Author: DW

Few doubt that Prime Minister Francois Bayrou will lose the confidence vote in the French parliament scheduled for Monday (September 8), as the current French government lacks the majority needed to push through his budget-cutting plans aimed at reining in France’s public debt. What happens next is uncertain. Whether new elections will be called, as demanded by the far-right Rassemblement National, or President Emmanuel Macron manages to install another minority government, is the political side of the crisis.The French far-right led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella stand to benefit most from a government collapseImage: Aurelien Morissard/Maxppp/dpa/picture alliance Economically,…

If you get a chance to see the total lunar eclipse on September 7, 2025, go for it. It should be visible to people in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. The best views will be in the eastern Atlantic, over an area encompassing African countries like Nigeria, as well as from countries in the Indian Ocean region, like India and Indonesia. If you’re in the eastern regions, you’re more likely to catch it at moonset, while if you’re more to the west, you’ll see it at moonrise. The total lunar eclipse will be at its fullest at 6:12 p.m. UTC. What’s…

When Bayern Munich kick off against Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena on Saturday evening, it will be more than just its season opener. As the Bundesliga expands by two teams to 14-club competition for the first time, the fixture has seen over 50,000 tickets sold already, smashing the league’s single-match attendance record. “I think it’s an amazing opportunity,” Bayern midfielder Georgia Stanway said ahead of the match. “To have sold 50,000 tickets is unbelievable. The fact that we are playing at the Allianz [the stadium usually used by the men’s side] is something that should happen more often.” “But in order for us…

A suspected GPS sabotage forced European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s plane to divert from its course — and in Russia, the incident quickly made her the focus of mockery and smear campaigns.  The politician had flown to Bulgaria on August 31. The GPS disruption of the aircraft resulted in an unscheduled landing in the city of Plovdiv. Authorities in Bulgaria suspect that Moscow was behind the attack and link it to Russia’s war against Ukraine. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova dismissed the allegations as “fake and paranoia.” The insults and defamation of the EU Commission President are falling on fertile…

US artificial intelligence (AI) giant Anthropic will pay at least $1.5 billion (€1.3 billion) to settle a class action lawsuit brought by authors, according to court documents filed Friday. “This landmark settlement far surpasses any other known copyright recovery,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Justin Nelson. “It is the first of its kind in the AI era.” A trio of authors, Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson, filed the lawsuit last year, accusing Anthropic of using pirated books to train the company’s AI chatbot Claude — a major competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. How does an AI chatbot work? To view this…

The Bauhaus was arguably the world’s most influential art, architecture and design movement, and in 2025 is celebrating a century since it moved from Weimar to the city of Dessau.  But even before it kicked off the centennial event dubbed “To the Core. Bauhaus Dessau 100,” the legendary modernist institution was already making headlines. In October 2024, Germany’s right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) warned against “glorifying” the art and design school through the upcoming centennial. The party complained that Bauhaus has promoted “globalist uniformity,” and submitted a motion demanding that the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt carry out a…

Auto shows have long been magnets for manufacturers and the general public in Germany. The first one displayed eight motor vehicles in Berlin in 1897. The shows expanded as the industry grew and more people bought cars. In the early 2000s, the Frankfurt International Motor Show had grown to around 2,000 exhibitors and brought in a million visitors. But slowly, some manufacturers opted to stay away, and those who stayed reduced their presence. Visitor numbers plummeted and companies wondered about the relevance — and expense — of such trade shows. Mobility comes in many forms. Maybe that is why the organizers…

Germany’s journey to the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada got off to the worst possible start as Julian Nagelsmann’s team suffered a deserved 2-0 defeat to Slovakia in Bratislava. Nearly three months after the disappointment of the Nations League, Germany looked out of shape and sorts. They had never lost a World Cup qualifier away from home before tonight. History had been made, but not the kind that Nagelsmann wanted. Here are the key takeaways from Germany’s loss. Germany ‘lacking in all areas’ “We still have to convince the public, but I would like to emphasize…

In late August, Andriy Parubiy was walking down a street in Lviv, western Ukraine, when a man disguised as a delivery driver followed him and suddenly opened fire. The former Ukrainian parliamentary leader was killed in broad daylight with several shots fired. A surveillance camera captured the crime, sending shockwaves throughout the country. A debate is now underway in Ukraine about how politicians, activists, and celebrities have become targets in Russia’s hybrid warfare. According to experts, such acts serve the Kremlin’s strategic goal of destabilizing and demoralizing Ukrainian society.  During the 2014 Maidan Revolution, Parubiy was one of the leaders of the pro-European protests against then-President…

United States  President Donald Trump is renaming the Department of Defense as the “Department of War,” the White House said on Thursday. Trump will sign an executive order on Friday authorizing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and  the Defense Department to use “secondary titles,” a White House document stated, as the president cannot change the name without legislation. Renaming of US departments needs congressional assent. According to the document, the US president’s order would instruct Hegseth to recommend legislative and executive actions to “permanently rename” the department. On Thursday night, Hegseth posted the text  “DEPARTMENT OF WAR” on the social media platform X.…