Author: DW

Syrian rebels have reportedly reached the suburbs of the capital Damascus as their lightning offensive threatens to end Bashar al Assad’s 24-year rule.Protesters on Saturday brought down a statue of the president’s late father in a main square in a suburb a few miles from the centre of the capital. The group called for the downfall of Mr Assad and headed to government buildings in the heavily policed area of the city.The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents are now active in three Damascus suburbs.Mr Assad is still in the capital, according to a…

On Tuesday, China’s Commerce Ministry announced that it was banning the export of certain minerals and metals to the United States. The products, such as gallium, germanium and antimony, are so-called dual-use items, which can be used in the production of semiconductors and also for a wide range of military and technological applications. Why has China taken this step? China’s move is a direct response to export controls that the United States placed on Beijing on Monday. The US and Chinese actions are the latest exchanges in the countries’ rivalry, with much of the recent focus being around trade, the production…

Germany likes to promote itself as a nation of culture. But that image is at odds with plans by the cash-strapped state of Berlin to cut arts funding by 12%. The cuts would affect both world-renowned institutions and independent organizations in the areas of theater, orchestra, cinemas, dance and literature. The German Culture Council, the umbrella organization for arts associations, has declared that “the golden age for culture is over.” It’s a similar situation across the country: More and more municipalities and federal states face financial difficulties. The federal government, an important source of funding, is also holding back. Following the…

The spread of H5N1 avian influenza in North America has countries beyond the United States on alert. Some governments are buying up vaccine stocks and ramping up precautionary measures in response to the circulating virus. The bird flu variant has infected about 700 dairy herds — mainly in California on the US West Coast — between March and early December 2024. More than 1,200 commercial and backyard poultry facilities and hobbyist bird flocks have also been infected. H5N1 has also been detected in a pig in the northwestern state of Oregon and in raw cow’s milk in California. Nearly 60…

In the end, the decision was unanimous for the governors of Germany’s DFB football association: yes to Saudi Arabia 2034. “There was not a single vote that said we were on the wrong track here,” its president, Bernd Neuendorf, said on Friday. “The decision is supported by the entire association.” As a result of the way that FIFA has handled the awarding of its upcoming showpiece tournaments, the decision also means that Germany endorses the 2030 tournament’s being hosted mainly by Morocco, Spain and Portugal. Both bids were the only ones on the table, but it was still possible for Germany…

The Supreme Court of Romania has pulled the ripcord: On Friday, the judges annulled the results of the first round of the presidential election in November.   “The procedure for the election of the President of Romania will be completely reopened,” the Constitutional Court announced. It made the decision “to ensure the correctness and legality of the electoral process.”   The video app TikTok is said to have played a role in this: The far-right and pro-Russian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu had been massively promoted via TikTok with the help of coordinated accounts, recommendation algorithms and paid advertising.   Georgescu,…

A US federal appeals court on Friday upheld a law which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent firm ByteDance, in a move that could lead to a ban on the popular short video platform as early as next month. The law — which was signed by US President Joe Biden in April — gave ByteDance one year to divest from TikTok or be banned from app stores in the US. For a long time, US officials had raised alarm over the app’s growing popularity among the country’s youth, claiming that it could allow China to spy on its nearly 170 million…

Tear gas has been fired by security forces at protesting farmers in India as they attempt to march to Delhi.Demonstrators broke through several layers of barricades during clashes with hundreds of police and para-military forces at the Shambhu crossing at the Punjab and Haryana border. The farmers have a series of demands including waiving debts on farm loans, pensions for farmers and labourers, help with energy costs and legal guarantees around the Minimum Support Price (MSP) – which protects farmers from falls in crop prices.Security has been tightened at the Shambhu crossing, on the border of Punjab and Haryana states,…

When it comes to searching the internet, there’s little that Europeans can do without America. When Europeans go looking for information, 90% of them rely on US tech giant Google to find what they’re after. Around 5% use Microsoft’s Bing.  Even if they choose a web browser based in Europe, it’s most likely using Google or Bing’s infrastructure, meaning requests are sent to the US companies and their rankings are displayed. As Christian Kroll, CEO of Germany’s largest search engine, Ecosia, puts it, “if the US turned off access to search results tomorrow, we would have to go back to…

How can a single being bring presents to millions and millions of children around the world at Christmas? Well, there’s a lot of faith involved. And faith also has a lot to do with what the Christmas figure we know today looks like. Whether it’s Papai Noel in Brazil, Santa Claus in the US and Canada, Kaledų Senelis in Lithuania or Babbo Natale in Italy, the bearded gift-bringer is modeled on a third-century bishop, Saint Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of children. And not just him. A good 200 years later, another saint with the same name appeared: Nicholas of…