Author: DW

Police in Spain have arrested 48 people in connection with a suspected human trafficking ring – believed to have lured more than 1,000 women to the country for sex work.Armed officers from the Policia Nacional carried out raids across Alicante and Murcia in southeastern Spain, the force said in a statement on Sunday. They found evidence the women, who were mainly from Venezuela and Colombia, were made to believe they had beauty or cleaning jobs.However, on arrival in Spain they were forced into the sex trade – only allowed out for two hours a day and kept under video surveillance.”They…

Italiiska Vulitsya, or Italian Street, runs through the center of Odesa, a Ukrainian city on the Black Sea, from the train station to city hall. It is home to the Italian consulate, the Philharmonic Theater, a department store and the Bristol Hotel, which was recently damaged by a Russian missile attack. It is always busy. In 1880, when much of Ukraine was part of the Russian tsarist empire, the street, which was named after Italy in 1824, was renamed Pushkinskaya in honor of the Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. Last July, it reverted to its original name as part of an ongoing…

157 killer whales are stranded on a remote beach in the Australian state of Tasmania. Although most of them are still alive, rescuing the surviving animals is very difficult due to their remote location and heavy weight. Very often, whales do not survive a stranding.  This species of dolphin can grow up to 8 meters long, weigh up to 4000 kg and live to be 50 to 90 years old. They resemble orcas, which is why they are also known as “false killer whales”. When a whale stranding is discovered, there is usually not much time left. They can dry…

As Germany’s federal election draws near, the country’s football association (DFB) has submitted a list of 10 demands to the incoming government. With nearly 24,000 clubs and nearly 8 million members, the association’s size and importance cannot be underestimated, but how much of a role does federal policy really play in the promotion of the world’s most popular sport? The list of 10 demands (see graphic below) is wide-ranging, from financial support for improved facilities to enhancing the role of sport in German schools and carrying forward the momentum of the sporting summer of 2024. Federal concerns This is one of the main…

The United Kingdom is set to announce new sanctions against Russia on Monday, marking three years since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Sunday. “This is also the time to turn the screws on [Vladimir] Putin’s Russia,” Lammy said in a statement.  “Tomorrow, I plan to announce the largest package of sanctions against Russia since the early days of the war — eroding their military machine and reducing revenues fuelling the fires of destruction in Ukraine,” he added. The UK has already imposed sanctions on 1,900 people and organisations with connections to Putin’s government since Moscow invaded…

The political rise of economist Javier Milei to the presidency was largely driven by Argentinians’ hope that he could revive the debt-laden country’s economic fortunes. But now the libertarian’s key credentials as an economic expert have suffered a massive blow as lawyers have filed a fraud lawsuit against him in an Argentine court. What’s come to be known as the “cryptogate” scandal is gripping Argentina, with the rapid rise and collapse of the $LIBRA cryptocurrency at the center of controversy. Investors — most of them reportedly from Argentina and the United States — had poured the equivalent of $100 million (€95.3 million) into short-term investments in…

Just how many languages are there in the world? The figures vary: According to the German Economic Institute, there are currently 7,186 native languages worldwide. The world cultural organization UNESCO puts that figure at just over 6,000 languages. What is undisputed is that the diversity of native languages is under threat. Researchers say that every two weeks, another mother tongue falls silent. To counteract this trend, International Mother Language Day was launched more than 25 years ago. What is a mother tongue? “Russian, of course,” answered this author’s 16-year-old son when asked what his mother tongue was. Born in Cologne,…

“What is lupus?” “How long does the flu last?” “How do you treat piles?” These are some of the most common health questions people are asking ChatGPT. The popularity of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT for giving personalized health advice is growing. One in ten Australians now use the platform to ask medical questions, according to a survey of about 2,000 Australians conducted in mid-2024. The study, published on Tuesday, found that almost two out ofthree people (61%) who use ChatGPT for medical advice ask questions that usually require clinical advice. “AI tools are popular because they can give…

A man was convicted of attempted murder on Friday for the stabbing of novelist Salman Rushdie in New York nearly three years ago. Rushdie, an atheist born into a Muslim Kashmiri family in India, has faced death threats since the 1988 publication of his novel “The Satanic Verses.” The book was denounced as blasphemous by Iran’s then-supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. What do we know? Hadi Matar, 27 of New Jersey, was found guilty by a court in Mayville, New York, after a little less than two hours of deliberations. On August 12, 2022, Matar ran onto the stage at the Chautauqua Institution, an arts foundation and stabbed…

Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich are to face Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16 of this year’s Champions League. Germany’s other team in Friday’s draw, struggling Borussia Dortmund , who are also last year’s Champions League finalists, are to face French Ligue 1 outfit Lille. Bayern Munich, who are looking for their first Champions League title since 2020, are eight points clear of Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and the two teams played out a scoreless draw last weekend. Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen broke Bayern’s lock on the Bundesliga title last season, winning the club’s first league title.Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich have never previously met in a…