Author: DW

Rohit Singh was born into a Hindu family, but he doesn’t identify as religious. The 24-year-old does, however, occasionally go to the local temple as well as gurudwara, a place of worship and assembly in Sikhism. Singh also believes in astrology, and this month joined his cousins on the Kanwar Yatra, an annual pilgrimage of devotees of Lord Shiva, one of the three major Hindu deities revered in India. “I am not religious, I am spiritual,” he told DW. “I don’t go to the temple as frequently as my parents, I go sometimes for the calm and peaceful vibe. I…

Former German Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier was confirmed dead on Wednesday, two days after being caught in a rockslide high in the mountains of northern Pakistan. The 31-year-old was swept away by falling rocks on Monday at an altitude of around 5,700 meters (18,700 feet) while ascending the 6,069-meter-high Laila Peak. Dahlmeier’s climbing partner, Marina Eva, sent a distress signal and was able to descend to base camp on Tuesday with the help of rescuers. But Dahlmeier remained injured and inaccessible on the mountain. Rescue attempts made for German climber on Pakistan mountain Adverse weather conditions hampered rescue attempts, with Pakistani…

Though the details and effects of the trade deal between the European Union and the United States are just starting to take shape, many European business associations and politicians are already criticizing the agreement as unfair and expressing concerns over the economic consequences. Meanwhile, Brussels emphasizes that the deal goes beyond the economy. “It’s not just about trade. It’s about security. It’s about Ukraine. It’s about current geopolitical volatility,” EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic in Brussels said on Monday. He told reporters that while he couldn’t go into all the details of the talks between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US…

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Washington will slap a 15% tariff on goods coming into the country from South Korea, a lower rate than the 25% duty he had threatened earlier.   The new levy puts South Korea on par with other US trade partners like Japan and the European Union, which have also secured trade deals with Trump that set a 15% tariff rate for their exports to the US. The new rate would also apply to South Korean automotive exports. Trump touted it as a “full and complete trade deal” between the US and South Korea. He…

With a deep rumble, the massive threshing wheel of the rice harvester pushes through the tightly packed green stalks. The plants vanish into the belly of the machine, where rice grains are separated from their husks and the straw is tossed back onto the field. A few workers watch the process from the field’s edge. After a few rounds, the combine harvester moves to the side and transfers the harvested rice through a long pipe into the bed of a waiting truck — then it heads back out again. It’s harvest time on the fields of Los Palacios, a sleepy…

India has the world’s largest tiger population, home to more than 3,600 wild tigers, which represent about 75% of the global wild tiger population, inhabiting an area of 138,200 square kilometers (53,360 square miles), according to the 2023 All-India Tiger Estimation Report, which contains figures from the country’s most recent tiger census.  Indian Prime Minister Narandra Modi at the time emphasized the “responsibility of doing even more to protect the tiger as well as other animals.” But despite the healthy numbers, stabilizing and securing the future of tigers requires continued and complex efforts. Why are tigers still at risk?  Deforestation, expansion of agriculture, urbanization and…

Skin cancers, of which more than 300,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, are preventable. And yet cases continue to rise, particularly in regions of the world where numbers have previously been low.  As well as avoiding direct sunlight and wearing protective clothing such as hats, long-sleeved shirts and pants, effective sunscreen products have been available for years. But as genuine concerns about product safety mix with myths and falsehoods on social media and elsewhere online, some people may move away from these cancer-preventing products. “The most important thing that I always want to emphasize in any of the research I’m doing is the importance…

Given the football World Cup was in the country just three years ago, the eight major global championships the country has hosted this year alone, and the Asian Games scheduled to take place in there in 2030, Qatar bidding for the 2036 Olympics feels like the next logical step for the Gulf country. The difference this time around is all about scale. There will be 36 sports on show in Los Angeles in 2028, with a variety of disciplines inside each sport. Then there is the political aspect of an Olympic Games, which is different to that of a football World Cup.…

Flash floods in Nigeria’s Adamawa state have killed at least 23 people and left thousands homeless, the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) said Tuesday, adding that 11 other people are still missing. The flooding, which began on Sunday in five communities in the Yola area of the state, has so far displaced 5,560 people, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). A camp for those uprooted has been set up at Aliyu Musdafa College in Yola, and basic materials have been provided, NEMA said. “The presence of both governmental and non-governmental partners have been significant, contributing to the effective management of the humanitarian situation,” NEMA said…

Australia is banning YouTube for children under 16, widening the scope of a landmark social media law that aims to protect teenagers from harmful content online. “Young people under the age of 16 will not be able to have accounts on YouTube,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Wednesday. The Alphabet-owned video-sharing platform had been previously granted an exemption due its popularity with teachers. Last year, Australia was the first country to propose a ban on social media for teenagers.  Sites covered by the ban, such as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, have protested the proposed ban. Why is Australia…