Author: DW

Three years ago, Chinese tech giant Xiaomi announced it was getting into the electric vehicle (EV) business, following in the footsteps of US rival Apple which spent the best part of a decade researching and developing its own EV. Fast forward to 2024 and while Apple has given up on its plans to build a self-driving car, Xiaomi is just days away from the launch of its SU7, a four-door sedan produced by the state-owned car manufacturer BAIC at a factory in Beijing. Xiaomi is not alone. Rival Chinese smartphone maker Huawei is also developing technologies for the auto industry, from smart…

Vietnam’s one-party, Communist system was once known for its predictability. But President Vo Van Thuong’s abrupt resignation on Wednesday — after just a year in the post, making him the shortest-serving president of the communist state — points to increasingly chaotic politics in Hanoi.  The Vietnamese Communist Party’s Central Committee met on Wednesday to accept Thuong’s resignation due to “violations” and “shortcomings,” the Communist Party has officially said. The resignation was also approved by the country’s parliament on Thursday. Many Vietnam-watchers had been predicting his downfall for weeks. Thuong is now the second president to resign in as many years amid a…

Delhi has been named 2023’s the most polluted capital city in the world, as India – and the whole of South Asia – continues to grapple with smog and toxic air.A report into the most polluted cities around the world by IQAir, a Swiss-based air-quality monitoring group, found nine of the top 10 were in India. Delhi was ranked as the third most polluted city overall and the most polluted capital, with an annual average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at 102.1 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m³).The World Health Organization (WHO) says countries should aim for an average PM2.5…

The European Space Agency (ESA) has gathered unprecedented insights into the history of our galaxy, the Milky Way. ESA’s space telescope Gaia revealed two ancient streams of stars that wove together and merged with the Milky Way early in its existence. Researchers were examining data collected by Gaia when they came upon the streams, which they named Shakti and Shiva — a divine couple from Hindu philosophy who Hindus believe united to create the universe. “Revealing more about our galaxy’s infancy is one of Gaia’s goals, and it’s certainly achieving it,” Timo Prusti, project scientist for Gaia at ESA, said. “We…

Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Los Angeles Dodgers has fired Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter after the Japanese baseball star’s representatives said he had been the victim of “a massive theft” reported to involve millions of dollars. “The team can confirm that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara has been terminated,” a Dodgers spokesperson wrote in an email to the AFP news agency on Thursday from Seoul, South Korea, where team are currently playing. Earlier, following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about Mizuhara’s alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker, law firm Berk Brettler LLP had said in a statement: “In the…

Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Germany’s lower house on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had made a serious error if he thought Germany would relent in supporting Ukraine.  Scholz’s speech to the Bundestag preceded an EU summit in Brussels to focus on support for Ukraine, the situation in Gaza, and EU enlargement.Scholz reaffirms Germany’s relentless support for UkraineTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What Scholz told the Bundestag on Ukraine Scholz said Germany was determined to help Ukraine defend itself from Putin’s ambitions. “If the Russian president believes that he just has…

Hong Kong has passed a draconian national security law at a fast-tracked speed, which experts warn is an effort to quickly extend Beijing’s grip over the remaining opposition to its erosion of civil liberties in the semi-autonomous territory.  On Tuesday, the city’s pro-Beijing legislature finished the second and third readings of the “Safeguarding National Security Bill,” also known as Article 23 of the Basic Law, before proceeding to the final vote. With unanimous support from all 89 lawmakers, the bill is now set to take effect on March 23 — nearly a month earlier than many observers had expected. The specific…

Susie Wolff has launched legal action against the FIA, motorsport’s governing body, after a controversial inquiry into her and her husband last year.The F1 Driver Academy managing director, married to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, found herself at the heart of an investigation into claims of an alleged conflict of interest. The probe came about after reports claimed other team principals were worried Mr Wolff was benefiting from information shared by his wife.Two days after the FIA announced its compliance department was “looking into” the allegations, the federation said it “can confirm that there is no ongoing investigation in terms…

For the past two years, Islamabad has persistently demanded that the Afghan Taliban rein in their Pakistani counterpart, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and use their influence to discourage them from attacking Pakistani troops and civilians. The Afghan Taliban’s response to this demand has been lukewarm, which, in turn, has emboldened the TTP. The TPP, which is outlawed by Pakistan, continues to launch attacks on Pakistani soil, particularly in areas close to the Afghan border in the northwest. On Saturday, a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden truck into a military checkpoint in North Waziristan district, killing seven soldiers. The attack was…

The European Commission on Wednesday recommended that new members be gradually integrated into the European Union in a “reversible” process. In the report on pro-enlargement reforms, it said that admitting new members is in the EU’s “strategic interest,” adding that new members would give the bloc “greater geopolitical weight and influence on the global stage.” It cited geopolitical challenges such as Russia’s war in Ukraine. What else did the report say about enlargement? The report suggested Brussels could allow candidate countries to integrate partially into the EU before being afforded full membership. The enlargement process would “[offer] to candidate countries…