Author: DW

Since shortly after the start of Moscow’s full-scale war on Ukraine in February 2022, Russian judokas had only been allowed to compete internationally under a neutral banner, rather than their national flag. On Thursday, though, the executive committee of the International Judo Federation (IJF) voted to end the measure, meaning that effective immediately, Russian athletes will be allowed to compete under their flag at international events. ‘The last bridge’ “Sport is the last bridge that unites people and nations in very difficult conflict situations and environments. Athletes have no responsibility for the decisions of governments or other national institutions,” read a…

Long-term net migration into the United Kingdom for the 12 months up to June 2025 stood at 204,000, figures released on Thursday by the national statistics agency showed, the lowest level for the period in four years.  That equates to a 69% reduction compared to the same 12-month period a year ago, 649,000. However, that figure includes the second half of 2023 — an all-time record calendar year for net migration into the UK — when roughly 860,000 more people immigrated to the UK on a long-term basis than emigrated from it. Labour seeks to cut numbers amid pressure from Reform The Office for National…

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that operations to curb Venezuelan drug trafficking “by land” would begin “very soon.”  The warning comes amid escalating tensions with Caracas and with the military stepping up its activity in the Caribbean as part of what Washington says are efforts to stop transnational crime and drug smuggling. Venezuela, however, says the military buildup and the US anti-narcotics campaign is really a covert effort to remove leftist leader Nicolas Maduro. Washington views Maduro as an illegitimate ruler and accuses him of drug trafficking — allegations the Venezuelan president rejects.Maduro’s re-election last year was rejected by the international community as fraudulentImage: Cristian Hernandez/AP Photo/picture alliance What…

Can you trust your ears to tell man from machine when it comes to music? Most people can’t, it seems. In a recent study by the streaming platform Deezer and market research company Ipsos, 97% of respondents could not tell the difference between musical tracks made entirely by artificial intelligence (AI) and those made by humans. In other words, AI-generated audio is really convincing.  And it’s already everywhere, including on the billboard charts: “Walk my Walk,” from Breaking Rust — an entirely AI creation, from instrumentals to vocals to image — reached number one on the country digital song chart in mid-November.…

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva insisted this week that there are no remaining obstacles to signing the EU-Mercosur trade agreement next month after more than two decades of negotiations. Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa, Lula said the deal would represent “possibly the largest agreement” in global trade, citing both blocs’ nearly 722 million population and $22 trillion in gross domestic product (GDP). But while EU trade representatives consider the Mercosur pact to be a done deal, France and Hungary are calling for last-minute changes, citing risks to their agricultural sectors. And while the long-sought pact remains…

Casual sex isn’t inherently harmful but for some people, overlooking personal needs or emotional boundaries can take an emotional toll. Despite the promise of freedom and easy intimacy, hookups don’t always feel empowering and for some women, they can lead to unexpected feelings of depletion. DW spoke to several women from North America, Europe and parts of Asia who spoke of hookups that gave feelings of short-term confidence but also made deeper intimacy harder. Heather, a 40-year-old woman from the US, describes this tension as leaving her feeling “empty, sad, and temporarily empowered, but always craving more.” When engaging in…

Russian star gymnast Angelina Melnikova will no longer compete for TSV Tittmoning-Chemnitz, a gymnastics club in eastern Germany, at the season-ending Bundesliga finals as previously planned, the club’s coach told DW. Melnikova, 25, signed on with Chemnitz earlier this month, but her debut in the penultimate Bundesliga competition of the season on November 15 in the southwestern town of Esslingen, attracted controversy because of her links to Russian President Vladimir Putin and her support for the war in Ukraine. That appears to violate the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) neutrality rules. In his opening remarks at the Esslingen competition, the city’s…

Looking through the gallery of US secretaries of the Army from past decades, there are few names that would be familiar to a non-American audience. This is not surprising: the job description primarily involves equipment acquisition and financial issues relating to the United States Army. This could change with the current incumbent, Dan Driscoll. He was 38 years old when he took office, making him the youngest person to hold the position. But there’s more: As of a few days ago, he seems to be the one to have been tasked with the most delicate mission. Although the lawyer and former…

Thailand airlifted patients out of Hat Yai in the southern Songkhla province on Wednesday, while flying in emergency equipment like oxygen tanks to treat the wounded, after major floods hit the city.  Several days of torrential rains have led to flooding in nine Thai provinces and eight states in neighboring Malaysia, displacing around 50,000 people in both countries. People took refuge on the rooftops and hospitals were flooded in Hat Yai, a commercial hub in southern Thailand, which saw 335 millimeters (roughly 13.2 inches) of rain in a single day, a 300-year record. People sought to rescue supplies, as the government airlifted fresh drinking water into…

“The Berlin Apartment,” a novel new video game, is initially set in 2020. The German capital was in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and few people walked the streets and cafes and restaurants were closed. The game, created by the Berlin-based indie video game studio Blue Backpack, begins with second-grader Dilara as she accompanies her father, Malik, to work since schools are closed. Malik has been tasked with renovating an apartment in an old Berlin building. As they begin to remove the wallpaper and tiles, they discover traces of the former residents. Players can take on the unique perspective of these different Berlin residents as they embark on a four-hour…