Author: DW

A new mock-up of the moon’s surface has opened near the western German city of Cologne. A decade in the making, the LUNA Analog Facility is jointly built by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). “The LUNA facility symbolizes the conditions on the lunar surface and prepares astronauts for the moon,” Josef Aschbacher, ESA director general, said at a press briefing event. That includes non-European astronauts, including those from the American space agency NASA. The LUNA facility is a “regolith testbed” made from synthetic materials designed to simulate the moon’s surface. LUNA was first conceptualized in 2013, but the…

What is does the patellar tendon do? The patellar tendon connects the kneecap (patella) to the shin bone (tibia). Strictly speaking, the patellar tendon is not actually a tendon, but a ligament – and as such is sometimes called the patellar ligament. Ligaments connect bones to bones; tendons connect bones to muscles. The patellar tendon transmits the force of the thigh muscle to the lower leg and is thus responsible for extension and flexion in the knee joint. What happens when the patellar tendon is torn? This is much rarer than a torn cruciate ligament, a rupture of the hamstring…

A deadly feud between Shiites and Sunni Muslim tribes in northwestern Pakistan has killed more than 20 people, officials said Wednesday. The ongoing sectarian clashes, which stem from a land dispute, erupted five days ago in the Kurram district on the border with Afghanistan. Authorities said at least 75 people had been injured. “Dozens of homes have been damaged … all efforts by the government and other tribes to end the fighting have failed,” a senior administrative official stationed in Kurram, told the AFP news agency.Pakistan-Afghanistan border tensions uproot familyTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a…

The European Union’s foreign affairs chief was visibly frustrated earlier this week when he called for de-escalation in Lebanon and respect for a longstanding UN resolution designed to end Israel-Hezbollah hostilities. “[It] was adopted in 2006. My God, almost 20 years ago! Almost 20 years ago. I’m still asking for the implementation,” Josep Borrell told journalists. “We are almost in a full-fledged war. We are seeing more military strikes, more damage, more collateral damage, more victims,” he said. “Civilians in Lebanon are paying an intolerable, unacceptable price.” Borrell was speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting…

Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning attacks on Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, the Ukrainian president referred back to Russia’s 2022 attack on the nuclear facility in the city of Zaporizhzhia, which Moscow’s forces now control. Describing initial reports of Russia’s attack on that plant as “one of the most horrifying moments of the war”, he warned the world must pressure Moscow to prevent “nuclear disaster”.”Recently, I received yet another alarming report from our intelligence – now Putin does seem to be planning attacks on our nuclear power plants,” he…

Oleg Stavitsky doesn’t mince his words when asked where he thinks Europe’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector is headed. “Ultimately, the EU will fall behind even more,” the CEO of AI-powered music app Endel tells DW. “Regulations will stifle local development and ‘Big Tech’ will eventually find its way to the EU. Regulations and bureaucracy are strangling innovation in the EU. It’s that simple.” For now, regulation appears to be keeping some parts of US “Big Tech” out. Recent moves by tech giants such as Apple and Meta to withhold some of their most advanced AI models from the European market have raised questions…

Although there are documents mentioning that a book fair was held in Frankfurt as early as 1462, the modern version of the Frankfurt Book Fair took place for the first time in 1949. Throughout its 75-year history, one of the event’s greatest achievements has been building bridges through “book diplomacy.” However, these efforts have also sparked controversy at times. ‘The illusion of a unified world’ Amid the Cold War, different Eastern Bloc countries — the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia — participated in the Frankfurt Book Fair for the first time in 1955. That same year, East Germany also offered…

The European Organization for Nuclear Research — better known as CERN — is a place of scientific breakthroughs. Since 1954, thousands of the world’s best scientists and emerging minds have converged on Switzerland to explore how the universe works. On September 29, CERN will celebrate its 70th anniversary. CERN has been the seat of some of the most important discoveries in science — from the confirmation of the elusive Higgs boson in 2012, to more practical innovations like the invention of the World Wide Web. The Large Hadron Collider CERN is perhaps best known for its extensive underground particle accelerator…

North Korea’s young women have won their third U20 World Cup, so why is the isolated state so good at this level of the game?

Skip next section Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says Iran, N. Korea ‘accomplices’09/24/2024September 24, 2024Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says Iran, N. Korea ‘accomplices’Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told the UN Security Council that Iran and North Korea are “accomplices” in Russia’s war. Both countries have been widely accused by Western intelligence of providing weapons to Russia, with Iran recently said to have sent short-range missiles. “Russia has no legitimate reason — none at all — for making Iran and North Korea de facto accomplices in its criminal war in Europe, with their weapons killing us, killing Ukrainians,” Zelensky said. Addressing the special UN Security Council session attended…