Author: DW

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 50,000 additional jobs worldwide, including tens…

South African aviation authorities are reviewing a low-altitude flyover by two Airlink passenger planes at an international rugby match in Cape Town last weekend. The regional airline, meanwhile, said it had canceled another flypast scheduled for Saturday’s rugby test between South Africa and New Zealand in Johannesburg this weekend, citing unfavorable weather. In a statement, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) said it was carrying out a “compliance verification” of the August 29 flyover at Cape Town’s DHL stadium to ensure “all safety protocols were adhered to by the crew.” Footage of the flyby, showing two planes in formation passing over…

A year ago, North Korea’s women successfully defended their U-17 World Cup title after defeating the Netherlands 3-0 in Morocco. It was the fourth time that the country has won the competition. Now the country’s U-20 team enter the World Cup in Poland as defending champions, having won their third World Cup in 2024. North Korea’s women have clearly cemented their status as the dominant force in women’s youth football. But what is it that makes a state that, according to the United Nations, “does not have any parallel in the contemporary world,” so good at youth football? “International sport is one of the few ways to demonstrate their sovereignty, existence…

Germany is watching the upcoming state election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt with keen interest. Much of the attention is focused on the performance of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), whose state branch in Saxony-Anhalt has been classified by the domestic intelligence agency as “right-wing extremist.” According to opinion polls, the AfD could emerge as the clear election winner. In the last state election in 2021, the AfD won around 20% of the vote and has since been the largest opposition party. The state is governed by a coalition of the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), the center-left Social Democrats…

World football governing body FIFA took a lash at Europe’s UEFA for starting a “smear campaign” and “fishing expedition” against FIFA and its President Gianni Infantino. This comes after a dispute between the two organizations due to FIFA’s plan to sell a stake in its commercial rights, with UEFA submitting an ex parte application to the US District Court in New York to obtain testimony and documents from US-based entities. These documents will be used in potential criminal proceedings in Switzerland, where both FIFA and UEFA are based. “While these applications are styled as legal pleadings with captions and docket numbers, they are…

“Why should [they] be suffered to swarm into our Settlements, and by herding together establish their Language and Manners to the Exclusion of ours? […] [They] will shortly be so numerous […] and will never adopt our Language or Customs.” These defamatory comments about refugees and asylum-seekers sound as if they might have been made today by the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party (AfD). Yet in this instance, the people vilified and accused of refusing to integrate are Germans — and the harsh judgement was made in the 18th century by none other than Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United…

The German economy is showing tentative signs of recovery after a prolonged period of gloom. Europe’s largest economy is on track for its strongest GDP growth since 2022, while business sentiment is finally trending upwards again after a lengthy spell in the doldrums. The country’s official statistics office reported last week that the economy grew by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2026, beating estimates and building on robust figures for the previous two quarters. Several others have revised their forecasts upwards. The Ifo Institute, Kiel Institute for the World Economy and the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research are all now predicting…

The London City Lionesses have existed for less than a decade, have played in England’s top flight for just one season and can’t play in the Champions League. Yet, having broken the women’s transfer record last year, the Lionesses have signed some of the game’s biggest stars for the coming season as their ambition becomes ever more apparent. As well as two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas and her Spanish teammate Mapi Leon, England’s Euro 2022 winning goalkeeper Mary Earps and French star Kadidiatou Diani, Germany winger Nicole Anyomi is among the new arrivals. Anyomi left Eintracht Frankfurt, where she’d scored…

When the Austrian women’s national ice hockey team took to the ice in the Women’s European Cup of Nations in Slovakia in August, they did so without 11 of their top players. Captain Anna Meixner and the rest of her team were frustrated that the Austrian Ice Hockey Association (ÖEHV) still hadn’t responded to a list of grievances outlined in a letter to the organization last March. Meixner stresses that the players only went public with their complaints as something of a last resort. Among the nine complaints on their list of demands were the standard of accommodation, having to change in…

Canada has been quietly praised for refusing to fold under pressure from US President Donald Trump in the long-running fight over trade tariffs. The latest talks between the North American neighbors collapsed on August 21. Until the 11th hour, both sides were talking as if a deal was within reach. The United States then put 50% tariffs on about $20 billion (€17.2 billion) worth of Canadian goods, while Ottawa pledged to match those duties on US imports. Until the talks folded, Canada’s approach was to cut a deal that would reduce the tariffs and keep cross-border supply chains functioning, particularly in the automotive and…