Author: DW

The reactions came quickly. Only a few hours after Israel’s early morning attack on Iran, the Saudi Foreign Ministry voiced its opinion. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of the blatant Israeli aggressions against the brotherly Islamic Republic of Iran,” it said in a statement.  Saudi Arabia is in a tricky position. For years, there have been efforts to bring Israel closer to Arab nations in its neighborhood, especially the wealthy Gulf states. This was the primary aim of the US-sponsored, so-called Abraham Accords. These did eventually improve relationships between Israel and several nations, including Bahrain and…

The latest flareup intensified Friday when Israel launched a targeted strike on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, killing several senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Tehran then retaliated to Israel’s large-scale attacks with waves of missile strikes on Friday evening and early on Saturday.  The attacks in an already unstable region have caused widespread concern across Europe.  NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasized the urgency of avoiding further escalation, calling “for many allies — including the United States — to work … to de-escalate.” Adding, “this was a unilateral action by Israel.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed the sentiment…

What was the market reaction to the Israeli attack? The economic fallout of Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile facilities in the early hours of Friday was swift. Oil prices spiked and investors shifted out of stocks and into safe-haven assets, including government bonds and gold. Crude oil futures jumped by as much as 13% as traders bet that Israel’s attack would not be a one-off. The Brent global benchmark for oil prices surged more than 10% to $75.15 per barrel, hitting its highest price in almost five months. A war of words between the two foes fueled fears of…

Why are children becoming right-wing extremists? In Germany, there has been a 40% increase in politically motivated crimes compared with 2024. Why are very young men becoming radicalized? One of them shared his story.

Entering his first major tournament since taking over as Germany coach last summer, Christian Wück has gone with a good deal of experience in his 23-player squad for the July 2-27 European Championship in Switzerland. Captain Giulia Gwinn and Bayern Munich teammate Lea Schüller, as well as Sara Däbritz and Kathrin Hendrich are among 11 players who were part of the Germany team that made the final in England in 2022 – where they finished second after being defeated 2-1 by the hosts. Also included in the squad is Freiburg’s 20-year-old attacking talent Cora Zicai. ‘Joy, enthusiasm and conviction’ In a…

There are now 138 million child laborers, down from an estimated 160 million in 2020, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) said in a joint report that was released to mark Thursday’s World Day against Child Labor.  The drop represents good news for child welfare, as in 2000, the ILO estimated 245.5 million children were working. The almost 50% decrease is especially promising as the number of children has risen by 230 million over the same period.  The number of children, which the ILO defines as 5 to 17-year-olds, engaged in “hazardous work” — mostly in mining, industrial…

After London comes Beijing: US President Donald Trump announced a breakthrough in talks with China to put an end to their rapidly escalating tariff war on Wednesday night, though the details of the agreement remain unclear, and key elements are still awaiting formal approval. “Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi [Jinping] and me,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and…

Europe’s electric vehicle (EV) market is thriving in 2025, marking a robust recovery. From January to April, over 2.2 million electrified vehicles were registered across the European Union, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. This figure, encompassing battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), reflects a 20% surge compared to the same period in 2024. BEV registrations alone soared by 26%, signaling strong momentum in the shift to zero-emission driving. The United Kingdom mirrored this trend, with BEV, HEV and PHEV registrations climbing 22.8% to 486,561 units from January to April. Pure electric…

Protests against mass tourism are starting up again just in time for the summer vacation season. They follow in the footsteps of large-scale anti-tourism demonstrations in vacation hotspots in Italy, Portugal and especially Spain in recent years. The coalition of activists and campaigners that make up Sur de Europa contra la Turistización (Southern Europe against Touristification) have once again called for large-scale demonstrations on June 15 in Venice, Milan, Lisbon, San Sebastián, Valencia, Barcelona and the Balearic Islands, among other places. Members of the group recently met for a conference in Barcelona to discuss overtourism, which according to the UN World Tourism Organization is…

Anyone can sit down with an artificial intelligence (AI) program, such as ChatGPT, to write a poem, a children’s story, or a screenplay. It’s uncanny: the results can seem quite “human” at first glance. But don’t expect anything with much depth or sensory “richness”, as researchers explain in a new study. They found that the Large Language Modes (LLMs) that currently power Generative AI tools are unable to represent the concept of a flower in the same way that humans do.  In fact, the researchers suggest that LLMs aren’t very good at representing any ‘thing’ that has a sensory or motor…