Author: DW

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it detected 153 Chinese military aircraft around the self-ruled island as China held a day of large-scale military drills.  The aircraft were spotted in the 25 hours to 6 a.m. local time on Tuesday (2200 UTC), the ministry said, adding that the total was the highest recorded in a single day.  Of the aircraft spotted, Taipei said 111 crossed the median line of the sensitive Taiwan Strait that separates China and Taiwan. The ministry also reported 14 Chinese navy ships in proximity to the island in the same period. Meanwhile, Japan’s government said on…

The 2024 Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded on Monday to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson for their studies into why some countries succeed and others fail. The winners were announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences at a news conference in Stockholm, marking the end of the 2024 Nobel season after prizes for medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace were awarded last week. The economics award is worth 11 million Swedish kronor (roughly $1 million; €0.92 million) — the same as the other Nobel categories. Who are this year’s winners? Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson are highly influential economists and political scientists, particularly known for their collaborations…

A record 125 Chinese aircraft have been involved in military exercises around Taiwan, according to the island’s defence ministry.China said the exercise – Joint Sword 2024-B – was in response to Taiwan’s president reiterating its sovereignty on national day last week. “This is a resolute punishment for Lai Ching-te’s continuous fabrication of ‘Taiwan independence’ nonsense,” said China’s Taiwan affairs office.Taiwan’s defence ministry said 90 aircraft had entered its air defence identification zone, including planes, helicopters and drones, and that the overall figure of 125 was a single-day record.Seventeen warships and China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier were also said to have been…

In collaboration with the Technical University of Dresden, a robot has been trained to beat time and indicate dynamics. Playback mode allows the robot’s movements to be sent directly to the machine’s three arms. The concert with three world premieres will take place at the Festspielhaus Hellerau – European Center for the Arts near Dresden. It will be live streamed on DW’s Classical Music YouTube channel on October 13 at 3 p.m. CEST (Central European Summer Time). The technological touch What will be the reaction of an orchestra that is so accustomed to reading the subtlest movements and gestures of…

Hot showers are great but you’re not the only organism bathing in the warming wash of water — new research from the US has found diverse communities of viruses are dwelling on your showerhead too. Apparently, that’s good news. “The number of viruses that we found is absolutely wild,” said Northwestern University’s Erica Hartmann, a microbiologist who led the study. “We found many viruses that we know very little about and many others that we have never seen before. It’s amazing how much untapped biodiversity is all around us. And you don’t even have to go far to find it;…

John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for their research into enabling machine learning with artificial neural networks.  In awarding the prize, the Nobel Committee for Physics observed that humans possessed a unique learning ability that surpasses other species on the planet.  “We can recognize images and speech, and associate them with memories and past experiences — billions of neurons wired together give us unique cognitive abilities,” said Ellen Moons, chair of the physics committee. “Artificial neural networks are inspired by this.” From this inspiration, both Hopfield and Hinton pioneered the earliest developments of artificial neural networks, co-opting…

The excitement and emotions were palpable after Kenya qualified for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup for the first time. It was more than just a milestone in sports; it was a beacon of hope for young girls across the nation.  The achievement marked a significant turning point in Kenyan football. As the first qualification for a World Cup for any age group or gender, it offered a glimpse into a brighter future for women’s sports across the country.  “It was a life-changing moment,” head coach Mildred Cheche told DW. “For most of us, we come from backgrounds with sad stories, and football for…

The European Union said Tuesday it will launch a challenge at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against China’s decision to put anti-dumping measures on brandy imported from the bloc. “The European Commission will challenge, at the WTO, the announced imposition of provisional anti-dumping measures by China on imports of brandy from the EU,” the European Commission’s trade spokesperson Olof Gill said in a statement. “We believe that these measures are unfounded, and we are determined to defend EU industry against the abuse of trade defense instruments,” Gill added. The Chinese Commerce Ministry released a list showing the rates each firm would expect to pay,…

The journey is long and difficult and, according to those who have made it, increasingly expensive. It took Syrian man Khaled Massoud and his family seven days and $1,300 to find some measure of safety in northern Syria as they fled the Israeli bombing campaign in Lebanon. His family of six, plus his daughter’s family, are now in a refugee camp near Maarat Misrin, north of Idlib, in an area controlled by anti-government opposition forces. Massoud is one of many. This week, the head of the United Nations refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, said at least 220,000 people had crossed from…

The annual Oktoberfest in Munich drew to a close on Sunday with slightly more clement weather, after a rainy Saturday in the Bavarian capital.  Organizers said roughly 6.7 million people had attended in all, consuming a total of roughly 7 million of the trademark 1-liter mugs of beer known as a Maß.  The figure was a slight reduction from 2023’s attendance of 7.2 million.  The beer flowed liberally as usual, albeit to a slightly lesser extent than last yearImage: DW “This year’s Oktoberfest was particularly relaxed,” Clemens Baumgärtner, Munich city official responsible for the Oktoberfest, said in summation. “Despite the high numbers…