Author: DW

At least 29 people have died after a fire broke out at a nightclub in Istanbul on Tuesday. Several others were seriously injured. The incident occurred at the Masquerade nightclub on the European side of the city. “The number of people who lost their lives in the fire… in Gayrettepe of Besiktas district has increased to 29,” governor Davut Gul’s office said in a statement. The nightclub was closed during the month of Ramadan and was undergoing renovations at the time of the incident. Investigation underway Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire. Authorities detained five people for questioning, including managers of…

Twenty five people have died and several are injured after a fire at a nightclub in Istanbul.The blaze broke out during renovation work at the venue in the Turkish city. It was extinguished and Davut Gul, the Governor of Istanbul, said an investigation was under way.The victims are thought to have been involved in the renovation work.At least eight people were injured with seven of them taken to hospital in a serious condition. Police detained five people for questioning, including managers of the club and one person in charge of the renovations, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said.This breaking news story…

The World Central Kitchen (WCK) said on Tuesday that it had suspended its operations after seven of its employees were killed in what they said was a “targeted” Israeli air strike in central Gaza. Confirming initial reports from the Hamas-run Gaza media office late on Monday, the Spanish aid organization listed those killed as citizens of Australia, Poland and the United Kingdom, as well as a Palestinian and a dual US/Canadian citizen. The WCK said its staff were traveling in two armored cars clearly marked with the WCK logo and in coordination with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) when they were hit leaving…

Ailing German department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof has filed for insolvency for the third time, this attempt though believed to be in a bid to break free of its struggling owner. A court in the western city of Essen announced the move on Tuesday, saying it opened the proceedings a day before. Lawyer Stefan Denkhaus is to continue as the insolvency administrator, taking over the management of the store’s chain business. What do we know about the sale of Karstadt? Denkhaus says he is planning to finalize the sale of the company to new investors within the current month. Talks for…

How did violence contribute to racist theories in the German colonies?   By the early 1900s, Germany’s colonial troops had broken resistance in mainland Tanzania, Cameroon, Togo and Namibia through unimaginable violence and terror. From 1905-1907, the Maji Maji uprising and subsequent scorched earth policy in Tanzania killed over 300,000 people. The first genocide of the 20th century in Namibia killed up to 80% of Ovaherero people and 50% of Nama people. Colonialism brought colonialists and intellectuals into constant contact with non-Europeans, and casual racism borne through subjugation took a sinister and scientific tone.  Why did Germany seek to legitimize its rule through racial…

Three 12-year-olds were injured in a school shooting incident in Finland early on Tuesday, Finnish police said, adding that the suspect, also a minor, was later arrested. “All those involved in the shooting incident are minors,” the police said. They were all 12 years old, the police later specified. What do we know about the shooting incident? The shooting occurred at the Viertola school in the city of Vantaa, north of the capital Helsinki. The school has some 800 students. “The immediate danger is over,” the Viertola school’s principal Sari Laasila told the Reuters news agency. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said…

Hundreds of police officers have reportedly been deployed to a remote hamlet in the French Alps where the remains of a two-year-old boy were discovered on Saturday, as forensic experts analyse soil from the area where his bones were found.French authorities are trying to determine how the boy, known only as Emile, died after his bones were discovered by a walker in a forested mountain area near Le Vernet in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Emile was last seen by two witnesses walking down the street near his grandparents’ house in the area on 8 July last year. His bones, including a skull, were…

Skip next section Hague conference discusses compensation for Russian war crimes04/02/2024April 2, 2024Hague conference discusses compensation for Russian war crimesMinisters and officials from dozens of European countries will gather in The Hague on Tuesday for a conference on prosecuting Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The conference will initially focus on damage or destruction of residential property and will open a formal register where Ukrainians can submit compensation claims. Among the speakers will be the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, who last year issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking Kremlin officials for alleged war crimes in…

One of Jared Kushner’s planned ventures in the Balkans concerns the redevelopment of a site in Serbia’s capital Belgrade. Two years before Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, he put his feelers out, telling Serbian authorities that he was interested in building a luxury hotel and apartment complex on the site of the former headquarters of the Yugoslav army, the General Staff building, destroyed in 1999 by NATO’s bombing campaigns. Although that project fell through, Kushner, who was a senior White House official during Trump’s tenure, has now reportedly reached a tentative arrangement with the Serbian government to forge ahead with the…

The World Central Kitchen (WCK) said on Tuesday that it had suspended its operations after seven of its employees were killed in what they said was a “targeted” Israeli air strike in central Gaza. Confirming initial reports from the Hamas-run Gaza media office late on Monday, the Spanish aid organization listed those killed as citizens of Australia, Poland and the United Kingdom, as well as a Palestinian and a dual US/Canadian citizen. The WCK said its staff were traveling in two armored cars clearly marked with the WCK logo and in coordination with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) when they were hit leaving…