GERMANY PLANS TO SUSPEND FAMILY REUNIFICATION "Before I came to Germany, I didn't know it would be so difficult. I just didn't know. You know, we're men, and we men are not used to raising children," says Mohammed. He fled the civil war in Syria in 2014 with his wife, two daughters and two sons to Iraqi Kurdistan. Life was so difficult for the family there that his wife, two daughters and one son returned to Syria. Mohammed made the decision to make the dangerous journey to Germany through Libya and across the Mediterranean to Italy together with his son, who suffers from cerebral atrophy, in the hope of getting medical treatment and one day being reunited with the rest of the family in Germany. But two and a half years after arriving in the country, Mohammed still lives alone with his 9-year-old severely disabled son and has no idea when or if his wife and two daughters will be able to join him. His second son died after returning to Syria, a loss made all the more painful by the separation. Housed in shared accommodation at refugee centers, a friend eventually offered Mohammed a place to stay in what he describes as a broken-down house. He says they struggle to make ends meet on social welfare. Mohammed was granted subsidiary protection status by the German authorities. It is granted to people who do not meet the specific criteria for refugee status under the Geneva Convention, but who face a risk of serious harm in their country of origin, including the death penalty, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, or indiscriminate violence in the context of an armed conflict. There are currently around 351,400 people with subsidiary protection status living in Germany, the majority from Syria. They receive a residence permit, typically for an initial one year, and have the right to live and work in Germany and access social benefits. But while asylum-seekers and recognized refugees have the right to reunification with spouses and children under the age of 18 under German and EU law, those with subsidiary protection status do not. Now the new coalition government of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) plan to suspend family reunification for those with subsidiary protection status for at least the next two years. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) told the Bundestag on May 16 that citizens "expected a change of policy" on immigration and that included an end to family reunification in certain cases. "The country's ability to integrate had simply reached a breaking point," Dobrindt said, adding that cities and municipalities across the country were at their limit. 16th May,2025

MALI'S DEMOCRACY AT RISK UNDER MILITARY RULE Mali's military junta has banned all political parties, silenced dissent, and delayed elections. As repression deepens, analysts warn that the country's democratic future hangs in the balance. https://p.dw.com/p/4uR0O Pro-democracy youth leader Cheick Oumar Diarra leads a group of supporters who are protesting against the shutdown of political parties Mali's military government has dissolved all political parties in the West African state, it announced on TuesdayImage: AFP ADVERTISEMENT Mali's military government shut down all political parties and political organizations on Tuesday — a move that followed an increasing number of pro-democracy activists being kidnapped from the streets of the capital, Bamako. It also came days after a pro-democracy rally was held, with protesters demanding multi-party elections. The decree dissolving political parties, signed by Mali's transitional president Assimi Goita, cited "reasons of public order" and covered all "associations of a political character," according to Malian state media. "It is forbidden for members of dissolved political parties and political organizations to hold any meetings," the decree stated. Historic setback for democracy "The events in Mali in the last few days are a dramatic setback for democracy," said Paul Melly, an analyst and consulting fellow at the London-based international affairs think tank, Chatham House. Mali is a country "that has gigantic significance" because of the protest and the democracy coup of the early 1990s, Melly told DW, adding that it "has a long, proud history of an elected government although interrupted sometimes by military coups." "But for the moment, clearly, normal democracy, elected politics and free expression of opinion have been shut down," the analyst said. 16th May,2025

IRREGULAR MIGRATION DROPS SHARPLY Police figures reveal that irregular migration to Germany has dropped significantly in the last two years. The new German government has called for increased border checks. https://p.dw.com/p/4uTKB The German federal police controls vehicles coming into Germany from Austria at the border control station Kiefersfelden Police figures reveal that irregular migration to Germany has dropped significantly in the last two years.Image: Michaela Stache/AFP ADVERTISEMENT The number of migrants "illegally" entering Germany has dropped by over 100,000 in the past two years, according to German police figures. According to the figures, seen by German broadsheet newspaper Die Welt, 22,170 "illegal entries" into Germany have been recorded so far in 2025, down from 83,572 in the same period in 2024 and 127,549 in 2023. The figures come as Germany's new interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, has pushed for increased border checks in his first week in office, instructing police last week to turn back asylum-seekers with the exception of particularly vulnerable people such as pregnant women and children. German police conduct expanded border checks 02:10 Interior Ministry says border checks are 'working' On Thursday, Dobrindt, of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), visited a border crossing in the town of Kiefersfelden on the Austrian border alongside Bavarian Premier Markus Söder of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the CDU's Bavarian sister party. Speaking to reporters, the pair said that some 729 attempts to illegally enter Germany had been thwarted in the last seven days, with Dobrindt insisting: "The new border checks are working." Speaking in parliament to introduce his ministry's plans to lawmakers on Friday, Dobrindt said that "the integration capabilities of a country have their limits when it comes to illegal migration. Citizens expect a political change from us and this change has begun on Germany's borders." Addressing the CDU's junior coalition partners, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), he said: "I know that this is a bigger leap for you than it is for us. But let's complete this task together." He insisted that Germany remains a "tolerant country" which is "open to legal migration into our job market and society." German Chancellor Merz rejects criticism of border controls 16th May,2025

