Berliner Tageszeitung - News from Berlin, Brandenburg and the world

Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who last month announced he would step down in the next UK government cabinet reshuffle, has resigned, the prime minister's office said Thursday.

Banking giant UBS said Thursday it plans to fully absorb Credit Suisse's century-old Swiss division and slash thousands of jobs across Switzerland, as it seeks to redress its recently-swallowed rival.

Equity markets were mixed Thursday as investors struggled to keep up with Wall Street's rally, despite fresh data reinforcing optimism the Federal Reserve could hold off any more interest rate hikes this year, while another weak China reading dragged on the mood.

Microsoft will unbundle its Teams communications from its popular Office suite in an attempt to assuage EU antitrust concerns, the company said Thursday.

A fire that engulfed a five-storey building killed more than 60 people including children in central Johannesburg on Thursday, the South African city's emergency services said.

French political leaders from left and right were left unconvinced Thursday by marathon 12-hour talks aimed at finding common ground with President Emmanuel Macron.

Markets mostly fell Thursday as investors struggled to keep up with Wall Street's rally, despite fresh data reinforcing optimism the Federal Reserve could hold off any more interest rate hikes this year, while another weak China reading dragged the mood.

A truck driver rammed his vehicle near a checkpoint in the West Bank Thursday, injuring three people before he was "neutralised", medics and police said, in the latest attack to rock the occupied territory.

More than 60 people have died in a fire that engulfed a five-storey building in central Johannesburg on Thursday, the South African city's emergency services said.

Chinese tech giant Baidu rolled out its ChatGPT-like ERNIE Bot to the public on Thursday.

More than 50 people have died in a fire that engulfed a five-storey building in central Johannesburg on Thursday, the South African city's emergency services said.

Six men prod and poke at dense undergrowth in eastern Myanmar with rakes and hoes -- not farmers, but a rebel unit clearing deadly landmines from the war raging between the junta and pro-democracy fighters.

The race for the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion was set to move into higher gear Thursday with a hotly tipped biopic about sports car supremo Enzo Ferrari starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz.

Banking giant UBS said Thursday it would fully absorb the Swiss unit of its recently-swallowed rival Credit Suisse into its operations, without spelling out the implications for job cuts.

Hanover's cannabis club started as a fringe outfit of nine members campaigning for the right to legally light up joints. Now the group, and others like it, are flourishing and mainstream as Germany gears up to legalise marijuana.

Tech giant Baidu launched China's first public artificial intelligence chatbot on Thursday, with ERNIE trained to censor highly sensitive topics for the ruling Communist Party such as the Tiananmen crackdown.

Florida began assessing the damage Wednesday from Idalia's flooding after the powerful storm inundated coastal communities and knocked out power to thousands, as the system advanced up the southeastern US coast bringing additional rain deluges and dangerous storm surge.

New Zealand Rugby's governing body was branded "not fit for purpose" in a scathing independent report published Thursday into the country's governing body.

The shutters were down on one of Japan's best-known department stores on Thursday in the sector's first strike for six decades, sparked by fears that its mooted new US owner will slash jobs.

Chinese basketball fans were in despair on Thursday after the national team crashed out of the World Cup without winning a game, dubbing the dismal performance as "our deepest humiliation."

Scientists are sounding the alarm on human-caused climate change's impact on hurricanes such as Idalia, which rapidly intensified over a warm Gulf of Mexico before making landfall in Florida on Wednesday.

The biggest crowd ever to watch a women's sporting event jammed the University of Nebraska's Memorial Stadium on Wednesday as 92,003 people turned out for the Huskers' victory over Omaha.

Caroline Wozniacki's fairytale return to Grand Slam tennis carried her into the third round of the US Open on Wednesday as the former world number one upset 11th seed Petra Kvitova in straight sets.

President Joe Biden's administration has for the first time approved direct US military aid to Taiwan under an assistance program aimed at foreign governments, officials said Wednesday, as worries grow over China.

Japan should have been riding a wave of momentum after hosting a successful 2019 Rugby World Cup but the Covid-19 pandemic has hampered efforts to build on their success.

Italy have a huge task facing them as Kieran Crowley's talented young team try to reach the knockout stage of the Rugby World Cup for the first time.

China's biggest developer Country Garden on Thursday faces a crunch vote on extending debt repayment terms that could determine whether it defaults, plunging the country's property market deeper into turmoil.

China's factory activity contracted for a fifth straight month in August, official data showed on Thursday, as pressure mounts on Beijing to offer more policy support to bolster its sluggish economy.

China's Baidu rolled out its ChatGPT rival ERNIE Bot to the public on Thursday, in a major leap for the country's tech sector as it aims to cash in on the global artificial intelligence gold rush.

The hot Florida sunshine is broken by a gentle breeze, carrying with it salty sea air.

This week Japan marks 100 years since the Great Kanto Earthquake that killed 105,000 people. Less well known is the subsequent massacre of thousands of ethnic Koreans that haunts the community to this day.

Markets were mixed Thursday as investors struggled to maintain momentum from Wall Street's rally, even after fresh data reinforced optimism the Federal Reserve will be able to hold off any more interest rate hikes this year.