Author: DW

The bronze statue of the man in 18th-century clothing gazes into the distance. The statue stands in the US capital, Washington, and is a likeness of Thomas Jefferson. His likeness can also be found carved into the rocks of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, alongside those of three other US presidents, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. As the author of the US’s Declaration of Independence, Jefferson is well known as one of the founding fathers of the country. Jefferson was a lawyer, plantation owner and politician. He served as the first secretary of state of the young republic,…

Hannes Loth drives an electric car and wants to install wind turbines in his municipality.  Loth, Germany’s first full-time mayor from the far-right, populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), is promoting the expansion of renewable energy — even though it runs counter to his party’s platform. The farmer has been mayor of Raguhn-Jeßnitz since 2023 and has ambitious plans. In the town of around 8,600 people in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, he wants to build a battery storage facility with a substation, and six new wind turbines. Tilo Hörtzsch, a local councilor for the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Raguhn-Jeßnitz,…

Jürgen Klopp is the overwhelming favorite to be Germany’s new head coach. In recent years, the charismatic 59-year-old was seen as the ideal candidate. In recent weeks, he has been the boss in waiting. With Julian Nagelsmann’s departure now confirmed, Klopp’s arrival looks a formality, especially after the German FA (DFB) announced talks had begun and that Klopp had shown a “willingness” in principle to take up the job. Germany’s last three World Cups have ended in disappointment, with two group-stage exits and the most recent knockout defeat to Paraguay in the round of 32. Euro 2024 was more positive, but generally…

Pop superstar Taylor Swift and American football player Travis Kelce are expected to hold their wedding at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York on Friday, according to media reports and city permit documents. The couple, who are both 36, have not publicly confirmed the plans. Some reports, however, say that the pair has already legally married. Reuters cited the New York Post’s celebrity gossip column Page Six, which said the couple exchanged vows in front of a “tiny group of loved ones,” although the report did not say when or where the ceremony took place.Swift is a 14-time Grammy winner, while Kelce has won 3 Super Bowls…

Hannes Loth drives an electric car and wants to install wind turbines in his municipality.  Loth, Germany’s first full-time mayor from the right-wing, populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), is promoting the expansion of renewable energy — even though it runs counter to his party’s platform. The farmer has been mayor of Raguhn-Jeßnitz since 2023 and has ambitious plans. In the town of around 8,600 people in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, he wants to build a battery storage facility with a substation, and six new wind turbines. Tilo Hörtzsch, a local councilor for the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Raguhn-Jeßnitz,…

Late June brought record-breaking temperatures to France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. The national weather service, DWD, reported that Germany had never experienced such intense heat for such a long stretch so early in the year. Now, large parts of the central and eastern United States are also living under heat warnings heading into the July 4 holiday weekend, with extreme heat expected to push temperatures as high as 100 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8-46.1 C) across much of the region. Outdoor workers are especially at risk during heat wavesImage: Benjamin Westhoff/dpa/picture alliance A heat wave…

The eyes of the world are, once again, glued to the World Cup. Overwhelmingly, they are on Lionel Messi’s goal-scoring record, a Cape Verdean goalkeeper who shot to fame or viral clips of fans. It’s a familiar and understandable diversion of attention from the issues that dominated the buildup. Many Argentine fans were denied visas to attend the tournament and see Messi make history, Vozinha’s mother was only granted a visa bond waiver to the country after her son’s heroics for Cape Verde, and those fans seen on TV are often the lucky few rich enough to afford outrageous ticket prices.…

The Verdi services trade union has sharply criticized the government’s reform package, viewing the planned requirement for workers to provide a doctor’s certificate from the first day of illness as an expression of a culture of mistrust. “Mistrust toward employees and the expansion of the madness of fixed-term employment contracts do not create growth,” said Frank Werneke, head of Verdi, which is Germany’s second-largest trade union. IG Metall, Germany’s largest trade union, was more mixed in its response than Verdi, describing the package as a “mixed bag of light and shadow.” Christiane Benner, the union’s chair, welcomed planned tax relief for…

The United States on Wednesday decided not to renew the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), in its current form, US trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement “The United States will continue to engage with Mexico and Canada to address the agreement’s shortcomings and our trade deficits with these countries,” Greer said. Although it wasn’t extended by the Wednesday deadline, the deal remains in force for another 10 years and will now be reviewed annually, which sets up the possibility of protracted and complicated negotiations over everything from tariffs to trade rules governing specific sectors. The on-again, off-again negotiations are likely to…

Hamburg introduced Kathleen Krüger as the football club’s new board member in charge of sport at a press conference at their home ground, the Volksparkstadion, on Wednesday.  Krüger, who officially took up the post on July 1st, said that following Hamburg’s survival in the Bundesliga after their first season in the top flight in seven years, the focus would now be on “further establishing ourselves in the first division. But we are bold, ambitious, and passionate. We don’t want to merely maintain the status quo; we want to develop.”  The press conference came several weeks after her appointment was announced in mid-May. “By…