241/2018 • 20 OCTOBER, 2018 WEEKEND ISSUE
DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Afghanistan violence raises uncertainty over elections A top security official and several candidates have been killed in the run-up to the Afghan vote. But Germanyʼs special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan tells DW heʼs still optimistic about the countryʼs future. Afghan authorities have vowed to go ahead with the October 20 polls despite a violent attack in Kandahar on Thursday that killed General Abdul Raziq, one of the countryʼs most powerful security officials and a key US ally in the war against the Taliban.
Amnesty accuses Turkey of ʼturning blind eyeʼ to abuses in Afrin Human rights organization Amnesty International accused Turkey on Thursday of allowing Syrian armed groups to commit a wide range of violations against civilians in Afrin. Turkish forces aided by allied rebelscaptured the northern Syrian townin March from the US-backed Kurdish Peopleʼs Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers a terrorist group.According to Amnestyʼs research, scores of displaced residents have since returned to their homes, only to be subjected to rights abuses. Read more:Turkeyʼs military offensive against Kurdish-held Afrin: What you need to know Amnesty interviewed 32 people, both current and former Afrin residents, between May and July 2018, who said: Residents in Afrin are enduring "arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, confiscation of property and looting."Most of the abuses were "at the hands of Syrian groups that have been equipped and armed by Turkey."Some of the rebel groups and Turkish armed forces had "taken over schools, disrupting the education for thousands of children."
Angela Merkel defies Trump, defends free trade at EU-Asia meet Meeting in Brussels, EU and Asia leaders have pledged to create
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has rebuked the "America First" approach to free trade of US President Donald Trump.
Outcry in Uganda over compulsory HIV test 19-year-old Methia Nalukwago, a student at Makerere University in the capital Kampala, is excited by the proposal to have all students undergo compulsory HIV/AIDS testing. Some students, she says, have been living in denial. "Our friends, we study with them but you look at someone and you are like, ʼare you sure you are not sick or something like that?ʼ Of course you never come out to tell them but you feel it deep down inside you, this person must be sick because of the symptoms that show," Nalukwago told DW. "Compulsory testing for HIV will help us know our HIV status and where we stand." Studies
conducted by the Ugandan AIDS Commission show lack of sufficient information among the youth is contributing to an increase of HIV. Jane Were, the head teacher of Forest Hill College in Mukono district located 21 kilometers (13 miles) east of Kampala, said they are grappling with HIV in schools. She said the situation has been made worse by parents who mislead their children on what they are actually suffering from. "We have situations where parents lie to students about these [anti-retroviral] drugs. There are parents who tell children they have other ailments other than HIV," Were said.
LeBron James impresses but LA Lakers lose 128-119 at Portland Trail Blazers LeBron James scored 26 points on his NBA debut for the LA Lakers who slipped to a 128-119 loss by the Portland Trail Blazers in their season opener. The four-time MVPʼs total, the second highest scored by a Lakers debutant, included 12 rebounds and six assists. Damian Lillard scored 28 points for Portland and Nik Stauskas matched his career high with 24, on his debut. This was Portlandʼs 16th successive
win over the 16-time NBA champions, dating back to 2013. Eleven reasons LeBron is the biggest athlete on the planet James, who led Cleveland to their first NBA championship in 2016 after returning to the team from the Miami Heat, is playing for a Western Conference franchise for the first time in his career. The 33-year-old signed a four-year deal with the Lakers in the summer,earning a reported $154m (£118.2m)over the term.
Germany: Falsely imprisoned Syrian did not commit suicide A wrongfully imprisoned Syrian man, Amed A., whose death was ruled a suicide in the western German town of Kleve appeared to have called for help, local media reported on Thursday, casting doubt on the official account of the manʼs passing. The daily Kölner StadtAnzeiger wrote that a report passed around in the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Kleve lies, indicated that the man had not intentionally set himself on fire. Indeed, it appeared that he had tried to call for help.
Malaysiaʼs UNMO leader Zahid denies graft charges Malaysiaʼs former deputy premier has pleaded not guilty to 45 charges stemming from a fresh graft investigation. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi heads the long-dominant UNMO party which voters relegated into opposition last May. The head of Malaysiaʼs opposition party on Friday denied before a Kuala Lumpur that he had accepted bribes to award contracts while home minister, laundered money, and breached trust within a family-run charity. Multiple reports said the 45 charges pointed to alleged corruption involving a total of 111 million Malaysian ringgit (€23 million, $26 million).
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