Author: DW

Protests against mass tourism are starting up again just in time for the summer vacation season. They follow in the footsteps of large-scale anti-tourism demonstrations in vacation hotspots in Italy, Portugal and especially Spain in recent years. The coalition of activists and campaigners that make up Sur de Europa contra la Turistización (Southern Europe against Touristification) have once again called for large-scale demonstrations on June 15 in Venice, Milan, Lisbon, San Sebastián, Valencia, Barcelona and the Balearic Islands, among other places. Members of the group recently met for a conference in Barcelona to discuss overtourism, which according to the UN World Tourism Organization is…

Anyone can sit down with an artificial intelligence (AI) program, such as ChatGPT, to write a poem, a children’s story, or a screenplay. It’s uncanny: the results can seem quite “human” at first glance. But don’t expect anything with much depth or sensory “richness”, as researchers explain in a new study. They found that the Large Language Modes (LLMs) that currently power Generative AI tools are unable to represent the concept of a flower in the same way that humans do.  In fact, the researchers suggest that LLMs aren’t very good at representing any ‘thing’ that has a sensory or motor…

Inter Milan midfielder Linda Magull told the latest edition of the “Wie geht’s?” (How are you?) podcast that she now feels much better and is happy, a year after she reached rock bottom in a severe bout of depression. Speaking publicly about the matter for the first time, she told host Robin Gosens that both sporting and personal reasons were behind her descent into depression, which came to a head last summer. “I wouldn’t have had a problem with dying,” Magull said of the period when she reached rock bottom. In sporting terms, Magull had gone from the pinnacle of…

Despite pleas for reconciliation and a break from the cycle of political revenge before and since South Korea’s recent presidential elections, it appears newly elected President Lee Jae-myung is showing no mercy to his predecessor, the deposed Yoon Suk Yeol, and has approved new investigations into the former president and his wife. Each of the last six South Korean leaders going back to Roh Moo-hyun, who was elected in 2003, has faced criminal investigations by subsequent administrations for their actions in office or for other alleged wrongdoings, usually with disastrous consequences. Roh died by suicide after being accused of bribery while…

South Korea’s military shut down loudspeaker blasting propaganda against North Korea along the border on Wednesday, marking newly elected President Lee Jae-myung’s first major step to reduce cross-border tensions. On Thursday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, in return, the North appears to have stopped its loudspeakers near the border targeting the South. Although, it remains unclear if Pyongyang has officially ended its campaign. South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung had made the discontinuation of the loudspeakers a campaign promise, so as “to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.” Kang Yu-jung, Lee’s spokesperson, described the decision…

Europe’s electric vehicle (EV) market is thriving in 2025, marking a robust recovery. From January to April, over 2.2 million electrified vehicles were registered across the European Union, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. This figure, encompassing battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), reflects a 20% surge compared to the same period in 2024. BEV registrations alone soared by 26%, signaling strong momentum in the shift to zero-emission driving. The United Kingdom mirrored this trend, with BEV, HEV and PHEV registrations climbing 22.8% to 486,561 units from January to April. Pure electric…

Nails. Thousands of completely normal nails, each one driven into a wooden board covered with linen. Some straight, some slanted, but none hammered in all the way. Sewing machines, chairs, record players and grand pianos have also borne the brunt of those little shafts of steel. Artist Günther Uecker, who has died on June 10 at the age of 95, became famous in Germany and beyond through his nail reliefs. Hardly any other artist has equally dedicated his work to the craft of simple physical labor. Even during the last years of his life, he was still hammering nails into backdrops…

A court in Malta on Tuesday sentenced two men to life imprisonment for aiding and abetting the 2017 murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. According to investigators, the two men supplied the car bomb used in the fatal car bombing, which shocked the nation and the international community. What do we know about Caruana Galizia’s murder? The Valletta court handed down the sentences on Tuesday, days after a jury found the men guilty. The two defendants were convicted on Friday after jurors reached an 8-1 verdict, concluding that they had supplied explosive materials in exchange for money. The trial had…

Deafening cheers and joyful screams of thousands of fans greeted K-pop group BTS members Jimin and Jung Kook who were discharged from South Korea’s military on Wednesday. This is another step toward the group’s long-awaited reunion. “Thank you so much for waiting for us,” Jung Kook told fans, promising an “even better version” of BTS ahead. The pair are the latest members of the seven-man group to complete the country’s mandatory military service. Jin, J-Hope finished their service in 2023, and RM and V returned to civilian life just a day before Jimin and Jung Kook.  The last member SUGA,…

It’s like navigating a labyrinth — a journey hundreds of young entrepreneurs across Europe embark on each year in search of opportunity, innovation, funding, and success. They’re also looking for the country and city that offers the ideal conditions to launch a business. For an increasing number, that journey leads to Isar Valley, named after the river that runs through Munich, and which provided the informal nickname for the Bavarian capital’s technology and artificial intelligence (AI) scene, inspired by the Silicon Valley technology hub in California.Munich’s Technical University and its entrepreneurship center are essential for startup foundersImage: UnternehmerTUM Munich ranks 17th globally…