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In the latest sign of China's threat to the United States's tech dominance, the Trump administration on Tuesday banned new foreign-made humanoid and four-legged robotsfrom entering the country. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) cited "unacceptable risks" to national security for the decision. The FCC noted how the robots "collect data that could be leveraged by malign actors to surveil Americans, enhance the capabilities of foreign intelligence services, or to remotely commandeer the robots." The move is widely seen as aimed squarely at China, which accounted for 85% of humanoid robot deployments last year, according to British bank Barclays.Humanoid robots steal the show at German trade fairTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser t...

Charred tree stumps, melted asphalt, burned-out cars and destroyed buildings: The wildfires in southern Europe are leaving a trail of devastation and causing billions of euros in damage. Spain's economy in particular is at risk of being choked by clouds of ash. According to the EU's Copernicus Earth observation system, around 206,000 hectares of forest in Spain have already gone up in flames this year. "According to the European Commission, the economic impact of wildfires in Spain in 2022 amounted to approximately €7.1 billion ($8.1 billion), representing around 4.5% of the country's GDP. This figure reflects not only the direct costs of firefighting but also the long-term economic consequences of recovering the affected areas," Emilio Vizuete Luciano, an economist at the University of ...

Reports that Nvidia is in talks to give financial guarantees of almost $250 billion (€217 billion) to OpenAI for a massive data center project show two sides of the artificial intelligence boom. On one level, it shows the monumental scale of AI's financial muscle and potential. On another, it shows the risks of a so-called "circular" financing system at the core of the AI ecosystem. If one domino falls, would others fall with it? "The interconnected nature of the AI ecosystem is real," Gary Tan, portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments, told DW. "But near term risks are mitigated by the strong balance sheets, cash flows and credit quality of the major providers funding the buildout." Jan Frederik Slijkerman, a tech sector strategist at ING, agrees that the exceptionally strong ...

Russia has sold significant volumes of its gold reserves so far in 2026 as the Kremlin seeks to raise cash to offset a big budget deficit. The Russian Central Bank announced recently that its gold reserves stood at 73.4 million troy ounces, or 2,282 metric tons, as of the start of July. That represents a decline of around 43.5 metric tonnes since the start of 2026. It means Russia's gold reserves are now at their lowest level since before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Gold prices hit record levels earlier this year, with prices averaging around $4,800 (€4,210) per ounce in the first four months before falling back to a current level of around $4,000 per ounce. Moscow's sell-off is likely to have raised more than $5 billion. "The fact that they're selling ...

Water levels on the Rhine River — a small but critical artery for goods vital to Germany’s industry — remain critically low as a result of weeks of drought. At one of the river's shallowest stretches, Kaub — between Mainz and Koblenz — the water level stood at around 16 centimeters (6.3 inches) at Monday lunchtime, according to the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV). Although the real navigable channel is roughly a meter deeper, 40 centimeters is regarded as the lowest for standard commercial vessels at Kaub. Ship operators use the reading at Kaub to decide how much cargo their barges can safely carry and whether a passage is feasible at all. According to local media, in recent weeks, carriers have significantly cut their cargoes along the Rhine — in many cases to as l...

What changes from Wednesday? In a drive to cut waste and improve public health, new European Union rules take effect on Wednesday, banning high levels of PFAS "forever chemicals" in packaging. Under the EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), any new packaging products entering the market will now have to meet tighter standards if designed to come into contact with food. PFAS have been linked to increased risks of certain cancers and other health conditions.  Although the amount of material people are exposed to from food packaging is usually low, scientists are worried about the long-term effects. After all, PFAS are highly persistent chemicals and accumulate in the body and the environment. PFAS are used to make paper and cardboard packaging both grease- and water-res...

Access to artificial intelligence (AI) models is not only a matter of economic autonomy but also of national security. For any doubters, this was made clear in mid-June when Anthropic announced that, on US government orders, it would deny all foreign users access to its top AI software, citing national security concerns. These AI models — Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 — are considered particularly effective at identifying vulnerabilities in software. Germany, for one, must urgently catch up in artificial intelligence, says German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. In the current situation, it is essential to help shape technological innovation, he said. Otherwise, "you could very quickly end up among the victims," he added, according to the German news agency dpa. A Franco-German AI ...

Silicon Valley executives and global policymakers are scratching their heads at US President Donald Trump's latest crackdown on Anthropic, the artificial intelligence (AI) company behind the powerful Claude models. Just days after the release of its most powerful upgrades — Claude Fable 5 and the even more powerful Mythos 5 — the Trump administration imposed strict export controls on Anthropic's tools on June 12. Washington cited national security risks from so-called jailbreaking — clever prompts that bypass AI safety rules — which the San Francisco-based tech giant said were minor, overblown and also present in rival AI platforms. Yet with the US Commerce Department effectively banning foreign nationals worldwide from using the models, including Anthropic's own staff, the firm had lit...

Outside the majestic Wittenbergplatz subway station in Berlin, activist Hedda tells people passing by that the majority of the superrich in Germany inherited their wealth. Striding back and forth in front of a massive banner accompanied by other protesters and a big polar bear in a pink cape, she cites an analysis that found only one in four billionaires is self-made in the country. "Which tax can the government use to fairly redistribute this excessive wealth generated by genetic lottery?" Hedda shouted. "Inheritance tax!" someone yelled back. The activists, who are part of a group that calls itself NoSuperReturn, cheer and someone hands the person a golden chocolate coin. It's a lively kickoff to a week of protests around SuperReturn, a private equity conference in the German capital...

The United States and Iran announced on Sunday that they had struck a preliminary agreement to end their war, raising hopes for an end to the energy crisis that has gripped countries worldwide since the conflict began. "Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!" President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post hailing the US-Iran agreement. The deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz once both sides formally sign the accord on Friday. The narrow waterway is a crucial route for global energy trade, handling about a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas in normal times. Tehran has effectively shut shipping through the strait since the onset of the conflict on February 28, 2026, causing one of the largest global oil-supply disruptions in history.  At the time, many...