A total of 287 candidates were nominated for the prize, 208 individuals and 79 organizations. Donald Trump is said to have been among them again. As expected, the US President came away empty-handed as in 2025.
“With Pillay’s award, the Nobel Committee is strengthening international justice,” says my colleague Mathieu von Rohr. "But it chose a personality instead of honoring the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice as institutions."
Pillay's life's work is significant because it combines the fight against apartheid with the legal prosecution of sexual violence and genocide. "Pillay was involved in the historic Rwanda ruling, which recognized rape as a possible act of genocide," says Mathieu. "At the same time, the award is currently politically charged: the UN commission of inquiry she heads came to the conclusion in 2025 that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza - an accusation that Israel rejects."
Gerhard Schröder was once a champion of the hearts of German politicians; among other things, he was celebrated at many regulars' tables because of his enthusiasm for sausage products and beer. In the present, the former Federal Chancellor often seems to have been deserted by all good spirits and poll numbers. On Wednesday, Schröder attended Russian President Vladimir Putin's birthday party in Moscow and has been heavily criticized ever since. Today, deputy government spokesman Steffen Meyer said that the current German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was also "deeply outraged" about the meeting.
The SPD must ask itself how long it will continue to tolerate Schröder's behavior, writes my colleague Mathieu von Rohr in his commentary on the former Chancellor's appearance in Moscow. »One is used to a lot of bad taste from Schröder. But this must not lead to every further border crossing only triggering a tired shrug of the shoulders. The SPD must finally expel him from the party.
Sometimes negative economic news is not unpleasant news at all. Today it was announced that the sales of those Asian shopping platforms that had recently flooded European markets with their often unsustainable cheap goods are collapsing. The new EU rules for the import of cheap goods are obviously affecting foreign online retailers such as the Asian platforms Shein, Temu and AliExpress. According to the Federal Association of E-Commerce and Mail Order Germany, platform sales fell by 35.5 percent in the third quarter in Germany compared to the same period last year.
The duty-free limit of 150 euros for shipments of goods from non-EU countries was abolished in July. Since then, every shipment from third countries has been subject to customs duties. For small shipments up to 150 euros, a flat rate of three euros per product group is due. From November there will also be a processing fee of two euros.
“The slump in sales comes as no surprise to Shein and Temu,” says my colleague Katharina Koerth. Companies have been trying for some time to adapt their strategies to the expected customs duties on individual packages. »Both companies now operate warehouses in Europe and import goods there in large quantities. Shein also wants to offer higher-priced products and expand its range of fashion brands.«
Even if the flood of packages is now decreasing, it is unlikely to stop completely, says Katharina. “The EU must therefore continue to make efforts to remove unsafe goods from circulation and to enforce its laws.”
It took a team of researchers five years to count the world's largest population of free giant tortoises - the team has now determined that around 180,000 animals of the once endangered species Aldabrachelys gigantea live on the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles. The number was announced by the British University of Exeter, whose researchers were involved in the project with statistical analyzes together with the Seychelles Island Foundation. The foundation's director, Frauke Fleischer-Dogley, described the data as "wonderful news for the Seychelles, for the world and for everyone who has worked to protect the Aldabra tortoises." At its lowest point in the 19th century, fewer than 1,000 animals were counted on the Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean, which were intensively hunted at the time. The study, considered groundbreaking by the University of Exeter, was published in the specialist journal “Ecology and Evolution”.
We can do everything. In addition to standard German - and English: Flavia Zaka, 40, lawyer and Baden-Württemberg's First Lady, answered questions about a state horticultural show in English in an interview and is therefore exposed to criticism on social media. Zaka is the wife of Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Cem Özdemir and was born in Albania; When she was twelve years old, her family emigrated to Canada. "I can understand that many people think that I should speak German," she told the "Schwäbische Zeitung." »Of course, those for whom Swabian is their most familiar language would like to see this language maintained, protected and represented by people in representative positions.«
