Author: DW

Vladimir Putin has said Bill Clinton misled him over Russia’s potential membership of NATO two decades ago.During a lengthy interview with the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the Russian president said he asked the outgoing President Clinton if his country could join the alliance when he visited the Kremlin in 2000. He claims Mr Clinton initially suggested he believed that would be possible, before rowing back on the statement later that same evening.Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin claims Clinton suggested Russia joining NATOExplainer: Poisoned, jailed and mysterious fall from window: What’s happened to Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critics?Speaking through a…

Joe Biden won’t face criminal charges over the handling of classified documents, after he portrayed himself as an “elderly man with a poor memory”, said the special counsel.Robert Hur said President Biden had “wilfully retained and disclosed classified materials” after he was vice president and when he was a “private citizen”, and his actions “present serious risks to national security”. But the prosecutor said he chose not to bring criminal charges following a 15-month investigation because Mr Biden cooperated and would likely be difficult to convict.”We have considered that, at trial, Mr Biden would likely present himself to a jury,…

A man has been awarded the Guinness World Record for the world’s tallest structure using matchsticks – after first having his effort rejected.The Frenchman, Richard Plaud, had built a model of the Eiffel Tower using over 700,000 matchsticks, but said that they rejected him because the structure must be built from matches that are available to the public for purchase and don’t have flammable red tips – and they must “not be cut, disassembled or deformed to the point where they are no longer recognised” as matches. Mr Plaud told French media outlet TFI he started off the tower with…

The cholera crisis has engulfed southern Africa. As cases surge across Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, lack of clean water and sanitation continue to threaten lives. Source link

US President Joe Biden “willfully retained” classified documents after serving as vice president, but he will not face criminal charges for taking them, the US Justice Department said on Thursday. Special Counsel Robert Hur said he decided not to pursue criminal charges because Biden cooperated with his investigation and would likely prove a sympathetic defendant at trial. “We have considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” Hur wrote.Classified documents were found in the garage of President Joe Biden in WilmingtonImage: Justice…

Surviving -52C temperatures by heating a chainsaw with an open flame is not a situation familiar to many Britons.But Arctic ranger Josh Spice has found himself at the mouth of a barrel stove desperately trying to heat the saw’s frozen blades to cut down enough trees to make it through the night in northern Alaska. Patrolling at the gates of the Arctic National Park, where it snows at least eight months of the year and daylight dwindles to six hours a day in winter, Mr Spice is well-placed to offer some unique tips on how to cope with the cold.With…

A volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland erupted Thursday for the third time since December, spewing lava streams up to 80 meters (260 feet) into the air. Video footage of the crack in the earth’s surface, estimated to be three kilometers (two miles) long, showed the fissure illuminating a plume of smoke rising into the dark morning sky that could be seen 40 kilometers (25 miles) away in the capital, Reykjavik. Bright orange molten rock spewed from fissures in the ground on the Reykjanes peninsula, and lava crossed a road near the Blue Lagoon, a luxury geothermal spa,…

Ecuador’s high court on Wednesday decriminalized euthanasia following a landmark case brought by a terminally ill patient. In its ruling the court said it “considers that the issue raised relates to the rights to a life with dignity and the free development of personality. Therefore, after carrying out an examination, it concludes that life admits exceptions to its inviolability when itseeks to protect other rights.” The penalty for homicide “cannot be applied to a doctor who performs an active euthanasia procedure in order to preserve the rights to a dignified life,” the court added. The ruling directed lawmakers and health authorities…

Nine people died in a spate of attacks in Pakistan before voting closed on election day, as mobile phone services were also shut down.Thousands of troops were deployed across the country, while borders with Iran and Afghanistan were temporarily closed in a bid to ensure safety at the polls. But despite the heightened security, nine people, including two children, were killed in bomb blasts, grenade attacks and shootings.Read more:Pakistan’s election explained: A prisoner, a kingmaker and an unexpected returnAuthorities said five police officers were killed in an explosion and shooting in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan district in…

Africa Cup of Nations hosts Ivory Coast have sacked head coach Jean-Louis Gasset following a disastrous group stage which has left The Elephants on the brink of elimination. “The contracts of coach Jean-Louis Gasset and his assistant Ghislain Printant are terminated due to insufficient results,” the country’s football federation (FIF) announced in a statement on Wednesday. After beating Guinea-Bissau 2-0 in their opening game, subsequent defeats to Nigeria (0-1) and Equatorial Guinea (0-4) have seen Ivory Coast finish third in Group A. Frenchman Gasset, 70, had indicated after Monday’s game against Equatorial Guinea, the country’s heaviest ever home defeat, that…