Author: DW

The first round of the French parliamentary election was held on June 30. The second round is on Sunday. Each of France’s 577 constituencies sends one delegate to the National Assembly in Paris. In the first rounds, candidates securing more than 50% of the vote are elected. This happens rarely. In the first round only 76 lawmakers, mostly from the far-right and left, were elected outright. The fate of the remaining 501 seats will be determined in run-offs between two or three remaining candidates or, in some instances, four. Candidates who receive at least 12.5% of registered votes are eligible to go…

Voters have gone to the polls for the second time in France in crucial parliamentary run-off elections that threaten political deadlock.While Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party is expected to win most votes, it faces falling short of a majority. This raises the prospect of a hung parliament, denting the authority of President Emmanuel Macron.If the National Rally does secure an absolute majority, the French leader could find himself forced into a difficult “cohabitation” with the country’s first far-right government since the Second World War.Read more:Who are National Rally? Ms Le Pen’s party won the biggest vote share in…

If a TV broadcaster lands an exclusive prime-time interview with a sitting president it has to do with more than luck. The White House only schedules such segments to get out a particular message. And that was the case on Friday evening, when US President Joe Biden sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos at 8 p.m., to quash the memory of his recent presidential debate with Donald Trump. Biden appeared weak and confused during the June 27 debate with Trump and was nearly impossible to understand at times. But Friday’s interview did little to quiet critics who say the…

Last August, a Syrian man posted a picture of himself on Facebook. It showed him standing somewhat awkwardly, unsmiling, in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Al-Aroub’s friends, family and colleagues probably wouldn’t have been surprised to see the photo. But a number of Syrian opposition journalists and activists were. That’s because al-Aroub is close to the authoritarian Syrian regime headed by Bashar Assad. The Syrian dictator is accused of committing multiple war crimes, including chemical weapons attacks, against his own people over the course of the country’s 13-year civil war. Al-Aroub is known to be a senior member of the so-called Baath Brigades, a militia…

The first round of the French parliamentary election was held on June 30. The second round is on Sunday. Each of France’s 577 constituencies sends one delegate to the National Assembly in Paris. In the first rounds, candidates securing more than 50% of the vote are elected. This happens rarely. In the first round only 76 lawmakers, mostly from the far-right and left, were elected outright. The fate of the remaining 501 seats will be determined in run-offs between two or three remaining candidates or, in some instances, four. Candidates who receive at least 12.5% of registered votes are eligible to go…

After a year, four scientists in the United States on Saturday ended an experiment that simulated life on Mars. To loud applause, the four volunteers left NASA-built Mars Dune Alpha, where they had spent the past 378 days completely isolated from the outside world. The 160-square-meter structure at the Johnson Space Center in Houston was designed to mimic conditions on the Red Planet. The habitat is a 3D-printed facility, complete with bedrooms, a gym, common areas, and a vertical farm for growing food. The structure also features an outdoor area, separated by an airlock. The space is filled with red sand and…

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s new far-right party alliance in the European Parliament has fulfilled the requirements to form a political group called “Patriots for Europe.” To form the group, 23 MEPs from seven countries are needed. On Saturday, the group secured the membership of the far-right Danish People’s Party and the far-right Flemish Vlaams Belang, meeting the required threshold. Who else is in the alliance? The Hungarian nationalist leader announced his intention to form a new EU parliamentary group on June 30, promising a “new era” that would “change European politics.” He made the announcement in Strasbourg with Austria’s far-right Freedom Party and…

A Dutch double in six second half minutes broke Turkish hearts and means the Netherlands will now play England in Dortmund on Wednesday for a place in the Euro 2024 final. After Turkey took a deserved first half lead through Samet Akaydin, goals from Stefan de Vrij and an own goal from Mert Müldür sent Ronald Koeman’s side through.  “This is very important and very beautiful, with such a crowd,” said Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk after the game. “We knew there would be a lot of Turks in the stadium, but I’m proud of these guys.” For Turkey midfielder Salih Ozcan, one…

Ukraine’s air force has claimed it tricked Russian forces into hitting dummy versions of warplanes and air defence systems.Air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said mock-ups were put in place at an airfield near the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih and a district of the Black Sea port of Odesa. He shared a video filmed by a Russian reconnaissance drone, which he said showed Russian Iskander missiles attacking the mock-ups.Russia’s defence ministry had shared similar footage on Thursday on its Telegram channel and said it had used Iskender missiles to destroy a Ukrainian Mig-29 fighter jet at the Dovhyntseve airfield.Mr…

Since Ukraine started mobilizing prisoners in mid-May, some 3,000 men have been granted early release from detention facilities “to participate directly in the defense of the country,” as the government officially calls it. But the released prisoners aren’t really free. Directly after leaving prison, they’re first taken to a draft office under the watchful eye of National Guard personnel, where they sign a contract with the armed forces. From there, they go straight to military training areas to become soldiers. Many of the men have wanted to go to the front ever since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early…