Life Style

Examine trending lifestyle stories that will keep you informed. Learn about the hottest topics in today’s culture, from wellness to fashion.

Germany news: Conservative state premiers rally behind Merz
Life Style, News

Germany news: Conservative state premiers rally behind Merz

09/16/2026September 16, 2026Germany agrees security package after Berlin Pride attackThe German government has agreed on a 10-point security package in response to the terror attack on Berlin's Christopher Street Day (CSD), the city's version of Pride, in July. The Cabinet approved the measures less than two months after a man drove a car into a crowd near Berlin's Tiergarten just afterĀ the CSD parade, killing one person and injuring 31 others. The package includes greater use of electronic ankle monitors for people considered security threats, tougher penalties for knife attacks and expanded powers to retain IP addresses and other communications data. Under the plan, authorities would make greater use of electronic ankle monitors to track people classified as potential security threats...
Saint, sinner or feminist icon: Mary Magdalene through time
Culture, Life Style

Saint, sinner or feminist icon: Mary Magdalene through time

Apostle, prostitute, penitent and confidante of Jesus — just a few of the roles assigned to Mary Magdalene since the early days of Christianity. Artists from the Renaissance to the Baroque period, including Titian, El Greco and Georges de la Tour, depicted her in the 16th and 17th centuries as a repentant penitent; Rembrandt portrayed her as a witness to Christ's resurrection; and Max Beckmann, a representative of the New Objectivity movement, depicted her as a sinner in 1917. Nearly a century later, she was portrayed by Lady Gaga in a music video. "Mary Magdalene is probably the most multifaceted and enigmatic figure in the Bible, and also one of the most enigmatic in European cultural history," says Bastian Eclercy, curator of the exhibition "Mary Magdalene: Sin. Pray. Love" at the St...
Germany: Oktoberfest beer proces rise, outpacing inflation
Life Style, News

Germany: Oktoberfest beer proces rise, outpacing inflation

The price of a liter of beer at Munich's Oktoberfest has risen fivefold since 1985, far outpacing overall inflation in Germany, according to an analysis by UniCredit's chief economist in Germany, Andreas Rees. A Mass, the traditional 1-liter (2.1-pint) serving at Oktoberfest, will cost an average of €15.61 ($18.50) this year. In 1985, it cost about 6.25 Deutschmarks, equivalent to €3.20 after conversion at the fixed euro exchange rate. The figures were analyzed by UniCredit economist Andreas Rees ahead of the opening of the world's largest beer festival on Saturday. Beer prices at Oktoberfest have increased by around 400% since 1985, according to Rees, using data from Munich's statistical office. Consumer prices across Germany, by comparison, have risen by around 120% over the same per...
British-American writer Bonnie Greer dies aged 77
Life Style, News

British-American writer Bonnie Greer dies aged 77

Playwright and author Bonnie Greer died aged 77, her husband David Hutchins said on Wednesday in a statement to British media.Ā  A celebrated writer born in Chicago who at first plied her trade in New York, Greer spent most of her adult life in the UK. She took up dual citizenship and became a regular and prominent political commentator in Britain.Ā Greer attended the Frankfurt book fair in 2019 at the height of the post-Brexit debate for a panel on the topicImage: DW/E. Grenier What did Greer's husband say about her death?Ā  Greer's widower Hutchins hailed her as "an acclaimed playwright, author, critic, cultural and political commentator whose intelligence, courage and distinctive voice made an enduring contribution to British cultural and public life."Ā  Hutchins said his late wife had...
‘Blindspot Berlin’ revisits 2016 Christmas market attack
Culture, Life Style

‘Blindspot Berlin’ revisits 2016 Christmas market attack

A decade after the deadliest jihadist attack in Germany's history, a new six-part TV series looks at the institutional failures that allowed it to happen. "Blindspot Berlin," which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, follows the year-long police investigation that failed to stop Anis Amri — a Tunisian whose asylum applications had been rejected, and who was already known to German security services — from driving a hijacked truck into a crowded Christmas market at Berlin's Breitscheidplatz on December 19, 2016. Twelve people died, including Lukasz Urban, the Polish driver Amri shot before seizing his vehicle. Dozens more were injured; a 13th victim died of their injuries in 2021. Amri fled the scene and made his way across Europe before being shot dead four...
Germany news: Merz urges CDU discipline as pressure grows
Life Style, News

