Author: DW

The government’s financial sanctions watchdog has admitted it has only imposed a single £15,000 fine for evasion of Russian sanctions since they were introduced two and a half years ago.Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee, the Treasury’s economic crime chief said that despite the imposition of the most far-reaching set of sanctions on any country, so far the organisation has levied only one fine. That fine, on a company called Integral Concierge Services (ICSL), was imposed in September after it was found that ICSL helped a designated person transfer and receive money. Image: The Kremlin and St Basil’s Cathedral in…

Christine Ivans says it was tough when she first swore off men. She was 30 and had decided to reassess her priorities: What if she invested all of her energy into herself instead of into trying to find the “right” man?  A few months passed. Then a few years. “I am happy. I got a promotion, a raise, and my mental health improved,” Christine says some eight years later. But it wasn’t until a few years ago, when she discovered the 4B movement on TikTok, that she realized she was not alone. “The four ‘no’s’,” she explains, are: no marriage, no children, no dates or sexual relationships with men…

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…

An Indian teenager made history in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he became the youngest ever player to be sold at the tournament’s annual auction where teams compete to sign players. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 13, was sold for 11 million rupees (roughly €125,000 or $130,000) to the Rajasthan Royals in the world’s most lucrative domestic cricket competition.  He will be coached by former Indian cricket Rahul Dravid and joins a squad that includes a number of first-team Indian national players, including batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal.  Who is Vaibhav Suryavanshi? The left-handed batter comes from the eastern state of Bihar, and came to the fore during 2024 after being selected…

In the first round of Romania’s presidential election, a far-right candidate who opposes NATO has taken an unexpected lead. Calin Georgescu, an independent, won 22.94% of votes in Sunday’s voting, knocking Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu out of the race.  Georgescu will face center-right contender Elena Lasconi, leader of the opposition Save Romania Union, in the presidential run-off on December 8. The outcome was a shock as pre-election opinion polls had Ciolacu as the frontrunner. He resigned as leader of his Social Democratic Party (PSD) on Monday but said he would stay prime minister until a parliamentary election in December.  Georgescu…

US President-elect Donald Trump plans to impose a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, citing concerns over illegal immigration and the trade of illicit drugs. “On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. He also criticized China for not doing enough to prevent illegal drugs from entering the US through Mexico. “Until such…

The European Union’s latest gas dispute with Russia blew up over the weekend after bubbling beneath the surface for months. On Saturday, Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom cut deliveries to Austria after the Alpine nation threatened to impound some of the gas as compensation for a contractual dispute it had won. The Austrian utility OMV said in a statement that no gas delivery was made from 6 a.m. local time (0500 UTC/GMT) on Saturday. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg accused Moscow of “once again using energy as a weapon.”  Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said…

More than a dozen people are missing after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, officials have said.The boat, Sea Story, was carrying 45 people, including 31 tourists of varying nationalities and 14 crew.Authorities are searching for 17 people who are still missing, the governor of the Red Sea region said on Monday, adding that 28 people had been rescued.A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office spokesperson said: “We are providing consular support to a number of British nationals and their families following an incident in Egypt and are in contact with the local authorities.”It…

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…