Author: DW

Belarus’ Nasha Niva newspaper on Saturday first reported that opposition leader Siarhei Tsikhanouski and 13 others had been released from prison, where he had been incarcerated since 2020. Tsikhanouski, one of the leaders of the country’s opposition movement, was pardoned, according to rights group Viasna. A regime-critical blogger, Tsikhanouski intended to challenge Alexander Lukashenko for the presidency, but he was locked up by the strongman before the election. Tsikhanouski’s wife, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who ran against Lukashenko in her husband’s place and has played a leading role in the Belarus opposition since, released a video of his release on Saturday, thanking the US for…

Air travel is widely regarded as the safest way to cover long distances. Statistically, the drive to the airport poses a greater risk to travelers than the flight itself. But when there is a plane crash — such as that of Air India Flight 171 last week (June 12) — statistics offer little comfort. It killed 270 people, including 241 of the 242 people on board.The Air India crash is the first total loss of a Boeing 787-8 aircraftImage: PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP As tragic as such accidents are, their consequences also extend into the economic realm. Alongside efficiency and environmental compatibility, operational safety remains…

Suga, the last member of the K-Pop group BTS to complete his mandatory military service with the South Korean army, was discharged on Saturday, opening the way for the band’s reunion. Suga started his service in 2023.  Earlier this month, BTS members Jimin and Jung Kook were also discharged from their duties. “We confirm that Suga effectively completed his alternative service on June 18 by using his remaining leave. His official discharge date is June 21,” BTS’ label, Big Hit Music, said in a statement. He completed his military duty as a social service agent. Unlike other members, Suga’s discharge was not celebrated with…

Almost two billion words — just under 600 of them swear words — were carefully assessed, and the United States then handed the dubious honor of being the most cursing country in the English-speaking world, at least online. For the Australian duo behind the research, it came as a surprise that the inhabitants of their own country did not lead the way, such is the stereotype that Aussies are easy-going and relaxed, in actions and words. But Australians were only the third-most likely citizens to drop a swear word in conversation online. The reason that America — viewed by some…

“Iran will not surrender and will continue to defend itself,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, told the public in a televised speech this week, following days of Israeli bombing and Iran’s retaliatory strikes. His exact location is unclear. Rumors and hints from the US and the Israeli governments indicate that he could be personally targeted at some point by an Israeli air strike. If Khamenei is assassinated, he would share the fate of many high-ranking members of his regime who have been killed in recent days. And this has prompted many to ask — how can a regime that…

In Germany, there are many people who cannot manage without a car, particularly in the countryside, where public transport networks can be patchy, nonexistent even. Transitioning to electric, or e-, vehicles will not solve the transportation problem on its own. Privately owned electric cars may not run on oil, but they still consume resources, take up space, require roads and parking areas. But much could be resolved if people were able to switch to using robot taxis. For years now, countries like the USA and China have been running pilot projects with self-driving cars and driverless vans. These vehicles are…

The escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, with both sides firing missiles and drones at each other, has unsettled global energy markets.   Israeli attacks on Saturday targeted Iran’s energy infrastructure, including vital oil storage sites, refineries and power stations. Among the locations targeted was the massive South Pars gas field, which is part of the world’s largest reservoir of natural gas. It’s located off Iran’s southern Bushehr province and is the source of most of the gas produced in Iran. Iran shares control over the South Pars gas field with neighboring Qatar, which calls the reservoir under its control North Dome. The attack,…

When German rabbi Leo Baeck was liberated from the Theresienstadt concentration camp on May 8, 1945, the day the war ended, he no longer believed in a future for Jewish people in Germany. Who wanted to live in the country that had planned to exterminate German Jewry and murdered millions? “The era of the Jews in Germany,” Baeck said at the time, “is over once and for all.” This assessment was shared by most survivors at the time. But what would become of centuries of German Jewish culture? Who would remember the music of Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Arnold Schönberg, the literature of Joseph Roth, Franz…

What is the 50+1 rule? The 50+1 rule is a central pillar of German professional football, which is intended to ensure that the club members retain control over the professional part of a football club. The rule, in place since 1999, stipulates that the parent club, for example Bayern Munich, must hold at least 50% plus one vote in its spun-off professional football company — in this case, FC Bayern München Fußball AG. This ensures that the majority of voting rights always lie with the club and its members. Compliance with the rule in German professional football is primarily monitored by…

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto signed a strategic partnership agreement with Russia on Thursday following talks in St Petersburg with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The agreement comes as Indonesia enters the BRICS grouping as a full member, and Prabowo on Thursday thanked Putin for his support on Indonesia’s BRICS bid. “Today we have met and our relationship is getting stronger again,” Prabowo said in a statement. “My meeting with President Putin today was intense, warm and productive. In all fields of economics, technical cooperation, trade, investment, agriculture, they all have experienced significant improvements,” the statement said. Putin called Indonesia one of Russia’s…