Author: DW

French Education Minister Gabriel Attal has been tipped by President Macron as the new prime minister to replace the outgoing premier, according to a presidential statement released Tuesday.  “The president of the republic appointed Mr. Gabriel Attal prime minister, and tasked him with forming a government,” the statement said.Former Prime Minister Borne resigned on Monday. Who is Gabriel Attal? Attal, 34, came to widespread attention in France as the government spokesman during the coronavirus pandemic. He has emerged as one of the country’s most popular politicians in recent opinion polls, and is a close ally of the president. Attal, at 34…

A school teacher who found the missing chunk of plane that blew off mid-flight on Friday has described the “unbelievable” moment he found the panel intact in his garden.Alaska Airlines was forced to perform an emergency landing after a door plug was torn off of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane flying 171 passengers from Portland in Oregon, to Ontario in California. With a gaping hole in the side of the plane, the cabin was rapidly depressurised – causing oxygen masks to immediately drop and cutting communication between pilots and crew.That door-shaped panel ended up in the back garden of…

The first time I watched “Wannabe” — the video of the 1996 debut single of British pop group the Spice Girls — it was back in the era of newspapers; I was chatting with my Entertainment Desk colleagues when the video aired on MTV. We watched agog as the rambunctious quintet of Victoria Adams (now Beckham), Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell (now Horner), Melanie Chisholm and Melanie Brown pranced into an uppity establishment, singing “friendship never ends” and introducing “zig-a-zig-ah” to the English vocabulary. Even their iconic nicknames were intriguing. Posh, Baby, Ginger, Sporty and Scary Spice — the last of whom had grabbed my attention for … her…

US President Joe Biden does not plan to fire Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin after the defense chief failed to disclose a hospital stay to the White House for several days.  “The president has complete confidence, continues to have confidence in Secretary Austin,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling with Biden aboard Air Force One. “The number one thing is we want to see him get well and back at the Pentagon,” she said. “There is no plan or anything other than for Secretary Austin to stay in the job and continuing the leadership that has been exhibited,” Kirby said. The…

Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency for 60 days on Monday, a day after Adolfo Macias, leader of the Los Choneros criminal gang, disappeared from the prison where he was serving a 34-year sentence. Noboa did not mention Macias’ possible escape in imposing the state of emergency, but said in an Instagram message that he won’t stop until he “brings back peace to all Ecuadorians.” Police say at least four police officers have been kidnapped in Ecuador following the declaration, and unrest was reported at several prisons. Who is Macias? Macias, 44, known as “Fito,”  has been convicted of drug trafficking,…

Parliamentarians in South Korea on Tuesday passed a bill that will make it against the law to eat or sell dog meat, something that has been practiced in the country for centuries. The law, which is to go into force starting in 2027, comes amid growing support for animal welfare in the country. The National Assembly passed the bill by a 208-0 vote. Although it still needs to be endorsed by the Cabinet Council and signed by President Yoon Suk-yeol to go into force, those steps are considered a formality. Support for a ban has grown under President Yoon, who is known for…

Parents and teachers in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine face intimidation and threats if they refuse the new education policy imposed by Moscow. The policy forces teachers to work in Russian and according to a Russian curriculum, which also includes new history books justifying the Ukraine war. Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In September of that year, Moscow declared it was annexing four Ukrainian regions — Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk — in their entirety, despite having only partial control of the territories. The invasion disrupted education for thousands of pupils. Now, schools in eastern Ukraine have…

South Korea has voted to ban dog meat and end controversy around the ancient custom.Activists say hundreds of thousands of dogs are farmed and killed in South Korea each year, but attitudes have changed in recent times and demand is at an all-time low. The ban will make the breeding, slaughter and sale of dogs and dog meat for human consumption illegal from 2027.There will be penalties of up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30m KRW (£18,000).Setting up new dog farms, slaughterhouses and cooking and processing facilities will be banned immediately. However, the bill…

For months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that come winter, there would be even heavier Russian attacks from the air. In the late fall, Russia started launching increasing numbers of drones, before December 29 saw the biggest attack since Moscow’s full-scale invasion began almost two years ago. More than 100 different missiles and huge swarms of drones were sent over Ukraine, with some 30 people killed in the capital, Kyiv, alone. With some 700 drones launched, December was a record month. Russia targeted not just Kyiv, but the large cities of Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Kherson and Lviv as well. Shortly before the…

A state of emergency has been declared in Ecuador after one of the country’s most-notorious drug gang bosses escaped from prison.Adolfo Macias – also known as Fito – was first reported missing from his cell on Sunday. Ecuador’s prosecutors then filed charges against two prison guards as part of their investigation into the alleged escape.The leader of the Los Choneros gang was serving a 34-year sentence in La Regional prison for drug trafficking and murder.His reported escape occurred on the same day he was scheduled to be transferred to a maximum security facility in the city of Guayaquil. President Daniel…