Author: DW

One of the top leaders of a notorious Mexican drug cartel, which kidnapped four Americans and killed two of them last year, has been captured by marines.Jose Alberto Garcia Vilano, known by the nicknames La Kena and Cyclone 19, was seized at a shopping centre in an upmarket area on the outskirts of Monterrey. He headed the Cyclones – one of the most powerful and violent factions of the now-divided Gulf cartel.While not naming him, Mexico’s navy department said in a statement marines had detained a suspect it called “one of the key leaders of one of the most powerful…

Thousands of Russians have been affected by heating systems failing across the country, including Moscow and its outskirts, the Moscow Oblast, as they face one of the harshest winters in decades. The wave of breakdowns started in December and shows no sign of stopping. This week, at least 16 people suffered burns in the city of Nizhny Novgorod when a large-bore heating pipe exploded, spouting boiling water into the street. The pipe failure also left more than 3,000 people without heat, according to a local news channel on Telegram. The messaging service is one of the few remaining platforms Russians…

South Africa has taken Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of violating the UN’s 1948 Genocide Convention, in reference to Israel’s current war against Hamas in Gaza. The Israeli military launched a massive operation against Hamas after the militant Islamist group carried out a series of attacks on Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people and saw 240 taken hostage. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union, Germany, and the United States, among other nations. Over the coming weeks, the court will have to decide whether to issue the provisional measures…

Dog owners in an Italian province are being forced to provide a sample of their pets’ DNA as officials try to tackle the scourge of dog mess on the streets.The provincial government of Bolzano city and surrounding towns in the picturesque Dolomites region is setting up a database for the almost 40,000 dogs in the area, veterinary department director Paolo Zambotto said. Around 10,000 have already been registered and, once up and running, it means abandoned poop can be genetically tested and traced back to a dog and its owner fined anywhere between 50 to 500 euros (£42-£430). Image: Bolzano…

A lawmaker from Germany’s environmentalist Green Party and a journalist were injured on the sidelines of a protest by the climate activist group Last Generation on Monday, according to media reports. The incident took place in the city of Halle in the central state of Saxony-Anhalt during what police said was an “unannounced protest” which resulted in “significant traffic disruptions.” Green lawmaker hit by car — report German news agency DPA reported that member of state parliament Sebastian Striegel and a journalist were monitoring a demonstration when a motorist allegedly mounted a footpath, in an apparent attempt to get around the blockade.…

Three people have died from electrocution after slipping on ice into a power line that fell on a car during a storm in Portland, Oregon.Devastated father Ronald Briggs said his 15-year-old son Ta’Ron, and his 21-year-old daughter – who he did not name – died after slipping into the live wire while trying to save her nine-month-old baby boy from the crushed SUV. The daughter’s boyfriend also died after he slipped and his foot touched exposed wire while also trying to save the child.Mr Brigg’s daughter, who was also six months pregnant, screamed to her boyfriend to get the baby…

France’s highest court ruled on Tuesday that cement maker Lafarge could be held liable for complicity in crimes against humanity in Syria. The company previously acknowledged that it paid nearly €13 million ($14.2 million) to middlemen to keep its Syrian cement factory running in 2013 and 2014, long after other French firms had pulled out of the country. Lafarge was being investigated in France until an appeal was lodged by its Swiss parent company, Holcim. The ruling on Tuesday was a procedural hearing that upheld a decision by a lower court to throw out this appeal. It now clears the way…

North Korea said on Friday that it had conducted tests of an underwater nuclear weapons system. State-run agency KCNA reported that the test of the “Haeil-5-23” drone system was conducted off its east coast without specifying when the tests took place. The reported weapons test could not be independently verified, but analysts have questioned whether Pyongyang does indeed have such a weapon. Test claim come amid US, South Korea, Japan naval exercise “Haeil” means tsunami and the system was designed, according to state media, to make surprise attacks targeting naval strike groups and major ports by creating a large radioactive wave from a sub-aquatic explosion.…

At least nine people have been killed after Pakistan said it used “killer” drones and rockets in a retaliatory strike on Iranian territory early this morning.Iranian media said several missiles hit a village in the Sistan Baluchistan province bordering Pakistan, with four children among the dead. “A number of terrorists were killed during the intelligence-based operation,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.It described the airstrikes as a “series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts”.”The sole objective of today’s act was in pursuit of Pakistan’s own security and national interest, which is paramount and cannot be compromised,”…

A private mission to the International Space Station (ISS) was successfully launched on Thursday with Turkey’s first astronaut on board, US space agency NASA said. A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule lifted off on top of a Falcon 9 rocket at 4.49 p.m. local time (21:49 GMT/UTC) from Cape Canaveral Space Center in Florida. NASA said that docking at the ISS was expected early on Saturday morning with the crew expected to stay at the ISS for two weeks. Who is on board? Spanish-born former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria is mission commander and is joined by Italy’s Walter Villadei, Sweden’s Marcus Wandt and…