Author: DW

The alliance of rebel groups that captured the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) strategic eastern city of Goma have declared a ceasefire in the region for humanitarian reasons. The pause in the rebels’ fight with the Congolese army — slated to begin on Tuesday — comes after hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced and amid mounting calls for a safe passage of aid. Rebel alliance includes M23 The group called the Congo River Alliance also includes the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, who were reported to be gaining territory in other eastern parts of the country while advancing on South Kivu’s…

The origin story of Microsoft and its founder, Bill Gates, has been told countless times in the media since the tech mogul first appeared in the public eye in the 1980s. Born in 1955 to a wealthy family — his father was a corporate lawyer and World War II veteran, his mother a successful civic activist who served on the boards of banks and major corporations — Bill Gates programmed his first video game at the age of 13. He was sent to an exclusive prep school in Seattle, where he befriended future Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. He later enrolled in Harvard, but dropped out to start…

Chilean tennis player Cristian Garin lost his Davis Cup qualifier in bizarre fashion after refusing to continue following an accidental collision with his opponent.Belgium’s Zizou Bergs was celebrating winning a game in the third set when he sprinted over towards his bench. Garin was passing through the narrow space between the net and the umpire’s chair at the same time and the two collided, with Bergs catching the Chilean player in the eye with his shoulder.The 25-year-old Belgian immediately started apologising and Garin had to receive medical treatment.Bergs was given a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct but his Chilean opponent…

Global stock markets dived, the dollar rallied, oil prices jumped and world leaders readied tit-for-tat measures. Those were the almost immediate reactions to US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, signed into law at the weekend. From Tuesday, the United States will impose 25% additional duties on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% on goods from China above the current tariff rate. Energy imports from Canada will be subject to a 10% tariff. Trump’s latest measures are unprecedented in their scope and scale, targeting three of the United States’ largest trading partners simultaneously. Economists have said their impact…

What you need to know Coca-Cola recalls drinks due to chlorate contamination Chlorate occurs in food and drinks as a byproduct of chlorine disinfectant Consumption poses a low to moderate health risk, especially in children The timing couldn’t be worse for Coca-Cola: Having just announced the arrival of a new flavor for the US market — Coca-Cola Orange Cream, coming in February — the international company was forced to recall a range of its drinks, distributed in northwestern Europe. An “excessively high chlorate content” was detected in cans and bottles of Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Fuze Tea, Minute Maid, Nalu, Royal…

For the first time in Germany’s top-flight, referees are set to broadcast their decisions to the crowds in the stands via loudspeakers. This will happen at four Bundesliga matches this upcoming weekend (January 31 to February 2, 2025), including Bayern Munich’s home game against Kiel. The referee for the second-division match between Düsseldorf and Ulm will do the same. This will only apply to decisions made after the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has intervened. The stadiums of the nine clubs that are members of the German Football League (DFL) Football Commission were selected for the test phase, which runs until the end of…

The Six Nations tournament in February will have many rugby union fans excited about watching some of the best European players in action. But beyond the headline competition lies an historic European championship, a tournament for the continent’s second-tier nations who in 2025 have a sports-changing chance on the line. This year’s championship will act as the qualifier for the men’s rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027, and for the first time there are four spots up for grabs. In the year Germany’s rugby union will celebrate its 125-year anniversary, the men’s team has a chance to make history. “I know Germany…

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino on Sunday, marking his first international trip as the country’s top diplomat amid President Donald Trump’s bid to reclaim control over the Panama Canal. Trump has suggested that China’s growing influence in the region, particularly through its investment in Panama’s ports, poses a national security risk. He has refused ruling out military action to take back the canal, which the US handed over to Panama in 1999. “They’ve already offered to do many things,” Trump said on Friday, “but we think it’s appropriate that we take it back,”…

Georgian police on Sunday arrested two opposition leaders during a protest against the ruling Georgian Dream party. Tbilisi has seen daily protests since Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that his government would not seek the opening of EU membership talks for Georgia before 2028. What do we know about the arrests? Police detained the leader of the liberal Akhali party, Nika Melia, and former Tbilisi mayor Gigi Ugulava, according to multiple news agency reports. Russia’s Interfax news agency reported that Melia was later released on bail. “At the police station, I was sitting on a chair in handcuffs and was…

Four people have been killed in a missile strike on a boarding school filled with civilians in the Ukrainian-controlled Kursk region of Russia, Ukraine’s military has said.Kyiv blamed Moscow for the attack, while Russia’s defence ministry said Ukrainian forces were responsible, adding that missiles were launched from Ukraine’s Sumy region. The school in Sudzha, 7.5 miles from Ukraine’s border, was being used as a shelter for residents – and was largely full of elderly people, according to Ukrainian officials.”The strike was deliberate. At the time of the strike, dozens of local residents were inside the building, preparing for evacuation,” the…