Author: DW

Ireland’s new taoiseach has apologised to the families of 48 people killed in the Stardust nightclub fire in 1981, after a decades-long campaign for justice.Simon Harris held a meeting on Saturday with more than 70 people affected by the fire, which was the worst in Ireland’s history.In a statement afterwards, the taoiseach said he “apologised unreservedly to each family” and promised they will receive a formal state apology in the Irish parliament on Tuesday.The apology came after an inquest earlier this week ruled the 48 victims of the fire were all unlawfully killed.”It was a humbling and emotional meeting,” Mr…

European heads of state and government came together in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss ways to heighten the European Union’s (EU) economic competitiveness. At the special summit, they were issued a stark warning that the EU’s economic performance was falling behind that of other key global players, most notably the  United States and China. In a final joint statement, EU leaders spoke of a new European competitiveness deal and reforming the EU single market. “The European Union is commited to acting decisively to ensure its long-term competitiveness, prosperity and leadership on the global stage and to strengthen its strategic sovereignty.” Mindful of huge subsidies being disbursed…

Though he has yet to lead Germany in a competitive match, Julian Nagelsmann has won a contract extension with the German Football Association (DFB). The former Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig coach, 36, has been in charge since September 2023 and led his team to victories over France and the Netherlands in his most recent matches. As hosts of Euro 2024, Germany have only played friendlies since Nagelsmann replaced Hansi Flick. As such, his first meaningful match will be the Euro 2024 opener against Scotland in Munich on June 14. The Bavarian city is twice implicated, as Bayern Munich’s reported interest in…

Russian national Oleg Ponomaryov’s asylum application was turned down by Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) at the end of February. BAMF said he was at no risk in Russia and should leave Germany within 30 days. If not, he could expect to be deported. Ponomaryov’s despair is palpable. He fears he will be arrested as soon as he arrives in Russia and be sent to fight against Ukraine. “The situation in Russia is getting worse and worse, a total mobilization is on the cards and my fitness level and driving license allow me to drive military vehicles,” says…

Nigerian chess champion Tunde Onakoya appears to have broken the world record for the longest chess marathon, managing to play unbeaten for 60 hours on New York City’s Times Square. Onakoya, who is a child education advocate, bettered the Guinness World Record of over 56 hours in an effort to raise funds for underprivileged children. ‘I just couldn’t give up on them’ An enthusiastic crowd cheered him on as he achieved the feat Friday night. “I can’t process a lot of the emotions I feel right now. I don’t have the right words for them. But I know we did something…

An Israeli missile has struck Iran, in response to the unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend by the Iranians.It seems an airfield outside of the city of Isfahan was targeted, but Tehran has played down the incident and has indicated it has no plans to retaliate. On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by military analyst Sean Bell to find out what exactly happened in the latest attack and what it says about Israel’s and Iran’s respective military strengths.Plus, Niall speaks to Sky’s international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn about where this leaves Middle East…

Following a probe led by the Czech Republic, EU leaders agreed this week to launch a task force to counter Russia’s efforts to interfere in June’s European elections. The decision came two weeks after the Czech Republic’s Security Information Service (BIS) reported that it had uncovered a network used by Russia to funnel cash to politicians across the European Union. Populists and nationalists in Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Hungary were reportedly paid to push pro-Russian narratives with the goal of influencing the upcoming elections and weakening the EU’s support for Ukraine in its defense against Moscow’s aggression…

Throughout his career Benjamin Netanyahu has been a generally cautious politician, either deferring decisions or taking the least incendiary options.There’s a school of thought in Israel that he had no choice but to act after the Iranian barrage of missiles and drones. To not do anything would have flown in the face of decades of Israeli security policy.How then to deal with the strike and balance different international and domestic pressures?Middle East latest: Worshippers in Tehran chant ‘death to Israel’ after strike Certainly, allies like the US were suggesting that after the successful interceptions and defence of the nation he…

Skip next section Russia likely to have lost 100 combat aircraft — UK intelligence04/20/2024April 20, 2024Russia likely to have lost 100 combat aircraft — UK intelligenceThe UK’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) on Saturday said that a Russian strategic bomber was likely to have been shot down by Ukraine’s air force. “This is the first instance of a strategic bomber being shot down by Ukrainian Air Defence Systems,” the MOD said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.  The Russian Air Force lost a Tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic heavy bomber on Friday and claimed the crash was likely caused by technical…

The US House of Representatives will on Saturday hold a long-awaited and crucial vote on a major aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Voting on the foreign aid and arms bill, valued at $95 billion (€89 billion), is expected to begin at 1 p.m. local time (1700 GMT/UTC). If the vote in the House is successful, the package will then head to the Democrat-controlled Senate, where passage in the coming days is all but assured. US President Joe Biden has promised to sign off on it immediately. Why has the aid package stalled? Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has faced an uphill battle from hardline…