Author: DW

David Hockney, who was one of Britain’s favorite artists, a global celebrity, a world citizen and a bohemian, has “passed away peacefully at home” in London on Thursday, a month before his 89th birthday, his publicist Erica Bolton said in a statement to the press. Considered one of the most important figures in contemporary art in both the 20th and 21st centuries, Hockney first gained acclaim as an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s.Hockney was renowned for his colorful paintingsImage: David Hockney Always wanting ‘to see more’ Born in Bradford in 1937, David Hockney was the fourth of five…

The list of uses for GLP-1 agonist drugs keeps growing: It started as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, then got hyped as a weight-loss jab.  There’s also evidence that GLP-1 agonists, like semaglutide and tirzepatide — sold as Mounjaro, Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepound —  lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases  protect the kidney and the liver,  reduce inflammation and pain,  prevent addiction and substance abuse,  help people with arthritis and those with sleep apnea.    Take a 30,000ft view, and you will see a classic case of what’s known in the trade as drug repurposing. That’s one drug with multiple…

The World Cup opening ceremony took off at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Thursday, marking the countdown to the opening group game between Mexico and South Africa.  Latin music and dance numbers gravitated around a massive model of the World Cup trophy in the center of the pitch, ahead of 104 matches over the next 39 days, building to the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.  The Estadio Azteca, or technically ‘Mexico City Stadium’ for this competition, has a rich World Cup history, as the venue for the 1970 and 1986 World Cup finalsImage:…

Why is a sex doll in the German president’s primary official seat? Set in a suggestive pose, the green bronze cast reproducing the torso of a Japanese sex doll has made headlines and grabbed attention on social media. The sculpture by Alexandra Bircken, titled “Eva,” is just one exhibit among many more contemporary artworks that are on show in the highly symbolic political space associated with the German presidency and state ceremonies, Bellevue Palace. The two-week pop-up exhibition, titled “Freiraum Kunst” (Art as Free Space), runs from June 13-28. ‘Eva’ by Alexandra Bircken has sparked a conversation on how intimate themes…

SpaceX will be at the center of attention on financial markets this Friday as the company makes its stock-market debut.    The Elon Musk-led rocket, satellite and artificial intelligence company plans to raise as much as $75 billion (€65 billion) by selling nearly 555.6 million shares at $135 apiece. That would make it the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history, breaking the previous record set by Saudi Aramco in 2019, when the oil giant went public and raised $26 billion. The listing would instantly turn SpaceX into the seventh-biggest publicly traded US company. Because only 4% of its equity will be on offer, the…

Many will have never heard the refrain “I am from Bosnia, take me to America” until the Bosnian national team upset Italy in a playoff final in March. It put the small Balkan nation through to the World Cup for just the second time since the country gained its independence in 1992. Thousands of fans at the match in Zenica belted out the song, just as they did when the national team were feted at a square in the capital, Sarajevo, a few hours later.  But had you spent time in Bosnia over the past decade and a half, chances are good…

Skip next section German brigade holds first drill in Lithuania06/10/2026June 10, 2026German brigade holds first drill in LithuaniaGermany has set up the tank brigade in response to what it sees as a Russian threatImage: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture allianceGermany’s new tank brigade in Lithuania has carried out its first combat exercise in the Baltic state. Commander Christoph Huber said the drill in Pabrade marked a key step toward combat readiness. Huber said the unit is learning from developments in Ukraine and must prepare for future conflict scenarios, not past wars. Germany has set up the brigade in response to what it sees…

It has all the ingredients of a Hollywood script: two ambitious tech nerds locked in a high-stakes battle for dominance in artificial intelligence (AI), complete with surprising plot twists. Take Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, who recently called on the AI industry to pause development, warning that humanity could lose control of the technology. What made the statement remarkable was its timing: just days earlier, his company had filed paperwork with the US securities regulator, the SEC, to launch an IPO — a first public sale of company shares on the stock market. Anthropic’s move caught rival OpenAI off guard.…

“We have excellent conditions here, both on the pitch and off it,” Germany coach Julian Nagelsman told reporters a few hours after the team’s arrival at Wake Forest University campus in Winston-Salem, USA. “If you feel comfortable and can prepare well, the likelihood of playing good matches increases. And if you deliver good performances, the chances of success rise, too,” added the 38-year-old, who is about to take part in his first World Cup. The location was selected a something of a retreat, as the distances to be covered in the first World Cup jointly staged by three countries, the…

In Johann Sebastian Bach’s repertoire, there are glorious cantatas with timpani and trumpets, as well as more emotional pieces that touch the heart. To find out which are the most beloved cantatas of the global Bach community, the Leipzig Bach Festival conducted a large-scale poll. The top 50 of this “Bach hit parade” will be performed by renowned ensembles at this year’s Bach Festival, from June 11–21.  The Bach top 50 hit parade More than 7,000 Bach fans from 20 countries voted for their favorites from Johann Sebastian Bach’s liturgical cantatas. Just like in the Eurovision Song Contest, they were…