World

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a series of flight advisories on Friday, warning airlines to exercise caution in the airspace over Mexico, Central America and parts of South America due to potential "military activities." "The FAA issued flight advisory notices to Airmen for specified areas of Mexico, Central America, Panama, Bogota, Guayaquil and Mazatlan Oceanic Flight Regions, and in airspace within the eastern Pacific Ocean," an FAA spokesperson said, adding that the advisory is effective for 60 days beginning on Friday. The warnings cite possible interference with global navigation satellite systems that could cause a "potentially hazardous situation." Trump suggests possible military strikes in Mexico The development comes amid heightened regional tensions fol...

The field in front of Tehran's Kahrizak Forensic Institute seems to be loaded with dead bodies. Amid widespread protests and a communications blackout, images of the site are only available in videos physically smuggled out of Iran or uploaded to the Internet via Starlink satellites. "I would guess there are thousands dead, at any case," an eyewitness who recently visited Iran told DW. The man described going to Kahrizak with a friend to identify and retrieve his friend's wife's body. "On the previous evening, you could hear automatic gunfire in the part of the city I was visiting. My friend and his wife were at a protest. The wife was shot," he told DW. It is impossible to know how many people have been killed in the Iranian protests, which started over two weeks ago. The internet has...

Kruger National Park, South Africa's most famous wildlife reserve, temporarily shut its gates to visitors Thursday after weeks of torrential rainfall triggered deadly flooding in the country's Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. Park officials said the closure was a precautionary measure until conditions improve, as forecasters predict heavy rainfall over the next 48 hours. Earlier in the day, staff members and guests were rescued by helicopter after one of the campsites flooded. South Africa weather service issues highest warning level for heavy rainfall The South African Weather Service issued its highest warning level for parts of the northern region, with 100 to 200 millimeters (about 4 to 8 inches) of rain expected over the next two days. The warning "is quite unprecedented," it sa...

"If we have a referendum I would vote for the unification with Romania. Look at what's happening around Moldova today. Look at what's happening in the world," Moldovan President Maia Sandu said in an interview with British podcast, The Rest is Politics, on January 11. "It is getting more and more difficult for a small country like Moldova to survive as a democracy, as a sovereign country, and of course to resist Russia," she added. Though the podcast was over an hour long, it was this statement that really caused a stir. During the same podcast, Sandu admitted that she was aware that a majority of Moldovans do not support unification with Romania according to polls and that this was why the most realistic alternative was Moldova's accession to the European Union. This is supported by vot...

"If we have a referendum I would vote for the unification with Romania. Look at what's happening around Moldova today. Look at what's happening in the world," Moldovan President Maia Sandu said in an interview with British podcast, The Rest is Politics, on January 11. "It is getting more and more difficult for a small country like Moldova to survive as a democracy, as a sovereign country, and of course to resist Russia," she added. Though the podcast was over an hour long, it was this statement that really caused a stir. During the same podcast, Sandu admitted that she was aware that a majority of Moldovans do not support unification with Romania according to polls and that this was why the most realistic alternative was Moldova's accession to the European Union. This is supported by vot...

Ukraine is currently undergoing a particularly cold spell with temperatures in the capital Kyiv reaching lows of minus 17 degrees Celsius. Because of Russia's ongoing destruction of the country's energy infrastructure, the situation is critical. Authorities have imposed strict timetables for when electricity can be used. About 400 high-rise buildings in the capital have no heating at all. Some do not have access to water. In city districts located on the left bank of the Dnipro River, there is electricity for three to four hours, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, and then none for nine to 10 hours. "On the right bank, there is electricity for five hours, then none for five hours,” she told the Ukrainian parliament, promising improvements within a few days, provided ...

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado visited the White House on Thursday for a closed-door lunch with US President Donald Trump. Machado told reporters after the meeting she had  "presented" Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal "as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom." In brief remarks, she added the meeting had gone well and that her supporters could "count on" the US president.  A White House official confirmed that Trump intends to keep the medal, Reuters news agency and CNN reported.Trump has openly coveted the Nobel Peace Prize, and reacted to Machado's being named Nobel laureate in December 2025 with derision.  Machado had been careful in recent weeks to avoid offending Trump and even previously offered to share her peace prize with him, which ...

Washington and Taipei reached a trade deal late on Thursday that involves lower tariffs on Taiwanese exports and direct new investments in the US technology sector. The agreement will "drive a massive reshoring of America's semiconductor sector," the US Commerce Department said. In an interview to news channel CNBC, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the objective was to bring 40% of Taiwan's entire chip supply chain and production to the United States. Had Taipei not agreed to manufacture in the US, the tariffs would likely be 100%, Lutnick added.  The deal between Taiwan and the US is likely to draw ire from China which counts the island as part of its own territory and has often criticized Washington for undue influence there. Taiwan significantly counts on Washington as an al...

Energy and resources experts agree — if the situation in Iran gets out of control it will have a massive impact on global oil and financial markets. That was not the case after the removal of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. Then again, Iran produces four times as much oil. "Iran is the third-largest producer in OPEC. Its output covers roughly 4% of global demand. Venezuela only produces about 1%," says Andreas Goldthau, director of the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at Germany's University of Erfurt. "Iran is estimated to export about 2 million barrels a day, in Venezuela it's only 350,000," the energy expert continues. "Global markets would feel it far more intensely if Iranian production stopped." Moreover, fear of regional conflict in the Gulf weighs heavy in Iran's case. "Roughly ...

Energy and resources experts agree — if the situation in Iran gets out of control it will have a massive impact on global oil and financial markets. That was not the case after the removal of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. Then again, Iran produces four times as much oil. "Iran is the third-largest producer in OPEC. Its output covers roughly 4% of global demand. Venezuela only produces about 1%," says Andreas Goldthau, director of the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at Germany's University of Erfurt. "Iran is estimated to export about 2 million barrels a day, in Venezuela it's only 350,000," the energy expert continues. "Global markets would feel it far more intensely if Iranian production stopped." Moreover, fear of regional conflict in the Gulf weighs heavy in Iran's case. "Roughly ...