Choose your location
DPA
Danish shipping giant Maersk reports lower revenue in second quarter
Danish shipping and logistics giant Maersk saw a drop in second quarter revenues, according to preliminary figures reported on Thursday. For the three-month period, the company posted Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) of $963 million, compared with $1.607 billion, recorded for the same period last year. Underlying EBIT stood at $756 million as against prior year's $1.469 billion. Underlying adjusted operating earnings, Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) slipped to $2.1 billion from $2.916 billion in 2023. Revenue was $12.8 billion, down from previous year's $12.988 billion. The company has improved its annual earnings guidance citing robust container market demand and...
Putin deals with war in Ukraine on a daily basis, spokesman says
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin spends many hours a day in contact with the military about the course of the war in Ukraine, his spokesman said on Thursday. "This is work that you don't see on camera every day, work that you don't read about in the newspapers," Dmitry Peskov said in a radio interview quoted by the state news agency TASS. According to the interview, Putin is monitoring the progress of the special operation, as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is called by the Kremlin, every day of the week. In addition, Putin frequently telephones commanders and ordinary soldiers at the front. This is "a constant practice," Peskov said. There is still "no agenda acceptable to Russia" for possible talks on a settlement of the conflict, meaning that participation in possible summits just for the sake of participation is pointless. However, Moscow remains open to political and diplomatic methods for settling the conflict, the spokesman said.
Biles fights back to win all-around title and sixth Olympic gold
US gymnastics star Simone Biles recovered from a setback and soared to her second gold of the Paris Games and sixth of her Olympic career in the women's all-around final on Thursday. The 27-year-old became the oldest female to triumph in the event since 1952 as she repeated the gold she picked up in 2016 and missed in Tokyo three years ago amid a difficult campaign. The six golds mean Biles is closing in on Larisa Latynina's record of nine for the Soviet Union 1956-1964. She scored 59.131, with Brazil's Rebeca Andrade taking silver for the second straight Games on 57.932, while Tokyo...
Tokyo champion Zverev knocked out in Olympics last eight by Musetti
Germany's Tokyo champion Alexander Zverev wilted in the heat and felt unwell as he lost 7-5, 7-5 to Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in the men's tennis quarter-finals at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. Zverev, who was dreaming of a second straight single gold, became the last German to be knocked out of the tennis competitions at Roland Garros and said he needs blood tests after not feeling himself at times of late. "I began to notice in Hamburg that something wasn't right," Zverev, a diabetic, said in reference to last month's tournament in his home city where he lost in the final to...
Tokyo champion Zverev knocked out in Olympics last eight by Musetti
Germany's Tokyo champion Alexander Zverev wilted in the heat as he lost 7-5, 7-5 to Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in the men's tennis quarter-finals at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. Zverev, who was dreaming of a second straight single gold, became the last German to be knocked out of the tennis competitions at Roland Garros. Zverev, who had complained about the Paris heat in an earlier round but had a evening match in the last 16, appeared to struggle again in the hot sun as spectators incessantly waved their hand fans at Roland Garros. He even took one fan from a spectator as...
Israel: Commander of Hamas' military wing in Gaza killed in airstrike
The Israeli military said that Mohammed Deif, the elusive leader of Hamas' military wing in the Gaza Strip and an accused mastermind of the October 7 attack, was killed in an airstrike in Khan Younis on July 13. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, in a social media post, called Deif the "Osama Bin Laden of Gaza." "This is a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas as a military and governing authority in Gaza, and in the achievement of the goals of this war," he wrote on Thursday. One of Israel's central aims in the nearly 10-month-old war has been to capture...
Netanyahu warns every attack on Israel comes at 'a high price'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Iran and its proxy groups in the Middle East against attacking Israel. "We will demand a high price for any act of aggression against us, wherever it may come from," he said on Thursday at a briefing with commanders from the home front, according to his office. Israel is in a state of maximum readiness for any eventuality, he added. This applies to both defence and possible attack options. Following the targeted killing Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian militant Islamist Hamas group on Wednesday in Tehran, Iran and Hamas threatened Israel with retaliation. Hamas says its Israel was behind the Haniyeh attack, but the Israeli government has not yet commented on this. The news of Haniyeh's killing came just a few hours after an Israeli air strike on a suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut, in which, Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander, was killed. Both Israel and Hezbollah confirmed his death. The Shia militia, which is allied with Iran, is also threatening to retaliate.
