Author: DW

At the Cesar Awards in Paris on Friday, French actress Judith Godreche denounced the French film industry’s “level of impunity, denial and privilege” in dealing with allegations of rampant sexual abuse.  A leading figure in France’s #MeToo movement, Godreche had been invited to speak at France’s version of the Oscars, after actresses alleged they were teenage victims of sexual abuse by directors.  Godreche has accused directors Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of sexually assaulting her while she was a teenager.  “Why accept that this art that we love so much, this art that binds us together, is used as a cover for…

It’s undoubtedly late in the game but supporters of Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis hope it’s not too late to block the outgoing Dutch prime minister’swell-paved path to the helm at NATO. The process of selecting a new NATO chief has traditionally been done away from the public eye, with consensus reached in discussion behind closed doors in various capital cities. Openly elevating one’s ambitions to become secretary general would be unseemly, even as candidates work behind the scenes to build the required support. Despite all this secrecy, it’s long been clear that Rutte is considered the”safe choice” by the majority…

For five years, Hanaa A., her children and grandchildren have been living in a refugee camp in Maarat Misrin, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of Idlib, a city in northern Syria. The refugee camp is built on unpaved ground that gets so muddy in winter that people almost get stuck when walking. In summer, on the other hand, the tents get so hot that you can hardly bear being inside, residents told DW. Hanaa A. and her 14 family members live in cramped tents and have no access to running water. “Our situation is bad. The tents are not water-tight, and the washing facilities…

The second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine comes as America prepares for a crucial election and while funding for a Ukrainian victory remains blocked in a divided Congress.As our own frontline eyewitness reporting shows, Vladimir Putin has the upper hand. Western leaders have repeatedly warned that Putin won’t stop at Ukraine given the chance. We are reminded that even on the eve of his invasion two years ago, Putin insisted he would not move into Ukraine.Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin ‘may achieve war goal’So what might happen in the months and years ahead? Here are two scenarios. Far-fetched? It depends…

At least 15 people died and another 44 were injured in a blaze at a residential building in east China’s Nanjing city, local authorities said on Saturday. A preliminary investigation showed the fire, which broke out early on Friday, started on the building’s first floor where electric bikes had been placed, officials said in a press conference. Of the 44 injured, one was critical, while the others were seriously hurt, officials said. At around 4:39 a.m. on Friday (20:39 GMT Thursday), the local fire department received an alarm about the fire in the Yuhuatai District, Chinese state-owned news agency Xinhua…

A court in Tunisia sentenced former President Moncef Marzouki to eight years in prison on Friday after he was found guilty in absentia of seeking to “provoke disorder.” Marzouki, who was Tunisia’s first democratically elected head of state after the country’s 2011 Arab Spring  revolution, lives in France and was not present at the hearing. A spokesperson for the court said the verdict was based on statements by Marzouki that included incitement in a speech he gave in Paris. Who is Moncef Marzouki? Marzouki was previously sentenced to four years in absentia in 2021 after he called for France to end…

Alexei Navalny’s mother has said she was given an ultimatum to agree to a secret funeral within three hours or else her son would be buried at prison.Lyudmila Navalnaya said she refused to negotiate with investigators because “they do not have the authority to decide how and where she should bury her son”, according to a Navalny spokeswoman. Ms Navalnaya wants “compliance with the law” and authorities are “obliged to hand over the body within two days of establishing the cause of death”, said Kira Yarmysh.”According to the medical documents she signed, these two days expire tomorrow,” added the spokeswoman.”She…

US President Joe Biden has announced new sanctions against Russia aimed at forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to pay “an even steeper price” for the war in Ukraine and the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. In a statement just ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Biden also paid tribute to the Ukrainian people and appealed to US lawmakers to release funds for Kyiv. The sanctions target 500 entities involved in the invasion and occupation of Ukraine, as well as those connected to the imprisonment of Navalny, who died last week. “They will ensure Putin pays an…

Donald Tusk made no attempt to hide his irritation when he spoke to the press on Thursday. His center-left government is currently making a huge effort to restore the rule of law, which was eroded by the national-conservative PiS government that ruled Poland from 2015 to 2023. Calm in other domestic areas would help matters enormously. But the nation’s farmers have other ideas. After an extended break, Polish farmers on Tuesday once again began blocking roads across the country and approach roads leading to border crossings with Ukraine. In some cases, the already tense situation escalated. At the Medyka border…

A melted watch frozen in time during the Hiroshima bombing has been sold for more than $31,000 (£24,000) at auction.The wristwatch shows the exact moment the atomic bomb was detonated over the Japanese city, at 8.15am on 6 August 1945, during the final days of the Second World War, according to Boston-based auction house, RR Auction. The brass-toned timepiece is believed to have been recovered from the ruins of the blast zone by a British soldier on a mission to provide emergency supplies and assess the damage.It fetched a total of $31,113 (£24,550) at auction on Thursday, with a number…