Author: DW

The journey is long and difficult and, according to those who have made it, increasingly expensive. It took Syrian man Khaled Massoud and his family seven days and $1,300 to find some measure of safety in northern Syria as they fled the Israeli bombing campaign in Lebanon. His family of six, plus his daughter’s family, are now in a refugee camp near Maarat Misrin, north of Idlib, in an area controlled by anti-government opposition forces. Massoud is one of many. This week, the head of the United Nations refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, said at least 220,000 people had crossed from…

The annual Oktoberfest in Munich drew to a close on Sunday with slightly more clement weather, after a rainy Saturday in the Bavarian capital.  Organizers said roughly 6.7 million people had attended in all, consuming a total of roughly 7 million of the trademark 1-liter mugs of beer known as a Maß.  The figure was a slight reduction from 2023’s attendance of 7.2 million.  The beer flowed liberally as usual, albeit to a slightly lesser extent than last yearImage: DW “This year’s Oktoberfest was particularly relaxed,” Clemens Baumgärtner, Munich city official responsible for the Oktoberfest, said in summation. “Despite the high numbers…

American scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology for their shared discovery of microRNA and the role it plays in post-transcriptional gene regulation. At the announcement by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden on Monday morning, Nobel Committee vice-chair Professor Olle Kämpe described the discovery of microRNA as “a tiny molecule that has opened a new field in gene regulation.” Though the pair worked in separate labs, their joint research focus led to them combining their resources to expand knowledge of microRNA and its role. “The seminal discovery…

The German economy has been stuck in a crisis for the past two years amid stagnant growth and growing structural challenges.   High energy prices, bureaucratic red tape, lagging investment in physical and digital infrastructure, as well as weakening demand in key foreign markets have hit German firms hard.  The economic slowdown in China, in particular, has had a major impact.   The Asian giant has long been a key market for German industrial companies, especially in the automotive, machinery and chemical sectors. And Chinese orders helped create well-paid jobs in Germany. But multiple economic challenges, including a property market crisis, trade tensions…

The man accused of a string of sex crimes has been put on trial simply because he is also a suspect for the unrelated disappearance of Madeleine McCann, his lawyer has told a judge.Christian B, as he is known under German privacy laws, is the victim of prejudiced prosecutors and an amateurish police investigation, the court heard.Defence lawyer Friedrich Fulscher said: “This story will teach us what terrible consequences it can have when the investigating officers of the public prosecutor’s office lose the necessary emotional distance from a case and this attitude is combined disastrously with amateur investigations by a…

The past few months, he has jetted about the world a great deal. In September, he was in the US. In August he DJed in Brazil, and shortly afterward, he flew to Berlin. He has also just issued a new track: “Cyber Fever” celebrates a “magical world,” as a computer voice announces. More colorful, more beautiful, more cheerful than reality. When Artifex — Yarin Illovich’s stage name — performs as DJ, he dances on the stage, animates the crowd, jumps high to his beats. If you didn’t know what he experienced a year ago, these party scenes wouldn’t give you any indication. But…

Picture the scene: An asteroid is hurtling towards Earth. It’s the size of the Eiffel Tower, shaped like a peanut and potentially hazardous — sounds scary, right? And it’s not even made up. But the asteroid in question — named 2024 ON — has already zipped past Earth. No, it didn’t miss us — it was never going to hit. Since its discovery in July 2024, media and other content creators made headlines of the asteroid’s particulars: It was 370 meters (1,240 feet) in diameter, traveling at around 40,000 kilometers per hour (24,000 miles per hour), considered “potentially hazardous” by space authorities and heading…

The European Union’s top court ruled on Friday that some of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) rules are in direct conflict with the union’s legislation. The ruling was handed down after former French international Lassana Diarra legally challenged FIFA’s rules regarding a 2014 dispute with a Russian club. Citing legislation relating to freedom of movement, the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said in a statement: “The rules in question are such as to impede the free movement of professional footballers wishing to develop their activity by going to work for a new club.” What led…

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said Saturday they had begun a vaccination campaign against mpox — a virus that causes painful rashes and flu-like symptoms and in some cases can be deadly. The central African nation is the epicenter of a mpox outbreak that has spread to 16 neighboring countries. Since the start of the year, Africa has recorded 988 deaths — 70% of which have been children under five — out of more than 34,000 cases, according to the World Health Organization.EU sends first load of mpox vaccines to CongoTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web…

Police in Berlin said 500 officers were in action on Saturday amid a series of rival protests in the German capital, some showing support for Israel and others for Palestinians or Lebanese people. Several participants at a demonstration in front of Humboldt University in the city center carried Israeli flags and signs and placards showing their support for Israel.Berlin police were on hand at demonstrations around the cityImage: Christian Mang/REUTERS Nearby, a series of empty chairs bearing the photographs of people taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 and still in captivity was on display, with the caption “kidnapped” written…