Author: DW

After years of fleeing, fighting, advocating and training, Afghanistan’s women have won the right to compete for football’s biggest prizes as their country’s official national team. An unprecedented decision made by world football’s governing body, FIFA, in Toronto on Tuesday paves the way for the current squad to try to qualify for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 and then future World Cups and Asian Cups. It is another huge step for a team who have had to fight for their right to play, with the Taliban-run football association refusing to sanction an Afghanistan national women’s team. “It’s something really…

The Cologne fire service was mobilized on Wednesday afternoon after a churchwarden reported noticing the smell of fire inside the Cologne Cathedral, a spokesperson for the fire service told public broadcaster WDR. The fire department mobilized all its resources, and firetrucks were on the premises of the twin-spired cathedral for about two hours. About 70 firefighters were called in to make sure that there wasn’t a blaze or danger to the cathedral. But the major operation was called off after no threat was detected. The church remains closed, but the public square outside the church remains open to tourists. Fire teams carried out a full-scale…

Why has the UAE decided to quit OPEC now? OPEC, the global cartel of oil-producing nations, operates a quota system that limits how much oil each member can produce. For years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has clashed with Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s most powerful member, over these quotas. The UAE has invested heavily to expand its oil industry and grow its market share, but OPEC limits have repeatedly held it back. Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei told the New York Times on Tuesday: “The world needs more energy. The world needs more resources, and [the] UAE wanted to be unconstrained by any…

After the news that FIFA is set to allow domestic football leagues to play one game a season abroad, German football faces a familiar battle between tradition and growth. English newspaper The Guardian exclusively reported that new FIFA proposals will allow domestic leagues to have one game a season hosted in a foreign country. The host country will reportedly be allowed to host a maximum of five games from other countries, with the US the favored target. “I think the German members would object to that and there would be mass protests in the stadium,” Martin Endemann, head of policy at Football Supporters…

A man accused of plotting a terror attack at one of Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna in 2024 pleaded guilty on Tuesday. Austrian outlets Kurier and Kronen Zeitung reported the trial proceedings against the Austrian man identified as Beran A. Prosecutors also tried the man on various terrorism-related offenses and ties to a terrorist organization. But it was not clear yet what other charges he pleaded guilt to. Austrian man accused of attack threat at Taylor Swift concert Beran A. was arrested on August 7, 2024, the day before the first of three planned concerts by the superstar singer in Vienna. Those concerts were among…

Renault’s new electric Twingo fits easily into the French carmaker’s portfolio. It is a modern mini passenger car meant for urban European drivers, but it also tells a story about changes in the broader auto industry.   Renault developed the new Twingo over a breakneck 21 months in Shanghai, following an initial design phase in France.  The car is now in production in Slovenia, arriving this month at dealers with a price tag just under €20,000 ($23,000). The continent-hopping Twingo is a snapshot of a hypercompetitive auto industry and its new center of gravity in China. There, many legacy carmakers are developing new models by focusing on speed, cost and technology.  Germany’s Merz seeks China reset as trade imbalance widens To view this video please enable JavaScript, and…

A humanoid robot has been declared champion at a half-marathon running race held in Beijing, China, on Sunday, far outpacing human participants and beating the world record. The autonomously navigated robot Shandian was presented with the laurels after a remote-controlled robot, Lightning, who technically finished first, was denied the prize under the event’s weighted scoring rules. Big robotic improvement Shandian completed the 21-kilometer (around 13-mile) course in Beijing’s Yizhuang district with a time of 50:26, while Lightning achieved a time of 48:19. Both times were faster than the human record for the distance set by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who ran a time of 57:20 at the…

Amid talk of a possible return of compulsory military service, more young Germans are applying for conscientious objector status. Meanwhile, Germany has become the world’s fourth-largest military spender. DW has more.

Four decades ago, the Strait of Hormuz revealed its deadly vulnerability to the global oil market. During the 1980 to 1988 Iran-Iraq war, both sides repeatedly targeted oil tankers in the strait, turning one of the world’s most vital crude arteries into a floating battlefield. Saudi Arabia reacted by building the East-West Pipeline across its vast desert peninsula to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Years later, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) followed suit with the Habshan–Fujairah pipeline from the Abu Dhabi emirate to the Gulf of Oman. Hormuz’s vulnerability came roaring back in late February when the US-Israel war with Iran broke out.…

Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe has become the first person to run a marathon in under two hours. The 30-year-old set the milestone by winning the London Marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds on Sunday, breaking the previous record. The time for the 26.2 miles (42.2km) distance was 65 seconds faster than the mark set by fellow Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023. It was also 10 seconds quicker than Eliud Kipchoge’s time from 2019 in Vienna. That finish was not recognized as an official record because it was not in open competition and the Kenyan was assisted by pacemakers. Another record set in…