Author: DW

BMW makes five BMW on Wednesday became the fifth German carmaker to announce major job cuts, as the country’s auto sector seeks to tackle rising competition from China. The Munich-based firm said it would cut up to 8,000 jobs globally, representing about 5% of its 154,000-strong workforce. BMW, which also owns the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, said the job losses would primarily affect operations in Germany and be achieved through natural staff turnover and a voluntary redundancy program. Although BMW was seen as more resilient to Chinese competition, the company warned last month that its sales in China were falling sharply. Chinese rivals have intensified competition…

 “While you divide, we unite,” Gianni Infantino wrote on social media on Monday, in a long missive aimed at his detractors. By Tuesday, he had united the football world — albeit in opposition to his latest scheme.  Shortly after reports emerged in UK newspapers The Times and the Financial Times on Tuesday, FIFA confirmed its plans to create a new subsidiary, named FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). This would enable it to sell a minority stake in the World Cup’s operations to private investors for billions of dollars. Chief among FIFA’s proposed investors is the investment vehicle, Thrive Eternal, headed by Joshua Kushner — younger brother of Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.   Why is FIFA’s new World Cup plan controversial?  Other than the potential…

K-pop powerhouse BTS said on Wednesday that they would not submit songs for consideration for the 2027 Grammys next February.  The seven band members issued the same Korean-language note online in concert. What’s the reason BTS doesn’t want to be considered this year?  They said they did not want to be included in the new Grammy category, best Asian pop music performance, that’s seen as a way to categorize releases across K-pop or J-pop and C-pop from Japan and China, respectively.  Newly reformed BTS, touring to promote a new album after returning from a military service hiatus, would seem to…

A potentially record-strength El Nino is now intensifying across the Pacific, bringing either drought or flooding to the world’s key farming regions. Earlier this month, the US National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted a 63% chance that the unusual weather pattern could be “very strong” this year. JP Morgan, meanwhile, warned last week that El Nino, combined with $100 (€88) oil prices, could spike food inflation by up to 1.5%. The arrival of El Nino follows two major conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, during which global food supplies have held up remarkably well. So, could this third crisis bring the perfect storm that tips the…

FIFA plans to create a new commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion (roughly €17.5 billion) and sell non-controlling minority stakes to investors, world football’s governing body announced on Tuesday.  It called on its 211 member federations to back the plan, saying that if they voted in favor they “would benefit immediately from increased funding.”  As soon as the news emerged, European football federation UEFA issued fierce criticism of the plan, saying it “crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross.”  The push comes immediately after this summer’s World Cup hosted primarily in the US, with FIFA listing a…

Bookings for tourist accommodation in Germany through major online platforms have reached a record high. The figure rose sharply above both last year’s level and figures seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. Why are tourist rental bookings rising in Germany? Travellers booked 68.3 million overnight stays through Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia in 2025, the Federal Statistical Office said on Tuesday, citing data from EU statistics agency Eurostat. That was an increase of 13% compared with 2024 and more than 83% above the level recorded in 2019. The rise came despite TripAdvisor no longer being included in the data after it left the…

The Strait of Hormuz has become one of the world’s most dangerous waterways since March, when Iran began attacking shipping vessels as a pressure tactic in its ceasefire talks with the United States. Still, though a significant proportion of the global oil trade bottlenecks at the strait, shipping traffic never completely halted. With the United States and Iran issuing conflicting statements as to whether the Strait of Hormuz is open, DW analyzed public data sources to track how shipping traffic has changed during the course of the war and which vessels are still taking the risk of transiting the maritime choke…

Behind the familiar symptoms of fever and spots is an extremely contagious virus that can cause lasting harm or death. That’s the reality of measles. But many people in the US appear to have forgotten the seriousness of a measles infection, with outbreaks mainly in under-vaccinated communities.  In fact, infections have hit a 35-year high as declining vaccination rates have created growing pockets of susceptible people. Experts warn that the fading memories of the once-common disease have left too many people unaware of its dangers. The number of measles cases in the United States up to mid-July 2026 surpassed the total number of…

Football didn’t have it easy at the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.  There were questionable decisions by FIFA, the sport’s governing body, as well as a lot of spectacle and a final in which only one team actually played football. After a total of 104 games in this biggest-ever World Cup, Spain were deservedly crowned champions, and, for the first time, a country’s men’s and women’s teams are simultaneously world champions. FIFA President Gianni Infantino described the tournament as the “greatest sporting, social and cultural event in humanity.”  US President Donald Trump congratulated FIFA on what he called “one…

Gianni Infantino is not a man used to apologizing. And even though he said sorry three times on the second slide of a 15-page Instagram post, that remains the case. “To everyone who missed our beautiful game, the emotions, the celebrations, the laughter, the crying, the deception, and the joy. To all of you who missed watching kids, babies, grandparents, and parents come together for the beautiful game, I say sorry that the matches are now over and sorry that you missed all that joy and togetherness. Sorry that you were so consumed by hate and criticism that you missed…