META LAWSUITS SHAPE AFRICA'S DATA PRIVACY LAWS US tech giant Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — vowed earlier this month to fight huge fines issued by authorities in Nigeria for regulatory breaches. It comes after a Nigerian tribunal in April rejected Meta's appeal against a $220 million (€202 million) fine imposed last year by the country's consumer protection agency, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). FCCPC chief executive officer Adamu Abdullahi said investigations carried out in conjunction with the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) between May 2021 and December 2023 revealed "invasive practices against data subjects/consumers in Nigeria." The FCCPC accused Meta of discriminatory practices, abuse of market dominance, sharing Nigerians' personal data without authorization and denying Nigerians the right to determine how their data is used. A Meta spokesperson told the AFP news agency that they "disagree with the NDPC's decision, which fails to take into account the wide range of settings and tools that allow everyone using Facebook and Instagram in Nigeria to control how their information is used." "We're committed to protecting user privacy and have appealed the decision." Content moderation sparks legal action Meanwhile, according to British daily The Guardian, lawyers are preparing for a lawsuit against Majorel, a company owned by tech contractor Teleperformance, which is paid by Meta for content moderation. Content moderators working for Majorel in Ghana's capital, Accra, told The Guardian that they have suffered from depression, anxiety, insomnia, and substance abuse. They believe this is a direct result of their work as content moderators. They also claim that the psychological support offered to help process disturbing social media content was inadequate. Explainer: Why Meta's monopoly is dangerous for you 16th May,2025

RUSSIA-UKRAINE TALKS BEGIN Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said he believed the next stage of talks should involve the presidents of Ukraine and Russia, following talks with the Kremlin's delegation in Istanbul. "I think the next step would be that the leaders-level meeting should be organised," Umerov — who is Kyiv's lead negotiator — told reporters in Istanbul. The comments came after the first face-to-face peace talks between the sides in more than three years. Ukraine's deputy foreign minister, Serhiy Kyslytsia, said he hoped the nations' two leaders would meet "sooner rather than later." 16th May,2025

UK TO JOINTLY DEVELOP LONG-RANGE MISSILES The German armed forces are to become "the strongest conventional army in Europe," Chancellor Friedrich Merz said as he set the ambitious goal in his first government declaration to the Bundestag this week. "We must be in a position to defend ourselves so that we do not ever actually need to defend ourselves," said the new head of government, referring to the threat posed by Russia. This is to be achieved in close coordination with European partners, and with the UK, in particular. This was made official last fall in an agreement that both countries celebrated as "historic." It has become known as the Trinity House Agreement, named after the place in London where it was signed by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his British counterpart John Healey last October. Never before has there been such an agreement between the two countries. Healey traveled to Berlin on May 15 to firm up the joint plans. Chancellor Merz vows to build strongest army in Europe 01:54 Common strategic goals Although the UK is no longer a member of the European Union, the nuclear power remains a strong military partner in NATO and shares common interests with Germany. "The UK is deeply involved in the geographical areas that are important to Germany, such as the Baltic states and the far north, but also to some extent on NATO's eastern flank," stressed Ben Schreer, head of the Berlin office of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Both countries now intend to join forces to protect the North Atlantic and the North Sea, for example. Not only do important sea trade routes run through the North Sea, but also gas pipelines and cables that carry electricity from large offshore facilities to the coast. Following suspected Russian attacks on underwater cables in the Baltic Sea, security experts fear similar attacks in the North Sea. Both countries want to work to counter such attacks by providing a "clear and comprehensive picture of the underwater situation," the agreement states. 16th May,2025

17 WANTED OVER DEADLY BANGKOK TOWER COLLAPSE A court in Thailand issued arrest warrants on Thrusday for 17 people in connection with the deadly collapse of a Bangkok skyscraper. The 30-story tower, which was under construction and intended to house the State Audit Office, was reduced to rubble in seconds when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Thailand and neighboring Myanmar on March 28. Authorities say they have recovered 89 bodies from the rubble of the collapsed tower. Seven people are still missing. The tower was the only building in Bangkok that collapsed. The suddenness and speed of its collapse has raised questions about the quality of its construction. Deputy Bangkok Police Chief Police Major General Somkuan Puengsap said the charges included violations of building codes that resulted in death and carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. The authorities are investigating the cause of the building collapse and have not yet released their findings. Survivor pulled from building collapse in Bangkok 16th May,2025

INDUS WATER TREATY FREEZE AFFECT SOUTH ASIA "Water and blood cannot flow together," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his address to the nation after New Delhi and Islamabad agreed to a ceasefire on May 10. "If Pakistan wants to survive, it will have to destroy its terror infrastructure. There is no other way to peace." Modi's speech did not mention the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), but his message rang clear — the fighting may have come to an end but the 64-year-old water-sharing deal with Pakistan will remain suspended, or as the Indian government puts it: "in abeyance." So far, the water appears to flow as freely as it has for decades, but some reports say India is considering plans to build infrastructure that would allow it to store and divert more water from the Indus River system. The Indus is the longest river in South Asia, spanning over 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles). It includes a complex system of tributaries that flows from Tibet, through divided Kashmir, and into Pakistan, before emptying into the Arabian Sea near Karachi. Unilaterally pausing the agreement to share its waters was one of the first steps India took in response to Islamist militants killing 26 civilians, almost all male Hindu tourists, in India-administered Kashmir on April 22. The attack was claimed by a group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance, which India says is also known as The Resistance Front and is linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a UN-designated terrorist organization. New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing the brutal massacre — a claim Islamabad denies. "If there are talks with Pakistan, it will be only on terrorism," Modi emphasized in his televised speech. Meanwhile, the government in Islamabad announced it would consider any withholding of water "an act of war" as the Indus is the most vital source of water for most of Pakistan's farms and hydropower plants. Tensions flare as India scraps water treaty with Pakistan 16th May,2025