Author: DW

Germany’s state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn has been hit by an unprecedented 6-day strike, paralyzing its passenger and freight services. The latest industrial action is the fourth in the current wage dispute between the rail company and the train drivers’ union GDL. The latest strike, which could cost Deutsche Bahn about €1 billion ($1.01 billion), is the latest headache for a firm that’s been plagued with multiple issues ranging from creaking infrastructure to underinvestment. In 2022, every third long-distance train was more than six minutes late. The situation was better on regional services, where nearly one of every ten regional trains…

India’s treasure trove of symbols, such as the lotus flower, Om and the sun, has long offered pictorial identities to customs, cultures and creeds. With Indian elections looming large, symbols continue to play an irreplaceable role across the political landscape, lending identities to more than 1,200 political parties. The symbols — often objects in daily use like bicycles or brooms, birds and animals, and scenes from everyday life — are common motifs. The Election Commission of India offers a raft of symbols from which political parties choose to represent their ideologies and agendas to potential voters.The lotus flower and the hand are…

Freight travelling through the Suez Canal has almost halved since Yemen’s Houthi rebels began attacking cargo ships in the Red Sea.The key shipping lane links producers in the Asia-Pacific region and Western markets – and longer, alternative routes has caused delays and increased costs. In response to the attacks by the Iranian-backed militant group, which it says are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, the United States and Britain have carried out airstrikes.Follow Middle East latest: ICJ rules Israel will face genocide investigationUNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), which supports developing countries in global trade, said the number…

An investigative judge in Spain has ruled that former Spanish soccer president Luis Rubiales should face trial for kissing forward Jenni Hermoso without her consent at the Women’s World Cup. State prosecutors have accused Rubiales of sexual assault against Hermoso and for allegedly seeking to coerce her to support him publicly. What the judge said In a ruling that follows a preliminary investigation, Judge Francisco de Jorge concluded that the kiss “was not consensual and was a unilateral and unexpected move” by Rubiales. The judge also said other officials, including the former team coach Jorge Vilda, should face trial for…

With a bumper year for elections worldwide, including June polls for the European Parliament, European Union officials tasked with monitoring disinformation are on high alert. A dedicated EU task force investigated 750 incidents of deliberately misleading information being spread by foreign actors last year, published in a new report. As in previous years, Russia was the primary source, “trying to justify its war of aggression against Ukraine,” the authors of the European Union External Action Service (EEAS) document wrote. Ukraine was the number one targeted country, followed by the United States, Germany and Poland. Close to 150 institutions, including the…

Golden visas and golden passports have attracted attention in recent years, as some countries attempt to encourage wealthy foreigners to park their money in return for residency or citizenship. The tiny Caribbean island of Dominica, for example, receives more money from the sale of citizenship at $100,000 (€91,650) a pop than it does from taxes, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month. The island attracts many wealthy Chinese, Russian and Iranian nationals, among others, who often face difficulties when crossing borders. They now benefit from the perks of being a Dominica passport holder, including 90-day, visa-free travel to the European Union. Cyprus’ citizenship by investment…

NASA’s little helicopter on Mars, “Ingenuity,” has taken its last flight, the US space agency announced on Thursday. “It is bittersweet that I must announce that Ingenuity, the ‘little helicopter that could’ — and it kept saying, ‘I think I can, I think I can’ — well, it has now taken its last flight on Mars,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. First aircraft on another planet Ingenuity is a small helicopter that became the first aircraft to achieve powered flight on another planet, in 2021. The mission was intended to last 30 days to see whether it would be possible to make…

Cautious anticipation hovers over the cluster of South African communities that have consistently organised on behalf of Palestinians in the months of lethal Israeli military assault on Gaza that followed Hamas’s 7 October attacks.An interim ruling from the United Nations’ International Court of Justice on South Africa v Israel is imminent, with a decision expected to come from the Hague at midday on Friday. It is a pivotal moment and the case could secure an interim ceasefire and increased humanitarian aid to Gaza if ruled in South Africa’s favour.South Africa alleges Israeli forces have carried out genocidal acts including killing…

Kenneth Smith was convicted for his role in a murder in 1988 and sentenced to death. In 2022, Smith survived an attempted execution by lethal injection when his executioners repeatedly failed to insert an intravenous line for the drugs used to flow into his body. They had tried veins in his hands and arms, and finally, as has been reported by the New York Times, one near his heart. Lethal injections were introduced in 1982 in the US, where they are the most common method of execution. Lethal injections contain one or more drugs, including anesthetics, barbiturates and paralytic agents…

Although many know the magnificent CologneCathedral as the city’s main tourist attraction, few are aware that it’s also a major attraction for archaeologists. “We’ve uncovered a huge area here and worked our way back to the ancient Roman period,” says archaeologist Ruth Stinnesbeck, with an area of around 4,000 square meters (43,055 square feet) under the famous church being explored. The well-preserved finds discovered underground at depths of between 3.5 to 16 meters (37-172 ft) under the cathedral have thrilled Stinnesbeck and her colleagues. “It’s unlike everywhere else in the city, where old buildings are constantly being replaced by new ones and…