Author: DW

The Biden administration’s time is almost up, but in its final days it has taken decisive action on Russian oil, President Vladimir Putin’s key revenue source. On January 10, the White House announced severe sanctions on Russia’s oil sector, blacklisting almost 200 vessels from its so-called shadow fleet and targeting the Russian oil producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas. Moscow has largely found ways to get around the oil-price-cap sanction — which uses various mechanisms to limit the price of a barrel of Russian oil to $60 (€58.20) — since it was introduced at the end of 2022. However, analysts are encouraged…

Andrew Tate has had a house arrest order lifted by a Romanian court.A spokesperson for Tate said on Tuesday that the court replaced the order with a lighter preventative measure pending the outcome of a criminal investigation into the influencer.Tate is now required to check in with police at regular intervals, is not allowed to contact other suspects or witnesses in his case, and cannot leave Romania.His spokesperson said: “This ruling marks a decisive step forward, granting [Tate] the freedom to travel throughout Romania while adhering to the required legal conditions.” Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video…

Going into the 2025 Australian Open, Germany’s tennis stars are ageing and performances in the Grand Slams, other than those of the men’s world No. 2, Alexander Zverev, haven’t been much to write home about. Last year, the three German men in the top 100 not named Zverev didn’t make it past the second round. No German woman went beyond the second round, although like France and the UK, they have three players in the top 100 rankings. Germany’s men though, have just four in the top 100. France has 12 and Spain six. Something has got to give. “There were waves in which we had more players…

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has dismissed demands from US President-elect Donald Trump that Germany and other NATO allies increase defense spending to at least 5% of gross domestic product (GDP). “Five percent would be over €200 billion ($204 billion) per year — the federal budget is not even €500 billion,” Scholz said at a campaign event in the western German city of Bielefeld on Monday. “That would only be possible with massive tax increases or massive cuts to many things that are important to us,” he said, insisting that he would not countenance cuts to pensions, local government or transport infrastructure.…

Dangerously high winds are set to return to Los Angeles, threatening efforts to extinguish wildfires that have destroyed neighborhoods and claimed at least 24 lives. “We are not in the clear as of yet,” Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowle said. “We must not let our guard down,” she added. Dry Santa Ana winds of up to 70 miles (112 kilometers) per hour are predicted to resume on Monday and continue until Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, which issued a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning. Firefighters are working to contain three active blazes in the Los Angeles area…

In the United States, the terms diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have become so politicized and partisan that big corporations such as Meta, McDonald’s, Walmart, Boeing and Ford are dialing down their policies.  According to experts, this doesn’t necessarily mean that businesses no longer care about these issues, but it shows they’re rethinking their strategies to stay out of trouble. This follows rising lawsuits and online campaigns by conservatives claiming reverse discrimination.  “Every corporate leader is now dealing with the fact that DEI in 2025 is going to be a lot more controversial, is going to be more of a…

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has admitted to a “serious offence” after a Sky News investigation analysed CCTV footage showing the moment an 80-year-old Palestinian grandmother was shot in the West Bank.Halima Abu Leil was shot during a raid in Nablus. The grandmother died soon after.During the course of the investigation, we noted that a blue vehicle marked as an ambulance and with a red light on its roof was used by IDF troops to enter the West Bank.Our investigation stated: “Figures who appear to be Israeli military forces exit the ambulance in the foreground. They are equipped with helmets,…

What you need to know Donald Trump is expected to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization when he becomes president on January 20. The US is the largest financial contributor to the WHO, mostly through voluntary payments to its preferred programs. The WHO’s funding model has been criticized for being too dependent on such “strings attached” donations. Donald Trump is set to pull the United States out of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the first day of his presidency. Experts warn the move would be mutually harmful for both parties. Trump, who will be inaugurated for a second…

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic won reelection for another five-year term on Sunday, near-complete official results showed. Milanovic, nominated by the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP), was estimated to have won 74% of the vote, after more than 99% of the ballots were counted. Dragan Primorac, the candidate for the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), secured around 26% of the vote.  Croatia held a runoff vote between the two contenders on Sunday after the first round of voting on December 29.  Who is Zoran Milanovic? Milanovic was first elected president in 2020. He previously served as prime minister from late 2011 until early 2016. A stalwart of…

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through Romania’s capital, Bucharest, on Sunday to protest the Constitutional Court’s decision last month to order that the presidential election be re-run. They demanded that the vote take place and that outgoing centrist President Klaus Iohannis resign immediately. “We demand a return to democracy through the resumption of elections, starting with the second round,” George Simion of the right-wing Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), said. Why did Romania’s top court cancel the first round? The Constitutional Court initially declared the first round outcome as legal, only to surprisingly annul it two days before the runoff was due…