Author: DW

A race car has veered off track during a competition in Sri Lanka, killing seven people and injuring 20 others, officials said.The car crashed into a crowd of spectators and race officials during a race in the town of Diyatalawa, around 110 miles (180km) east of the capital Colombo.Around 45,000 spectators were in attendance.It was not immediately clear what caused the accident and the condition of the driver is unknown.Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said the car veered off track and crashed into spectators and officials.Seven people, including four officials, were killed and another 20 were being treated at a hospital,…

World Athletics seems to have poked a hornet’s nest, with the federation’s recent decision to pay athletes bonuses for Olympic medals sparking global debate.  Last week, the governing body of athletics announced that it would pay $50,000 (€46,800) for victories in each of the 48 athletics disciplines at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris (July 26 to August 11). The organization said there will also be bonuses for silver and bronze at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. This is the first time in the 128-year history of the modern Olympic Games that a world federation of a single sport has…

The party of Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu claimed a landslide victory at Sunday’s parliamentary election. Muizzu’s party, the People’s National Congress, won 66 of the first 86 seats declared by the Elections Commission of the Maldives — enough for a super-majority in the 93-seat parliament. Muizzu himself was not up for election but his party previously lacked enough seats in parliament to move ahead his agenda of abandoning the country’s “India First” policy and reorienting toward China. Shortly before polls closed, election chief Fuad Thaufeeq said turnout had reached 73% of the country’s 284,663 eligible voters. India and China watching closely The…

The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon has told Sky News the dangers in the region have not gone away and called for calm, wisdom and de-escalation as a matter of urgency.Joanna Wronecka spoke from her office in Beirut about her worries and appealed for restraint from all those involved. “I’m very concerned,” she said. “Because we need just a small miscalculation and the situation can escalate even more.”She was referring to the spike in cross-border firing between the Israeli military and the Lebanese Hezbollah fighters who’ve been trading attacks with growing intensity since 7 October. Image: UN Special Coordinator for…

The late German football legend Franz Beckenbauer will be honored with a statue in front of Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, a club supporters foundation announced Sunday. The great player and coach, also known as “der Kaiser” (the Emperor), is to be cast in bronze in an elegant pose as the game’s conductor. The Kurt Landauer Foundation said he will stand on a pedestal in the shape of the Bavarian flag’s rhombus. Beckenbauer, widely considered one of the best players of all time, passed away in January in Salzburg, and was buried in a cemetery south of Munich, near where he…

Heavy rainfall over several days has sparked fears that heavy flooding could hit parts of southern China. State media reported that floods “seen around once a century” were being expected with authorities moving to initiate disaster precautions. Heavy rain since Thursday Large parts of Guangdong province have been soaked by torrential rain since Thursday, swelling major rivers and waterways in the Pearl River Delta. The region is one the most densely populated parts of China with more than 127 million inhabitants and is also home to China’s manufacturing hub.Heavy rainfall since Thursday has caused rivers and waterways to swell in southern…

“Before this conflict started, we had many crises, but I didn’t even think for once to leave the country, I don’t know why, I just loved it there,” says Aya El Sammani, who is originally from Sudan but now lives in the German capital, Berlin. She was born in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and was at university studying English literature and art when the clashes between two rival armed factions broke out in Khartoum on April 15, 2023. Within a couple of weeks, people began to realize that they needed to flee the capital. “If I went out from home…

Mourners gathered to pay tribute to the six killed in a stabbing at an Australian shopping mall.New South Wales Police identified the man behind the attack at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Bondi Junction on 13 April as Joel Cauchi, 40. He was shot and killed by an officer after fatally stabbing six people – five women and one man – and injuring several others, including a nine-month-old baby.Eight days after the attack, hundreds gathered for a candlelight vigil on Bondi Beach in Sydney, where Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese paid respects to those killed. Image: .Pic: AP Image: Pic:…

Skip next section Western military experts anticipate increase in Russian attacks04/21/2024April 21, 2024Western military experts anticipate increase in Russian attacksUS think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said it expects a spike in Russian missile and drone attacks after the US House of Representatives approved more aid for Ukraine. “Russian forces will likely intensify ongoing offensive operations and missile and drone strikes in the coming weeks in order to exploit the closing window of Ukrainian materiel constraints,” the Washington-based research organization said. The ISW said that it would still be several weeks before the new US assistance would…

Two Japanese navy helicopters have crashed into the Pacific Ocean during a night-time training flight after a possible mid-air collision, killing at least one of the eight crew members on board.One body has been recovered from the water and was later pronounced dead, while a search operation is under way for the seven others still missing. The two SH-60K patrol aircraft, each carrying four crew members, lost contact near Torishima island, about 370 miles (600km) south of Tokyo, late on Saturday. Image: One of the helicopters was based in Nagasaki. Pic: AP The cause of the crash is being investigated,…