Author: DW

Tens of thousands of people have taken part in anti-government protests in Israel while the country’s prime minister underwent “successful” surgery for a hernia.Protesters in Jerusalem were urging the government to reach a ceasefire deal to free the dozens of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas. They also called on the government to hold an early election, which is not due to happen until the spring of 2026.Middle East latest: Follow live updatesDespite Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to destroy Hamas and bring all hostages home, many of their families believe time is running out. “We believe that no hostages will come…

“I was 23 when I moved from my parents’ house to Chemnitz. And then real life began,” reads a comic panel. The illustration shows a young man with his arms thrown out joyfully in front of a disco ball in the former East German town. “Chemnitz sounds incredibly boring to most people. It has a bad reputation,” reads the text in the next frame. “For me as a young gay guy who found a small community, gay clubs and so on, it was the best place in the world.” The comic is illustrated in black, white and yellow by comic…

For the first time in 15 years Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund met in ‘Der Klassiker’ without the Bundesliga title on the line, but Germany’s most-anticipated clash still drew the attention of an international crowd. Munich-born Karim Adeymi silenced a 75,000-strong crowd at the Allianz Arena, which included Bollywood star Kartik Aaryan, as the visitors earned their first league win in Bavaria in 3,641 days and at the 10th time of asking. The jubilant celebrations from the Dortmund players at full time following their 2-0 win in front of their 5,000 travelling fans showed the meaning of the victory and the…

Police in the Netherlands’ capital Amsterdam said on Sunday that they had cleared the area around the central Rokin metro station and that explosives experts were on the scene investigating. Amsterdam police wrote about the operation in a post on social media network X. “Due to a suspicious situation, Rokin metro station has just been evacuated and the area around the station cordoned off. TEV is investigating on site,” the police wrote, referring to the explosives team. Rokin metro station is in the very center of the city, close to the Dam square and the main shopping street. Large area cordoned off…

Partial results have Turkey’s opposition candidate and incumbent mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, leading in local elections according to local media. Broadcaster NTV on Sunday said that the country’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) had nearly 51% with around 92% of ballots counted in the country’s largest city. Opposition upbeat after early partial results “We are in first position with a lead of more than a million votes … We have won the election,” Imamoglu told reporters at the CHP’s Istanbul headquarters. Murat Kurum, the candidate of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s  Justice and Development Party (AKP), which rules nationally, had around 40%.…

The remains of a two-year-old boy, who went missing in the French Alps in July, have been found near where he disappeared, according to local media reports.Bones, including a skull, were discovered by a walker near Le Vernet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence on Saturday.Forensic tests showed they belonged to the boy, known only as Emile, French broadcaster BFMTV said, quoting prosecutors. Image: Pic: Gendarmerie Nationale Some reports named him as Émile Soleil.Prosecutor Jean-Luc Blachon said: “On Saturday, the police were told of the discovery of bones near the hamlet of Le Vernet.”After testing them, police concluded on Sunday that “they were…

Some 70 marches or events calling for peace took place around Germany on Saturday, an annual tradition at Easter in a country that developed a strong pacifist movement in the decades following its defeat in World War II.  The motto chosen this year is “Now more than ever, together for peace.”  Leaders of the coalition government in Berlin, themselves from parties with close traditional connections to this movement, issued Easter messages trying to reconcile their desire for peace in principle with their policies of providing weapons to Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia and increasing German defense spending and weapons…

A Spanish third-division game on Saturday was abandoned when a team walked off the pitch in protest at their goalkeeper having faced alleged racial abuse during the game. Rayo Majadahonda goalkeeper Cheikh Kane Sarr was shown a red card in the 84th minute of the team’s match against Sestao River. He was sent off after he approached fans of the opposing team behind his goalpost. On social media, videos of the altercation show Sarr, who is Senegalese and 23 years old, jumping into the stands but soon being pulled away by other players on the field. He then told his team about the incident. His Rayo Majadahonda teammates refused to…

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to enroll 150,000 conscripts into the military, a document posted on the Kremlin’s website showed on Sunday. All men in Russia are required to serve one year of compulsory military service. According to Statista, Russia has approximately 1.32 million active military personnel and two million reserve military personnel. Conscripts not destined for Ukraine Compulsory military service has long been a sensitive issue in Russia. Many men try to avoid conscription during the twice-yearly call-up periods. The Defense Ministry had previously assured conscripts they would not be sent to the front in Ukraine as…

Thousands of supporters of India’s leading opposition parties rallied in New Delhi on Sunday to protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government ahead of general elections next month. Leaders of an alliance of opposition parties spoke out against “autocracy” and the arrest of a senior colleague ahead of general elections at the “Save Democracy” rally. “This battle is to safeguard the nation, democracy, constitution, future of the nation, youth, farmers and women. This battle is for justice and truth,” Deepender Singh Hooda, a lawmaker of the Congress party, said. Modi and his Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are…