Author: DW

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…

In table tennis, China has been the undisputed number one for decades, success that has been supplemented to a certain extent by regional neighbors. Now though, the rest of the world, led by Europe, wants to catch up to truly take the sport to the next level and increase its popularity on all continents. “Historically, table tennis has been seen as an Asian-dominated sport, largely due to China’s enduring excellence and its deep cultural connection to the game,” World Table Tennis (WTT) CEO Steve Dainton told DW. Challenging China and changing this perception will not be easy. The country’s love affair…

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov makes his first visit to the EU since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. His appearance at a meeting of the OSCE in Malta is a story of controversy.

South Korea’s ruling party leader called on President Yoon Suk Yeol to resign Friday over his attempt to impose martial law, warning that he poses a grave danger to the country. Han Dong-hun, leader of the People’s Power Party (PPP), said he had received information that Yoon had ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians on charges of “anti-state activities” under martial law. Han’s comments almost guarantee that enough lawmakers will vote to impeach the president on Saturday. Yoon’s impeachment would require the support of two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of its…

A nun has been arrested in Italy on suspicion of colluding with the mafia.Sister Anna Donelli, a volunteer in Milan’s San Vittore prison, is suspected of acting as a go-between with the criminal group and its jailed gang members. The 57-year-old was among 25 people detained as part of an investigation into the Ndrangheta mafia in the northern city of Brescia, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters news agency.Donelli is also well-known for her service in Milan’s rundown districts, and received the city’s annual “Golden Panettone” civic award earlier this year. Image: Donelli is known for…

When Prime Minister Michel Barnier unveiled his deficit-reduction plan in October, promising to bring down the public deficit from around 6% of GDP to 3% in 2029, it was seen as an attempt to steer the French economy into calmer waters.  But on Wednesday, France’s parliament rejected his proposal by voting to oust Barnier’s government, upending his hopes of avoiding an economic storm. For the first time in over 60 years, the National Assembly approved a no-confidence motion, proposed by the hard left and crucially backed by the far right headed by Marine Le Pen.Lawmakers were reacting to Barnier’s decision to link a vote on a part of the…

More than just a beautiful house of worship, Notre Dame is a French national treasure. So it was fitting that President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation the day after the fire that significantly damaged the cathedral on April 15, 2019. He promised that in just five years, the Gothic cathedral would be renovated and rebuilt “more beautiful than before.” Plenty of money poured into what was declared a national project and many bureaucratic hurdles were cleared. As a result, work took place right on schedule — at least officially. Notre Dame is set to reopen with a festive ceremony on December 8. President Macron is…

All forms of violence against women are on the rise in Germany, with a woman killed by a partner or former partner nearly every two days in the country. UN Women Germany is one of the 13 UN Women national committees worldwide, each an independent, non-profit non-governmental organization committed to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Their current campaign ‘Orange The World’ runs from the start of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25 to December 10, International Human Rights Day. It is designed to raise awareness around violence against women in…

News that the civil war in Syria had flared up again came as no surprise to Turkish citizens. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his right-wing nationalist coalition partner Devlet Bahceli have talked about little else than the shift in power in the Middle East and what the possible negative consequences of that could be for Turkey for more than two months now. The suggestion has been that regional changes could be advantageous to Kurds in Syria who have controlled northeastern Rojava — also known as the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) — since the civil war began…

For the past week, tens of thousands of Georgians have been protesting against the country’s newly elected Moscow-friendly government and there’s end in sight. DW takes a closer look at the situation.