Berliner Tageszeitung - News from Berlin, Brandenburg and the world

Rain appears to have halted the spread of Japan's worst wildfire in more than half a century, officials said Thursday, as residents expressed relief the smoke was gone.

Sri Lanka's police issued a public appeal Thursday to locate their fugitive chief, who has been missing since a court order for his arrest following the death of an officer.

Global sea ice cover reached a historic low in February, Europe's climate monitor said Thursday, with temperatures spiking up to 11C above average near the North Pole as the world continued its persistent heat streak.

Asian stocks climbed on Thursday as investors welcomed US President Donald Trump's auto tariff delay and were expecting China to announce a large stimulus package.

Japan's top court said Thursday it had finalised the acquittal of two former executives from the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant charged with professional negligence over the 2011 meltdown.

China's economy is facing growing "uncertainty" in the international environment, as well as insufficient domestic demand, a top economic official said on Thursday.

German airline giant Lufthansa said Thursday its 2024 profits dived during a turbulent year marked by strikes, rising costs and delays in aircraft deliveries, but vowed a turnaround plan will boost earnings this year.

Pope Francis was "resting" Thursday after spending a "peaceful night", as he nears three weeks in hospital with pneumonia, the Vatican said.

Naomi Osaka's roller-coaster season continued with a first-round loss at Indian Wells on Wednesday that left the four-time Grand Slam winner apologizing on social media.

Rations will be halved for around one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh from next month due to a lack of funds, the United Nations food agency has said.

Biruktawit Tasew's fingers glide over the strings of the begena, producing a deep, hypnotic sound. Along with six fellow musicians, she breaks into a solemn religious melody, holding their audience spellbound.

An "erratic" tropical cyclone lingered off Australia's eastern coast on Thursday, bringing drenching rains and record-breaking waves to a heavily populated region rarely hit by typhoons.

German airline giant Lufthansa said Thursday its 2024 profits dived during a turbulent year marked by strikes, rising costs and delayed aircraft deliveries, as a post-pandemic rebound petered out.

A Russian missile strike on a hotel in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown overnight killed three people and injured 31 with about half of them in serious condition, authorities said Thursday.

Women's rights regressed last year in a quarter of countries around the world, according to a report published by UN Women on Thursday, due to factors ranging from climate change to democratic backsliding.

European Union leaders will hold emergency talks in Brussels on Thursday, gathering as the Trump administration upends traditional alliances and retracts wartime backing of Ukraine.

Australian 19-time Grand Slam winner and legendary tennis commentator Fred Stolle has died aged 86, officials said Thursday, hailing his "excellence, dedication and a profound love for tennis".

South Korea's Air Force said Thursday that one of its fighter jets had accidentally dropped eight bombs in the wrong place during a training exercise, resulting in civilian injuries.

Naomi Osaka was bundled out of the first round at Indian Wells on Wednesday, falling 6-4, 6-4 to Camila Osorio in the Japanese star's first tournament since injury forced her out of the Australian Open.

A Frenchman's donation of vintage conflict photographs to China offers insight into the 1930-1940s Sino-Japanese War -- even if some images are not the unique family heirlooms he believed them to be.

Lithuania on Thursday quit an international convention banning cluster bombs, citing security concerns over neighbouring Russia in a move that has drawn criticism from human rights groups.

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs on Wednesday with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat.

Asian markets climbed on Thursday after US President Donald Trump announced a one-month tariff delay on auto imports from Mexico and Canada.

Massive German spending pledges and uncertainty caused by US trade policy are fuelling expectations the European Central Bank could on Thursday signal that a pause in interest rate cuts is in sight, analysts said.

Women in Tajikistan are being advised by the government to dress more "Tajik-style" and not wear either revealing Western clothes or Islamic head coverings -- supposedly to reinforce national identity.

The smash hit musical "Hamilton" has cancelled a planned run at the Kennedy Center because President Donald Trump has destroyed the political neutrality of the US capital's premier cultural venue since taking over as its chairman, the play's producer said Wednesday.

Nestled near the iconic Giza pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is preparing for a lavish opening, featuring a towering statue of Ramses II and more than 100,000 artefacts, including Tutankhamun's golden treasures.

New Zealand will sack its top diplomat in London after he made a "deeply disappointing" remark questioning Donald Trump's grasp of history, the foreign minister said Thursday.

James Slipper will become the second most-capped Super Rugby player of all time on Friday but the former Wallabies captain insists individual accolades are not on his mind.

South Africa batsman David Miller said his team's hop to Dubai and back ahead of their Champions Trophy semi-final defeat to New Zealand in Lahore was "not ideal".

The outer fringe of a tropical cyclone started whipping eastern Australia on Thursday, bringing drenching rains and record-breaking waves to a heavily populated region rarely hit by typhoons.

France head to Ireland on Saturday in a probable Six Nations title decider with a lot of focus on Fabien Galthie's choice in midfield.