Author: DW

Two months on from the transformational summer of Euro 2024, the rain and cooler temperatures of Amsterdam in September took a little of the shine off Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany team. If Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz toyed with the Hungarians on Saturday, they toiled on Tuesday night in the Netherlands. Germany’s 2-2 draw with the Netherlands was a little wild for an international game in September. The draw is the result that leaves everyone content, but in a game that saw Germany concede inside the opening 120 seconds, lead at the break and then concede shortly after the restart, this…

US pop star Taylor Swift  endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris for president on Tuesday night in an Instagram post, in a boost to her campaign. The much awaited endorsement followed the first presidential debate between the sitting vice president and former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump. Swift signed her post “Childless Cat Lady” — a reference to rhetoric used by Trump’s running mate JD Vance to describe women who do not have kids.  “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election,” she wrote in the post. “I am voting for Kamala Harris…

The Austrian teenager who was shot dead last week after firing a vintage rifle at German police in Munich is thought to have been influenced by Islamist extremism. But 18-year-old Emrah I., from a small town in the Salzburg region, hardly attended his local mosque, nor did he grow a beard or wear a long gown.  The only clue that might have predicted his behavior in Munich was in early 2023, when Austrian police, investigating complaints about a fight at his school, found videos from a computer game on his phone. In these, he had decorated scenes with anAl Qaeda flag. But after finding nothing…

Volkswagen’s warning last week of job cuts and potential production line closures in its home market for the first time in its 87-year history sent shockwaves through the country. The storm clouds for Germany’s largest carmaker have, however, been forming for several years, due to soaring production costs, a weaker domestic economy post COVID-19 and intense competition from China. VW’s faltering electric-vehicle (EV) strategy is adding to the company’s revenue woes. The automaker must make some €10 billion ($11.1 billion) in cost savings over the next three years, which could mean thousands of job losses and the likely shutdown of some of its 10 German assembly lines.VW mulls German job cuts, factory closures as sales…

An American-Turkish activist who was killed by Israeli forces last week was likely shot “indirectly and unintentionally”, the Israeli military has said.Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was shot in the head in Beita, near Nablus, on Friday during a demonstration against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The 26-year-old arrived at a hospital with a severe head injury but doctors were unable to restart her heart.Middle East latest: More than 90% of ceasefire issues agreed, US says Image: Pic: Provided by ISM from Eygi’s family Israel’s military said its inquiry found “it is highly likely that she was hit indirectly and…

The speeches that kickstarted this year’s Beethoven Festival in Bonn were all about democracy. Held at the birthplace of composer Ludwig von Beethoven, the festival will feature around 100 events until October 3, the Day of German Unity. Referring to the recently concluded state elections in Saxony and Thuringia, where the far-right populist party AfD (Alternative for Germany) made significant inroads, everyone who spoke at the Bonn Opera agreed that this was a clarion call to actively listen to the concerns of the people, besides the need for people to engage with each other despite differing opinions and to find solutions…

The 2024 Paris Paralympic Games ended on Sunday with an electro-party at the Stade de France. Paris hosted the Olympics earlier in the summer.Spectators were treated to a firework show over the Stade de FranceImage: Thibaud MORITZ/AFP What do we know about the closing event? Some 24 French DJS, including Martin Solveig, Jean-Michel Jarre and Cassius, played at the event. Earlier, the 169 delegations paraded to the sound of French classics. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo handed the Paralympic flag to International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons, who then passed it on to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Los Angeles will hold…

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Philadelphia in the northeastern US state of Pennsylvania on Monday ahead of a high-stakes TV debate with former Republican President Donald Trump in the city.  The debate, slated for Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET (0030 UTC on Wednesday), will be hosted by US broadcaster ABC News and held at Philadephia’s National Constitution Center. It will be the first time Trump and Harris have debated and even met each other. The Harris-Trump debate is slated for Tuesday eveningImage: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/picture alliance How are Harris, Trump preparing for the debate?  Harris has said she feels…

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country will “exponentially” increase its nuclear arsenal to be combat-ready against the United States and its allies, state media KCNA reported Tuesday. Kim said on Monday that the nation must prepare its “nuclear capability and its readiness to use it properly at any given time in ensuring the security rights of the state,” KCNA reported. He was speaking at an event to mark the country’s founding anniversary. He added that a strong military force was necessary to counter threats posed by the US and its “followers.” Rising tensions While Kim has made similar threats in the past, experts…

When European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen came to Dresden on August 20 for the groundbreaking ceremony of a new chipmaking factory she brought a gift of €5 billion ($5.58 billion) with her. It wasn’t actually a gift or even EU money. What she had done in the early morning hours was approve subsidies from the German government for the project. It was the official go-ahead needed for a massive project, part of Germany’s goal of building up its own chipmaking industry. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was also at the groundbreaking, was glad to accept.EU Commission chief…