East Timor votes for a new president amid political deadlock

Nearly a million East Timorese voted for a new president amid a protracted political crisis and economic uncertainty in Asia's youngest nation. Leading candidates have vowed to end the political impasse.

East Timor's incumbent president Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres said he would work

 with whoever wins the presidential election

Polls have closed in East Timor's presidential election, dominated by concerns over the young nation's stability.

More than 835,000 of the country's 1.3 million people were registered to vote on Saturday.

Incumbent leader Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres faced stiff competition from Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta and 14 other candidates.

"I am confident that I will win the election again," Guterres told reporters after casting his vote in Dili, the capital.

"I call on people to accept whatever the result, and I am ready to work with whoever wins this election," he added.

Ramos-Horta has promised voters a change of course. "We have voted based on our own wish for a new president who is able to maintain stability, to develop our economy and to change the current situation," he said.

The winner of the election will assume power May 20, on the 20th anniversary of East Timor's independence from Indonesia, which had invaded the country, a former Portuguese colony, in 1975.

Protracted political crisis and economic uncertainty

East Timor's brief democratic history has been rocky, with leaders facing widespread poverty, unemployment and corruption. Its economy relies on offshore oil revenues that are currently shrinking.

Under the current political system, the president appoints a government and has the power to veto ministers or dissolve parliament.

In 2018, Guterres refused to swear in some ministers from the National Congress of the Reconstruction of East Timor (CNRT), the party that backs Ramos-Horta.

So the government was composed of ministers from two smaller parties, while several portfolios remain vacant.

CNRT has accused Guterres and Fretilin of acting unconstitutionally, while Freitlin his party said Horta was not fit to be president, accusing him of causing a deadly crisis when he was prime minister in the early 2000's.

Huge challenges ahead

In 2020  Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak threatened to quit after the government repeatedly failed to pass a budget.

His government has since lacked an annual budget, relying on monthly payments from its sovereign fund savings, the Petroleum Fund.

East Timor depends on revenues from its offshore oil and gas reserves, accounting for 90% of its gross domestic product. 

But experts say the sovereign fund, worth nearly $19 billion (€17 billion), could run out within a decade as the government's annual withdrawals are now higher than its investment returns.

Early election results were expected late on Saturday. If no candidate wins an outright majority, the two most-voted contenders will move on to a run-off on April 19.

lo/jcg (AP, Reuters)

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East Timor: 12 Years on from Independence   

'Iron army' of COOKS AND grocery runners feeds Shanghai as Covid hits




Food runners report they are currently making up to 100 deliveries a day, which are often left outside housing complexes to avoid human contact

 (AFP/Hector RETAMAL)

Vivian LIN
Fri, March 18, 2022

As many Shanghai residents shelter from Covid at home, a common sight on the megacity's suddenly subdued streets is the racing, swerving scooters of food-delivery riders.

Firms including Meituan, Alibaba-owned Ele.me, Pinduoduo and Dingdong Maicai are struggling to keep up with a rush of orders from sequestered citizens in need of groceries and disinfectants.

At a sorting centre in central Shanghai run by Dingdong Maicai, staff are working overtime to handle double the demand of a week ago, when the metropolis of 25 million people began battening down the hatches.

Shanghai has so far avoided a citywide lockdown but authorities have closed school campuses, sealed off some residential compounds and launched a rigorous round of mass testing.


Dingdong Maicai has hired 300 additional staff across the city in recent days, some of them restaurant workers left idle by closures.

China's hordes of scooter delivery drivers were hailed as national heroes two years ago when they kept untold millions fed during huge lockdowns when the virus first emerged.

The lessons learned from 2020 -- and no small amount of bravado -- have helped companies stay on top of the crush this time around.

"We are an iron army. Whatever artillery fire we face, we react quickly," said Zhang Yangyang, manager of the bustling yet tidy Dingdong sorting depot.

Since its initial outbreak faded two years ago, China has largely kept the virus under control through a tough zero-Covid strategy.

Although its national daily case number -- 4,365 reported Friday -- is unremarkable globally, it represents the country's worst uptick in infections since the start of the pandemic.

