Author: DW

Crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Mass presided over by Pope Francis that began Easter Sunday celebrations in the Vatican.  Francis, seated on a chair with a large golden crucifix behind it, waved and spoke with other clerics at the service that started at around 10 a.m. local time (0800 UTC/GMT) on Sunday. Thousands gathered outside the basilica in St. Peter’s SquareImage: Marco Iacobucci/ipa-agency/picture alliance Appeal for cease-fire in Gaza, and Russia-Ukraine prisoner swaps Francis called for steps towards deescalation in the conflicts in both Ukraine and Gaza during his Easter message at around noon.  “Peace is never made with weapons.…

Officials from the Hamas-run Gaza media office said late on Monday that at least five aid workers from the humanitarian NGO, the World Central Kitchen (WCK), were killed in what they said was an Israeli airstrike. The Reuters news agency cited a media office spokesperson as saying that the incident took place in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah and reported that the dead included citizens of Poland, Australia, the United Kingdom and a Palestinian. The World Central Kitchen said it was aware of the reports that members of its team had been killed and said aid workers and civilians should “never be…

The rescue operation for 13 miners trapped in a collapsed gold mine in Russia has been called off.They were stranded 125m (400ft) down when part of the structure in the Zeysk district of Amur, in the far east of the country, collapsed on 18 March. Around 200 rescuers had been trying to pump out water that flooded the Pioneer mine, but on Monday the mission was terminated and the miners declared dead.The mine operator and authorities said it was too dangerous for rescuers as the mine was still flooded and more sections could collapse.Read more from Sky News:Before and after…

Investigators in France said the remains of a small boy discovered on Saturday have been positively identified to be those of a 2-year-old boy who went missing in July last year. The remains were discovered near the mountain village of Le Vernet, not far from the mountain hamlet where the toddler disappeared while on a visit to his grandparents in July 2023. What authorities have said “On Saturday, the police were informed of the discovery of bones near the hamlet of Le Vernet,” prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon said who went on to explain that DNA testing allowed them “to conclude on Sunday that…

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reignited debate over a tiny island that was ceded to Sri Lanka more than 40 years ago. The island of Katchatheevu lies 33 kilometers (21 miles) off the coast of India. In 1974, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian National Congress ended a maritime border dispute by recognizing Sri Lanka’s claim over the island. On Monday, India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Sri Lanka had detained more than 6,000 Indian fishermen and 1,175 fishing vessels over the last 20 years. A day earlier, Modi accused the Congress party of having “callously” given away the…

Donald Trump has posted a $175m (£140m) bond in New York – preventing the state from seizing his assets.The former US president had been given 10 days to make the payment after his lawyers successfully asked for the bond to be reduced from $454m (£362m). However, Mr Trump will be liable to pay the full amount – plus daily interest – if he loses an appeal in the civil fraud case.New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, had been prepared to start seizing the 77-year-old’s real estate unless the bond was posted.In February, he was found guilty of scheming for years…

How did Ovaherero and Germans come into contact? After the borders of German South West Africa were established in 1890, German authorities promoted the area as a settler colony, as opposed to other German possessions in Africa. Settlers began arriving in desert coastal towns like Lüderitz and Swakopmund and trekked inland. Colonial authorities deemed the land suitable for stock farming, and very soon German settlers encountered Nama people — and the Ovaherero.   How were relations initially? At first, relations between German and Herero people were relatively cordial, with Hereros converting to Christianity, and accepting the German presence. They also signed protection…

The Israeli military withdrew from the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Monday after a two-week raid. The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said the operation left most of the medical complex, the main hospital in the territory, in ruins. “Dozens of bodies, some of them decomposed, have been recovered from, in and around the Shifa medical complex,” the ministry said, adding that the hospital was now “completely out of service.” The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the withdrawal on social media after “completing the operation.” “Troops have completed precise operational activity in the area of the Shifa Hospital and exited the area of…

A temporary alternate channel has been opened into the port of Baltimore to help with the clean-up operation following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.The structure collapsed into the water last Tuesday after being struck by the Dali, a 300m (985ft) cargo ship, which had lost power. Maryland governor Wes Moore said the temporary channel, to the northeast side of the collapsed bridge, would “help get more vessels in the water around the site of the collapse”.He added that recovery teams were working on opening a second temporary channel.City officials said the temporary channel would open only to…

Last week, China’s coast guard shot a water cannon at a Philippine boat on a supply mission to an outpost on Second Thomas Shoal, injuring crew members and damaging the small vessel. Large Chinese vessels frequently harass Filipino boats near the shoal, which has become a flashpoint in a long-running maritime dispute in the South China Sea between Beijing and Manila. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has warned his government would take “proportionate, deliberate” action against “dangerous attacks by agents of the China coast guard and Chinese maritime militia.” On March 25, after the water cannon assault, Manila lodged its “strongest…