Author: DW

Google, Meta and other tech giants are making it more difficult to access independent media content in Belarus, exiled journalists have told the European Commission. By complying with restrictions imposed by Minsk,these companies have “become tools for a totalitarian and authoritarian regime to put pressure on civil society instead of helping to promote independent media,” the exiled journalist Natalia Belikova told the Financial Times in January. “It is becoming increasingly clear that technology companies have enormous power — perhaps in some cases even more than those in political power,” Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya told DW in January on the sidelines of…

A Russian hacking group gained access to Microsoft’s corporate email system and accessed the accounts of senior executives, the company said Friday evening. Microsoft believes the Russian state-sponsored group Midnight Blizzard, also known as Nobelium, was responsible for the hack. “To date, there is no evidence that the threat actor had any access to customer environments, production systems, source code, or AI systems. We will notify customers if any action is required,” Microsoft Security Response Center said in a blog post on Friday.What is cyber warfare?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that…

Despite opposition within Germany’s three-party governing coalition, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach still hopes to legalize cannabis by submitting a bill to parliament next month. “I am continuing to assume that the Cannabis Act will be passed by the Bundestag in the week between February 19 and 23 and will go into force from April 1,” Lauterbach told the Sunday edition of Die Welt daily newspaper, adding that talks on the legislation were going well. What the law will allow The coalition, which consists of the Social Democrats, including Lauterbach and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Greens and the pro-business liberals of the…

Two UK warships have collided off the coast of Bahrain, the Royal Navy has said.Social media footage appears to show HMS Chiddingfold reversing into HMS Bangor in the Gulf, sparking an official investigation. No one on board either vessel was injured, but “some damage was sustained”, the navy said.Rear Admiral Edward Ahlgren added: “Why this happened is still to be established.”We train our people to the highest standards and rigorously enforce machinery safety standards, but unfortunately incidents of this nature can still happen. “I assure you that a full and thorough investigation is already under way and any changes in…

Bayern Munich beat Hoffenheim 3-0 on Friday at the Allianz Arena in a Bundesliga match dedicated to the late German football legend Franz Beckenbauer. Beckenbauer died in the Austrian city of Salzburg on Sunday at the age of 78 and was buried earlier on Friday in a cemetery south of Munich, near where he grew up. Hours after his funeral in Munich, the stadium was lit up with the words “Danke Franz” (“Thank you Franz”) as dozens of former Bayern players gathered in the stands to pay tribute to “Der Kaiser” (“The Emperor”). “It’s a great incentive for the team…

In South Korea, the chief of Seoul’s metropolitan police has been charged with negligence over the 2022 Halloween stampede that left 159 people dead in the district of Itaewon. Kim Kwang-ho — who heads up Seoul’s Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) — was on Friday charged with professional negligence resulting in injury or death, according to the local prosecutor’s office. What prosecutors have said Prosecutors allege that Kim, who becomes the highest ranking police official to be charged — “did not take necessary measures, such as deploying sufficient police forces and ensuring proper command and supervision” on the day of the crush…

The South African government on Friday said it was backing a legal bid which seeks to halt the sale of personal items belonging to former president and anti-apartheid hero, Nelson Mandela. Over 70 items belonging to Mandela are set to be auctioned later in February in New York. Heritage agency’s bid to block Mandela items’ ‘unpermitted export’  South Africa’s Minister for Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa expressed “significant concern over the impending sale” and supported the South African Heritage Resources Agency’s (SAHRA) bid to halt what it called “the unpermitted export for exhibition or sale on auction of items associated” with the…

Russia could attack NATO within five years, the German defence minister has warned, as the alliance prepares to launch its biggest military exercises in decades amid increasing global uncertainty.Boris Pistorius told German news outlet, Der Tagesspiegel: “Our experts expect a period of five to eight years in which this could be possible. “We hear threats from the Kremlin almost every day, so we have to take into account that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, might even attack a NATO country one day.”‘Prepare for war, NATO chief warns’: Ukraine latest Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:42 Drone…

A study of Escherichia coli and salmonella enterica samples from 10 commercial chicken farms and slaughterhouses in China has found that the bacteria can evolve genetically to develop antimicrobial resistance — by sharing genetic information, known as mobile genetic elements. “Bacteria are known to share genetic information using mobile genetic elements. However, the extent to which bacteria do this across species is not fully understood, as most research studies focus on a single bacterial species,” said Tania Dottorini, a co-author of the study, in an email to DW. The two “species” in this case were the bacteria E. coli and S. enterica.…

“I don’t know if the angels in heaven play sport, but if they do they’ll have heard a new, somewhat Bavarian-tinged voice in recent days saying: ‘Go out there and play football.'” The words of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Franz Beckenbauer’s memorial service in Bayern Munich’s stadium were as heartfelt as the occasion in which thousands from the world of football and sport turned up to remember Germany’s most famous and decorated footballer. Steinmeier’s reference to Beckenbauer’sfamous quote to the Germany team ahead of the 1990 World Cup final was one of many poignant moments on an emotional day for fans…