Author: DW

There’s a wedding on the screen: Moviegoers throw rice in the theater. In the film, a blonde woman gets out of her car. She holds a newspaper over her head to protect herself from the rain. Meanwhile, in the cinema, water guns spray water all over while others hold newspapers over their heads too. The woman then starts singing. When she sings, “there’s a light,” hundreds of cigarette lighters are held up by the audience. The woman and her boyfriend then enter a castle where a party is taking place. On screen, people are dancing the “Time Warp”: moviegoers join…

Germany’s public transport services were largely out of operation on Friday amid a second round of strikes in the sector, called by trade union Verdi. The union said that from February 26 through to March 2, there would be “waves of strikes in local public transport nationwide.” Working hours a sticking point The key focus of the industrial dispute is on a reduction of weekly working hours for shift workers. The union has said its talks over public transport workers’ contracts have stalled as it seeks a reduction in working hours and more leave. Verdi called for work stoppages on buses…

Compared to other unrecognized breakaway statelets that emerged out of the Soviet Union’s dissolution, Transnistria has largely remained peaceful despite tensions simmering on and off for decades. However, since Russia invaded Ukraine, the Moldovan enclave has repeatedly found itself on the brink of becoming another flash point of conflict in Eastern Europe. In the most recent escalation of tensions, officials in the Pro-Kremlin separatist region have formally requested Russia’s protection against perceived threats from the Moldovan government. They have urged the Kremlin to shield the region from “increasing pressure” from Moldova, alleging that Moldova is “damaging the economy” and “violating human…

The number of obese people worldwide has surpassed one billion, according to global analysis.Research published by The Lancet journal shows 879 million adults and 159 million children were obese in 2022 – the most recent year included in the analysis. In the UK, around 16.8 million people are living with obesity – which includes eight million women, 7.4 million men, 760,000 boys and 590,000 girls, according to the study.The study was conducted by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration – a network of health scientists around the world – in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO).The data shows that globally,…

Since time immemorial, horror has found its way into various art forms, whether in fairy tales, books, paintings, sculptures, songs or films.  Despite this long tradition, horror has long been denigrated for being a superficial genre. Curator Westrey Page hopes to demonstrate that is not the case with the exhibition “Death and the Devil. The Fascination with Horror,” which is now on show at the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt after its first run at the Kunstpalast Düsseldorf. In recent decades, the topic has only appeared marginally in major exhibitions, as Page tells DW. Unique in its approach, the exhibition explores how horror has inspired creators in all…

Polling stations opened in Iran on Friday in the first parliamentary elections since mass protests swept the Islamic Republic in 2022, triggered by the death of Jina Mahsa Amini while in custody. “Voting for the 12th term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the 6th term of the Assembly of Leadership Experts began following an order by the interior ministry,” state TV reported, using the official name of the Iranian parliament. State television said that polling began at 8 a.m. (0430 GMT), and it is scheduled to last for 10 hours but can be extended. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among the first…

It’s Sunday mass at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem’s Old City. Pastor Sally Azar, a Palestinian Christian, leads the prayers for a small congregation seated around the altar of the Protestant church. On Friday, Azar will be one of the local pastors holding services for the Women’s World Day of Prayer. “I grew up in the church here, and I’ve always been part of the World Day of Prayer services. And it was quite ecumenical, and it grew on me: It’s like, ‘Oh, what an amazing day for women,’ so it’s an honor to keep the tradition,”…

At two Texas border towns both President Biden and former President Trump made duelling visits. They were 300 miles apart but with an identical aim, to eke out political advantage from the immigration crisis which will be one of the defining issues of the 2024 election. The Biden administration has presided over a record number of border crossings, a surge which Republicans have used to characterise the president as being weak on the issue.In Brownsville, Texas, a town which historically has large influxes of migrants, Mr Biden made only his second visit to the border, but this time promised change.”It’s…

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday. “This House and its members condemn his killing in the strongest possible terms… the world is owed justice,” said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola as she opened a session honoring Navalny’s life.  European lawmakers were later expected to debate Navalny’s death and condemn the Russian regime and President Vladimir Putin, according to an official statement. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were also set to later discuss the dangerous situation facing opposition figures, journalists and human rights defenders in Russia. A resolution will be put to vote…

For weeks, Amani* and her five children have been living in a tent in Rafah, the increasingly crowded city on Gaza’s southern border.”There is constant bombing and terror. My children are very afraid,” she says.”We are dying slowly and nobody cares, nobody feels for us. Our kids have no life. It’s not clean, there’s no food. Everything is difficult.”Across the border, in Egypt, her husband Mahmoud* has been desperately trying to arrange for them to be allowed out of Gaza through the Rafah crossing.He has not seen his wife or children for five months. Their youngest is just three years…