Author: DW

Hall of Fame center Bill Walton, who was once the US’ National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Most Valuable Player (MVP) and a two-time champion, died on Monday after a prolonged battle with cancer. He was 71. The nearly 7-foot-tall icon was surrounded by family when he passed away. He was fondly known as “Big Red” for his size and hair color. Walton’s career Fresh out from a stellar basketball career in college at UCLA, Walton won his first NBA championship with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977 and he was named the league’s MVP the following year. He had a stint with…

Skip next section Police search EU parliament offices in Russian meddling probe05/29/2024May 29, 2024Police search EU parliament offices in Russian meddling probeInvestigators searched the offices of an EU parliament employee in Brussels and Strasbourg as part of a probe into suspected Russian interference and corruption, Belgian prosecutors said.  The employee “played a significant role” in approaching and paying EU lawmakers to promote Russian propaganda via the pro-Kremlin website Voice of Europe (VoE), according to the prosecution. The searches were part of a broader operation concerning a “case of interference, passive corruption and membership of a criminal organization,” Belgian state prosecutors said. …

Venezuela rescinded an invitation to European Union observers to monitor the presidential vote in July.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…

Nikki Haley wrote “finish them!” on the side of an IDF artillery shell during a visit to Israel. Ms Haley, who was Donald Trump’s last-standing rival in the contest to be this year’s Republican presidential nominee, visited several places alongside Danny Danon, a member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.Mr Danon tweeted a collage of four pictures of himself and Ms Haley, including one of her crouching down to write on an Israeli Defence Force artillery shell.His post began with “Finish them!” in English. He then added in Hebrew: “This is what my friend, the former…

Belgian Vincent Kompany, 38, has been named Bayern Munich coach. Ever since the news was announced that current boss Thomas Tuchel would be leaving at the end of the season, Bayern Munich have desperately tried to find their next head coach. Xabi Alonso, Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick, Hansi Flick, Unai Emery, Erik ten Hag, Oliver Glasner and Roberto De Zerbi were all among reported targets who either cooled interest or outright rejected concrete approaches. There were even talks late in the season to try to get Tuchel to stay on, but, in the end, Bayern have continually been left empty-handed. Now, though, the…

Convoys of tractors clogging the streets of European capitals, burning tires, and even manure slinging: Recent farmers’ demonstrations against a law that would restore European nature have become a potent symbol of an apparent backlash against the European Union’s (EU’s) climate policies.  Ahead of the June European parliamentary elections, EU lawmakers watered down the Nature Restoration Law under pressure from protestors and the rise of populist and right-wing voices. The law aims to rehabilitate 20% of European nature by 2030 but restoration targets for agricultural land and peatland were ultimately diluted.  A key tenet of the EU Green Deal — a policy package…

At least 27 people were killed and dozens more were injured when a speeding passenger bus plunged off a highway into a rocky gorge in western Pakistan early Wednesday, officials said. The crash happened as the bus was traveling in Washuk district from Turbat, the second largest city in Balochistan province, to Quetta, the provincial capital. “The driver was navigating a turn in a mountainous area when the vehicle lost control and fell into a ravine,” the French AFP news agency quoted local government official Ismail Mengal as saying. Mengal said rescue workers and police responded quickly and provided first aid to…

The jury in Donald Trump’s hush money trial has completed its first day of deliberations – while the former president once again labelled the proceedings “unfair” as he spoke outside the court.Trump is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, as part of an alleged scheme to bury stories that could hinder his 2016 presidential campaign. Prosecutors say the reimbursements, paid to Ms Daniels via Trump’s then lawyer Michael Cohen, were falsely logged as “legal expenses” to hide the true nature of the transactions.Trump denies the affair…

German football club Borussia Dortmund have signed a three-year sponsorship deal with leading German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall. The Düsseldorf-based firm, the fifth-largest weapons manufacturer in Europe, has become a “Champion Partner” of the Bundesliga club in a deal worth between €7 and €9 million per year. Rheinmetall’s logo will be visible on advertising boards and other surfaces at locations such as BVB’s 83,000-capacity Westfalenstadion, its Brackel training ground and other hospitality and marketing events, starting with the club’s preparations for the prestigious Champions League final on Saturday. It will not, however, feature on the players’ kits or training gear. “Security and defense are elementary…

After months of anticipation, the cabinet was made public at 2:00 in the morning local time on May 28. Felix Tshisekedi was sworn in for a second term as president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in January, while Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tulukatook office in early April. Suminwa’s new government is made up of 54 members, including six deputy prime ministers, 10 ministers of state, 24 ministers, four deputy ministers and ten vice ministers.One of the deputy prime ministers is Jean-Pierre Bemba, who takes over the Ministry of Transport. He hands over the Ministry of Defense to Guy Kabombo Mwadiambita, a newcomer…