Author: DW

It all kicks off on 11:11 am on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Weiberfastnacht (Women’s Carnival Day). In Germany’s Rhineland region — among other places — thousands of people wearing colorful costumes join several days of street celebrations. In Cologne, the motto this year is “FasteLOVEnd – wenn Dräum widder blöhe” (Carnival — when dreams bloom again). The slogan has a bit the feel of the flower power era of the 60s and 70s, a time when people turned to a carefree “peace and love” attitude in reaction to global crises. “In difficult times, carnival provides comfort, joy, community and also a little hope,” explains Christoph Kuckelkorn,…

If you’d had the feeling that you see fewer butterflies than you used to, you’re probably right.  A new study published in the journal Science has revealed that butterfly populations in the US have plummeted in the last decade.  Researchers analyzed 12.6 million records of butterflies based on over 76,000 surveys conducted all over the US. Between 2000 and 2020, total butterfly numbers fell by 22% across the 554 species counted.  The US-based research follows global trends in butterfly population losses in recent years.  “Comparable declines are being recorded in all European nations where rigorous monitoring has occurred. Similar losses…

Other than Jude Bellingham, there are perhaps no two more exciting attacking midfielders in football at the moment than Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala. Both are German. Both are younger than 22. Both are valued at €140 million ($150) and both are seen as potential Ballon d’Or winners. Now, the two face each other in Europe’s premier club competition. Their meeting is a uniquely special moment for German football. Bayern dominated the Bundesliga champions in the first leg of their round-of-16 clash, with an easy 3-0 win on Wednesday – with Musiala’s goal bookended by two from Harry Kane. This leaves…

It’s been more than three months since parliamentary elections were held in the eastern European nation of Georgia. According to the country’s authorities, the Georgian Dream party, which has been in power since 2012, won the vote. This meant it would get 89 of the 150 seats in the country’s parliament. However, as a number of international organizations have pointed out, there were serious problems with Georgia’s most recent elections. Having sent election observers to watch the ballot, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE, concluded there were “serious concerns” about “the independence of institutions involved in the…

Bitcoin is often touted as an alternative to the US dollar, the world’s reserve currency, as only a limited number of coins will ever be produced. Proponents argue that bitcoin’s fixed supply makes it an inflation-proof value store outside the global financial system. Bitcoin is often compared to gold for a similar reason. While central banks worldwide keep large reserves of the dollar and gold, until now, only one country — El Salvador — has created a strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies, although several governments do hold them, mostly seized from criminal activities or to circumvent international sanctions. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order…

Russia wants “quick peace” in Ukraine and London is at the “head of those resisting” it, the Russian ambassador to the UK has told Sky News.In an interview on The World With Yalda Hakim, Andrei Kelin accused the UK, France and other European nations of not wanting to end the war in Ukraine. “We are prepared to negotiate and to talk,” he said. “We have our position. If we can strike a negotiated settlement… we need a very serious approach to that and a very serious agreement about all of that – and about security in Europe.” Image: Russian ambassador…

Donald Trump’s tactic of using threats to get what he wants in business and politics is something political leaders worldwide are gradually growing accustomed to. But the deal to end the Ukraine war the US president is apparently forging behind the scenes with Russian President Vladimir Putin has rattled government leaders, especially in Europe, who fear Trump could withdraw US military protection of the continent. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has responded to these concerns by announcing an increase in the UK’s defense budget to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027, up from the current 2.3%. He emphasized that this investment would…

Under a busy overpass in Rio’s working-class neighborhood Madureira, far away from Copacabana beach and Christ the redeemer, people are dancing together. The collective are moving to a set choreography: One step forward, one to the left, half a turn, a swing of the hips, then to the right.  I am here tonight alongside the choreographer Eduardo Gonçalves. Here in Madureira, a neighborhood also known as “the birthplace of samba”, everybody knows him. He created the “passinho” — Portuguese for dance moves — to the song “Escapism” by British singer Raye.   But samba is not on the menu at the Madureira dance party. Here thousands of people from Rio’s…

A fatal car ramming in a crowded German city square has refocused attention on the use of vehicles by people seeking to attack the public. The incident  in downtown Mannheim took place on the Monday of regional Carnival celebrations. It followed weeks of warnings that potential terror attacks could take place during Germany’s pre-Easter festival period. But the attack does not appear to be motivated by political or religious factors, and authorities are exploring the suspect’s mental health as a possible factor. Yet the choice of a vehicle as a lethal weapon in this incident and in fatal attacks in Munich and Magdeburg in recent weeks leaves open the…

A travelling group of burglars stole jewelry worth £68,000 ($87,000), up to £10,000 in cash and an Audi car after breaking into a Premier League footballer’s home, a British court heard on Wednesday. The burglary took place at the home of Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak in Northumberland county in northeast England last April while the 25-year-old Swedish international was out. Newcastle Crown Court heard that the thieves had already stolen clothes and jewelry worth upwards of £1 million from a local businesswoman plus £100,000 worth of designer goods from another woman in the region in the preceding days. Who are…