With the highly transmissible Omicron variant spreading, authorities have imposed stay-at-home orders or other restrictions in several cities.

But unclear messaging about their plans has sowed public confusion, helping to fuel binge-buying and the resulting burden on business managers like Zhang.

"I don't have a weekend," Zhang said.

China has one of the world's biggest and most developed ready-meal and grocery delivery sectors.

Slick smartphone apps enable users to place one-click orders from virtually any restaurant or food store within a several-kilometre radius, with the apps even displaying the delivery rider's body temperature.

Food runners report they are currently making up to 100 deliveries a day, which are often left outside housing complexes to avoid human contact.

Dingdong Maicai staffer Li Yawu has found himself suddenly working up to 15 hours a day, after which he goes home to "soak my feet".

"It would be untrue to say I wasn't scared in the beginning," he said of delivering to neighbourhoods where Covid has taken hold.

"But when you deliver food into a user's hands and there is that much gratitude in their eyes... I don't feel scared anymore."

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Burkina's 'Opera Village' by its groundbreaking architect


Francis Kere is the first African to win the Pritzker Prize

 (AFP/Odd ANDERSEN)



Aerial view of the groundbreaking Opera Village project

 (AFP/OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT)

Schoolchildren attend a lesson in a classroom at the Opera Village school

(AFP/OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT)

The roofs overhang the walls and ventilation keeps the temperature in the rooms down, even when it's more than 40 degrees Celsius outside 

(AFP/OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT)


Burkina: Inside 'opera village' by Pritzker architecture prize winner Kere 

(AFP/Olympia DE MAISMONT)



Armel BAILY
Sat, March 19, 2022

With its imposing, angular proportions made out of clay, laterite and other local building materials, the Opera Village cultural and educational project, designed by Burkina Faso-born architect Francis Kere, blends into the landscape.

It overlooks Laongo, a rural community not far from Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, and is the sort of groundbreaking design that helped Kere scoop architecture's most prestigious award, the Pritzker Prize, this week.

In so doing, the 56 year-old, who holds dual Burkina and German nationality, became the first African to win the honour in its more than 40-year history.

Built on 20 hectares (almost 50 acres) of a granite plateau, the Opera Village is shaped like a spiral, with 26 buildings housing workshops, a health centre, guest houses and a school.


Eventually, at its centre will be a performance venue and covered exhibition area with 700 seats.

Built in the early 2010s with the aim of combining art, education and ecology, the project was the brainchild of late German theatre director and filmmaker Christoph Schlingensief.

- 'The simplest material' -

Kere was hailed by the Pritzker's sponsors on Tuesday for designs that are "sustainable to the earth and its inhabitants -- in lands of extreme scarcity".

His Opera Village used local construction materials, such as clay, laterite, granite and wood to allow it to withstand the extreme heat of the region, the site's administrator Motandi Ouoba said.

"These are local materials that the architect found on site: blocks of compressed earth, bricks taken from the site, paving stones made from granite," he said.

Kere "starts with the simplest material, which we commonly share... which our parents used, and he makes something noble out of it," he added.

"It's the earth, it's all that's around us, when he brings them together, he brings to life something that is magnificent."

It also blends well with local vegetation, contributing to a sense of harmony.

- 'Bioclimatic buildings' -

The immense roofs overhang the walls and ventilation keeps the temperature in the rooms down, even when it's more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) outside.

Kere ensured that "our buildings are bioclimatic, with a double ceiling and openings to dissipate hot air," Ouoba said.

The health centre's consultation and treatment rooms have dozens of long windows that slide upwards.

"With so many openings, patients feel less isolated by hospitalisation. They have a view of the landscape," doctor Issa Ouedraogo said.

The stylish classrooms filled with daylight are a far cry from the makeshift decor of many of the schools in Burkina Faso, a country battling a jihadist insurgency since 2015 that swept in from neighbouring Mali.

"The architecture of the buildings changes everything. We are in perfect classrooms because it is very hot here and not everyone can afford fans or air conditioning," said headmaster Abdoulaye Ouedraogo, who is also an actor and playwright.

