Author: DW

Ludwig van Beethoven had his hands full before the premiere of his Ninth Symphony on May 7, 1824. The work was eagerly awaited in Vienna. Copyists were working flat out to reproduce the handwritten score for the performance. Beethoven not only supervised their work, but also took care of finding musicians, singers, and a suitable venue. “The public often sees Beethoven as this lone genius who creates magnificent works all by himself, when in fact he worked with a large team,” says Beate Angelika Kraus, musicologist at the Beethoven Archive, the research department of the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, western Germany.…

When Chinese President Xi Jinping last visited the European Union in 2019, the world was a simpler place. No one had heard of COVID-19, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was far off and Brussels and Beijing were eyeing a trade and investment deal. Relations are far frostier now: the deal is on ice after an exchange of sanctions, and an increasingly hawkish EU has brewed a list of new laws to decrease dependence on China. Xi begins his trip in France on Sunday, before heading to Serbia and Hungary. And while he may feel the heat from the EU’s toughened stance in…

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that Europe remains a foreign policy priority for Beijing. He made the comments during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Paris. In recent years, trade tensions have intensified between China and the EU and the bloc has increasingly moved to reduce its dependence on the world’s second-largest economy. Xi is scheduled to visit Hungary and Serbia after his trip to France. Xi calls for continued partnership with EU The Chinese leader said that Brussels and Beijing should stay committed to partnership. He said…

Joe Biden’s dog – which has bitten US Secret Service staff several times – should be put down, a political opponent, who wrote about shooting her own dog, has suggested.Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor, who is being vetted as a candidate for Donald Trump’s vice president in November’s election, admitted shooting and killing Cricket, a 14-month-old wirehaired pointer, more than 20 years ago. In her memoir, due to be published this week, the Republican reportedly details how she killed the “extremely dangerous” puppy after the animal attacked and killed a neighbouring family’s chickens. Image: Kristi Noem has defended her…

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned of the consequences of the climate crisis during a Monday visit to Fiji. Fiji officials have long pointed to the risk that extreme weather events and rising sea levels could pose to the Pacific island state. What did Baerbock say during her visit to Fiji? “The climate crisis is literally washing the ground out from under people’s feet here,” Baerbock said. “The climate crisis is the greatest threat for the security of the people in Pacific island states,” she added.  She pointed to the fact that Fiji and other Pacific states have to deal with…

President Xi Jinping has arrived in France for his big trip to Europe – it’s been five years since his last visit and EU-Chinese relations have hit a rocky road. There’s also been the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and now a global trade battle is brewing. For President Xi, this European tour is as much about trying to get the relationship on an even keel as projecting Chinese power to the world.France is first on the red carpet itinerary.Xi Jinping is meeting President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Image: A guard of honour was waiting…

It is a paradox that humanity at its very worst so often also brings out its very best too.This is a story about the kindness of strangers. It’s a story about hope over hopelessness. It’s about the war in Gaza but also about the rarest of diseases.It is about two families in worlds far apart. It is a story about two little girls, Julia and Annabel.I don’t yet know how it will end. But this is how it started.It was two weeks ago when my phone pinged: a message on Instagram from a friend-of-a-friend. Her name is Nina Frost.Nina and…

Mass flooding in Brazil has killed 75 people with more than 100 people still missing, local authorities said on Sunday.More than 80,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since downpours began across Rio Grande do Sul in the south of the country on Monday. Some 15,000 people have sought refuge in schools, gyms, and other temporary shelters and 800,000 are believed to be without water.The flooding has caused landslides, collapsed bridges, and seen roads transformed into rivers throughout the state. Image: Porto Alegre submerged in water. Pic: Reuters On Saturday in the town of Canoas, people were seen…

The government at one point considered using Iraq to process asylum seekers – like the Rwanda scheme – according to documents seen by Sky News.This could have seen people sent from the UK to a country the government advises against all travel to. The two countries already have a returns agreement – but only for people that are from Iraq.Politics live: Follow the latest updates hereAccording to leaked correspondence between high-ranking officials, the Iraqi returns commitments were made with a “request for discretion” and no publicity. The country was willing to move forward but did not want a formal or…

The families of three tourists who went missing in Mexico’s Baja California state last month have identified their bodies, the state prosecutor’s office said Sunday. Australian brothers Callum (33) and Jake Robinson (30) and their American friend Jack Carter (30) had been on surfing trip along a stretch of coast south of the city of Ensenada, when they went missing on April 27. Mexican authorities assisted by the the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found their bodies in a well in the town of Santo Tomas on Friday. Their parents traveled to Mexico to officially confirm the remains were those of their sons. Grisly details of the killings…