Author: DW

Some 16,700 Filipino and US troops began annual joint military exercises in the Philippines on Monday, amid tensions with China over  Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the region. The drills, dubbed Balikatan, or “shoulder to shoulder,”  include maritime drills and retaking “occupied” islands in the South China Sea. In recent months, China and the Philippines have been at odds over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, with Chinese coast guard vessels frequently harassing Philippine boats with water cannons.  Lieutenant General William Jurney, the US Marine Corps Pacific commander, said at an opening ceremony in Manila the drills are going to “show the people of…

Opening statements are due to be heard in the trial of Donald Trump over hush money payments to a porn star.A jury has been selected at the New York court which will witness the first criminal trial of a former US president. Opening remarks by the prosecution and defence teams will be followed by evidence from witnesses.Donald Trump faces 34 charges of falsifying business records. They relate to $130,000 paid to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an alleged affair in the days before the 2016 US presidential election, which Trump won.He is accused of criminally altering…

As the world increasingly feels the impacts 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 heatwaves 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 Organisation (WMO). The three warmest years in Europe have all occurred since 2020 and the 10 warmest since 2007. Billions…

A tram crash at Universal Studios Hollywood has left 15 people injured.The Los Angeles County Fire Department was called to the theme park shortly after 9pm local time on Saturday. It said 15 people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.The crash occurred when the final car of one of the trams collided with a metal guardrail, which caused it to “tilt and eject multiple passengers”, the California Highway Patrol said.The Highway Patrol said some of the injuries were “moderate” but did not specify how many. The trams are used to take park visitors on behind-the-scenes tours of the sets…

On Monday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) updated its Military Expenditure Database for 2023 as top spenders such as the United States, China and Russia ratcheted up their military budgets. Military spending is up in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and North and South America. It’s the first time since 2009 that annual spending was up in all geographical regions examined by SIPRI at once. With a budget up 105%, the Democratic Republic of the Congo stood out as the country with the single largest increase in military spending in 2023 by percentage. Researchers attributed this to the…

At least seven people were killed when a race car veered off a track and ploughed into a crowd of spectators in Sri Lanka on Sunday. The incident occurred at the Fox Hill circuit in Diyatalawa, some 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of the capital Colombo. “A total of 27 people were taken to hospital and seven of them succumbed to their injuries,” police spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa said. Among the dead were four race officials and an eight-year-old girl. Investigation underway Thalduwa said police have opened an investigation into the accident, which occurred at a motor sport event organized by the…

Palestinians in Rafah are reeling from a series of devastating Israeli airstrikes that have killed 22 people – including 18 children.The last 48 hours, horrific even by Gaza’s standards, are an indicator of what may follow in any Israeli Rafah offensive.Doctors told the Sky News team in Gaza how they saved the life of an unborn baby even as her mother was dying from head injuries.Follow latest: Netanyahu vows to ‘increase pressure on Hamas in coming days'”We tried to rescue the patient,” Dr Ahmad Fawzi said.”We realised that she was pregnant.”We had to do an emergency caesarean to save the…

Police in the French capital Paris have given rail company SNCF and transport operator RATP authorization to conduct surveillance tests at four different train stations near two large events this weekend as a way to fine-tune their abilities ahead of this summer’s Olympics. The companies will have access to images from more than 100 cameras. Those images will then be analyzed using artificial intelligence to run “intelligent and algorithm-based technology” that will surveil crowds attending a pop concert by the Black-Eyed Peas as well as a soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyon. Scanning crowds, looking for abandoned bags Authorities say surveillance software…

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…