Author: DW

Storytelling is about changing minds. Film is no different — since the first moving pictures in the 1890s, filmmakers have used the tricks of cinema to shift people’s perceptions and moral compasses. Now, scientists in the US have measured how watching a film changes people’s ability to understand emotions, as well as their moral positions on the criminal justice system. The new study, published October 21 in the journal PNAS, found that watching a docudrama about efforts to free a wrongly convicted man on death row increases empathy towards incarcerated people. Watching the film also increased support for reforms to the…

A lot of time, effort and money goes into presidential and national elections in the United States, and this year is no exception. But combing through the data since 2009 shows that no matter who was in power, the economy seemed to be equally driven by global events, demographic developments and decisions made in the White House.  The period from 2009 to 2024 covers both of Barack Obama’s two terms in office, plus the single terms of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, whose presidency is now coming to an end. Looking back at Obama, Trump and Biden There were two major disrupters for…

A German pizzeria has been busted after allegedly delivering one of its dishes with a customary side order of cocaine.Police said the restaurant in Dusseldorf, western Germany, would provide the drug when customers asked for item number 40 on the menu. It is not known how much the pizzeria charged for the special order. “That was one of the best-selling pizzas,” criminal director Michael Graf von Moltke said.The police were first tipped off by food inspectors in March, he added.When drug squad officers began observing the restaurant, they buzzed the restaurant manager’s apartment. He then proceeded to throw a bag…

Just as she had done in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, Leonie Fiebich made a decisive three-pointer when her team needed her. With the scores level with just 5.2 seconds left in regulation, the decisive Game 5 between New York and Minnesota went to overtime. Fiebich hit a three-pointer seconds into the extra frame to give the Liberty the lead, before German teammate Nyara Sabally extend the Liberty’s advantage. It would be one they never relinquished as the Liberty won their first-ever WNBA championship, ending a run of five previous final appearances without a…

Skip next section India’s Modi says he’s en route to Kazan, seeking to build on Russia ties10/22/2024October 22, 2024India’s Modi says he’s en route to Kazan, seeking to build on Russia tiesIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said early on Tuesday that he had departed for the BRICS summit in Russia’s southwestern city of Kazan.  “India attaches immense importance to BRICS, and I look forward to extensive discussions on a wide range of subjects. I also look forward to meeting various leaders there,” he said.  In a slightly longer press release, Modi also made reference to his visit to Moscow in July…

At least six people have died after Hurricane Oscar hit Cuba over the weekend during a massive power outage, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Monday. The Hurricane made landfall on Sunday and crossed the island nation’s eastern coast as a tropical storm on Monday, bringing with it winds and a heavy rainfall. The eastern province of Guantanamo has suffered severe damage due to the storm, the president said in a televised comment. On Friday, Cuba’s largest power plant collapsed, crippling the entire grid and leaving the Communist-run country’s 10 million people in darkness.  The blackout triggered small protests and a stringent…

Italian best-selling author, journalist and outspoken government critic Roberto Saviano is attending this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair —  but only because he received a special invitation from the German organizers following a controversy in his home country. Saviano has built his reputation on exposing and criticizing the Mafia in books such as  “Gomorrah” (2006), as well as his latest novel, “Falcone” — centered on the life and death of Italy’s most famous anti-Mafia crusader, judge Giovanni Falcone. In recent years, however, Saviano has also drawn media attention for his harsh criticism of Italy’s far-right government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The author was forced to pay…

A lot of time, effort and money goes into presidential and national elections in the United States, and this year is no exception. But combing through the data since 2009 shows that no matter who was in power, the economy seemed to be equally driven by global events, demographic developments and decisions made in the White House.  The period from 2009 to 2024 covers both of Barack Obama’s two terms in office plus the single presidential terms of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, which is slowly coming to an end. Looking back at Obama, Trump and Biden There were two major disruptors for…

A Japanese police chief has apologised in person to a man who spent 58 years in jail for a crime he didn’t commit.Iwao Hakamada, 88, was kept on death row for more than 50 of those years before being acquitted in a retrial last month. Shizuoka District Court said police and prosecutors had collaborated to fabricate and plant evidence against the former boxer, and used violence to force him to confess. Image: Iwao Hakamada, (C) and his sister Hideko, (R). Pic: AP Shizuoka Prefectural Police Chief Takayoshi Tsuda visited Mr Hakamada at his home to apologise in person on Monday.Standing…

With a minute and a half to go in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, Leonie Fiebich took a quick glance at the basket before sinking a three-pointer. New York’s lead was restored to nine points — and the Liberty cruised to an 80-66 win. This came as her team looked to be on the verge of blowing it in front of a record crowd of 18,040 spectators in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center — just like in Game 1, when New York let an 18-point lead slip through their hands on the way…