Author: DW

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has identified seven organic compounds in rock near the planet’s equator, five of which had not previously been found on Mars.  Researchers publishing in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday said the experiment also hinted at the presence of another organic compound bearing a structure similar to the precursors to DNA, the molecule that carries genetic information in living organisms on our planet.  However the scientists also noted that the organic compounds — molecules primarily composed of carbon atoms bonded to other elements that form the structural basis of all life on Earth — could have formed…

The outcome was decided in the penultimate round. A draw against his closest rival, Anish Giri of the Netherlands, was enough for Javokhir Sindarov to win the World Chess Candidates Tournament in Cyprus. “Every round was very, very tough, and the past week was the hardest of my life,” the new chess superstar said after his breakthrough victory. “I slept really badly and I’m glad it’s over.” Winning the Candidates Tournament means Sindarov, 20, will now face the reigning world champion Dommaraju Gukesh of India for the World Chess Championship title in late 2026. With Gukesh just 19, it will be a duel…

Spread out below Berlin’s landmark TV tower, with a glass front that gleamed orange in the sun, the hammer and sickle wreath hanging prominently in the middle: The Palace of the Republic (Palast der Republik) served as an architectural calling card of communist East Germany. From its opening 50 years ago through its controversial destruction in 2006-08, the iconic building embodied the ideals and promises — or for many, failed promises — of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Even today, in its structural absence, its legacy lives on, a memory that reveals the debates and complexities woven into German history. The Palace of the Republic was connected to many…

Russia plans to stop oil exports from Kazakhstan to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline from May 1, threatening a key refinery which supplies the vast majority of diesel, petrol and heating oil needed for the city of Berlin. The PCK refinery, located in the town of Schwedt about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Berlin, receives oil supplies via the pipeline. Previously run by Russian oil major Rosneft, the German government seized the refinery’s operations following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since 2022, the refinery has imported Kazakh crude oil in increasing volumes, which is transported from the Central…

On an otherwise ordinary Thursday, a 14-year-old entered a middle school in the southern city of Kahramanmaras, opening fire on two classrooms, killing eight students and a teacher. The shocking attack followed another school shooting two days earlier in Siverek in Turkey’s Sanliurfa province, in which the gunman wounded 16 people before killing himself in a showdown with police.  While it often seems that such attacks come out of the blue, they are rarely spontaneous. Instead, mass shootings generally follow a narrative that regularly includes escalating grievances and missed opportunities to intervene. What do we get wrong about mass shooters? A shocking act of violence like…

Bayern Munich secured yet another Bundesliga title after beating Stuttgart 4-2 at home on Sunday. Top scorer Harry Kane scored his 32nd goal of the season after coming on as a second-half substitute as the Bavarians won their 35th German league title — 34 of them coming in the Bundesliga era. “To finish the league off in ​the way we have with the goals we scored… credit to the lads… we still have a lot to ​play for… but all the hard work, this makes it all worth it,” said Kane. Bayern Munich cruise to title  The win moved the Bavarian giants…

South Korean police said on Tuesday they have sought an arrest warrant for Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of the agency behind K-pop sensation BTS, over an investor fraud scheme. Bang is suspected of violating capital market laws by misleading early investors of the HYBE agency in 2019, police said. He allegedly told them the company had no plans to go public, prompting them to sell shares to a private equity fund linked to his associates. Investigators say Bang later received about 30% of the fund’s post-IPO profits under a prior agreement, earning roughly 190 billion won ($129 million, €109.5 million). Bang…

Weeks after Apple’s 50th anniversary, the US technology titan announced on Monday that its CEO Tim Cook would step down in September, to be succeeded by hardware engineer John Ternus. Ternus will step into some of the biggest shoes in corporate America. Cook is credited with turning Apple from a $350 billion (€298 billion) company when he started to a valuation of over $4 trillion today. Ternus takes over a tech giant that must keep its premium edge — the iPhone recently retook the crown as the world’s most popular smartphone by sales — while pushing harder into artificial intelligence (AI). At the same time, Apple faces…

Bayern Munich sealing a 13th out of the last 14 men’s Bundesliga titles was one of the least surprising storylines to come out of German football this weekend. Another was the misogynistic reaction online to Marie-Louise Eta becoming the first woman to coach a match in the top five European men’s leagues. Eta’s Union Berlin side fell to an unfortunate 2-1 defeat to fellow strugglers Wolfsburg but the social media discourse was marred by the usual comments, with Union’s social media admins taking several users to task. The German football association (DFB), in the form of vice-president Celia Sasic, said this…

The Venice Art Biennale, which takes place every two years, has historically maintained that art transcends politics. But since the event is also referred to as the “Olympics of the art world” — with national pavilions acting as official, state-sponsored platforms showcasing contemporary art — global politics inevitably get entangled in the conversation. A posthumous exhibition by Koyo Kouoh This year’s event, held from May 9 to November 22, lists 100 national participations, with seven countries taking part for the first time: Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Nauru, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Vietnam. The national entries accompany the Biennale’s main international art exhibition, titled…