Author: DW

Hamburg football side St. Pauli will play in the Bundesliga for the first time in 13 years next season after they secured promotion with a 3-1 victory over relegated VfL Osnabrück on Sunday. A day earlier, league leaders Holstein Kiel secured a tough 1-1 draw with third-placed Fortuna Düsseldorf. That ensured that it was no longer possible for Düsseldorf to overtake them following the last game of the season next weekend.  Being assured of either first or second in the second Bundesliga tier meant Kiel gained automatic promotion to Germany’s top division.  How did things go for St. Pauli? St. Pauli were, in any case, in a great…

Incumbent Gitanas Nauseda declared victory on Sunday in the first round of Lithuania’s presidential election after preliminary results showed that he had received the most votes. However, he failed to reach the 50% threshold needed to avoid a run-off against Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte. According to the preliminary results, Nauseda was leading with 44% of the vote to Simonyte’s 20%. What was the campaign about? The campaign focused on security concerns in the Baltic states, with the main candidates agreeing that the country should increase defense spending to counter a perceived threat from neighboring Russia. Across the region, citizens are concerned that the Baltic states,…

In November 2016, Gwadar port symbolized stability, peace and prosperity for Pakistan — at least according to then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. “This day is the dawn of a new era,” he told the opening ceremony crowd, which had gathered to witness a row of Chinese trucks arriving to load cargo onto the first-ever container ship to pass through the port. It was the official launch of the port’s operations, nearly a decade after its completion. The ceremony also marked the start of the prestigious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of China’s global collection of infrastructure projects and trade networks known…

Tens of thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets in Tbilisi – protesting against a proposed law threatening press and civic freedoms.The “foreign agents” bill has sparked a political crisis amid concerns it is modelled on laws used by Vladimir Putin to crack down on the media in Russia – and if passed, would make it harder for Georgia to join the EU. Sky’s international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn is in Tbilisi: Image: Pic: Reuters The Georgian security forces moved in shortly after dawn this morning. Phalanxes of masked men sweeping through streets and parks outside parliament.They kettled protesters…

Nemo Mettler was given a hero’s welcome when he returned to Switzerland from Sweden after winning the Eurovision Song Contest contest on Sunday. Hundreds of fans waving flags and banners and chanting the 24-year-old’s name greeted Nemo as he flew into Zurich Airport. Nemo won Eurovision 2024 with the deeply personal song “The Code,” which encapsulated the performer’s journey to realizing their non-binary gender identity. How did fans meet Nemo? Fans who had gathered at Switzerland’s largest airport had to wait as the Swiss International Air Lines flight from Copenhagen arrived 45 minutes late. Cheers erupted as Nemo emerged, wearing a…

Thousands of people on Saturday took to the streets of Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, to protest a “foreign agent” bill critics argue will undermine the country’s civil society. The Reuters news agency cited witnesses as saying that around 50,000 protesters took part in the march. Red and white Georgian flags could be seen waving alongside the blue and yellow flags of the EU. The bill, which passed its second reading in parliament this month, has been called “the Russian law” by critics who liken it to legislation adopted by Moscow in 2012 and then tightened in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Georgia rocked by…

OTT outfits, whacky performances and plenty of glitter are the bread and butter of Eurovision – but this year the fizz and the fun has been taking a back seat as the show’s bosses battle to keep politics and personal drama from the stage.Just 25 countries are competing this year after Dutch act Joost Klein was axed hours before the show.Watched by hundreds of millions of viewers across the globe, the world’s largest live music contest is truly a spectacle to behold.Here are the biggest moments of the night so far in pictures. Image: Pic: AP Image: Pic: AP Image:…

Thousands of Belarusians have escaped to Poland in recent years to avoid political persecution by President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, which is loyal to Moscow. But Polish judge Tomasz Szmydt went the opposite way. He has asked Lukashenko for “care and protection,” he told Belarusian state news agency BelTA at a press conference last week. Szmydt said he had resigned from the judgeship in protest at unjust Polish policies towards Belarus and Russia. He accused Warsaw of trying to start conflict under the influence of the US and the UK and claimed that he had been persecuted and intimidated because of his views,…

At least 300 people have been killed in flash floods in northern Afghanistan, according to the UN food agency.Heavy seasonal rains have also destroyed more than a thousand houses leaving many without shelter in the provinces of Baghlan, Takhar and Badakhshan. Transport links and water supplies have been “severely disrupted”, while helicopters have been sent to assist the rescue effort and evacuate casualties. Image: Many have been left homeless by the floods. Pic: AP The World Food Programme, which operates throughout Afghanistan, estimates the floods have killed more than 300 people.Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesman for the Taliban government, said “hundreds……

The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) always makes headlines but this year is different from many in the event’s nearly 70-year history. The last week has seen large protests and a general sense of anger and tension, much of it linked to the ongoing war in Gaza. Organizers and police reported on Saturday that thousands of pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli protesters were again marching through Malmo, Sweden, upset over Israeli singer Eden Golan’s participation in the event. Earlier this week, as Golan was being booed while qualifying for the final, a similar march took place.There were several protests against Israeli participation in…