Author: DW

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy started 2023 full of optimism.In Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces had demonstrated they could push Russian invaders back, and Western confidence in Ukraine’s ability to prevail was growing. Despite the risks to domestic national security, Western nations donated huge quantities of weapons, ammunition and high-tech capability from national stockpiles to support Ukraine’s proposed counteroffensive.However, as 2023 ends and despite huge casualties, the Ukrainian offensive has done little to move the frontlines, and Russia appears on the front foot in the eastern Donbas region.What went wrong? The Ukrainian armed forces have proven amazingly resilient, courageous and determined in combating the…

Leaving behind a legacy of 700 constructions in 30 countries, visionary French engineer Gustave Eiffel died 100 years ago, on December 27, 1923 in Paris, at the age of 91. His name is of course most directly associated with the Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris. The landmark structure has since become the symbol of the French capital and one of the world’s most-visited attractions. It is only through a quirk of history, however, that the striking tower bears the name of Gustave Eiffel, or that it is even standing today. Tower designed by Eiffel’s team The engineer was initially…

2024 heralds a good chapter for war-torn Yemen, hopes Hans Grundberg, the United Nations special envoy for the  country. “Thirty million Yemenis are watching and waiting for this new opportunity to provide for tangible results and progress towards lasting peace,” he said in a statement this week.  Yemen has been at war since 2014, when Iran-backed Houthi rebels ousted the Yemeni government. In 2015, the situation escalated when a Saudi-led coalition of nine countries intervened in an effort to restore the internationally recognized government, which has meanwhile turned into the Presidential Leadership Council. The conflict is widely seen as proxy war between…

Continued heavy rainfall is expected in some areas of Germany already affected by flooding, the national weather service DWD said. Much of the country has been hit by severe rain since Christmas Day, causing some rivers to burst their banks, while others are close to their breach point. DWD said that up to 40 millimeters of rain could fall within 24 hours in some areas of the western state of North-Rhine Westphalia and in the Harz Mountains in central Germany.Germany grappling with flooding amid heavy rainsTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that…

A Russian celebrity who sparked outrage by hosting a nightclub party with an “almost naked” dress code has been fined.Anastasia Ivleeva, a TV presenter and influencer, put on the Christmastime do at the Mutabor venue in Moscow.Given the country is on a war footing, the lavish event did not go down well with the public or authorities, with Vladimir Putin himself reportedly unamused.Ivleeva was handed a 100,000-rouble (£870) fine during a court appearance in the Russian capital on Friday.She had released two videos apologising for the party, one in which she tearfully pleaded for a “second chance”. Image: Ivleeva released…

When Stefan Ambrosius from the Munich State Opera practices the tuba, he is deeply relaxed. If you want to play this large brass instrument, you have to breathe in very deeply in order to obtain proper sounds from the instrument when you breathe out. “There’s almost something meditative about it,” the musician explained. The tuba was chosen by Germany’s state music councils as the Instrument of the Year 2024, following the mandolin, which was in the spotlight in 2023 “It’s fantastic that the music councils in Germany crown an instrument every year and then make it known in schools or through social…

It’s finally clear that NATO will get a new secretary-general. Jens Stoltenberg will soon be stepping down after nearly a decade of service in which he was asked to stay on four times — once even after he’d accepted a new job as head of the Norwegian central bank. Over those years, given the ruptured relationship with Russia and true trans-Atlantic tension with former US President Donald Trump, it wasn’t surprising no one wanted to risk replacing the stoic Stoltenberg, who earned the nickname the “Trump whisperer” for his ability to placate the acerbic American leader. But the baton is now expected…

Argentina’s President Javier Milei has sent letters to BRICS leaders to formalize his decision to withdraw his country from its planned entry into the alliance of major emerging economies, it was announced on Friday. Milei said the moment was not “opportune” for Argentina to join as a full member. The bloc — made up of G20 nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — in August announced it was admitting six new members. The membership of Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates was due to take effect from January 1, 2024. The BRICS nations…

Powerful waves have smashed against sea walls in California, flooding beachfront buildings and leaving eight injured.Video from Ventura Beach, northwest of Los Angeles, shows people running away as the powerful surge hits the wall there before sweeping inland. More footage from local CCTV shows restaurants becoming suddenly flooded.Eight people were taken to hospital on Thursday, and the beaches remain closed in the area.The waves are the result of a stormy Pacific Ocean, with forecasters warning conditions could continue over the New Year weekend. ‘Extremely dangerous conditions’ The National Weather Service (NWS) said waves would reach up to 40ft (12 metres)…

When Stefan Ambrosius from the Munich State Opera practices the tuba, he is deeply relaxed. If you want to play this large brass instrument, you have to breathe in very deeply in order to obtain proper sounds from the instrument when you breathe out. “There’s almost something meditative about it,” the musician explains. The tuba was chosen by Germany’s state music councils as the Instrument of the Year 2024, following the mandolin, which was in the spotlight in 2023 “It’s fantastic that the music councils in Germany crown an instrument every year and then make it known in schools or through social…