Author: DW

China’s drive to reduce reliance on the US dollar crystallized during the 2008–2009 global financial crisis. Alarmed by the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive money printing, which threatened the value of Beijing’s $1.9 trillion (€1.65 trillion) in foreign assets, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) launched a pilot scheme in July 2009 to settle cross-border trade in the yuan, or renminbi, for the first time. The pilot kickstarted a 16-year campaign that now sees the yuan used to settle 30% of China’s $6.2 trillion global trade in goods, the Chinese central bank’s deputy governor, Zhu Hexin, told an economic summit in June. If you count all cross-border…

Brazilian volleyball player Nayara Ferreira has said the decision by the Albanian Volleyball Federation (FSHV) to test her gender and suspend her from playing has left her bereft. “I feel destroyed, like I’m losing my mind, because I think a lot about why this happened to me, why they did this to me,” said Ferreira, who plays in the women’s top division in Albania. “Every day in my room I ask myself this question and up to now, I don’t know. I don’t understand why I’m in this situation,” Ferreira told DW. “They asked me for a gender test.  I have played in…

Peru announced on Monday that it had cut off diplomatic ties with Mexico over the asylum claim of former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chávez, who is facing charges in her homeland over the alleged 2022 coup attempt by then President Pedro Castillo. “Today we learned with surprise and deep regret that former Prime Minister Betssy Chavez, the alleged co-author of the coup d’etat attempted by former President Pedro Castillo (2021-2022), is being granted asylum at the residence of the Mexican Embassy in Peru,” Peruvian Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela said at a news conference. ‘Unfriendly act’ De Zela described Mexico’s decision as an “unfriendly act,”…

A worker who was pulled from the rubble of a medieval tower that partly collapsed in Rome has died, Italian media reported citing hospital sources. The man, a Romanian national, had remained conscious during the lengthy rescue operation before being hospitalized, according to authorities. “Resuscitation attempts were made for about an hour to save Octay Stroici,” Italian news agency ANSA said, citing the Umberto I hospital. “Despite this, spontaneous cardiac activity could not be restored” and his “death was pronounced at 12:20 am (2320 GMT).” Part of a medieval tower in central Rome collapsed on Monday. The incident at the historic Torre…

To this day, Johann Strauss II is known the world over as the “King of Waltz.” Even back in the 19th century, his dance music in three-quarter time made crowds go wild and won the hearts of women around the globe. Johann Strauss was a pop star of his time, drawing large audiences of young people and filling up ballrooms. The violinist and composer performed for the Tsar’s family in Russiaand even toured the US. With his violin in his hand, he electrified listeners and even had his own merchandizing, including special accessories and memorabilia. He composed his famous waltz, “The…

In an era of existential economic gloom across the European Union, one of the larger EU member states has been consistently posting positive numbers: Poland. A growth rate of almost 3% in gross domestic product for 2024 put Poland ahead of the overall EU rate of 1%, topping even those of the bloc’s two largest economies, France and Germany. France recorded a rate of 1.2%; Germany suffered a -0.2% contraction. The signs for 2025 are also positive. Poland recorded growth of 0.8% in the second quarter, the fifth-best rate in the European Union. Growth of about 3.3% is forecast this year, with a 3% rate expected…

Julia, an activist who asked that her real name not be used, was incarcerated for several years as political prisoner in Russia. Because she had no family, she received nothing from the outside world at all for the first few months. “Think of all the things you need each day to brush your teeth, get dressed, eat,” Julia said. “In prison, life goes on, but you don’t get any money.” “In the beginning, I even had to cut my fingernails with a piece of old razor blade,” Julia said. “After a while, people outside somehow became aware of my situation and I…

A powerful magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck northern Afghanistan early on Monday near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province. Health authorities said at least 20 were killed in the quake, with 320 more injured. Dozens of injuries were reported in the provinces of Balkh and SamanganImage: Atif Aryan/AFP/Getty Images Casualty figures are expected to climb on Monday as rescue efforts continue. The Afghan Red Crescent said that rescue and medical teams had arrived in the affected areas. What else do we know about the earthquake? The earthquake struck at just before 1 a.m. local time Monday (8:30 p.m. GMT) at a…

Gen Z remixes him. Millennials grew up with him. Boomers watched him rise. For millions of people within and outside India, Shah Rukh Khan (aka SRK) remains one of the most recognizable and resonant icons of the Hindi film industry. This year alone, the actor, who turns 60 on November 2, notched several viral moments: In May he became the first Indian male actor to walk the Met Gala red carpet , in June he did a cameo in Ed Sheeran’s “Sapphire” video, and in October he went viral for a selfie taken in Riyadh with South Korean “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae — an image…

What would happen if Russia sent hundreds of drones at once into NATO airspace? This nightly reality in Russia’s war in Ukraine is a scenario the EU and NATO is scrambling to prepare for after last month’s airspace incursions by Russia and alleged espionage across Europe. Tomas Jermalavicius, a researcher at the International Center for Defense and Security in Tallinn, Estonia, says NATO radars often don’t see incoming drones because “they fly too low.” “And we are also quite short on means to shoot them down that have a proportionate cost-benefit balance,” he told DW. Jermalavicius noted that the shooting down of Russian…