Author: DW

What significance did sport have for the Nazis? Sport played an important role for the National Socialists, although they did not speak of sport, but of physical education. Their primary goal was to promote health and performance for a productive national economy and ultimately to be fit for war.  Individual sport was relegated to the background in favor of the collective, the masses, the so-called national body, to which every German should contribute as an individual in the best possible way. True to Nazi ideology, it was always about strength and fortitude. “The weak must be hammered away,” begins a quote…

State governors from northeastern Nigeria called on the government on Thursday to put forward a new strategy to tackle an upsurge in Islamist militant attacks. The governors of Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe, Taraba and Bauchi took part in the 11th North-East Governors Forum (NEGF) amid renewed violence that left more than 100 people dead last month. Taraba state governor Agbu Kefas said in a closing statement, “The forum… calls for the armed forces, other security agencies and community leaders to reappraise their strategy in the counter-insurgency onslaught in the region.” Is the Islamist militant insurgency in Nigeria getting stronger? A…

On April 25, foreign ministers Therese Kayikwamba Wagner of the Democratic Republic of Congoand Olivier Nduhungirehe of Rwanda signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington in the presence of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “We are discussing how to build new regional economic value chains that link our countries, including with American private sector investment,” Nduhungirehe said.  The memorandum, or MoU, has opened the door to a definitive peace agreement, he added.  The target date is May 2, and Nduhungirehe’s Congolese counterpart Wagner spoke of a “beginning.” The US is largely responsible for the MoU coming about. The US State Departmentsays the agreement aims to end the conflict…

A British woman has officially become the oldest person in the world at the age of 115, according to the Guinness World Records.Ethel Caterham, who lives in a care home in Surrey, has taken the mantle at 115 years and 252 days, LongeviQuest confirmed. Image: Pic: Longeviquest It comes after the death on 30 April of the previous record holder, Inah Canabarro Lucas, who was a 116-year-old nun from Brazil.Mrs Caterham sets multiple records – including being the last living person to be born in 1909.She is also the youngest person to be named the oldest woman in the last…

When walking through the Boedo neighborhood in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires you get to hear entirely different opinions about the country’s president Javier Milei. One is marked by optimism, the other comes from people who remain largely skeptic. Signs of disapproval are hard to miss. At a local store, a poster is hung up reading “No entry” and showing the pictures of President Milei and Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, who are clearly not welcome here. Not everyone in Argentina welcomes Milei’s radical reformsImage: Tobias Käufer/DW Yet just around the corner, construction workers hammer and lay bricks on a new apartment building —…

Much is still unknown about the death of 58-year-old German author Alexandra Fröhlich. Fröhlich was found dead on April 22, on a houseboat moored along the Holzhafenufer in Hamburg’s Moorfleet district, where she was living. Police have since confirmed that “blunt force trauma” led to her death; they are treating the case as a homicide. No suspects have been publicly named yet. Marriage to a Russian inspired first novels In her first novels, Fröhlich drew on her failed marriage to a Russian. Her breakout debut, “Meine russische Schwiegermutter und andere Katastrophen” (My Russian Mother-in-Law and Other Catastrophes), was published in 2012…

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake recently shook Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city and a major crossroads between Europe and Asia. Home to nearly 16 million people, Istanbul lies precariously close to the North Anatolian Fault — one of the world’s most active seismic lines. For years, experts have warned that the city faces a high probability of experiencing a major earthquake, and every tremor reignites urgent conversations about preparedness. Today, much of Istanbul is heavily built-up, with many older buildings still vulnerable despite years of warnings from experts. While the threat of a major earthquake looms, fears of a large-scale disaster are growing. This…

US sprinter Michael Johnson spent his career breaking records, but even at his peak he realized track and field was broken. Now, with his new venture Grand Slam Track, the 57-year-old is determined to fix it. Despite producing global superstars and spectacular performances, athletics struggles to maintain visibility and financial security outside of the Olympics.  While Johnson’s Olympic triumphs made him a household name every four years, he knew the sport’s visibility outside the Games was vanishing. “I spent a better part of my career dominating my events, being the fastest in the world, and having to explain to people that I was…

Ukraine will retain full ownership of all its mineral resources under the agreement with the United States, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has said. Svyrydenko, who signed the deal in Washington, said the key provisions of the agreement include that all resources on Ukrainian territory and in territorial waters belong to Ukraine. “It is the Ukrainian state that determines what and where to extract,” she wrote on X. With the fund to be jointly managed by both countries, she added: “Neither side will hold a dominant vote – a reflection of equal partnership between our two nations.” The fund would…

Charles Ong’ondo Were, a Kenyanmember of parliament, was shot dead on the streets of Nairobi, the speaker of the National Assembly said. Speaker Moses Wetang’ula confirmed the news on his X account, calling the news “devastating.” “It is with profound shock and unspeakable sorrow that I have this evening received the devastating news of the fatal shooting of Hon. Ong’ondo Were.” The shooting took place around 19:30 local time (16:30 UTC/GMT). Eyewitnesses said the parliament member was attacked by two people riding a motorbike, local media reported. Were was a member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and represented the…