Author: DW

It’s hard to be more German than Volkswagen. Based in Wolfsburg in northern Germany, the company was founded in 1937 and created the iconic Beetle and the VW Bus and got people moving around the world. Today, the company is more than just Volkswagen (VW). The Volkswagen Group includes 10 brands like Audi, Bentley, Porsche and Skoda, among others. By sales, it was the largest vehicle manufacturer in the world from 2016 until 2019. It is still Europe’s largest automaker. It has 114 production facilities and 684,000 employees around the world. Last year, it sold 9.2 million vehicles and brought…

Here’s the naked truth: Generally, Germans are unfazed by bare bodies. Some of the country’s lakes, parks and beaches are sectioned off for naturists; those who prefer keeping their threads on are usually unruffled when sharing spaces with those who don’t. This nonchalance could be attributed to one of the country’s most iconic (and sometimes misunderstood) movements: Freikörperkultur (FKK), or free body culture.  As the Deutscher Verband für Freikörperkultur (DFK) —  the umbrella body representing the interests of organized supporters of FKK — celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, we peel back the layers of this movement’s evolution in Germany and its role in…

As exam season approaches in many parts of the world, students face a familiar challenge — cementing all they’ve learned throughout the term in their minds, ready for exam day. But what if the secret to effective revision is not just more hours spent studying but understanding how your brain learns and recalls information? Recent neuroscience research offers new insights into how the teenage brain absorbs and recalls facts.  But there are no quick tricks or “easy” hacks for success at school, said Bogdan Draganski, a cognitive neuroscientist at Insel University Hospital Bern, Switzerland.  Learning is an individual affair, where everyone’s…

“We drive football.” This is the motto used by Volkswagen (VW) for its football sponsorship. In a narrow sense, the motto relates to the automotive group providing vehicles to football clubs and national teams. In a broader sense, however, it can also mean: “We promote football.” VW has taken up the cause of helping to develop football to become more diverse and enhance gender equality, but to what extent will they still be involved in football in the future? How does VW crisis affect football? Volkswagen, founded in 1937 under the Nazi regime, was the world’s largest car manufacturer in 2023, with a record turnover of over €320 billion…

November 5 is Election Day in the United States, and voters will cast ballots not only to determine the future president but also most members of Congress. The presidential race is tight between Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump. DW has the answers to the most important questions about the US electoral process. Who votes? About 244 million people aged 18 and older are eligible to vote. Many formerly incarcerated people are excluded from voting in some US states. Citizens, including military personnel, living outside the United States can cast absentee ballots to participate in the election. Who is elected? The president and 469 members of…

North Korea on Tuesday fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its eastern coast, the South Korean military said. Japan’s Defense Ministry said the missiles were believed to have already come down at sea and there were no immediate reports of damage. US eyes North Korean ICBM tests The US said the launches posed no “immediate threat.” “While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel, or territory, or to our allies, we continue to monitor the situation,” US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement. The launches come days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un…

Ryanair – Europe’s largest budget airline – has reported a significant profit decline and scaled back its growth expectations amid challenges from Boeing aircraft delivery delays, lowered fares, and consumer spending pressures. For the six-month period ending in September, Ryanair’s net profit dropped by 18% to £1.5bn, down from the same period last year. The airline attributed this decrease to a combination of factors, including a fall in peak-season fares and increased operational costs.To attract more passengers, Ryanair had reduced ticket prices by 10% on average compared with the previous year. The move helped it carry a record 115 million…

Good news from the German economy has been in short supply for quite a while. From years of sluggish growth and weak data to the brutal symbolism of Volkswagen — one of Germany’s most venerated corporate symbols — being potentially forced to close plants, the country seems to have reclaimed the “sick man of Europe” title it once worked so hard to shake off. Yet this week there was a modicum of positive news. Europe’s biggest economy managed 0.2% growth in the third quarter, beating pessimistic expectations which had forecast a contraction. It means Germany will avoid slipping into a recession, typically…

Democracy and freedom prevailed on one side of the German-German border; repression and dictatorship reigned on the other. After World War II, Germany was divided into East and West for 28 years. Families were torn apart. Buildings and entire communities were demolished to make way for the inner-German border. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, heralding in a new era in the country’s history. That was 35 years ago — and we’re celebrating:  Join us to learn more about this key period in German history! Watch our YouTube video or visit our Instagramaccount to watch five reels about the history of the German-German…

How big is the Pacific Ring of Fire? The Ring of Fire dominates the Pacific Ocean. It’s a string of at least 450 active and dormant volcanoes that form a semi-circle, or horse shoe, around the Philippine Sea plate, the Pacific Plate, Juan de Fuca and Cocos plates, and the Nazca Plate. There is a lot of seismic activity in the area. About 90 percent of all earthquakes strike within the Ring of Fire. This means people’s lives are under almost constant threat in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and other island nations…