Author: DW

At first it felt barbaric to be writing a book after October 7, 2023, the Israeli author Ayelet Gundar-Goshen said, “especially while we have the hostages kept there, away from their families in Israel, and destruction going on in Gaza — and you will allow yourself the privilege of escaping into a different world, into a world made of your own words? It felt wrong.” Then came the turning point that dispelled her hesitations: when Israeli government officials called for a boycott of books and films that portray Palestinians in a human way. “For me, this was a moment where I thought, ‘Wait a minute. The…

Evelyn Palla is to become the first female CEO of Germany’s Deutsche Bahn national rail operator, German media reported on Saturday. The Bild tabloid reported that Transport Minister Patrick Schneider would announce the appointment on Monday. According to the paper, Schneider will also present his overall plans for the company. There was no immediate comment from the ministry or from Deutsche Bahn. Who is Evelyn Palla? The 52-year-old hails from the South Tyrol region of northern Italy. She joined the company in 2019 and had previously worked for chipmaker Infineon, energy firm E.ON and the Austrian railway operator ÖBB. Palla is…

In cricket, Pakistan and India share a deep love and a deeper rivalry, but this week, the attention of both nations turns to a much simpler and shorter sporting event. At the World Athletics Championships in Japan, men’s javelin throwers Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem are expected to compete against each other for the first time since the 2024 Olympics in Paris. On that occasion, Nadeem of Pakistan took gold, ahead of Chopra, his Indian rival, who settled for silver after having won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In 2025, Julian Weber of Germany has had the longest throw, at 91.51…

On Monday, the UN General Assembly in New York will hold a special summit on the war in the Gaza Strip. It is a continuation of a diplomatic project led by France and Saudi Arabia to push for the revival the two-state solution — in which Israelis and Palestinians would exist side by side — as the only answer to the decadeslong conflict. At Monday’s meeting, several countries have said they will join the more than 145 UN members that already recognize a Palestinian state. These include France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia, Luxembourg and Malta. Most of the recent European declarations on recognizing Palestinian statehood have come as…

Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter gave the Oktoberfest in the Bavarian capital its traditional launch on Saturday, opening a barrel of beer and marking it with the time-honored phrase “O’zapft is!” (Bavarian for “It is tapped”). Reiter then handed the first mug to Bavarian Premier Markus Söder with a wish for a peaceful festival, with the day’s sunny, late summer weather auguring well for its success. Ahead of the tapping, Söder described the Oktoberfest as chance to get some relief in a period of multiple crises and a place where “pure high spirits” prevail. Germany’s biggest tourist event The event held on the Theresienwiese fairground…

Brrrrr! Autumn’s chill is creeping in across much of Europe, hinting at the deep freeze to come this winter. Fortunately, Gas Infrastructure Europe, the gas operators’ association, reports that European Union gas reserves are at just over 80% [September 15, 2025] — lower than the 90% cushions of the last few years but stronger than 2021. So will this winter glow with warmth or flicker with uncertainty? Having diversified energy supplies from Russia following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, EU countries pivoted to liquified natural gas (LNG) from Norway, the United States and Qatar, while continuing to boost the rollout of renewable energies, including…

Russia is holding the final of its Intervision song contest on Saturday evening, a competition from Soviet times that has been relaunched by President Vladimir Putin as a conservative answer to the West’s glitzy, liberal and queer-friendly Eurovision Song Contest .  Russian artists have been banned from participating in Eurovision since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.The Kremlin-friendly singer Shaman will be representing RussiaImage: Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS/ZUMA/picture alliance What is Intervision about? Moscow says that the competition aims to foster “national identity” and “traditional values.” There will be no “perversions and mockery of human nature,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a remark…

“I’m in tears with joy. We’ve built a team that can compete with APOEL. This is just the beginning,” says Yevgeny Savin. On an August evening, the president of the Krasava ENY Ypsonas football club sits in one of the upper tiers of the Ammochostos Stadium in Larnaca, looking out at the empty pitch. The football club, which he had originally founded in Russia four years ago and re-registered in Cyprus after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has just made its debut in the country’s topflight. Although Krasava lost the match 2-1, the fact that it came…

Britain pulled out all the stops for US President Donald Trump. A second state visit, something no other US president has ever received, came with an “extra-large” guard of honor, a royal banquet in Windsor Castle, and plenty of flattering words from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Outside the pageantry, thousands of protesters filled London’s streets. Waving Palestinian flags, denouncing Trump’s climate policies, and demanding solidarity with migrants, they voiced a starkly different message: Britain should keep its distance from the US president. But the government’s goal was clear: avoid disaster, extract some pledges from Trump and show that the “special relationship”…

The 190th outing of the Oktoberfest is being held on Munich’s Theresienwiese from September 20 to October 5, 2025. Set-up has been underway since the end of June, and now — just days before the world’s largest folk festival kicks off — preparations are complete. To get the festival started, the Mayor of Munich traditionally taps the first barrel with a cry of “O’zapft is!.” Over the next two-and-a-half weeks, it’s estimated that six to seven million visitors will attend the Oktoberfest. The majority of them come Germany, especially Bavaria. International guests, too, with the largest crowds coming from the USA, Italy, UK, Austria,…