to the Games in Paris. Russia and Belarus were excluded due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Only a few athletes from these two countries will be allowed to compete in Paris – under strict conditions and a neutral flag.

Most of the approximately 10,500 athletes in Paris have met the qualifying standards of the world federation for their respective sport. However, to ensure that athletes from small, structurally weak countries and territories can also take part, more than 100 "universality places" were to be awarded in 23 individual sports.

All the IOC requires from these athletes is that they have demonstrated that they can compete at a "technical level to compete safely and with dignity."

Taking part is everything

The IOC is aiming as much as possible to avoid cases like that of swimmer Eric Moussambani of Equatorial Guinea. At the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Moussambani only managed the freestyle distance of 100 meters with great difficulty. In his own words, the African had never swum that far before. His time was the worst in Olympic history. Nevertheless, the spectators celebrated him because he perfectly embodied the Olympic motto "Taking part is everything".

Sangay Tenzin, a swimmer from Bhutan, will also be competing in Paris. The 20-year-old also took part in Tokyo 2021. Tenzin, who learned to swim in the rivers of his home country, trains in Thailand. Last May, the country's first 25-meter competition pool was inaugurated in Thimphu, Bhutan's capital.

National sport is archery

Only National Olympic Committees that were represented at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro and 2021 Games in Tokyo with an average of eight or fewer athletes were allowed to apply for the universal starting places for Paris 2024. The requirement was met by 93 National Olympic Committees (NOC) – 35 from Africa, 17 from Asia, 18 from Latin America, 14 from Oceania and nine from Europe.

Bhutan, which is roughly the size of Switzerland and is home to almost 780,000 people, has been part of the Olympic family since the end of 1983. The Bhutanese NOC was founded at that time.

At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, three Bhutanese women and three Bhutanese men competed for the first time – all in the national sport of archery. Since then, the country has been represented by at least two athletes at every Summer Olympics. Since 2012, Bhutanese athletes have also competed in shooting, judo and swimming.

Before Paris 2024, a total of 31 athletes from Bhutan had taken part in Olympic Games – 30 of them by invitation. Karma, an archer with one name, was the first athlete from Bhutan to qualify through performance for the Olympics – competing at the Games in Tokyo in 2021.

'The size of the country doesn't matter'

Lhamo and Dorji see themselves as ambassadors for their country in Paris.

"I am excited to be competing against all those athletes from all over the world, but getting a bit nervous at the same time," Lhamo said. "I will do my best to represent Bhutan in the best way I can."

Dorji said his aim was to put Bhutan on the map in the world of archery.

"I want to convey the message that even small countries can participate and do their best at such big world events," he said. "A country's size doesn't matter."

The Paris Olympics are July 26-August 11.

This article was originally published in German.

A series of scandals in the Japanese military has rocked the country, and may have far-reaching consequences. The Japanese Ministry of Defense has announced that it will replace the head of the navy and impose disciplinary measures on more than 200 soldiers and civilians.

The worst set of misconduct charges in years is embarrassing for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has said he wants to strengthen the Japan Self-Defense Forces and prepare it for potential conflicts with China and North Korea through arms purchases and greater cooperation with other nations.

"Betraying the public's trust is absolutely unacceptable, and I deeply apologize," said Defense Minister Minoru Kihara in the Japanese capital Tokyo last week.

Almost 220 people have been disciplined. Eleven were dismissed, two demoted, 83 suspended, 14 have had their salaries cut and seven were formally reprimanded. The others received admonishments and warnings.

'Sloppy information management'

Around half of the charges involved a lack of discipline with regard to classified information. Many people without security clearance were given access to data on the movement of warships, for instance. "Such sloppy information management undermines trust, especially as the SDF and the US military deepen their cooperation," read an editorial on the English-language news website The Mainchi.

The minor offences are evidence of lax self-control: For example, dozens of navy divers claimed hazard pay equivalent of €250,000 ($273,000) for tasks they had not even performed. Superiors intimidated subordinates verbally, even after a special investigation was launched after three officers were convicted of sexually harassing the female soldier Rina Gonoi in 2021.

Navy personnel ate free meals in canteens on military bases without authorization. A special investigation is also currently underway into allegations that defense supplier Kawasaki Heavy Industries bribed submarine crews with electronic goods and beer vouchers.

Defense Minister Kihara accepts his own responsibility

The leader of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, Ryo Sakai, had originally been given a pay cut, but then submitted his resignation last Friday as it became clearer that the scandals disproportionately involved the navy.

"I think the root cause is the lack of compliance among the troops and governance ability within the organization," he said. He will be replaced by Vice Admiral Akira Saito on 19 July.

Vice Defense Minister Kazuo Masuda and General Yoshihide Yoshida, the Chief of Staff of Japan's Joint Staff, were also reprimanded. Defense Minister Kihara said he would return one month of salary to underline his own responsibility.

Prime Minister Kishida backed Kihara and apologized. "I recognize that the situation is extremely severe, and in that context, I understand there is no room for error," he said in Washington at the recent NATO summit. The scandals could jeopardize his plans to double defense expenditure to 2% of GDP by 2027 and extend military partnerships with Japan's allies.

"If the government wishes to gain public support and understanding for the increased financial burden stemming from defense spending growth, it must clearly demonstrate a commitment to wiping out collusive practices from all its relations with contractors," said the liberal Asahi Shimbun newspaper in an editorial in early July.

