Author: DW

Recent changes to vaccine and medicine recommendations in the US could undermine health messaging in other countries, experts say. In September, the US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) updated its recommendations for the combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine in children and COVID-19 vaccines for all US residents. It also indefinitely deferred a decision changing recommendations for the hepatitis B vaccine in newborns, though US President Donald Trump said in an announcement from the White House on Monday that it should be administered to kids not before they are 12 years old. Current medical advice states that babies should be immunized against hepatitis…

A lake burst caused by Super Typhoon Ragasa killed at least 14 people and left 124 others missing in eastern Taiwan, officials said on Wednesday. Taiwan has been hit hard by Ragasa, one of the strongest storms in years, which has already caused deaths in the Philippines and is lashing Hong Kong. The lake in Hualien County overflowed on Tuesday, sending torrents of mud and water through Guangfu township, which inundated villages and swept away a major bridge. The village chief, Wang Tse-an, told the Reuters news agency that many people in the township were still stranded. “There is mud…

Nearly 30 years have passed since a German footballer last won the Ballon d’Or, the sport’s most prestigious individual prize. In 1996, Matthias Sammer was awarded the trophy on the heels of a European Championship victory for his country and just several months before he would go on to win the Champions League title with his club, Borussia Dortmund. Even before Sammer, German footballers had seen considerable Ballon d’Or success, particularly in the 1970s and early 80s. Legends Gerd Müller, Franz Beckenbauer, and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge all won the prize, with the latter two even winning it twice. In the last…

Italian screen legend Claudia Cardinale has died at the age of 87 in Nemours, France, her agent said on Tuesday. Cardinale was surrounded by her family at the time of her death, according to her agent. The famous star starred in some of the most celebrated films of the 1960s and 1970s, entrancing audiences across the globe with the sultry gaze that made her the muse of filmmakers. Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli called her “one of the greatest Italian actresses of all time,” and the embodiment of “Italian grace.” An icon of Italian cinema Born in Tunis in 1938 to Sicilian parents, Cardinale…

How free do authors living in the United States feel during Donald Trump’s second presidential term? The question opened a discussion at Berlin’s international literature festival: The talk, titled “The US Under Trump 2.0.,” brought together three renowned authors — Jamaica Kincaid, Elizabeth Kolbert and William Hitchcock — who are among the 2025-26 Class of Fellows of the American Academy in Berlin. “I should be the freest person in America — a 60-year-old white man with tenure at a university. Nobody can touch me,” replied historian William Hitchcock, ironically referring to his societal privilege. “But actually, that’s not true anymore. So all of the things that we once…

US President Donald Trump’s proposal on Friday to begin charging a $100,000 (€85,000) application fee for the H-1B visa for highly skilled foreign workers has left the country’s tech sector and universities scrambling to figure out the implications. The announcement came in a so-called proclamation claiming that H-1B visas have been “deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor” and that “systemic abuse of the program has undermined both our economic and national security.” Since its introduction in 1990, the H-1B visa program has been mostly used to provide the tech industry with highly skilled foreign workers. There is…

Complex questions generally have complex answers — such as the question of what causes autism. Experts in the field have debated the topic for decades. Now, US President Donald Trump claims to have solved the mystery.  The US Department of Health and Human Services launched a “massive testing and research effort” to determine “what has caused the autism epidemic” by September, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in April.  The number of people diagnosed with autism in the United States has been rising for decades. About 1 in 36 children were identified with autism spectrum disorder in 2020. That’s…

Copenhagen Airport halted operations on Monday after multiple drones were spotted in the area, Danish police said. Copenhagen Airport’s official X account said it had shut down operations due to “activity.” The airport reopened a few hours later, but recognized there would still be “delays and canceled departures.” Copenhagen police earlier posted on social media that the airport was “closed for take-off and landing, as 2-3 large drones” had been seen “flying in the area.”Danish police were investigating the origin of the dronesImage: Steven Knap/Ritzau Scanpix/picture alliance Police believe ‘capable operator’ responsible “We have concluded that this was what we would call a…

“I feel fantastic,” Leo Neugebauer told the crowd over the PA system in the National Stadium in Tokyo on Sunday. Just moments earlier, the German decathlete had dragged himself over the finish line in the final event of the decathlon, the 1,500 meters. He staggered through the final few meters before collapsing to the ground as the new world decathlon champion. Neugebauer was so exhausted that he briefly accepted the offer of taking a seat in a wheelchair. However, he soon stood up again – taking to the podium to receive the gold medal, fulfilling a long-held dream. ‘Roller-coaster ride’…

US President Donald Trump on Monday announced new health guidelines on vaccines and made the unproven claim that use of acetaminophen, known in the US as Tylenol, during pregnancy was linked to autism.  Trump said the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would notify doctors that the use of acetaminophen “can be associated” with an increased risk of autism, without providing any medical evidence for the new recommendation. What are Trump and RFK’s views on autism? The new guideline and the push to uncover autism’s roots have been a goal of Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr (RFK)., who has spent decades pushing discredited claims that link vaccines to…