Author: DW

The price of bitcoin briefly spiked Tuesday after an announcement of the approval of a long-awaited bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on X, formerly known as Twitter, turned out to be fake.  The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) described a social media post on its X account as “unauthorized,” adding it was hacked. It briefly spiked more than $1,000 (€914) to almost $48,000 after the post announced, “SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.” Minutes after the initial post appeared, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler wrote on his personal X account: “The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot…

The Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza offers Iraq “a historic opportunity,” Hassan Nasrallah, the influential leader of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, said in his speech late last week. Hezbollah is a political and military organization based in Lebanon and is opposed to Israel. As such, it is part of a network of groups in the region, which Iran supports to one degree or another, that feel the same way about Israel. That includes the Houthis in Yemen and various paramilitary groups in Iraq. As Nasrallah said in his speech, all of these groups have been “distracting the enemy” during the Israel-Hamas conflict. Hezbollah, whose military wing…

Iran has developed a new attack drone for Russia’s war in Ukraine and appears close to providing Moscow with surface-to-surface missiles, an informed security source has claimed.The Shahed-107 was described as an “explosive and reconnaissance” unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), possibly fitted with technology to seek out high-value battlefield targets such as British and American multiple-launch rocket systems used by Ukrainian forces. The source told Sky News “a few units” of the specially-designed drone may have been offered to Russia in a deal estimated to be worth more than $2m (£1.6m).This reflects “the significant force design work Iran is engaged in…

Representatives from the private space company Astrobotic Technology on Tuesday announced that the Peregrine commercial lunar lander will not complete its mission as planned, saying there is “no chance” of the vessel landing softly on the moon as intended. Scientists are seeking to determine what the vessel’s mission would now be, saying it could still be operated “as a spacecraft.” What happened to the Peregrine lunar lander? Astrobotic reported that the vessel had developed a fuel leak after it was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Monday, leaving it with roughly 40 hours worth of propellant by Tuesday.  Launched with the new Vulcan…

Irish musician Sinead O’Connor died last year of “natural causes,” a London coroner announced Tuesday. The Grammy award-winning singer, best known for her 1990 cover of Prince ballad “Nothing Compares 2 U,” was found unresponsive at her south London home last July, aged 56.  At the time, London’s Metropolitan Police said they were not treating her death as suspicious but an autopsy was still carried out to determine the cause of death. Now, Southwark Coroner’s Court in south London said in a statement: “This is to confirm that Ms. O’Connor died of natural causes” – meaning it was not linked to external forces.…

“Whatever the case may be, he is dead and gone,” Nkechi Anthony, a Lagos resident and member of TB Joshua’s church, told DW. “Why all these [accusations] after his death?” Anthony said. “From my point of view, the evidence and whatever documentary is baseless and pointless,” she argued. Anthony, a charismatic Christian, was reacting to a BBC Eye Africa investigative reportthat has multiple victims and sources narrating how the late prominent Nigerian televangelist TB Joshua sexually and physically abused his followers. TB Joshua founded the Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN). “How secretive are those places where they were kept for…

Ismail Khan’s younger sister, 21-year-old Muskan, was among the 27 people killed in the massive fire that broke out in the four-story electronics manufacturing factory in the Mundka area of India’s capital New Delhi in May 2022. She had been working there for two years and her income supported five family members. Ismail still experiences nightmares about that day. He sometimes wakes up screaming in the middle of the night, thinking about his sister desperately trying to find her way out as the building was engulfed in flames. Ismail holds the factory owners responsible for the catastrophe. “My sister could have…

Emmanuel Macron has appointed France’s youngest ever prime minister – and the first to be gay.The French president confirmed the appointment of 34-year-old Gabriel Attal, who became a household name as government spokesperson during the COVID pandemic. The education minister will replace the outgoing prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, as Mr Macron, 46, looks to breathe new life into his second term ahead of European parliament elections in June.While the move will not necessarily lead to any major political change, it’s viewed as an attempt by Mr Macron to move beyond last year’s unpopular pension and immigration reforms.Polls show his camp…

Skip next section Air defense in Russia-occupied Crimea ‘degraded’ after Ukrainian strikes — UK intelligence01/09/2024January 9, 2024Air defense in Russia-occupied Crimea ‘degraded’ after Ukrainian strikes — UK intelligenceBritain’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) on Tuesday said that Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets at the Saki aerodrome and Sevastopol last week had likely impacted Russian air defences in Crimea. “These attacks likely degraded the awareness and coverage of Russian air defences over the Crimean region,” the MOD said in its daily intelligence briefing. The MOD said that Russia had launced a number of missile attacks across Ukraine on Monday in response, targeting several cities…

Despite being an old soccer tournament — held for the first time 67 years ago — the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is still one of the most difficult ones to predict. In 37 editions, 15 different countries have lifted the trophy. Virtually every continental powerhouse has at least won it once and some smaller countries have also been able to go all the way, like Zambia in 2012. In recent years, AFCON has favored big teams like Algeria or Senegal, however history has shown that anything can happen during the tournament. Just ask Didier Drogba, considered by many to…