Author: DW

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched a “massive testing and research effort” that will determine “what has caused the autism epidemic” by September, its Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Thursday. “By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic, and we’ll be able to eliminate those exposures,” Kennedy said in a cabinet meeting. The number of autism diagnoses in the US has been rising for decades. About 1 in 36 children were identified with autism spectrum disorder in 2020. That’s up from 1 in 150 children in 2000, according to data from…

“Sport should be fun and make people want to perform. It keeps you healthy, imparts values and gives our society the cohesion it needs,” says the negotiated coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD which will form Germany’s new government. “That’s why we want to strengthen it with targeted measures – at the top and across the board. We are firmly opposed to doping, manipulation and all forms of violence and abuse.”  But, what does that mean in concrete terms? Minister of State for Sport The CDU/CSU has incorporated their demands about sport into the coalition agreement. At a press conference on…

A US immigration judge ruled on Friday that Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student at Columbia University, can be deported because his beliefs threaten national security. Judge Jamee Comans said the government provided sufficient evidence, citing a letter from Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that Khalil’s activism could harm US foreign policy — even if his speech and activism were “otherwise lawful.” Addressing the court, Khalil quoted Comans’ earlier assertion that lawfully nothing was more important than due process and fairness. “Clearly what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process,” Khalil…

The head of the US military base in Greenland has been fired for criticising Washington’s agenda for the Arctic island.Colonel Susan Meyers distanced herself from remarks made by vice president JD Vance when he visited the Pituffik base on 28 March. Ms Meyers, commander of the 821st Space Base Group, emailed all base personnel on 31 March, days after Mr Vance’s visit, Military.com said. Image: Colonel Susan Meyers (L) with US vice president JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance (2L) at the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland in March. Pic: AP She told them she “spent the weekend thinking…

The US-China trade war has reached new heights as Beijing raised its retaliatory tariffs on US goods to 125%, hitting back against US President Donald Trump’s decision to hike duties on Chinese goods to 145%.  Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday made his first public comments on the escalating trade conflict, telling Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing that “there are no winners in a trade war, and going against the world will only lead to self-isolation.” Xi also stressed that Beijing is “not afraid” and expressed confidence in the nation’s ability to overcome the challenges posed by US…

She probably would have been a thorn in the side for current US President Donald Trump. When Susan Sontag died in 2004 at the age of 71, she was a prominent writer. The cultural world in the USA and Europe held her in high regard for her astute social criticism. She intervened in political debates and many of her ideas are more relevant than ever. In the current political context, “Sontag would undoubtedly have had a powerful voice,” says cultural historian Bernd Hüppauf, who was a long-time researcher at New York University. “But would Trump be impressed? Hardly.” “Many people often…

A common anti-anxiety drug, which has been found to pollute the world’s waterways, seems to be influencing the migration behavior of wild Atlantic Salmon, according to a  study out of Sweden.  The study, published in the journal Science, found that wild salmon became less risk-averse when they were exposed to the psychoactive drug clobazam. That, in turn, changed the way the fish migrate. “[Salmon exposed to clobazam] were more likely to complete their migration to the sea, and they passed through man-made barriers like hydropower dams faster than fish that were not exposed,” said Jack Brand at the Swedish University…

“Derisk, diversify, and redirect trade” — a mantra once aimed at China’s expanding grip on global trade — is now being applied to the United States. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, currently totalling a staggering 145% on Chinese-made goods, have sent shockwaves through financial markets from Sydney to Sao Paolo.  Capital Economics warned late Thursday that unless the tariffs are rolled back, China’s exports to the US would plummet by more than half in the coming years, cutting Chinese economic growth by up to 1.5%. Many Chinese goods are made specifically for the American market, so economists worry that China will struggle to redirect those products to…

The plan for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, USA is set. Here’s all you need to know about the latest changes and newest additions to one of sport’s biggest events. Which new sports will be included at LA28? Reflecting evolving global interests and aiming to engage younger audiences, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the inclusion of five new sports. There will be 22 more medal events in LA than in Paris. Baseball/Softball are returning to the Olympic program, with both sports having a strong following in Central and South America, East Asia and the Caribbean.  Another sport also…

The conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and center-left Social Democrats (SPD) have announced a coalition agreement, bringing Germany that much closer to forming a new government. It appears international friction and the recent tariff policies imposed by US President Donald Trump pushed negotiators to reach an agreement sooner, rather than later. Presenting the new agreement on Wednesday, Friedrich Merz of the CDU, likely to become the country’s next chancellor, said Germany was currently facing a “situation of growing geopolitical tensions.”  The response of the coalition-in-waiting to these uncertain times, he said, was that “we want to, and we will, help shape change in the world, for Germany.” …