Obsessed with the military as a child, then a pacifist as a young man, Die Zeit columnist Andreas Öhler explores what it now means to defend peace in a world that may no longer allow it.
Month: April 2025
Residents spend as much as 20% of their income on water, yet what comes from their taps is green, dirty and undrinkable. Now, privatization looms, threatening even higher costs.
How do people meet in Ukraine, Israel, Lebanon? How do they fall in love when hopes for a romantic future are tenuous? This report looks at conflict zones where relationships change in nature, and feelings intensify.
In one of his final major interviews, the Peruvian Nobel laureate reflected on literature, Trump, feminism, and mortality. His passing in Lima marks the end of an era for Latin American letters.
There is no economic logic in closing the lottery, especially in the current situation where the Syrian state needs every source of money. Islamic tenets against games of chance almost certainly explain the closure.
Europe is holding on to qualities that are gradually disappearing elsewhere. How can these be preserved? How can we avoid a return to power struggles of imperial times, to the brutality toward which we all suddenly appear to be heading?
Russia’s bombing the northeastern Ukrainian city wasn’t just a monstrous act of war against civilians, it was a cold-blooded political calculation by a Vladimir Putin uninterested in Trump’s eagerness for a truce.
Two wars in two different countries, at different times, have left indelible marks and scars on Yaser Abdelgabar Carballar and his family: the Spanish Civil War on his mother’s side, and the ongoing war in Sudan on his father’s side. In this essay, Carballar reflects on the damage and uselessness of violence, and how economic and political interests destroy the lives of millions of people.
A new exhibit, “Eastern Europeans From a Polish Perspective,” in Brussels aims to shed new light on Poland, which has long been seen as an outlier to European affairs.
Public outcry grows in Egypt as activists demand an end to animal performances in circuses and zoos after deadly mauling incidents reveal widespread abuse and poor living conditions.
Metaphors like “nuclear shield” or “nuclear security guarantee” are being tossed around as if they meant something clear and specific. This shows a troubling lack of understanding of how nuclear strategy actually works, and how much power is in the hands of individual leaders.
Nine of 10 people needing transplants never find a donor. Updated laws increase the donor pool by allowing transplants from brain-dead patients. But religious beliefs about reincarnation make such donations rare.
As trade tensions with the US escalate, Beijing retaliates with Hollywood bans and a high-stakes Southeast Asia tour.
With photographs from Rotterdam, Milan and Moscow, among other places.
Political turbulence today may be sourced in a flawed consideration put centuries ago at the heart of modern democracy’s institutional mechanics: self-interest as the chief motivator of citizens and their representatives.
No matter how he spins it, the U.S. president has been revealed as vulnerable — and the U.S. lost something it may never get back.
By seeking to impose his rules on the rest of the world, Donald Trump follows in the footsteps of his 20th century predecessors in the White House. But protectionism is a whole new trick.
The United Arab Emirates has been funding and supplying weapons to the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF), accused of atrocities in Sudan. With the ICJ now hearing a case brought by the East African nation accusing the UAE of being “complicit in the genocide” during the current civil war, it’s up to the international community to put pressure on Abu Dhabi.
Every day, thousands of liters of water that would have gone down the drain are now being reused to clean streets and water gardens in Loures. Fighting climate change — one drop at a time.
On the one hand, the prevalence of Soviet-era T-55 tanks, golf carts, donkeys and other makeshift transport are a clear sign of Moscow’s exhaustion. On the other hand, Russia is clearly investing in a transformation of its military. It’s the real reason that Europe is mobilizing.
France may recognize the State of Palestine as early as June, President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday. It marks a clear hardening of the French position, and a possible return to the country’s “Arab policy” of a generation ago.
Donald Trump has raised a hue and cry with his tariffs and is no doubt wallowing in the repercussions. Yet we may have forgotten he is a businessman, not an arsonist, and doing what he has always done, playing hardball for a fast buck.
Trump and Netanyahu have both pushed the idea of forcing Palestinians out of Gaza, but it has gotten nowhere. The specter of a massive displacement of people has gotten vocal push back from large parts of the world. Instead, the recent return to slaughtering innocents doesn’t seem to provoke must international opposition.
The United States will enter negotiations with Iran on Friday, yet Donald Trump warned that all options remain on the table to prevent Iran from acquiring the bomb.
Volvo is setting records, especially with its electric cars. At its plant in Belgium, it becomes clear why the Swedish-Chinese brand is better equipped than its competitors to ride out a looming global trade war.
Journalist Katya Bonch-Osmolovskaya of “Important Stories” on how Ukrainian children taken to Russia led to an arrest warrant for Putin, but they were then forgotten.
After Donald Trump returned the White House, he quickly began implementing stricter immigration and security policies, including increased checks in airports. Many cases, such as that of a German tattoo artist being detained, became highly publicized around the world. But are the changes under Trump as harsh as they seem?
Donald Trump has threatened to slap an additional 50% in tariffs on China if Beijing doesn’t roll back its retaliatory measures by Tuesday. But with so much at stake, it’s unlikely China will yield to the U.S. president’s ultimatum — risking a steep and dangerous escalation that can bring the global economy down with it.
Tired of being set up on blind dates by family and friends, some young people in China are turning to live stream blind dating chats on the social media platform Xiaohongshu to look for potential partners — with an online audience.
From business and public administration to daily life, artificial intelligence is reshaping the world – and politics may be next.
The edict was both covert and surprising: On Jan. 3 1941, Nazi official Martin Bormann announced that Hitler no longer wanted to see Gothic typefaces, a.k.a. Fraktur typefaces, used in print. But the stated reason for this decision was pure invention.
Journalists Daham Al-Assad and Guillaume Perrier visited French jihadist Omar Diaby, also known as “Omsen,” in Harem, Syria, where he resides with a small community of foreign-born jihadists (muhajireen), and condemns the action of Syria’s current leader who broke with his radical roots.
Have you suddenly developed hay fever? Have you had seasonal allergies, but it’s progressively worsened in recent years? You’re not alone. Why pollen is more aggressive in cities, why playing in the mud helps as a child, and what doctors recommend.
The Israeli account of the deaths of 15 Palestinian aid workers is contradicted by a video. But that won’t change anything in this war that follows no rules. In this context, Emmanuel Macron is in Egypt, but this rare diplomatic initiative is unlikely to carry much weight for now.
Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs may have sparked a new era of wealth for America’s economy, but at what cost? As trade wars escalate, vulnerable countries will bear the brunt of economic turmoil.
Yet another female social media influencer is facing accusations of violating Egyptian family values. This crackdown, which is linked to Egypt’s broader social and legal climate, disproportionately impacts women.
Should theaters be punished for showcasing Russian classics? What if their message undermines everything Putin believes?
After decades of admiration, trust, and borrowed identity, Germans are waking up from their long love affair with the United States, and reckoning with what’s left.
The country supports some of the world’s most important satellites. But experts worry about its proximity to Russia.
The U.S. president has unveiled a new round of tariffs against his trading partners. But Europeans have leverage against this policy, French essayist Édouard Tétreau writes.