Author: DW

Rwandan-backed rebels have occupied a second major city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).The Congo River Alliance, a group of rebel outfits including M23, said in a statement its fighters “decided to assist the population of Bukavu” in addressing its security challenges under the “old regime”. Alliance spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, who previously ruled out a takeover of the city in eastern DRC, added: “Our forces have been working to restore the security for the people and their property, much to the satisfaction of the entire population.”M23 official Bernard Maheshe Byamungu – who has been sanctioned by the UN…

As part of the European Union’s efforts to keep up in the race of developing artificial intelligence (AI), the bloc recently announced a €200-billion ($208-billion) funding program for the breakthrough technology. It comes as US President Donald Trump launched multibillion-dollar AI projects in January and China made headlines with its own large language model (LLM) called DeepSeek. China’s DeepSeek is one of the few foundation models with a potential of breaking the US dominance in the AI fieldImage: Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa/picture alliance Björn Ommer, a professor of artificial intelligence at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), told DW that AI is driving the rapid emergence of…

In 2019, South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho made history by becoming the first director to ever win best film at the Oscars with a movie that was not in English, “Parasite.” But before this Palme d’Or-winning work, the director had also made other films that were predominantly in English, such as “Snowpiercer” (2013) and “Okja” (2017). He now returns with another English-language feature, titled “Mickey 17.” The sci-fi comedy, starring Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo, celebrated its world premiere at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival. Robert Pattinson was in Berlin for the premiere of the filmImage: Liesa…

Sports are a focus in the election manifestos of several Germany’s political parties despite the other pressing issues facing the country in the lead up to elections on February 23. While the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), Greens, the neoliberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) and left-wing Left Party address sports in relative detail, the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) is largely reticent. And sports do not even appear in the election manifesto of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Many of the parties’ statements on the topic are rather generic, few are specific. But here is what we know. Olympic and Paralympic Games The CDU, SPD,…

“We have much more confidence, we are not alone,” explained Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to the astonishment of high-ranking officials gathered for the DW Conflict Zone discussion, “Peace Through Strength: A Plan for Ukraine,” near the close of this year’s Munich Security Conference (MSC). The statement seemed like a contradiction considering the week’s revelations. Just days before, US President Donald Trump announced that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin then proceeded to reject NATO membership for Ukraine and said Kyiv would have to cede territory to Russia if it wanted peace. And just one day prior, US Vice…

“Why did we Koreans come to Ukraine? To work in the countryside! The conditions here are good for growing vegetables,” said Olena Pak, a resident of the rural Shevchenkove settlement in southern Ukraine. Her parents, like those of her husband Oleh, also an ethnic Korean, came to Ukraine from Uzbekistan in the 1970s, when both countries were part of the Soviet Union. “They leased land from the state, which they worked on, while making plans. There were many Korean farm workers,” recalled Oleh Pak. The Mykolaiv region, in southern Ukrainey, has been home to one of the largest settlements of ethnic…

Not invited to American talks with Russia on the future of Ukraine, European leaders are holding a hastily convened meeting of their own on Monday.After years of exasperation from the US over Europe’s more relaxed attitude to defence spending – nothing quite makes the point about military irrelevance than being left out of the room where the future of Ukraine is likely to be decided. President Macron’s scrambled plan to get European leaders to drop everything and come to Paris for talks demonstrates the high level of alarm at the new world order.As well as the UK, Paris has confirmed…

“The beginning of making America rich again.”  That’s how US President Donald Trump described his decision to levy 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States. Trump signed proclamations at the White House on Monday that will take effect in March and will apply without exception to steel and aluminum arriving from all countries. The measures are the latest in a long line of tariff threats made by the president since he returned to office last month. Many economists, however, disagree that Trump’s tariffs mark the beginning of a new “Golden Age” for the United States and reject his assertion, while…

The most famous gay couple of antiquity… … were possibly really just close platonic friends. Whether Alexander the Great and his close advisor and bodyguard Hephaestion did indeed share a bed is a matter that divides opinion among historians to this day.  What is undisputed is that during Alexander’s lifetime — in the 4th century BC — same-sex relationships were nothing unusual. There is also historical evidence that Alexander and Hephaestion fought together on the Macedonian king’s great campaigns.Alexander the Great (left) and Hephaestion (right) lived in the 4th century BCImage: Heritage Images/picture alliance Writings by ancient historians claim that…

Germany’s shift to the right has left its mark on the country’s national game, causing all kinds of ructions. Many German football clubs and fan groups have held demonstrations against the far right over the past year, both in the stadiums on match days and in the streets of their cities. Several major clubs from Germany’s top two leagues, including Werder Bremen, VfL Bochum, FSV Mainz 05, 1. FC Köln, and Hannover 96, have called on their supporters to oppose right-wing extremism. The sustained success of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) appears to have sharpened attention leading up to the federal…