Author: DW

In recent years, Moscow has declared numerous foreign foundations and organizations “undesirable” and banned them from operating in the country. However, despite the significantly deteriorated relations between Russia and the West as a result of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the Goethe-Institut, which opened in Russia in 1992, had been able to continue operating. But that’s no longer the case. Employees of the Goethe-Institut must stop working on September 13 — and staff members sent from Germany must leave the country by that date. According to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the closure of the Goethe-Institut’s three locations in Moscow,…

Fort Knox, the fortified complex in the state of Kentucky where about half of the US government’s gold reserves are held, is a byword for security. To be “like Fort Knox” means to be extremely secure and well-guarded. Yet the perception of the United States as a whole as a secure location to store gold is clearly on the wane. The decision by the Dutch central bank recently to move about 86 tonnes (95 US tons) of gold from New York to London highlighted growing concerns among some governments over storing strategic assets in the US and whether they could be readily accessed in a crisis.…

Psychology is not an exact science. That may irk a few researchers in the field. But it is important to mention upfront: Researching the psychology of conspiracy theories — why people are drawn to believing them and the effect they have on those people — is a complicated field of research, and conclusions are difficult to derive. That is due, in part, to one of the basic problems with psychology, whether it’s in treatment or in research, and that is that it relies on people’s self-awareness. If we take the example of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, some people continue to…

The European Union’s sports commissioner has criticized world football’s governing body FIFA over its controversial and now-aborted plans to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. Speaking to DW at his Brussels office, Commissioner Glenn Micallef labeled the plans “another episode in a series of poor governance decisions that excessively commercialize the sport,” adding, “It’s damaging to football.”Glenn Micallef believes FIFA is damaging footballImage: Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency/IMAGO However, Micallef stopped short of calling on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to resign, amid growing pressure on him to step down. Asked whether FIFA was fit for purpose under Infantino, the commissioner insisted it…

Germany’s Goethe-Institut will close all Russian branches by September 13 amid one of the worst spats in the history of relations between Russia and Germany. The Russian foreign ministry ordered the closure of the German cultural centers in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk in response to Berlin’s reaction to the attempteddrone attackat Leipzig airport in early August. The German authorities blamed Moscow for organizing the attack and announced sanctions. They include closing the Russian culture and education center in Berlin, known as the Russian House, and the Russian Consulate General in Bonn, as well tightening visa restrictions for Russian citizens. …

In preparation for hosting the 18th BRICS summit in Delhi this weekend, India came up with a slogan which tried to keep the group’s brand intact without alienating its many new members. “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability” matches the acronym for the body’s five original members — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — whilst also denoting goals which the new members — Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates — can get behind. “It’s an elegant way to reinterpret BRICS so that the acronym represents a joint mission rather than country names,” Mihaela Papa,…

On September 1, 2026, scientists at a dark matter detector called LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) reported they had observed an event, a particle interaction, that they were unable to explain. The team, based in South Dakota in the United States, said the event resembled what they think a dark matter particle should produce when it collides with liquid xenon, one of a range of materials used for detecting dark matter. They stopped short of calling it the discovery, or proof of dark matter, that many in the field have been hunting for almost 100 years. The term “dark matter” was coined by physicist Fritz Zwicky in 1933 as…

What has happened to LIV golf? The breakaway golf tour, launched with much fanfare, billions of dollars of investment and a string of the world’s best players, in 2021. But on Tuesday it filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States. Bankruptcy protection is a way of keeping a company alive while it restructures its debts. In this case, LIV would be moving from being financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which pulled out in April, to being supported by BC Partners, a British investment firm. “This process gives us the structure and time to pursue a landmark transaction…

When Belarusians took to the streets in 2020 to protest against the disputed results of the presidential election, hopes were high that the regime of autocratic ruler Alexander Lukashenko would end, and that Belarusian society would find freedom. But authorities responded with an unprecedented campaign of repression that continues to this day. All forms of dissent have essentially been silenced. It’s in this context that filmmaker Andrei Kutsila directed a new documentary that depicts the state’s system of repression. His film, “Letters from the Silenced Country,” was co-produced by DW and premieres at the Venice Film Festival on September 9. A silenced…

In preparation for hosting the 18th BRICS summit in Delhi this weekend, India came up with a slogan which tried to keep the group’s brand intact without alienating its many new members. “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability” matches the acronym for the body’s five original members — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — whilst also denoting goals which the new members — Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates — can get behind. “It’s an elegant way to reinterpret BRICS so that the acronym represents a joint mission rather than country names,” Mihaela Papa,…