Author: DW

At least 99 people have been killed – and hundreds reported missing – in a series of huge wildfires in Chile.At least 1,600 people have also been left without homes as a result of the forest fires, which have raged in the country’s central region since they started several days ago. The fires are on the outskirts of the coastal city of Vina del Mar, located some 75 miles (122km) west of the capital Santiago and home to around 300,000 people, and nearby Valparaiso.Several neighbourhoods on the eastern edge of Vina del Mar have already been destroyed, while 200 people…

The death toll from intense wildfires raging in central Chile has climbed to 99, the national organization in charge of managing victims’ bodies said Sunday. The Legal Medical Service (SML) “has taken in a total of 99 people; 32 of them identified,” the organization said Sunday afternoon, updating an earlier death toll of 64. The AFP news agency reported that some of the dead were seen lying on the road, covered by sheets. “I’ve been talking to residents here over the last hour or so and everybody’s been saying that they keep finding bodies and these are bodies that have…

Parisians on Sunday voted  in favor of hiking parking fees for large SUVs, as the French capital presses on with long-term plans to become a fully bikeable city. The outcome means large SUVs would be subject to a threefold increase in parking fees — €18 ($19.50) per hour for parking in the city center, or €12 further out. Some 54.5% of those taking part in the referendum voted in favor of hiking parking fee, while 45.5% rejected the motion, according to official results.  But the turnout was low, with only 78,000 people of the 1.3 million eligible voters casting their ballots at the 39 voting stations…

Women are dominating the 66th annual Grammys, with the star-studded ceremony set to reveal the successful stars.Even Barbie – the movie that spiced up the summer and set the box office alight – is getting a look in at the awards show which celebrates the best songs of the last year with 11 nominations. The celebs showed off their looks ahead of the ceremony, with Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Ed Sheeran among the A-list guests.Here’s what the stars wore to the Grammys 2024. Image: Making everyone’s heart go Padam Padam, Miss Kylie Minogue. Pic: AP Image: Billie Eilish keeping…

Parking charges for some SUV cars in Paris are set to triple, after a landmark vote passed on Sunday evening.Some 54.5% of Parisians voted to increase the price of parking passes for cars weighing more than 1.6 tonnes from outside the city. Just 5.7% of voters turned out in the referendum.It is the latest effort by Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo to make the host city for this year’s Olympic Games greener and friendlier for pedestrians and cyclists.The cost to park SUVs in Paris’s central districts for drivers that do not have a special licence from local authorities would soar to…

Security forces in Senegal on Sunday used tear gas and made high-profile arrests as pockets of protests broke out in the capital, Dakar, against the delayed February 25 presidential election. President Macky Sall announced on Saturday the vote would be postponed to an unspecified date due to a row over the candidate list. Sall said he made the call after the Constitutional Court ruled that several candidates could not take part. Lawmakers are investigating two of the court’s judges whose integrity in the election process has been questioned. Some opposition and civil society groups have criticized the delay, which came a day before campaigning was due to begin, as…

The father of nine-year-old Emily Hand, the Irish-Israeli girl held hostage by Hamas for 50 days, said she was threatened with a knife during her ordeal.Emily, who was released in November after her capture on 7 October, suffers from panic attacks and often speaks in whispers, her father said in an interview with Israeli station Channel 12. Thomas Hand, who is originally from Dublin, said Emily talks “very little” about her time in captivity. Image: Thomas Hand. Pic: Channel 12 Israel “Just every now and then, [she gives] little snippets of information. But we’re not actually even allowed to question…

The latest airstrikes by the UK and the US against Houthi military targets in Yemen came after “repeated warnings” to the Iran-backed militant group, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on Sunday. The strikes, which were carried out late Saturday, hit buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems, launchers and other capabilities the Houthis have used to attack Red Sea shipping, the Pentagon said. What did Cameron say? Confirming the strikes in a social media post on Sunday, Cameron stressed that the “Houthi attacks must stop.” “Their reckless actions are putting innocent lives at risk, threatening the freedom of navigation and destabilizing the…

I put my ear plugs in and take a step back. The flash from the tank barrel comes first, then the boom. Snipers to my left open fire. Red machine gun tracer fire zips towards the village and laser guided artillery thuds into walls.Israeli paratroopers are attacking a mock Hezbollah village. It’s a drill, but any day now it could be for real. A decision whether to invade Lebanon has not been made yet, but the Israeli government has made increasingly hawkish statements and all the soldiers I spoke to privately said they thought it would happen.It would be a…

Amid the 150,000 protesters surrounding the Reichstag on Saturday, holding up a sea of colorful flags and placards, were a number of banners emblazoned with the crests of Berlin football clubs and messages like “No football for fascists!” and “Football welcomes refugees.” “It’s important that everyone speaks out about the far right now, because it is a crucial moment. And sports, and football in particular, have to stand up because so many people come together to play and watch football,” David Hoffmann told DW. Hoffmann is a part of “Gesellschaftsspiele,” a Berlin organization focusing on football fan culture and political education. He helped…