Author: DW

Three Red Cross workers have been killed after aid vehicles were “attacked” by Russia in eastern Ukraine, officials in the country have said.The staff members, who were all Ukrainian, died at the site of a planned frontline aid distribution centre in the Donetsk region today. Two other Red Cross workers were wounded.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the deaths a “war crime” and said Red Cross vehicles had been “attacked” by Russia in the region.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a humanitarian organisation, said no residents were affected by the shelling. The organisation added that the distribution of humanitarian…

In November 2023, an exhibition by Candice Breitz was canceled by the Saarland Museum’s Modern Gallery. The organizers wanted to avoid associating with the South African artist, claiming she had signed a letter by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement,  labeled by Germany’s government as “antisemitic”, and that she had not condemned the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas. Breitz has repeated many times since then that both allegations are false, most recently at a panel discussion on the impact of Germany’s particular stance on BDS, held September 8 at Berlin’s International Literature Festival (ilb). Although she supports the democratic right…

An American man who underwent a groundbreaking face and eye transplant after losing his nose, mouth, left eye and face in a 7,200-volt electrical accident has shown no sign of rejection, according to the team that performed the operation. Aaron James, then 46, also lost most of his left arm when his face touched a live wire while working as an electrical linesman in 2021. Clinicians at NYU Langone Health performed transplant surgery using the face and eye of a single donor in June 2023. Now, a study led by Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, director of NYU Langone’s Face Transplant Program, has described a “rejection-free” graft, with…

Ding Liren, Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, and Abdusattorov are the names of the players to watch at the Chess Olympiad, which runs through September 22 in Budapest. The favorites come from China, India and Uzbekistan — not from Russia, as in years past. Only the United States have a chance to keep up with the Asian stars at this edition of the World Team Championships. Former world champion Magnus Carlsen is also there, but his Norwegian team are more of a dark horse. Russian teams are not even taking part in Budapest — the former chess superpower is currently banned due to…

The nomination of former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the European Union’s top diplomat reverberated far and wide, and across the Mediterranean, Israel heaved a sigh of relief.  Israeli newspapers highlighted the country’s exasperation toward her predecessor, Josep Borrell, who was described as an “outspoken critic,” and hailed Kallas as an improvement from an Israeli perspective.  Daniel Schwammenthal, Director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute, the Brussels-based office of the American Jewish Committee, said that Israelis felt Borrell was unfair in his criticism of their country.  “Israelis see him as anti-Israel and thus unsuitable to play a mediating role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” He told DW that,…

Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, took over as interim leader of Bangladesh last month after violent political unrest led to an unceremonious end to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule. In an interview with DW, he addressed an array of issues, including the domestic political situation, Bangladesh’s relations with India and the influx of the Rohingya into the country. The 84-year-old leader, who holds the official position of chief adviser in the interim government, said former PM Hasina “destroyed almost all institutions” and “the economy was shattered.” “You do not know where to begin because everything has to…

If anyone was in doubt about the key issue in the US presidential election, the opening 15 minutes of last night’s debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris laid it bare. Amid discontent in the US over the state of the economy, both candidates dished out blame for inflation and outlined some of their core economic policies. Harris opened the debate by describing plans to “build up the middle class”, something she repeatedly returned to. She revisited pledges she has signaled in her campaign, such as aid and tax relief for home buyers, childcare and small businesses. Within seconds of speaking,…

An investigation has started into why a concrete bridge partially collapsed in eastern Germany.No one was injured when a section of the Carola Bridge fell into the Elbe River in Dresden, officials from the local fire department have said. However, there is concern more of the structure could collapse in the coming hours.The bridge forms part of a main route in the area, and its collapse has led to significant delays for travellers.The incident has also disrupted the city’s heating system. Police are treating the collapse as an accident, and there are no signs of foul play, according to German…

The Swedish tourism association, Visit Sweden, is confident that going on vacation in colder regions is a new trend that’s here to stay. “Gone are the days of tirelessly chasing the scorching sun and sweltering heat,” proclaims the association’s website. They claim a new vacation trend is developing, the so-called “coolcation” — a term that derives from the words “cool” and “vacation.” According to the Swedish tourism association, “this trend reflects travelers’ growing desire to visit destinations with moderate temperatures.” As climate change brings extreme heat to southern Europe, more and more people are opting for trips in destinations with…

“You may think it’s a long way down the road to the drug store,” wrote Douglas Adams in his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “but that’s just peanuts to space.” Space is big. We live on one tiny planet orbiting a star that’s tucked away in the far reaches of a galaxy — just one galaxy of around 2 trillion in the known universe. Space is really really big. Planet Earth is located in one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way (called the Orion Arm) which lies about two-thirds of the way out from the center of the galaxy. We know…