Author: DW

England have Wembley, France have Stade de France, but the German national team does not have a stadium that can be considered their true home, even when hosting Euro 2024. Ask any fan of the team which stadium they prefer, and the responses will vary widely. But this evening, Stuttgart made a strong case for itself in Germany’s 2-0 victory against Hungary. The win, which followed an opening day thrashing of Scotland, assures German passage to the knockouts, with a match against Switzerland on Sunday to spare. Starting with the national anthem, the German fans provided a deafening noise from the get-go on…

Storm Alberto hit the coast of northeastern Mexico near the US border, bringing heavy rains late on Wednesday and killing at least three people.  The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the storm was located about 135 miles (217 kilometers) east of the Mexican port of Tampico, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph) — below hurricane strength. “Heavy rains, coastal flooding, and gusty winds forecast to continue through the morning along the coasts of Texas and Northeastern Mexico,” the NHC said on X. The agency added that the storm could strengthen slightly overnight. Mexico’s national water commission Conagua has issued…

German lawmaker Katrin Göring-Eckardt on Thursday deleted a social media post commenting on the skin color of German football players after it was met with backlash. She apologized for the post made after Germany’s 2-0 victory over Hungary in their second Euro 2024 stage match on Wednesday. Göring-Eckhardt is a member of the Greens and vice president of the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament.Germany beat Hungary 2-0 in Stuttgart, paving the way for the team’s entry into the knockouts stage of the tournamentImage: Bernd Weißbrod/dpa/picture alliance What was the deleted tweet about? “This team is truly exceptional. Just imagine…

Filipino soldiers used their “bare hands” to fight off armed Chinese coastguard in the disputed South China Sea, a Philippine military chief has said.General Romeo Brawner Jr, head of the Philippine armed forces, accused Chinese personnel of boarding more than eight motorboats and repeatedly ramming, then boarding, two inflatable vessels on Monday. Comparing the act to piracy, he said the Chinese had bladed weapons and tried to prevent the transfer of food, firearms and other supplies to a Philippine territorial outpost in the disputed area of the Second Thomas Shoal.Hostilities between the two countries have escalated in and around the…

It sounds like the stuff of horror movies, but Japan is seeing record levels of a highly fatal “flesh-eating” bacterial infection. Official figures show there have been over 1,000 cases of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome since January in the country, surpassing the total number recorded last year. Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome, also known as STSS, is a rare but serious disease typically caused by infection with the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes. STSS initially causes fever and throat infections but can develop very quickly into a life-threatening emergency, causing “toxic shock” and organ failure within days of infection. “Even with treatment, STSS can be…

Skip next section EU to introduce tariffs on Ukrainian egg imports06/19/2024June 19, 2024EU to introduce tariffs on Ukrainian egg importsThe European Commission will impose tariffs on Ukrainian egg imports within the next two weeks after a previously agreed annual threshold for those imports is reached, a spokesman said. The Commission made the same decision on Tuesday regarding oat imports from Ukraine. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has benefited from a special mechanism set up to boost trade flows with the EU, its main export market.  However, the EU set import caps after farmers across the bloc protested against…

Earlier this year, the G7 , a group of wealthy nations comprising the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Japan, and the European Union banned rough diamonds mined in Russia. The ban was part of many sanctions on Russia imposed by Western nations and their allies for President Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But the sanctions against Russian diamonds, intended to weaken Russia’s economy in light of its aggression, could pose a potential risk to the global diamond market’s stability. “When you look at the G7 suggestion that affects the global diamond industry, you have to take into consideration that…

Israel’s military may have repeatedly broken the laws of war and failed to distinguish between civilians and fighters, according to the UN.The body’s human rights office said Israeli forces “may have systematically violated the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack”. This claim is based on the assessment of six Israeli attacks that caused a high number of casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza between 7 October and 2 December.Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said the requirement to pick methods avoiding or at least minimising civilian harm “appears to have been consistently violated”.A…

Cyril Ramaphosa was on Wednesday sworn in for a second term as South African president amid pomp and ceremony, weeks after his African National Congress (ANC) party lost its majority. South Africa’s Chief Justice Raymond Zondo led proceedings with Ramaphosa taking his oath of office before various ministers, foreign dignitaries, religious and traditional leaders, and supporters at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.Ramaphosa took his his oath of office at the Union Buildings in PretoriaImage: Phill Magakoe/EPA Ramaphosa takes oath of office Heads of state, including Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Angola’s Joao Lourenco, Congo Brazzaville’s Denis Sassou Nguesso and Eswatini’s absolute…

Environmental protesters sprayed paint on Stonehenge on Wednesday, with footage showing an orange powder covering some of the stones. Two protesters dressed in white were seen running towards two of the megaliths and spraying paint, as another person attempted to stop them, in footage released by Just Stop Oil, an environmental activist group focused on the issue of human-caused climate change. The prehistoric structure dates back to somewhere between 3100 BC and 1600 BC, according to archaeologists. Just Stop Oil target events and public treasures Just Stop Oil has drawn criticism for targeting public treasures in the past, including the vandalism of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers with…