Six classrooms can accommodate 181 pupils -- and there's a separate space for music, dance, theatre, plastic arts, photography and audiovisual lessons.

- 'Durable and functional' -

Opera Village also serves as a creative residency site for artists, according to Ouoba.

"It reminds us that we can get something beautiful, durable and functional from local materials," he said.

With its unique architecture, the centre attracts around 2,500 visitors every year.

Ouoba hopes that international recognition of Francis Kere will help maintain the curiosity of visitors.

"This very prestigious prize is the pride of everyone, especially in these times when Burkinabe news is dominated by terrorist attacks.

"We are happy for Mr Kere but also for us who are among the first beneficiaries of his work," he said, in congratulating the architect.

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Netflix series helps heal wounds of Turkey's Jews


Secrets of old Istanbul: Izzet Bana, musician and adviser to the hit Netflix series 'The Club' (AFP/Yasin AKGUL)
Yasin AKGUL

Burcin GERCEK
Fri, March 18, 2022, 7:19 AM·4 min read

A groundbreaking Netflix series set among Turkey's Jews has been an unexpected hit there, challenging taboos and enthralling audiences with its glimpse into a long-overlooked community.

The global success of Turkish television series -- often with government-pleasing narratives -- has made the country a small-screen superpower.

But "The Club" and its sumptuous recreation of 1950s Istanbul is a first, not least because some of the dialogue is in Ladino, the language of Istanbul's Jews which derives from medieval Spanish.

While minorities once flourished in the cosmopolitan capital of the Ottoman Empire, they suffered persecution as it fell and discrimination ever since.

Jews have generally kept their heads down to protect themselves, sticking to the Turkish Jewish custom of "kayades", meaning "silence" in Ladino.

But "The Club" -- which is set around a nightclub in Istanbul's historic European quarter -- puts an end to that silence.

- Pogrom against minorities -

The attacks and persecution that drove many Jews, Greeks and Armenians to leave Turkey in the 20th century are dealt with, including a crippling 1942 tax on non-Muslims and a pogrom against Greeks in 1955 which also unleashed violence against all the other minorities.

"Silence has neither protected us from anti-Semitism nor prevented migration to other countries," said Nesi Altaras, editor of Avlaremoz online magazine run by young Turkish Jews.

"We need to talk, including on political issues that previous generations wanted to avoid," he told AFP.

Less than 15,000 Jews remain in Turkey, down from 200,000 at the beginning of the 20th century.

The majority are Sephardic, whose ancestors fled to the Ottoman Empire after they were expelled from Spain in 1492.

In a rare case of life imitating art, "The Club" became Netflix's number one show in Turkey just as Ankara tried to repair ties with Israel.

While both countries have been historically close, relations have soured badly over Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and remarks by the Turkish president criticised as anti-Semitic.

Indeed until recently, Turkish pro-government dailies regularly published stories seen to be anti-Semitic.

But Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Turkey earlier this month, where he held talks with his opposite number, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Herzog even visited the Istanbul district in which "The Club" is set.

- Fierce debate -

The show -- and particularly the scenes of the pogroms on Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue in September 1955 when mobs lynched minorities and ransacked their shops -- has also sparked a fierce debate in the Turkish media and online about the need to confront history.

"No other TV show featured the anti-Semitic incidents of this period in such a remarkable way," said Silvyo Ovadya, president of the Jewish Museum of Turkey.

"We don't teach this part of history in schools in Turkey. Many Turks have learnt it thanks to the series," Altaras said.

"The series invites us to question the official narrative and ask ourselves, 'What happened to the Jews of Turkey?'" said Pinar Kilavuz, a researcher on Sephardic Jews at Paris-Sorbonne University.

Altaras believes the series has influenced domestic Turkish politics.

"It is no coincidence that the leader of the main opposition party has just included 'healing the wounds of the past' in his campaign, referring to the attacks against minorities," he said.

- 'We're part of this country' -

For Izzet Bana, a musician and an advisor to the series, the show accomplished a "miracle" by recreating the Jewish quarter of his childhood.

"I was worried at first because other shows caricatured Jews. But the series reflects real characters, far from cliches," Bana said.

