World

Spain's left-leaning government on Tuesday finalized its plan for an amnesty measure that could pave the way for hundreds of thousands of unauthorized migrants to apply for legal temporary residence permits.  Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government first announced the plan earlier this year.  The policy, enacted via royal decree and not through parliament, stands in contrast to several other European governments seeking to reduce or prevent irregular migration or migration more generally.  How will the amnesty work and who does it apply to?  The amnesty will only apply to people who can demonstrate they arrived in Spain before January 1 this year, before the plan was made public, in a bid not to encourage a rush to Spain after the announcement was made. Irregular migrants will be pe...

Spain's left-leaning government on Tuesday finalized its plan for an amnesty measure that could pave the way for hundreds of thousands of unauthorized migrants to apply for legal temporary residence permits.  Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government first announced the plan earlier this year.  The policy, enacted via royal decree and not through parliament, stands in contrast to several other European governments seeking to reduce or prevent irregular migration or migration more generally.  How will the amnesty work and who does it apply to?  The amnesty will only apply to people who can demonstrate they arrived in Spain before January 1 this year, before the plan was made public, in a bid not to encourage a rush to Spain after the announcement was made. Irregular migrants will be pe...

French carmaker Renault has said it plans to reduce its number of engineers by 15 to 20% percent in the coming two years. This means that up to 2,400 of the current 11,000 to 12,000 engineers worldwide would have to leave the company. A Renault spokesperson said the cuts would be made without forced layoffs. The development of new technologies and fundamental design work would remain in France, he said. Engineering centers in other countries such as Brazil, India, Morocco, Romania, South Korea, Spain and Turkey will also be reducing the number of engineering posts. European carmakers face intense competition from China Renault, like other European automakers, is struggling with competition from Chinese brands, especially when it comes to electric vehicles. Manufacturers in China are ...

Maine became the first state in the US on Tuesday to call for a temporary halt to the construction of large data centers, as the power-hungry facilities driven by AI demand are straining local electric grids. A bill was passed by both legislative chambers and now heads to Democratic Governor Janet Mills. If she signs off on it, it will become the first statewide moratorium impacting the fast-growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry. "People and communities across the state have been asking the Legislature to take action and temporarily pause these projects, which could have significant impacts on ratepayers, our electric grid and our environment," said Representative Melanie Sachs, the sponsor of the bill. "This bill positions Maine to respond deliberately and responsibly to a rapi...

Fatuma Muhumed is glowing as she arrives for an interview with DW just hours before her inauguration as a local councilor in the Dutch municipality of Apeldoorn — her first political office, on top of her job as a lawyer. Her election was far from certain: She was ranked 15th on the candidate list of the left-leaning GroenLinks-PvdA, yet she secured one of the party's six seats. Muhumed climbed the ranks thanks to preferential voting, or "smart voting," as the campaign Stem op een Vrouw (Vote for a Woman) calls it. How does it work? In the Netherlands, voters don't just choose a party but select a specific candidate on a party list. Candidates are ranked by the parties, typically with their leaders at the top.  "We see more men, and then we see women lower on the lists," says Zahra Run...

Both sides blamed the other for the breakdown of peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan on Sunday after a marathon session failed to deliver a deal to end the war sparked six weeks ago by US-Israeli attacks on Iran. US officials said the negotiations fell apart because Iran would not commit to abandoning its nuclear program. Iranian leaders, however, blamed Washington for the breakdown, without detailing the specific disputes. "We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," Vice President JD Vance said after the discussions. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran's parliamentary speaker and head of its delegation, said the responsibility now lies with Washington. "It is t...

Voters in Peru headed to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president and members of Congress. Sunday's election is taking place amid a spike in violent crime and corruption, and there is currently no clear favourite candidate among disgruntled voters. A successful candidate needs more than 50% of votes to win outright and given the discontent among the electorate, it's highly likely there will be a runoff in June. Voting stations opened at 7 a.m. local time (1200 GMT), with about ​27 million people eligible to vote. Polls close at 5 p.m. (2200 GMT), with preliminary results from the country's election monitor expected soon after.The vote takes place amid high levels of organized crime and political instabilityImage: Luis Robayo/AFP Some of those in contention There are 35 names on t...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine for the Orthodox Easter holiday, the Kremlin said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had called for an Easter ceasefire earlier this week. Putin had declared a similar ceasefire last Easter, but each sides accused the other of violations. Following Putin's announcement, Zelenskyy said Ukraine will "act accordingly." Orthodox Christians are due to mark Easter on April 12.Putin announces unilateral 'Easter truce' in UkraineTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What did the Kremlin say about the Easter ceasefire? "A ceasefire is declared from 16:00 (1300 GMT) on April 11 until the end of the day on April 12, 2026" by Putin...

The Pentagon is defying a court order that required it to restore access to credentialed reporters, a US judge ruled on Thursday. US District Judge Paul Friedman said the Pentagon must comply with his order and restore reporters' access to the US Defense Department. Why are Pentagon reporters denied access? In October 2025, the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said journalists could be deemed security risks and thus have their press badges revoked if they solicited unauthorized military personnel to disclose classified, and in some cases unclassified, information. Only one of 56 news outlets in the Pentagon Press Association agreed to sign an acknowledgment of the new policy, with the rest having to hand in their press passes and report on the Pentagon from outside the fac...

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis replaced several officials on Friday after multiple resignations tied to a widening farm payment scandal. Investigators allege that lawmakers tried to illegally channel subsidies from the European Union to benefit their voter base. What is the political significance? Agriculture Minister Kostas Tsiaras and Civil Protection Minister Yiannis Kefalogiannis both stood down, as well as Deputy Health Minister Dimitris Vartzopoulos. All three denied wrongdoing and said their resignations were intended to smooth the path of the investigation. Their replacements included the appointment of Margaritis Schinas, a former European Commission vice president, as Greece's new agriculture minister. Opposition parties have rejected the reshuffle and renewed call...