Author: DW

Venezuela rescinded an invitation to European Union observers to monitor the presidential vote in July. The country’s electoral authority cited EU sanctions against Venezuela for their decision on Tuesday. “They are not worthy people to come to this country…while they maintain sanctions,” Elvis Amoroso, the head of the National Electoral Council (CNE), said in a statement on state television. The EU called on the National Electoral Council to reconsider its decision. Why is Venezuela under EU sanctions? The EU introduced sanctions against Venezuela in 2017. The bloc has imposed restrictions on Venezuelan officials, including travel bans, asset freezes, and an…

An Icelandic volcano has started erupting again – the fifth time since December.The outburst happened on the Reykjanes peninsula, home to 30,000 people, just south of the capital Reykjavik. The eruption began in the early afternoon following a series of earthquakes north of Grindavik, a fishing town of 3,800 people that was evacuated.Lava was shooting around 50 metres into the sky from a fissure that is roughly 1.5 miles long and growing, Iceland’s Met Office said.The Blue Lagoon thermal spa, which is popular with tourists, was evacuated before the eruption, Iceland’s national broadcaster RUV reported. Flights to and from Reykjavik’s…

Georgian lawmakers on Tuesday voted down a presidential veto of the controversial “foreign agents” legislation, clearing the way for the bill to come into force.  The law, which has led to weeks of mass protests, would require media outlets and NGOs that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power.” Lawmakers voted 84 to 4 to override a veto by President Salome Zourabichvili and pass the bill. Most opposition MPs walked out of the 150-seat chamber ahead of the vote.Georgian parliament adopts ‘foreign influence’ lawTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to…

A person has died at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam after becoming trapped in a running aircraft engine, according to police.The Dutch airline KLM said the aircraft was bound for Billund in Denmark, carrying passengers on flight KL1341. In a statement, the company said: “We are currently taking care of the passengers and employees who witnessed the incident at Schiphol.” Image: KLM aircraft at Schiphol airport. Pic: Reuters KLM added that “the circumstances are currently under investigation”.Dutch media reported that the aircraft’s engine was running when the person was killed, indicating the plane was due to take off.A Royal Military Police…

People in the Ukrainian frontline city of Kharkiv are still searching for the dead, identifying corpses. On Saturday, Russian forces fired two guided bombs at a home improvement store, killing at least 18 people and injuring over 40 more — seven are still unaccounted for. A DW reporter was in Kharkiv last week as air-raid sirens blared for 16 hours straight. It was impossible to sleep because the city was under constant missile and drone attacks. Still, the next morning, nine-year-old Sashko got up, combed his hair, ate his breakfast and went to school for the first time in the two…

A mayoral candidate was fatally shot in southern Mexico on Wednesday during a campaign rally, Guerrp state governor said, just days before Mexicans go to vote in a general election. The attack is the latest in a string of attacks on candidates ahead of the weekend vote. What we know about the killing According to a video published by local media, a person approached mayoral candidate Alfredo Cabrera and shot him several times, causing chaos and panic in the crowd. Cabrera was a candidate for an opposition coalition in the town of Coyuca de Benitez. In a post on social media…

A Hong Kong court has found 14 out of 16 pro-democracy activists guilty of conspiracy to commit subversion in a landmark case.It is the city’s biggest national security case under a law imposed by China that has all but wiped out public dissent, following widespread anti-government protests in 2019. Those found guilty include former lawmakers Leung Kwok-hung, Lam Cheuk-ting, Helena Wong and Raymond Chan.They could now face life in prison, with sentencing expected at a later date.But the three judges approved by the government to oversee the case cleared two former district councillors, Lee Yue-shun and Lawrence Lau. They were…

According to the latest “Death Sentences and Executions” report released by the human rights organization Amnesty International (AI), at least 1,153 people were executed worldwide in 2023. Amnesty says that is the highest number it has documented since 2015, adding that nearly three-quarters of those executions took place in Iran. The thousands of executions that likely took place in China last year were not included in the AI report’s statistics. Nor were those in Vietnam and North Korea, where AI suspects large numbers of executions were carried out. Most of the world’s executions, says Amnesty, took place in China (thousands),…

One mayoral candidate was murdered and another shot and wounded in Mexico on Tuesday as violence continues to spread ahead of Sunday’s elections. According to local media reports, Ricardo Arizmendi, a candidate for mayor in the city of Cuautla in the central state of Morelos, was killed after being shot in the head at his place of work by two men who escaped on a motorbike. Meanwhile, in the western state of Jalisco, Gilberto Palomar, a mayoral candidate for the municipality of Encarnacion de Diaz was shot and injured inside a home along with two aides. Rising violence ahead of…

In a dusty clearing in Lithuania, NATO is rolling out the big guns.Leopard 2 tanks fire their rounds with a deafening thud, while Puma fighting vehicles add to the eerie chorus, accompanied by the buzz of helicopter blades. The firepower on display is the crescendo of the alliance’s biggest military training exercise since the Cold War, led by the Germans and taking place a few miles from the Lithuanian border with Belarus.The aim is to show how NATO can defend Europe’s eastern flank from invasion, offer reassurance to allies and a warning to President Putin.”Today’s exercise sends a clear message…