Author: DW

The High Court in London on Monday rejected a bid to stop the construction of a controversial road tunnel near the prehistoric megalithic stone circle Stonehenge in southwest England.  The case pitted British campaigners — and to some extent UNESCO, which named Stonehenge a World Heritage Site in 1986 — against the government, the National Highways agency and the National Trust, a charity that maintains British sites of natural beauty and historical significance.  The Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site group and a private individual who owns land near the proposed construction site, Andy Rhind-Tutt, had argued that plans to build…

The trial of a US man accused of murder and rape near Germany’s famed Neuschwanstein Castle began on Monday. The man admitted to the charges during the start of his trial. The 31-year-old is accused of having pushed two fellow US tourists into a ravine close to the popular tourist attraction in the southern state of Bavaria last June. One of the women died as a result of her injuries. His client was “deeply ashamed” about his actions and wished to apologise to the victim’s family, the lawyer added. What we know about the attack The women, aged 21 and 22, had been hiking on June 14,…

A UK-registered cargo ship is at risk of sinking after being attacked by Houthis, the Yemeni group has said.The Rubymar sustained “catastrophic” damage after being hit by a missile on Sunday, military spokesperson brigadier general Yahya Saree claimed. Middle East latest: Rafah offensive to begin if hostages ‘not home by Ramadan’In a statement posted on X on Monday, he said the ship “came to a complete halt” after the attack and its crew were forced to abandon the vessel.It had been travelling through the Bab al Mandab Strait, which connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The spokesman…

The government has rejected calls to consider a prisoner swap to free dual British-Russian citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza following warnings he could be “next” following the death of Alexei Navalny.Conservative MP Bob Seely raised the case of Mr Kara-Murza in the Commons following a government statement on Mr Navalny, the Russian Opposition leader who died last week while being held in an arctic penal colony. Mr Kara-Murza, a former journalist, spent years as a politician opposing Vladimir Putin before he was jailed for 25 years after being convicted for treason last year.Raising his case in the House of Commons, Mr Seely said…

Hundreds of Russians have been arrested after mourning the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.Mr Navalny’s body has been found in a hospital morgue – his mother and lawyers tried to see it but were denied access, according to local media reports. There’s been no talk of a post-mortem yet. With a Russian presidential election on the horizon, questions are being raised as to whether his death intends to act as a message to Mr Putin’s opponents.Host Adam Parsons is joined by our Moscow correspondent, Diana Magnay, who met Mr Navalny. She describes what’s happening in Russia and speaks about…

At least 300 political prisoners have been released within 48 hours in Senegal. Most of them had been detained after being arrested by security forces during protests. For days, Senegalese authorities restricted protests with police operations and the arrest of opposition activists. Then the government imposed a ban on demonstrations and cut off mobile internet service. It now seems that people are slowly reclaiming their right to demonstrate and their freedom of expression, with authorized marches through the streets of Dakar and other cities over the weekend.Many protesters took to the streets of Dakar to demand their right of expressionImage: John Wessels/AFP Protesters arbitrarily detained Nina Penda Faye, a civic activist,…

Donald Trump has broken his silence on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny – but avoided casting blame on President Vladimir Putin.Mr Trump, who drew criticism for praising the Russian ruler during his presidency, spoke out in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. The former US president wrote on Monday: “The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our country.”It is a slow, steady progression, with CROOKED, Radical Left Politicians, Prosecutors, and Judges leading us down a path to destruction. Open Borders, Rigged Elections, and…

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, released a video message Monday accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of killing her husband. “Three days ago, Vladimir Putin killed my husband, Alexei Navalny,” she said in the message released ahead of her attendance of an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels. She accused Russian authorities of hiding Navalny’s body, which his family and lawyers have not been allowed to access.  Navalnaya said she believes her husband was killed with Novichok nerve agent, and said Russian authorities were holding his body until traces of the agent disappear. She did…

The German central bank, the Bundesbank, on Monday warned that a technical recession was possible by the end of the first quarter of 2024, particularly given recent strikes and their impact on infrastructure like public transport and airports.  The Bundesbank said it could “not be ruled out, that the various strikes, among other places in areas like rail and air travel, reduce productivity.” The next round of such strikes scheduled for Tuesday this week will affect German airports, with Lufthansa ground staff from trade union Verdi stopping work. Germany’s gross domestic product contracted by 0.3% year-on-year in the last quarter of 2023, as…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t mince words. On Saturday, he said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will march into the city of Rafah in southern Gaza — even if negotiators manage to arrive at a deal that would see Hamas release all remaining Israeli hostages. “Even if we achieve it, we will enter Rafah,” Netanyahu said in a televised address. “We’re going to do it.” According to Israel, 130 hostages are still held by Hamas. There are currently an estimated 1.4 million people crammed into Rafah. Many of them have fled, some multiple times, from elsewhere in the Gaza…