Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Global Stage LIVE from United Nations WATCH REPLAY

Hard Numbers

Mass layoffs inbound at Volkswagen

Mass layoffs inbound at Volkswagen
Make us preferred on Google

This is not Fahrvergnügen. The company is set to axe one-sixth of its work force. The move reflects the tough fortunes of Germany‘s auto sector, which is under pressure from the flood of lower-cost Chinese car exports, as well as the effects of the Iran war and US tariffs.

More For You

Smoke signals
Natalie Johnson
Consumption of illegal cigarettes in the European Union is up roughly 10% over the past decade, according to the bloc’s estimates. The “underground” cigarette industry is surging as European countries raise tobacco taxes: Belgium, for example, recently increased the excise duty on a 20-pack of cigarettes by €0.56 ($0.64). Meanwhile, one report by [...]
Third time (un)lucky
Will Fitzpatrick
Machado was last in her home country in December 2025, when a US private security team smuggled her out to accept her Nobel Prize in Norway. Before that, she had been in hiding for over a year, after a crackdown on political opposition following deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s disputed election victory in 2024. Her team said she was [...]
Chile’s hot dog high
Natalie Johnson
Chileans have long relished the low cost of the completo, one of the country’s widely enjoyed street foods. But with oil prices soaring due to the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, consumer prices are rising across the board, creating a big challenge for Chile’s new right-wing president, José Antonio Kast. He took office in March with a hard-line [...]
Small country gets big windfall from Iran war
Natalie Johnson
The South American nation has become the world’s fastest-growing economy, with its GDP expanding by 33% in the first half of 2026 – largely due to skyrocketing demand for its oil driven by the war in Iran. The tiny nation, with a population of around one million, began producing oil only a few years ago and now has the highest per capita income in [...]