Author: DW

Germany’s cautious approach toward Beijing is cracking. For years, Berlin blocked a harder line on what the European Union describes as China’s  unfair trade practices. In the last few months, that caution — a fear of Chinese retaliation that could hurt German exporters — has given way to a willingness to escalate. Last week, Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron wrote jointly to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen seeking a new tool to cut a trading partner off from the EU’s single market if unfair practices continue. Clearly aimed at Beijing, the letter warned the measure was necessary against countries that “deliberately seek to…

Who would have imagined it in the beginning? A 26-year-old man without a high school diploma, but greatly ambitious, writes a two-pound book with a melancholy undertone. “I’m not exactly delighted,” his publisher initially responded. But he ended up publishing the novel anyway, more out of goodwill than conviction. And the rest is history. For many, Thomas Mann’s Buddenbrooks is considered THE German social novel. It is indeed a classic, and one that garnered the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929. Global fame, an international best-seller, and required reading for many German students. Anyone who mentions Thomas Mann thinks of Buddenbrooks in the same…

It often takes a chest X-ray or CT scan to spot small lung (or pulmonary) nodules, especially when a patient is asymptomatic. At less than 3 centimeters (1.1 inches), lung nodules are less likely to press against your airway and cause any chest pain or shortness of breath or wheezing. In the case of Pope Leo XIV, who told a gathering at the Vatican on October 11, 2026, doctors had found a nodule on his lung, it is unclear exactly how large that nodule is. What we know so far All we know (at time of writing on October 12, 2026) is…

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm announced on Monday. The pair got the Nobel for their work in microeconomic foundations of stabilization policy, allowing for the development of economic models that help governments and central banks respond more effectively to booms and recessions. Hall is affiliated with Stanford University in California, and Woodford with Columbia University in New York. “It’s a tremendous honor, it’s a surprise,” Woodford said, addressing the committee by phone  from New York on Monday. Why did Hall and Woodford win the Nobel Prize? …

The euro hit a 17-month low against the dollar in early trading on Monday, as concerns about eurozone debt, particularly in France, compounded existing investor concerns over global government bond yields and rising oil prices. The euro has been sliding against the dollar for much of 2026, down about 5% since the start of the year. It reached $1.12 (€0.99) on Monday, the lowest level since early 2025. Ricardo Amaro, lead eurozone economist at Oxford Economics, told DW that the general slide can be attributed to a repricing of investor expectations regarding US Federal Reserve policy in terms of higher interest rates in the face…

The 2026 Youth Word of the Year, “Ragebait,” was announced on Saturday at the Frankfurt Book Fair by publisher PONS Langenscheidt. The “Jugendwort des Jahres,” or German Youth Word of the Year, is an annual campaign that documents the popularity of new slang expressions. “Ragebait” (in English: rage bait) refers to social media content that is deliberately designed to make people angry, frustrated or morally outraged. It aims to drive engagement, since the algorithms of platforms like Instagram, TikTok and X reward high-energy interaction. A post that generates a heated debate through angry comments, or that is widely shared due to the emotional reaction it provokes, counts as high engagement,…

It is a milestone, but it also has a bit of an aftertaste – due to Saudi Arabia’s involvement. Professional women’s tennis players are now eligible for paid maternity leave for up to 12 months. Those who have a child through surrogacy, adoption or the pregnancy of a partner is entitled to two months’ maternity leave. In addition, allowances for fertility treatment are possible. The program announced by the World Tennis Association (WTA) applies retroactively from January 1 to more than 320 female players. It is “the first time in women’s sports history that comprehensive maternity benefits are available to independent, self-employed…

There’s an uneasy mood in Finland, the country that’s ranked the world’s happiest for nine consecutive years. A colder-than-usual winter is on the way and so is the toughest austerity budget in years.  With an election due in April, the argument is no longer how much to cut, but which services, benefits and pensions will face the biggest cuts. Finland’s debt and deficit levels are in their worst state since the 1990s, when a banking crash and the collapse of the Soviet Union — a key export partner — pushed the Nordic nation into its own Great Depression.  Finland’s debt ratio climbed sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic Last month, Finland’s…

When Taiwaneseauthor Yang Shuang-zi’s “Taiwan Travelogue” won the 2026 International Booker Prize, it marked a historic breakthrough on the global stage. But behind the triumph lay a sharp geopolitical reality.  On stage, Lin King, who translated the book into English, gave voice to the anxiety looming over Taiwan, where she spent a large part of her childhood.  “In 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, I made the explicit decision that rather than translating Sinophone works indiscriminately, I would only translate writing from Taiwan for the foreseeable future,” she said in her acceptance speech. “I will continue to do so until the day comes…

Let’s start with people’s real world fears about AI. Here’s a sample of people we asked: Sebastian, 22, says it’ll be an AI-powered robot uprising that finally wipes out humanity: “I think that’ll take some time,” he says, admitting his dystopia owes a lot to the 2004 film “I, Robot.”  Luisa, 19, has heard the rumors too. Her fear is what happens when these tools get into the wrong hands. “I’m more afraid of people,” she says. “Powerful people.”  Pilar, 25, is pessimistic about humanity’s prospects. “The world is going down,” she says. “Hopefully after my lifetime.”  In 2026, AI systems have repeatedly…