Author: DW

A police operation is under way after reports at least five migrants have died during an attempt to cross the Channel.The French coast guard confirmed there was a failed attempt to cross the Channel and police were operating at a beach following the incident on Tuesday morning.The spokesperson said she could not say how many people were involved but added there were several “lifeless bodies”.French newspaper La Voix Du Nord reported at least five migrants have died.It comes hours after the UK’s government’s controversial Rwanda bill – intended to deter migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats – was…

As the world increasingly feels the impact of fossil fuel emissions, the climate in Europe is also changing. Last year, the continent experienced a host of contrasting weather extremes, according to the latest European State of the Climate report. “In 2023, Europe witnessed the largest wildfire ever recorded, one of the wettest years, severe marine heat waves and widespread devastating flooding,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), which authored the report alongside the World Meteorological Organization. The three warmest years in Europe have all occurred since 2020, and the 10 warmest since 2007. Billions of…

In the Afigya Kwabre district of Ghana’s Ashanti region, people like Kingsley Owusu are known for growing Ghana’s leading cash crop. Owusu and his community have been growing cocoa beans for over 30 years. For many years, the cocoa harvest allowed him to take care of his children, who have all grown to adulthood. But now, at the age of 60, Owusu is worried about his own livelihood. “My production levels have gone down because of climate change and diseases. And illegal mining activities are also contributing to this,” Owusu told DW, adding that he barely makes enough to get by. Owusu used to produce about 10…

Ten people have died after two helicopters collided in mid-air during a rehearsal for a Royal Malaysian Navy parade.The incident took place at the Malaysian navy’s Lumut Base – 100 miles (160km) northwest of the capital Kuala Lumpur – at around 9.30am local time.The crash involved an AW139 maritime operations helicopter, with seven crew members, and a navy Fennec, with three crew members. Image: Rescuers at the scene. Pic: Perak Fire and Rescue Department Image: Pic: Perak Fire and Rescue Department Read more from Sky News:Japanese navy helicopters crash into the oceanFour dead after flooding in southern China”All the victims…

Iran is “weeks rather than months” away from having enough enriched uranium to develop a nuclear bomb, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi told DW. “But that does not mean that Iran has or would have a nuclear weapon in that space of time,” he added. He said while enrichment at near-military levels is a cause for alarm, one cannot draw the direct conclusion that Iran now has a nuclear weapon.  “A functional nuclear warhead requires many other things independently from the production of the fissile material, in this case, the uranium, including perhaps…

The British Parliament approved a controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda on Monday night after a marathon tussle between the upper and lower houses. The bill cleared its final hurdle when the House of Lords — which had repeatedly sent back the legislation — agreed not to make any further changes. Lawmakers in the House of Commons had already rejected two amendments made in the House of Lords last week. Hours before the vote, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that deportation flights would start in the coming months. “We are ready, plans are in place and these flights will go,…

Milan is proposing a new law to ban ice cream after midnight in an effort to protect the “tranquillity” of residents.For many, a late-night gelato is a part of Italian culture, but this is in danger under a new law being introduced in the city. A legislative starting paper has been filed by the city’s local government, and if passed it could see late-night ice creams banned as soon as next month.Covering 12 districts, the proposal would ban all takeaway food, including pizza, and drink after midnight in an effort to clamp down on noisy groups crowding on the streets…

The German Federal Prosecutor’s office on Monday said three German nationals were arrested under the strong suspicion of having worked for the Chinese secret service. Prosecutors believe the three may have been involved in research projects that could be useful for China to expand its maritime power. What are the allegations? The three suspects, Herwig F, Ina F. and Thomas R, were arrested by officers of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in the western German cities of Düsseldorf and Bad Homburg. The defendants’ homes and workplaces were also searched. The charges relate to espionage “at a point in time that cannot be precisely determined before June 2022.”Germany arrests…

India’s opposition Congress party has lodged a formal complaint with the Election Commission over a weekend speech delivered by incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress claims Modi “blatantly targeted” the country’s 200-million Muslims by using thinly veiled negative statements about “infiltrators,” which it said was a clear reference to Muslims. Speaking in Rajasthan on Sunday ahead of that state’s turn at the ballot box, Modi claimed that a previous Congress government had promised, “Muslims must have the first right over the nation’s wealth.” He went on to claim: “It will be distributed to those who have more children. It will be…

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing a widespread backlash after referring to Muslims as “infiltrators” during a campaign speech over the weekend. Congress, the main opposition party to Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Monday reported the prime minister’s “deeply objectionable” comments to the Election Commission, saying they violated electoral law. The comments were made by the Hindu nationalist leader, who is seeking a rare third consecutive term since first being elected in 2014, during a speech on Sunday – just days after India’s mammoth, seven-week election kicked off.Almost a billion people across 21 states and territories are expected…