Author: DW

Intelligence agencies are secretive, gathering information to bolster national security or help their governments make political decisions. To do so, they sometimes even spy on allies. The National Security Agency (NSA) in the United States, for example, spied on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone for several years — a fact the US would have preferred had never come to light. In other situations, intelligence agencies are more open to sharing what they know. On February 23, 2022, for example — the eve of the war in Ukraine — the United States informed Germany and other European allies of intelligence it had about Russia’s imminent invasion. A few…

“They are not our nation, these are not our people. If I was the state of Russia, I would kill them with an axe.”That’s what Firdavs, a migrant worker from Tajikistan who we met outside the Tajik consulate in Moscow, had to say about the four suspects behind the Moscow terror attack, all of them Tajik citizens. Image: The actions of the terrorists on Friday have done little to make the lives of migrant workers such as Firdavs any easier, Pic: Diana Magnay Others joined in, offering their condolences to the people of Russia, saying they are mourning too.Russia is…

Brazilian football has seen better days. The country’s Olympic team failed to qualify for Paris 2024, while Brazil’s full men’s national team, the “Selecao,” are languishing in sixth place in the South American World Cup qualifying standings. Utterly unacceptable for a team who have won a record five World Cups. On Saturday, Dorival Junior became the fifth man in the past two years to take his place in the Selecao’s coaching zone — for their friendly against England at Wembley. It seems as if the record-breaking world champions have lost their footballing identity. Former Brazilian stiker Grafite, who led Wolfsburg to…

The threat of Russia using cyberattacks, propaganda and other tactics to influence public opinion in Germany is real and growing, according to the country’s interior minister.  “The dangers have reached a new level,” Nancy Faeser of the center-left Social Democrats told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. Her warning comes as Germany prepares for the European Parliament elections in June and three regional elections in September. There are growing concerns that Russia will try to rally support for pro-Kremlin parties such as the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of the votes. The country has long been a target of Russian influence operations.…

During the election campaign, Diomaya Faye described himself as a “candidate for system change” and a representative of “left-wing Pan-Africanism.” He has raised hopes for change in Senegal, especially among the young electorate, by proposing monetary policy reforms and renegotiating oil, gas and mining contracts. He promised, among other things, the restoration of Senegal’s “sovereignty,” a determined fight against corruption, and a fairer distribution of wealth in the country. Analysts see this as Faye’s intention to distance Senegal from Western powers, particularly the former colonial ruler, France. The “new guy” about to take Senegal’s top office has prioritized fighting political corruption. He also wants to reform the currency to finance the Senegalese…

The collapse of the Baltimore bridge has trade implications, with the cost of rebuilding estimated to surpass $600m (£474.12m), experts have told Sky News. Local officials have said Baltimore port in Maryland, the United States – which sees more than a million shipping containers enter and exit every year – is closed for all maritime and much road-based traffic “until further notice”. Trucks, however, are being allowed to move goods out of the area.Baltimore bridge collapse latest: Six people still missing as two pulled from water; ship issued mayday before crash But the collapse, caused by a shipping container crashing…

UK judges on Tuesday delayed their ruling on Julian Assange’s extradition to the US, and asked the US for further assurances that the self-styled whistleblower would not face the death penalty if extradited.  The UK abolished the death penalty in the 1960s. Assange had applied to be able to appeal the extradition at a further hearing. The court ruled on Tuesday that he could, unless the US provided “satisfactory assurances” within three weeks that his life would not be at risk and on whether he could rely on the First Amendment of the US Constitution which protects freedom of speech. Judges Victoria…

A new report by a United Nations panel set up to monitor North Korea’s compliance with international sanctions has claimed that Pyongyang continues “malicious” cyberattacksthat have netted the regime around $3 billion (€2.76 billion) in the six years to 2023.   The proceeds have funded as much as 40% of the cost of its weapons of mass destruction programs, it added. Analysts told DW that the crypto industry “is extremely concerned” that a powerful state actor is apparently carrying out virtual currency thefts effectively with impunity and that international law lags behind the rapid pace of development in the sector. Similarly, they point…

Steven Spielberg has given an impassioned speech urging the importance of stopping the rise of antisemitism and extremist views amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas which began in October.The 77-year-old director was speaking at a ceremony to honour the USC Shoah Foundation – a non-profit organisation he founded, which documents interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust, during which some six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis. Image: Pic: USC/Sean Dube/PA The foundation – which he created in 1994 following the release of his Oscar-winning film Schindler’s List – received the University of Southern California (USC) Medallion,…

Protein is essential for a healthy diet. And you can get your protein from plants and animals — beans, peas, nuts and wholegrain seeds, and fish, poultry and other livestock. Nutrition experts at the Harvard School of Public Health advise you take most of your proteins from plant-based sources. Red meats, such as beef, they say, “should be consumed on a more limited basis.” Meat production is, for one, considered environmentally unsustainable. But too much meat can also lead to health problems, including bowel cancer. Often, it’s more a case of the way the meat is cooked than the meat itself, but…