Author: DW

Now that the 2026 World Cup has started, the show element of this tournament is hard to escape. Big stadiums, big screens, big food — this is America and there was no doubt about it in Houston. And Germany did their part by delivering a big scoreline. The 7-1 win over Curacao was a little short of their highest World Cup win (8-0 against Saudi Arabia in 2002), but matching the famous scoreline of that famous 2014 World Cup semifinal is a boost to a side that has endured rather than enjoyed recent editions of this tournament. After weeks of talk about the…

There is no remorse in Waldemar Klingelhöfer’s eyes. A picture from the “Einsatzgruppen trial” shows the SS-Sturmbannführer or “assault unit leader” staring calmly into the camera. His checkered shirt is buttoned all the way up; his brows are furrowed, but his face shows no emotion. Waldemar Klingelhöfer at the Einsatzgruppen trial in Nuremberg The photograph would have been taken during the Nuremberg trials in 1947 or 1948, just before Klingelhöfer was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity and membership in a criminal organization. From opera singer to killer for the Nazis  Before he joined Hitler’s killing forces, Klingelhöfer was an opera…

The United States and Iran announced on Sunday that they had struck a preliminary agreement to end their war, raising hopes for an end to the energy crisis that has gripped countries worldwide since the conflict began. “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post hailing the US-Iran agreement. The deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz once both sides formally sign the accord on Friday. The narrow waterway is a crucial route for global energy trade, handling about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas in normal times.…

There are few records left for Manuel Neuer to break in his career, but his surprise return to the Germany team for the 2026 World Cup has seen him reach new milestones. By playing in goal during Germany’s 7-1 win over Curacao, Neuer has now played at five World Cups, equaling Lothar Matthäus’ German record. His appearance also made him the oldest ever German international, aged 40 years and 79 days, breaking a record previously held by Matthäus (39 years and 91 days). The game was also his 20th World Cup appearance, drawing him level with former French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris as the goalkeeper with the most…

Are we alone in this universe? Amid all the unanswered questions related to alien life, Steven Spielberg has more than any other filmmaker shaped the vision that humanity’s first encounter with extraterrestrials could be a peaceful and profound experience — as opposed to a threatening invasion. Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977) and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982) are iconic movies that fundamentally redefined the science fiction genre. Just like those films, “Disclosure Day” has been described by its lead star, Josh O’Connor, as “a film about hope and humanity and understanding,” fitting right into the filmmaker’s wondrous view on the phenomenon of extraterrestrial life. ‘Overwhelming circumstantial…

Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire on Friday after his SpaceX aerospace and artificial intelligence (AI) firm made its stock market debut on Friday. Shares pushed well past their opening price of $135 (roughly €117) in the hours after the initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq. The shares closed up just over 19% at around $161 at the end of their first day of trading, valuing SpaceX at around $2.1 trillion and giving Musk an estimated net worth of around $1.1 trillion, according to Forbes magazine. At one point shortly after 1 p.m. in New York (1700 GMT/UTC), the shares had been hovering around the $173 mark,…

With a population of just 150,000, Curacao has smashed Iceland’s record as the country with the fewest inhabitants (350,000) to reach a World Cup.  Curacao covers an area of ​​roughly 440 square kilometers (171 square miles), making it about six times smaller than Rhode Island, the smallest US state. Curacao is best known for its beaches and diving spots as well as a liqueur named after it. Baseball, not football, is the top sport on the island, which has sent around 15 players to the Major Leagues in the United States. Probably their most famous is Andruw Jones, who after spending 17 seasons…

Earlier this year, the Artis Zoo Museum in Amsterdam unveiled a handbag alongside a massive dinosaur skeleton — one made of “lab-grown T. rex leather.” The highly publicized item was up for auction on Thursday. But it failed to sell. The Paris auction house Drouot noted that bids were well below expected. Auctioneers Giquello had touted the “one-of-a-kind” piece to sell for more than $500,000, but bids barely broke the $150,000 mark, according to the auction house.  With no precedent to go on, Alexandre Giquello, whose auction house organized the sale, told press agency AFP that they had to “come up with a price” that…

Swiss voters will soon have the chance to have their say in a referendum on the Civilian Service Act, asking whether the number of people moving from the army to civilian service should be reduced, as well as on a far-right initiative to cap the population at 10 million dubbed the “No to 10 million” initiative. The question at the heart of the populist initiative, to be voted upon on June 14, is how many people should live in Switzerland. The far-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which proposed it, wants to ensure that the permanent population does not exceed 10…

Ghanaian international footballer Thomas Partey, who is currently facing rape and sexual assault charges in the United Kingdom, has been refused entry to Canada and will be unable to take part in his team’s World Cup opener against Panama in Toronto on Wednesday. “FIFA ​can confirm that player Thomas Partey will be unable travel from Ghana’s ​Base Camp in Boston, USA, to Canada for their first ​match against Panama on Wednesday, 17 June, as ⁠his ​visa application ​has been refused by the ​Canadian government,” said world football’s governing body in a statement to media outlets including ​Reuters and The New York…