Author: DW

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…

Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be allowed to walk free, after being locked up over graft 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…

An elderly man from Alaska has become the first person to die after contracting Alaskapox – a recently discovered viral disease. The man from Kenai Peninsula, to the south of the state, was undergoing treatment in hospital when he died in late January, officials confirmed. He had a history of a drug-induced weakened immune system which likely contributed to the severity of his illness, the Alaskan health department reported.The victim was one of only seven reported Alaskapox infections, with the first identified in 2015 in an adult who suffered from a localised rash and swollen lymph nodes.All previous patients, also…

Anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders’ efforts to form a Dutch coalition government have been reset, when potential coalition partner NSC announced on Monday that it was backing out of talks with Wilders’ nationalist Freedom Party (PVV), citing irreconcilable differences. The New Social Contract (NSC) and PVV were locked in coalition talks with two other parties, the center-right VVD of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the farmers’ protest party BBB, since Wilders’ PVV emerged as the largest party in last November’s election, albeit with less than a quarter of the vote. All four parties combined would command a fairly comfortable parliamentary…

All Kelvin Kiptum knew was winning – breaking barriers and demolishing records on the path to marathon superstardom.Only three marathons were ever run by the Kenyan – in Valencia, London and Chicago – and he created history in all of them. Such was his destiny.Born in the high-altitude Kenyan region that is the heartland of long-distance running, Kiptum did what everyone there seemed to do – run.And on the trails and roads, between herding the family’s cattle, the talent was honed before setting himself apart as the Rift Valley’s most extraordinary talent. The 24-year-old will be remembered for how much…