worldisfullofinterestingstories

The bronze figure of shoemaker Wilhelm Voigt by the Köpenick town hall serves as a reminder of the famous 1906 scam
But who was this guy? A war hero? A famous general? Why did he become a symbol of the area?
"The Captain still exists as a symbol of Köpenick and as a legend," says German actor Max Hopp, who grew up in the area. "I heard this story back in my childhood, it wasn't part of the school curriculum - it's just something everyone knows."

On Thursday, June 11, the match between the national teams of Mexico and South Africa kicks off the World Cup. The main tournament of the number one sport will last over a month and wrap up with the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 19. Key facts about the host countries and participants of the 2026 World Cup, the political context, changes in rules, and ticket prices - available at DW.

The German Minister of the Interior, Alexander Dobrindt, is looking to ramp up the number of deportations to Afghanistan. "From now on, there could be three charter flights a month. Additionally, individual deportations on regular flights can happen at any time," stated a ministry spokesperson in an interview with the dpa agency on Sunday, June 21. This was previously reported by the weekly Bild am Sonntag.

Las Palmas, the capital of Gran Canaria island
The Canaries attract up to 2.5 million visitors from Germany each year. 45,000 live here permanently and about the same number of islanders have German roots but are citizens of the Spanish kingdom. Folks from various regions in Germany have been relocating here for ages. Today, they make a significant contribution to the islands' economy, and German is the second most spoken language after Spanish. Many local Canarians learn this language from childhood.

Thousands of protesters rallied in the capital of Albania on Saturday to oppose the elite resort development backed by Jared Kushner's investment firm, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, reports Bloomberg.
Demonstrators flooded the main boulevard in Tirana and gathered outside the government building, chanting slogans against the authorities and blocking roads around the building.

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceled his planned trip to the US on June 21 and 22 after comments from the White House chief Donald Trump, suggesting that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni "begged" Trump for a photo at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France. Tajani announced the cancellation on his X social media page on Friday, June 19.

Schleswig-Holstein became the first federal state in Germany where a new form of burial - the so-called return to the earth (German: "Reerdigung") - was legally established. The corresponding decision was made on Thursday, June 18, by the state parliament in Kiel, incorporating the procedure into the burial law as a third option alongside traditional burials and cremation.

The Federal Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia announced on Thursday a decade-long partnership, committing over $5 billion to local infrastructure in the province, focusing on housing, healthcare, and transport projects.
Under the new Build Communities Strong Fund, Canada will invest nearly $1.6 billion over 10 years, with British Columbia matching that amount — bringing the total funding to up to $3.2 billion. These funds aim to cut down development fees for building multi-family housing by up to 50% in priority municipalities. Additionally, the federal government will allocate over $600 million over three years, which the province will double to $1.2 billion, for the modernization and expansion of healthcare facilities, including hospitals and emergency departments. Another $50 million over five years will support infrastructure projects in coastal communities, primarily in Terrace and Prince Rupert.

Coca leaf giveaway at the coca festival in Bolivia
The authorities of Bolivia and the USA, who have not had diplomatic relations for 18 years, have signed an agreement to jointly combat drug cartels and drug trafficking. This was reported on Tuesday, June 16, by the country's Foreign Ministry.
The full title of the document is the Agreement to Strengthen Bilateral Cooperation in the Fight Against the Illegal Drug Trade and Transnational Organized Crime, as reported by the Bolivian news agency ABI. The Bolivian Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo signed it on behalf of Bolivia.

Frankmedia - Henley & Partners just dropped a report on where the dollar millionaires are looking to migrate in 2026. According to the latest findings, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Hong Kong, and New Zealand are topping the charts as the most desirable destinations for relocation, while the UK, Germany, France, Norway, and South Korea are seeing their wealthy citizens start to pack their bags.

The Brazilian Supreme Court sentenced Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, to four years and two months in prison. The reason is that the 41-year-old politician called for the USA to impose sanctions on Brazil due to the court case against his father. The verdict was delivered on Tuesday, June 16.

American entrepreneur Elon Musk announced plans to take legal action against the German public broadcaster ZDF for covering his statements regarding the xenophobic protests in Northern Ireland. "Legal measures will be taken against ZDF for its monstrous lies," Musk wrote on his social media platform X on the evening of Monday, June 15.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) of Singapore shouldn't fear accusations of inaction from last year. As reported by the NEA, in 2025, they took action against violators of environmental legislation over 13,600 times.
In some of the city's problem areas, around 300 targeted checks were conducted - more than double compared to the previous year. Additionally, over 700 sanctions were imposed on violators through community service. Measures were taken about 350 times against individuals tossing trash from high-rise buildings.

The court in Oslo on Monday, June 16, sentenced 29-year-old Marius Borg Høiby, son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit, to four years in prison. Høiby was found guilty of two out of four charges of rape. In addition to the rapes, the conviction included episodes of repeated violence against one of his ex-girlfriends, threats, drug offenses, and traffic violations.

Syrian Telecom, the local telecom player, announced today that the international underwater cable connecting Syrian Tartus to Alexandria (Egypt) was damaged due to what the company described as an act of sabotage near the shores of Tartus.
This incident has disrupted internet services for a large number of users across Syria, according to statements made to the state news agency SANA.

Workers took down the name of U.S. President Donald Trump from the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. Relevant footage was published on Saturday, June 13, by The Washington Post and Reuters.
The name of the American leader has been removed from the institution's title on its website, as well as from email signatures, letterheads, press releases, and contracts. The name was restored to its original form in less than six months after the center was rebranded.

While the German authorities are trying to implement serious budget cuts, billions of euros are quietly sitting in banks and other financial institutions in so-called forgotten or inactive accounts - unclaimed and unnoticed. A report prepared for the government in 2021 noted that such accounts held up to 4.2 billion euros. Other estimates are even higher - up to 9 billion. The banks themselves do not disclose any data on this matter.

Every day, over a hundred trains roll over this dam connecting the shores of German Schleswig-Holstein and the popular resort island of Sylt in the North Sea - including those carrying cars - around half a million annually. Plus, various passenger trains, including high-speed ICE from Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, and other cities.

The ruling party in Kosovo, "Self-determination," led by the country’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti, has scored a win in the snap parliamentary elections. According to official data released after processing 99.4 percent of the ballots on the evening of Sunday, June 7, Kurti's party secured 43 percent of the votes.

The ability to take back your words isn't always about strength or weakness of character. For an investor, it can be a matter of capital preservation. This is supported by a study published in the journal Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. It showed that people with a flexible mindset are much quicker to let go of false beliefs. How can this research be useful in the financial markets?