Author: DW

At least 30 people have died in the outskirts of Beijing after intense rainstorms battered China’s north, state media reported on Tuesday. “The latest round of heavy rainstorms has left 30 people dead in Beijing as of midnight Monday,” state news agency Xinhua said. Over 80,000 people have been evacuated from the Chinese capital, according to state broadcaster CCTV. 28 deaths were reported in the hilly district of Miyun and two in Yanqing, both of which are on the outskirts of the sprawling city, far from the downtown. Torrential rain causes floods and landslides in northern China Intense rainfall lashed northern China over the weekend, including in the provinces of Hebei,…

European governments and firms breathed a collective sigh of relief after the US-EU trade deal was sealed on Sunday, following nearly four months of tariff uncertainty. Markets reacted positively: shares in European automakers jumped as much as 3% at Monday’s opening, while broader EU stock indices reached four-month highs. European bond yields fell, signaling investor optimism that transatlantic trade tensions may be easing. Under the agreement, a 15% US tariff will be levied on most exports from the European Union, and the bloc will commit €514 billion ($600 billion) in investment to the US — its largest trading partner. Tariffs on some sectors…

1. From provincial festival to international affair The Wacken Open Air festival, also known as W:O:A, began in 1990 as a small festival with just 800 rock fans and a few local metal bands. The initial venue was a former gravel pit on the outskirts of the village of Wacken northwest of Hamburg. Today, the four-day event is one of the biggest and best-known metal festivals in the world, attended by around 185,000 fans from over 80 countries. The festival usually sells out within hours, although tickets are getting more expensive — €333 this year — and the event is…

Somehow it all felt familiar. Spain were in control, England chasing shadows. Just as it had been for the country’s men at Euro 2024 and women in the World Cup the year before that. But it turned out it was another old tale that was to be repeated, Chloe Kelly coming off the bench to win the Euros for England. Just as she had in Euro 2022, when she broke German hearts by scoring in extra time at Wembley, so it was in Switzerland, as Kelly hammered home the penalty that retained the trophy for her country. Earlier the two…

The confessions of a man who spent decades working at Dharmasthala, a famous pilgrimage center in India’s southern state of Karnataka, have unveiled a scandal involving allegations of hundreds of murders and rapes. On July 3, the former sanitation worker made a statement to police.  “I am filing this complaint with an extremely heavy heart and to recover from an insurmountable sense of guilt … I can no longer bear the burden of memories of the murders I witnessed, the continuous death threats to bury the corpses I received, and the pain of beatings — that if I did not bury those…

The disruption is now in full swing, with more and more African countries, particularly in the Sahel region of northern and western Africa, rejecting the so-called Francafrique policy by their former colonial power, France. The term refers to a complex and controversial network of political, economic, social and military ties between France and its former African colonies, describing a kind of special relationship characterized by ongoing French influence in these nations. Often described as neocolonial, France’s Africa policy is under massive political and popular pressure, and the fight against it is openly challenging Paris’ military, diplomatic and economic footprint in Africa. The…

Skin cancers, of which more than 300,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, are preventable. And yet cases continue to rise, particularly in regions of the world where numbers have previously been low.  As well as avoiding direct sunlight and wearing protective clothing such as hats, long-sleeved shirts and pants, effective sunscreen products have been available for years. But as genuine concerns about product safety mix with myths and falsehoods on social media and elsewhere online, some people may move away from these cancer-preventing products. “The most important thing that I always want to emphasize in any of the research I’m doing is the importance…

Skin cancers, of which more than 300,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, are preventable. And yet cases continue to rise, particularly in regions of the world where numbers have previously been low.  As well as avoiding direct sunlight and wearing protective clothing such as hats, long-sleeved shirts and pants, effective sunscreen products have been available for years. But as genuine concerns about product safety mix with myths and falsehoods on social media and elsewhere online, some people may move away from these cancer-preventing products. “The most important thing that I always want to emphasize in any of the research I’m doing is the importance…

Student suicides have reached an alarming scale in India, with students making up 7.6% of the country’s total suicide deaths, according to a recently released report by National Crime Records Bureau. The report, which used the most recent data from 2022, showed that an estimated 13,000 students die every year by suicide in India. Official figures for suicides in 2023 and 2024 have yet to be published. Research and government reports point to a combination of academic and social stress, and lack of institutional support and awareness, as contributing factors. “I see these numbers as not just statistics but as…

It is no small matter that Djelika “Mami” Tounkara has lost her anonymity. “I am afraid,” Tounkara told DW. “Before my name went public, I had already received death threats. Now, I will need more protection, but I have never had any. So, even though I am afraid, I want to talk, to express myself because I want to protect others.” Her name became public in a decision published by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in June, but her fight for justice began in 2021 when she rejected and then reported the sexual advances of her former head coach at…