Author: DW

04/17/2024April 17, 2024Zelenskyy: Israel showed Ukraine’s ‘real need’ is aerial defenseUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told leaders in Brussels of Russia’s overnight cruise missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.  He said more than 60 people were injured and 17 were known to have been killed.  Zelenskyy said this was “what’s happening every day” in Ukraine and that it “reflects our current key need — the need for air defense.”  “Here in Ukraine, in our part of Europe, unfortunately, we do not have the level of defense that we all saw in the Middle East a few days ago. When, thanks…

Leaders of the European Union (EU) urged Israel and Iran to de-escalate mounting tensions at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday. Originally dedicated to sharpening the bloc’s economic competitiveness, the EU summit was overshadowed by the recent turn of events in the Middle East. The EU is eyeing fresh sanctions on Iran after the Islamic Republic fired over 300 missiles and drones toward Israel on Saturday. These were overwhelmingly shot down by Israeli air defenses, backed by a coalition of allies led by the United States. Tehran said the attack was retaliation for an air strike on its embassy complex in Syria on April 1,…

Lebanon is balanced as though on an earthquake faultline right now – whatever Israel decides to do next will have massive repercussions throughout the entire region.That’s how critical the situation is in Lebanon and the surrounding countries, as described by one seasoned Lebanese political analyst.Khodor Taleb is also the former adviser to three different Lebanese prime ministers, so knows a thing or two about what is at stake.Follow live:Israel ‘considered revenge attack on Monday’Lebanon – like the entire region – is at the crossroads and it is Israel in the driving seat over which road is travelled.’The situation will be…

A woman has been arrested in Brazil after she brought a 68-year-old man who had been dead for hours into a bank to sign for a loan.Erika Vieira Nunes wheeled the corpse into the bank in a suburb of Rio de Janeiro and told an employee that the man wanted a loan for 17,000 reais (£2,600), security camera video showed. She then held a pen to the man saying: “Uncle, are you listening? You need to sign,” according to the footage.”He doesn’t say anything, that’s just how he is,” she said, adding: “If you’re not okay, I’m going to take…

A Frenchman who confonted the Sydney shopping centre attacker – earning the nickname “Bollard man” – has been offered Australian citizenship. Damien Guerot used a bollard to try to stop the killer from hurting more people during Saturday’s attack at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Bondi Junction. Joel Cauchi, 40, fatally stabbed six people and injured 12 others, including a nine-month-old baby, before he was shot dead by a police officer.Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hailed Mr Guerot’s “extraordinary bravery” and said he was welcome to stay in the country “for as long as you like”.After the attack, Mr Guerot had…

On Tuesday, the Olympic flame was lit in the ancient ruins of the Temple of Hera in Olympia in southwestern Greece. It will now make its way to Paris, where the Summer Olympic Games are due to open on July 26. Until the closing ceremony on August 11, 10,500 athletes from 206 countries will compete at Paris 2024 in 32 disciplines. The French government has said that security will be the top priority during the event. Some 45,000 police and gendarme officers will be deployed every day, as well as 18,000 soldiers and 20,000 private security guards. In addition, more…

Myanmar’s jailed former leader, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has been moved out from prison along with other elderly inmates as a health measure to protect them from severe heat, the military government said on Wednesday. Win Myint, the 72-year-old former president of her ousted government, was also reportedly among the prisoners taken from prison amid the heat wave.  A military source told AFP news agency that Suu Kyi and Win Myint were transferred to house arrest.   Suu Kyi, 78,  has been serving a 27-year prison term in the capital, Naypyitaw, after being convicted on several charges that her supporters and rights groups say were…

Croatian voters are going to the polls on Wednesday in parliamentary elections, with conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic seeking a new term. Plenkovic, 54, is facing up against President Zoran Milanovic, a Kremlin-friendly left-wing populist. The two men engaged in bitter campaigning ahead of the election, with Milanovic accusing Plenkovic of heading a corrupt government, while Plenkovic slammed Milanovic over his leanings toward Moscow. The latest polls put Plenkovic’s conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) ahead of the opposition Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP), for which Milanovic is the candidate. Intense rivalry Elections were originally scheduled for the fall, but Croatia’s…

In a world that has grown more dangerous in recent years, the nightmare scenario of a Third World War is in the public consciousness.Earlier this year, UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps warned the world could be engulfed by wars involving China, Russia, North Korea and Iran in the next five years, and said we are moving “from a post-war to pre-war world”.The relief felt at the end of the Cold War in the late ’80s has been replaced with increasing alarm at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and there is outcry at the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.Sky News spoke to experts…

Skip next section Zelenskyy: Ukraine needs ‘immediate’ steps on air defense04/17/2024April 17, 2024Zelenskyy: Ukraine needs ‘immediate’ steps on air defenseUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country needed “immediate” support from NATO to bolster its air defenses. The Ukrainian leader’s comments came following talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “I am grateful to the Secretary General and NATO partners for their prompt response. Ukraine requires immediate steps to strengthen its air defense,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. https://p.dw.com/p/4etYiSkip next section NATO-Ukraine Council to meet Friday to discuss air defense04/17/2024April 17, 2024NATO-Ukraine Council to meet Friday to discuss air…