Author: DW

US President Joe Biden was defiant against suggestions he is in cognitive decline ahead of a major NATO summit on Tuesday. In a surprise call-in to the cable news show “Morning Joe” on Monday, Biden said he was getting “frustrated” by calls for him to pull out of the presidential race in favor of a different Democratic candidate. He added that anyone was welcome to challenge him for the nomination at the party convention in August if they thought voters would support them. In a letter to fellow party members, Biden wrote: “I wouldn’t be running again if I did not…

At least four people have died after Hurricane Beryl ripped through Texas late on Monday.Russell Richardson, a 54-year-old information security officer called in to help with relief efforts, died when his vehicle flooded while he was driving to work, police in Houston said. At least two people were killed when trees fell on homes, one of them a woman in Benton, Louisiana, according to Bossier Sheriff Julian Whittington.Some local media reports suggest up to six people have been killed by fallen trees or by drowning. Image: Flooding in Houston. Pic: @cjblain10 via X/via Reuters More than 2.4 million homes and…

One of the challenges of writing any travel guide is that there’s always the risk it will be outdated by the time it’s published. In a city as dynamic and rapidly changing as Berlin, keeping a guide up to date is nearly impossible. But writer Oliver Kiesow and Berlin-based video content creator Kai Steinecke were undaunted. They’ve struck a balance between traditional sightseeing and insights into a fast-paced urban culture. Their book “Das andere Berlin” — which translates to “The other Berlin” — covers the culturally and historically significant and iconic sites that are staple to any visit to the city, including the usual important attractions like…

When leaders from 32 NATO countries come together in Washington, D.C., this week, they will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the alliance. “The most successful and strongest alliance in history,” as outgoing Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg characterized it in an interview with DW. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, NATO has indeed been reinvigorated. It has firmly responded to the war on its doorstep. Allies have gradually expanded their military and financial support for Ukraine, even though Kyiv is not a member of the alliance. 500,000 combat-ready troops NATO has drafted new plans for its own defense and deployed more troops to the…

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has embarked on a three-day official trip to China, starting from Monday, marking her first visit to the Asian giant in five years.   In Beijing, she is expected to hold talks with Chinese leaders and ink a number of bilateral trade and loan agreements, worth billions of dollars. Bangladeshi media reported that both sides could sign over 20 memoranda of understanding relating to an array of large-scale investments, duty-free provisions and facilitation of trade in local currencies, as well as other issues.  Over the past decade, Bangladesh has increasingly attracted the attention of both China and…

Joe Biden has shown no symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, his doctor has explained in a letter released after reports claimed a specialist had visited the president several times in the past year.Concerns around the president’s health have risen since Mr Biden’s poor showing in his debate with Donald Trump. Democrats described his performance as an “unmitigated disaster”, “a meltdown”, and “a slow-motion car crash”.According to The New York Times, White House visitor logs show that Dr Kevin Cannard, a neurologist who specialises in movement disorders and recently published a paper on Parkinson’s, visited the White House eight times from last…

A wave of Russian strikes hit five Ukrainian cities on Monday, including the capital, Kyiv.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched dozens of missiles toward five towns and cities in southern and eastern Ukraine as well as Kyiv.  At least 37 people were killed, including three children, with more than 170 wounded, Zelensky said. The Okhmatdyt children’s hospital, the largest of its kind in Ukraine, was hit in Kyiv, which suffered the largest Russian bombardment seen in nearly four months.  The strikes sparked condemnation from Ukraine’s allies, with US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller accusing Russia of “deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure”…

Tropical Storm Beryl hit the US state of Texas on Monday, killing at least four people and causing major flooding. The storm was downgraded from hurricane status by the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) after it made landfall near the coastal Texas town of Matagorda. It was later downgraded to a tropical depression, and expected to weaken further.  Despite the downgrade, the NHC said that conditions caused by Beryl could create tornadoes in Texas, as well as in the neighboring states of Louisiana and Arkansas. A a tornado in Jasper County, on the border with the state of Louisiana, destroyed about…

Fifty feet underground, in one of the most secure rooms in Israel, is the country’s blood vault.We’re told we can’t say its exact location and they won’t reveal what measures have been taken to protect it, but it is safe against missile, chemical, and cyber attacks, and in the air-conditioned room are boxes and boxes of blood of every type, hundreds of litres ready to be used in mass casualty scenarios.War between Israel and Hezbollah is looming and so plans are being readied for another conflict.Not far away, in part of the same subterranean complex, is a new operations room…

The leader of an evangelical doomsday cult in Kenya went on trial in Mombasa on Monday, charged with “terrorism” after allegedly inciting over 400 of his followers to starve themselves to death in order to “meet Jesus.” What do we know about the legal proceedings?  Self-proclaimed preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie appeared in court in the port city on the Indian Ocean along with 94 co-defendants.  The accused are also facing charges of murder, manslaughter, kidnapping and child torture and cruelty in separate cases. They all pleaded not guilty at an initial hearing in January. The remains of more than 440…