Author: DW

He is “looking forward” to getting to know the new German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, said Luxembourg’s head of department Xavier Bettel. “I have already wished him good luck by text message – and steady nerves.” And Finland’s top diplomat Elina Valtonen added that she was pleased that Germany once again had “a government capable of taking action.”  Many participants at the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Warsaw expressed similar sentiments when asked about their new counterpart from Berlin. For Johann Wadephul, the meeting was his first EU-level dialogue since taking office.  Who is Germany’s incoming foreign minister,…

This election is a sensation — even though Robert Prevost’s name had been dropped time and time again as a possible successor to the late pope Francis. For the first time, a candidate from the United States has been elected head of the Catholic Church. In times of US President Donald Trump and his “America First” agenda, an all-American pope, with US and Peruvian citizenship, is now assuming the powerful lead of the Catholic Church. Prevost, 69, who chose the name Leo XIV over a hundred years after the last pontiff to take this name, originally hails from Chicago, where he was born on September 14, 1955. Following his…

Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Moscow this week for Russia’s Victory Day Parade, where his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, unleashed a display of military might to help cement ties with Beijing. The parade, a celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II, aimed to showcase Russia’s resilience and ambition on the global stage. At the Kremlin shortly after, Xi declared that China stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Moscow against “hegemonic bullying,” a pointed jab at US President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught and crippling sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. “The mutual trust between China and Russia grows ever…

Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of violating a three-day ceasefire which was declared by Vladimir Putin last week and came into effect on Thursday.Russia breached the truce, to which Kyiv hasn’t signed up, 734 times since it started, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said, adding Moscow had carried out 63 “assault operations”. Those figures, he said, were for the period between midnight and midday local time.Ukraine war latest: Russia and China strike deal worth billions Image: An apartment block damaged by a Russian airstrike in Kostiantynivka on Wednesday. Pic: Ukrainian armed forces/Reuters Kyiv claimed the violations took place…

Tragic news out of Hollywood shocked the world in 2021: Actor Alec Baldwin had accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his new movie “Rust,” when a prop gun discharged a live round. A legal and media frenzy followed as people tried to understand how something like this could have possibly happened. “Rust” is a Western drama that tells the story of a notorious outlaw played by Baldwin, who tries to help his grandson escape from jail after he’s been sentenced to death for murder. The film was well-received during its premiere at the Camerimage Film Festival…

Measles is well-suited for eradication. The virus only spreads among humans and does not survive long in the environment. There’s a vaccine and it is cheap and effective. And if enough people (95% of a population) get immunized, the deadly disease could be gone forever. By the year 2000, 82 countries had eliminated measles within their borders, including the US. But measles is making a comeback — outbreaks are happening in every region of the world. Yemen saw over 10,000 cases in April 2025. And India had over 7,000 cases — measles is the number one cause of death from disease…

While there is much excitement about the German men’s teams’ chances at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada, the long-term future of football in Germany itself is trending in the wrong direction. The country has lost nearly 6,000 men’s U19 and U17 teams since 2006. The German football association DFB is pushing for reforms, led by its head of youth football, former Bundesliga coach Hannes Wolf. “We have to make sure that there is no pseudo-participation, but that young people are really involved,” Wolf told a recent DFB youth football conference. “If you are already sitting on the bench…

Skip next section Xi and Putin to hold talks05/08/2025May 8, 2025Xi and Putin to hold talksThe Chinese president arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for a four-day visitImage: Alexander Vilf/Ria Novosti/REUTERSChinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to hold talks in Moscow on Thursday, ahead of Russia’s annual military parade commemorating the end of World War II in Europe. Xi is the most powerful world leader expected at the military parade, among a host of others. The Chinese president arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for a four-day visit. The meeting between Xi and Putin is reported to…

North Korea has fired multiple ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters, South Korea’s military said on Thursday. In a statement, the military said the weapons were presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles. The missiles were launched on Thursday from an area around the eastern port city of Monsanto, the military said, and flew up to 800 kilometers (497 miles) before splashing down in the sea. South Korea is closely communicating with the United States and Japan to share information about the launch, it added. Japan’s defense ministry said there was no impact on Japan from the North Korean missiles, according to Japanese public…

After months of delay and rising criticism over soaring LNG imports from Russia, the European Commission has announced its roadmap to eliminate Russian fossil fuels from the EU energy mix by 2027. On Tuesday, Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen presented the long-awaited plan in Strasbourg, aiming to transform the bloc’s political promises into binding measures. “We’ve managed to put together a legislative package that will make sure that we will now get completely rid of Russian gas in our energy mix,” Jorgensen told DW.Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen is the mastermind behind the EU’s plan to stop Russian gas flowing into the blocImage:…