Author: DW

What exactly is the case about? A former head coach and sporting director of a sports club in the greater Munich area has gone on trial on allegations of having sexually abused a total of around 30 boys aged between 13 and 19 over a period of several years starting in 2016. Among the charges against the now 47-year-old are numerous counts of rape. The man reportedly always followed the same pattern, first telling his victims that he had trained as a physiotherapist, then telling them that he would treat them to promote blood flow to their muscles. He then…

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak got his government’s plans to send people seeking asylum in the United Kingdom to Rwanda for consideration to stay there instead through the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday.  Sunak had faced a potential rebellion from both the moderate and right flanks of his Conservative Party in a parliamentary vote on a policy he and the party have emphasized in recent months amid pressure from the right. Lawmakers voted 320 to 276 to back the bill intended to overcome a UK Supreme Court block on the Rwanda plan. But the contentious immigration policy on which Sunak has staked his…

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.   More than 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…

Thai lawmakers earlier this month endorsed a bill aimed at improving Thailand’s poor air quality, clearing the way for the kingdom’s parliament to start debating draft legislation. For years, environmentalist groups have been pushing for new laws to combat Thailand’s unhealthy air pollution levels. But why is Thailand keen on such a law, and how will it work? The Thai capital, Bangkok, and the northern city of Chiang Mai ranked among the most polluted cities in the world on several days in 2023. Thailand’s air quality typically plummets between January and March annually — caused in part by smoke from stubble burning by farmers…

‘Armed guards on board’.’No link to Israel’. These are just two of the messages cargo ships passing through the Red Sea are sending out in attempts to deter a group of rebel pirates from trying to board.Yemen’s Houthis oppose US and Israeli influence in the Middle East. To show their support for Hamas, they have been targeting commercial cargo ships travelling across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.The dramatic hijacking of a cargo ship on 19 November was one of the most significant attacks, with men seen dancing on the top deck of the Galaxy Leader after they used…

If humans were alive 100 million years ago, we would have been constantly hiding from giant animals. Dinosaurs, such as the Pterosaur, with its 11-meter (36-foot) wingspan, swooped across the skies, while the 15-meter-long Spinosaurus would have chased us down in the plains. Compare this to today’s largest reptile, their ancestor, the saltwater crocodile, which comes in at a measly 6 meters long. New research suggests that changes in animal size depend on two key ecological factors: Competition for resources between species and the risk of extinction due to the environment.  “Just like how we try to adapt to hot or cold weather…

Churches, museums, monuments, mosaics: Russia’s war of aggression is also targeting Ukrainian cultural assets. Well over 800 cultural sites have already been damaged or destroyed since the start of the offensive in February 2022, including 120 of national importance, the Ministry of Culture in Kyiv has just announced. UNESCO, the cultural organization of the United Nations, classifies numerous World Heritage Sites in Ukraine as endangered, including St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv and the old town of Lviv. “The destruction continues to increase,” says Christian Bracht, Director of the Documentation Center for Art History (DDK) — Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, “because there…

Palestine men’s national football team coach Makram Daboub admitted it had been difficult to control his players’ emotions for their opening game at the Asian Cup, a match that coincided with the 100th day of the Israel-Hamas war. “In the previous game the focus at the start was not what we intended,” Daboub said on Wednesday ahead of the country’s second group-stage game vs. the United Arab Emirates. “No coach would want the scenario we had against Iran, but the game against UAE is different because we have the same chances and it is important for us to get the three points.” In purely…

There are one million registered firearms in the Czech Republic. This means that this small Central European country with a population of 10 million has one of the highest rates of private gun ownership in post-communist Europe. Only Croatia, where one of the deadliest of the Yugoslav wars took place in the 1990s, has a higher number of privately owned guns per capita. Over 300,000 people in the Czech Republic hold a gun license. Very few of them are hunters. Most hold a firearm for their own personal protection. The number of civilians who own guns is almost six times…

The buzz around artificial intelligence is palpable on the promenade in Davos. Much of the real estate here has been plastered with posters extolling the virtues of AI. There is even an entire pavilion dedicated to the technology. It’s aptly called the AI House and is among the most sought-after addresses at this year’s World Economic Forum as business leaders debate the risks and opportunities presented by AI and figure out how to adopt the technology effectively. A sense of optimism prevails about the possibilities the AI promises to usher in in fields such as health care and education. However, the enthusiasm…