Author: DW

A young girl has died after being buried in sand on a beach in Florida.She was digging a deep hole with a little boy when it collapsed on Tuesday.Emergency crews arrived at the scene and found the boy buried up to his chest in sand, while the girl was trapped underneath. Image: Investigators on the beach. Pic: South Florida Sun-Sentinel/AP Officials estimate the hole was about 1.8m (6ft) deep when it collapsed at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.Rescuers used support boards to try and prevent more sand from collapsing in, and used shovels to dig the children out.It is unclear how long they were…

Chinese authorities on Wednesday renewed an orange weather alert — the highest level in a three-tier system — for some southern regions, with already freezing temperatures set to fall even further. Swathes of China have been hit by a cold spell this week, with temperatures in some areas in the south predicted to drop by as much as 20 degrees Celsius (36 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the National Meteorological Center (NMC). The NMC has forecast subzero temperatures for the days ahead around the country’s central region, in the east, north and northwest as well as in parts of the south. State news agency…

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…