Author: DW

The European Central Bank (ECB) said on Thursday it would hold its interest rates steady for the time being, but indicated it was closely monitoring the economic fallout of the Iran war.  The ECB had raised rates last month and hinted at more to come, but a string of relatively calm data in the weeks that followed made a follow-up step seem less urgent.  Still, Thursday’s decision came as oil futures prices once again briefly topped $100 per barrel and as more intense exchanges of fire between the US and Iran have again become a daily occurrence. What did the…

When it kicks off in Morocco on July 26, the Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) promises to provide great goals, games and memories as 16 teams compete for the continental title. While the focus will be on the stars on the pitch, there may also be some attention on the fact that very few of the head coaches are female.  Cameroon’s appointment of Valentine Nguel just weeks before the tournament, brought the number of WAFCON nations with female coaches to four — along with Zambia, Kenya, and South Africa. Still, the vast majority of coaches are men. Other teams have…

Paris’ Louvre Museum reopened its Apollo Gallery to the public on Wednesday, marking the first time visitors were allowed in since Ocotber 2025, when robbers stole €88 million ($102 million) worth of crown jewels in a dramatic daytime heist. The Louvre is world’s most visited museum, with guest numbers of up to 9 million a year. It was originally a royal palace, which was opened to the public during the French Revolution. The museum houses the Mona Lisa, one of the world’s most famous pieces of art. The October 2025 heist shocked the world as the thieves used a crane mounted on…

How bad are Germany’s economic problems? One commonly used indicator is the number of company insolvencies and recent figures have produced worrying headlines. According to a study by the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), the insolvency rate among partnerships and corporations in Germany was 80% higher in June than in an average June between 2016 and 2019, the period before the COVID-19 pandemic. Sole proprietors, freelancers and very small businesses were not included in these figures because they are considered less relevant to the overall labor market. Partnerships and corporations account for about 90% of jobs affected by insolvencies…

Imagine sitting in a virtual room and coming face to face with yourself — ten years older, slightly grayer, but unmistakably you. Not a fantasy. Not a filter. Just you, aged by a decade, staring back. That’s the core of an experiment developed by Jean-Louis van Gelder, a criminologist and psychologist at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg, Germany. His team has just published findings showing that confronting people with a digitally aged version of themselves —their “future self” — can sharpen long-term thinking and help them act on their own goals.…

Rodri, like anyone who has ever played football, had dreamed of this moment. The Spain captain held the World Cup in his hands, surrounded by jubilant teammates. But, before he could lift the trophy, he had to find a way to politely usher the world’s most powerful man off the stage. He didn’t quite succeed. In the end, it required FIFA President Gianni Infantino to jog in front of the players to try and move Donald Trump on. Still the US president lingered next to Barcelona midfielder Pedri, bathing in the adulation he had been denied when walking on to boos with…

German singer-songwriter Danger Dan and pianist Igor Levit were invited to perform a song titled “Keine Angst” (No Fear) for the 100th episode of a political satire TV show called “Die Anstalt” (The Institution). But shortly before the recording of the program, public broadcaster ZDF withdrew the invitation. The sudden cancellation is sparking discussions on freedom of artistic expression and the limits of political speech in Germany. It is also drawing attention to the new song, which reached the top of the country’s YouTube music charts shortly after the musicians decried the cancellation on June 17. The broadcaster argued that parts of…

The youth job crisis that first became obvious in China points to major economic and social problems that governments and businesses need to address. Last year, unemployment, weak job prospects and a general lack of economic opportunities drove young people onto the streets in Kenya, Peru, Nepal, Indonesia and the Philippines. This year, concerns about youth unemployment have added fuel to protests in South Africa and Morocco. In India, they helped give rise to the Cockroach Janta Party, a movement that started as a satirical social media project but quickly gained national attention. China’s youth unemployment problem Youth unemployment refers to the…

The death of Kevin Keegan, regarded as one of the greatest football players of his generation, was announced in a statement released by his family on Monday. “It is with immense sadness that we announce that Kevin Keegan has passed away at the age of 75,” the statement read. “Kevin had been battling cancer and was surrounded by his wife and daughters in his final moments. A double Ballon d’Or winner, Kevin was a much-loved husband, father and grandfather.” Born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire on February 14, 1951, Keegan got his big break when he was signed by Liverpool’s legendary manager…

Now more than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Black Sea has become one of Europe’s key security frontiers. And yet, it is currently “quite empty of warships,” Thomas de Waal, a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, told DW. This, he said, “is a bit of a paradox.” To understand that paradox, we first need to need to take a closer look at the map. The Black Sea is bordered by six countries: Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia. The first three on that list are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO — the…