Author: DW

Faulty engineering caused the implosion of a private submersible during a 2023 expedition to the Titanic wreckage, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Wednesday. The NTSB’s final report comes after a US Coast Guard investigation in August outlined a litany of issues with operator OceanGate’s conduct, as well as design flaws in its Titan submersible, that led to a “preventable tragedy” in which all five passengers were killed. What did the report say? The report concluded that the faulty engineering of the Titan submersible “resulted in the construction of a carbon fiber composite pressure vessel that contained multiple anomalies…

When Jews talk about a person who has died, they commonly use the phrase: “May his [her/their] memory be a blessing.”   Compared to Christianity or Islam, Judaism places little focus on an afterlife. Therefore, mourning rituals focus more on eternal memory among the living. Quick, simple burial   Burying the deceased with dignity is a mitzvah, or commandment, in Judaism. In traditional communities, all remains of a person must be buried for full religious rites to take place, and if a body cannot be recovered or buried, that can be a source of distress for the family. The Taharah is the Jewish practice…

Fertile soils, vast arable land and a history of feeding empires and global markets helped Ukraine become known as the “world’s breadbasket.” With 41.3 million hectares (102 million acres) of farmland, two-thirds of which is covered by so-called black soil — the world’s richest soil — the country yields high crop productivity with minimal inputs from fertilizers, irrigation, labor and heavy machinery. Ukraine’s grain surplus fed the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union, while after independence in 1991, the country became a major food supplier to the world, particularly the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.The UN and Turkey helped Ukraine unblock grain exports to Africa…

In a quest to stamp out tobacco use, Southeast Asia is leading the world — it has massively reduced its tobacco consumption since 2010. It previously had the highest tobacco use per capita, but has dropped to second place on a World Health Organization (WHO) league table. Europe now holds the top spot. Why is this important? Southeast Asia accounts for about a quarter of the world’s population. At the turn of the century, more than 50% of the population (1 in 2 people) in the region, aged 15 years or older, used tobacco. By 2030, it’s expected that fewer than 1…

Israeli gymnasts will not be able to compete at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta later this month after the world’s highest sports court rejected two requests from the Israeli federation (IGF) for “provisional measures.” In the second and most important appeal launched by the IGF and six gymnasts who had been due to take part in the event, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected a request for it to “take the necessary measures that guarantee Israeli participation in the championships, or in the alternative, to move or to cancel the championships.” CAS added that the FIG argued it could not force the…

The 46-year-old Ukrainian Volodymyr Z. has been in custody in Warsaw since late September 2025. He has been the subject of an international arrest warrant and was detained in Poland on September 30, 2025. Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Karlsruhe suspects him of involvement in the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline in September 2022. However, last week, Warsaw’s district court extended Z.’s pretrial detention by 40 days, until November 9. For the liberal-conservative Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Germany’s extradition request causes a dilemma. Berlin remains a strategic partner for the Polish center-left government despite tensions. Moreover, Tusk is keen to present…

Several US and international news organizations on Tuesday refused to sign the new rules proposed by the Pentagon for media access. At least 30 news outlets, including the New York Times, the Associated Press, Reuters, AFP and Fox News, rejected the Pentagon’s new media policy, saying that it violates the constitutionally protected right to free speech.  The Pentagon had warned that it would revoke press badges for news organizations that did not agree with the media access rules.  Why are news outlets objecting to the new policy? Under the new policy, journalists have to acknowledge that they could be deemed security…

The German Book Prize, which recognizes the best German-language novel of the year, has been awarded to Swiss author Dorothee Elmiger for her novel “Die Holländerinnen” (The Dutch Women). “This novel is an event,” praised the jury; “a fascinating journey into the heart of darkness.” “Die Holländerinnen” follows a theater group’s journey into the South American rainforest to trace the fate of two Dutch backpackers who went missing years earlier. The novel is also nominated for the Swiss Book Prize and the Bavarian Book Prize, which will be awarded later this yearImage: Hanser VerlagThe novel is written from the perspective of…

The EU Commission announced Tuesday it would double its duties to 50% for steel imports above a a tariff-free quota — with the quota itself planned to be cut by 47% to 18.3 million tons a year. The proposal is subject to approval by the EU’s 27 member states and the European Parliament The decision comes under efforts to address global overproduction and a slump in European output that has left a third of the bloc’s steel production capacity idle.Harsh reactions on doubled steel tariffsTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video But questions…

Elon Musk’s mammoth SpaceX Starship on Monday completed its 11th test flight from a Texas launch site. This was the last test flight before SpaceX starts test-launching a new version of the giant rocket equipped with more features for Moon and Mars missions. The Starship was launched Monday from SpaceX’s south Texas launch facilities just after 6:25 pm local time (2325 UTC). The rocket included the Starship upper stage stacked atop its Super Heavy booster. After sending the Starship stage to the edge of space, Super Heavy returned for a controlled entry in the Gulf of Mexico 7 minutes after takeoff. After…