Deutsche Welle

In this Berlin Briefing special from the Global Media Forum, DW’s Nina Haase and Max Hofmann are joined by NATO expert Gerlinde Niehus and Maximilian Mayer from the University of Bonn to discuss: where does Germany hold real leverage and how can it help Europe become a strategic power?

Dust storms around the world are getting worse and for people like Michelle, living with chronic asthma near a drying lake in California, the results are life-threatening. Elsewhere, seeds of change are being planted in the form of native vegetation. Can eco science help fill a dust bowl like the Coachella Valley with hope for fresh air?

Keir Starmer resigns, 10 years of Brexit, postcards from a heatwave. Plus: Spanish corruption, DW's Freedom of Speech Award, Czech media strike and a banned Russian ballet.

If you could put on VR goggles and talk to your future self... would that help you become who you want to be? Or would it harm you?

As UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves office, we examine whether his government delivered on its Africa ambitions or let another strategic opportunity slip away. Lucy Riley speaks to Alex Vines, Africa program director at the European Council on Foreign Relations and DW correspondent Dianne Hawker in Johannesburg.

Zambia's central bank has raised concerns over growing debt among civil servants, warning that excessive borrowing and loan defaults could pose risks to the country's financial sector. In this AfricaLink podcast, host Lucy Riley speaks with DW's Glory Mushinge in Lusaka about the growing debt burden on civil servants, what's driving it, and whether it could become a major election issue.

Two years after Kenya's Gen Z-led protests forced the withdrawal of a controversial finance bill, many families are still waiting for justice. Dozens were killed and hundreds injured. In this AfricaLink podcast, Lucy Riley speaks with activist Beatrice Waithera of the Red Vests Movement and DW's Andrew Wasike in Nairobi about the fight for accountability—and whether justice is any closer.

School kidnappings are leaving parents fearful and disrupting education across Nigeria. As armed groups increasingly target students and teachers, are schools still safe? Adwoa Tenkoramaa Domena speaks with educationist Uche Ohanele and DW's Ben Shemang in Abuja about the rise in school kidnappings, the impact on children and families, and what must be done to make Nigeria's schools safe again.

The dust is settling after a new US-Iran deal, but one question still matters: is this economic crisis over? Oil prices have decreased on the news that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the two countries, but that MOU is still lacking details and leaves a lot to the imagination. Critics are now asking whether the biggest winner when it comes to cold, hard cash, is actually Tehran.

Berlin Briefing looks at how Germany remembers the Holocaust and why it's being targeted by the far-right AfD. Björn Höcke rejects German collective guilt, blaming only the Nazi dictatorship. With Melanie Amann, author of "Fear for Germany: The truth about the AfD" and social scientist Jakob Schergaut, host Michaela Küfner examines the controversy and the AfD’s push to reshape history.