So far, Kishida has not set a date for when taxes will be increased to finance the extra expenditure. According to the recently released annual defense white paper, the government has secured 42% of the required 43.3 trillion yen (€250 billion) for additional defense projects.

Japanese PM reassures allies

Japan's allies are likely to be particularly concerned about laxness regarding secrecy in the country's armed forces. In May, a new law came into force that introduces a Western-style clearance system for access to classified information. Previous doubts will now return as to whether Japan can be trusted with sensitive data in the context of closer military cooperation.

Japan and the US plan to set up a joint operations center by the beginning of 2025 to enable integrated command and control of the SDF in times of peace as well as conflict. When asked whether the lack of discipline in maintaining secrecy would jeopardize cooperation, Kihara said Japan would "take radical action to strengthen information security."

He and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa were slated to discuss joint cooperation with their US counterparts this month.

On Friday, the Japan Air Force will take part in joint military exercises with the German, French and Spanish air forces in Japan as part of the two-month Pacific Skies 2024. Those with Germany and Spain will take place on the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan. The German military is also likely to be very interested in ensuring that Japan protects secret military information better.

This article was translated from German.

 

Remarks earlier this week by US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that Taiwanshould "pay" the US for protection from China have sown doubt on the self-ruled island about Washington's commitment to defense should Trump win the presidency.

Trump's remarks have sparked heated debates and blanket media coverage in Taiwan, with headlines warning of "Trump security fees."

The US is Taiwan's most important security benefactor as it faces a persistent threat from China, which considers the democratic island to be a breakaway province that one day will be "reunited" with the mainland, by force if necessary.

In the interview published Tuesday, Trump said that he didn't think US protection for Taiwan was "any different from an insurance policy."

"Why are we doing this? … I think Taiwan should pay us for defense," he said.

Taiwan's record-high defense spending

On Wednesday, Taiwan's premier, Cho Jung-tai, addressed Trump's remarks at a press briefing and underlined Tapei's increased defense spending in recent budgets and the extension of military conscription to one year.

"It's our shared responsibility and goal to maintain the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region," Cho said, while lauding recent US-Taiwan ties as "solid."

He added that Taiwan would be "willing" to take on more responsibility and emphasized that the island's defense is in its own hands.

On Thursday, Kuoyu Chiao, deputy head of the North America department at Taiwan's Foreign Ministry, told reporters that Taiwan's defense spending is at a historic high of 2.5% of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). He added that Taiwan's government is prioritizing the modernization of its military.

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller also said in a press briefing on Wednesday that Taipei has been "paying for its own defense" by purchasing military equipment from Washington "to the tune of billions of dollars."

Trump's transactional view of the world

Trump's remarks on Taiwan were only a small part of a sweeping interview with the monthly business magazine Bloomberg Businessweek recorded in late June that gauged the former president's take on business, the US economy and foreign policy.

However, with the US presidential election less than four months away and Trump currently inching ahead in polls against incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden, the statements were taken as a potential harbinger of a radical shift in foreign policy for the next presidential administration.

Fang-Yu Chen, an assistant professor of Political Science at Soochow University in Taiwan, told DW that Trump has remained consistent in asking US' allies to "pay for protection."

Trump has often made similar remarks in the past, he said, reflecting the former president's transactional view of foreign policy and diplomacy.

The comments about Taiwan echo those made during a February campaign rally warning "delinquent" NATO allies to "pay their bills" or be cut off from US support, he added.

Chen also pointed out that it was more concerning that Trump implied Taiwan is "too far away" from the US for military defense. In the interview, Trump was quoted as emphasizing that "Taiwan is 9,500 miles [14.5 kilometers, editor's note] away” from the US but only "68 miles away from China."

If Trump is eventually elected as president, Chen said, it would "directly add a lot of fuel to the narratives in Taiwan of 'America skepticism'" — the growing sentiment in Taiwan that the US was not a trustworthy country. 

"Business is business, defense is defense. These two things shouldn't be mixed up," a woman in her 50s also told DW on the streets of Taipei.

"No matter who wins the [US] election, I believe we as Taiwanese have to defend ourselves," another woman told DW.

Although Washington does not formally recognize Taiwan, it has supported the self-ruled democracy with arms sales for decades. These sales markedly increased under Trump's presidency, with purchases of over $18 billion (€16.5 billion) worth of weapons like fighter jets and missile systems.

The Biden administration last month approved the sale of $360 million worth of weapons to Taiwan, including drone technology.

Chips on the table 

Trump also brought up semiconductor production in Taiwan, alleging "they took all our [US] business … they're immensely wealthy."

Taiwan produces over 90% of the world's most advanced chips, mostly through the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). After Trump's comments, the company's stock dipped by several percentage points.

Trump has repeatedly accused Taiwan of taking away the US' semiconductor business. Last year, in a Fox News interview, he implied that Washington should erect trade barriers against Taiwan with higher tariffs.

TSMC is building new factories overseas, including in the US, but says it will keep the most state-of-the-art production on the island —what the Taiwanese government views as a way to increase the economic costs of any military attacks by China.

Yuchen Li in Taipei contributed to this article.

Edited by: Ole Tangen Jr.