World

"Three countries, two lakes, one destination," says Greek environmentalist Mirsini Malakou, who has worked toward this vision in the Balkans for 30 years. Malakou is head of the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP), a Greek non-governmental organization that strives to preserve one of the oldest freshwater systems in Europe, the Prespa lakes.  The mountain-rimmed lake basin where Great Prespa Lake and Small Prespa Lake lie took shape about five million years ago, long before human beings joined the ecosystem or nation states laid boundaries. Today, these two stunningly picturesque and largely unspoiled bodies of water are shared by three countries: Greece, Albania and North Macedonia. The impact of political tension In places where nationalist politics dominate, as they do in ...

The premier of Canada's most populous province said Friday he will withdraw the anti-tariff commercial that caused US President Donald Trump to end trade talks with the United States' northern neighbor. After talking with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement, posted on social media, he has decided to "pause" the advertising campaign "effective Monday so that trade talks can resume." What was the ad that had angered Trump? Trump had previously declared an ending to "all trade negotiations" with Canada because of a television commercial sponsored by Ontario that used the words of former US President Ronald Reagan to criticize US tariffs. "We've achieved our goal, having reached US audiences at the highest levels," Ford said in a statement pos...

Thailand's Queen Mother Sirikit died at the age of 93 in a Bangkok hospital late on Friday, the Royal Household Bureau announced. Since October 17, the former queen of Thailand had been suffering from a blood infection. She had been largely absent from public life in recent years due to declining health. Her husband, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, died in October 2016.  They married on April 28, 1950, a week before his coronation on May 5. His coronation was held off for four years because he returned to Switzerland to complete his university studies. He actually became king in 1946 after the previous incumbent, his 20-year-old brother, King Ananda Mahidol, died after a gunshot wound in circumstances that remain unclear to this day. Thailand's former Queen Sirikit is the mother of the curr...

Thailand-Cambodia border tensions and Myanmar's civil war will be key topics of discussion at the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia, ASEAN's current rotating chair, will host over 30 heads of state at the October 26-28 event, including US President Donald Trump, who is expected to oversee the signing of a peace accord between Thailand and Cambodia. The two neighbors have a long-standing border dispute that goes back over a century. Tensions along the Thai-Cambodia frontier erupted into full-scale cross-border combat in July. At least 43 people were killed and 300,000 civilians displaced during five days of clashes.  A ceasefire agreement brokered by Malaysia, China, and the US came into effect on July 29. Th...

In late summer, Marcela Pagano — a member of parliament for Argentina'sruling party La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Advances) for the past two years — dropped a political bombshell. Not long after she and three other lawmakers announced their departure from the party, she took to social media on August 21 to deliver a scathing assessment. Pagano's ire was directed at President Javier Milei, the far-right disrupter who many of Argentina's 46 million citizens still see as a savior, a beacon of hope and a messiah all rolled into one. "I was convinced that we could bring about real change, but unfortunately, the project has strayed from its path," Pagano told DW about her motives. She said the government has ignored the needs of the middle class and disadvantaged groups such as people with disab...

Warning: This article contains references to death by suicide, sexual assault and other details that readers may find disturbing. US President Donald Trump can't seem to get away from the Jeffrey Epstein case. Epstein, a former investment banker, sexually abused and trafficked young and underage women for years, as well as "passing them on" to friends and business partners. The Epstein scandal had a huge impact on high society in the US, where many elite politicians, businesspeople and power brokers socialized with Epstein. In 2019, Epstein died by hanging off the side of his cell bed, while awaiting trial. More than six years later, and the Epstein affair has become a major pain for President Trump. Members of the general public and opposition politicians are demanding that the US Just...

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently rejected an offer by US President Donald Trump to resume talks on Iran's nuclear program.  "If an agreement is accompanied by coercion and its outcome is predetermined, it is not a deal, but imposition and harassment," said the 86-year-old, who, as the political and religious leader of the Islamic Republic, has the final say in all matters. At the same time, Khamenei rejected Trump's claim that the US had destroyed Iran's nuclear capabilities. Nuclear enrichment a matter of 'dignity': Iranian ambassadorTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "The Islamic Republic believes it can score points by showing strength," Menashe Amir, a Middle East expert and veteran jou...

Tropical Storm Melissa raged over the Caribbean on Friday, with forecasters warning that it is likely to strengthen into a hurricane and possibly bring massive rainfall, flooding and landslides to the north of the region. Melissa has already led to three deaths in Haiti, with two people killed in a landslide in the island nation's west on Thursday and a third dying after a tree fell on them amid heavy rain earlier in the week.  A fourth person has been killed in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing. Nearly 200 homes in the Dominican Republic have been destroyed, while water supply to more than half a million people has been disrupted.  Warning of 'catastrophic' flooding Melissa could take on hurricane strength in "in Haiti later this weekend and Jamaica beginni...