Author: DW

In recent years, the price of gold has climbed steadily. Aside from the current market blip (see chart below), an upward trend has been going for years. Since 2020, the price of gold has risen from $1,585 per ounce to more than $4,500 per ounce. Money should not lose value through inflation. Ideally, it should grow on its own because of interest. But such investments are looking less promising right now, as central bank interest rates are relatively low. As a result, investors seek a safe place to park their wealth — and precious metals are one option they turn to. Increased demand naturally…

Patience proved the critical virtue for Spain. The players had to wait for a kickoff delayed by, among other things, a Tom Cruise speech. They had to wait twice as long as usual at halftime. And they had to wait for 106 minutes of play and their 20th shot before Ferran Torres lashed home the goal that would win them a second men’s World Cup. “I’m very moved. Looking back and thinking about them, we’ve won everything, absolutely everything, with this generation of players,” said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente. “The match should have been decided much earlier … but this is a…

Chancellor Merz has said he might use the forced resignation of a senior ally as a chance to reshuffle his Cabinet. Meanwhile, a train security guard was critically injured in a clash with a passenger. DW has more.

Philippe Aghion is an expert in creative destruction. That’s the term economists use when innovations disrupt whole industries and create new ones. Think steam engine, assembly line production and the IT revolution. Or now, artificial intelligence (AI). For his groundbreaking research on how technological innovation can drive long-term economic growth, Aghion, who is French, was awarded the Nobel Prize for economics in 2025, together with Canadian Peter Howitt and Israeli-American Joel Mokyr. Philippe Aghion, Nobel laureate in economics 2025 and professor at College de France, INSEAD and London School of EconomicsImage: A. Becker/DW”More than ever, AI will bring creative destruction,” Aghion…

France’s Kylian Mbappe became the top scorer in World Cup history on Saturday after netting a 22nd goal in the third-place play-off against England. However, his team suffered a 6-4 defeat to the Three Lions in Didier Deschamps’ last match as France’s head coach. Mbappe is now one ahead of Argentina’s Lionel Messi on the World Cup all-time goal-scoring table. Messi will have a chance to win back the title when Argentina play in Sunday’s final.Mbappe needed 22 games to set the record, while Messi needed 33 matches to score his 21 goalsImage: Luke Hales/Getty Images/AFP Mbappe’s brace also saw the France captain move to the…

Skip next section Wildfire spreads across national park 07/18/2026July 18, 2026Wildfire spreads across national park Firefighting efforts have been complicated by the fact that the area is a former military site with unexploded ordnanceImage: Jens Büttner/dpa/picture allianceA wildfire has spread across around 388 hectares (nearly 1,000 acres) of Müritz National Park in northeastern Germany as dry and windy conditions hamper efforts to contain the blaze. Around 370 firefighters, police officers, forestry workers and soldiers are said to now be involved in the operation, a spokesperson for the district said. The fire has continued to expand because no rain has fallen, while…

Oil and gas exports from the Gulf face renewed disruption as fighting between the US and Iran intensifies. For both countries control of the Strait of Hormuz is key. Over the past months, Iran has shown that it can control or at least disrupt the strait, says Guntram Wolff, a senior fellow at Bruegel, a think tank, and a professor of economics at the Free University in Brussels. “Several months of bombing campaigns have not undone Iran’s ability to control the Strait of Hormuz,” said Wolff, leaving the US with the challenge of trying to get the upper hand. This week, traffic…

Former West Indies cricket captain, Sir Garfield Sobers, has died at the age of 89, West Indies Cricket announced on Friday. “A great innings has come to an end. In our hearts, now and forever, Sir Garfield Sobers,” West Indies Cricket said in a post on X. One of cricket’s all-time greats Sobers is considered one of the all-time greats to play the game and was known for his potent ​top-order batting, the ability ​to ‌bowl medium fast and spin, while also being an excellent ‌fielder. Sobers represented the West Indies in an international career spanning two decades, from 1954 to…

The German and French leaders held a joint cabinet meeting with ministers from each countryImage: Oliver Berg/dpa/picture allianceFrance and Germany have begun ministerial talks aimed at deepening cooperation on defence, artificial intelligence, critical raw materials and Europe’s future budget. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and 10 ministers from each country opened consultations at Augustusburg Palace in Brühl on Friday. The agenda includes the European IRIS-2 satellite network, joint artificial intelligence projects and efforts to secure supplies of critical raw materials. Both governments also want to prepare negotiations on the European Union’s next long-term budget, with the aim of…

In July, hundreds of firefighters are battling flames in Spain, Portugal and France. A map from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) shows more wildfires: Red dots are scattered all over the world — essentially only the white areas of Greenland and Antarctica are excluded. Each of the dots marks a satellite-detected hotspot or active fire. NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System shows red dots that indicate a satellite-detected hotspot or active fireImage: NASA FIRMS With heat waves and droughts, wildfires are occurring more frequently worldwide. They often starts quite unspectacularly — a discarded cigarette or a spark blown away from a campfire…