Author: DW

NASA “very much wants to find signs of life in the universe,” said associate administrator Amit Kshatriya, but the interstellar object called 3I/ATLAS was not it. The US space agency released fresh images on Wednesday of the object, which zipped past Mars last month. “I think it’s important that we talk about that. This object is a comet,” Kshatriya said. “It looks and behaves like a comet. And all evidence points to it being a comet.” Alien speculation fueled by the US government shutdown The speculation that it was not a comet came during the US government shutdown, which prevented NASA…

On November 18, Cristiano Ronaldo attended a White House dinner alongside Saudi Arabian Crowned Prince Mohammad bin Salman and US President Donald Trump. Ronaldo, who has played club football in Saudi Arabia since 2023, had not seemingly been in the USA in nearly a decade following a legal case from 2009 in which Ronaldo faced allegations of rape. The charges were dropped in 2019 and the lawsuit was dismissed in 2022, clearing the way for his return. But what does the timing of his reappearance mean? “President Trump is keenly aware of the symbolism of hosting the World Cup during the celebrations of…

Days before the one-year anniversary of the ceasefire that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon on November 27, 2024, tensions are once again threatening to escalate.   This week, Israel launched numerous airstrikes on southern Lebanon, killing at least a dozen people, according to Lebanese health officials. Israel’s military said on X that it had targeted Hezbollah members and infrastructure, including weapons storage facilities, as well as a Hamas training compound, all linked to Iran-backed groups. A local resident, speaking to DW on the condition of anonymity, denied the Israeli army’s claim that the area housed weapons or explosives. “The area is populated…

World leaders attending a Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit in South Africa on Saturday adopted a declaration addressing global challenges despite opposition from the United States. The move broke with protocol as declarations are typically adopted at the end of G20 summits. In his opening remarks, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “We should not allow anything to diminish the value, the stature and the impact of the first African G20 presidency.” This year’s summit has been overshadowed by President Donald Trump’s decision not to send a US delegation. South African officials said Washington had put pressure on South…

Nazi documents on a forced sterilization at the Dachau concentration camp, Gestapo index cards, the notebooks of an anonymous Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust and Stars of David from the Buchenwald concentration camp.  These are just some of the items that were due to be sold at the Felzmann auction house in the western German city of Neuss this week before it was cancelled following public outcry. Many of the objects dating from 1933 to 1945 up for sale under the title “System of Terror Vol II” contained the names and personal information of the persecuted.  “For victims of…

What once seemed like an overly optimistic vision is now gradually moving toward reality: Across Portugal large-scale data centers are planned, promising thousands of jobs and substantial investment. Crucially, this development is not limited to its coastal economic centers, but is expanding into long-neglected inland regions. Once characterized by outward migration, these areas are now seeing mayors announce multimillion and even multibillion euro projects aimed at generating new employment and boosting local economies.Can the power grid survive the US data center revolution?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In Fundao,…

It’s the stuff of a science fiction movie: a planet in the stages of formation collides with another. The massive impact causes both worlds to break apart, sending hot space rock flying. But it’s not sci-fi, it’s the story of Earth. Space scientists are largely agreed that about 4.5 billion years ago, Earth, then a hot ball of molten iron and other elements, was hit by another Mars-sized protoplanet. This hypothetical world is called Theia, named for a titaness of Greek mythology. Theia was completely destroyed by this impact, but likely lives on beneath our feet, as fragments from this doomed world fused with the…

Nigeria is proud of its record as the only African team to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup on three occasions but now it is struggling to come to terms with missing out on the tournament for a second successive time. The Super Eagles were unimpressive during qualification against lesser footballing nations such as Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and South Africa, winning just four out of 10 games. That earned entry to the playoffs – which ended in defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo on November 16. “The dynamics of African football have changed and are still changing.…

Shortly before the international meeting on climate change action in Brazil — commonly known as COP — Russian President Vladmir Putin said his country was best off focusing on its own interests, when it came to dialogue on the topic with Western nations. Russia did send a delegation to Belem in Brazil, where COP30 is being held, but climate change action and environmental protection does not play a huge role in Russian self-interest. Just over two years ago, Russian authorities declared several of the world’s largest organizations working in this field “undesirable.”That included Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund, or WWF,…

US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Friday that she will step down from her position in January. She made the announcement in a social media post, after a public fallout with President Donald Trump. The Republican and former Make America Great Again (MAGA) loyalist has fallen from Trump’s graces, partly due to her push to secure the release of documents related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.  “Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich powerful men, should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the president of the United States, whom I…