Author: DW

Plant-based athletes are not a new phenomenon, but a decade on from UK charity Veganuary’sidea of trying to get people to pledge to one month of a plant-based diet, what has the impact been in the world of sports? Pablo Nunez is one of the best fencers in Chile and recently won silver at the Pan American Games in his home country. Nunez, 30, has only been fully plant-based for the last four months but became vegetarian in 2020, inspired to make gradual changes after watching the documentary Game Changers. “When I started to stop eating red meat and then white meat,…

European Council President Charles Michel has announced he intends to run in the European Parliament elections scheduled for June, meaning he would then have to vacate his current post if he wins a seat as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). The Belgian politician announced his intentions to Belgian media outlets on Sunday. He said European Union leaders could discuss his successor at the end of June or beginning of August. “Four years after starting my term as a European leader, it’s my responsibility to give an account of my work these past years, and to propose a project…

Polls opened in Bangladesh on a chilly Sunday as the country headed to vote in the general elections. Opposition parties have boycotted the vote, which rights groups say are expected to give Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina her fifth term in office. Voting in the country of about 170 million people began at 8 a.m. local time (0200 GMT/UTC) and polling booths will stay open until 5 p.m. Initial results are expected by Monday. Nearly 2,000 candidates are competing for 300 directly elected parliamentary seats. There are 436 independent candidates, the most since 2001. Presiding officer Prashun Goswami told AFP news…

More than 170 Boeing planes worldwide have been temporarily grounded after a chunk of fuselage dramatically blew out of a brand-new passenger jet in mid-air. US regulators say immediate inspections are needed after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a cabin emergency shortly after take-off on Friday. Photos showed a gaping hole in the side of the Boeing 737-9 MAX – and although the jet landed safely with more than 174 passengers and six crew in Oregon, phones and a boy’s shirt were sucked out of the plane. Image: A gaping hole could be seen in the side of the aircraft. Pic:…

The long journey of the ‘Three Wise Men’ to the Rhineland begins with the history of the Roman Catholic Church — and an emperor’s mother, who was an avid collector of holy relics. In the year 313, Emperor Constantine the Great, ruler of the Roman Empire, issued the Edict of Milan, a declaration that legalized Christianity across the Roman Empire. Many Romans renounced the gods of antiquity and embraced the new faith. Among them was Helena, the emperor’s mother. She also embarked on finding all possible places and objects that had something to do with Jesus of Nazareth. In Jerusalem, she allegedly discovered…

Brazilian football legend Mario Zagallo died aged 92 on Friday, with the exact cause of death not immediately shared. Zagallo won two World Cups as a player, one as a coach and another as an assistant coach for Brazil.  He became the first person ever to win the World Cup both as a player and manager back in 1970, and has been revered among Brazilian football fans for generations.  Brazilian soccer confederation president Ednaldo Rodrigues said in a statement early on Saturday that Zagallo “is one of the biggest legends” of the sport. “We offer solidarity to his family members and…

Officers on Friday shot dead a German man wielding a machete in the state of Burgenland in eastern Austria, police said. What do we know? Police were called to a domestic dispute to a house in the town of Bad Sauerbrunn, where they encountered the 55-year-old man, who was threatening his wife with a machete. Police say the man ignored orders to put down his weapon and cooperate, and the use of pepper spray also had no effect. The man then attacked and injured an officer, after which he was shot at by police. Authorities said that the German citizen…

Many of the world’s economic crises of recent years have been about supply chains. Pandemic lockdowns, the war in Ukraine and the overall surge in global inflation all impacted, or were impacted by, the flow of global trade and the myriad moving parts that keep it all going. As 2023 turns to 2024, a new threat to global supply chains has emerged in the Red Sea. The world’s largest container-shipping companies have been pausing or suspending their services in the area because of the increasing number of attacks on ships there by Iran-backed Houthi rebels operating from Yemen. Any hope of some…

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry on Saturday condemned Beijing for sending balloons toward the self-governing island. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory. In recent years, it has increasingly conducted military drills around the island. What did the statement say? In December, the Defense Ministry in Taipei began reporting the appearance of Chinese balloons around Taiwan. “Based on their recent drift path, (the balloons) have posed a serious threat to the safety of many international aviation routes,” the ministry said on Saturday, accusing China of having a “disregard for aviation safety.” “(The) main purpose of the recent detection of balloons is…

Despite Russia having significantly greater firepower, its illegal invasion of Ukraine has not gone according to plan.Although Ukraine was not a member of NATO, the West responded to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s appeal for help with a mass of hi-tech weapons and ammunition. However, following nearly two years of high-intensity conflict, both sides are running out of munitions.Ukraine-Russia war – latest updates Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:00 Zelenskyy: ‘Evil will be defeated’ Inspired by Ukraine’s initial successes at liberating 12,000 sq km of occupied Kharkiv in September 2022, the West provided a huge volume of…