Author: DW

Romania’s hard-right populist leader on Sunday secured more votes over his challengers, winning the first round of a presidential election that is a rerun of the original vote last year. Official electoral data showed George Simion winning 40.5% of the vote. He will face off against pro-EU Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan in the May 18 runoff who received a 20.9% share of the vote while the governing coalition’s candidate, Crin Antonescu, missed out on the showdown after garnering 20.3% of the ballots cast. “I want to thank from the bottom of my heart all those who chose to vote (for me) with the number one position on the ballot paper,” Simion said in…

The Israeli Air Force is regarded as one of the country’s most elite units.So, when hundreds of current and former pilots call for an end to the war in Gaza to get the hostages out, Israelis take notice. This month, 1,200 pilots caused a storm by signing an open letter arguing the war served mainly “political and personal interests and not security ones”. Image: The pilots’ protest letter Image: Part of the letter translated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the original letter was written by “bad apples”.But Guy Paron, a former pilot and one of those behind the letter,…

American pop icon Lady Gaga held a free concert at the iconic Copacabana Beach in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. The show is the biggest in the pop star’s career so far. “Tonight, we’re making history. …Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The beach and seafront were packed with fans hours before the concert was set to begin. Concert organizers said some 2.1 million attendees were there. “I got here at 7:40 this morning,” 22-year-old Alisha Duarte told the AFP news agency. “So far, it’s going well. It’ll get…

Whether France’s basketball superstar Victor Wembanyama will be able to take part in the European Championships at the end of August 2025 is still up in the air. The 21-year-old, who plays in the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs, has been out of action since the end of February due to thrombosis in his right shoulder. He underwent shoulder surgery in March. “I would like to do more, but I have to listen to the doctors,” says Wembanyama. After all, thrombosis is no joke. Former NBA player and Hall of Fame star Chris Bosh had to end his career…

Warren Buffett announced Saturday during Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting that he will step down as CEO of the $1.1 trillion (€973 billion) conglomerate at the end of the year. The billionaire investor took over the reins of Berkshire Hathaway back in 1965, when it was a medium-sized textile manufacturer. Buffett then acquired businesses across a range of industries and built the conglomerate into the economic powerhouse known to investors and market observers today. In doing so, Buffett also became known for his investing acumen and, at 94 years old, is one of the world’s most famous investors and had previously said he did…

“It is still unclear whether we are safe or not. We have no peace because there are still drones … We live in fear, one day at a time,” Marina told DW. She is a refugee from Russia’sKursk region and doesn’t want to disclose her current location.  She and her family fled their village after Ukrainian troops crossed the border into Russia in August 2024 and launched a surprise incursion into the region which is to the north-east of Ukraine, north of the Donbass region, which is illegally occupied by Russia.  Like Marina, thousands of locals left their homes, finding refuge further away from the frontline in nearby…

The grid operators needed more than a day to fully restore the power supply in Spain and Portugal. One of the circulating theories is that excessive solar power caused the blackout. Is that true? As soon as the lights went out in Spain and Portugal, the speculating about the cause of the blackout began. Was it a cyberattack? Atmospheric interference? Aliens?Though the Spanish government is looking into the possibility of a cyberattack on the Spanish electricity grid, the head of the Spanish electricity transmission system operator Red Electrica (REE) , Eduardo Prieto, has ruled this out already.Extreme frequency fluctuationAccording to…

In an effort to raise awareness of autism and the challenges faced by autistic people, a 15-year-old Nigerian boy has made global headlines after he set a Guinness World Record for the world’s largest art canvas. Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke, who is autistic, created a work of art with a multicolored ribbon — a symbol of autism — surrounded by “emojis” on a canvas measuring 12,304 square meters, much larger than the size of a typical football field, which is 7,140 square meters. The artwork was created in November 2024. It was unveiled and officially recognized by Guinness World Records organizers in…

Rising seas threatenSouth Africa’s coastlines, battering cities with floods and erosion. Yet in a surprising twist of climate science, the ground beneath parts of the country seems to be rising. Researchers from Germany believe drought and resulting water loss due to global warming may be causing parts of South Africa to lift out of the ocean by two millimeters each year.  South Africa’s coastal cities like Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth experience eroding shorelines,frequent flooding, and the loss of critical infrastructure and natural habitats. The country also experienced a series of extreme weather events in 2017: massive waves, storm surges, heavy…

It’s not official yet, but there seems to be little doubt that Xabi Alonso will leave Bayer Leverkusen for Real Madrid at the end of this season. After Real were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions League by Arsenal and lost in the Copa del Rey final to arch-rivals Barcelona, ​​who are also on course to win the Spanish title, Carlo Ancelotti’s days in Madrid appear to be numbered. Alonso is thought to be Madrid President Florentino Perez’ preferred replacement. Although his contract at Leverkusen runs until the end of next season, Alonso has an escape clause that would allow him…