Author: DW

The burden of heat-related death could shift from the elderly to young people by century’s end, according to a new study. In a future scenario that sees average global temperatures go at least 2.8 degrees Celsius beyond pre-industrial levels by 2100, people under 35 years would likely suffer the effects of a warming world more than older adults. The analysis, published in the journal Science Advances, inspected mortality data from Mexico. The data enabled the researchers to take age and dates of death, compare it to the environmental conditions, and calculate how often humid heat exposure resulted in premature death. Scientists have long…

In 2030, Morocco, Portugal and Spain – with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay hosting the three opening matches – will host the world’s biggest football tournament. It will be the first time that a World Cup will be held across three continents. Despite calls from Amnesty International to make the awarding of the tournament conditional upon the development of a more credible human rights strategy, FIFA has pressed on. Scrutiny on Qatar when they hosted the 2022 World Cup has helped move the needle on human rights at major sports eventsImage: Hassan Ammar/AP/dpa/picture alliance Complacency from bidding nations Each of the nations…

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday defended his decision to declare short-lived martial law saying it was a measure to protect the country’s democracy. The beleaguered president, who is under criminal investigation for alleged insurrection, declared martial law last week, saying he wanted to rid the country of “pro-North Korean forces,” in a move that plunged the country into political turmoil. South Koreans’ frustration with President Yoon persistsTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Yoon prepared to ‘fight to the end’ Yoon accused the opposition of trying to remove him from…

The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed on Wednesday a resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the devastated Gaza Strip. The ongoing war in the enclave has dragged on for over a year and has so far killed over 44,000 people, according to local officials. Resolution urges ‘immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire’ One hundred and fifty-eight members voted in favor of the resolution, nine voted against, with 13 abstentions. The text urged “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire,” and “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” — wording similar to a text vetoed by Washington in the Security…

There is a new prime minister of Syria.The rebel groups, led by Abu Mohammed al Jolani’s Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), have installed a transition government to run the country and navigate the turbulent first months of what some are hailing as “Free Syria”. This interim government – which says it will be in place until March to sort out “constitutional issues” – is led by new Prime Minister Mohammed al Bashir.Who is Mohammed al Bashir?Born in 1983 in the Idlib region of northwestern Syria, Mr Bashir graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Aleppo in…

“It breaks my heart! You can’t treat people this way. We’ve worked so hard for Thyssenkrupp,” said Helmut Renk, the 62-year-old works council chairman of the steelmaker’s facility in Kreuztal-Eichen, Germany.  Venting his anger and frustration about the plant’s likely closure, he adds that he’s been working there for 40 years — just like his father before and his son now. Renk’s hard feelings are currently shared by many employees of the German steel giant, argues trade union official Ulrike Hölter. Representing the central Ruhr Valley branch of the IG Metall metalworkers’ union, Hölter says the steelworkers are especially angry with…

The landscape is shaped by vast fields with grain silos and long clotheslines strung in front of farmhouses. Combined with the many horse-drawn carriages on the roads, it feels like being transported back to a bygone era. The Amish strive for humility and community. As members of the Anabaptist faith, they follow a strict interpretation of the Bible. In the Amish world, modern innovations like cars or the internet are mostly off-limits. This also rules out dating apps, which otherwise dominate the dating scene across the United States. So how do members of this Christian faith community find a prospective…

American scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun are the latest in a long line of scientists to be honored with the Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology by the Swedish organization. The pair were announced as recipients for the prize in October for their shared discovery of microRNA and the role it plays in post-transcriptional gene regulation, though as is tradition, only receive their medals at the annual presentation in December. When announced, Nobel Committee vice-chair Professor Olle Kämpe described the discovery of microRNA as “a tiny molecule that has opened a new field in gene regulation.” Though the pair worked in separate…

Russian billionaire oligarch Alisher Usmanov was reelected as president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) at the organization’s congress in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, on Saturday despite being sanctioned in nearly 40 countries.  Usmanov, who was born in Uzbekistan, was voted into the role for the fifth time, winning 120 votes, compared to 26 for his challenger, Otto Drakenberg of Sweden. It was the first time Usmanov had been challenged for the presidency, although Drakenberg’s presence in the election did little to sway support for the oligarch, whose financial contributions over the years have considerably boosted the sport’s coffers. Prior to the…

A German-Russian citizen has been arrested in Russia for allegedly preparing to sabotage a rail line on the orders of Ukraine’s SBU security service, Russian media cited Russia’s own FSB security services as saying on Tuesday. The man, born in 2003, has been accused by the FSB of having “prepared the sabotage of a section of railway line in the city of Nizhny Novgorod with an explosive device” in return for payment by the SBU, a statement said. Nizhny Novgorod is situated some 250 miles (402 kilometers) east of the Russian capital, Moscow. Alleged plan to derail freight train The FSB said authorities had found an improvised…