Despite this progress on screen, Kilavuz said, more needs to be done for Turkey's Jews to feel equal.

"There is a myth about the Ottoman Empire welcoming Jews expelled from Spain in the 15th century," she said.

"It is used to stigmatise anyone asking for equal rights as showing ingratitude," she argued.

Even if everyone is considered equal before the law in Turkey, in practice non-Muslim minorities face huge obstacles, from getting government jobs to opening or repairing churches or synagogues.

It is also rare to find a senior minority figure in government or in state institutions where Sunni Turkish Muslims still dominate.

For Altaras, the series, which is due to come back with a third season, shows Turkish society that Jews were part of "the story of this country".

"We already knew that, but it's good that the Turks realise it too."

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'Never again war': Käthe Kollwitz's masterpieces

The German graphic artist used her art to advocate against social injustice, war and inhumanity. As war rages again in Europe, her work remains tragically relevant.



A call for the arts

German artist Käthe Kollwitz was born on July 8, 1867 as the fifth child of Katharina and Carl Schmidt in Königsberg (today Kaliningrad). She already knew as a child that she wanted to be an artist, but being a girl, she was denied access to formal art education.

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Overshadowed by Ukraine war, Yemen on brink as pledges fall short



In this photo taken on August 7, 2021, a health worker measures a malnourished child at a clinic in the province of Hodeida. The WFP has said levels of hunger in Yemen could become catastrophic if the Ukraine crisis pushes up food prices 

(AFP/Khaled Ziad)


Dana Moukhallati
Fri, March 18, 2022

The United Nations and aid groups have warned of grave consequences for Yemen after an international pledging conference failed to raise enough money to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in the war-torn country.

Overshadowed by the conflict in Ukraine, aid-starved Yemen -- already suffering the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN -- is on the verge of total collapse.

With the country almost completely dependent on imports, aid groups say the situation will only worsen following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which produces nearly a third of Yemeni wheat supplies.

Some 80 percent of its around 30 million people depend on aid for survival, after seven years of a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, directly or indirectly.

The UN voiced disappointment after Wednesday's conference raised less than a third of the target to help 17.3 million of Yemen's needy.

It has repeatedly warned that aid agencies are running out of funds, forcing them to slash "life-saving" programmes.

"A shortfall in funding means the needs of people will not be met," Auke Lootsma, the UN Development Programme's resident representative to Yemen, told AFP.

"The outlook for next year looks very bleak for Yemen. This is the bleakest situation we've had so far in the country."

- Famine conditions -

The violent struggle between Yemen's internationally recognised government, supported by a Saudi-led military coalition, and the Iran-backed Huthi rebels has pushed the country to the brink of famine.

The UN's World Food Programme has said the levels of hunger risk becoming catastrophic as the Ukraine crisis pushes up food prices.

Even before Russia invaded its neighbour, the WFP said Yemeni food rations were being reduced for eight million people this year, while another five million "at immediate risk of slipping into famine conditions" would remain on full rations.

"Clearly, pressing concerns over events in the Ukraine cast a shadow on (the pledging) event," Abeer Etefa, a WFP spokesperson for the Middle East and North Africa region, told AFP.

UN agencies had warned before the conference that up to 19 million people could need food assistance in the second half of 2022.

"The $1.3 billion committed at the pledging conference out of just over $4 billion requested was a disappointment," Etefa said.

"We'd hoped for more, particularly from donors in the region who have yet to step up and commit funds for a crisis in their backyard.

"If we act now, we can avert what could be a point of no return and we can save millions."

The UN was seeking $4.27 billion but raised only $1.3 billion, with some major donors going missing -- including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who were among the top three at last year's conference.

The two oil-rich Gulf countries are leading members of the military coalition that intervened in the Yemen war in 2015, shortly after the Huthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa and subsequently much of the north.

The UAE withdrew troops from the country in 2019 but remains an active player.

- 'Lives will be lost' -

"Some of Yemen's affluent neighbours, also parties to the conflict, have so far pledged nothing for 2022. We hope this will change," Erin Hutchinson, the Norwegian Refugee Council's Yemen country director, told AFP.

