Author: DW

Five workers have been killed and three are seriously injured after part of a building collapsed on a construction site in Italy. Around eight workers were buried under rubble after a concrete beam and slabs collapsed at the site of a new supermarket in Florence on Friday morning. On Saturday, the president of the Tuscany region, which comprises Florence, confirmed that the body of a fifth person had been retrieved after rescue teams continued the “complex” operation to get to those trapped under the debris.Italian media said the five victims were an Italian man, three Moroccans and a Tunisian.Three others…

Thousands of Croatians took to the streets on Saturday, answering the opposition’s call for protests to demand this year’s parliamentary elections be held as soon as possible. Some 11 center and left-wing opposition parties organized the protest, prompted by parliament’s appointment of former judge Ivan Turudic as the new attorney general. Opposition groups argue Turudic has ties to people involved in corruption, which he denies. Croatia is due to hold parliamentary and presidential elections this year, though an exact date has yet to be set. What do we know about the protests? Protesters gathered at Zagreb’s St Mark’s Square, at…

The death of Alexei Navalny has been confirmed by his spokesperson, but it remains unclear where the body of the Vladimir Putin critic is.Spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said in a post on X the most prominent face of the Russian opposition to Mr Putin was “murdered” at a remote Arctic penal colony. She said Mr Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, was informed by authorities that her son had died on 16 February at 2.17pm, local time.Russia-Ukraine latest: Follow live updatesProminent Navalny ally Ivan Zhdanov added that prison officials told Mr Navalny’s mother that he had died due to “sudden death syndrome”. But…

The Egyptian foreign minister has denied reports his country is preparing for an influx of refugees as Palestinians in Rafah face an expected Israeli ground offensive.More than a million people sheltering around the southern Gazan city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, are braced for an operation by the Israeli army, with nowhere left to flee inside the besieged territory.Satellite images taken last Thursday showed construction in progress along the Egypt-Gaza border, prompting suggestions Egypt was gearing up to accept Palestinian civilians. Image: Satellite images show land being cleared in an area near Egypt’s border with Gaza. Pic: Reuters/Maxar…

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny – a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin – has died, according to the country’s prison service.The jailed dissident, who had campaigned against official corruption and led major anti-Kremlin protests, was 47.Mr Putin, who is running for re-election in a month, has been informed of his death, according to the state news agency TASS.Latest updates:Navalny’s wife holds Putin ‘personally liable’ Image: Alexei Navalny was serving a long prison sentence. Pic: Reuters While the cause of death remains unknown, Western leaders have made clear they hold the Russian regime ultimately responsible.The prison authorities said Mr Navalny…

Lord Cameron says he wants Ukraine’s allies to “do more” to help defeat Russia and that together they “outmatch” President Vladimir Putin’s regime.Speaking to Sky News at a security conference in Munich, the foreign secretary said Ukraine’s partners outmatched Russia “25 to one” and that they’ve “got to make that difference count”. Lord Cameron said: “What I’m clear about is that Britain is absolutely in the lead of providing support [to Ukraine]. The first to provide so many different weapons systems and, of course, first to give the new security guarantees to Ukraine. Now others are following that.”But most of…

Skip next section Estonia’s PM says all NATO members are equal02/17/2024February 17, 2024Estonia’s PM says all NATO members are equalEstonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has stressed that all NATO members are equal after US President Donald Trump said Washington might not defend some members. “There are big and small allies; everyone brings something to the table. That is what the alliance is all about,” she said. “Time is working in Putin’s favor and against the rules-based order. So, everybody is looking at the United States. The stakes are high,” Kallas said, referring to the stalled US aid to Ukraine. Earlier…

One firefighter has been killed and nine others were injured after an explosion in a house where they were investigating a gas leak, US officials say.Two civilians were also injured in the blast, which happened in Sterling, Virginia, at around 8pm local time on Friday (1am on Saturday UK time). The fiery explosion occurred about 30 minutes after fire crews were called to the property due to reports of a gas smell.It happened while firefighters were inside the building, James Williams, assistant chief of operations for Loudon County Fire and Rescue, said at a news conference. Image: First responders carry…

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…