Author: DW

The long US presidential election campaign is well underway, and Joe Biden can use all the good economic news he can get. The economy, or at least voters’ perception of it, will have a lot to do with his chances for reelection.  In March, employers created over 300,000 jobs and unemployment stood at 3.8%. At the same time, March’s inflation rate rose a bit over February and it is anyone’s guess when interest rates will come down.   One thing the president is convinced of is the importance of semiconductor chips — and making those chips in the US. In…

French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned the word “paradigm” roughly 20 times in a speech pushing for more European integration Thursday. “We have a rendezvous with history — Europe could die,” Macron warned, standing in front of hundreds of listeners in the amphitheater of the Paris Sorbonne, one of Europe’s oldest universities. The president called for more European integration; a new, common commercial industry and a proper European defense strategy — possibly with its own missile defense shield. “It’s crucial that Russia doesn’t win the war in Ukraine [which Moscow started with an invasion two years ago] — European security is at stake,” he said. “Europe can only…

Visitors to Venice are being charged to enter the Italian city from today, under a controversial scheme. Authorities say the pilot programme is designed to discourage tourists and thin the crowds that throng the canals during peak holiday season, making the city more liveable for residents. Signs advising arriving visitors of the new €5 fee (£4.28) during a test phase of 29 days through July have been put up outside the main train station and other points of entry.Around 200 stewards have been trained to politely walk anyone unaware of the charge through the process of downloading a QR code…

A New York appeals court on Thursday overturned 2020 sex crime charges against former Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein and ordered a new trial. The court said in a 4-3 decision that it found errors in the landmark trial that helped drive the #MeToo movement.  Why did was the New York Weinstein ruling overturned? New York’s Court of Appeals argued that the previous ruling had committed serious errors by admitting invalid testimony. “We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes,” the court’s majority opinion said. “The remedy for these egregious…

There is a reason mountaineers on Everest call the passage through the Khumbu Icefall from the western slope the “ballroom of death.” A mighty hanging glacier that threatens the route hangs like a sword of Damocles and makes for tricky climbing. Ten years ago, on 18 April 2014, an ice avalanche broke loose there. Sixteen Nepalese mountaineers, who were carrying equipment for commercial expeditions to the high camps, died in the accident. Since then, the “Icefall Doctors” — a group of Sherpas who specialize in icefall — have been trying to place the ascent route as far away from the western slope as possible.…

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned on Thursday, paving the way for the establishment of a new government. It comes after months of gang violence that has gripped the country, including parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Also on Thursday, a new transitional council was sworn in to appoint a new interim government to pave the way for the first elections since 2016. Finance Minister Patrick Boisvert is to serve as provisional prime minister after being appointed by Henry’s remaining cabinet.  It was not immediately clear when the transitional council would select its own interim prime minister. What do we know about Henry’s…

Cars are special products: They’re easier to ship than, say, oil rigs, but they’re also so large that you can’t just put them on a shelf. Each car occupies about ten square meters (107 square feet) of space, even when not in use. This poses problems for ports where cars are loaded and unloaded ― in Germany, there are two really big ones in Bremen and Bremerhaven. The car terminal at the Port of Bremerhaven is one of the largest auto ports in the world with a turnover of more than 1.7 million vehicles per year. BLG Logistics Group, an international seaport and logistics…

Flooding from torrential rain in Tanzania has killed at least 155 people, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Thursday. In an address to parliament, the East African leader added that around 200,000 people are impacted by flooding and that there was significant damage to homes, infrastructure and crops in a number of parts of the country. “The heavy El Nino rains, accompanied by strong winds, floods, and landslides in various parts of the country, have caused significant damage,” Majaliwa told parliament, according to AFP news agency. “As a result …  more than 51,000 households and 200,000 people were affected, with 155…

Dozens of whales have died after several pods washed up on the shore of a beach on the Western Australian coast.Marine wildlife experts including wildlife officers, marine scientists and veterinarians tried frantically to save the pilot whales stranded on Thursday in shallow waters at Toby Inlet in Geographe Bay. Image: The pilot whales became stranded on a beach n Western Australia. Pic: Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions via AP Four pods of up to 160 pilot whales in total spread across about 500m along the beach, near the town of Dunsborough, in a region popular with tourists.More than 100…

This year, the Italian city of Venice will begin charging a €5 ($5.30) fee for day-trippers who are not staying overnight. The trial scheme starts on April 25 and will require tourists to pay a visitor’s fee on numerous different days between the end of April and mid-July. The scheme’s launch was repeatedly postponed in recent years. “It’s a great idea,” says Susanne Kunz-Saponaro, who lives in Venice and works as a local tour guide. “But it doesn’t seem really well thought-out.” She doubts the city’s efforts to curb mass tourism will have much effect. The problem is that a…