Author: DW

Even if the African National Congress (ANC) retains its parliamentary majority by a small margin, the message of this election is still loud and clear.Thirty years after the ANC was voted in with Nelson Mandela at the helm – effectively ending apartheid and ushering in a new era of democratic freedom for all – support for the party and its government has hit a record low. What remains is largely held together by deep loyalty and desperate hope. Image: Voters line up to cast their ballots in Alexandra. Pic: AP In no place is this felt more than Johannesburg’s Alexandra…

Franz Kafka: a genius plagued by self-doubt Franz Kafka died 100 years ago, but even today millions of readers worldwide are still captivated by his enigmatic stories. Who was this super talent? Why does he still have so many fans? And when is something “Kafkaesque”?   Image: OpenAI/YoutubeDeceptively real videos Creating videos with a simple text prompt – the software SORA makes it possible. It is the next step in the AI revolution, fascinating and frightening at the same time, because the risk of such tools being misused is great.   Image: EPK (jip film & verleih)Documentary film “Dancing Heartbeats”…

Colombia moved a step closer to outlawing bullfighting on Tuesday when its lower house of Congress voted 93-2 to ban the sport from 2027. The move comes after years of lobbying from animal rights groups in various Latin American countries as well as in Portugal and Spain, where the sport originated in its modern form. Those calling for bans have argued that bullfighting is not a cultural tradition, but rather a relic of colonialism and a cruel form of torture. The bill will now go to President Gustavo Petro’s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law. On…

There is a dark side to today’s shiny AI revolution. That was the warning from digital rights advocates and activists gathered in Berlin for the re:publica technology conference.  “New patterns of discrimination are emerging from AI and algorithms,” said Ferda Ataman, Germany’s federal anti-discrimination commissioner. She warned that AI technology, if left unchecked, could exacerbate discrimination by perpetuating existing biases.  The recent rise of AI technology has led to remarkable advances, from innovative ways to diagnose and treat cancer to new AI systems that allow anyone, regardless of technical expertise, to create images and videos from scratch.  Less visible, however, are…

The so-called Green New Deal is the flagship project of the current European Commission under its president Ursula von der Leyen. Aimed at making the 27-member EU climate-neutral by 2050, the initiative is estimated to require annual investments of up to €1 trillion ($1.09 trillion). This is a daunting sum to raise even in good economic times, but the current circumstances are far from favorable. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has underscored the need for increased security spending. At the same time, Europe faces energy supply shortages, rising inflation, labor shortages, and slowing growth. With many EU member states running budget deficits…

A volcano in Grindavik, Iceland, erupted again on Wednesday, spewing lava and clouds of ash into the air. Iceland’s Met Office said the volcano was shooting lava about 50 meters (165 feet) high from a fissure that was around 1 kilometer (1,100 yards) long. It is the fifth volcanic eruption in the region since December, and it comes almost three weeks after the end of the previous eruption.The volcanic fissure near Grindavik is around 1 kilometer (1,100 yards) longImage: Birn Oddsson/Iceland Civil Defense/AP/picture alliance Blue Lagoon evacuated Authorities have declared a state of emergency. The eruption triggered the evacuation of…

Criminal charges against Scottie Scheffler have been dismissed following the world number one golfer’s arrest during the PGA Championship in the US earlier this month. Scheffler, 27, was facing four charges, including assaulting a police officer with his vehicle, after an incident that took place just hours before he teed off on the second day at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell today asked a judge to drop the charges and said his team reviewed the case in a “thorough and expeditious manner”.In a hearing that lasted less than ten minutes, he said: “Based upon…

To mark 2024’s World No-Tobacco Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report called Hooking the next generation. It outlined a lot of information about e-cigarettes that we’ve known for years. According to the report, big tobacco companies have arranged their messaging and products to target kids in an attempt to replace the millions of customers who die from their products each year. Kids are excellent targets for these companies because if you pick up a nicotine addiction before the age of 21, there’s a good chance you will be addicted for life, the report said. The WHO said the industry targets children…

Born in Prague in 1883, Franz Kafka belonged to the German-speaking Jewish minority, which made him somewhat of an outsider to begin with. He also felt little acceptance from his family and suffered throughout his life at the hands of his father in particular, who would have preferred his son to be a businessman rather than a writer.  Unable to make a living from writing alone, Kafka worked from morning to noon as an insurance clerk and then devoted himself to the things that gave him pleasure. He rode a motorcycle, went to the movies and visited brothels. He was sporty,…

Hansi Flick is back in football after being named the new coach of Spanish side Barcelona.  The 59-year-old has signed a two-year deal. Flick, who has not coached since being sacked by Germany in September 2023, takes over after the Catalan giants failed to win a trophy this season under their former player Xavi Hernandez, who was dismissed on Friday. Flick won the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup with Bayern in 2020 but a fall-out with the board led to him leaving in 2021 after another German league title. He soon succeeded Germany’s World Cup-winning coach Joachim Löw at the national team,…