Category: Deutsche Welle

  • Innovation Drives Nobel Prize

    Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt won the Economics ‘Nobel’ for explaining how innovation, via “creative destruction”, drives long-run prosperity. The Academy said their work reshaped policy thinking by showing growth isn’t automatic and depends on successive, science-based waves of invention.

  • The Secret Route of Iran’s Oil

    UN snapback sanctions have pushed Tehran deeper into “shadow fleet” oil sales, enriching regime-linked elites while China keeps buying, often via oil-for-infrastructure barter worth up to $8.4 billion last year. Iran is discounting crude by $8–$10 a barrel to move volumes despite tighter shipping and finance curbs.

  • What’s Driving the Gold and Bitcoin Boom

    Gold and bitcoin have broken records as investors hedge against geopolitics, dollar weakness, and a prolonged U.S. shutdown. Fresh central-bank and ETF demand boosts gold, while pro-crypto policy, rate-cut hopes, and bigger institutional flows propel bitcoin.

  • Is India’s Drone Army Taking Off?

    India is rapidly building drone expertise… opening its first BSF “drone warfare” school to train ‘drone commandos’ and staging “Cold Start,” the biggest tri-service drone war games to date. The push ties into a wider plan for a multi-layered air shield (Sudarshan Chakra) and follows lessons from Operation Sindoor, which exposed new cross-border drone threats.

  • Who Will Fly Your Plane?

    Airlines worldwide face a deepening pilot shortage as retirements surge and training backlogs persist, with Boeing projecting 660,000 new pilots needed by 2044. Higher salaries, bonuses, and debates over raising the retirement age are part of the scramble to keep cockpits staffed.

  • What does a US Government Shutdown Actually Mean?

    The US faces another shutdown as Congress fails to agree on funding. Essential services like military and Social Security continue, but many agencies could close and workers face unpaid furloughs. This time Trump’s team hints at using it to cut federal jobs, raising deeper uncertainty.

  • Trump’s New Favourite: Pakistan?

    Pakistan is gaining favour in Washington as PM Shahbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir strike deals with Trump, while India faces US tariffs and cooling ties. Analysts warn closer US-Pakistan ties could disrupt India’s Indo-Pacific strategy, though many see the relationship as transactional and unstable.

  • Trump Slams the Door on Techies

    Donald Trump’s proposed $100,000 H-1B visa fee has shaken Indian and Chinese tech talent, forcing students and workers to rethink careers in the US. Critics warn the move could push talent towards countries like Canada, Germany, or even China, which has just introduced its own “K visa.”

  • Africa’s Future Runs on Minerals

    Africa is becoming central to the global supply of critical minerals like cobalt, platinum, tantalum and manganese, which power green tech, defence and everyday devices. But weak governance, conflict and uneven revenue sharing mean local communities risk losing out despite the boom.

  • US-EU Trade Truce on the Brink

    Trump is threatening fresh tariffs on the EU over its digital services taxes and tech rules, reigniting a fragile trade truce. Brussels, lacking China’s leverage, is scrambling for countermeasures while insisting it won’t bow to pressure on regulating Big Tech.