Author: DW

Continued heavy rainfall is expected in some areas of Germany already affected by flooding, the national weather service DWD said. Much of the country has been hit by severe rain since Christmas Day, causing some rivers to burst their banks, while others are close to their breach point. DWD said that up to 40 millimeters of rain could fall within 24 hours in some areas of the western state of North-Rhine Westphalia and in the Harz Mountains in central Germany.Germany grappling with flooding amid heavy rainsTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that…

A Russian celebrity who sparked outrage by hosting a nightclub party with an “almost naked” dress code has been fined.Anastasia Ivleeva, a TV presenter and influencer, put on the Christmastime do at the Mutabor venue in Moscow.Given the country is on a war footing, the lavish event did not go down well with the public or authorities, with Vladimir Putin himself reportedly unamused.Ivleeva was handed a 100,000-rouble (£870) fine during a court appearance in the Russian capital on Friday.She had released two videos apologising for the party, one in which she tearfully pleaded for a “second chance”. Image: Ivleeva released…

When Stefan Ambrosius from the Munich State Opera practices the tuba, he is deeply relaxed. If you want to play this large brass instrument, you have to breathe in very deeply in order to obtain proper sounds from the instrument when you breathe out. “There’s almost something meditative about it,” the musician explained. The tuba was chosen by Germany’s state music councils as the Instrument of the Year 2024, following the mandolin, which was in the spotlight in 2023 “It’s fantastic that the music councils in Germany crown an instrument every year and then make it known in schools or through social…

It’s finally clear that NATO will get a new secretary-general. Jens Stoltenberg will soon be stepping down after nearly a decade of service in which he was asked to stay on four times — once even after he’d accepted a new job as head of the Norwegian central bank. Over those years, given the ruptured relationship with Russia and true trans-Atlantic tension with former US President Donald Trump, it wasn’t surprising no one wanted to risk replacing the stoic Stoltenberg, who earned the nickname the “Trump whisperer” for his ability to placate the acerbic American leader. But the baton is now expected…

Argentina’s President Javier Milei has sent letters to BRICS leaders to formalize his decision to withdraw his country from its planned entry into the alliance of major emerging economies, it was announced on Friday. Milei said the moment was not “opportune” for Argentina to join as a full member. The bloc — made up of G20 nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — in August announced it was admitting six new members. The membership of Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates was due to take effect from January 1, 2024. The BRICS nations…

Powerful waves have smashed against sea walls in California, flooding beachfront buildings and leaving eight injured.Video from Ventura Beach, northwest of Los Angeles, shows people running away as the powerful surge hits the wall there before sweeping inland. More footage from local CCTV shows restaurants becoming suddenly flooded.Eight people were taken to hospital on Thursday, and the beaches remain closed in the area.The waves are the result of a stormy Pacific Ocean, with forecasters warning conditions could continue over the New Year weekend. ‘Extremely dangerous conditions’ The National Weather Service (NWS) said waves would reach up to 40ft (12 metres)…

When Stefan Ambrosius from the Munich State Opera practices the tuba, he is deeply relaxed. If you want to play this large brass instrument, you have to breathe in very deeply in order to obtain proper sounds from the instrument when you breathe out. “There’s almost something meditative about it,” the musician explains. The tuba was chosen by Germany’s state music councils as the Instrument of the Year 2024, following the mandolin, which was in the spotlight in 2023 “It’s fantastic that the music councils in Germany crown an instrument every year and then make it known in schools or through social…

Regardless of who is winning, losing or playing, the major narratives in German football are often attributed to Kopfsache – literally translated as a “mind matter.” About 5% of athletes in elite sports suffer from depression, roughly in line with the general population. German football is already extremely aware of mental illnesses like depression after the tragic death of Robert Enke in 2009, so how is the current sports psychology system in Germany faring? In September, Rene Paasch, one of Germany’s most prominent sports psychologists, suggested the role was in need of a “paradigm shift” because “outdated thought patterns and approaches” had left little room for…

A Russian cruise missile briefly entered Polish airspace, traveling some 40 kilometers (roughly 25 miles) over Warsaw’s territory, early on Friday, according to the country’s top military officials.  This came during a widespread Russian aerial attack on Ukraine that also targeted areas in the west of the country, near the border to Poland, including the city of Lviv.  Poland’s military had initially only reported an unidentified object entering its airspace, without saying what it was or what happened to it. “Everything indicates that a Russian missile entered Polish airspace… It also left our airspace,” General Wieslaw Kukula, chief of the…

Chad’s new constitution has entered into force after being approved by the country’s Supreme Court, paving the way for civilian rule. The court on Thursday confirmed the results of the December 17 referendum, which saw the new constitution pass with 85.9% approval and 14.1% against. Voter turnout was 62.86%, with about 8 million people eligible to vote. Petitions by opponents seeking to overturn the referendum were rejected by the court. It ruled that although there were some irregularities, they weren’t enough to affect the outcome. Fidel Amakye Owusu, an international relations expert with the Conflict Research Consortium for Africa, told DW that Chad’s latest move toward civilian rule…