Author: DW

Katie Uhlaender, of the United States, has told DW that the head coach of Canada’s skeleton team manipulated a weekend qualifying event for February’s Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. According to Uhlaender, a five-time Winter Olympian, Joe Cecchini admitted to the scheme in a telephone call with her. She said Cecchini’s actions had dashed her hopes of making it to Italy for a sixth Winter Games. “I cried when I found out he went through with this plan,” said Uhlaender, who has represented the United States at five Olympic Games, beginning in Torino 2006.  “I didn’t know if it hurt more that my…

Born in San Francisco as John Griffith Chaney on January 12, 1876, Jack London lived a life even more dramatic than those portrayed in many of his novels. His biological father never acknowledged paternity, shunning his mother while she was still pregnant. She would later marry Civil War veteran John London, who took him in as his stepson and gave him his surname. London grew up in severe financial hardship. From an early age, he left school and took up multiple jobs to help support his family. He earned money as a paper boy and worked in saloons and factories. As…

For a short time during and after COVID, Europe’s workers enjoyed rare leverage over their employers. Generous furlough and reduced working-hour programs, like Germany’s Kurzarbeit, helped companies offset staffing costs. Offices became optional thanks to remote work. Coming out of the pandemic, headlines about the so-called Great Resignation reflected a global labor shortage that sharply increased demand for talent. Workplace burnout gave rise to another new phrase, Quiet Quitting, as employees rejected overdelivering in pursuit of a healthier work-life balance. Research by McKinsey, a New York-based consulting firm, in 2022 found that a third of European workers were considering quitting their jobs within three to six months, which Angelika Reich,…

In the early hours of January 3, US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Both were transferred to the US, where Maduro, now deposed, faces charges of narcoterrorism.    The operation, illegal according to international law, marks the latest in a long history of US interventions in Latin America, often justified by Washington with claims of regional security.  Many of these interventions can be traced back to the Monroe Doctrine, a foreign policy principle which despite its 19th century origins has continued to influence US foreign policy over the past 200 years.   What is the Monroe Doctrine?  The Monroe Doctrine dates back to 1823, when President James Monroe warned European powers against meddling in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere.   The doctrine was later expanded by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904, in what’s known as the…

The Nürburgring in the Western hills of Germany is the world’s longest permanent race track. It’s almost a century old and was the site of many Formula One Grand Prix races. The track’s main part is called the Nordschleife, or the Northern Loop. The 20.8-kilometer (12.9-mile) track is nicknamed the “Green Hell” — because of the surrounding forests of the Eifel region, and its punishing layout. German carmakers test their vehicles to the maximum at NürburgringImage: Thomas Frey/imageBROKER/picture alliance To understand the importance of engineering and performance in German carmaking, the Nordschleife is a good place to start, said Misha Charoudin, car…

On January 5, the leader of Spain’s Andalusia region, Juanma Moreno, painted his face black to portray Balthazar, one of the Three Wise Men, during a parade in Seville as part of Spain’s traditional Epiphany celebrations — prompting activists and online commentators to call attention to racism. Historically, blackface — when a white person paints their face black in a racist caricature of a Black person — has been used to mock, stereotype and dehumanize Black people. Moreno said in a post on X that it was an “honor” to represent the biblical character during the procession. Each year, floats pass through…

Greenland’s mining and business minister, Naaja Nathanielsen, rejected US overtures to buy the territory. Residents should determine the island’s future, she told DW, as well as that of its valuable resources.  “We want collaboration. We don’t want to be Americans,” Nathanielsen said “And there’s a great, great difference in that.” Nathanielsen said the government was debating how to collaborate with the United States but it was “too soon to say” what form any discussions could take. US officials are set to meet with their Danish counterparts next week to discuss President Donald Trump’s interest in the island. Greenland will have a representative at the…

The DFB German football association announced on Friday that the men’s national team will be staying at the Graylyn Estate Hotel in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as they embark on their quest for a fifth World Cup title. The facility, which looks very much like a castle, was built almost 100 years ago by a tobacco entrepreneur. The DFB have reserved all 85 rooms for the balance of the World Cup. Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann, sporting director Rudi Völler and the DFB’s managing director, Andreas Rettig, all visted the facility in early December, just after the World Cup draw in Washington, DC.  Training pitches close…

Germany has been a vital part of national defense strategy for the United States in Europe since US soldiers were among the Allied forces who occupied it forces for 10 years following the end of World War II. Though troop numbers have, of course, fallen significantly since those days, the US military still maintains a major presence in Germany, and over the intervening decades, US military communities have formed around a handful of German towns. The total number of US military personnel has also risen significantly in the past few years, from fewer than 39,000 in 2019 to over 50,000 in 2024.…

Japan has criticized new Chinese restrictions on exporting so-called dual-use goods to the country, imposed after comments from its prime minister on Chinese military drills near Taiwan upset Beijing.  “A measure such as this, targeting only our country, differs significantly from international practice, is absolutely unacceptable and deeply regrettable,” Japan’s top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara saidd.  Dual use items are goods, software or technologies that can have both civilian and military applications, and can include certain key rare earths used to make items like drones and computer chips.  Minoru Kihara called the Chinese step ‘deeply regrettable,’ with Japan…