Author: DW

A young basketball player is being put through his paces in a sports medicine lab. On command, he jumps and lands with one leg onto a force plate embedded in the floor. “I need one more,” Dr. Hauke Dewitz calls out to him. So the same procedure again: taped with reflective beads, so-called markers, and electrodes that measure muscle activity, the 16-year-old jumps again. Pain in his right knee, which has been bothering him for months, has brought him to the lab. With the controlled movements completed, now comes the analysis by the sports orthopedist treating the athlete. Based on the…

A Manhattan federal court on Thursday sentenced former cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison. The hearing is the culmination of Bankman-Fried’s fall from grace as a wealthy entrepreneur to a convicted felon behind one of the biggest financial frauds in US history. What the court said Judges in the sentencing on Thursday said they rejected Bankman-Fried’s contention that customers of the now-bankrupt FTX would not actually lose money.  A jury found the 32-year-old guilty in November last year on seven fraud and conspiracy counts stemming from the 2022 collapse of the FTX exchange that he founded. “He knew it was wrong,” US District Judge Lewis…

Once the poster child for responsibility in the cryptocurrency sector, Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in jail on Thursday (March 28, 2024) following his conviction in November in what prosecutors called one of the biggest financial fraud cases in history. US prosecutors were seeking a prison term of between 40 to 50 years, after a jury found him guilty on seven fraud and conspiracy counts contributing to the downfall of his FTX company — once a leading crypto exchange. Sam Bankman-Fried, known in the crypto community as “S.B.F.,” founded the collapsed FTX exchange in 2019, after launching the crypto hedge fund Alameda Research in 2017. Prior…

This article includes accounts of rape and physical assault Having escaped attacks by violent criminals and armed gangs known as bandits in their villages, many displaced women and girls are facing a new challenge. Sexual harassment is rife in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) across northern Nigeria — mostly for food or money. With little protection, IDPs are at risk of being kidnapped by bandits and jihadists. What are IDPs fleeing from? A bloody conflict between the army and jihadist groups, including Boko Haram, has been raging in Nigeria since 2009. It is estimated that more than 40,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million more displaced — 80% of whom…

The governor of Maryland has said “we have a very long road ahead of us” after a cargo ship crashed into a bridge – as all crew on board were confirmed to be in “good health”.Governor Wes Moore spoke about the clean-up after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge during a news conference on Thursday. He offered a rallying cry to his city and said that with “all speed and safety” they would rebuild the Francis Scott Key bridge but that they faced a “very long road ahead”.He added: “I’m calling on everyone to do their part -…

Cocaine use is at a record high: Experts at the United Nations estimate that about 22 million people took the drug in 2021. That’s more than the population of the US state of New York. In Europe, cocaine is the second most common street drug after cannabis. The substance, which is extracted from coca leaves, is typically snorted as a powder. It is highly addictive and can cause organ damage. Cocaine pushes the body to its limits, resulting in a physical effect similar to running a marathon. Withdrawal can cause intense physical and mental stress. Researchers in Brazil hope to support people…

A 33-year-old man is accused of a crime. He is arrested, tortured and dies on a cross. His fellow human beings, including his mother, are forced to watch his torture, unable to do anything. The darkest chapter in the history of Christianity is described personally and vividly by a witness, the evangelist John, a close friend of the victim. This is how one could summarize the theme of the St. John Passion. Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, which alongside Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, is considered by many to be one of the greatest works of European music. “The timeless themes that…

Do Germany have any more friendlies ahead of the Euros? Indeed, they do. Their opponents for their final two friendlies are Ukraine and Greece. Germany host Ukraine, who will also be at the tournament having qualified through the playoffs, in Nuremberg on June 3. Four days later, they face Greece in Mönchengladbach. The choice of opponents was deliberate, as Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann explained on the German FA’s website (DFB.de).  “We have to prepare for different styles of play and systems with a view to the European Championship and our group opponents. Ukraine and Greece are two combative, passionate teams — we’ve…

The two men speak in short sentences, often looking down and falling silent when talking of their time in Russian captivity and the strange circumstances of their release. “When I got back, I was given sedatives,” says one. “I only recently started sleeping normally again,” says the other. The two men speak to DW in a small, simply furnished office in the western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod on the Slovak border. Andriy and Ivan are two of the 11 allegedly ethnic Hungarian Ukrainian soldiers transferred from Russia to Hungary in June 2023. This is the first time any of the…

For nearly 40 years, the same family has led Cambodia without much threat to its rule. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet was sworn in last year, taking over from his father Hun Sen, who was in power from 1985 to 2023. Hun Sen won another five-year term as prime minister in elections last July, but he quickly handed over the premiership to his son.  However, 71-year-old Hun Sen remains a political force as the president of Cambodia’s Senate. Supporters of Hun Sen’s long time in power contend he led Cambodia into modern times after the Cambodian genocide under the Khmer Rouge from…