Author: DW

The US President Donald Trump administration on Friday retracted its previous decision and agreed to let the Washington, DC, police chief remain in charge of the police force after a federal court’s order. The decision to keep DC Police Chief Pamela Smith, who was appointed by the mayor, in command of the Metropolitan Police Department came after officials in the nation’s capital sued to block Trump’s takeover of the Washington police. On Friday, US District Judge Ana Reyes observed that the Trump administration cannot legally take over the city police, but the law probably gives the president more power than the city might like.…

August 15th marks the 80th anniversary of Japan’s unconditional surrender and the end of World War II, putting focus once again on reckoning with the country’s past. The domestic debate in Japan on shaping narratives about World War II is so tense that it is often referred to as “history wars.” Japan’s actions during the war are also a sore spot in international diplomacy. China and both North and South Korea have bitter memories of life under Japanese occupation and rarely miss an opportunity to remind their neighbor of the past. Inside Japan, what were once far-right fringe voices have grown more prominent…

In August 2024, internet behemoth Alphabet lost the biggest antitrust challenge it has ever faced when a US judge found that its subsidiary Google illegally monopolized the search market. US Federal Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled that $26.3 billion (€22.4 billion) in payments that Google made to other companies to make its internet search engine the default option on smartphones and web browsers effectively blocked any other competitor from succeeding in the market. As a result of the ruling, the US Department of Justice is proposing that Google be forced to sell off its Chrome browser. Apart from selling off Chrome, antitrust regulators…

One in three adults report some sort of insomnia and around half of those say it disrupts their functioning during the day. It only gets worse in summer. Heatwaves substantially disrupt sleep quality — studies show that even short heatwaves lasting one or two days can reduce sleep duration by more than an hour each night. Heat reduces sleep quality and duration by interfering with the body’s natural cooling process, which is crucial for initiating and maintaining sleep. That’s why keeping your bedroom cool during the day with shades and fans can do wonders for sleep quality. That, and having a…

For a significant section of their fans and many human rights activists, Bayern Munich had a moral obligation to end its commercial dealings with Rwanda. Last Friday, the German champions did just that. But rather than mentioning misgivings about human rights or the ongoing bloody war in DR Congo (DRC), Bayern spoke of a “strategic evolution.” It was a move forced by fans and media, according to sports sponsorship expert Phil Lipperson. “I believe that the external pressure led to the changes in the deal because in Germany, I think that the clubs are pretty exposed to criticism from the fan…

Police fired tear gas at anti-government protesters Thursday evening in at least two Serbian cities, including the capital Belgrade and the northern city of Novi Sad. Anti-government protesters attacked the Novi Sad headquarters of the President Aleksandar Vucic’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party, or SNS, smearning it with red paint and smashing windows. The police or Vucic’s supporters, who have guarded the office for months, where nowhere to be seen, AP news agency reported. Police in full riot gear later cordoned off several blocks in the center of Novi Sad, Serbia’s second biggest city, and used tear gas to disperse the…

Mali’s military leadership has said it thwarted a coup attempt and arrested two generals as well as a French national who they say is a suspected foreign agent, among others. Security Minister General Daoud Aly Mohammedine announced the arrest of a group of military officers and civilians in a statement read out on state television late Thursday evening. The statement also confirmed the detention of dozens of soldiers in recent days. Rumors of the arrests had circulated for several days in Mali. The group had support from abroad, Mohmammedine said, and had allegedly attempted to destabilize Mali. What do we…

Renee Duering still remembers how painful it felt when an Auschwitz prisoner tattooed the camp number on her arm. “Be glad you’re getting a number, otherwise you’d end up straight in the oven,” the man told her. The Nazis gave her a choice: “Either you go to the Birkenau extermination camp, or become a subject for medical research. That won’t kill you.” Duering, who was born in 1921 in Cologne, chose the latter, becoming a human guinea pig in the hands of Nazi gynecologist, Carl Clauberg. She was one of hundreds of Jewish women who were subjected to sterilization experiments, and…

After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the aggressor was hit with economic sanctions from the US, UK, European Union and others. These sanctions restricted domestic companies or individuals in how they trade and do business with Russia. The sanctions were an effort to make Russia change its course without resorting to direct military force. Since then, the sanctions have piled up. Russia’s foreign assets have been frozen, and a majority of Russian banks have been cut off from the global banking system.  To keep its economy going, Russia has redirected trade to other countries like China, India, Turkey and the…

During the midday prayers on March 28, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck central Myanmar along the Sagaing Fault.  With an epicenter close to Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, it was the most powerful earthquake to strike Myanmar since 1912. It caused widespread destruction of Mandalay’s infrastructure while reports have put the death toll between 3,700 and more than 5,000 people.  Its seismic impacts reached as far as Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, where it collapsed a 30-story skyscraper, claiming at least 92 lives.  Could seismologists have seen it coming?  Scientists had been anticipating a large earthquake along a segment of the fault, which had not ruptured since a…