Berliner Tageszeitung - News from Berlin, Brandenburg and the world

Fidias Panayiotou, a Cypriot YouTuber-turned-lawmaker who snatched his 15 minutes of fame by hugging Elon Musk, is doubtless the tech titan's biggest fan in the European Parliament -- but far from the only one.

Carlos Alcaraz dropped a set before muscling his way into the Australian Open last 16 on Friday and edge closer to becoming the youngest man in history to complete a career Grand Slam.

Second seed Alexander Zverev accelerated his march through the Australian Open on Friday with a straight-sets takedown of Briton Jacob Fearnley in the third round.

Dutch rider Daniek Hengeveld (Ceratizit-WNT) stole the opening stage of the women's Tour Down Under with a daring breakaway to win her first UCI World Tour stage near Adelaide on Friday.

Nintendo shares tumbled as much as seven percent on Friday after the Japanese games giant failed to impress with a teaser video of its hotly awaited Switch 2 console.

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka blamed heavy balls and a slow court Friday as she dropped four serve games in a row before "pushing to the limit" to keep her Australian Open hat-trick dream alive.

Apple pushed out a software update on Thursday which disabled news headlines and summaries generated using artificial intelligence that were lambasted for getting facts wrong.

Aryna Sabalenka stayed on track for an Australian Open hat-trick Friday, while later Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka can set up a blockbuster clash and Novak Djokovic steps up his quest for a record 25th Grand Slam title.

US President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday the ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas would have never been reached without pressure from him and his incoming administration.

Brazilian striker Neymar said Thursday that former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe became "jealous" of his relationship with Lionel Messi when the Argentine superstar joined the club in 2021.

China said Friday its population fell for the third year running in 2024, extending a downward streak after more than six decades of growth as the country faces a rapidly ageing population and persistently low birth rates.

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday again refused investigators' efforts to question him over his failed martial law bid, as the deadline on his detention neared.

The US Trade Representative said Thursday that its probe into China's practices in the shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors found that Beijing's undermining of fair competition warranted "urgent action."

Russia and Iran will sign a "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty on Friday during a visit to Moscow by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, cementing ties between two of the world's most heavily sanctioned countries.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder avenged last week's defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers with a crushing 134-114 victory in a lopsided clash between the league-leading NBA rivals on Thursday.

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka had to battle hard to beat Denmark's Clara Tauson 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 on Friday and reach the second week of the Australian Open after suffering another bout of the serving jitters.

Israel's security cabinet was set to meet Friday after final details of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal were ironed out, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, with the United States "confident" the truce would begin as planned this weekend.

Asian markets were mixed Friday as data showing China's economy grew slightly quicker than expected last year failed to inspire investors, with Beijing battling to revive consumption and boost the battered property sector.

North Korea condemned on Friday joint military drills between South Korea, Japan and the United States held this week, threatening to respond by exercising its right to self-defence "more intensively".

Atletico Madrid lead Spain's two giants by a whisker heading into the second half of the La Liga season, after racking up 15 victories on the spin across all competitions.

Lens will measure up to Paris Saint-Germain this weekend at a time when the club who came close to winning the Ligue 1 title two seasons ago appear to be losing their way.

Premier League leaders Liverpool must end their recent wobble to keep the chasing pack at bay this weekend.

Terunofuji is retiring from sumo, the ancient Japanese sport's governing body said Friday, potentially leaving it without a wrestler at the highest rank of yokozuna for the first time in over 30 years.

China recorded one of its slowest rates of economic growth in decades last year, data showed Friday, as leaders nervously eye a potential trade standoff with incoming US president Donald Trump.

A series of jaw-dropping upsets of top 10 players at the Australian Open by fearless teenagers has fuelled excitement at the future of men's tennis as the old guard fades into history.

Jannik Sinner has paid tribute to master coach Darren Cahill after revealing that 2025 will mark the final year of their successful partnership.

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday again refused investigatgors' efforts to question him over his failed martial law bid, as the deadline on his detention neared.

US tennis great Pam Shriver revealed on Thursday that a horde of major trophies from her Hall of Fame career were stolen along with her car after she evacuated following the Los Angeles wildfire disaster, ESPN reported.

On one side of the street lie the ashes of ruined houses, lost to the huge blazes that defeated Los Angeles firefighters when hydrants ran dry.

Her voice tinged with anger, an American mother worried about what the future holds for her teenage daughter, just one of dozens of girls targeted in yet another AI-enabled pornography scandal that has rocked a US school.

Nintendo shares tumbled more than six percent Friday after the Japanese games giant failed to impress with a brief video preview of its new Switch 2 console.

Hours after Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin nailed its first-ever orbital mission, SpaceX seized back the spotlight on Thursday as its latest test of Starship, its gargantuan next-generation megarocket, ended with the upper stage dramatically disintegrating over the Atlantic.