Author: DW

Less than two weeks ahead of South Korea’s April 10 parliamentary elections, authorities have vowed to take firm measures against anyone attempting to influence the outcome by peddling disinformation using artificial intelligence-driven deepfakes or carrying out cyberattacks against the electoral process.   An assault by “bad actors” could further overshadow an election that is already fractious due to the two main parties’ deep ideological differences. Shortly before the official start of campaigning on March 28, the National Police Agency (NPA) warned that it was stepping up monitoring of actions that could constitute unfair efforts to undermine the legitimacy of the polls.…

A British volunteer is among five aid workers who have died after an airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to a Hamas-run government office.Nationals from Poland and Australia were also killed, as well as one Palestinian. They were employees for World Central Kitchen, which provides food for displaced Palestinians.Ismail al Thawabta, a spokesperson for the Gaza government’s media office, said Israel was responsible for their deaths.He added: “It is time for this war to stop immediately. It is time for the killing against civilians, against children, and against women to stop.” Mr al Thawabta went on to urge “all countries…

Syria and Iran said Monday that a building adjacent to the Iranian Embassy in Damascus was hit by an Israeli airstrike that killed a top commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). “At least five people were killed in the attack which was carried out by F-35 fighter jets,” Hossein Akbari, Iran’s ambassador to Damascus, said in an interview broadcast on state TV.  The IRGC said two generals and five officers were killed in the attack.  Emergency responders were still searching for bodies under the rubble. Iran vows ‘harsh’ response Iranian and Syrian officials strongly condemned the strike on Iran’s…

Swiss police said Monday that three people were killed and another one injured following an avalanche at the popular ski resort town of Zermatt.  The victims were swept away earlier in the day amid avalanche warnings in the southern Alps of Switzerland and Austria. What do we know so far?  Authorities launched a rescue operation and had discovered the bodies of the victims. Swiss police did not divulge the identities of the victims or say if more people could be missing after the disaster.  Police for the southwestern Swiss canton of Valais where the avalanche occurred say the search operations will be put on…

Adidas has said it will “block” Germany’s football kits featuring the number 44 over concerns it resembles the Nazi ‘SS’ symbol.The new kits were launched last month as Germany beat France 2-0 in a friendly and will be worn at Euro 2024, taking place in Germany this summer. However, similarities were flagged with the font of the number four, specifically when the figures are side by side where they resemble the lightning bolt style rune designed for the Schutzstaffel (SS) by Walter Heck in the 1930s.The SS was responsible for numerous crimes against humanity under Hitler’s Nazi regime, including the…

A Russian court extended the pre-trial detention of US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva for a second time on Monday. Her lawyers had previously asked for her to be put under house arrest until she faces trial, but she will now be held until at least June 5. Kurmasheva smiled in court in Kazan on Monday but complained about the poor state of the cell where she was being kept, according to an AFP reporter at the hearing. What was Alsu Kurmasheva charged with? Kurmasheva lived in Prague and worked as a journalist for the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. In 2022, Kurmasheva also edited a book called…

Turkey’s long-standing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan actually set himself a different goal in the local elections that took place over the weekend. He wanted his party, the conservative, Islamic-oriented Justice and Development Party, or AKP,  to win back the capital cities that they had lost to opposition politicians back in 2019. But things did not work out according to that plan. In fact, the AKP did not win back the majority in Istanbul’s major cities and it also lost support in smaller provincial capitals, mostly to its main opposition, the center-left Republican People’s Party, or CHP. According to preliminary figures,…

An Iranian television journalist who was stabbed outside his London home on Friday has been discharged from hospital. Pouria Zeraati, a 36-year-old presenter at London-based broadcaster Iran International, was stabbed in the leg outside his home in Wimbledon, south London, on 29 March. Police have said the motivation for the attack is not yet clear, but his occupation – coupled with recent threats towards UK-based Iranian journalists – meant the probe was being led by specialist counter-terrorism officers.There have been no arrests, the Met said. Follow Sky News on WhatsApp Keep up with all the latest news from the UK…

The company that owns Formula 1 swooped in to buy the MotoGP motorcycle championship on Monday in a deal worth €4.2 billion ($4.5 billion). US-based Liberty Media will acquire “approximately” 86% of MotoGP’s current owner, Dorna, the company said. “We are thrilled to expand our portfolio of leading live sports and entertainment assets with the acquisition of MotoGP,” Liberty Media president and CEO Greg Maffei said. What’s next for MotoGP? Dorna management will retain around 14% of its equity in the business, and its longtime CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta will remain in his post. “This is the perfect next step in…

Syria and Iran said Monday that a building adjacent to the Iranian Embassy in Damascus was hit by an Israeli airstrike that killed a top commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. “At least five people were killed in the attack which was carried out by F-35 fighter jets,” Hossein Akbari, Iran’s ambassador to Damascus, said in an interview broadcast on state TV.  Iran vows ‘harsh’ response Iranian and Syrian officials strongly condemned the strike on Iran’s embassy in Damascus. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, in comments carried by the official SANA news agency, strongly condemned “this heinous terrorist attack”…