Author: DW

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet internal security service – a move temporarily blocked by the country’s top court.Israel’s government voted in favour of Mr Netanyahu’s proposal to sack Ronen Bar – despite thousands protesting against it and criticising the prime minister’s handling of the hostage crisis. But Mr Bar got a brief reprieve hours after the vote, as the Supreme Court said it was delaying the firing until an appeal could be heard no later than 8 April.The prime minister’s office had said Mr Bar’s dismissal was effective from…

For the longest time, “Portrait of Prince William Nie Norte Dowuona,” was thought to have been lost. Though Gustav Klimt portrayed the nobleman in 1897, the painting had not been seen since 1938. The painting’s recent reappearance caused an art world sensation and it is now on offer for €15 million ($16.3 million) at the TEFAF art fair in Maastricht, the Netherlands. A collector couple had brought the heavily soiled painting to the gallery of the Viennese art dealers Wienerroither & Kohlbacher, who are specialized in Gustav Klimt. “It was a huge surprise for us,” Alois Wienerroither, managing director of the gallery, told DW. Even though…

The debate about transgender women athletes in competitive sports has been going on for years. In the United States, President Donald Trump recently signed a decree banning trans women athletes from women’s sports at the national level.  Many federations have tightened their participation rules. Changes could also be on the horizon for the Olympics, with the newly elected IOC President Kirsty Coventry. She has spoken out in favor of stricter restrictions for the women’s category. DW Fact Check looked at the latest studies and spoke with experts. What are the differences in physical performance?  Men and women are assessed separately in most…

2025 promises to be a big year for Germany. A new chancellor is on the way, and now the country’s national football team is looking to solidify it’s challenge for the World Cup next year. That starts by winning the Nations League, and four months since their last game, Julian Nagelsmann’s side showed style and substance. In Milan, Italy were overcome, giving Germany the edge for the second and decisive leg in Dortmund on Sunday. Germany played as smartly as they looked in their anniversary jerseys (marking the German FA’s 125th birthday) that harked back to the 1974 World Cup winning team.…

“What we invest in defense actually shows how we value defense. And for that past decade we haven’t put a very high importance on it,” said EU foreign representative Kaja Kallas when she presented the bloc’s new defense strategy in Brussels on Wednesday. The Estonian diplomat said the world has not experienced such turbulent times since 1945, and that it was time to act. The European Commission presented its strategy paper as a blueprint to bolstering the defense capabilities and readiness of the EU and its member states by 2030. According to the so-called paper, one of the main drivers for the initiative is Russian…

Britain’s Heathrow Airport has completely shutdown and will be closed all day on Friday following a large fire at a nearby electrical substation knocked out power to one of the world’s busiest airports. “To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March,” Heathrow Airport said in a post on X, adding that “passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information.” Flights being diverted worldwide Scores of flights were already being diverted to land at other airports. According to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, at the time…

US President Donald Trump seems convinced today’s strong dollar is holding back American industry. In his view, the US needs a weaker dollar to push exports, bring back manufacturing jobs, and help reduce the country’s massive trade deficit. But others are not convinced by the simplicity of the argument. David Lubin explained that a strong dollar means it is relatively cheap to buy other currencies, while a weak dollar means it’s more expensive to buy other currencies. The senior research fellow at the London-based think tank Chatham House told DW that it’s “all about exchange rates.” “When the dollar is strong, US imports rise…

A French scientist has been denied entry into the US after he was found to have expressed an opinion about the Trump administration’s research policy, the country’s research minister has said.The unnamed researcher was on his way to a conference being held near Houston when he was subjected to a random check and his work computer and personal phone searched on 9 March, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency reported. A diplomatic source told the agency the researcher was accused of having messages “that reflect hatred toward Trump and can be described as terrorism”.Another source said the researcher was accused…

Joana Meurkens didn’t have an easy start into the new year. Her landlord raised the rent of her Brooklyn apartment, forcing the 26-year-old actress and singer from New York to move out and temporarily live between her boyfriend’s and her parents’ homes.  “Rent and groceries are really high, eggs are like $1 per egg now, even the subway is more expensive. So I thought, I might as well move out and save money,” she says. Supermarkets in the US are experiencing an egg shortageImage: David Zalubowski/AP Photo/picture alliance Rising prices are just one of the reasons why young Americans like Joana are increasingly dissatisfied — …

The European Space Agency (ESA) on Wednesday released its first batch of data from the Euclid space telescope’s mission to create a 3D map of the universe in unprecedented detail.  The telescope, launched from Florida in 2023, is currently hovering 1.5 million kilometers (932,000 miles) from Earth.  Over the course of its six-year mission, Euclid is expected to chart one-third of the sky, encompassing 1.5 billion galaxies.  While in orbit, it’s tasked with gathering data on how the universe has expanded over time and shedding light on the mysterious forces of dark energy and dark matter. The new data released Wednesday covers only…