Author: DW

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said municipal elections in March would be his last. Erdogan has been in power since 2003. “I am working non-stop. We’re running around breathlessly because, for me, it’s a final,” he said at a meeting for the Turkish Youth Foundation (TUGVA). “With the authority that the law confers on me, this election is my last election.” He said that he believed his conservative Justice and Development (AKP) party would stay in power after he leaves office, calling upcoming local elections “a blessing for the brothers who come after me.” “There will be a transfer of confidence,”…

<a href='https://www.skysports.com/f1/live-blog/12433/13089065/saudi-arabian-gp-live-f1-updates-and-video-highlights-from-practice-qualifying-and-race-in-jeddah'>Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: Live updates and highlights from F1 race in Jeddah</a> Source link

Mykyta Horban chokes up. “Give me a moment,” he says, taking a long pause. “I’m sorry. It’s still very hard.” He proceeds to talk about what he experienced as a prisoner in a Russian-run jail. His gaze is empty, fixed at the ceiling and floor of a conference room in the European Parliament in Brussels. A Lithuanian member of the European Parliament, Petras Austrevicius, has invited Horban and other victims of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Belgium to share their accounts. “Two years ago, Russians came to our village in Ukraine. They took me and my father as prisoners, interrogated us,…

Dirk Rehahn isn’t popping the champagne corks just yet. “I still don’t quite dare celebrate,” the entrepreneur says. He already has good reason to, though: Traffic to his two websites has increased massively since February 23. That was the day the German parliament passed the government’s draft law “on the controlled distribution of cannabis to adults for consumption purposes.” It stipulates that all adults will be allowed to grow three cannabis plants at home and keep up to 50 grams (1.75 ounces) of cannabis there, and may also carry up to 25 grams on their person. The law was scheduled…

Pakistan’s lawmakers on Saturday elected Asif Ali Zardari as president of the country for the second time. Zardari is the widower of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. He previously held the post from 2008 to 2013. Zardari received 411 votes from national and provincial legislators. His opponent, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, who has the backing of the party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, had 181 votes. The presidency is a largely ceremonial role in Pakistan, but Zardari is known as a conciliator. He could help the ruling coalition partners reach a consensus to put the shattered economy on a path…

The Irish government been defeated in the twin referendums on changing the country’s constitution, prime minister Leo Varadkar has conceded.Mr Varadkar, who said he wanted to remove “very old-fashioned language” in his country’s constitution, said it was clear the amendments were “defeated comprehensively on a respectable turnout”. “It was our responsibility to convince the majority of people to vote ‘yes’ and we clearly failed to do so,” he said.Earlier, transport minister Eamon Ryan said the government “didn’t convince the public of the argument for a ‘yes, yes’ vote”.Mr Ryan said: “You have to respect the voice of the people. It’s…

Italy plans to stop sending out speed camera photos out of privacy concerns, the Italian Transport Ministry said on Saturday. The ministry said drivers caught speeding would only be sent fine notices to their homes. Authorities will only use images taken by speed cameras if a driver lodges a formal objection to a fine. The Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that the decree has been approved by Italy’s data protection authorities. The newspaper said there had been various reports of people’s relationships, marriages or business deals failing after speed camera photos revealed that someone not expected to be traveling with them was in…

Since February 2022, about 20,000 people have been detained at anti-war protests in Russia, according to human rights project OVD-Info, with almost 900 of these cases leading to prosecution. Despite the intimidation, Russian activists who oppose the war in Ukraine still put up resistance to the Kremlin’s policies. Where do they find the courage? Three tell their story. Anush: A clown’s nose in the courthouse For a long time, 36-year-old Anush Panina from St. Petersburg “basically kept out of politics.” All of that changed in 2020 with the mass protests following the disputed Belarus elections and the poisoning of recently…

Portugal is set to hold early parliamentary elections on Sunday with voters set to elect 230 lawmakers to the National Assembly. Leaders of Portugal’s political parties have wrapped up a two-week campaign for the tight election that could end eight years of Socialist rule. The election was called after Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa resigned in November following an investigation into alleged illegalities in how his government handled major investments. The scandal included a police search of Costa’s official residence and the arrest of his chief of staff. Costa has not been charged.Corruption scandals have cost the Socialist Party of Pedro Nuno Santos…

Italy plans to stop sending out speed camera photos out of privacy concerns, the Italian Transport Ministry said on Saturday. The ministry said drivers caught speeding would only be sent fine notices to their homes. Authorities will only use images taken by speed cameras if a driver lodges a formal objection to a fine. The Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that the decree has been approved by Italy’s data protection authorities. The newspaper said there had been various reports of people’s relationships, marriages or business deals failing after speed camera photos revealed that someone not expected to be traveling with them was in…