Berliner Tageszeitung - News from Berlin, Brandenburg and the world

Though set up as an institution operating above the partisan fray in Washington, the Federal Reserve has again become a political football, with Republicans and business groups attacking President Joe Biden's nominees to serve on the central bank's board.

A museum dedicated to NFTs -- the blockchain-based creations that have taken the artworld by storm -- has opened its doors in the United States.

Thousands of mansions in a remote corner of India once housed some of the nation's wealthiest bankers and traders but a century later most of them lie abandoned, their desolate remains a mute testament to lost riches.

Russia has a stake in crises around the world from Ukraine to Syria, Sudan and Mali -- and that is reflected in the active role it takes at the UN Security Council on issues both big and small, contrasting with the relative detachment of the United States.

Marcel Duchamp scandalised the art world in 1917 by submitting a urinal as his entry to a prestigious competition. A century later, an American artist known as Robness sparked his own controversy by selling an NFT of a rubbish bin for $252,000.

Thousands of artists beaver away every day creating images to sell as digital tokens (NFTs) in online exchanges. The market is booming, the most popular pieces can sell for millions, but outsiders may wonder why anyone would pay anything at all.

Troops from the US-led anti-jihadist coalition landed in northwest Syria Thursday in search of wanted militants, resulting in clashes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Facebook's parent firm Meta on Wednesday delivered a gloomy mix of a sharper-than-expected drop in profit, a decrease in users and threats to its ad business that plunged shares some 22 percent in after-hours trading.

A US intelligence agency said Wednesday that its newest spy satellite successfully launched into orbit atop a reusable SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Ex-Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson said Wednesday the team incentivised losing during the 2016 and 2017 seasons, a day after former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores made similar allegations in an explosive lawsuit.

Brazil's central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate by 1.5 points Wednesday to 10.75 percent, bringing it into double digits for the first time in nearly five years to fight rampant inflation.

Shares of Spotify tumbled Wednesday after the music streaming service -- roiled in controversy over its star podcaster Joe Rogan -- projected lower profit margins in the coming earnings period as subscriber growth slows.

An Austrian court has ordered Facebook to remove content defaming a former lawmaker and post a banner on its home page announcing the decision, a court spokesman said Wednesday.

The Covid-19 pandemic has left Europe's clubs with a massive seven billion euro-crater in their bank accounts, a UEFA report concluded on Thursday.

Intense directed energy from an external source could have caused some cases of the debilitating so-called "Havana syndrome" among US diplomats, US intelligence said Wednesday, supporting the possibility of deliberate attacks.

At least 17 people died and 56 more were hospitalized in a northwestern suburb of Buenos Aires after consuming cocaine cut with an a toxic substance, possibly opioids, authorities said Wednesday.

Facebook's parent firm Meta delivered unsteady results Wednesday, with threats to its key ad business, big expenses on its metaverse vision and a weaker forecast that plunged shares some 20 percent in after-hours trading.

Historic rivals Turkey and Armenia on Wednesday resumed their first commercial flights in two years as part of cautious efforts to warm their frozen ties.

Sadio Mane hailed his Senegal teammates after they beat Burkina Faso 3-1 in Yaounde on Wednesday to reach their second consecutive Africa Cup of Nations final.

Rayo Vallecano reached the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey for the first time in 40 years on Wednesday after they beat Mallorca 1-0 at a jubilant Vallecas.

Global stock markets glided to a generally positive finish on Wednesday as investors turned their attention to central bank monetary policy in the eurozone and Britain later this week.

Facebook's parent firm Meta on Wednesday posted a $10 billion quarterly profit that missed expectations alongside a downbeat forecast, sending shares plummeting some 20 percent in after-hours trading.

Shares of Spotify tumbled Wednesday after the music streaming service reported a quarterly loss and projected lower profit margins in the coming earnings period.

Celtic stormed to the top of the Scottish Premiership with a first victory over Rangers for over two years as Reo Hatate scored twice and made the other in a 3-0 win at Celtic Park.

New York prosecutors said Wednesday they had charged four men in relation to the drug overdose death of "The Wire" actor Michael K. Williams.

US senator Sheldon Whitehouse dusted off his dog-eared "Time to Wake Up" poster Wednesday to deliver his 280th climate speech in the upper chamber -- ending a year-long break from delivering weekly addresses urging lawmakers to mobilize on global warming.

Rayo Vallecano reached the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey for the first time in 40 years on Wednesday after they beat Mallorca 1-0 at a jubilant Vallecas.

The first mission in NASA's program to take humans back to the Moon has been delayed until spring at the earliest, the US space agency said Wednesday, saying it needed more time to complete safety checks.

Senegal are through to a second consecutive Africa Cup of Nations final after breaking Burkina Faso hearts in their last-four tie in Yaounde on Wednesday, Abdou Diallo, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Sadio Mane scoring second-half goals to secure a 3-1 victory.

President Joe Biden announced a relaunch of the government's cancer "moonshot" effort in a White House ceremony Wednesday, setting a goal of cutting the US death rate from the disease by half.

The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday said it prevented another drone attack over its territory, after Washington said it will send a warship and fighter jets to help defend its Gulf ally as conflict with Yemeni rebels intensifies.

Roger Federer believes he will know by "April-May" whether or not he will be able to return to tennis.