"It is a catastrophic outcome for the humanitarian response in Yemen. More people are in need this year in Yemen than in 2021. More lives will be lost."

During Wednesday's pledging conference, representatives from Saudi Arabia and the UAE stressed the need to stop the Huthi's "terrorist" actions, with the Emirati official saying the rebels "obstruct and deviate aid".

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said it has provided more than $19 billion in aid and development to the country in the past few years.

"Coalition partners appear now to prefer to control their own funding for Yemen, rather than leave it to the UN," Elisabeth Kendall, a researcher at the University of Oxford, told AFP.

"This may be because Yemen's worst-hit areas are under Huthi control, so it may be unpalatable to see their aid flowing into the very areas over which they are fighting."

According to Abdulghani al-Iryani, a senior researcher at the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, the coalition partners "appear to make their humanitarian response in the way that reaps greater political benefit, through their own organisations".

The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council said Thursday it seeks to host discussions between Yemen's warring sides in Saudi Arabia, despite the Huthi rebels' rejection of talks in "enemy countries".

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Fact check: The deepfakes in the disinformation war between Russia and Ukraine

Videos of Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy have been used to create deepfakes with a message that favors their adversary. They are not true, but they still quickly spread online.

Russia's war in Ukraine has impacted disinformation on social media by 

people supporting either side of the conflict

Manipulated videos designed to look like someone said or did something they did not — known as deepfakes — have targeted politicians for years. With higher stakes amid Russia's war in Ukraine, however, such videos could have a swift and devastating impact on those directly involved in the conflict. 

DW Fact Check takes a look at some of the recent deepfakes that circulated on social media amid the conflict. 

Deepfake of Putin

This deepfake of Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared on Twitter in March. The manipulated video of Putin was shared on social media with many describing it as showing Putin urging Russian soldiers to lay down their weapons and go home. But DW's Russia service reveals that this is not what the fake audio says.

This screenshot of the video address the Kremlin released on February 21.

 Notice the crisp detail around Putin's collar and head — 

details that are blurred or irregular in the deepfake

In the deepfake, the manipulated audio says: "Negotiations with the Ukrainian side have just started. And they were successful for the Russian side. I will inform you shortly. So, we have reached peace with Ukraine. With Ukraine in its world-recognized borders with Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (territories). We have agreed that we will set up a large foundation together with the USA and the EU for the restoration of infrastructure in these Ukrainian regions. We also signed a five-year roadmap on restoring Crimea's independence as a republic within Ukraine. In the negotiations, I was guided by one principle: to preserve peace and the lives of the Slavic peoples. Russian language in Ukraine will remain — and there will be no oppression, just like the oppression of the Russian population. It is clearly written in peace agreements."

In reality, Putin never said this. As is the case with previous deepfake videos of other people, these audio and mouth movements were manipulated through the use of artificial intelligence programs.

This deepfake appears to have been made by using an authentic video of Putin giving a national address from the Kremlin released on February 21 after Russia recognized the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.

Deepfake targets Zelenskyy

A manipulated video depicting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy circulated on social media in March that appears to show the Ukrainian leader telling his soldiers to lay down their arms and surrender to Russia. Its message was also posted to the website of broadcaster Ukraine 24 — but the news outlet soon after posted a statement saying it was hacked and removed the article.

Zelenskyy, who has consistently rallied allies to aid Ukraine in the fight against Russia, never made the statement.

When the deepfake video was flagged as a fake it was quickly removed from social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (an exception appears to be made for posts that explicitly state it is a deepfake to raise awareness).  

In the video, Zelenskyy's lips appear to be moving, but when looking closely, the head is in a static position throughout the 1-minute clip and his jawline is not defined. Ukrainian viewers also pointed out that Zelenskyy's accent was off and that his voice did not appear authentic. 

Zelenskyy addressed the deepfake on his official social accounts with a video statement.

In his statement, Zelenskyy said: "If I can offer someone to lay down their arms, it's the Russian military. Go home. Because we're home. We are defending our land, our children & our families."

