Author: DW

A US court on Monday sentenced an armorer to 18 months in prison over involuntary manslaughter in the case of the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for firearms on the set of the film Rust. Hutchins, 42, was killed after actor Alec Baldwin aimed a gun at her as they were preparing a scene of the movie in October 2021. The weapons handler was found guilty on March 6. Baldwin faces involuntary manslaughter proceedings in July. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial in July at a courthouse in Santa Fe. What do we know about the…

Domestically produced drones played an important role in Iran’s attack on Israel. With a range of up to 2,000 kilometers, they were intended to destroy hundreds of targets in Israel. According to the Israeli army, Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles at Israeli targets during the attack that unfolded in the early hours of Sunday morning. Israel and its allies, which included the US, the UK and some Arab countries, managed to fend off 99% of all drones and missiles fired by Iran, the Israeli military reported. “The attack was a serious attempt to overwhelm the Israeli defense…

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday that Paris and its allies had collected pledges of over €2 billion ($2.1 billion) to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. His comments come at the end of a conference gathering top diplomats from France, Germany, and the European Union in Paris, where they pushed for increased funding for Sudan on the first anniversary of the conflict. French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell, and the EU’s Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic were attending the meeting, along with representatives from Sudan’s civil society. “We can announce that…

Coral reefs around the world are experiencing global bleaching as a result of warming oceans and human-caused climate change, top scientists have said.From February 2023 until now, coral reef bleaching has been confirmed across at least 53 countries, territories or local economies triggering the fourth global bleaching event, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and International Coral Reef Initiative said. Bleaching occurs when stressed coral expels the algae that give them their colour when eaten.It was described by ecologist David Obura, director of Coastal Oceans Research and Development, as like a “fever in humans” and if it occurs long…

The criticism began almost immediately. Over the weekend, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel. Neighboring Jordan played a significant role in fending off the attack and it is likely that it shot down Iranian projectiles. “The Jordanian king dropped missiles on his citizens to protect Israel,” one widely shared post on X, formerly known as Twitter, said. The words were posted alongside a picture of drone wreckage in the Jordanian city of Karak, which is not very far from the border with Israel. The post, in Arabic, was later changed to be less negative of Jordanian leadership, which is known to…

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened a criminal investigation into the deadly collapse of a bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, US media reported on Monday. The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed on March 26. Six construction workers fell to their deaths in the incident, with divers later recovering three bodies from the wreckage. What is the FBI investigation about? The FBI said on Monday that it had boarded the Dali cargo ship, which rammed into the bridge leading to its collapse, to conduct court-authorized law enforcement activity regarding the crash. Its investigation will focus on whether the crew of the Dali left the port…

No military options come without complications and though the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) are undoubtedly strong, they face many complications in considering whether, and how, to strike back against the barrage of drones and missiles Iran launched against them at the weekend. Many strategic analysts in the IDF argue that the Iranian attack showed that deterrence had failed and therefore must be restored with a strong attack that would make Israel’s enemies fear to provoke it again. Others have maintained that running the risk of Israel being pulled into a greater conflict with Iran at such a critical juncture in the…

YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, a 29-year-old Indian living in Germany, has recently set Indian social media humming with a video criticizing the direction his country was moving in under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rathee’s video “Is India becoming a DICTATORSHIP?” (sic) has amassed over 24 million views since it was uploaded in late February. The creator cited instances of media control and claims of state agencies being used against opposition leaders, eventually alleging that these efforts are part of a broader trend to silence Modi’s rivals. Why India’s protesting farmers refuse to back downTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and…

Many investors are holding their breath after Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel starting on April 13. The aerial strike was the first direct attack launched from Iranian territory and came the same day Iran’s Revolutionary Guards forcefully detained an Israel-linked container ship near the Strait of Hormuz.  The Iranian attack had been largely anticipated after Israel destroyed part of the Iranian embassy complex in Damascus, Syria, on April 1. Still, experts are waiting to see if the conflict between the two countries escalates, even as the United Nations and the United States put pressure on Israel to show restraint. Most…

Former US President Donald Trump took his seat Monday at a Manhattan court for the start of jury selection in his hush money trial. This is a historic criminal case stemming from a hush-money payment to an adult actress. It could keep him in court for weeks and complicate his bid to win back the White House. Trump is the first former US president to face a criminal trial, which could last through May. He is required to attend the trial in Manhattan four days a week (the tirial does not take place on Wednesdays). At the outset of court proceedings, Judge Juan Merchan, who…