Author: DW

Annalena Baerbock is a football fan and is often found cheering on Germany’s national teams at major tournaments. Last year, she was on the edge of her seat rooting for the country’s women’s team at the Euros in Switzerland. And now, her fingers are crossed for the men’s team at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. She’s right in the thick of it because since 2025, Baerbock has been president of the United Nations General Assembly, which is based in New York. Baerbock attended an award ceremony at the recently opened German House of Soccer, where…

German is not the first language you’d expect to find behind a global TikTok hit, which is why the success of “Gut genug” is so surprising. The track was a collaboration between Berlin-based producers KitschKrieg, indie duo Blumengarten and rapper Shirin David. Now, millions of social media users worldwide have featured the song in their videos — although many of them don’t understand a word of German. Despite that fact — or perhaps because of it — the song has become a hit. The hook sticks in your head and is easy to sing along to. Blumengarten singer Rayan croons…

Outside the majestic Wittenbergplatz subway station in Berlin, activist Hedda tells people passing by that the majority of the superrich in Germany inherited their wealth. Striding back and forth in front of a massive banner accompanied by other protesters and a big polar bear in a pink cape, she cites an analysis that found only one in four billionaires is self-made in the country. “Which tax can the government use to fairly redistribute this excessive wealth generated by genetic lottery?” Hedda shouted. “Inheritance tax!” someone yelled back. The activists, who are part of a group that calls itself NoSuperReturn, cheer…

“It was heartbreaking to see what was going on in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and, at the same time, to see how many resources can be mobilized to get this one patient from the DRC to Germany,” said Thomas Cronen, a senior physician and infectious diseases expert in intensive care at the Charité — Berlin University Hospital. Cronen and his colleague Maximilian Gertler were in Nairobi, Kenya, when we spoke. They were there to exchange knowledge about treating Ebola with 50 clinicians from the eight member states of the East African Community (EAC). We had got onto the topic…

Almost a week into the tournament, World Cup fever has very much taken hold in Germany, with the Nationalmannschaft’s 7-1 thumping of minnows Curacao on Sunday looking all the more impressive in light of Spain’s goalless draw with Cape Verde on Monday. You see, these group-stage games against smaller nations aren’t as easy as you might think! Strikers Deniz Undav and Kai Havertz both scored against Curacao, but there’s been some bad news for any Germany fans wanting to have those names printed on the backs of their replica shirts after the official kit provider ran out of letter Vs…

Anish Kapoor can demand quite a lot from his audience. For some, gazing into dark whirlpools, into the blackest of black, may be unsettling, depending on one’s state of mind. Added to that is dark red wax, one of his favorite materials: It symbolizes flesh and blood. Associations that cut straight to the core. And yet, the artist seems cheerful and relaxed talking about his work. At times, however, it makes even him feel a little uneasy. Take, for example, the major exhibition of his work currently on view at the Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg, Germany. In an interview with ARD, he…

The European Parliament is expected to approve new rules to make it easier for farmers to grow crops, genetically edited using new genomic techniques (NGTs). The vote on NGTs is scheduled for June 17. If the EU gives the green light, it would mark a big policy shift. Brussels has maintained a cautious stance on genetically modified organisms since its regulation of GMOs began in the 1990s. From ‘Frankenfoods’ to CRISPR crops Thirty years ago, GMO agricultural products were often dubbed “Frankenstein foods” or “Frankenfoods.” Environmentalists and certain members of the media warned that GMOs could cause allergic reactions, lead to antibiotic resistance, and other long-term…

From obscure, veteran goalkeeper to global fame and an extra 6 million social media followers in 90 minutes, Vozinha’s story is the sort that has made the World Cup so special across the globe. The Cape Verde stopper excelled as his side drew 0-0 with European champions Spain on Monday. But the tears he shed after the game were not only joyful. “I cried because I grew up with my grandparents and unfortunately they were not here; they died a few years ago,” he told reporters. “They were everything for me, for my life. I also cried because my mum didn’t manage to…

Germany’s Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (EVZ) Foundation is this month marking 25 years since it first paid compensation to the last survivors forced to work under the Nazi regime. But some have argued that those payments should have begun much sooner after the end of World War II in 1945, and should have been much larger. According to the EVZ, €4.4 billion ($5.1 billion) were paid to 1.66 million former forced laborers and their legal successors in around 100 countries between 2001 and 2007, when the final payments were made. Some 26 million people are believed to have been forced to work for the…

US President Donald Trump on Sunday hailed a framework agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at ending hostilities in the Gulf that have reduced commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to a trickle for more than three months. The deal, scheduled to be signed on Friday in Switzerland, reopens the strait to shipping without tolls, lifts the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and allows Tehran to resume oil exports under limited sanctions relief. The framework also extends the current ceasefire for at least 60 days while launching broader talks on Iran’s nuclear program. Yet, unlike reopening a highway after a car wreck,…