Author: DW

Negotiators from the European Parliament and EU member states have reached a provisional agreement to reduce air pollution in the European Union, with a goal of eliminating it by 2050. New upper limits for particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), among other pollutants, were agreed upon, according to the parliament. The Belgian EU Council Presidency confirmed the agreement. The new rules — which will come into effect after formal adoption by the Council and the European Parliament — would establish stricter air quality standards, with comparable rates in all 27 member nations of the bloc.  They also cover access to…

“I will never be able to forget what happened – I can still feel the earth shaking,” says Rana Bitar, her voice catching in her throat.The charity boss says she lost 72 members of her extended family in the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria last year.”I felt terror, fear and worry,” she tells Sky News, appearing close to tears as she recalls the moment the 7.8-magnitude quake hit the region, killing tens of thousands of people.”At first, I did not know what was happening. I thought it was a war, that we were being bombed. I heard the…

Polish farmers gathered at the border with Ukraine on Tuesday, blocking the crossing and spilling grain on the tracks in protest against the import of Ukrainian produce. Farmers are arguing that Ukraine’s cheaper goods present unfair competition in the Polish market. Farmers blocked some 100 roads leading to the Ukrainian border and forcibly opened two Ukrainian railcars at the Medyka crossing. “A small amount of grain was discovered spilt on the tracks,” a spokeswoman for the local police in Medyka told the French AFP news agency. Protesting farmers also drove their tractors through Gdansk, Krakow and other cities. “I’m here to…

A New Zealand parliamentarian died suddenly while taking part in a charity race on Wednesday, his colleagues said. Green Party member Efeso Collins collapsed during a “Water Run” organized in Auckland to raise money for ChildFund, which brings clean drinking water to children in the Pacific. It was “a cause close to Efeso’s heart,” the Green Party said in a statement. “The on-site medical team immediately went to Efeso’s aid and did everything they could to revive him.” Collins, a 42-year-old father of two, was born in Auckland and was of Tokelauan and Samoan heritage. In the 2023 election, he…

A former YouTuber who gave parenting advice online has been jailed for up to 30 years after she admitted to physically and emotionally abusing her children.Ruby Franke, a mother of six from Utah who gave parenting tips via a once-popular video blog called “8 Passengers”, convinced her two youngest children that they were evil, possessed and needed to be punished to repent. The 42-year-old and her business partner, mental health counsellor Jodi Hildebrandt, pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse.In her plea deal, Franke admitted to kicking her son while wearing boots, holding his head underwater and closing…

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Tuesday visited the German Navy’s “Hessen” frigate, currently docked in Crete and set to deploy in the Red Sea to defend against Houthi attacks from Yemen by the end of the week.  “Now we’re dealing with an emergency case,” he told the 240 servicemen and women on board the vessel.  “You can say without exaggeration, it is the navy’s most serious and also most dangerous mission in decades,” Pistorius said.  But he said that “Germany cannot simply stand on the sidelines and do nothing.”  The Social Democrat defense minister was accompanied by the Free Democrats’ Marie-Agnes…

Two men in the US have been charged with murder in connection with a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Parade last week, officials said on Tuesday. One person was killed and 22 others — aged 8 to 47 — were wounded in the shooting. The two men each face one count of second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. They are both being held on a $1 million (€930,000) bond. What we know about the shooting The two suspects have been hospitalized since the shooting, Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters…

Two men have been charged with murder in connection with a fatal shooting following the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade.A woman was killed and 22 other people were injured in the 14 February shooting, in Kansas City, Missouri. Dominic Miller and Lyndell Mays have been charged with second-degree murder and other gun-related counts.The charges come after two juveniles were arrested last week on gun-related and resisting arrest charges.Prosecutors said the charges against the two men are in addition to the arrest of the juveniles, and that more charges are possible. Police have said a dispute among several people…

“Describe Martin Scorsese in one word.” Asked the question by a journalist at the Berlin International Film Festival, the influential filmmaker and producer simply answered: “It’s a mystery!” If one thing can be said of him, it’s that Scorsese is undeniably a monument of film history. The influential director and producer, now aged 81, has already been honored with a number of lifetime achievement awards, and now the Berlin International Film Festival is also celebrating him with its Honorary Golden Bear on February 20. The director is also dedicated to film preservation, and is an ardent promoter of restored and classic cinema. This passion could…

02/20/2024February 20, 2024Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine found dead in SpainA Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine last year has been found dead in Spain, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence spokesperson. Spokesperson Andriy Yusov made the comments about the death of Maxim Kuzminov to Ukraine’s public broadcaster but did not provide further details. Spain’s EFE news agency reported that a body found on February 13 in Villajoyosa, near Alicante in southern Spain, was that of Kuzminov, citing sources close to the investigation. EFE reported that Kuzminov —who landed in Ukraine in a fully equipped Mi-8 helicopter last August —…