Author: DW

Italian best-selling author, journalist and outspoken government critic Roberto Saviano is attending this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair —  but only because he received a special invitation from the German organizers following a controversy in his home country. Saviano has built his reputation on exposing and criticizing the Mafia in books such as  “Gomorrah”(2006), as well as his latest novel, “Falcone” — centered on the life and death of Italy’s most famous anti-Mafia crusader, judge Giovanni Falcone. In recent years, however, Saviano has also drawn media attention for his harsh criticism of Italy’s far-right government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The author was forced to pay…

Ukraine has become the most mine-contaminated country since World War II, casting a shadow over global food security, according to a study by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in London conducted jointly with Ukraine’s economic ministry.  A Ukrainian farmer recently said in an interview for Radio Donbas Realii — a regional news outlet of Radio Free Europe’s Ukrainian Service — that he had  to “pull the mines out with my bare hands,” and that he “risked his life to clear mines” from his fields after Russian troops had occupied the area. Farmers are unable to use significant portions of land, reducing the country’s agricultural output…

Scientists talk about a supermoon when the moon is closest to the Earth on its orbit and appears as a full moon.   The moon looks much bigger and brighter — perhaps because it appears closer to features on the horizon like mountains or trees. Full moons happen when the side of the moon that faces Earth is fully lit by the sun. And a supermoon is first-and-foremost a full moon. So, some people refer to full supermoons. The opposite of a supermoon occurs when a full moon is at its farthest point from Earth. Then it’s called a micromoon.…

It is all change for the Germany women’s national football team and for forward Laura Freigang, it is time to fully emerge from the shadows. New coach Christian Wück has picked a 23-player squad for friendlies at Wembley against England on October 25 and in Duisburg against Australia three days later, when Eintracht Frankfurt star Freigang has the chance to audition to replace retiring striker and team icon Alexandra Popp.  “I’m simply enjoying my football at the moment,” Freigang, 26, told Kicker as she looked ahead to the international dates. The 33-year-old Popp will additionally be in the squad at the second game to say goodbye, with…

In Avignon, a city in southern France, banners supporting Gisele Pelicot hang along the streets. Women have held several demonstrations nationwide to show solidarity with her. The strength and demeanor Pelicot has shown during her rape trial have made her a national symbol of courage and grace. Dozens of women applaud every day as she makes her way to the courthouse in southern Avignon. Pelicot’s husband, Dominique, is currently on trial with 50 other men for raping her while she was unconscious. The husband has admitted to drugging her, raping her, allowing more than 80 men to rape her while she…

Voters in the swing state of Georgia turned out in record numbers on Tuesday as early voting for the November 5 presidential election began, as per state officials. At least 252,000 voters had cast their ballots at the early voting sites as of 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (2000 GMT). That was nearly double the 136,000 opening-day participants in early in-person voting for the 2020 election, said Gabriel Sterling, Georgia’s No. 2 election official. Sterling took to social media and exclaimed: “Spectacular turnout.”  While some voting sites reported an hour-long wait in Atlanta’s core counties, others reported little or no wait…

The deputy leader of Hezbollah has warned Israel it will continue to suffer from attacks unless it agrees to a ceasefire.Naim Qassem said the group had adopted a new strategy in the past week centred around making Israel feel “pain” – and said it would continue if a deal to pause fighting in Lebanon and Gaza could not be reached. While he did not provide details, it comes after a Hezbollah drone strike killed four Israeli soldiers at a military base in the town of Binyamina on Sunday.Qassem, who is also the group’s acting leader following Israel’s assassination of Hassan…

Juno, the protagonist in Martina Hefter’s “Hey guten morgen, wie geht es dir?” (Hey, Good Morning, How Are You?) is a performance artist in her mid-50s living in Leipzig, Germany, who cares for her husband, who has multiple sclerosis. On sleepless nights, she chats with a Nigerian love scammer, Benu, who wants to fleece her. Eventually, the question arises as to who is exploiting whom — and what happens when, contrary to expectations, lines blur between digital and real-life relationships. In awarding the 2024 German Book Prize to Hefter, the jury said: “The novel combines grueling everyday life with mythological figures and cosmic dimensions…

More than 160,000 viruses previously unknown to scientists have been identified using a specialized artificial intelligence  (AI) program. The largest study of its kindhas highlighted the massive scale of the virosphere — the viruses that inhabit the many environments on Earth.  The researchers used an AI program called LucaProt, which identified previously unrecognized RNA viruses stored in databases of genetic material sourced from ecosystems around the world. RNA viruses — including coronaviruses — have genetic material consisting of a single ribonucleic acid (RNA) strand, as opposed to double-stranded DNA in DNA viruses, like Herpes viruses. The study shows how “transformational” AI has become for scientists “looking to identify protein…

While Thomas Müller, Ilkay Gündogan and Manuel Neuer (Toni Kroos was also invited but unable to attend) waved goodybe after an official farewell, Angelo Stiller (23) and Aleksandar Pavlovic (20) started in midfield for Germany. The changing of the guard has been a long time coming, but in Munich the page was finally turned. The World Cup is now an ambition of the future rather than the past success of legendary figures. The 1-0 win against the Netherlands in Munich means Germany will play in the Nations League quarterfinals for the first time. Historic feels like a big word for a…