Berliner Tageszeitung - News from Berlin, Brandenburg and the world

Dutch transport authorities said Thursday they have seized thousands of illegal electric "fatbikes" imported from China, as the bicycle-loving country grapples with a new craze that has even prompted heated debate in parliament.

Paris Saint-Germain, already galloping away at the top of Ligue 1, take on last season's surprise team Brest in the fourth round, with French police on alert as fans protest the league's broadcast deal.

The European Central Bank cut its key interest rate again Thursday as inflation cools but warned of continuing price pressures and gave no indication of the path ahead.

Two years after announcing that he was suffering from Parkinson's disease, Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, is to direct a new film, a listing of grants reviewed on Thursday by AFP showed.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has signed a new long-term contract at the Emirates Stadium, the Premier League title chasers announced on Thursday.

US musician Jon Bon Jovi was celebrated this week, not for a new song, but for helping a woman in need, according to police.

A pioneering private crew made history Thursday by becoming the first civilians to perform spacewalks, marking a giant leap forward for the commercial space industry.

England all-rounder Liam Livingstone believes he's starting a "new career" after more than two years of injury woes.

Brazil said Thursday it has urged the EU to suspend the implementation of a ban on imports of products driving deforestation, describing the new rules as "punitive".

Carrying children on their backs or rowing the elderly on makeshift rafts through rising waters on Thursday, tens of thousands of Myanmar residents fled severe flooding triggered by the deadly Typhoon Yagi.

No sooner had another turbulent transfer window for Chelsea shut than reports emerged of a power struggle between chairman Todd Boehly and majority shareholder Behdad Eghbali.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday spoke to key ally Poland on ways to support Ukraine as Russian attacks and upcoming US elections raise new jitters.

Europe's main stock markets rallied Thursday following some strong gains in Asia and on Wall Street thanks to big uplifts for tech shares after data showed US inflation cooling further.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez met Thursday with Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who fled to Madrid over the weekend requesting asylum, as tensions mounted between Caracas and its former colonial ruler.

A pioneering private crew made history Thursday with the first-ever spacewalk by non-professional astronauts, marking a giant leap forward for the commercial space industry.

McLaren are poised to introduce team orders to support Lando Norris's bid to beat Max Verstappen to the drivers' world title in this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was charged by the Football Association on Thursday over an alleged misconduct breach for a remark made on Uruguayan TV about team-mate Son Heung-min.

UniCredit is studying a takeover of Commerzbank, Chief Executive Andrea Orcel said Thursday, a day after Italy's second-largest bank surprised markets by revealing a nine-percent stake in its German rival.

Tadej Pogacar returns to competitive action for the first time since his Tour de France triumph looking for wins in the Grand Prix races in Quebec and Montreal.

Animal rights group PETA on Thursday renewed its call for soldiers outside Buckingham Palace to stop wearing real bearskin hats after UK government figures revealed they now cost more than £2,000 ($2,600) each.

A new statue of Queen Elizabeth II has met mixed reviews, with one non-plussed critic assessing that it looks more like "an old lady buying potatoes at the market" than Britain's longest-reigning monarch.

An Irish regulator helping to police European Union data privacy on Thursday launched an investigation into Google's artificial intelligence development.

Irish skipper Tom Dolan won the Solitaire du Figaro solo multi-stage sailing race on Thursday after three gruelling days at sea.

Rescuers in boats carried 60 schoolchildren to safety in the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai on Thursday after they were stranded by what residents said was the worst flood in decades.

Heavy rains and strong winds hammered Louisiana early Thursday as Tropical Storm Francine moved inland, leaving many residents without power while floods threatened the US southern state.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has agreed a new three-year contract at the Premier League club, ending uncertainty over his future, according to widespread reports on Thursday.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived Thursday in Iraqi Kurdistan to meet the autonomous region's leaders, on the second day of a visit aimed at deepening ties with the neighbouring country.

More than 100 Pakistan police who provide security for polio vaccination teams in restive border areas went on strike Thursday after a string of deadly militant attacks this week.

Japan's leadership race kicked off Thursday with a record nine candidates including the surfing son of a former prime minister and an arch-nationalist vying to be the first woman premier.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer will warn Thursday that Britain's state-run National Health Service must "reform or die" after an independent report said the venerated institution was in a "critical condition".

A surge in tech firms Thursday helped Asian markets track a Wall Street rally after data showed US inflation at a more than three-year low, reinforcing expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.

Major Japanese and American business groups have urged US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen not to succumb to political pressure when reviewing Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of United States Steel.