Author: DW

Polish former Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said on Wednesday that he would be starting a hunger strike in prison, a day after he was arrested despite having taken refuge with political ally and President Andrzej Duda in the presidential palace in Warsaw.  Kaminski is a senior politician with Poland’s largest political party, PiS, which lost control of government in recent elections but still holds the presidency.  “I declare that I treat my conviction… as an act of political revenge,” Kaminski said in the statement, read by his former deputy, Blazej Pobozy, at a press conference. “As a political prisoner, I started…

The monarchies of Denmark and Britain do things very differently.Copenhagen’s royal handover seems a far cry from the coronation of the King. But both monarchies face similar existential questions. Denmark’s solution though, isn’t something Britain wants to contemplate, for now.On her 21st birthday the late Queen said: “I declare that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.” These solemnly spoken words were a promise she meant and kept.When her son gave his first public address as King, he repeated her rhetoric. “That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today,”…

Skip next section Ministers to prepare possible Zelenskyy-Orban meeting01/11/2024January 11, 2024Ministers to prepare possible Zelenskyy-Orban meetingUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could soon meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as Hungary continues to block EU aid earmarked for Kyiv. To pave the way for a potential meeting between the two leaders, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, are set to meet in the western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod on January 29, both sides said. The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andrii Yermak, is also expected to attend, according to Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko. Ukraine has been fighting off a Russian…

The number of people who have died following a mudslide in western Colombia has risen to 34.The mudslide struck a busy road on Friday in a mountainous area connecting the cities of Quibdo and Medellin. Colombia’s National Disaster Risk Management Unit initially said at least 18 people were killed. The agency also said at least 35 injured people were taken to hospitals. Image: Rescuers search for survivors of a landslide caused by heavy rains in Choco Read more world newsJournalist relives moment gun was put to his neckTerminally-ill Eriksson reveals last unfulfilled wishThe new death toll was reported by the…

Germany is the latest European country gripped by a wave of turbulent farmers’ protests. In a week of action throughout the nation set to last until Friday, the agricultural sector is pushing back against proposed cuts to subsidies for fuel used in farming. Convoys consisting of thousands of tractors and trucks have unleashed travel chaos and cut off several cities in recent days. Production at a Volkswagen facility in the northern city of Emden even ground to a halt. Last week, Economy Minister Robert Habeck was blockaded by angry protesters as he tried to disembark from a ferry during a family…

All 178 prison officials taken hostage by inmates in Ecuador have been freed, the prisons authority on Saturday, amid a deteriorating security situation in the South American country. According to the SNAI prisons authority, the 158 guards and 20 administrative staff members who had been held hostage since Monday were now free. There were reports of violence in several prisons. Within the last 24 hours one guard was killed and another injured, the SNAI said in a statement. While the army and the police raided detention centers in six cities, five inmates escaped from the vast Guayaquil prison complex on…

Britain could strike Houthi targets in Yemen again if the rebel group continues to attack ships in the Red Sea, the foreign secretary has suggested.Lord Cameron warned the Iran-linked fighters could force up prices in Britain if they are allowed to block the passage of container ships in the busy trade route. The US struck another site in Yemen early on Saturday after the Houthis vowed revenge for the bombing raid carried out by the Americans and the RAF a day earlier.Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Lord Cameron said the joint action “will have gone some way to degrade Houthi…

Until very recently, Mariusz Kaminski and Maciej Wasik were two of the most powerful men in Poland. As interior minister in Mateusz Morawiecki’s national-conservative cabinet from 2019 to 2023, Kaminski was in charge of the national police and intelligence services. Wasik, his deputy, was his right-hand man in the ministry. Since the change of government in Poland in December, both politicians have been lawmakers for the former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, which is now the largest opposition party in the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament. But on Tuesday evening, Warsaw police officers entered the presidential palace and arrested…

More than 40 of the prison officials being held hostage in Ecuador by inmates were freed, the prisons authority said on Saturday, amid a deteriorating security situation in the South American country. According to the SNAI prisons authority, 41 guards and administrative staff “were released,” while one managed to escape at a prison in Loja, with reports of violence in several prisons. Currently, more than 130 prison officials continue to be held hostage since Monday in at least seven prisons. Within the last 24 hours, one guard was killed and another injured, SNAI said in a statement. While the army…

Zambia is dealing with one of its worst cholera outbreaks in recent years as nearly 10,000 active cases have been registered.Climate change has fuelled heavy rains which have contaminated drinking water in overpopulated and impoverished urban areas, mostly in the capital Lusaka. Health workers are scrambling to contain a crisis that has the potential to be the worst the country has seen since the first outbreak in 1977.The sound of crying cuts through the humid air as soil is hastily dug out by a uniformed worker and flung to the side. Among the clutches of tall grass is a burial…