Author: DW

After announcing a “historic declaration” on Thursday, Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) , called upon the militant group to lay down its arms and dissolve itself. This would mark the end of decades of violence between the PKK and the Turkish state. Here’s what you need to know. The PKK: A brief history The PKK was founded in 1978 with the goal of establishing an independent, socialist-orientated Kurdish state in the Middle East. Later, it softened this goal and instead called for the recognition of Kurdish identity, as well as political and cultural autonomy in areas…

For most of the current conflict, Dr. Eyas al-Bursh, a young Palestinian general practitioner, had worked as a volunteer doctor at Gaza City’s main Shifa Hospital. But in March 2024, the 30-year-old was arrested with others after Israeli forces launched another major assault on the hospital. Blindfolded and handcuffed, he recounts being taken to Sde Teiman, a military detention center where an investigation by the Associated Press has previously exposed abuses.  “The journey was filled with relentless beatings, humiliation and insults,” al-Bursh told DW via a voice message from inside Gaza. “We were struck with fists, feet, batons and even bare hands. Then at Sde…

“There it goes,” says Aditya K Sood as the remote dashboard for a solar power plant in India appears on his screen. The US-based hacker is on a mission to educate on cybersecurity. Speaking on a video call with DW, he’s showing how easy it has been for him to log into a plant in southern India’s Tamil Nadu region. “You know, people deploy their devices and forget to actually change [default] passwords. Or they have configured very weak passwords,” Sood says as he’s pointing to the system open in front of him on the screen. “I would say it’s a complete control of the device if…

Police have said they are “confident” they will catch whoever murdered a Scottish businessman whose body was found in a sack of pineapples in Kenya.Campbell Scott, believed to be from Dunfermline in Fife, was last seen attending a conference at the JW Marriot Hotel in Nairobi on 16 February. His body was days later discovered in a sack of pineapples in a forest around 66 miles southeast of the city.His death is being treated as murder and two people have been arrested as inquiries continue.A National Police Service spokesperson described it as a “heinous, heinous crime”. The case is being…

US actor Gene Hackman, 95, who won two Oscars in the course of his decadeslong career, was found dead on Wednesday afternoon together with his 63-year-old wife, Betsy Arakawa, in their home in the US state of New Mexico, police said. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office confirmed the deaths and said foul play was not suspected to have played a role. They added that the couple’s dog had also been found dead. Couple discovered after call for welfare check Authorities said they found the couple at 1:45 am local time following a request to conduct a welfare check. Hackman received the best actor…

A debut at 16, multiple Bundesliga titles, named Best Young Player at a World Cup and now captain of Germany with more than 50 caps at just 25 –at first glance Giulia Gwinn appears to have enjoyed the smoothest of footballing ascendencies. But an anterior cruciate ligament injury which ruled her out of World Cup 2023 was her second such injury in less than a decade as a pro. Rehabilitation was long and tough both times. But the strength shown in her recovery was equally evident in her debut as permanent skipper, as she drove her team to a  4-1  Nations League…

German police said on they are investigating an “assumed” arson attack at a Berlin construction site after activists reportedly claimed responsibility as they protested an expansion of a Tesla factory. In the early hours of Tuesday, “several fires were reported” at the site in the eastern Berlin district of Marzahn, with “construction cranes and Deutsche Bahn signal cables affected,” Berlin police said in a statement.Taking on Tesla — Fight for the ForestTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What was the possible motive for the attack? “During the extinguishing process, streetcar and vehicle traffic on Landsberger Allee…

Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz made a surprise visit to Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday. The visit comes just days after his conservative CDU/CSU bloc emerged as the biggest party in terms of electoral seats after the German election. What did Merz and Macron talk about? The trip was expected to include discussions on the recent shift in US policy on the war in Ukraine, as well as European security issues. Merz posted a photo of himself and Macron on social media late on Wednesday, thanking the French president for his “friendship” and “trust in German-French relations.” “Together our countries can…

At least two people have been hurt after shots were fired near a courthouse in western Germany, where a high-profile murder trial is taking place.Police in the city of Bielefeld said they could not rule out a connection with the case, linked to the death of a former boxer nearly a year ago. A suspect is currently being tried on suspicion of the murder of Besar Nimani, a German professional boxer who competed in the light middleweight division.Several shots were fired in a street near the state court on Wednesday, but there has been no update on the condition of…

When valuable artworks plundered by the Nazi regime turn up in public and private collections, there are strict procedures to discover the provenance, or origin, of the work — and to alert any descendants of the original owner. During the Nazi dictatorship between 1933 and 1945, experts say that at least 200,000 works of art were taken from their mostly Jewish owners in Germany, whether through direct expropriation or forced sales. Many Jewish art collectors left Germany or were deported to death camps. Now it has been revealed that the Bavarian State Painting Collections possess some 200 artworks looted by the…