Author: DW

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russian forces might aim to capture Kharkiv city. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was not currently seeking to do so. DW has the latest. Source link

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Saturday vetoed a “foreign influence” law which has sparked mass protests in the Caucasus country. The bill had been earlier passed by the Georgian Parliament on May 14.   Zourabichvili: Foreign agent law ‘contradicts our constitution’ “Today I set a veto… on the law, which is Russian in its essence, and which contradicts our constitution,” Zourabichvili said in a televised address. Opponents of the bill liken the legislation to laws in Russia which also crack down on entities the Kremlin deems “foreign agents,” such as the late Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation.   Zourabichvili had earlier told DW…

A paper napkin that sealed Lionel Messi’s move to Barcelona has been sold for £762,400.It contains a pledge, written in 2000, that the player would move to the legendary Catalan club. The starting price was £300,000 ahead of Friday’s online auction, run by Bonhams.Messi was 13 at the time the napkin was signed and had been on trial with Barcelona, but his father was reportedly frustrated at the club’s lack of commitment to him.Sporting director Carles Rexach pulled out the napkin during a meal with Argentine agent Horacio Gaggioli and Barcelona’s transfer adviser, Josep Minguella. Image: Pic: PA Rexach wrote:…

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday visited the western state of Saarland to examine damage caused by flooding and landslides. Saarland was hit by flash flooding on Friday amid heavy rains. What did officials say about the situation in Saarland? “We have a strong tradition of solidarity,” Scholz said during the visit. “Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have had to deal with a major natural disaster,” Scholz said, “so we will of course look at what needs to be done now and what is necessary.” Speaking alongside Scholz, Saarland State Premier Anke Rehlinger said: “Nobody should be…

An operation on Friday has “contributed to a positive prognosis” for Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico as he remains in hospital with injuries sustained in a shooting attack, Health Minister Zuzana Dolinkova said on Saturday.  The update on Fico’s health came as the man accused of attempting to assassinate him made his first court appearance, according to Slovak state media.  Fico, who was hit four times by bullets at point-blank range while about to meet with supporters in the central mining town of Handlova, underwent one five-hour surgery on Wednesday directly after the shooting and another shorter surgery on Friday. What is the…

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico remains in a stable but serious condition as the man accused of attempting to assassinate him appeared in court for the first time.Health minister Zuzana Dolinkova said further two-hour surgery on Friday “contributed to a positive prognosis” for the 59-year-old, who was shot five times at point blank range while greeting supporters in the former mining town of Handlova on Wednesday. Image: The media were kept at a distance. Pic: AP Defence minister Robert Kalinak said “several miracles” had happened in recent days at the hands of medical staff.However, although awake at the hospital in…

One person was killed on Saturday and two were injured in the latest violent incident in New Caledonia, as indigenous Kanak people continue their protest against changes to voting laws in the French Pacific territory. This is the sixth death since rioting began earlier this week. .Rioters set up roadblocks in protest of an electoral reform measure that would allow more people to vote in provincial electionsImage: Delphine Mayeur/AFP What do we know about the unrest on Saturday? The incident occurred in New Caledonia’s northern Kaala-Gomen region, General Nicholas Mattheos was cited by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency as saying.…

Separated by a good 16,500 kilometers (10,252 miles), Paris and the French overseas territory of New Caledonia could not be much further apart. On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron had planned to visit a new nuclear power plant in Normandy, which is much closer, but instead remained in the French capital to head crisis management meetings on the South Pacific territory. After days of violence that left several people dead, hundreds injured and more than 200 arrested, France has imposed a  state of emergency in New Caledonia, deploying additional security forces and blocking TikTok in an attempt to restore public order on the archipelago. When did…

A three-year-old Palestinian girl with an ultra-rare genetic condition has been forced backwards in her quest to leave Gaza for life-saving treatment.Julia Abu Zeiter, whose story is being followed by Sky News, was moved with her family from a tent in the southern city of Rafah and relocated to a supposedly safer zone to the north and further away from the border they had hoped to cross.Speaking to Sky News, her mother Maha said: “We were going through the travel procedures to leave Gaza. When the time for us to travel through Rafah crossing got close, the Israelis occupied the…

Three Spanish tourists and an Afghan national were killed after gunmen in Afghanistan opened fire in central Bamyan province late on Friday, a Taliban spokesman said. Another four foreigners and three Afghans were injured in the shootout, Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qani confirmed. The wounded included citizens of Norway, Australia, Lithuania and Spain, according to the information provided by the hospital staff. Afghanistan woos foreign buyers and investorsTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The identities of the injured foreigners were not revealed by any official.  Probe underway…