Author: DW

Secondhand is winning two-to-one on my clothing rack. It makes sense. I grew up thrifting. I’ll never forget the thrill of digging up the navy-blue plush hoodie of my dreams at one of the countless flea markets I visited with my mom as a kid. But today, I’m on a smaller mission for a basic black t-shirt because I’m over the ones I have. Since I found that hoodie, secondhand has had a serious glow up. Small, chaotic charity shops like Goodwill or Oxfam have given way to minimalistic vintage boutiques where a used shirt can cost more than a new…

It is 9:00 in the morning. Buses and cars are passing slowly through the Shehyni checkpoint in the region of Lviv, a city close to Ukraine’s border with Poland. There is no line for pedestrians, most of whom are elderly people, women and children. There are also several men of all ages. At the end of August, the Ukrainian government allowed men aged 18 to 22 to leave the country, where martial law has been imposed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the decision would keep more young men in Ukraine by giving them…

After Germany beat Turkey to win the Eurobasket crown on Sunday, there can be no doubt that the country is enjoying its greatest-ever era of basketball. Just two years after winning the World Championship and one year on from Germany’s women winning gold in the 3×3 at the Paris Olympics, the glory days continued as NBA stars Franz Wagner and Dennis Schröder helped Germany take the EuroBasket. The success was Germany’s second-ever EuroBasket title, and Schröder was named the tournament MVP for his efforts. While eight of the 12 players in Germany’s title squad play for professional teams abroad, including three in the NBA, domestic basketball in Germany has gone…

From stormed palaces to fleeing heads of state, a number of Asian countries are witnessing political transformations led by a generation born into the digital age. This digitally savvy Gen Z, a term referring to people born roughly between 1997 and 2012, has emerged as a formidable force, challenging authoritarianism, corruption and economic inequality with street-level activism. In Nepal, youth protests against a social media ban and corruption toppled Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli’s government last week. Indonesia witnessed large-scale protests recently, triggered by lavish perks for lawmakers, among other grievances. President Prabowo Subianto’s administration barely managed to hold on, scrambling…

India has witnessed a growing debate over what people eat over the past decade.   Since Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014, measures targeting meat consumption have increased in parts of the country, especially in northern India’s Hindi-speaking states. Authorities in some places have occasionally issued rules discouraging or banning meat-based foods from schools, near places of worship and during religious festivals, among others. In India-administered Kashmir’s Doda district, officials recently banned meat, seafood and eggs in all educational institutions, saying that it’s needed to uphold “secular principles,” maintain “social harmony” and avoid “discomfort” over dietary differences. The order drew…

Customers at a supermarket on Avenida Rua Bolivar in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, are positively surprised at the price changes they’ve been experiencing over the past few weeks, as they are now paying significantly less for coffee and meat, for example. “Finally, some good news in these difficult times,” says shopper Julienne Freitas, while speaking with DW. Her experience is not anecdotal but rather echoed by a recent survey from Brazil’s Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socio-Economic Studies (DIEESE) — a research institute affiliated with trade unions that produces scientific studies.A good harvest and less demand from the US is driving down coffee…

The European Union (EU) proposed a new strategic agenda with India that raises bilateral relations to a higher level amid calls from the United States to hit India with massive tariffs. In July, the EU sanctioned an Indian refinery that refined Russian crude, ensuring it can’t sell to Europe. Since then, US President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on India, half of it as punishment for buying Russian fuel. But as the EU and the US align their policies against Russia on secondary sanctions for its war in Ukraine, the Trump reportedly called on the bloc to impose up to 100% tariffs on…

At a glance, women’s sport seems to be accelerating towards equal pay at a quicker rate than ever before. A 2021 report by the BBC found that 90% of sports now offer equal prize money at their major championships,  and packed out stadiums for women’s matches in major sports like football, tennis and cricket have become commonplace. But it’s not as simple as that. “Sport does rank rather badly against all sorts of other sectors when it comes to equal pay and conditions,” Lombe Mwamba, the interim CEO of the Global Observatory for Gender Equality and Sport, told DW. Though little…

The US Federal Reserve , commonly known as the Fed, lowered its benchmark rate Wednesday by a quarter percentage point, the first such cut since last year. It cut the benchmark lending rate to a range between 4.0% and 4.25%. The Fed paused its easing cycle in January due to uncertainty over how President Donald Trump’s import tariffs might affect inflation and the overall economy. It said Wednesday’s cut was warranted as, “downside risks to employment have risen” even as inflation has “moved up and remains somewhat elevated.” Although inflation remains slightly above the Fed’s target rate of 2%, data shows hiring has slowed to…

US President Donald Trump landed in the United Kingdom late Tuesday for his much-touted second state visit that comes amid criticism of Trump’s policies and his murky past with the late financier and abuser Jeffrey Epstein. Creativity in protest The political campaign group Led By Donkeys, who combine art and activism, confirmed that they were behind the public stunt which saw several images of Trump and Epstein projected on to a tower, while a soundtrack questioning the relationship between the two men was played on a speaker. “Trump is being welcomed to our country, being given the unique honor of a second state visit, and it’s being…