Author: DW

Not many people enjoy paying taxes. But many voters don’t see a problem taxing the superrich and making them pay their “fair share.” One way is to increase income taxes. There’s also the option for an annual or one-off wealth tax on everything someone has above a certain mark. A few governments want to tax extreme wealth to lower taxes on a stagnating middle class or to make up for social inequality. Others want to fill budget holes.Still others argue philosophically that excessive wealth should be limited since it no longer adds to the well-being of those individuals.  Calls to raise US income…

After 23 matches, a 25-hour journey, a rejected request for postponement and the complications of playing amid a war that has taken its toll, Iraq have made the World Cup for the first time since 1986. A 2-1 playoff win over Bolivia in Monterrey Stadium in Mexico on Tuesday saw wild celebrations in Iraq. The Iraq team, led by Australian coach Graham Arnold, arrived in Mexico last week after an arduous three-day journey, with some players forced to make parts of the journey overland thanks to the shutdown of air traffic in the region as a result of the US-Israel war…

Filling stations responded to the new limit of one daily price hike with a hefty 7.5 cent average increase. Meanwhile, the BND spy agency confused workers by announcing an extra holiday on April Fool’s day. DW has more.

After nearly a decade of stop-start negotiations, the EU-Australia free trade deal has finally crossed the finish line.   “Australia used to have Europhobia — now we have at least some Eurovision,” Tim Harcourt, of the University of Technology Sydney, told DW. As recently as 2023, talks collapsed at the last hurdle, derailed by fierce opposition from Australian farmers over beef quotas. So what changed? Not so much the fine print of the agreement, experts say, but the shifting pressures of a far more combative global trade landscape. New deals in a new trade order Rising tariffs from the United States have squeezed…

As Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa visits Berlin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz says about 80% of Syrians living in Germany are expected to return home. Meanwhile, fears are mounting about inflation. DW has the latest.

On April 2, 2025, Donald Trump shocked the world by announcing “economic independence” for the US, imposing sweeping tariffs on every country in the world. The US Supreme Court has since ruled against the unprecedented move, but the US president seems keen to double down.  DW analyzed trade data on the origin of US imports over the past year to find out: What have Trump’s tariffs achieved? How is the rest of the world adjusting to this new economic order? And who, if anyone, is reaping the benefits?  April 2, 2025: White House announces ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs  Under the “Liberation Day” tariffs, the…

Air Canada’s CEO Michael Rousseau will retire later this year, the airline said on Monday, following criticism of his English-only message of condolence after the death of two pilots in a collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.  Canada’s largest airline, based in Montreal in French-speaking Quebec, said Rousseau told the board he would retire by the end of the third quarter.  The chairman of Air Canada’s board of directors, Vagn Sorenson, thanked Rousseau for his years of service as chief financial officer, deputy CEO and then CEO.  “We are grateful for the determined leadership he has provided not only in…

“I think I could do anything I want with it”: That’s what Donald Trump said about Cuba mid-March. Yet he is hardly the first US president with such expansionist desires, notes historian Michael Zeuske, a professor at the Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies at the University of Bonn. Zeuske says the US had already set its sights on the island as early as the mid-19th century.More than just classic cars and soft power: The US has long tried to exert direct control over CubaImage: Eric Kruszewski/Design Pics/picture alliance Cuba is not for sale Back then, Cuba was still a Spanish…

Throughout history, well-connected people and entities have always capitalized on crises. But the Iran war is taking profiteering to a whole new level, even as the US reportedly offers a 15-point plan to end the fighting. During the nearly monthlong conflict, allegations have been leveled at fuel retailers — who raised pump prices within hours of the first strikes — major oil companies, which stand to gain windfall margins from $100 (€86.24)-a-barrel crude, and marine insurers, who increased war-risk premiums by hundreds of percent after Tehran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz. But one move trumps them all for sheer audacity. Iran,…

The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) of the women’s national basketball association (WNBA) in the United States is a seismic moment in sports history. The deal, agreed in mid-March 2026 after 17 months of negotiations, reportedly includes a salary cap increase, significantly higher minimum salaries, revenue sharing and charter flights. It is considered a huge step in the right direction for player empowerment and league growth. More than that, though, it is the headline of a wider movement in women’s sports that is empowering players to push for better pay, conditions and a greater share of the revenue they help generate. “This…