Author: DW

Polls opened in Finland on Sunday morning for the final round of the country’s presidential vote, which pits former prime minister Alexander Stubb, a conservative, against Green party lawmaker Pekka Haavisto, who had decided to run as an independent candidate. Both Stubb and Haavisto had at different points served as Finland’s foreign minister. Some 4.3 million people are eligible to cast their vote with polling stations open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (0700 to 1800 GMT).  The foreign policy experience is key for both candidates, as Helsinki seeks to reorient its security policy after decades of non-alignment.  Following Russia’s invasion of…

Former US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would “encourage” Russia to attack members of NATO who had not met their financial obligations, in remarks that the White House rejected as “appalling and unhinged.” Speaking at a campaign rally in South Carolina Saturday, the Republican presidential nomination frontrunner appeared to recount a conversation with a fellow head of state at an unspecified NATO meeting. “One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, ‘Well, sir, if we don’t pay, and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?’ I said, ‘You didn’t pay, you’re delinquent?'”…

Israel has been warned of repercussions if its military launches a ground invasion in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, while Israel has suggested civilians could evacuate and find refuge in tent camps that are not yet built.The warning came after Israeli air strikes killed at least 44 Palestinians, including more than a dozen children, in the city. Lord David Cameron has said he is “deeply concerned” about the planned ground invasion of the city, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are taking refuge.Israel says it is a hive of Hamas’s remaining strongholds.Follow latest updates: Germany brands Rafah…

When the Kansas City Chiefs take to the field to defend their Super Bowl title against the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas on Sunday, pop megastar Taylor Swift is planning to be in the stands to cheer on her partner, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Since it became known that the two are a couple, there has been plenty of hype about Swift and her visits to Chiefs’ games. She’s expected at Sunday’s championship, but could be battling jet lag as she’s set to perform in Tokyo on Saturday night. Their very public love affair has led some to make some…

Sierra Leone continues to grapple with the long-lasting effects of trauma and the difficulties of reintegrating former child soldiers to this day. The country is still deeply affected by the effects of its devastating civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002. As the world comes together on February 12 to recognize the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers — commonly referred to as Red Hand Day — the West African country is reflecting once more on its ongoing relationship with the past. “Sierra Leone had the challenge to resettle child soldiers, not only to remove the arms from them but also to de-traumatize…

The chief executive of one of Nigeria’s largest banks is believed to have been killed along with his wife and son when a helicopter they were riding in crashed in Southern California’s Mojave Desert.Herbert Wigwe, chief executive of Access Bank, and his family were among six people on board when the charter flight went down shortly after 10pm on Friday near Interstate 15, close to the California-Nevada border.The others killed were two pilots and a fourth passenger, named as Bamofin Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former chair of NGX Group, the Nigerian stock exchange.The deaths of Mr Wigwe, his family and Mr Ogunbanjo…

Skip next section Ukrainian air defences repell Russian drone attack02/11/2024February 11, 2024Ukrainian air defences repell Russian drone attackUkraine’s air defense systems have repelled a Russian air attack on Kyiv, the military head of the capital said early Sunday. Earlier, the country’s air force said several regions were under threat of drone attack. There were no reports of casualties. https://p.dw.com/p/4cGLTSkip next section Ukraine reports heavy fighting in south, east along the front02/11/2024February 11, 2024Ukraine reports heavy fighting in south, east along the frontThe Ukrainian military described the situation along the frontlines in the east and south as difficult late Saturday, with…

Three soldiers of the United Arab Emirates and a Bahraini officer were killed in an attack in Somalia while on a mission to train Somali armed forces, UAE’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday, The soldiers were “exposed to a terrorist act” while “performing their work duties in training and qualifying the Somali Armed Forces,” the ministry wrote on social media platform X., formerly Twitter. The attack took place at a military base in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, according to reports. Two other people were injured in the attack, the ministry added, without giving any further information. The UAE…

“Not worth a bucket of warm piss”. John Nance Garner’s words are the most famous assessment of the office of vice president of the United States.”Cactus Jack” Garner’s words have often been bowdlerised to “warm spit” but there’s no denying he was in a position to know. He served Franklin Delano Roosevelt as VP for nine years up until Pearl Harbor in 1941. Garner is alleged to have passed on his words of wisdom as an old man to Lyndon Baines Johnson when LBJ was considering the offer to be John F Kennedy’s running mate in 1960.Johnson took the job…

In his first statement since being diagnosed with cancer, Britain’s King Charles III on Saturday thanked well-wishers in a note posted on the monarch’s website and the royal family’s official page on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. “I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support and good wishes I have received in recent days,” Charles said in a statement. Buckingham Palace announced on Monday that 75-year-old Charles has been diagnosed with a form of cancer and that he would be postponing some engagements to undergo treatment. The diagnosis comes just 17…