Author: DW

A campaigning Nigerian chess champion has played the game non-stop for 58 hours to break the world record.Tunde Onakoya, 29, hopes to raise $1m (£800,000) for children’s education across Africa through the marathon attempt that began in New York City’s Times Square on Wednesday. He crossed the 58-hour mark in the early hours of Saturday, beating the current record of 56 hours, nine minutes and 37 seconds, set in 2018 by Norwegian pair Hallvard Haug Flatebo and Sjur Ferkingstad. Image: Mr Onakoya played against US chess champion Shawn Martinez. Pic: AP The Guinness World Record has yet to publicly comment…

A man who entered the Iranian consulate in the French capital, Paris, and threatened to blow himself up has been arrested, police and prosecutors said. Police earlier cordoned off a large area around the Iranian consulate and officers from the country’s Research and Intervention Brigade (BRI), which deals with serious events, were deployed, along with French soldiers. “No explosive materials have been observed at this stage, either on him or on site,” the Paris prosecutor’s office said. Alert from Iran consulate A police source told Reuters the man was seen at about 11 a.m. local time (0900 GMT/UTC) entering the consulate, carrying what…

Workers at German car giant Volkswagen’s Chattanooga factory in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers trade union, in a major boost for the largest car union in the US outside its powerbase in Detroit.  Well over half of eligible workers cast ballots, making the result binding.  And of those who voted, 2,628 were in favor and 985 against, a 73% level of support for unionizing.  Workers celebrated the result, cheering and waving their “Union Yes” campaign posters as the outcome was announced late on Friday. Staff organized a results party as voting concluded on FridayImage: George Walker IV/AP Photo/picture alliance Even…

North Korea’s KCNA news agency said Saturday the country conducted a “super large” cruise missile warhead test along with a launch of its new anti-aircraft missile in the West Sea of Korea.  Pyongyang tested the “Hwasal-1 Ra-3” strategic cruise missile, and the new “Pyoljji-1-2” aircraft missile on Friday, the North Korean government said.  KCNA said the tests were not related to the “surrounding situation.” “Both tests were part of the regular activities of the administration and its affiliated defense science institutes for the rapid development of technologies in various aspects such as tactical and technical performance and operation of new-type…

Injuries and “material losses” have been reported after a large explosion at a military base in Iraq.The cause of the blast – at the Kalsu facility in the city of Babylon – is currently unconfirmed However, two security sources told the Reuters news agency an air strike from an unknown source was to blame.A US official said it wasn’t caused by American military operations.The base is used by Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella group of dozens of armed groups, and is home to its chief of staff. One PMF fighter was killed and six were wounded, according to…

On Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) witnessed the heaviest rainfall it had seen in 75 years. Some regions on the eastern edge of the Arabian Penisula reported more rainfall in a single day than they usually received in an entire year. In Dubai, the UAE’s most populous city, floods brought traffic to a halt, flights at Dubai International, one of the world’s busiest airports, were cancelled, and roofs collapsed under the sheer weight of the water. Neighboring Oman also experienced unprecedented amounts of rain, which resulted in the death of at least 20 people and extensive property damage.UAE reels from unprecedented…

The Netherlands’ KNVB football association handed Vitesse Arnhem an 18-point deduction on Friday, making the struggling side’s relegation a mathematical certainty.  It’s the largest penalty of its kind in the history of Dutch football. However, the club said it did not plan to appeal, and it welcomed the lifeline offered by the KNVB that means it might at least be able to retain its license and continue to exist as a club. The club’s been in turmoil for some time now, as it tries and fails to extricate itself from Russian ownership following the invasion of Ukraine and EU sanctions…

Violence in the Middle East will not stop until the war in Gaza ends, a senior Hezbollah figure has told Sky News in a world-first interview in which he also castigated the West and scoffed at Israel’s actions.Ibrahim Moussawi, a Hezbollah spokesperson, also warned Israel “will see results” if they continue provoking Iran. “Nobody has an interest in going into an open confrontation, comprehensive war in the region, because this might lead to other things. This is not because the Western side has an awakening of humanity or whatever,” he said.Middle East latest – follow live updates”This is because it…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday admonished NATO defense ministers, telling them, “the choice of whether we are indeed allies,” will be determined by whether NATO countries are willing to provide his beleaguered country with more military aid as it struggles to defend itself against a Russian onslaught that is now in its third year. Zelenskyy described the state of Western aid as “very limited,” contrasting the current lack of support for Kyiv to the aid being extended to Israel. Zelenskyy said his country needs seven further US-made Patriot air-defense systems, adding “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin must be brought down to earth and our…

A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the Manhattan courthouse in New York where former President Donald Trump is on trial in a hush-money case. New York Police Department Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said the man, who is from Florida in the United States, walked into the center of the park across the street from the courthouse and set himself on fire.  An eyewitness said the man threw pamphlets into the air before dousing himself with a liquid and lighting himself on fire. Police said the pamphlets appeared to be “conspiracy-based.” The man was rushed to hospital and was in a…