Author: DW

It was more or less business as usual in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, the day after the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico. Anyone who expected the country to come to a standstill would have been mistaken. Many were more interested in the Ice Hockey World Championships taking place in neighboring Czech Republic. Particularly since Slovakia won in 2002, ice hockey has been a national sport. The restaurants and bars, equipped with large screens especially for the event, may not have been quite as full as on the other days, but they were far from empty. “The idiot…

An Australian art gallery is facing growing pressure to remove a controversial portrait – with some of the country’s elite swimmers unexpectedly getting involved in the row.Vincent Namatjira’s painting of billionaire Gina Rinehart is currently on display at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, as part of a satirical collection of portraits by the indigenous artist, titled Australia in Colour. With its double chin and unusual expression, the painting portrays Australia’s richest woman in what some might say is an unflattering light.Mrs Rinehart has reportedly petitioned for the artwork to be removed from the gallery and now, Australian Olympian…

The US government warned citizens living abroad and those identifying as LGBTQ+ to exercise increased caution during Pride month in June in a travel advisory issued on Friday. The advisory itself was a standard renewal of advice telling Americans to exercise increased caution against possible attacks by violent extremist groups while they are overseas. But the latest travel advisory specified a potential for “foreign terrorist organization-inspired violence against LGBTQI+” community.  Pride events in the US and other countries around the world in June bring together people to celebrate inclusion. The advisory asked Americans overseas to stay alert in locations frequented by tourists, including…

It’s boxing’s biggest fight of the century.And both Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have good reason to believe they’ll walk out of the Ring of Fire as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Last night, Fury weighed in at 262lbs (18st 10lbs) – making him two stone heavier than Usyk, who clocked in at a substantial career heaviest of 233½lbs (16st 9lbs), about 12lbs more than he’s ever scaled before.While Fury refused to look at his opponent during Thursday’s news conference, he did not back down at the weigh-in, where the pair almost came to blows before being separated…

The United Auto Workers (UAW) trade union failed in its attempt to unionize a majority of the approximately 5,100 workers at the two US Mercedes-Benz plants near Tuscaloosa in the southern state of Alabama. Workers at an auto assembly plant and a battery plant in and around Vance, not far from Tuscaloosa, voted on Friday against joining the United Auto Workers, a setback in the union’s drive to organize plants in the historically nonunion southern US. In the poll, 56% voted against the union, according to tallies released by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which conducted the election. The final tally…

World number one golfer Scottie Scheffler says he was “rattled” and “in shock” after he was arrested and charged by police this morning.The 27-year-old reportedly tried to get around a traffic jam caused by a fatal accident near the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, at around 6am local time (11am UK time) on Friday. He is due to appear in court on Tuesday after being charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic.Scheffler was released at 8:40am local time (1:40pm UK time) and allowed to return to…

Two years ago, Russia tried to capture Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Now, it has launched a second attempt. Until recently, experts were certain that Russian operations near Kharkiv were little more than a propaganda effort, believing Russia lacked the forces to take the city. In early May, however, Russia took control of several villages in the north of the Kharkiv region, stoking fears it was pushing to capture the region’s capital as well. Should that happen, Ukraine would lose not only more territory but also one of its key cities. Kharkiv is an economic and cultural hub and has come to symbolize Ukrainian resilience…

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico had a second operation on Friday, two days after being shot multiple times in what his office described as an assassination attempt. “He had an almost two-hour-long operation” on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak told reporters outside the hospital in Banska Bystrica where Fico had surgery.Deputy PM Robert Kalinak is standing in for Fico in his absenceImage: Bernadett Szabo/REUTERS “His state is still very serious. I think it would take a couple of days to see the course of the development of his state,” Kalinak added. Kalinak, who is also the defense minister, is standing in for Fico during the prime…

At least four people – including three tourists – have been killed by gunmen in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province, the Taliban’s interior ministry has said.A further four foreign nationals and three Afghans were injured in the attack, which saw several gunmen open fire in the mountainous region, they added. The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said three of its nationals died in the attack and that at least one more had been injured.Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was “overwhelmed” by the news in a post on X.Four people have been arrested, Taliban spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said. Nobody has claimed…

Large parts of the German state of Saarland were hit by flooding on Friday. Fortunately, no one has been injured so far, said a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. The ministry spoke of a “widespread flooding situation” with a focus on the southeastern part of the state. In the cities, the situation was tense in the state capital of Saarbrücken, in Saarbrücken-Russhütte, in Eppelborn, Neunkirchen, Gersweiler, St. Wendel, Saarlouis and Merzig.The Saarland state capital Saarbrücken is affected by floodingImage: Harald Tittel/dpa/picture alliance In some places, residents had to be moved from apartments in isolated streets. Some nursing homes, such as…