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Developing

Since August 15, residents have been officially allowed to return to Gey after being evacuated due to the forest fire in the Hürtgen Forest

Germany: After days of wildfire, Eifel residents return home

Most residents evacuated from the village of Gey have returned home after firefighters gained control of the wildfire.

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A closer look

Wildfires

Wildfires devastate millions of hectares of forest every year. And, due to climate change, they are becoming more frequent and intense.

Massive plume of smoke seen on Belgian-German border

News

August 16, 2026

Italy: Thieves steal key Renaissance paintings in Sicily

August 16, 2026

Regional powers condemn Israel's rejection of Gaza plan

August 16, 2026

Bus crash in Hungary kills at least 12

August 16, 2026

US: Hurricane Lala brings Hawaii heavy rain, strong winds

August 16, 2026

Qatar denies holding Iran's missing fighter pilots

Skip next section Reports & Analysis

Reports & Analysis

Africa

View from above of Mombasa's port. A small pilot boat is coming in across the water to the left. At the quay are two more small boats in the foreground and a couple of ships further back. Some warehouses with blue roofs in the foreground to the right; behind these are rail tracks and other storage buildings.

Africa's low-key high-stakes Strait of Hormuz diplomacy

African diplomats have been engaging with the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz behind the scenes.

Asia

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026

South Korea proposes talks to officially end war with North

North Korea's growing ties with Russia are reshaping the balance of power on the Korean Peninsula.

Germany

People with the German flag at a demonstration, photographed from behind, wearing T-shirts from companies that produce clothing with right-wing nationalist symbols and slogans.

German activists target neo-Nazis with trademark law

Neo-Nazi clothing is a growing business. But activists are fighting back by trademarking extremist symbols and brands.

Europe

Exposed riverbed of the Danube River in Dunaszentbenedek, a small boat is beached on the ground

Hungary sinks barges to keep nuclear plant running

A historic drought has forced Hungary to reshape the Danube River to keep its nuclear power plant in operation.

Middle East

Ultra-orthodox Jewish men arguing with a policeman during a protest against their draft to the army

Israel grapples with ultra-Orthodox draft problem

The debate around the ultra-Orthodox community's place in Israel has come to a head since the war in Gaza.

North America

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is seen against a pale orange sky in the Strait of Hormuz, as a jet comes in for a landing

US-Iran war reveals high cost of keeping air carriers at sea

Families say crew members aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are struggling with exhaustion, isolation and mental health.

Latin America

People rescue some of their belongings, including a foosball table, from their homes flooded by the overflowing of the Acre River in Cobija, Bolivia

How climate change is teaming up with 'Super El Nino'

Latin America, Africa and other regions are bracing for what experts say could be the strongest El Nino on record.

Video news

Latest show

Resisting the far right

Right-wing culture war in Saxony-Anhalt, courageous photos from India and no more Nazi symbols.

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All Shows

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Discover DW's outstanding documentaries, exciting talk shows, news and magazines.

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A closer look

Iran war

A deal for control of the Strait of Hormuz is seen as crucial ⁠to ⁠a peace agreement between the US and Iran, as attacks on ships have continued. The war has severely disrupted shipping through the strategic waterway.

Close-up image of the underside of a boats hull that shows the growth of mussels and barnacles.

Hormuz blockade: A biological superspreader event?

Ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz by the Iran war are now sailing with hulls covered in potentially invasive sea life.

President Donald Trump speaks at the David Mack Center for Training and Intelligence, his arms outstretched at a lectern

Iran war: Trump to declare Hormuz US territory 'soon'

Donald Trump said the strategic Strait of Hormuz would become part of the US after Iran is defeated.

Several US assault ships are seen passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait in 2020

Eritrea, a rising power along a global shipping artery

With its strategically important coastal points on the Red Sea, Eritrea is emerging as an important global partner.

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Skip next section In the spotlight

In the spotlight

Ales Svoboda in a blue suit, training inside an ESA space capsule, with a big smile on his face

Czech fighter pilot training to fly a SpaceX Dragon

Fighter pilot Ales Svoboda hopes to boldly go where no Czech has gone before: aboard the International Space Station.

A sunflower, flag and candle at the tree (since cut down) against which the perpetrator's vehicle crashed, Berlin, July, 2026

How Germany supports recovery of Berlin Pride attack victims

After a terrorist attack, public attention tends to focus primarily on the perpetrator. But what about the victims?

People evacuate from a building collapse at Jayakarta hotel following an earthquake in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Why does Indonesia keep getting hit by major earthquakes?

After a 7.7 quake off Indonesia's Flores Island, DW explains why the country is prone to powerful earthquakes.

A view of an apartment building, partly in flames, with black soot streaked on its walls. In front is an open area with exercise equipment, and burned tree stumps

Russians snap up new homes built on Ukraine 'graveyard'

Who buys units on the site of buildings destroyed by Russia? And what happened to the Ukrainians who used to lived here?

Afghan refugees arriving at Hanover airport are greeted by their families and reporters in September 2025

Afghan allies still waiting for the safety Germany promised

When the Taliban retook power in August 2021, Berlin promised to bring Afghan staff to Germany. Many are still waiting.

Netanyahu; his wife, Sara; and Argentine President Javier Milei. Both men are walking side by side, waving and smiling.

Trump's Latin America allies open arms to Israel

Latin America's authoritarian right sees an opening for a strategic alliance with an Israel largely isolated globally.

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Most viewed

Germany: After days of wildfire, Eifel residents return home
PoliticsAugust 16, 2026
In Germany, record heat meets climate action fatigue
ClimateAugust 15, 2026
Hundreds flee as Belgium battles wildfire at German border
Nature and EnvironmentAugust 16, 2026
Ukraine launches one of its largest attacks of war
ConflictsAugust 16, 2026
Ukraine attacks Wildberries, Russia's biggest online market
ConflictsAugust 16, 2026

Skip next section Specials & Events

Specials & Events

Under the Baobab

DW's weekly vodcast where Africa's biggest issues meet real talk, sharp minds and bold solutions.

Skip next section Living

Living

Indian photojournalist Smita Sharma, dressed in blue, holds up a camera in an outdoor walled space. She looks off to the side as a person stands nearby, holding a young child

Photos capture India's hidden worlds

The work of award-winning Indian photojournalist Smita Sharma highlights abuse and human trafficking.

Traditional chiefs dressed in colorful robes attend the welcome ceremony of the Djidji Ayokwe, an ancestral talking drum of the Atchan people living in southern Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast celebrates return of sacred stolen drum

Crowds gathered to welcome the return of a sacred wooden drum that had been on display in Paris for decades.

An old coal excavator in Saxony-Anhalt, eastern Germany

Can money transform a former coal-mining region in Germany?

Entire villages in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt are being razed as coal is phased out.

Nigerian brides and grooms attend a mass wedding ceremony in Kano, Nigeria

Thousands of couples marry in Nigeria's Kano State

Around 1,500 couples tied the knot in Nigeria's northwest in a mass ceremony organized by the governor.

Red and green bell peppers growing on a vine in a greenhouse

A lab for crops, a city climate experiment and busy beavers

How Dutch farms, German cities and European beavers are building a climate-ready future.

Aerial view of a huge white statue of the Virgin Mary on a pedestal that towers over the surrounding fields, Konotopie, Poland, July 29, 2026

Can a giant Madonna help slow secularization in Poland?

What will Europe's largest Virgin Mary statue mean for the village it towers over — and the Catholic faith in Poland?

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