Author: DW

The bookies had put their money on British singer Olivia Newton-John. She was already a star at the time and the clear favorite. Singer Gigliola Cinquetti, who had already lifted the trophy for Italy in 1964, was also given good odds. But Sweden? The country had never won the competition before, and nobody believed it would. The band ABBA was unknown outside their home country. Their previous attempt to win Eurovision the year before with the song “Ring Ring” was thwarted when they failed to advance past the preliminary round. But in 1974, the stars aligned for them: At the…

Two weeks ago, Darmstadt and Iceland midfielder Victor Palsson gave an emotional interview. The 29-year-old talked about grief after the death of his mother, including crying in front of his 3-year-old son and losing 8 kilos (17.6 pounds) during what he described as a dark time.  Palsson’s readiness to talk openly about topics that are rarely public knowledge in football speaks to the tools he has developed and how much more open the world is becoming about mental health. The question is: has professional football done just as much development as he has?  “In professional sport, it is often stated that it’s important to always…

The death toll from a powerful earthquake in Taiwan has risen to 13 after another body was found in the hard-hit Taroko National Park. Meanwhile, over 600 people — including nearly 450 at a hotel in the national park — remained stranded three days after the island’s strongest earthquake in 25 years. The disaster caused at least 1,145 injuries.  Meanwhile, the demolition of a building in the city of Hualien that is leaning precariously after the 7.4 earthquake was halted on Saturday because of aftershocks that made it lean even more.Rescue efforts continue as Taiwan braces for aftershocks To view…

Russia launched missile and drone strikes on Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, killing six and injuring 11, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Saturday. Ukraine’s National Police released images of the damage caused by the attack, including fires that had broken out on the streets and next to buildings. Attacks on Kharkiv, near the Russian border, have been intensifying in recent weeks. It has suffered extensive damage in the two years of war. Kharkiv a target for a new offensive  Air defenses intercepted 28 out of 32 drones and three of six missiles fired by Russia, the military said. Fighting along the approximately 1000-kilometer…

An Iranian journalist is back on TV just a week after he was stabbed outside his home.Pouria Zeraati, a 36-year-old presenter at London-based broadcaster Iran International, said “the show must go on” a week after he was attacked in London. He was stabbed in the leg by three unknown assailants as he approached his car in Wimbledon, southwest London, on 29 March.Police said no arrests have yet been made, but are confident the suspects “do not present a risk to communities of London or the UK”.They believe the trio fled the country from Heathrow Airport shortly after the attack. In…

Four games in 10 days. It’s not an abnormal workload for an elite player in the cut and thrust of a domestic season. But it’s an unusual task in early June. Hansi Flick’s Germany kick off their Nations League campaign against Italy in Bologna on Saturday, then travel back to Munich to host England on Tuesday, on to Budapest to play Hungary the following Saturday and then back to Dortmund to meet the Italians again the next Tuesday. They’re not alone in such a demanding schedule. Flick will likely rotate his squad but the travel, training and mental pressure to perform…

US President Joe Biden on Friday flew to Baltimore, Maryland, aboard Marine One to inspect the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that previously spanned the city’s industrial port before it was struck by a container ship and collapsed in the early hours of March 26. Biden inspected the wreckage from the presidential helicopter Marine One before meeting state and local officialsImage: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP/picture alliance Biden then met with members of the US Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers involved in the effort to remove the wreckage of last week’s spectacular collapse in order to allow…

A 15-year-old boy in France has died in the hospital on Friday, a day after he was attacked by a group of people after a music lesson at school. A murder investigation has now been opened, regional prosecutor Gregoire Dulin said on Friday afternoon. The incident occurred in the town of Viry-Chatillon, located around 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the capital, Paris. Media cited prosecutors as saying the attack was carried out by masked youths. Police on Friday afternoon detained five people linked to the attack, including three 17-year-olds, one 15-year-old and a 20-year-old, prosecutors said. Thursday’s attack came just two days…

They are everywhere – scaling wires, rattling shop fronts, jumping between buildings, nestling in temples.The monkeys of Lopburi, Thailand, are smart, brazen, agile and hungry. When you drive into the ancient city, it looks like they might even be running the show. There are at least 2,500 here, but possibly many more. For decades they’ve been a symbol of local culture. They draw in a lot of tourists – many who like to feed them – which some say is the problem. But the authorities have now decided there are far too many monkeys roaming the streets. They say they’ve…

Thirty years on, Samuel sets out to discover what set these terrible events in motion. Image: DWHe undertakes a journey from Rwanda to Germany and Belgium, both former colonial powers in the small East African nation. He hopes it will help him to understand the basis for the Hutu majority’s animosity towards the country’s small Tutsi minority. In Rwanda and Europe, Samuel meets with historians and contemporary witnesses. He wants to understand what happened to make people in his homeland turn on each other in such a way.     Image: Public Domain/Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek     What role was…