Mock attack to stir emotions

Another form of manipulated content has also gone viral on social media: mock videos. One viral video was produced with special effects to illustrate what an attack on Paris would look like. The aim was to warn nearby European countries that Russia had to be stopped now in Ukraine before they, too, were attacked. 

The mock video starts with a woman posing next to the Eiffel Tower, and then multiple explosions strike iconic buildings nearby, including from several angles. Later shots include the sound of shocked people speaking in French and the sound of air raid sirens as fighter jets fly over. White text then appears: "Just think if this were to happen in another European capital." 

The video ends with a written quote from Zelenskyy: "We will fight till the end. Giving us a chance to live. Close the sky over Ukraine, or give us air fighters. If we fall, you fall."

"Close the sky" is a phrase often used by Zelenskyy when urging the European Union and NATO allies to close airspace with a no-fly zone over Ukraine in a bid to deter Russia from launching further attacks by air. 

The video was shared by multiple Ukrainian official social media accounts, like that of  Oleksandr Merezhko,the chair of the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Committee, with the words: "We also thought that it could never happen." It was also posted on the Twitter account of Ukraine's Defense Ministry on March 12 and, the night before, the video was posted by the Ukrainian parliament and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.

A week later, the video is still being shared on social media, especially after Zelenskyy’s speech at the US Congress as well as the German parliament. Always with the same message: "Close the skies."

Russian media were quick to point out that the video is a clear fake — but some went further, such as in the Telegram group called for "War on Fakes," claiming that Ukrainian authorities deliberately created the fake video using computer graphics to urge Europe to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

But this is contradicted by the man who says he created the video. He posted it on Facebook before the Ukraine parliament shared the video. 

In interviews with the French newspaper Le Monde and broadcaster RTL, Ukrainian filmmaker Olias Barco said he was not ordered by the Ukrainian authorities to create the video. "It's something I wanted to do myself, with producer Jean-Charles Levy, to give the West a shock," he said to Le Monde. "For me, we are in the Third World War, and this conflict is going to become more widespread. This is an anticipation film not a propaganda film."

DW was not able to independently verify Barco's account.

Many Ukrainians on social media have referenced a Russian TV interview to support their stance that Moscow would not stop at Ukraine and would seek to gain control of other European countries. In this video, Duma member Oleg Matveychev was a guest on a segment on Russia 1 talking about the conflict in Ukraine, "The most important thing: There is no way we can stop halfway. Like leaving Lviv or something like that. Otherwise, we shouldn’t even have started it." The presenter of the show then goes even further by saying: "I say more. With such sanctions — who said that you have to stop at the borders of Ukraine at all."

How do I spot a deepfake?

The sophisticated manipulation of videos makes it increasingly harder to detect — but there are signs that clue you in on what is a deepfake. 

DW Fact Check has published a guide here. 


HOW TO SPOT A DEEPFAKE
Deepfake clue — edges of the face swap
Interesting fold that Dutch leader Mark Rutte has there on his collar. Inconsistencies can be found at the edges of a face swap. These are mostly visible when those edges are close to clothing, hair or jewelry. Can you spot it?
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Edited by: Stephanie Burnett

WWW LINKS

Kremlin Putin address 24 February

Misinfo video on Russian pundits

Deepfake of Zelenskyy

Ukraine: 'Like a zombie movie without the zombies'

War has been raging in Europe for weeks now. Numerous athletes have remained in their Ukrainian homeland to fight – not for medals, but for survival. Three of them shared their stories with DW.

Kharkiv has been one of the targets of heavy Russian artillery

Kyiv resembles a ghost town these days. Mayor Vitali Klitschko has imposed a curfew, and there is great concern about further heavy air attacks by the Russian armed forces.

Only people with special permission are allowed to venture out. Sergiy Stakhovsky is one of those who has been given such permission. The 36-year-old called time on his professional tennis career in January and now he patrols the streets of Kyiv alongside other soldiers.  

Feelings of guilt

Stakhovsky was on vacation with his family on February 24 when Russian launched its invasion of Ukraine. 

