Author: DW

A train traveling from the Czech capital of Prague to the Hungarian capital of Budapest collided with a bus on Thursday. At least five people were killed and another five were injured in the crash, which occurred in the town of Nove Zamky in southern Slovakia, officials said, adding that the death toll might increase The line linking the Slovak capital of Bratislava to Budapest was closed until further notice. What do we know about the crash? Over 100 people were aboard the Eurocity train when the accident took place shortly after 5 p.m. local time (1500 UTC), police and the…

The regional alliance of France, Germany and Poland created in 1991 called the “Weimar Triangle” has largely been put on ice in recent years. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that markedly changed the foreign policies of Germany and France toward Russia, has made the format relevant again. Relations were strained under Poland’s previously nationalist government , which recently lost power in the country to a government more open to European cooperation. Lukasz Jasinski, an analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, told DW that all these factors happening together have created a window of opportunity for the Weimar Triangle. “This is a short moment when this cooperation is in the interest of three countries,…

Five people have been killed after a train and a bus collided in Slovakia.A further five were injured in the southern town of Nove Zamky, 68 miles east of the capital, Bratislava, emergency services said on Facebook. The train’s engine was on fire, video footage showed, while the bus was badly damaged, railway officials said.More than 100 people were on board the Eurocity service when the accident happened shortly after 5pm local time (4pm BST), railway company ZSSK said.It was travelling from the Czech capital, Prague, to the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Dozens of stranded passengers are being taken by…

A United Nations-led meeting with Afghanistan’s Taliban will be held in Qatar’s capital Doha this weekend, in which representatives from some 25 countries are expected to take part. It will be the third such meeting, but the first attended by the Islamic fundamentalist group, which has ruled the war-torn nation since it seized power in August 2021 as US-led troops withdrew after 20 years of war. The UN political chief who will chair the meeting said it’s not about granting recognition to the Taliban. “This is not a meeting about recognition. This is not a meeting to lead to recognition……

A United Nations report on Thursday said some 8.5 million people were facing extreme food shortage in Sudan after 14 months of conflict. The document said hunger has now spread to the capital, Khartoum, and Jazira province, which was once dubbed Sudan’s breadbasket. What the study shows The findings come from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative, which includes more than a dozen UN agencies, aid groups, governments and other bodies. It found that 755,000 people face the worst level of starvation, known as Phase 5 by the IPC, in the coming months in 10 provinces, which also…

Police have fired tear gas at dozens of protesters in Kenya’s capital and blocked off roads to the presidential palace as crowds took to the streets again nationwide.The demonstrations took place over a controversial tax hike bill despite the president bowing to pressure to withdraw it. Police fired tear gas canisters at groups of protesters trying to meet up within the central business district of Nairobi. Image: Pic: Reuters/Monicah Mwangi Image: Pic: Reuters/Monicah Mwangi Crowds there, as well as in Mombasa, Kisumu and elsewhere, called for leader William Ruto to go further and step down.At least 22 protesters were reportedly…

Africa’s Sahel region is considered a strategic location for Germany, which has long been a significant player in stabilization and development efforts in the largely francophone region. Following military coups in the Sahel nations of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and instead turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance. The putches have also shaken cooperation with Berlin. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have for over a decade battled an insurgency fought by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State. Germany was part of the MINUSMA peacekeeping mission…

It is a decision of historic importance, and it has the potential to cause new domestic turmoil in Israel and to fuel a smoldering cultural conflict: The Israeli Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that ultra-Orthodox Jews are also liable for military service. Those who refuse to do so will no longer receive state support. A legal exemption that spared ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service expired in March 2024. Different branches of Judaism Ultra-Orthodox Jews are known as “Charedim” in Hebrew, “Haredim” in English. Unlike Christianity, Judaism does not recognize separate denominations or confessions. However, the Jewish community does distinguish between secular and…

A $5m (£4m) reward is being offered in the hunt for the fugitive “Cryptoqueen” Ruja Ignatova.Bulgarian-born Ignatova, who has German citizenship, has been on the FBI’s most-wanted list since 2022 for fraud and money laundering. The 43-year-old is accused of defrauding investors out of $4bn (£3.3bn) by selling a fake cryptocurrency called OneCoin, founded in Sofia in 2014.The US agency, which has called OneCoin “one of the largest global fraud schemes in history”, previously offered a $100,000 (£82,463) reward for her capture.However, that has now been raised to £4m. “Ignatova is believed to travel with armed guards and/or associates. Ignatova…

Iranians are going to the polls on Friday, June 28, to elect a new president to replace the late Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last month. The Islamic Republic’s Guardian Council, a panel of Islamic clerics and jurists, had approved the names of six men to run for the election. But on Wednesday, just a day before the election, a candidate withdrew from the race. Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, 53, dropped his candidacy and urged other candidates to do the same “so that the front of the revolution will be strengthened,” the state-run IRNA news agency reported. Hashemi’s…