Author: DW

Counter-terrorism police in Turkey have arrested a suspected member of the so-called “Islamic State” group who was working at a nuclear plant, authorities said on Tuesday. Local media reported that the suspect was a Russian national who had been working at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant under false identity papers. The suspect was brought before a court and jailed pending trial. Turkish authorities crack down on IS suspects The Akkuyu nuclear facility is a $20 billion (€18.5 billion) project being built by Russian state-owned energy giant Rosatom in Mersin province on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. It is slated to start generating…

Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand and Manchester City owner, has been granted parole after six months in prison.Thaksin, 74, returned from a 15-year self-imposed exile in August last year to serve a prison sentence for corruption and abuse of power committed while in office. Justice minister Tawee Sodsong announced the ruling on Tuesday, and while he did not confirm the date that Thaksin will be released, it is expected it could be as soon as this weekend.The official also told reporters in Bangkok that the former premier is one of 930 inmates who qualified for early release…

With Nigeria’s current minimum wage set to expire in April, a federal panel consisting of state governors and trade unionists, private sector and labor leaders is reviewing by how much the minimum wage should increase. Currently, the minimum monthly wage stands at 30 000 naira ($20, €19). Economic reforms introduced after Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration nine months ago, have left ordinary Nigerians battling to keep their heads above water amid soaring living costs. “The cost of everything has gone up from food items, rent, school fees, tariffs, water, electricity, transport,” says Benson Upah, spokesman for the unions’ platform Nigerian Labour Congress.Nigerian…

More than 200 farmers’ unions have called on their supporters to march to the Indian capital to protest against unfulfilled demands on a wide range of issues including prices and pensions.Tear gas was used on farmers who tried breaching the barriers at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana, about 145 miles from the capital, New Delhi. Drones were also used to drop tear gas canisters on the thousands gathered, while several farmers were detained at the border. Image: Police guard a highway near Delhi to stop farmers entering the capital. Pic: AP The farmers – who have a 12-point…

The red carpet is once again rolled out to greet stars and filmmakers from all over the world, while hundreds of films will be screened over 10 days at the Berlin International Film Festival. Alongside Cannes and Venice, it is one of the world’s major film festivals. Taking place from February 15-25, the 74th Berlinale kicks off on Thursday with the world premiere of “Small Things Like These,” an Irish-Belgian production directed by Tim Mielants and starring Cillian Murphy, Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley and Emily Watson. Cillian Murphy stars in opening film ‘Small Things Like These,’ based on Claire Keegan’s 2021 bestselling novelImage:…

Russia declared Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas a “wanted” person on Tuesday. The website of Russia’s interior ministry included Kallas in a database as being “wanted under the criminal code.” Estonia’s State Secretary Taimar Peterkop and Lithuania’s Culture Minister Simonas Kairys were also named on the wanted list. What are the charges? Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later said that Kallas and the other Baltic lawmakers had been put on the wanted list for hostile actions against Russia and the “desecration of historical memory.” “These are people who take hostile actions against historical memory and our country,” Peskov told reporters. A Russian security source,…

Global defence spending on everything from ammunition to nuclear weapons has jumped 9% to a record $2.2trn (£1.7trn) from a year earlier and will rise again in 2024 as the world enters “a more dangerous period”, new analysis has found.Russia – locked in a war with Ukraine – allocates more than 30% of annual government expenditure to its armed forces, according to the assessment on the balance of global military power by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) published on Tuesday. It said the Russian armed forces have lost more than 3,000 main battle tanks in Ukraine – roughly…

Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is to be released after being locked up over corruption charges since returning home from exile last August. Thailand’s justice minister said on Tuesday that he would be freed, while local media reported Thaksin has been granted parole. “Around 930 prisoners, including [Thaksin] will have their sentence suspended. He is in the group where they are in critical condition or aged over 70. He will be released after six months automatically,” Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong told reporters at the government house. Under Thai law, Thaksin could be released after serving six months of his sentence on February 18.…

A man is missing after a powerful fire broke out at an amusement park in the Swedish city of Gothenburg.The blaze engulfed outdoor water slides and related facilities that were under construction, eyewitnesses and rescue services said. Image: Pic: Bjorn Larsson Rosvall/TT News Agency/Reuters Image: Pic: Richard Mellqvist/Reuters Twelve people sustained minor injuries during the incident on Monday.The missing man had been working at the Oceana water park, a new addition to Gothenburg’s Liseberg funfair, which had been scheduled to open later this year. “The fire started at one of the water rides outside the building and then spread to…

The whereabouts of detained rights activist Rocio San Miguel and five members of her family were unknown, Venezuelan advocacy groups and lawyers said on Monday. San Miguel, 57, was detained on Friday afternoon at Simon Bolivar International Airport, near the Venezuelan capital Caracas. Tarek Saab, Venezuela’s attorney general, said on Sunday that she was being held because of her alleged involvement “in the conspiracy plot and attempted assassination” of President Nicolas Maduro. Authorities in Venezuela arrested dozens of individuals, including soldiers and civilians, for their alleged role in a plot to assassinate Maduro. Saab had also confirmed at the time…