Author: DW

The area around the Eiffel Tower has been evacuated after a man climbed the Paris landmark hours before the Olympics closing ceremony.The shirtless man was spotted near the Olympic rings adorning the second section of the monument, just above the first viewing deck. It is unclear where he began the ascent of the 330m (1,083ft) tall tower.French police said they “immediately intervened and arrested” the man. Image: A man climbs the Eiffel Tower during the 2024 Summer Olympics. Pic: AP/Nicky Worlock Some visitors who were briefly locked on the second floor were allowed to exit around 30 minutes later. Videos…

August 2024: Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna canceled Organizers have canceled three concerts by US pop star Taylor Swift slated for August 8, 9 and 10 at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium, due to a planned Islamist terror attack. Police had expected around 65,000 people to attend each of Swift’s concerts and many fans had already arrived in the Austrian city. Shortly after his arrest, a 19-year-old main suspect confessed that he had wanted to kill “a large number of people” at the concert by committing a suicide attack, Austrian security authorities said. Chemical substances and technical devices were seized from the…

Germany won Olympic gold in the women’s shot put for the first time in 28 years, courtesy of Yemisi Ogunleye. The 25-year-old from the southwestern German city of Mannheim produced a precisely 20-meter (65.6-foot) throw on her third and final attempt, beating Maddison-Lee Wesche of New Zealand, who threw a personal best 19.86 meters. Bronze went to Jiayuan Song of China (19.32 meters), while Ogunleye’s teammate Alina Kenzel from Stuttgart came ninth (18.29 meters). Earlier in qualification, Ogunleye had only just sneaked into the final with her third attempt. But after becoming the first German woman to win shot put gold since…

Skip next section German finance minister defends planned US missile deployment08/11/2024August 11, 2024German finance minister defends planned US missile deploymentUS Tomahawk missiles could reach targets within RussiaImage: Department of Defense/ZUMAPRESS.com/picture allianceGerman Finance Minister Christian Lindner has voiced his support for stationing long-range US missiles in Germany, saying that the deployment will be an important deterrent in the face of Russian aggression. “Germany has been within range of Russia’s nuclear-capable missiles for years. It is therefore of paramount importance to us that we establish a balance of deterrence,” Lindner told the Funke media group in comments published on Sunday. Berlin and Washington announced…

Tens of thousands demonstrated at key sites in central Belgrade on Saturday evening, calling for an end to a planned lithium mining project in western Serbia, saying it could pollute nearby agricultural land and water.  The vast project involving British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has EU support and aims to drastically reduce Europe’s shortfalls in local sources for the mineral. Lithium is crucial for making things like electric car and smartphone batteries. Protesters waved Serbian flags and chanted slogans like, “You will not dig” and “Rio Tinto leave Serbia!”   Government accuses protesters of ulterior motive The government of President…

Russia says it has used a thermobaric bomb against Ukrainian forces as it announced a “counter-terrorism” operation to retaliate against Ukraine’s shock incursion into Kursk.The Russian defence ministry said fighting was continuing in the western Kursk region following Ukraine’s unprecedented attack on its territory earlier this week. The Russian army has conducted airstrikes against Ukrainian forces, including using a thermobaric bomb, also known as a vacuum bomb.The pressure from the bomb’s extra hot blast is capable of vaporising human bodies. Read more:All calm on Russia’s front pages – despite Ukraine’s attackWhy Ukraine may have carried out high-risk Russia incursionIt is…

“One must suffer to be beautiful,” according to the old saying. For some, pubic grooming is part of those necessary, painful rituals. It was already fashionable in ancient times, whether in Egypt or ancient Rome. Women used polished shells or stones, bat blood, calf urine or donkey fat to get rid of unruly pubic hair. Others preferred bronze knives, pumice or beeswax. Another technique was to twirl pubic hair off with thin threads. Some even applied orpiment, a highly toxic mineral containing arsenic, to dissolve the unwanted hair. It took some time before the modern razor or epilator were invented. Yet, there must be a…

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif claimed a unanimous points decision against China’s Yang Liu in the women’s welterweight gold medal fight on Friday evening.  The 25-year-old won welterweight (maximum 66 kilos or 145 pounds) gold after facing intense scrutiny throughout the competition. She completed a dominant run through her weight class at the Olympics, not being judged to lose a single round en route to the final.  The 25-year-old claims gold in her second Olympic attempt, having competed in Tokyo tooImage: MOHD RASFAN/AFP/Getty Images “I’m very happy. For eight years this has been my dream, and I’m now the Olympic champion and gold medallist,” Khelif said…

What is known about Ukraine’s advance into Russia’s Kursk region? As of August 9, Ukrainian troops had advanced as far as 35 kilometers (21 miles) into Russian territory in the Kursk region, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War. However, they reportedly do not have full control of the area. Other military experts believe this assessment to be realistic. There have been reports of fierce fighting, deaths and casualties in the area. However, no independent reports from the region itself are available. Information on the fighting stems largely from social networks, Russian military bloggers and authorities. Russia battles Ukrainian troops after…

Medical company Lykos Therapeutics on Friday said the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had rejected its bid for approval to use the psychedelic substance MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Lykos said it had received a formal “complete response letter” to its application refusing it, at least for the time being.  “The FDA communicated that it had completed its review of the [new drug application] and determined that it could not be approved based on data submitted to date,” Lykos said in a statement.   “The FDA has requested that Lykos conduct an additional Phase 3 trial to further…