Author: DW

London Zoo announced the arrival of a second endangered western lowland gorilla baby on Tuesday. The infant, who was born to mother Effie on February 8 and is yet to be named, arrives just three and a half weeks after another western lowland gorilla was born at the zoo. Both arrivals boost numbers of a subspecies that is critically endangered. While the exact numbers of lowland gorillas in the wild are unknown, their numbers are thought to have declined by around 60% in the last 25 years. Western lowland gorillas can be distinguished from other gorilla subspecies by their slightly smaller size, their brown-grey coats and…

The marathon overnight session in the Senate to pass a funding bill for Ukraine is a relief for Kyiv and for Europe. It’s yet to pass the House of Representatives, though. It may well not.And the whole episode is indicative of an almighty American political mess with huge implications.The real story isn’t that the US Senate has done its part in passing the spending bill for Ukraine. Ukraine latest: Zelenskyy reacts to crucial US Senate voteIt’s actually about how we got to this point, and it is a story of raw, ugly politics.It is about American leadership, and it is…

Recently, calls for the Western world to recognize Palestine as a state in its own right have been getting louder. Although Germany does not consider Palestine a country, a majority of the world’s states — 139 out of a total of 193 — at the United Nations do. What’s significant this time, though, is that recognition is apparently being reconsidered by the US, a country that has previously vetoed almost every attempt to make Palestine a country. The UK also seems to be thinking about it even though in the past, the country has been just as opposed to the move as the US. “What…

It was the sheer chutzpah and brazen confidence of the ambassador’s performance that was most striking.His words speak volumes about the way Russia believes this war is now moving in its favour. Andrei Kelin, Vladimir Putin’s ambassador to the UK, is a career civil servant.In an interview with Sky News’ Yalda Hakim, he chose his words and tone carefully.He was able to sound assured because Ukrainians are not winning this war and at times he was even able to rub salt in their wounds. He claimed the frontline in Ukraine is moving steadily westwards and the country is struggling to…

Elon Musk’s SpaceX started providing Ukraine free access to its Starlink internet service shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The strategic benefits were clear: Skylink would provide internet access to the Ukrainian people and military after Russia had disrupted internet connections. The technology has been instrumental in guiding Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russian tanks and positions. But according to Ukraine’s intelligence services, Russian soldiers have been using the technology for months in the territories they occupy. That would mean Russia was circumventing sanctions by importing products via third parties. Starlink’s operator and the Russian government have both denied the allegations. SpaceX, which owns Starlink, says…

The list of candidates for a stake in German football’s future broadcast revenues could soon be down to just one after US financial investor Blackstone said it was considering withdrawing from the bidding process, a move which would leave CVC Capital Partners as the only remaining contender. After Bloomberg first reported Blackstone’s concerns, a source also confirmed to DW on Tuesday that the private equity firm was indeed considering stepping away from the process which they said had “gone on for a very long time, during which parameters have moved.” The source cited “structuring and economic factors around the deal…

Senegalese authorities on Tuesday suspended mobile internet services and banned a demonstration against the postponement of the presidential election, as international observers including France and the United Nations voiced concern about rising tensions in the country. Three people have been killed during violent protests after President Macky Sall’s decision to push back the February 25 vote until December 15 plunged traditionally stable Senegal into one of its worst crises in decades. The Aar Sunu Election (“Let’s protect our election”) collective, which includes some 40 civil, religious and professional groups, had called for a peaceful rally in Dakar on Tuesday afternoon.…

With Nigeria’s current minimum wage set to expire in April, a federal panel consisting of state governors, trade unionists and private sector and labor leaders is reviewing by how much the minimum wage should increase. Currently, the minimum monthly wage stands at 30,000 naira ($20, €19). Economic reforms introduced after Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration nine months ago have left ordinary Nigerians battling to keep their heads above water amid soaring living costs. “The cost of everything has gone up: food items, rent, school fees, tariffs, water, electricity, transport,” says Benson Upah, spokesman for the union platform Nigerian Labour Congress.Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has come under…

Botticelli’s painting “The Birth of Venus” on Tuesday has become the latest piece of art to be the focus of climate protests. Two activists from the Last Generation group in Italy stuck several photographs of flooding on the painting displayed at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, police said.  The protesters also held up a poster demanding a €20 billion ($21.43 billion) fund to repair climate damage. “The government continues to pretend that fields did not burn in January, that water will not be a problem this summer, that houses destroyed by floods are accidental events and not caused by human…

Vladimir Putin’s ambassador to the UK says the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which Russian forces razed to the ground, is now “beautiful” and “rebuilt”.In a wide-ranging interview with Sky News’ Yalda Hakim, Andrei Kelin also said Moscow has “no interest in Poland, Latvia, Estonia or any other countries” after NATO warned of future Russian invasions in Europe. When asked about accusations of human rights abuses in Mariupol, Mr Kelin said: “Go to Mariupol, now look at it, it’s a… totally rebuilt city… it is amazing how beautiful it is.”Not every building has been restored right now, but a lot of…