Author: DW

“It’s not just the end of our show, it’s the end of ‘The Late Show’ on CBS. I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away,” Stephen Colbert told viewers last July, as he announced that the long-running program would be canceled at the end of his contract. The final episode of the network’s late-night talk show airs on May 21. According to CBS, the cancellation was “purely a financial decision.” Even though Colbert recognizes that the economic collapse of traditional broadcast TV models may have contributed to the decision, “there are many people who believe there was another reason,” the talk show host…

Shared any birthday photos on social media recently? There had better be enough candles on that cake, otherwise your account could be blocked.   Meta, the tech company behind Facebook and Instagram, plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) to find and remove the profiles of users under the age of 13 years. Thirteen is the minimum age for a person to create an account on the social media platforms.  “We want young people to have safe, positive experiences online,” started a press release from Meta in early May when it announced the move.  As part of that effort, the company said, it was always looking for ways…

When putting into context the significance of Freiburg reaching their first ever European final, the words of Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany feel the most pertinent. “I think it [Freiburg’s success] embodies everything that is positive about football,” Kompany said recently. “It’s a small club that’s building itself up with its own resources. What Freiburg are doing is a great example for many other clubs.” Much has been written about the small club from Baden-Württemberg in recent years. A local club in its origin, Freiburg have evolved from a team yoyoing between the divisions to an established Bundesliga side. Despite…

A painting by the American Abstract Expressionist painter Jackson Pollock sold for an eye-watering $181.2 million (€156.2 million) with fees, at Christie’s auction house in New York on Monday, alongside other staggering sales on what was a blockbuster day for the institution. The roughly three-by-one meter (35 × 131.5 inches / 88.9 x 334 centimeters) oil and enamel work on canvas, entitled “Number 7A, 1948,” was painted at Pollock’s Long Island, New York, studio when the artist was 36 years old and is considered ait was a key early example of his floor‑based drip technique. Christie’s described the postwar work,…

Russia may celebrate its “no-limits” partnership with China — a phrase coined when President Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping met just before the Ukraine war — yet those relations are increasingly one-sided. Although bilateral trade softened last year as a result of lower oil prices, Russia’s goods exports to China have nearly doubled since February 2022, when Moscow’s full-scale invasion began.  In 2024, Russia shipped roughly $129 billion (€111 billion) worth of goods to China — the overwhelming majority in crude oil, coal and natural gas sold at steep discounts. The Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air calculated that China has bought more than…

North Korea’s Naegohyang Women’s FC is due to play a South Korean women’s team in Suwon on May 20, the first time Pyongyang has permitted its athletes to travel to the South in more than seven years. For some, it is an indication that the North is deploying “sports diplomacy” to ease strained bilateral ties. The rare visit comes as North Korea has framed the South as its “primary foe and invariable principal enemy” in a recently rewritten constitution that removes notions of reunifying the peninsula, which has been divided since the 1950-1953 Korean War.  Victor Cha, Korea chair at the…

Around 530 BC, the world’s first public museum opened its doors in the Mesopotamian state of Ur, in modern-day Iraq. The curator was a priestess princess, and the museum was part of the palace complex, displaying artifacts from the region with informational labels in multiple languages. Fast forward some 2,500 years, and museums no longer only offer stationary exhibits accompanied by written information. From digitized collections to social media accounts to virtual reality, recent technology allows viewers to interact with collections in new ways. But recently, an even more profound shift has been taking place, one that goes to the very heart…

Germany’s chemical sector stands as a core pillar of the nation’s economy, ranking third after automotive and mechanical engineering. It generates hundreds of billions in annual revenue and directly employs about half a million people.   The industry, however, has been beset by crisis in recent years, weighed down by high energy costs, growing regulatory burdens, a persistently weak economy, and intense competition from abroad. Chemical production requires large amounts of energy, not just electricity but also heat, steam and pressure. So, when energy prices rise, it erodes firms’ global competitiveness and profitability. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February…

Ebola is highly contagious and deadly. It spreads internationally, such as in the May 2026 outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. But that doesn’t automatically make it a pandemic.

Bulgaria won the Eurovision Song Contest final in Austria’s capital, Vienna, on Saturday night with the song “Bangaranga” amid a boycott by five countries over Israel’s participation. The song’s infectious beats and tightly choreographed dance routine proved a hit with both national juries and viewers, whose votes together decide the winner. Dara beat 24 other competitors during Saturday’s grand final in Vienna.  The Eurovision Song Contest described Dara as “one of the most well-known pop musicians in her country, shaping the image of contemporary Bulgarian pop with her unique voice, commanding stage presence and unrestrained genre-blending.” It’s the first time…