Author: DW

Germany is a fantastic holiday destination year-round. With more medieval castles than you can count, vibrant cities, a rich history, famously hearty fare and Oktoberfest, the world’s biggest beer festival, Germany offers something for everyone. Plus, this summer, it’s playing host to the UEFA 2024 European Football Championship. So that’s plenty of good reasons to spend a vacation in Germany. But what documents do tourists need to visit the country? Will a valid identity card or passport do? And is any additional paperwork needed? Well, that depends on your nationality. Visiting Germany as an EU national All EU citizens have the…

German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck arrived in Ukraine on Thursday on a surprise trip. The visit comes as Russia carries out daily air attacks on Ukraine, targeting Ukrainian infrastructure such as power stations in particular. Why is the trip taking place? Upon his arrival at Kyiv train station, Habeck said his visit comes as Ukraine needs every bit of support it can get to fight for its freedom. “And it is indeed a fight for freedom,” Habeck said. “Yes, Ukraine is fighting for its self-determination, for its territorial integrity against Putin’s aggression, but it is also a fight for the…

As the Prime Minister’s car approaches, the chants of “Modi!” are deafening. His cavalcade moves at walking pace and as it nears, the people surge forwards with their phones out, snapping the moment for posterity.The atmosphere is carnival-like, with blaring music, drums and dancers in traditional Indian clothes. Narendra Modi, 73, has kicked off his campaign for a third term with a roadshow in Ghaziabad, a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.Shishir Gupta is here with his family. “I’m not interested in the candidate,” he says. “It’s because of Modi every BJP candidate wins, I’m here to see…

04/17/2024April 17, 2024Zelenskyy: Israel showed Ukraine’s ‘real need’ is aerial defenseUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told leaders in Brussels of Russia’s overnight cruise missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.  He said more than 60 people were injured and 17 were known to have been killed.  Zelenskyy said this was “what’s happening every day” in Ukraine and that it “reflects our current key need — the need for air defense.”  “Here in Ukraine, in our part of Europe, unfortunately, we do not have the level of defense that we all saw in the Middle East a few days ago. When, thanks…

Leaders of the European Union (EU) urged Israel and Iran to de-escalate mounting tensions at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday. Originally dedicated to sharpening the bloc’s economic competitiveness, the EU summit was overshadowed by the recent turn of events in the Middle East. The EU is eyeing fresh sanctions on Iran after the Islamic Republic fired over 300 missiles and drones toward Israel on Saturday. These were overwhelmingly shot down by Israeli air defenses, backed by a coalition of allies led by the United States. Tehran said the attack was retaliation for an air strike on its embassy complex in Syria on April 1,…

Thousands of people have been told to leave their homes after an Indonesian mountain erupted, sending ash thousands of feet high.Ruang mountain, a 725m volcano on the northern side of Sulawesi island, has erupted at least five times in 24 hours, according to Indonesia’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation. Authorities are concerned part of the mountain could collapse into the sea and cause a tsunami.People were told to stay at least 3.7 miles away, and a nearby airport – Sam Ratulangi in Manado – has been closed, affecting nine flights so far.Among 11,000 people ordered to leave the…

Skip next section Scholz asks EU countries to send more Patriot systems to Ukraine04/18/2024April 18, 2024Scholz asks EU countries to send more Patriot systems to UkraineGerman Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on EU leaders on Wednesday to send more Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine after Kyiv said it is running out of weaponry to withstand Russian attacks. Scholz emphasized the urgency of immediate action at an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels, while reiterating Germany’s commitment to support Kyiv’s defense against intensified Russian attacks. “Now it is about doing it quickly and not at some point in the future,” the German leader…

Thousands of people in Georgia have protested for the third consecutive night over a bill they say is inspired by laws used in authoritarian Russia to crush dissent.The law would force non-government organisations and media outlets that get more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as an “organisation serving the interests of a foreign power”. It is seen as a major test of whether Georgia will move closer to the West or to Russia. It is also being watched closely by the European Union, as it considers the country’s bid for full membership.Some 10,000 people were on…

04/17/2024April 17, 2024Zelenskyy: Israel showed Ukraine’s ‘real need’ is aerial defenseUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told leaders in Brussels of Russia’s overnight cruise missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.  He said more than 60 people were injured and 17 were known to have been killed.  Zelenskyy said this was “what’s happening every day” in Ukraine and that it “reflects our current key need — the need for air defense.”  “Here in Ukraine, in our part of Europe, unfortunately, we do not have the level of defense that we all saw in the Middle East a few days ago. When, thanks…

A record amount of rainfall was said to have caused “absolute carnage” in Dubai on Tuesday – with schools closed, flights suspended and people working from home.More than 14cm (5.6 inches) of rain soaked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) city on Tuesday – the heaviest rainfall there since records began in 1949, the state-run WAM news agency said. As people in Dubai continue to face disruption due to the downpours, some have suggested the rain could have been caused by a practice carried out by humans known as “cloud seeding”.Here we take a look at what the process involves and…