World

Jolene Foo's route to Chinese drama fandom happened after she moved from her native Malaysia to Norway in her late 20s. Foo, who grew up as a "third-generation Chinese kid," was looking for a way to reconnect with her homeland. Her friends recommended Chinese dramas, or C-dramas for short.  "What really drew me in was the cultural dimension," she told DW. "As someone who is of the Chinese diaspora, watching C-dramas became a way of reconnecting with my roots." Tanvir Khan had just finished his secondary school exam in 2018 and was surfing Facebook. He came across a short video from the serialized C-drama "The Story of Yanxi Palace." He was enthralled. "I don't know whether I can explain it properly or not, but you know when you see a scene and something inside you just clicks?" Khan, wh...

The time-honored Japanese tradition of sending "nengajo" New Year cards is fading fast, with modern-day Japanese too busy as the year comes to a close and happy to rely on technology to send festive greetings.   And while some admit that it is slightly sad to see a staple of the season disappearing, most just shrug. The sending of decorative "nengajo" has been on a steady decline for several decades, falling from a peak of nearly 4.5 billion cards being issued in 2004 to a mere 1.07 billion in 2025. When the figures are released for 2026, they are expected to show that the decline has continued. "This is the first year that I never sent any 'nengajo' at all," said Sumie Kawakami, an academic who lives in Yamanashi Prefecture in central Japan. "I have been slowly weaning myself off send...

A Hindi-language spy thriller movie named "Dhurandhar" released earlier this month has become a major box office success in India but also divided opinions.   The 3.5-hour-long film features popular actor Ranveer Singh playing an Indian spy who infiltrates criminal networks in Pakistan's sprawling Karachi city to neutralize threats to Indian national security. The drama is set against the backdrop of tensions between archrivals India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors who earlier this year exchanged intense missile, drone and artillery fire for days. The film has been a huge success at the box office this year and has drawn praise for its plot and action sequences. What do critics say? But critics say it is just the latest in a wave of films — like "The Kashmir File...