Author: DW

On September 6, Germany’s eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt held elections for its state parliament. The big winner: The right-wing AfD (Alternative for Germany) party, which garnered 43.8% of the votes; more than ever before. It’s still unclear who will govern the state because the AfD does not have an absolute majority. But it was a landslide win for the AfD, whose Saxony-Anhalt branch is classified as right-wing extremist by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, and that worries many Germans. The day after the election, Chancellor Friedrich Merz from the conservative CDU said he was “deeply shocked” by the election results. “Not only did something…

It looked, until the final moments, as though Germany would somehow hold on and grant Jürgen Klopp a victory in his first game as Germany coach.  “It felt mostly good,” Klopp told German broadcaster RTL after the match, with his voice strained after a typically energetic display on the sidelines. “That was really exhausting for both teams today.” He added that he naturally wanted a win but that he can “live with the point, too.” In the end, an injury time Cody Gakpo goal meant Klopp and his team had to settle for a 1-1 draw in their Nations League opener against the Netherlands. While…

A recent wave of headline-grabbing warnings from AI luminaries has fueled fears the technology could escape human control and wipe out humanity. But before artificial intelligence (AI) turns on humanity, it could contribute to humans turning on one another. Researchers at Brazil’s State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) found that popular chatbots shifted their answers when prompted with hypothetical users’ political views. The scientists warn that users could mistake this tailored agreement for an independent assessment, potentially deepening polarization. How chatbots become ‘ideological chameleons’ In their study published in the journal Scientific Reports, the UNICAMP team tested 21 large language models from developers including…

The third Asian Games gold medal looked as convincing as the first two, even if Yu Zidi insisted that: “It didn’t feel easy at all. It was quite challenging.” On Wednesday, the 13-year-old Chinese swimmer broke the Games record for the third time to add the women’s 400 meter individual medley title to her golds in the 200 meter medley and 200 meter butterfly. The three medals add to a bronze she won last year at the World Championships. Even two years out from the Los Angeles Olympics, talk is turning to a potential rivalry with Canada’s Summer McIntosh, 20, who herself…

The Colosseum in Rome was closed on Wednesday after a worker fell to his death overnight. Andrea Moretti, 22, died after falling while working on a new lighting installation. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she hoped that the cause of the accident would be clarified as soon as possible. “We are deeply shocked and saddened by the news of the tragic death of Andrea Moretti, a skilled worker who lost his life last night following an accident at the Colosseum,” she said. “For a person to die at the age of 22 is unacceptable and even more so when it happens in…

For decades, China has faced accusations from the United States and the European Union of stealing their technology. From robotics and advanced semiconductors to precision engineering and automotive parts, Chinese firms have recruited top engineers, allegedly spied on Western rivals and been linked to cyberattacks aimed at gaining access to valuable trade secrets. It is perhaps ironic, then, that China is now taking steps to prevent its own high-end technologies and talent from escaping abroad. How China is upping pressure on German businessesTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video China’s…

Sperm counts have fallen globally by more than 51% since 1973, and the decline is accelerating. That’s according to a 2026 review of studies published in the journal Antioxidants. But men are less likely to get tested than women for infertility. “Male infertility is understated. It is so huge a problem,” said Edidiong Akang, a reproductive biologist at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. In a study led by Akang and published in the journal Scientific Reports in 2023, he and his colleagues analyzed semen samples from more than 17,000 men and found that the quality of sperm shape and size…

The form of mixed martial arts (MMA) making its debut at the Asian Games looks almost completely distinct from the visceral brawls of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which have come to define combat sports in recent years. In order to get a version of the sport into the Asian Games, currently taking place in Nagoya in Japan, adaptations had to be made. The fights take place without the familiar cage, on an open mat and with small boxing-style gloves. While MMA’s presence in the Games is significant in itself, it’s also a clear effort to get close to Olympic recognition.…

In the new book “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,” Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, offers his perspective on the life of his late sister, Diana, Princess of Wales. As British tabloid culture ensures that every feud and controversy linked to the royal family gets amplified into a major public debate, the memoir started making headlines before its publication on September 22. Among some of the key revelations of the book, he says that he believes that Diana had ADHD, and that “as part of that condition she suffered from Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria,” which he describes as “an intense emotional pain in the face of others’ rejection or…

As of mid-September 2026, Germany had stored just about 141 terawatt-hours of gas, accounting for around 57% of the country’s total storage capacity.   Last winter just under 134 terawatt-hours of gas were withdrawn from storage, according to the Federal Network Agency, the agency that monitors the country’s electricity and gas networks. At first glance, the numbers sounds reassuring, especially since last winter was quite cold and therefore required a lot of heating. But compared to previous years, natural gas storage levels are low. On September 4, Markus Söder, the premier of Bavaria, called for intervention by the federal government. Rising fuel prices put pressure on…