Author: DW

Europe’s auto industry is braced for a major announcement from the EU on December 10, which could see significant changes made to the European Commission’s proposed 2035 combustion engine phase-out. However, amid pressure from carmakers and other affected sectors such as car rental and car leasing companies, the announcement may now be pushed back until January. “We are still working on it,” EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas told the German business newspaper Handelsblatt this week. “We want to present an automotive package that is truly comprehensive and covers all the necessary aspects.” Multiple media reports in recent weeks have…

Look east on the night of December 4 and you will see the final supermoon of 2025. Supermoons occur when a full moon coincides with the moon’s closest approach to Earth, known as the moon’s perigee. The moon then appears up to 10% larger and much brighter than usual.  On December 4, 2025, the moon will be around 17,000 miles (27,300 kilometers) closer to Earth. This supermoon is also known as a “cold” full moon because it marks the start of colder, darker months ahead. A ‘moon illusion’ on the horizon If skies are clear, the moon may appear larger than it usually does as it rises over the…

Germany is set to host the Women’s Euros in 2029. In a bid process that saw Italy and then Portugal drop out, Germany on Wednesday was victorious over bids from Poland, aiming to become the first eastern European nation to host a women’s tournament, and a joint bid from Denmark and Sweden.  In a ceremony that was refreshingly short, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin appeared on stage in Nyon, Switzerland, to announce the successful bid — just five minutes after it started.  “It was a long journey and it’s not just all of us standing up here, but we had so many people working at…

Negotiators from the European Union have agreed on a new set of rules for so-called new genomic techniques, or NGTs, in plant breeding. The new framework covers key issues around how such products should be labelled in supermarkets and whether or not they can be patented. What are new genomic techniques? New genomic techniques, such as gene editing, are breeding methods used to change a small part of the genetic material of an animal, plant or microbes (such as yeast or bacteria). They don’t require the insertion of foreign genetic material, or DNA, from another species. This makes them different to…

Most people in Germany associate the feast of Saint Nicholas with a harmless tradition: Children leave their cleaned shoes next to the front door on the night of December 5, and the next morning, they expect to find their footwear filled with small presents and treats brought by Nikolaus. There are, however, regions in Germany, such as in Bavaria, where the Father Christmas-like character has a dark sidekick, the Krampus. The hairy devil has different names across regions and is part of folkloric festivities involving terrifying costumes and processions. The Krampus is a mythical figure in Austria and other parts of EuropeImage: Werner…

The final barriers are being set up at Bonn’s Christmas market. Concrete blocks now seal off the streets in the western German city leading into the central square, where visitors are already enjoying mulled wine and gingerbread hearts. Market manager Kathrin Krumbach is making her way through the crowd, checking security measures for which she’s also responsible. While speaking with DW, she points to a rubber mat that covers electrical cables running across the pathway. “You might not even notice, [but] that’s part of the security concept too,” she says, adding that the mat is meant to smooth the bump so no one…

As Spain added a second consecutive Nations League title to its 2023 World Cup win, Germany were left reflecting on a trophy drought that will soon stretch beyond a decade. But Christian Wück’s team’s presence in the final, and performance across the two legs, was enough to suggest that a major tournament win is not beyond the current generation. “We can be very, very proud,” said Wück after two second half goals from Claudia Pina either side of one from Vicky Lopez were enough for Spain. “It was even in the first half but we couldn’t maintain that level of play.…

The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will recommence at the end of December, Malaysia’s transport ministry said on Wednesday, The Boeing 777 plane disappeared on March 8, 2014. It was carrying 239 passengers, mostly Chinese nationals, and crew when it vanished from air radar during a flight from Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The plane wreckage has never been found despite numerous search attempts, and its fate is one the world’s biggest aviation mysteries. Ocean Infinity to search seabed The ministry said in a statement that it “wishes to update that the deep-sea search for missing wreckage…

This is not the first conviction for Jafar Panahi. For decades, the filmmaker has experienced censorship and imprisonment in his home country of Iran. He never set out to be a political filmmaker. “In my definition, a political filmmaker defends an ideology where the good follow it and the bad oppose it,” the Iranian director told DW earlier this year. “In my films, even those who behave badly are shaped by the system, not personal choice.” But for more than a decade, Panahi, the winner of the 2025 Palme d’Or, the Cannes Film Festival’s top prize, has had little choice. Following…

For Nicky Shiels, the current gold rally, which saw prices virtually “explode in recent months,” is an indication of “very little trust in the system.” “There is less trust in government, less trust in the functioning of society,” the head of Precious Metals Investment Strategy at MKS PAMP Group told DW. Now, the emerging question, she added, was whether the relatively small gold fund market could absorb the current flood of capital. Nicky Shiels is wary of further rising gold pricesImage: MKS PAMP Group Based in Geneva, MKS PAMP Group is one of the most influential players in the global precious…