Berliner Tageszeitung - News from Berlin, Brandenburg and the world

John McFall, who has become the first astronaut recruit with a disability, is a British doctor and former Paralympian who lost a leg in a motorbike accident.

A record high of nearly 40 million children around the world missed a measles vaccine dose in 2021, according to a new report Wednesday that found immunization levels had failed to rebound from disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hansi Flick denied Wednesday that Germany's pre-game armband protest and legal action against FIFA had distracted his team after they slumped to a surprise 2-1 loss in their World Cup opener against Japan.

Finance minister Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday defended the UK's post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, despite growing criticism about its economic impact, and rejected claims he was pushing for closer European ties.

Ecuador has become an unlikely hub for the global drug trade, flooding the world with Colombian cocaine while bloodshed rages between a complex tapestry of local gangs backed by Mexican and European mafia.

Credit Suisse predicted a surprise fourth-quarter pre-tax loss of up to $1.6 billion as the beleaguered bank undertakes a radical overhaul, sending stocks tumbling again on Wednesday.

European and US stocks made modest gains on Wednesday on news that major economies contracted in November and as traders looked ahead to Federal Reserve committee minutes.

DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta met in Angola on Wednesday amid a surge in tensions triggered by militia violence in eastern Congo.

Russian strikes across Ukraine on Wednesday battered the country's already failing electricity grid, leaving several dead, disconnecting three nuclear power stations from the grid and spurring "massive" blackouts in neighbouring Moldova.

A group of former players, including England World Cup winner Steve Thompson and All Black Carl Hayman, are to file legal action in France against the national rugby bodies over concussion, their lawyers told AFP on Wednesday.

The European Space Agency announced five new career astronauts as well as history's first astronaut recruit with a disability on Wednesday after adopting a record budget to fund its projects.

On the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, clashes between machete-wielding gangs have left at least one dead, highlighting chronic crime problems that have rung alarm bells in Paris.

Japan produced a stunning late comeback to shock Germany in their World Cup opener on Wednesday after the four-time champions staged a powerful protest against FIFA's refusal to allow rainbow-themed armbands.

The wildfire popularity of streaming platforms has hoisted Nigerian and other artists from English-speaking Africa to unprecedented popularity around the world.

Germany's World Cup team made a statement by covering their mouths when they lined up for a team photo before losing to Japan in the World Cup on Wednesday.

A sea of streamers and mini-Brazilian flags flutters over Freedom Alley, one of myriad narrow streets criss-crossing Rio de Janeiro's biggest favela, Rocinha, which decks itself out in World Cup splendor every four years.

A Russian court on Wednesday extended by six months the detention of opposition politician Ilya Yashin, who risks being jailed 10 years for denouncing President Vladimir Putin's assault on Ukraine.

New home sales in the US defied expectations and rose in October, government data showed Wednesday, despite mortgage rates remaining high.

Scotland's leader vowed Wednesday to turn the next UK general election into a de facto vote on independence, after judges blocked her bid to hold a new referendum without London's approval.

Opposition politician Ilya Yashin, who went on trial in Moscow on Wednesday, risks becoming the latest in a long line of Kremlin critics slapped with heavy jail terms.

Intrigued tourists watch as Paul Doy climbs a ladder outside London's Westminster Abbey and lifts the globe of a gas street lamp.

Brazil are hoping a fully fit and firing Neymar, and a well-balanced squad around him, will allow the five-time winners to live up to their status as World Cup favourites in Qatar.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been banned for two matches and fined £50,000 ($60,000, 58,000 euros) for hitting a mobile phone out of a teenage fan's hand at Everton, the Football Association said Wednesday.

European and US stock markets wavered Wednesday on news that the eurozone and UK economies shrank in November but by less than the previous month.

Japan stunned Germany 2-1 in their World Cup opener on Wednesday, punishing the four-time champions for not taking their chances after they dominated the first half.

Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin, who risks being jailed 10 years for denouncing President Vladimir Putin's assault on Ukraine, went on trial in Moscow on Wednesday.

Three women and 11 men were flogged Wednesday on the orders of an Afghan court after they were found guilty of theft and "moral crimes", a provincial official said.

Jordan Pickford revealed on Wednesday that Harry Kane is "fine", easing fears the England captain could miss Friday's World Cup clash with the United States with an ankle injury.

Fans gathered outside Old Trafford on Wednesday said they hoped the Glazers' time as owners of Manchester United was coming to an end as a leading supporters group insisted the Red Devils' loyal followers must have a stake in any new share structure.

A Walmart employee shot dead six people at a store bustling with Thanksgiving holiday shoppers, before turning the pistol on himself, police said Wednesday, in the country's second mass shooting in four days.

Portugal will not travel to next year's Rugby World Cup in France as "pushovers" despite being the 20th and last team to qualify for the tournament, according to coach Patrice Lagisquet.

German players covered their mouths for a World Cup team photo on Wednesday in a protest against FIFA's decision to ban rainbow-themed armbands as Luka Modric's Croatia played out a 0-0 draw against Morocco.