Author: DW

Eighty-eight people move on a large stage to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Some sing and reproduce the lyrics in sign language. The others perform a choreography of steps and gestures. They can barely hear the music, if at all, but what they pick up from the singers they translate into a visible art form for other hearing-impaired people. This performance of Bach’s St. John Passion, the Passion of Christ according to the Biblical evangelist John, is an atmospheric experience for hearing and non-hearing people on Leipzig’s main square. Soprano Susanne Haupt founded the inclusive singing ensemble Sing&Sign in 2017 for…

Iran’s Interior Ministry has released the final list of candidates for the presidential election scheduled for June 28.  The Guardian Council — the powerful, constitutionally mandated body made up out of six clerics and six jurists — has vetted six men to run after scrutinizing both their professional qualifications and their ideological devotion to the Islamic Republic. The council has also excluded many familiar faces from the election, such as the former president and populist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and former parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, a conservative seen as an ally to ex-President Hassan Rouhani. Nearly all of the candidates to replace Ebrahim Raisi, who…

Tech companies such as Google and Facebook parent Meta are investing in new data highways and speeds for Africa. The first Google Cloud data center on the African continent has been up and running since January in Johannesburg, South Africa. “The big US tech giants have recognized the existing connectivity gaps and the need for additional investment associated with this as a major business opportunity,” Tevin Tafese, data scientist at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies, told DW. “Prominent examples are Google and Meta, whose major cable projects are aimed at reducing the cost of accessing their own service in…

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday evening was sworn in for a third consecutive term in office. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost its outright majority in India’s elections, having failed to repeat its previous two landside victories. The Hindu nationalist party will need to rely on its partners in the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition to govern. Key members of the NDA endorsed Modi as their leader, but also demanded significant concessions in exchange for their support. Modi’s tough juggling act “They have been kept in good humor for now but the demands and arm twisting by coalition…

Olympic sprinting legend Usain Bolt has revealed he ruptured his Achilles after being stretchered off in a charity football match in London.The 37-year-old was injured in the second half of the Soccer Aid fixture at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. He had been captaining a World XI against an England select side which included former internationals such as Jermain Defoe and Theo Walcott.Concern grew for the Jamaican when he went down while trying to break up an England attack. Image: Bolt was stretchered off at Stamford Bridge. Pic: Action Images/Reuters He was stretched off before later confirming the extent of his…

Carlos Alcaraz, 21, confirmed his status as the new power in tennis, adding the 2024 French Open to his Wimbledon and US Open titles. The young Spaniard looked in trouble midway through the match but found some stunning form in the final two sets to leave Germany’s Alexander Zverev devastated. Zverev, the world number four, had reached the semifinals in Paris for the last three consecutive years before finally reaching the final, only to fall short again. The German player’s only major honor remains the gold medal he won at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “We were close today, but just…

Most EU member states vote on Sunday in elections to choose new members of the European Parliament. Voting began on Thursday, but 21 countries, including Germany, France, Poland and Spain, will hold elections on Sunday. Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania , Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden all vote on Sunday. Italy will also have a second-day of voting.  The European Parliament has said it will issue an EU-wide exit poll at around 2030 CEST (1830 GMT) and a first provisional result after 2300 CEST when the final EU votes in Italy…

Belgium goes to the polls on Sunday for national and regional elections. The elections in the linguistically divided country, which is split between Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north and French-speaking Wallonia in the south, are being held on the same day as the European Parliament elections. The national vote is set to see a surge in support for far-right Flemish separatists, which could make it difficult to form a new government. The last time Belgium held a federal election, in 2019, it took 493 days for a new prime minister to be sworn in to lead a seven-party coalition government.…

South Korea has vowed to blast “unbearable” noise at North Korea for the first time since 2018 after Pyongyang sent more sewage-filled balloons over the border.Seoul’s national security council said on Sunday it will restart loudspeaker broadcasts of anti-North Korean propaganda after 330 balloons dropped 15 tonnes of rubbish in South Korea throughout the weekend. Three waves of sewage-filled balloons, filled with manure, cigarette butts, scraps of cloth, batteries and wastepaper, have been sent into the south since May.South Korea’s security council said: “The measures we will take may be unbearable for the North Korean regime, but they will send…

Most EU member states vote on Sunday in elections to choose new members of the European Parliament. Voting began on Thursday, but 21 countries, including Germany, France, Poland and Spain, will hold elections on Sunday. Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania , Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden all vote on Sunday. Italy will also have a second-day of voting.  The European Parliament has said it will issue an EU-wide exit poll at around 2030 CEST (1830 GMT) and a first provisional result after 2300 CEST when the final EU votes in Italy…