Berliner Tageblatt - News from Berlin, Europe and the whole world

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said Thursday that firing the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was "absolutely necessary" to restore high standards, as he faced blistering criticism from Democrats urging him to resign.

The bicycle-loving Netherlands was on Thursday mulling tougher rules on fat bikes and e-scooters, after a surge in accidents that has alarmed lawmakers and officials in cities across the country.

Tapping Italy's long heritage of classic, impeccable tailoring, Giorgio Armani built a multi-billion dollar fashion empire, making his name synonymous around the world with relaxed, restrained elegance.

France and Switzerland on Thursday signed two agreements on how to manage their shared waters of Lake Geneva and the River Rhone -- an increasingly pressing issue as climate change takes its toll.

The US trade deficit expanded more than expected in July to its widest in four months, government data showed Thursday, on a surge in imports before a fresh wave of President Donald Trump's tariffs kicked in.

Portugal held a day of national mourning on Thursday after one of Lisbon's famous funicular trains violently derailed and killed 16 people, including foreigners, and leaving five seriously injured.

German law enforcement authorities have voiced alarm that the "dangerous" chief suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann will soon leave prison and could flee the country.

Italian fashion legend Giorgio Armani, king of a high-end lifestyle empire, has died at the age of 91 "surrounded by his loved ones", his company said Thursday.

Spain's premier cycling race, La Vuelta, has been shaken by pro-Palestinian protests which riders believe have put them at risk and threaten to derail the event.

Tourists and locals wrestled with shock and dismay on Thursday in Lisbon, a day after one of city's famed funiculars -- climbing railways that serve both communities -- came off the tracks and crashed, killing 16 people.

Award-winning comedy writer Graham Linehan, whose recent arrest reignited a UK row over freedom of speech, appeared in court Thursday to face separate charges over "abusive and vindictive" posts against a transgender person.

European leaders on Thursday spoke to US President Donald Trump after holding a summit with President Volodymyr Zelensky on security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a peace accord to end Russia's three-and-a-half war against Ukraine.

Thieves snatched three porcelain works worth millions of euros and classed as national treasures in a heist at a French collection in the small hours of Thursday, the museum said.

Italy's MediaForEurope (MFE) announced Thursday it had taken control of one of Germany's biggest private broadcasting groups, as it seeks to build a pan-European group able to compete with streaming giants.

The European rights court on Thursday found France's laws on sexual consent are insufficient, ruling against the authorities in a case involving a woman who accused her boss of coercing her into an abusive relationship.

Four nights and days since the earth shook and levelled his home in eastern Afghanistan, Khan Zaman Hanafi thought he had endured the worst, until the rain came.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to discuss bolstering security cooperation Thursday in violence-swept Ecuador, as he champions a shoot-first crackdown on the region's criminal groups.

The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan at the weekend rose sharply to more than 2,200 on Thursday, according to a new toll, making it the deadliest in decades to hit the country.

One of thousands of public servants in Gaza's Hamas-run government, Karim, a public works ministry employee, received what seemed like an ordinary message on his phone: an invitation "for a coffee".

Stock markets diverged and global bonds stabilised on Thursday as investors looked to US jobs data to cement rate-cut bets.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un met for talks in Beijing on Thursday, state media reported, while the North Korean leader is in China on a rare foreign visit.

At age 70, Pete Maie appears nervous at the start of a job interview to work as a part-time parcel delivery driver for a German logistics company.

Tottenham's Djed Spence said the opportunity to make history as the first male player who publically identifies as a Muslim to represent England was a "blessing" as he prepares for a potential debut.

Portugal held a day of national mourning on Thursday as the death toll from the derailment of one of Lisbon's iconic funiculars rose to 17 people, with 21 injured.

Taiwanese megastar Shu Qi told AFP that she used her troubled childhood growing up with an alcoholic father as the basis for her directorial debut which premieres at the Venice Film Festival Thursday.

French director Francois Ozon has dared to do what so many other filmmakers have shied away from -- adapting one of French literature's most-read classics, Albert Camus's "The Stranger", for the big screen.

European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were meeting in Paris on Thursday to agree security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a peace accord with Russia to end the three-and-a-half-year war sparked by Moscow's 2022 invasion.

Siya Kolisi has been cleared to play in South Africa's Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks on Saturday but will not be captain in a surprise move by coach Rassie Erasmus.

The French women's team have been barred from the boxing world championships because the results of their gender tests were not delivered on time, the French Federation (FFBoxe) said Thursday.

Asian stock markets diverged on Thursday, with Tokyo and Seoul tracking gains made the previous day on Wall Street even as a selloff of Chinese equities intensified.

Next year's Women's Asian Cup can help break down barriers for women in the region, a lead organiser told AFP, saying it will be the biggest tournament in its history.

Volunteers and rescuers were pulling nore bodies from the rubble of destroyed buildings in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, four days after an earthquake that inflicted a death toll that was already at nearly 1,470 people, Taliban authorities said.