Author: DW

An 84-year-old Austrian man who traveled to Afghanistan last year and was arrested there was released by the country’s Taliban rulers, the Austrian government said Sunday.  Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer thanked the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his team for their “strong support” in releasing the man. “It is only due to our trusted collaboration that this Austrian citizen will be able to return home to his daughter and grandchildren,” Nehammer said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Austrian Foriegn Ministry said the man arrived in capital Doha from Afghanistan on Sunday afternoon. If necessary, he will…

Israel’s war cabinet has been briefed on a potential ceasefire deal with Hamas following negotiations in Paris.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gathered ministers late on Saturday night after Israeli envoys returned from meeting US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators.White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told US media they “came to an understanding” on the basic outline of a deal.Details of the war cabinet’s discussions have not been revealed, but Israeli media outlets cited unnamed officials and reported a truce lasting several weeks had tacitly been agreed.It would be the second ceasefire following one in November which saw several hundred Palestinians released…

Since taking office in mid-2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has moved the Philippines closer to the US, even risking ire from Beijing by signing a new defense agreement with Washington. Marcos Jr. also pushed to normalize ties with the EU that had been badly damaged by his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, whose brutal “war on drugs” prompted criticism from Europe. Duterte responded with expletive-laden tirades, telling European leaders to stay out of his country’s affairs and threatening to expel all European ambassadors. But in 2023, Ursula von der Leyen became the first sitting European Commission president to visit the Philippines, where she…

Ursula von der Leyen has been at the helm of the European Commission since 2019. The 65-year-old is the first woman to hold the presidency of the EU executive branch. But despite being of retirement age, the German center-right politician isn’t hanging up hat her just yet. On February 19, she announced her bid to secure another five-year term, which would keep her in office until 2029. Von der Leyen has unfinished business: the transition to EU “climate neutrality,” for example, and shepherding Ukraine’s hoped-for accession to the 27-member bloc. “I think Ursula von der Leyen has done a good job,” her predecessor, the Luxembourger Jean-Claude Juncker, said…

The diplomatic dispute between Israel and Brazil continues to escalate. After Frederico Meyer, Brazil’s ambassador to Israel, was summoned for a meeting with Foreign Minister Israel Katz at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center in Jerusalem, he was recalled by his home country for consultations. Meanwhile, media reports have said Brazil might expel Israel’s ambassador.  The diplomatic crisis was triggered after the recent controversial statements about the Israel-Hamas war made by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. “What is happening in the Gaza Strip and to the Palestinian people hasn’t been seen in any other moment in history. Actually, it did when Hitler…

The staid hallways of the Gaylord Convention Center in Maryland have disappeared behind the colorful decorations and outlandish outfits of the people in the crowds. It’s the last day of the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC for short, a yearly event that brings together conservative activists and representatives to exchange ideas. Many visitors have arrived decorated in glitter, their clothing adorned with bright colors and stars-and-stripes motifs. They wear the US flag on T-shirts, overalls or, like Roberta Sikkelee Curtain, on their shoes. “I’m here to support Donald Trump and Jesus Christ. We don’t want somebody from the establishment in office,…

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Sunday was forced to cut short a visit to a water treatment plant paid for with German aid, in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. The incident occurred when air-raid sirens wailed as a Russian reconnaissance drone was spotted trailing the politician and her team before breaking off its route and leaving. Such sightings are often followed by a direct missile attack. Residents instructed to take shelter Residents in Mykolaiv were alerted via text messages that instructed them to make their way to the nearest bomb shelter. Baerbock and her delegation were rushed from…

02/25/2024February 25, 2024Ukrainian defense minister: 50% of Western military aid arrives lateHalf of Western military aid to Kyiv is delivered late, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said on Sunday. “At the moment, commitment does not constitute delivery,” Umerov said during a forum dedicated to the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion. “Fifty percent of commitments are not delivered on time,” he added, saying this helped Russia. Ukraine, which is struggling with an ammunition shortage, has for months said that Western aid is slow to reach the country. The issue is likely to worsen due to the blocking of further American aid…

Argentinian President Javier Milei and former US President Donald Trump covered much common ground in speeches made at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington on Saturday. Both politicians, who hugged backstage before a joint photo shoot, took up Trump’s signature MAGA (Make America Great Again) slogan, with the former US leader noting that the acronym works with Argentina’s name as well. What did Trump and Milei say? Trump used part of his speech to praise the libertarian Milei, saying that he “has achieved a lot, he is a great gentleman, he is MAGA.” Trump also called out “Make Argentina great again” as the two posed…

The devastated parents of a girl who died after being buried by sand on a beach in Florida have paid tribute to the seven-year-old.Sloan Mattingly had been helping to dig a deep hole with her brother Maddox, nine, when it collapsed on Tuesday afternoon. Beachgoers at the scene in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea rushed to pull out the pair, but Sloan died after being taken to hospital. Image: Sloan Mattingly died after being buried by sand on a beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida. Pic: GoFundMe She was reportedly buried in the 1.8m (6ft) deep pit for around 20 minutes.Her brother is in hospital in…