Author: DW

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…

American scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology for their shared discovery of microRNA and the role it plays in post-transcriptional gene regulation. At the announcement by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden on Monday morning, Nobel Committee vice-chair Professor Olle Kämpe described the discovery of microRNA as “a tiny molecule that has opened a new field in gene regulation.” Though the pair worked in separate labs, their joint research focus led to them combining their resources to expand knowledge of microRNA and its role. “The seminal discovery…

The German economy has been stuck in a crisis for the past two years amid stagnant growth and growing structural challenges.   High energy prices, bureaucratic red tape, lagging investment in physical and digital infrastructure, as well as weakening demand in key foreign markets have hit German firms hard.  The economic slowdown in China, in particular, has had a major impact.   The Asian giant has long been a key market for German industrial companies, especially in the automotive, machinery and chemical sectors. And Chinese orders helped create well-paid jobs in Germany. But multiple economic challenges, including a property market crisis, trade tensions…