Author: DW

A fatal car ramming in a crowded German city square has refocused attention on the use of vehicles by people seeking to attack the public. The incident  in downtown Mannheim took place on the Monday of regional Carnival celebrations. It followed weeks of warnings that potential terror attacks could take place during Germany’s pre-Easter festival period. But the attack does not appear to be motivated by political or religious factors, and authorities are exploring the suspect’s mental health as a possible factor. Yet the choice of a vehicle as a lethal weapon in this incident and in fatal attacks in Munich and Magdeburg in recent weeks leaves open the…

Seven months before the first ever cycling World Championships in Rwanda, the European Parliament passed a motion calling for the event to be cancelled “if Rwanda does not change course”, referring to the country’s conflict with neighboring DR Congo. Cycling’s governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), has insisted that there is no Plan B. And it was in this context that the 2025 Tour du Rwanda took place. The eight-day event has been running since 1988 in a historic cycling nation. Star team Quick-Step withdrew, sparking safety concerns, but the Tour ran relatively smoothly other than some drama on the seventh and final stage…

A man died after a small aircraft crashed in western Germany’s Sauerland region, police said on Tuesday. The police statement said that the aircraft smashed into the garden of a residential building in the town of Plettenberg in the western state of North-Rhein Westphalia at around 4:40 p.m. local time (1540 UTC). The man’s identity had yet to be determined. He was said to have been the pilot of the aircraft. What else do we know about the crash? Germany’s DPA news agency cited a police spokesperson as saying that the aircraft was a single-engine propeller plane.Police cordoned off an area…

China aims for an economic growth of 5% in 2025, Beijing announced on Wednesday, which analysts say reflect Beijing’s ambitions for continued military modernization and growing geopolitical challenges.  Premier Li Qiang presented the figure in a report at the opening session of the National People’s Congress, the annual meeting of China’s legislature.  US President Donald Trump has announced a 10% tariff on Chinese goods in February, which increased to 20% on Tuesday. China has retaliated with its own tariffs on US goods and vowed to fight the trade war to a “bitter end.”  The renewed trade tensions come as China is dealing with…

The latest round of the US-China trade war has kicked off.The US has imposed a tariff of 10% on all goods from China. This is on top of the 10% that was slapped on last month. So that’s a 20% duty in total since Donald Trump became president.Last year he promised tariffs of up to 60%, so there could be more to come. Beijing is bracing for it.China hit back fast. It announced tariffs of between 10% and 15% on US agricultural products including chicken, wheat, corn cotton, sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, dairy and fruit and vegetables. Last month China’s…

Donald Trump’s tactic of using threats to get what he wants in business and politics is something political leaders worldwide are gradually growing accustomed to. But the deal to end the Ukraine war the US president is apparently forging behind the scenes with Russian President Vladimir Putin has rattled government leaders, especially in Europe, who fear Trump could withdraw US military protection of the continent. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has responded to these concerns by announcing an increase in the UK’s defense budget to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027, up from the current 2.3%. He emphasized that this investment would…

Gene Hackman, who rocketed to fame in 1971 with his Oscar-winning role of hard-nosed New York City narcotics cop Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in “The French Connection,” has been found dead at his home in New Mexico together with his wife, Betsy Arakawa. The cause of death has not been provided. Best known for playing cantankerous, often volatile characters who exude a virile and dangerous energy, Hackman was one of a generation of young actors who shook up Hollywood in the 1970s with his gritty, raw approach to performing. From stage to screen Born Eugene Alder Hackman on January 30, 1930, Hackman came…

Earth’s last ice age ended around 11,700 years ago and a new study predicts the next one should be 10,000 years away. But the researchers say record rates of fossil fuel burning that are increasing global temperatures will likely delay this due date. The findings, published in the journal Science, found fluctuations in Earth’s orbit caused Northern Hemisphere ice sheets  to expand and retract in natural cycles every 100,000 years. “We found a predictable pattern over the past million years for the timing of when Earth’s climate changes between glacial ‘ice ages’ and mild warm periods like today, called interglacials,” Lorraine Lisiecki, a paleoceanographer at the University…

Skip next section Vance calls for US ‘economic upside’ in Ukraine03/04/2025March 4, 2025Vance calls for US ‘economic upside’ in UkraineUS Vice President JD Vance called for Washington and Kyiv to sign a rare minerals deal, arguing it would enhance Ukraine’s security. “If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine,” Vance said in the interview for the Fox News broadcaster. A Ukrainian delegation left the White House on Friday before the agreement could…

North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, on Tuesday threatened with a series of provocations in response to the US deploying its aircraft carrier in South Korea. On Sunday, the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group arrived in South Korea’s port city of Busan for a scheduled visit. This is the latest such deployment aimed at displaying Washington’s firm support for South Korea in the face of North Korea’s growing threats and hostilities. The carrier arrived days after North Korea conducted its fourth missile launch test of the year.  What did Kim Yo Jong…