Author: DW

A mother accused of murdering her estranged husband’s parents and aunt by feeding them poisonous mushrooms lured them to the meal by faking a cancer diagnosis, prosecutors claim.Erin Patterson is on trial over the deaths of her parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail Patterson’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, in July 2023. The 50-year-old, from the state of Victoria in southern Australia, has also been charged with the attempted murder of Mrs Wilkinson’s husband Reverend Ian Wilkinson.All four fell ill after eating a lunch of beef Wellington, mashed potatoes and green beans at Patterson’s home in the town…

A second Donald Trump presidency promised turbulence and division, but few could have foreseen the magnitude of disruption he unleashed in just 100 days. Trump has issued a torrent of executive orders to help implement his radical agenda, upending global trade, sparking mass deportations, and creating a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to slash federal spending and dismantle bureaucracy. Trump’s rhetoric at odds with reality Despite promising the American public a “golden age” of prosperity, Trump’s policies have quickly created great uncertainty among US businesses and consumers, struggling to calculate the impact of unprecedented tariffs on imported goods. The worst impacted are buyers of China-made products,…

Much is still unknown about the death of 58-year-old German author Alexandra Fröhlich. Fröhlich was found dead on April 22, on a houseboat moored along the Holzhafenufer in Hamburg’s Moorfleet district, where she was living. Police have since confirmed that “blunt force trauma” led to her death; they are treating the case as a homicide. No suspects have been publicly named yet. Marriage to a Russian inspired first novels In her first novels, Fröhlich drew on her failed marriage to a Russian. Her breakout debut, “Meine russische Schwiegermutter und andere Katastrophen” (My Russian Mother-in-Law and Other Catastrophes), was published in 2012…

What you need to know  Study links chemicals found in many household plastic products with mortality from heart disease.  The Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific are the most affected regions.  Changing how household plastics are used may reduce risk. A chemical found in household plastic items could be associated with cardiovascular disease, according to a new study. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally, responsible for an estimated 17.9 million deaths each year according to the World Health Organization.   The new study from researchers at NYU Langone Health in the US suggests certain common plastic chemicals…

Indian batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest player to hit a senior T20 century at just14 years and 32 days on Monday. The teenager had already made history in November 2024 when, at the age of 13, he became the youngest ever player to be sold at the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) annual auction, where teams compete to sign players.Vaibhav Suryavanshi needed just 35 balls to score his centuryImage: Surjeet Yadav/AP Photo/picture alliance Records tumble  On April 19, Suryavanshi made his IPL debut for the Rajasthan Royals — making him the youngest player to feature in the tournament — and announced himself in…

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unilateral announcement of a three-day pause to its war in Ukraine around the 80th anniversary of World War II ending was met with no applause in Brussels. “Russia could stop the killing and the bombing at any time. So there’s absolutely no need to wait until the 8th of May,” EU foreign affairs spokesperson Anitta Hipper told reporters on Tuesday. Critics say the Kremlin — which cites “humanitarian reasons” for its latest truce pledge — is simply trying to curry favor with Washington after US President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine.…

Three people were killed on Tuesday in a shooting in the Swedish city of Uppsala, near Stockholm. The shooting took place in Uppsala’s center, one day before the city celebrates a spring festival which traditionally draws some 100,000 visitors. According to police, the attack was carried out by a masked assailant, with media reporting he managed to make an escape while riding a scooter. Motive unclear There was no information to suggest the incident was a terrorist attack or a hate crime, local police said, adding a homicide investigation has been launched. The victims are yet to be identified, according to police,…

A paramedic in Gaza who was detained for more than five weeks following an Israeli attack that killed 15 aid workers has been released, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said.Asaad al Nsasrah was one of 17 aid workers who were attacked in Tel al Sultan in southern Gaza by Israeli forces on 23 March.Asaad was one of two first responders who survived – the other 15 were killed.He was initially thought to be missing, as his body was not among the dead. It was not until 13 April, three weeks after the attack, that Israel confirmed Asaad was alive…

As the war in Ukraine grinds into its fourth year, the idea that Russia could pump gas to the European Union via Germany again is not as outlandish as it might have been a few months ago. Amid media reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to stop his invasion at the current front line in discussions with the United States, speculation continues over the possible reintegration of Russian gas into the European Union’s energy mix. Last month, some politicians from Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) welcomed the idea of repairing both pipelines of the damaged Nord Stream 1 and…

What you need to know A Brazil-led study has found a link showing premature deaths increase as ultraprocessed food consumption rises. Stronger food cultures tend to have lower rates of death attributed to these products. The US is encouraging food manufacturers to switch from artificial to natural additives. An investigation by one of Brazil’s leading health research institutes has linked high intakes of ultra processed foods to greater rates of premature death. For some countries like the US and United Kingdom, as many as 1 in 7 deaths could be attributed to ultraprocessed food consumption. The study led by researchers…