Israel take first Paris medals after contentious judo competition
Israeli judokas Inbar Lanir and Peter Paltchik picked up silver and bronze medals on Thursday, their country's first medals of the Paris Olympics. The judo competition has been marred by allegations that some Muslim judokas have refused to shake Israeli hands and one did not make the weight to avoid facing an opponent from the Jewish state. Lanir lost the women's 78 kilogram final to Italian Alice Bellandi via waza-ari and ippon, with German flagbearer Anna-Maria Wagner missing out on bronze, while Paltchik earlier defeated Daniel Eich of Switzerland in the men's 100kg for bronze. In the 100kg final, Azerbaijan picked up their second gold of the Paris judo competition and the Games overall when world champion Zelyem Kotsoiev beat Georgian Ilia Sulamanidze.
German transport minister warns against phasing out diesel vehicles
Transport Minister Volker Wissing is warning the European Commission against the decommissioning of millions of diesel-powered vehicles due to a potential new interpretation regarding compliance with emission limits. Proceedings are currently ongoing at the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which could potentially impose stricter compliance with pollutant limits on some diesel-powered vehicles. This change might require vehicles to meet emission standards even in extreme driving conditions, a demand Wissing argues is technologically unfeasible. Wissing is calling for clarification in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which has been seen by dpa. Wissing previously told the Bild newspaper that the European...
Biden: Gershkovich, Whelan released from Russia via negotiations
US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the release of US citizens Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan was part of a larger prisoner exchange his administration negotiated. The president, in a statement, said a total of three US citizens and one US green card holder, or permanent resident, "are finally coming home." They "were unjustly imprisoned in Russia." In addition to Geshkovich and Whelan, he named Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza. The latter is a Russian activist who was reported recently to have been in poor health. Biden said, "The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy." Biden said his government negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia, including five Germans and seven Russian citizens "who were political prisoners in their own country." The US president expressed his gratitude to US allies "who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome - including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey. He said his administration will continue to work to free "all those wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world."
Nasrallah vows imminent retaliation for dead commander Shukr
The pro-Iranian Hezbollah chief vowed on Thursday to avenge the Israeli assassination of the movement's top commander, Fuad Shukr, with an imminent retaliatory attack on Israel. "Our response is coming," Hassan Nasrallah said during the funeral of Fuad Shukr, the group's top military commander and the head its operations in southern Lebanon. He stressed that Israel and those behind it must “inevitably wait for our next response,” stressing that “there is no discussion or debate about this,” and reiterating that “between us and you are the days, the nights, and the battlefield.” He added that they are looking for "a real response and...
Nasrallah vows imminent retaliation for dead commander Shukr
The pro-Iranian Hezbollah chief vowed on Thursday to avenge the Israeli assassination of the movement's top commander, Fuad Shukr, with an imminent retaliatory attack on Israel. "Our response is coming," Hassan Nasrallah said during the funeral of Fuad Shukr, the group's top military commander and the head its operations in southern Lebanon. He stressed that Israel and those behind it must “inevitably wait for our next response,” stressing that “there is no discussion or debate about this,” and reiterating that “between us and you are the days, the nights, and the battlefield.” He added that they are looking for "a real response and...
German climate activists disrupt cargo flights at Leipzig airport
Cargo flight operations were halted for about three hours at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport in the early hours of Thursday due to a protest by Last Generation climate activists. Five of the demonstrators glued themselves to the ground in the airport's southern area and two more were prevented from doing so, a police spokesman said. The activists were eventually removed from the tarmac around 5 am (0300 GMT), he said, adding that officers had discovered holes in the fence at the edge of the site. As a result of the action, cargo flight operations were halted for about three hours after midnight, an airport...
