Author: DW

Has the fragile US-Iran ceasefire collapsed? The Iran war has reignited after Tehran struck at least three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, according to US and maritime officials. The attacks, which targeted a Saudi oil tanker and a Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, prompted the United States to revoke the temporary sanctions waiver on Iranian oil exports. This major concession in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreed by the US and Iran last month allowed Tehran to restart oil exports after its tankers were halted by a US Navy blockade. In further retaliation, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Wednesday it had struck more…

Brain tumors are difficult to treat. Because even tumors that can be operated on can rarely be removed completely through surgery. Patients typically receive chemotherapy and radiation therapy but even so, people with aggressive tumors often live no more than five years after diagnosis. In a study by researchers at the German Cancer Research Center, University Medical Center Mannheim, Heidelberg University Hospital and other research institutions, 33 patients also received a vaccine. Eight years later, the research team published the long-term follow-up results in the journal Nature. And there is reason for cautious optimism: 66% of the people who took…

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Tuesday that it would lift restrictions on Russian athletes to allow them to compete in team events and in qualifying competitions. It all comes ahead of qualifying events for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and just two months after the IOC lifted restrictions for Russia’s ally Belarus, whose athletes would be allowed to compete again without any restrictions and with their national symbols. Russia has been shut out of international sporting competitions since it launched an invasion in Ukraine in 2022. The IOC suspended Russia’s Olympic Committee in 2023 after Russia unilaterally recognized regional sports organizations in the four Ukrainian…

Germany is producing more non-alcoholic beer as consumer tastes change. Meanwhile, a top court is reviewing a Bavarian law that allows police intervention before a concrete threat has emerged. DW has more.

Volkswagen has built one of the largest workforces in the global auto industry. At nearly 630,000 people — 680,000 if you count joint ventures in China — VW employs around 60% more workers than Toyota, 140% more than Stellantis and nearly 240% more than Ford. That headcount was once a sign of Germany’s industrial might and VW’s huge profits. Now, it’s become a massive burden, one that’s forcing the company to make painful job cuts to survive against agile Chinese competitors. After already trimming thousands of positions last year as profits came under pressure, Volkswagen is now preparing to slash up to 100,000 jobs worldwide, including…

Quasars emit primordial light. They are far, far away, both in terms of time and distance. They are easy to confuse with other celestial sources of light, such as stars that are closer to Earth.  But when we do detect them, they tell astronomers a lot about the earliest moments of the universe, knowledge that helps us learn more about our place in it. The European Space Agency’s Euclid space-based telescope launched in 2024 to map the universe. ESA has now released images of two of the most ancient quasars ever located.  They are just two out of a crop of 31 quasars…

Belgium secured its place in the World Cup quarterfinals after beating the US 4-1 in Seattle. Attacker Charles de Ketelaere scored twice for Belgium, with Hans Vanaken scoring the third after a mistake by US goalkeeper Matt Freese. Romelu Lukaku added the fourth in stoppage time after another mistake in the US defense Germany-born Malik Tillman temporarily equalized for the US in the 31st minute. The defeat signals the end of the US’ World Cup campaign, marking the last host country to have been eliminated. Belgium will face Spain in Los Angeles on Friday, July 10. FIFA decision causes uproar…

More than 12,000 people gathered in the center of Pamplona in northern Spain on Monday to celebrate the start of the Festival of San Fermin, known for the running of the bulls. The festival kicked off with the traditional “Chupinazo,” a small rocket fired from the town hall balcony over a jam-packed plaza. Revelers douse themselves in grape juice and wine Image: Eduardo Sanz/Europa Press/ABACA/picture alliance The revelers celebrated by pouring wine and grape juice over each other, while  holding up red scarves, singing and dancing,  and shouting “San Fermin, San Fermin, San Fermin.”The red scraves symbolize unity with Pamplona’s…

China’s Tianwen-2 space probe has reached its target, the near-Earth asteroid Kamo’oalewa, after a journey of about 400 days, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on Monday.  The mission, which was launched in May 2025, is an important milestone for China as it tries to match or overtake the US and Europe in deep-space exploration and is the first Chinese attempt to collect samples from an asteroid. Scientists believe that samples taken from asteroids — rocky bodies orbiting the sun — could give clues about how the solar system came into being and evolved. What do we know about the Tianwen-2 mission and…

US President Donald Trump on Sunday thanked football’s world governing body FIFA for suspending Falorin Balogun’s ban that allows the US star striker to play against Belgium this week. Balogun was given a straight red card during the Round of 32 match between the World Cup co-hosts and Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday for accidentally planting his studs high on a defender’s ankle. Balogun’s teammates and his coach, Mauricio Pochettino, had said the red card, which was given after an intervention by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), was harsh because the star striker had not intended to harm the defender. According…