Author: DW

02/10/2024February 10, 2024Russia’s overnight drone strike on Kharkiv kills 7, including 3 childrenUkraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv was hit by a Russian drone strike overnight, which killed at least seven people, the region’s governor said. Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the Iranian-made Shahed drone hit civilian infrastructure and caused a massive fire that burned down 15 private houses, prompting the evacuation of dozens of residents. Three children were among the dead. The head of the local prosecutor’s office Oleksandr Filchakov said in a video posted on Telegram that three drones hit the petrol station in the city. “There was a great deal of fuel and that’s why there…

El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele was formally reelected as president on Saturday after the Central American country’s election body completed a final tally of the poll results. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal had demanded a recount due to technical issues during last Sunday’s vote. On Saturday, the Tribunal announced that Bukele had won 82.66% of support — receiving some 2.7 million votes out of the 3.2 million cast. His support rose by more than a million votes compared to the last election in 2019. Manuel Flores of the far-left Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) came a distant second with 6.25%, while Joel Sanchez, of the right-wing Arena party, obtained…

Ireland’s former taoiseach John Bruton has been laid to rest at a state funeral in his hometown of Dunboyne, County Meath.Mr Bruton, who served as taoiseach from 1994 to 1997, died peacefully in hospital at the age of 76 on Tuesday. His funeral was attended by politicians past and present, with current Taoiseach Leo Varadkar among those who arrived at Saints Peter and Paul’s Church on Saturday morning. Image: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar arrives for the state funeral. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Irish President Michael D Higgins was also present to pay his respects, as were Northern Ireland’s newly-installed first minister…

Indonesia’s presidential candidates held their last election rallies on Saturday before the February 14 vote. There is now a cooling-off period ahead of the election on Wednesday which is the largest single-day vote in the world.  The three candidates for the election are former governors Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan and former special forces commander Prabowo Subianto.  The current president, Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi, is barred by the constitution from running for a third term. Final pitches from presidential hopefuls Subianto, the frontrunner according to polls, and his running mate, Widodo’s son Gibran Rakabuming Raka, held their final rally at a Jakarta…

The joy and excitement were palpable in Sarajevo on Wednesday, February 8, 1984. The city’s residents had been preparing for this day for months: building, organizing, cleaning and generally getting Sarajevo ready for this major international sporting event. On the day itself, 60,000 spectators in Kosevo Olympic Stadium in Sarajevo and millions of television viewers across Yugoslavia and around the world watched the opening ceremony of the XIV Olympic Winter Games.Winter Olympics 1984: When all eyes were on SarajevoTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video At the time, Sarajevo…

Pakistan is in political limbo after an election result that few in the establishment predicted.Independent candidates backed by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) have delivered a major upset. Many seemed to underestimate the level of discontent and desire for change in a country that’s experienced years of turbulence.The army generals who have for decades dominated Pakistan looked far less in control now.Their presumed candidate, Nawaz Sharif, was the first to claim victory yesterday, declaring his party the largest. Technically, he was correct – the independents aren’t a party and don’t have a leader to run the country.But Sharif also…

Three children are among seven people who were killed in a Russian attack in northeastern Ukraine, according to officials.Large fires broke out after the drone strike in Kharkiv – with at least 15 houses and a petrol station among the sites reportedly destroyed. The regional prosecutor’s office said on Telegram that the bodies of three boys – age four, seven and seven months – were found in one house alongside their mother and father.A married couple in their 60s died in another property and three people were hurt elsewhere, the Telegram post added.The fires are believed to have started when…

Rescue operations that had been underway following a deadly landslide in the Mindanao region of the Philippines were forced to stop on Saturday after the region was hit by a strong earthquake. According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.6 quake struck the region at 11:22 a.m. (0322 GMT). The quake was 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep, GFZ added. The Philippine seismology agency recorded a different reading, saying it was a magnitude 5.9 earthquake with a depth of 27 km (16.8 miles). There were no immediate reports of any injuries or damages from the earthquake. The…

Pakistan needs “stable hands” and must move on from the politics of “anarchy and polarization,” the Chief of Army Staff said Saturday. General Syed Asim Munir’s statement came after no party was able to gain a simple majority in parliament in Thursday’s general election. “The nation needs stable hands and a healing touch to move on from the politics of anarchy and polarization,” Munir said.  Pakistan’s powerful military wields massive political influence, with generals having run the country for nearly half its history. Three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s party had been expected to win the most seats and according to some analysts had the…

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday it had recorded the highest number of Chinese balloons around the country since it started regularly releasing data on balloon sightings in December. Eight balloons were spotted on Friday, one day before the start of the Lunar New Year, at varying altitudes of 15,000 feet (4,572 meters) to 38,000 feet. China considers Taiwan part of its own territory and has regularly carried out military drills around the self-ruled island. It has not discounted using force to take control of the territory. In September, China sent naval vessels, including the Shandong aircraft carrier into waters near…