Author: DW

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday approved the first US-listed exchange traded funds (ETFs) to track bitcoin. The long-awaited move cleared the way for 11 ETFs to list on leading exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange. The regulators made it clear the decision “did not approve or endorse bitcoin.” An ETF would provide a way to invest in bitcoin without having to buy the cryptocurrency outright. Less than 24 hours before the approval, the SEC described as “unauthorized” a social media statement announcing the ETFs approval. The price of bitcoin briefly spiked Tuesday after the announcement. What does the SEC…

A landslide hit northwest Colombia on Friday, killing at least 18 people and injuring some 30 others, local authorities said. The avalanche covered a highway on a busy municipal road linking the cities of Medellin and Quibdo. President Gustavo Petro said his government would provide all support needed, describing it in a social media post as a “horrible tragedy.” What do we know about the landslide? People got out of their vehicles when the mudslide hit the road to “take shelter in a house” near the municipality of Carmen de Atrato, an official from the governor’s office in Choco department…

Liverpool fans have called on the club to enable terminally ill Sven-Goran Eriksson to realise his unfilled wish of managing the team.The former England manager, who has pancreatic cancer with about a year left to live at the “best case”, told Sky News’ Niall Paterson of his footballing regret at never having taken the helm at Anfield. Eriksson, like his father, has been a lifelong supporter of the Merseyside club. Image: The former England manager is ‘a popular fella’. Pic: AP In response to the poignant interview, supporters have backed the idea of the 75-year-old managing the LFC Legends side…

At 30 meters long, 10 meters wide (98 feet) and with a pointy nose, the X-59 is NASA’s promise to kick-start a new age of super-sonic flights — a plane that would allow people to fly from one continent to another, across oceans, in just hours. With the dimensions of a blue-whale, the X-59 could be a spaceship or a military jet fighter.  This is a “new chapter” in supersonic flight, said the space agency’s Peter Coen, integration manager for the “Quesst” mission. What are supersonic flights? They are aircrafts that can travel at speed greater than the speed of sound. While they…

Born in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1907, Elizabeth “Lee” Miller showed an early interest in the arts and Europe, moving to Paris at age 18 to study lighting, costume and design at a theater school. A year later, she moved to New York City, studying theater, drawing and painting. Lee Miller started modeling in the late 1920s, posing for legendary photographers such as Edward Steichen and George Huyningen-HueneImage: Martin Schutt/picture alliance/dpa The accidental model Soon after, she became one of the most sought-after models in New York, purely by accident, when Conde Montrose Nast, the publisher of Vogue magazine, saved her from getting run…

When international footballers wear the colors of their nations to represent them at continental or global tournaments, they are usually driven by pride and honor — but players’ desire to succeed runs a lot deeper in Africa.  Football tournaments, such as the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), provide opportunities for players to reap the rewards of the hard work they put in to reach the top of their game.  Financial rewards in the form of bonuses paid to football players are considered compensation for past struggles and private investments made into players’ futures, some analysts have told DW. However, the payment of bonuses has become…

The atmosphere in the region along the border between Lebanon and Israel is already pretty close to what war feels like.  Unmanned Israeli drones whizz through the air, the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia exchanges fire with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and most civilians have left the region on both sides of the border. “I fear that Hezbollah drags us into a war that we, the Lebanese, have nothing to do with, and Lebanon is not ready for war,” a 40-year-old resident of Beirut, who asked to not publish his name for fear of retribution, told DW. “Everything in the country, including hospitals and infrastructure, is…

The rich and powerful of the world are descending on the idyllic Swiss resort town of Davos for the meeting of the World Economic Forum. The annual event is taking place at a time when the world is witnessing devastating wars in Gaza and Ukraine, breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) that are causing as much excitement as worry, a catastrophic debt crisis amid an economic slowdown and a deterioration in the health of the planet.   Over 2,800 participants are slated to attend the 5-day event starting Monday, January 15, including more than 60 heads of state and government. The theme of…

Houthi rebels on the Arabian Peninsula, supported by Iran, have been attacking cargo ships in the Red Sea since since Israel launched its military operion in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in October 2023. In a statement on Thursday evening, US President Joe Biden reported that there had been 27 attacks on ships to date. Numerous shipping companies have halted traffic through these waters as a result, and have redirected their ships to take the much longer route around the southern tip of Africa. The Red Sea, which connects the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, is a vital trade route…

The former prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, has married her partner after years of delays.Ms Ardern, 43, married Clarke Gayford, 47, in a private ceremony in the Hawke’s Bay region of Aotearoa. The couple have been engaged for almost five years but have faced delays due to COVID, the birth of their daughter and Ms Ardern’s duties as her country’s leader.The ceremony reportedly took place at a luxury vineyard 200 miles from New Zealand’s capital, Wellington.Guests were limited to family, close friends and some of Ms Ardern’s former colleagues. Outside the venue, a small group of protesters had…