Author: DW

Skip next section Europe must strengthen ability to defend itself, Scholz says02/17/2024February 17, 2024Europe must strengthen ability to defend itself, Scholz saysOlaf Scholz called on Europeans to match the billions spent by the United States in military aid to UkraineImage: Wolfgang Rattay/REUTERSSpeaking at the Munich Security Conference, German Chancellor Olaf Scholzhas said Europe must strengthen its ability to defend itself to deter would-be aggressors regardless of who wins the upcoming US elections or how the war in Ukraine turns out. “We Europeans must take much more care of our own security, now and in the future,” Scholz said. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has hiked its…

Former US president Donald Trump has been fined $354.9m (£281.6m) after a civil fraud trial in New York.With interest included, he will have to hand over at least $453.5m (£359.9m).The judge also banned Trump from running businesses in New York for three years. His sons, Eric and Donald Jr, received similar bans for two years.Trump and the Trump Organisation cannot apply for loans from any New York financial institution for three years.Read more: Analysis – The crown has slipped from the humiliated King of New York’s headJudge Arthur Engoron had already ruled in an earlier judgment that the former president…

A financially troubled former funeral home owner has been accused of keeping a woman’s body in a hearse for two years at a house where the cremated remains of at least 30 other people were discovered, according to police.Officers in the US state of Colorado have issued an arrest warrant for 33-year-old Miles Harford following the grim discovery at a property in the Denver suburb of Littleton earlier this month. Police said Mr Harford had experienced “financial trouble” in his funeral business and at times was unable to complete cremations to provide remains to their families.Denver Police Department Major Crimes…

The head of Ukraine’s army has announced his forces are retreating from the frontline city of Avdiivka.Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s newly appointed commander-in-chief, says military bosses have taken the decision to “avoid encirclement” and “preserve the lives and health of servicemen”. “Based on the operational situation around Avdiivka, in order to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen, I decided to withdraw our units from the city and move to defence on more favourable lines,” he said in a post on social media.He said that, despite the withdrawal, Ukrainian soldiers had inflicted “significant losses on the enemy” in…

Police in Russia have cracked down on people gathered to mark the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny – with one human rights group claiming that at least 100 people have been arrested.Footage and pictures from Russia’s two largest cities – Moscow and St Petersburg – showed officers ripping away placards from protesters and dragging others away from makeshift memorials to Mr Navalny. Journalists at the site in Moscow – set up at a monument to victims of Soviet repression – were also filmed being detained.One woman at the site told Sky News: “All that is happening over these years,…

German singer Isaak Guderian will represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. The annual cultural extravaganza, watched by millions of people, will be held inMalmö, Sweden, this year, after Swedish singer Loreen won the contest last year. Isaak beat eight others Isaak beat out eight others at the pre-selection event held in Berlin on Friday. The singer, born in the small northwestern town of Espelkamp, performed “Always On The Run.” An international jury and the German public watching the televised show voted to put Isaac’s song at top. Isaak, who is 28 years old, has had prior experience at The X Factor…

Skip next section Ukrainian withdraw forces from Avdiivka02/17/2024February 17, 2024Ukrainian withdraw forces from AvdiivkaUkraine’s military says it was withdrawing its troops from Avdiivka after months of fierce Russian attacks. The chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said he ordered the withdrawal to avoid encirclement. “In a situation where the enemy is advancing over the corpses of their own soldiers with a ten-to-one shelling advantage, under constant bombardment, this is the only right decision,” he said. “Encirclement was prevented, personnel were withdrawn, and our soldiers took up defense at the designated lines.” Syrskyi added. It marks the most significant change…

Tens of thousands of people in Hungary protested in the capital, Budapest on Friday amid a continuing fallout from a scandal that has rocked Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government. President Katalin Novak and former Justice Minister Judit Varga both resigned last weekend for supporting a decision to grant a pardon to a man implicated in a child sex abuse scandal in April 2023. The deputy director of a state-run orphanage who had been imprisoned for covering up a string of child sexual abuses was pardoned last year, but it only became known early this month.  Both ministers were close allies of Orban, whose party…

Chelsea player Melanie Leupolz is a one-off in her team and a rarity in women’s professional sport. She’s a mum.A mum who came back to her sport at an elite level after giving birth. But the 29-year-old German international and Olympic gold medallist had to answer plenty of questions about her decision to take time out and start a family.”At the beginning, I got some comments like how can you start a family at your prime time of being a footballer, why did you not wait until you retired?”I didn’t listen, I knew what I wanted – a child and…

Japan successfully launched its next-generation H3 rocket Saturday, almost one year after the first failed due to engine ignition trouble. The country’s space agency, JAXA, said the rocket’s initial flight has been smooth as planned. The announcement of rocket’s making orbit was met with cheers across the space agency’s control center. The H3 rocket launched from Tanegashima Space Center’s launch pad, two days later than planned due to weather-related delays. An eye on North Korea Jointly built by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), the rocket is designed to carry supplies to the International Space Station. The H3 had failed its…