Tokyo champion Zverev knocked out in Olympics last eight by Musetti
Germany's Tokyo champion Alexander Zverev lost 7-5, 7-5 to Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in the men's tennis quarter-finals at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. Zverev, who was dreaming of a second straight single gold, became the last German to be knocked out of the tennis competitions at Roland Garros. The third seed did not look fully fit and slipped 2-0 down straight away. He got the break back for 5-5, only to lose his next service game when he was too timid at the baseline and allowed the Italian to dominate. Musetti then closed out the first set with a perfect drop shot. Zverev, who had complained about the Paris heat in an earlier round but had a evening match in the last 16, appeared to struggle again in the hot sun as spectators incessantly waved their hand fans at Roland Garros. The German, who reached the French Open final at the same venue in June but lost to Carlos Alcaraz, is a diabetic and has said the heat causes him problems. He tended to hang back in the second set too but did enough to stay in the contest until Musetti broke for 6-5 and then held for victory.
President Coe defends athletics prize money for Olympic champions
World Athletics (WA) president Sebastian Coe has defended the decision to become the first Olympic sport to dish out prize money, with each Paris gold medallist receiving $50,000. Race walkers Brian Daniel Pintado of Ecuador and Yang Jiayu of China were the first to benefit after their 20 kilometres titles on Thursday, and in all WA is giving out $2.4 million across the 48 events in the showcase Games sport. The WA decision has been met with criticism. Other Olympic sports federations have said they simply do not have the funds to introduce prize money. The Olympics were originally meant to be...
Lufthansa cancels flights to Beirut and Tel Aviv
The German airline Lufthansa is cancelling its flights to Beirut and Tel Aviv for the coming days due to the increasing tensions between Israel and Iran. The suspension applies to all of the group's airlines and to cargo and passenger aircraft alike, said a company spokesman on Thursday. The Lufthansa Group also includes Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings. Flights to Beirut have been cancelled up to and including Monday August 12. Flights to Tel Aviv will be suspended until Thursday, August 8. Lufthansa cancelled the onward flight of an aircraft from Cyprus to Tel Aviv on Wednesday night for safety reasons. The...
Iran's army chief promises 'blood vengence' against Israel
Iran's leadership will carry out "blood vengence" against Israel, a top Iranian commander warned on Thursday, saying it was only a matter of deciding on the right time for retaliation. "The only certainty is that the Zionists will bitterly regret this act," said Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's Armed Forces, according to the Fars news agency. Iran often refers to Israel as the Zionists or the Zionist regime. The threat follows the Tehran assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas group, early on Wednesday. Iran and its allies Hamas hold Israel responsible. Israel has not yet officially claimed responsibility.
WHO warns of rising number of heat-related deaths in Europe
The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning of the health risks of extreme heat, as new temperature records continue to be set globally in the wake of the climate crisis and the persistent summer heat in southern Europe. Europe is the fastest warming of the six WHO regions, WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge said in Copenhagen on Thursday. People in the 53 member states of the region are paying the highest price for this, he said. Estimates show that there were around 489,000 heat-related deaths per year worldwide between 2000 and 2019, including an average of around 176,000 per year in Europe. Over...
Deutsche Wohnen reports €281.4m adjusted EBT for first half of 2024
German real estate giant Deutsche Wohnen reported on Thursday its preliminary financial results for the first half of 2024. The company generated an adjusted earnings before tax (EBT) of the continued operations of €281.4 million ($304 million) or €0.71 ($0.77) per share. The revaluation of the portfolio led to a result from the fair value measurement of investment properties of -€518.5 million in the first half of 2024 and contributed to a reduction in net asset value (NAV) to €16.68 billion — this corresponds to a NAV per share of €42.01. The publication of the final numbers for the first six months of the financial year 2024 is scheduled for August 6, 2024.
DPA
+
Posts
+
Views
The German Press Agency (dpa) is one of the world’s leading independent news agencies. As a joint venture of the German media, we have successfully reported on national and international events since 1949. We are convinced that an enlightened democratic society needs verified information in order to make good, fact-based decisions. This requires an independent news agency and independent journalists. DPA is committed to the facts, but not to any political party, government, religion, culture, company, or other group. This is guaranteed by the DPA statute.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.