Germany news: Merz urges CDU discipline as pressure grows

Skip next section Compulsory troop deployments in Lithuania: German Defense Ministry09/14/2026September 14, 2026Compulsory troop deployments in Lithuania: German Defense MinistryGerman Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will order compulsory troop deployments in Lithuania. According to the Defense Ministry, this is intended to fill gaps in the German armoured brigade's complement. Several hundred military personnel would be affected, with the shortages in logisticians and IT specialists being the main reason for the move. The ministry said that 80% of the Lithuanian brigade's positions are filled with volunteers. "The principle of voluntariness remains unchanged as our guiding principle," the ministry said.Ā Ā  https://p.dw.com/p/5MaXsSkip next section German finance minister and UniCredit...
The Crusades: How a medieval Holy War still shapes politics
Culture, Life Style

The Crusades: How a medieval Holy War still shapes politics

"The present moment is much like the 11th century. ... We don't want to fight, but, like our fellow Christians a thousand years ago, we must." Those are the words of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in his 2020 book, "American Crusade: Our Fight to Stay Free."   Hegseth has repeatedly used the biblical language and symbolism of the Crusades to frame both domestic and foreign policy, from the current war in Iran to the "fight" against the "scourge of leftism."   Nearly 1,000 years have passed since the cold November day in 1095 when Pope Urban II delivered the fiery speech that would ignite centuries of warfare and change the course of history.   But Hegseth is only the latest in a long line of politicians and extremists to reference the Crusades — from the Ku Klux Klan to US President ...
Pay to ghost your boss: Japan’s resignation business
Life Style, World

Pay to ghost your boss: Japan’s resignation business

For Y.M., a JapaneseĀ man in his early 20s, his first job out of university at a real estate sales firm quickly turned into a daily trial of endurance. Among his colleagues, he was always the one being screamed at. According to his testimony featured on the website of Leadbrain, a Tokyo-based labor and human resources consulting firm, he sought a quiet way out because he was wary of how colleagues perceived him. He was reluctant to burden his parentsĀ and determined to avoid workplace conflict, which is a common attitude among working Japanese.Ā  Rather than submitting his resignation in person, he opened his phone and began searching for a resignation proxy service,Ā a third-party agency that could help him quitĀ without direct interaction with his employer.Ā  In Japan, vanishing from a work...
Israeli minister accuses ‘NAZA’ filmmakers of ‘treason’
Life Style, News

Israeli minister accuses ‘NAZA’ filmmakers of ‘treason’

Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has threatened to strip filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor of their citizenship after the two won a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival for a documentary about Israeli airstrikes killing Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The film, called "NAZA" — a Hebrew acronym said to be used for counting the estimated number of civilians to be killed in a military strike — contains interviews with Israeli intelligence operatives behind the attacks. Israel's military denies deliberately targeting civilians. What did the culture minister and others say? Zohar said Abraham and Szor were "willing to harm their homeland in order just to get applause from antisemites around the world." "I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these de...
Germany: CDU ahead in Lower Saxony local election
Life Style, News

Germany: CDU ahead in Lower Saxony local election

Demonstrations, such as this one in Düsseldorf, have called for the AfD to be bannedImage: Thomas Banneyer/dpa/picture allianceDemonstrators plan to take to the streets in Dresden and Kiel on Sunday as part of a weekend of protests against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and populist ideologies. The rallies have largely been prompted by the recent landslide win by the AfD in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the party has been classified as "confirmed right-wing extremist" by the state domestic intelligence agency. In Dresden, the capital of the eastern state of Saxony, where support for the AfD is also strong, a demonstration is planned in the square in front of the city's iconic Semperoper under the motto "Time for action." In Kiel, situated on the Baltic Sea, unio...