Author: DW

Sicily’s main international airport suffered disruption on Friday, with it even shutting down briefly, as Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, erupted. Mount Etna spewed fiery lava and large columns of ash and smoke up to five kilometers into the air overnight, Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) said. The flow of lava into the sea calmed down as of late Friday, INGV said. Mount Etna shoots bright lava into the air earlier this weekImage: Etna Walk/Giuseppe di Stefano/REUTERS Catania Airport said it was “unusable due to volcanic ash: both arrivals and departures are suspended,” earlier in the day. Later, the…

On Monday, Israel released several Palestinian detainees, including Mohammed Abu Selmia, a prominent pediatrician and the director of al-Shifa Hospital in the beleaguered Gaza Strip. Abu Selmia had been detained in late 2023 while traveling with a UN convoy carrying wounded civilians away from the besieged hospital compound. Israeli officials alleged that the hospital was being used as a command center by Hamas, a militant, Islamist, Palestinian group designated as a terrorist organization by Germany, Israel, the US and others. The release of Abu Selmia sparked mixed reactions in  Israel and the Palestinian territories. Some Israeli officials, such as the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, criticized the decision…

War in Ukraine will not “miraculously end”, Hungary’s prime minister has said as he defended his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.Viktor Orban angered European Union leaders after holding talks with Mr Putin in Moscow over a potential peace deal in the war launched more than two years ago by Russia. While Mr Orban described the trip as a “peace mission” – days before a NATO summit addressing military aid for Ukraine – he acknowledged he did not consult the EU beforehand. Image: Mr Orban’s talks with Mr Putin angered EU leaders. Pic: Reuters Peace cannot be made “from a…

You inhale fungal spores every time you walk outside, but of all the millions of species of fungal pathogens on Earth only 20 or so cause infections in humans. That’s because our immune systems are very adept at protecting us from fungal infections. What’s more, our bodies are too warm for most fungal species to survive. But a new study has found that some fungal pathogens are evolving to become capable of infecting humans — and it may be linked to climate change. “The danger and importance of new fungal pathogens is believed to be seriously underestimated,” wrote the study authors in…

Granit Xhaka as a potential Ballon d’Or candidate. Until recently, that sentence would only ever have been said in jest, for a player so often the source of fans’ frustration at club level, never more so than when he played for Premier League side Arsenal. It’s doubtful that even Xhaka himself has ever seriously believed he may one day win football’s top individual award. But, following Switzerland’s Round of 16 victory over Italy at Euro 2024, with the midfielder in imperious form, there have been, possibly light-hearted, calls for the team’s captain to succeed Lionel Messi as the de-facto world player of the…

“Ni hao, huan ying!” was how Kazakh President Kassym-Shomart Tokayev greeted his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as he arrived at the airport in the capital Astana to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The 71-year-old Tokayev is only one month older than Xi and speaks fluent Chinese. From 1985 to 1991, he served as a Soviet diplomat in the Chinese capital Beijing. It is not only linguistically that the two get on brilliantly. The Kazakh and Chinese heads of state also share common interests. The SCO was founded in 2001 by Russia, China and authoritarian-ruled Central Asian states,…

An abundance of natural resources, a young population eager to work, and cross-border economic reforms have positioned Africa as a global player in trade and commerce in the 21st century. Over the past decade, Western countries have even had their influence on the continent  challenged by China and Russia. Nevertheless, dollars and euros continue to flow into sectors like agriculture, energy and rare earth minerals, which are witnessing major growth. “The interest in Africa has peaked over the past ten years. And what is particularly interesting about this new peak is that you see new players coming in,” political economist Menzi Ndlovu told DW, highlighting that…

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday to discuss the war in Ukraine. Putin said he wanted to take the opportunity to “discuss the nuances that have developed” over the conflict with Orban. Orban said at a press conference with Putin in Moscow that Hungary viewed its six-month stint holding the rotating European Council presidency as a peace mission.  “Many steps are needed to end the war, but we took the first step to restore dialogue,” Orban said, adding that “points of view remained far from each other in Kyiv and Moscow.”  The…

Andrew Tate will be allowed to leave Romania while awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, a court has ruled.The controversial influencer and his brother Tristan can travel within the EU without restrictions while awaiting the trial, the Bucharest Tribunal ruled. Until Friday, the Tates had been banned from leaving Romania where he is awaiting trial. The decision is not final and can be appealed by prosecutors.Read more: Who is Andrew Tate?Tate, 37, was charged in mid-2023 along with his brother for human trafficking, rape, and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. Two female suspects from Romania have…

Turkey’s national football team was triumphant on Tuesday, defeating Austria in a Euro 2024 round of 16 match in Leipzig, Germany and qualifying for the quarterfinals. But defender Merih Demiral, who scored both of Turkey’s goals in the 2-1 win, drew attention for non-sporting reasons when he celebrated his winning strike with a hand gesture associated with far-right, ultranationalist symbolism. UEFA, European football’s governing body on Friday, suspended Demiral from Turkey’s next two games — including the quarterfinal match against the Netherlands on Saturday. This is because the so-called wolf salute — pinching thumb, middle and ring finger together to imitate the shape of…