Author: DW

Scientists tracking the spread of a dangerous new strain of the Mpox virus have said it is time to “get prepared”.Researchers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are warning it could spread internationally – with potentially more severe symptoms and higher mortality. Known as Clade 1b, the strain first emerged in September among sex workers in the DRC mining town of Kamituga, around 170 miles (273km) from the border with Rwanda.There have now been around 1,000 confirmed cases in the country’s South Kivu province.On Monday, the first cases were confirmed in the city of Goma, which is also close…

China’s lunar probe landed safely in the remote steppes of northern China’s border region with Mongolia on Tuesday.  It returns bearing the first samples ever taken of rock and soil from the largely unexplored far side of the moon, the side that is never visible from Earth. “I now declare that the Chang’e 6 Lunar Exploration Mission achieved complete success,” Zhang Kejian, the director of the China National Space Administration agency said in a televised news conference shortly after the landing. State TV carried live footage of the vessel touching down.  China’s President Xi Jinping sent a message of congratulations…

With his save near the end of the Switzerland match on Sunday, Manuel Neuer once again showed why he is still considered one of the world’s best goalkeepers. The 38-year-old fended off a powerful long-range shot from Bayer Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka, preventing Switzerland from increasing their lead to 2-0. Just moments later, late Niclas Füllkrug headed home at the other end to equalize – and put Germany top of the group. In addition to making good saves, Neuer has been something of a playing assistant coach in this tournament. Not only in Germany’s matches against Scotland and Hungary but also…

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague said on Tuesday it is seeking the arrest of former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and current military Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.  The charges pertain to alleged crimes committed during Russia’s war in Ukraine.  Attacks on energy infrastructure at heart of the warrants The court said in a press release on Tuesday that there were “reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects bear responsibility for missile strikes carried out by the Russian armed forces against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023.” …

A proposed finance bill has sparked mass protests in the streets of Nairobi and across other cities in Kenya. The protests in Nairobi took a violent turn on June 25th, with rights groups accusing officers of firing live rounds at demonstrators. Journalists on site reported seeing at least three bodies after shots were fired. Angry over proposed tax hikes related to the cost of living crisis which has been simmering for years, protesters had stormed the nearby parliament complex which was then set ablaze.Footage broadcast on Kenya’s privately owned Citizen TV showed police trying to douse the flames with a water cannon. Nairobi: Protests against…

Specialist search dogs have been drafted in from the Spanish capital Madrid to help in the hunt for missing British teenager Jay Slater.The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle near Blackburn in Lancashire, was last seen in Tenerife in the morning of Monday 17 June. Mr Slater had travelled to the northwestern mountain village of Masca after attending the NRG musical festival on Sunday night.The apprentice bricklayer phoned a friend he had been holidaying with around 8.30am the following morning to say he was heading back to his accommodation in the southern town of Los Cristianos after missing a bus.During the short phone…

Italy reported its first-ever case of Oropouche fever, a mosquito-borne disease, on June 15. It’s also the first case ever to be detected in continental Europe. Latin America and the Caribbean have already seen outbreaks this year.  The patient diagnosed in Italy had recently returned from a trip to the Caribbean, Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported, citing public health authorities.   Oropouche virus disease is transmitted through the bites of infected midges and mosquitos. Although the disease has long been circulating in Central and South America and the Caribbean, some countries have seen a sharp rise in diagnosed cases this year.…

From putting down their racket to picking up a paintbrush, from hanging up their boots to bringing down the curtain, sports stars don’t always take a conventional path once their careers are done. Take tennis legends Venus Williams or Michael Stich. Or former soccer hardman Vinnie Jones. Or the mercurial Manchester United legend Eric Cantona. All of whom have sought a very different thrill to what they enjoyed during their sporting career. In the case of Jones and Cantona, they have rarely been seen near the sport that was once so dear to them, dedicating almost their entire post-soccer careers to a…

Police in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Tuesday reportedly fired live rounds to break up demonstrations as thousands took to the streets across the country to protest proposed tax rises.  Reports emerged that some of the protesters had been shot. Some demonstrators entered parliament at about the same time, with the building set on fire soon afterward. The country’s youth-led protest movement has become a major headache for the government, with organizers calling for protests and a general strike. What’s the latest on the protests? A heavy police presence met hundreds of chanting demonstrators in Nairobi’s business district — previously the focus of protest…

The International Criminal Court in The Hague is now seeking the arrest of Russian former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and current military Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.  The charges pertain to alleged crimes committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  Attacks on energy infrastructure at heart of the warrants The court said in a press release on Tuesday that there were “reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects bear responsibility for missile strikes carried out by the Russian armed forces against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023.”  Ukraine looks…