"It wasn't the best start to the day when we got the news that Ukraine was under attack," Stakhovsky told DW. "I immediately turned on the TV and then saw the explosions in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol. It wasn't easy. At first I didn't understand what was happening." 

Sergiy Stakhovsky has traded in his tennis racket for a Kalashnikov

Just a few days later, Stakhovsky flew back to his homeland, where he was conscripted. Since then, he has been separated from his family. 

"I feel guilty towards my children and my wife, because I had to leave them behind," he said, adding: "I didn't talk about it with my wife for a long time. She was crying. If we had talked about it in more depth, I wouldn't have gone. I wouldn't have had the courage to leave my family behind." 

'No war in Ukraine'

Vladyslav Heraskevych lives in Zhytomir, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) west of Kyiv. Just days before Russia's invasion, the skeleton athlete used the Beijing Winter Olympics to make a political point. "No war in Ukraine" read the sign that he held up for the television cameras. 

"I did it to show the world that we Ukrainians are a peaceful people and don't want war," Heraskevych explained. "I got a lot of negative comments from Russia, including from politicians and other important people. But there were also many positive reactions from the rest of the world." 

A few days after he returned home from China, he was awoken by a bomb scare. Since then, the 23-year-old student has also been in the middle of the war – something he doesn't find easy to talk about.

Vladyslav Heraskevych used his stage at the Olympics to get his message out to the world

"Explosions were heard everywhere," he said. "Just a few weeks ago, we were at the Olympics, competing for medals for our country. A short time later, we're at war and everything you've accomplished in your career suddenly doesn't matter. Because now it's about our country." 

He is among the athletes who have written letters to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) calling for Russian athletes to be suspended from competition. 

'True information from Ukrainians' 

Heraskevych has been supporting volunteer fighters since the start of the war. But he has also taken it upon himself to use his prominence as an athlete to spread information about the war through his social media channels. 

"I have many friends all over Ukraine and they send me videos and photos, which I then distribute through my channels. It's very important to spread information about our situation here," Heraskevych said. "It's true information from Ukrainians."

 

The videos and photos that reach the athlete and that he spreads show the destruction of Ukraine: burning buildings, fleeing families. Every day, the number of victims rises. 

"The buildings and roads can be rebuilt. But the people who die don't come back," Heraskevych said. "Children lose their parents or parents lose their children. I, too, have already lost some friends. It hurts a lot, it's a nightmare." 

Despite everything, he tries to stay positive. "We will rebuild our country. We will be proud of our country and try to develop it again in the future," said the skeleton athlete, who hopes "that soon many people will be able to visit Ukraine again and see how beautiful it is here." 

Never going home again

Even further west in Ukraine, Olena Kryvytska had just returned from walking her two dogs when DW reached her. It is a slice of normality that she is trying to maintain, because not much is left of her old life. A day after her birthday on February 23, her town was attacked.

"We packed up what we needed in 15 minutes and got in the car with our two dogs to go to a safe place," the epee fencer recalled. "We left our house, our home, and we will probably never see it again."

Every morning, she and her family are woken up by loud sirens that warn of new attacks.

Olena Kryvytska had to flee her home in the early hours of the war

"This can last up to four hours," Kryvytska told DW. "During this period, we wait in a shelter and I try to read up on what is happening. Things can change at any time."

She phones friends, makes inquiries and helps people in her neighborhood.

"I try to find shelters for families who have had to leave their homes. Sometimes I buy medicine, food or other essentials and take them to collection points where volunteers redistribute them."

One big team

Kryvytska is among the best epee fencers in the world, but sports are not her focus right now.

"I will return to fencing soon, but that's not the most important thing right now," the 35-year-old said. "My international fencing friends support me every day. So fencing is still part of my life."

Kryvytska emphasizes that Ukraine is now one big team, one big family.

"We want to fight the enemy who has come to our home to destroy it," she said.

No matter how difficult the situation, Kryvytska is clear: "Ukraine will rise like a phoenix from the ashes. We are a very strong, free and independent people who love our country. We will never give up."

A zombie movie, without the zombies

Giving up is not an option for former tennis pro Stakhovsky either. Instead of wielding a racket, he now patrols the streets of Kyiv with a machine gun slung over his shoulder.

