Author: DW

Many European consumers today find themselves having to replace broken household appliances, such as hand-held mixers or white goods like fridges and dishwashers, even though they are technically fixable. This is because spare parts are often either prohibitively expensive or simply unavailable. Additionally, some products are designed in ways that complicate or prevent repairs altogether. Ian Williams from the University of Southampton says many manufacturers are “deliberately” building products that are “designed for replacement, not repair.” Rüdiger Kühr, head of the United Nations’ Sustainable Cycles Programme (SCYCLES), also thinks that “some prominent brands are trying to avoid repairs altogether, or easy repairs, because they…

Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican Party nominee for the November 2024 US presidential election, is no stranger to the courtroom. In January 2024, a jury in New York ruled that he would have to pay writer E. Jean Carroll millions of dollars in damages for sexually abusing and then defaming her, a decision that Trump is appealing. That was a civil case. Now, Trump has become the first former US president to be convicted of criminal charges. The case centerd on whether he paid hush money to bury stories about an alleged extramarital sexual encounter with a porn star to protect his 2016 campaign for the White House.…

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been released from hospital after he was shot in an assassination attempt.Mr Fico, 59, was shot at close range as he greeted supporters at a government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova on 15 May. The attack left him in a serious condition and needing a five-hour operation. He underwent surgery again two days later.Miriam Lapunikova, the director of the clinic in the central city of Banska Bystrica, said Mr Fico was taken to his home, where he continues to recover from the attack.In recent days, the hospital said Mr Fico’s condition…

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun on Friday, on the sidelines of the the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. Austin expressed concern about Chinese military activity near Taiwan, adding that China should not use Taiwan as a pretext for “coercive measures,” a Pentagon spokesperson said after the meeting. He also underscored the importance of respect for freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. In recent years, the annual forum has become a barometer of US-China relations. Defense chiefs from around the world are in attendance. What did the Chinese defense minister say? Meanwhile,…

05/31/2024May 31, 2024Russian missiles hit civilian buildings in Kharkiv: Ukraine officialsRussian missiles hit three sites in Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, killing at least three people and injuring 16, officials said on Friday.  Bystander accounts of the strike said the missiles hit a five-storey apartment block, a shop, a three-storey building and a sewing factory, around midnight local time.  Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said that S-300 missiles were used. He further said the attacks were in the “double tap” format seen of late, in which a second strike is delivered soon after the initial one on the same site.  “All…

British and US forces have struck Houthi targets in Yemen in the fifth combined operation since January.The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the strikes took place on Thursday as part of a response to Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The MoD said intelligence confirmed two locations near Hudaydah were involved in the anti-shipping attacks, with buildings identified as housing drone ground control facilities and storage for long range drones.Surface-to-air weapons were also believed to be on-site.A set of Houthi facilities at Ghulayfiqah, further south on the Yemeni coast, were also identified as being involved…

Donald Trump has become the first former US president to be criminally convicted.In a historic decision, a New York jury has found him guilty of falsifying business records to commit election fraud. He was found guilty of all 34 counts he faced. Unanimity was required for any verdict.Follow live:Trump found guilty on all countsThe former president is set to be sentenced on 11 July – days before the start of the Republican National Convention on 15 July where Trump is expected to be formally nominated for president. The verdicts plunge the country into unexplored territory ahead of the election on…

Donald Trump has become the first former US president to be criminally convicted.A New York jury found him guilty of falsifying business records in order to commit election fraud. Trump was at the centre of a “hush money” scheme to buy the silence of a porn star in the days before the 2016 election.Here are seven factors that helped convict the man who – in six months – could be president again.Follow live:Reaction as Trump found guilty on all counts Image: Donald Trump pictured with his lawyer Todd Blanche. Pic: Reuters 1. The secret recording”So, what do we got to…

South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) on Thursday was on the path to losing its parliamentary majority for the first time in three decades since coming into power. South Africans voted on Wednesday in the 7th general elections since the dawn of democracy, although since 1994, never before has the future of South Africa’s political landscape looked so unclear. What we know about the results Partial election results with 42.8% of the votes counted had the ANC with 42.7%, far below the 50% threshold needed for a majority in parliament. The party won 57.5% of votes during the previous election…

There’s guilty and there’s not guilty.Then there’s ‘whatever’, the verdict that Donald Trump had already bagged long before a New York court delivered its judgement. Beyond the breakdown of a 12-member jury panel, the portion of America that will shrug its shoulders at this case’s conclusion means Donald Trump has numbers he can work with, politically. For now, at least.Time will tell how the status change to “criminal” affects his bid to return to the White House. Notably, polls indicate it will go down badly with independent voters.For his opponents, it will need to – because, in six weeks of…