Author: DW

The open-toe footwear showcased last week at Milan Men’s Fashion Week was simply described as “leather sandals.” But those flat leather sandals sparked controversy among Indian fashion critics, craftspeople and politicians, who noted that the design had been stolen from traditional Kolhapuri chappals — sandals named after the town of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, western India. The handcrafted footwear with an intricate interwoven pattern dates back to the 12th century. For now, the sandals are not yet available on the market, but as luxury fashion brand items, they could typically sell at over €1,000 ($1,200) a pair. Meanwhile, authentic Kolhapuri sandals…

Where and when Euro 2025 be played? Euro 2025 is being hosted by Switzerland from July 2 to July 27, and the matches will be played at eight stadiums: in Basel, Bern, Geneva, Zurich, St. Gallen, Lucerne, Thun and Sion. Iceland and Finland open the tournament in Thun on July 2, while hosts Switzerland kick off their campaign three hours later in Basel’s St. Jakob-Park stadium — where the final is to be played on July 27. Germany open their campaign against Poland in St. Gallen on July 4. What’s the format of the tournament? By today’s standards this is a…

The world’s wealthiest person has apparently set his mind to a new startup: his own political party. As the ongoing public fracturing of the relationship between the US President Donald Trump and his top election financier continues to play out in public, Elon Musk has again vented his opposition to the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” a tax and spending bill, which he believes undoes the efficiency mantra he sought to instill in Washington. Musk has gone as far to warn Republican lawmakers who pass the bill that he’ll run candidates against them in next year’s primaries. And he also threatened the broader US two-party system…

The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, said on Wednesday that the Buddhist institution will continue after his death. “I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” he said in a video broadcast in Tibetan language from the mountainous town of Dharamshala, India. The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking at the start of a meeting of religious leaders in the Himalayan town where he has lived for decades. The Dalai Lama fled Lhasa, the capital of Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. Since then, he has lived in India where the Tibetan government-in-exile…

The Paris-based International Council of Museums had issued an emphatic warning after the first bomb strikes: There was a “growing danger” for museums and their employees in Israel and Iran.  The ICOM, which consists of 8,000 museum professionals worldwide, including members from Israel and Iran, had demanded that both sides adhere to international conventions for the protection of cultural heritage, even in the event of conflict. “However, we can do no more than admonish and warn,” the president of the ICOM’s German National Committee, Felicia Sternfeld, told DW. Did this appeal have an impact? The news situation on the ground is thin, with…

Noah Rubin knew the moment he had reached the limits of his exhaustion. From the highs of winning the Wimbledon junior title in 2014 and a successful first year as a professional tennis player, by 2018, the American felt his career was spiraling downwards. Sat alone in a Spanish hotel room, he had just gone out of a lower-tier Challenger tournament in the qualifying rounds, losing to an opponent he should have beaten. “I was crying hysterically by myself with all the lights off,” Rubin told DW. “I’m just like: ‘What am I doing here? Is there any real true happiness…

Skip next section Education trade unions call for heat protection measures07/01/2025July 1, 2025Education trade unions call for heat protection measuresIn light of the heat wave in Germany, with expected temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius, education trade unions have called for nationwide heat protection regulations in schools. “There must be uniform occupational health and safety regulations for students and school employees,” said Anja Bensinger-Stolze, a board member of the Education and Science Union (GEW), in an interview with the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) newspapers. In addition to modernizing schools with green roofs and shade sails, Bensinger-Stolze continued, a “nationwide supply of free drinking…

US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order to dismantle the US sanctions program on Syria, ending the Middle Eastern country’s isolation from the international financial system. The sanctions program, which has been in place since 2004, imposed far-reaching sanctions on Syria that affected most state institutions, including the central bank. “This is in an effort to promote and support the country’s path to stability and peace,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Sanctions against Assad remain in place Leavitt added that the move will enable the US to maintain sanctions on Syria’s former president, Bashar Assad,…

Frank Sinatra was known for giving serving staff crispy $100-bill tips (€86.1). That was a long time ago when a hundred dollars really meant something. What are the rules for tipping today, and why are customers confused? Many people wouldn’t think twice about tipping a waiter in a nice restaurant, the hairdresser, a good bartender or the porter carrying heavy luggage through a busy hotel. These are situations with clear, long-standing norms in many countries. But what about the barista at Starbucks? Or the person taking your order at a fast-food takeaway window? What about a self-service kiosk? To tip…

An alarming number of people across Africa may be taking cancer drugs that don’t contain the vital ingredients needed to contain or reduce their disease. It’s a concerning finding with roots in a complex problem: how to regulate a range of therapeutics across the continent. A US and pan-African research group published the findings this week in The Lancet Global Health. The researchers had collected dosage information, sometimes covertly, from a dozen hospitals and 25 pharmacies across Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and Cameroon. They tested nearly 200 unique products across several brands. Around 17% — roughly one in six — were…