Author: DW

Israel has again contested accusations of genocide brought to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by South Africa after Israeli forces launched a military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. South Africa urged the UN top court on Thursday to order an end to the operations and for Israel to withdraw its forces. Israel responded to the litany of allegations that include mass graves, torture and the deliberate blocking of humanitarian aid. “Israel is acutely aware of the large number of civilians concentrated in Rafah. It is also acutely aware of Hamas efforts to use these civilians as a…

World number one golfer Scottie Scheffler was detained by police ahead of the second round of the PGA Championship.The 27-year-old has been released after he was stopped on Friday near Valhalla Golf Club where the tournament is taking place. Play was delayed due to a fatal accident near the course, and it is understood Scheffler was trying to avoid the scene when he was stopped, Sky Sports News reported.This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.Please refresh the page for the fullest version.You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via…

The Women’s World Cup will take place in South America for the first time after Brazil was chosen to host the 2027. FIFA delegates meeting in Bangkok voted 119 to 78 in favor of the Brazil bid rather than a joint bid from Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. “We knew we would be celebrating a victory for South American women’s soccer and for women,” said president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, Ednaldo Rodrigues. “You can be sure, with no vanity, we will accomplish the best World Cup for women.” The last edition of the tournament in Australiaand New Zealand in 2023, which featured 32…

Although Europe hasn’t seen a major assassination attempt against a head of government in decades, the attack comes as the continent is experiencing growing violence against politicians. Slovakia, which boasts a population of 5.4 million, is politically deeply divided and parties often use harsh rhetoric to berate each other. Despite these divides, almost all of Fico’s opponents expressed their horror and shock at the assassination attempt. Slovakia’s outgoing president, Zuzana Caputova, who received death threats during her time in office and decided not to run for a second term, said the the country’s political elite and public should renounce hatred and violence.Former Slovak…

The world celebrates International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia on May 17. To mark the occasion, ILGA Europe — a lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer (LGBTQ+) rights group — is publishing its latest Rainbow Map based on 2023 data. The Rainbow Map, which has been published annually for 11 years now, ranks European countries on their LGBTQ+ rights. It does so according to range of criteria including LGBTQ+ equality, protection from hate crime and discrimination, societal integration and sexual self-determination. Which countries are leading the way This year, Malta tops the ranking as Europe’s most progressive country for LGBTQ+ rights,…

Police reinforcements have been arriving in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia as part of a major security crackdown following days of deadly rioting.An extra 1,000 personnel have been sent to the archipelago in addition to the 1,700 already deployed, after France imposed a state of emergency to tackle the unrest, which included a curfew and a ban on TikTok. Five people, including two police officers, have been killed in the violence which erupted following protests over voting reforms being pushed through by French President Emmanuel Macron’s government.At least 60 members of the security forces were injured and 214…

Somalia’s breakaway province of Somaliland is commemorating the anniversary of its unilateral declaration of independence on May 18, 1991 — even though its claims of sovereignty have remained unrecognized by the international community.   Amid the preparations, Somaliland’s authorities have been preparing to conclude a controversial deal with neighboring Ethiopia. Once signed, the agreement would cement Ethiopia’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent state — despite strong objections from Somalia’s government in Mogadishu. In return for landlocked Ethiopia’s official recognition, Somaliland will lease out 20 kilometers (12 miles) of sea access for 50 years while also allowing Ethiopia to build a military base on its coast.…

French police killed an armed in individual who intended to set a synagogue in the northern city of Rouen ablaze, France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Friday. “National police in Rouen neutralized early this morning an armed individual who clearly wanted to set fire to the city’s synagogue,” Darmanin said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. What do we know about the attack on the synagogue? The Franceinfo broadcaster reported police were called to the scene early on Friday because smoke was billowing form the synagogue. Local authorities that the man approached police armed with a knife and a…

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, is “under missile attack”, its mayor has said.Ihor Terekhov made his comment not long after regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said at least five Russian drones had struck the northeastern city late on Thursday. Mr Terekhov said the city’s Osnovyanskyi district had been hit, triggering a fire.It is unclear whether there have been casualties.Fabrice Deprez, a journalist reporting from Ukraine, said on X he had “lost count of the number of explosions shaking Kharkiv right now – a dozen or more in the past hour”. An air raid alert lasted more than 16-and-a-half hours, public broadcaster Suspilne…

A female brown bear, known as JJ4 or Gaia, that killed  a man jogging on a popular mountain path in the northern Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige in April 2023 will be relocated to a bear park in the eastern German state of Thuringia, Italian officials say. The incident shocked Italy and led to heated debate in the country over the animal’s future. What has been decided? The bear is to be taken to the Worbis Alternative Bear Park by fall, Italian officials said. The councillor for tourism in the province of Trento, Roberto Failoni, told the daily Corriere del Trentino that…