"I'm on patrol for two hours, and in between I try to help the other people in Kyiv, helping them distribute humanitarian aid," he said.

Russian attacks have reduced parts of Kyiv to rubble

Stakhovsky was born and raised in Kyiv and has many friends in the city. Walking the streets, he is reminded of his peaceful childhood.

"This is a disaster," he said. "The streets are empty and when you walk along the ones you used to play on as a little kid and there are concrete blocks or checkpoints everywhere, it doesn't feel real. It's like being in a zombie movie, but without the zombies."

'Nation standing together'

After 10 days, Stakhovsky said, he got used to the situation. But he will never get used to shells falling on residential areas and the killing of civilians.

"I don't think the Russians will take Kyiv. Our Ukrainian troops will stop the enemy from doing so, I am sure," he said.

He also believes it is important that famous Ukrainians demonstrate that they have not abandoned the country.

"The nation is standing together. But more importantly, we need to show that we are not Nazis, as Putin claims. In Ukraine there is freedom of speech, every person is free to do what he or she wants," Stakhovsky said. "In Russia, that is not the case."


UKRAINIAN SPORTS STARS WHO HAVE TAKEN UP ARMS

Dmytro Pidruchnyi (Biathlon)
After his return from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Dmytro Pidruchnyi enrolled in the Ukrainian National Guard to fight after Russia’s invasion of his country. The 30-year-old is a former European champion biathlete and has been to two Olympic Games.
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 This article was translated from German.

 Bosch faces probe over possible Russia sanctions violations — report

Ukraine says it found parts from the German engineering giant in Russian military vehicles. An investigation is underway into whether EU sanctions on Moscow have been violated, according to German outlet Der Spiegel.

Bosch, which is headquartered in the German town of Gerlingen, is Europe's leading auto parts maker

An investigation has been launched into whether the German engineering and technology giant Bosch broke sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia, Der Spiegel reported Friday.

The probe follows a claim by a Ukrainian minister that Bosch parts have turned up in Russian military vehicles used in the invasion of Ukraine.

At issue is the export of so-called dual-use products, which can be used for military and civilian purposes, which were restricted by the EU after Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014.

Why is Bosch under investigation?

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba claimed in a German media interview on Sunday that Russian infantry vehicles seized by Ukrainian forces were found to contain parts from the German manufacturer.

"We looked inside one of these vehicles and saw that one of the main components that powers the vehicle was actually supplied by Bosch," Kuleba told German public broadcaster ARD.

He claimed that Bosch has "for years supplied the components necessary for the Russian military machine so that these vehicles can invade Ukraine and destroy our cities."

What will happen next?

Der Spiegel said the government immediately passes on any indications of sanctions violations to the relevant investigating and prosecuting authorities.

The magazine cited sources within the government as saying that this has already been done.

The Stuttgart public prosecutor's office and the Customs Criminal Investigation Office in Cologne are now responsible, it said.

What has Bosch said about the parts?

Bosch said that it has begun its own investigation into the allegations, and told Der Spiegel that the parts are "ordinary control units for commercial vehicles."

The Stuttgart-headquartered company said it typically delivered these directly to the vehicle manufacturers. 

"When it comes to orders for spare parts for dealers and workshops, Bosch no longer accepts new orders from Russia and Russian automakers, and has also stopped deliveries of existing orders in Russia," a spokesperson for the engineering giant said.

Why are dual-use goods so controversial?

The export of dual-use goods is difficult to monitor because they are often ordered by intermediaries who claim they are required for civilian use. The goods — parts, software and technology — are later diverted for military purposes.

Russia's backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and the annexation of Crimea sparked EU sanctions that included tighter controls for dual-use products.

Multi-use goods have also been singled out by Brussels in the latest sanctions imposed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Way before the Kremlin's latest military assault, reports emerged that German-made engines and global positioning systems (GPS) were found in Russian drones used in eastern Ukraine and to spy on its other neighbors.

Last month, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported that the German government was still issuing export licenses for dual-use goods to Russia as late as 2020.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery