Author: DW

In 1984, Ethiopia was hit by a devastating drought that destroyed most of the African country’s harvest. Almost 8 million people were affected by famine. The number of dead could not be counted, but estimates vary between 500,000 and a million. Images of starving people, especially children, were beamed around the world and triggered an unprecedented willingness to donate. Among those touched by the reports was British musician Bob Geldof, who immediately decided to take action. Together with his fellow musician Midge Ure, singer of Ultravox, he assembled an all-star supergroup to record a benefit song for the victims of the famine. Recorded on…

The 100 most-polluted cities in the world are all in Asia. Severe air contamination persists across South Asia. In November 2024, residents of major Indian cities, including the capital, New Delhi, and parts of Pakistan were advised to remain indoors and schools and outdoor construction work were suspended as a result of smog events.  Such air pollution is common in the world’s most-populated and built-up cities. And exposure to polluted air can happen anywhere: Whether a person is walking through a city full of factories, stuck in rush-hour traffic or in a rural area that relies on wood fires for heating.  Taking precautions to avoid poor-quality air…

Max Verstappen could only manage a fifth-place finish in the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday. But with his only remaining rival, Lando Norris, finishing behind him in sixth and George Russell first, it was enough for Verstappen to win a fourth straight title.  The 27-year-old therefore follows Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Juan Manuel Fangio, Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost to claim four championships. “To stand here as a four-time world champion is something I never thought was possible,” Verstappen said after the race. “At the moment I’m feeling relieved but also very proud. If you look to next year right now…

Romania’s incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) was tied with far-right NATO critic Calin Georgescu, with 90% of votes counted, as the two battled for first place in the country’s presidential elections on Sunday. Georgescu came in with a razor thin margin of 22% of the vote, while Ciolacu had 21.7%. As neither candidate can achieve an absolute majority, they will have to face off in a runoff vote on December 8.  Ballots from Romania’s sizable diaspora, which have yet to be included in the main tally, meanwhile showed center-right Elena Lasconi leading with  33.4%, with Georgescu second. Shock…

Volkswagen Passenger Cars CEO Thomas Schäfer told the German Welt am Sonntag newspaper that the car giant will push forward with its factory closure plans despite criticism from unions.  Schäfer says Volkswagen must ‘adjust to new realities’   “We need to reduce our capacities and adjust to new realities,” Schäfer said.   In October, the company’s works council said the auto firm would close three factories, resulting in thousands of job cuts. When asked by Welt am Sonntag whether the company could forgo one of the closures, Schäfer replied: “We do not currently see this.”  Schäfer has been the CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars since…

Russia launched a large drone attack on Kyiv overnight, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning the attack shows his capital needs better air defences.Ukraine’s air defence units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attacks. Russia has used more than 800 guided aerial bombs and around 460 attack drones in the past week.Warning that Ukraine needs to improve its air defences, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week”.”Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a…

Trees and forests are often described as the lungs of the Earth because of their important role in removing pollutants such as carbon dioxide from the environment. New research from the University of Bonn in Germany and Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil has analyzed regional health outcomes after conservation measures in the Amazon. The research found that these measures have led to a reduction in the hospitalization and death rate for respiratory health problems in the regional population. The positive impact on people’s health was credited to a reduction in forest fires. The conservation measures reduced fine particulate concentrations in the air—a main…

Security agencies in the Philippines raised safety measures on Saturday after Vice President Sara Duterte threatened to have the country’s President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assassinated. Duterte spoke during a morning press briefing and said that she had spoken to an assassin, instructing him to kill Marcos, his wife, and the speaker of the Philippine House, if she herself were to be killed. ‘Do not stop until you kill them’ — Vice President Duterte’s threat “This country is going to hell because we are led by a person who doesn’t know how to be a president and who is a liar,”…

Another day, another hat trick. As Harry Kane completed a seventh Bundesliga treble since joining Bayern Munich at the start of last season, he broke another record in Germany’s top flight. The English striker has taken just 43 matches to score 50 goals, seven games quicker than Erling Haaland, who left Borussia Dortmund for Manchester City in 2022. “Harry Kane needs his own ball bag by now,” said Bayern sporting director Max Eberl after the 3-0 win over Augsburg in late November, referring to the tradition of hat-trick scorers keeping the match ball. “He always scores so many goals, he always gets…

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed a law that allows debt forgiveness for new recruits signing up to fight in Ukraine, government announced. The new legislation allows those signing up for a one-year contract to have their bad debts of up to 10 million roubles (€92,000, $95,835), written off. Law won’t apply to those already enlisted The law — approved by parliament earlier this month — will be applicable to potential recruits who have had debt collection proceedings initiated against them before December 1. Those who have already been enlisted would not be eligible for the new measure to attract…