kitty wants out me house and we open the door. of course they manipulate us cat owners are probably the most easily manipulated creatures on earth. maybe you just need a feline human dictionary to understand us a bit better after all we only know for humans that's why i'm going to see marina today she's a researcher who could interpret that. brought a couple of samples on video. because she recognizes a lot in our voices things like volume and pitch this is a simple message arrived it was recorded during feeding then we do a lot of math calculation number of things what are the basic frequencies and here we can see the areas in purple that is the area of maximum energy what we call peak frequency. those are the parameters we used to describe the vocalizations. that

should be easy enough when i sit in front of my. eyes cuts into the sand i can actually pass and i would probably say that's a feed me meow mindfuck but you have to remember there's a context to the me out when you can't sit in front of its bow meowing then you'll probably go to a cast and see the bowlers. and then i look cool you'll interpret that behavior and no right it wants to be fed the taste but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a typical fede mean yeah. that's true you often get it wrong sometimes we just want attention that's my body. and. i'm not manservant alexis. covert as a manipulative. just watch how he keeps them in line.

you know every time we go out he makes exactly the same noise when he also pathetically i can't help it cut back upstairs with this high pitched. and when he's hungry then it's just a meal now. gotta hand it to him is a must hard core meows. i was able to extract some relatively clear vocalizations. if you want to focalize ations and here's where he wants to be left out this is sort of general emotional rule you could say went after the more negative the emotion the greater the education the longer the vocalization. and the pitch usually rises as well. as we do that too when we worked up our voice got

tired and sometimes it's really hard to control that. we found the same parameters with can when cats get more worked out of their voice cracks a bit we humans perceive higher pitched vocalizations as more urgent. friends home and. hopes for your human babies too when they get that high pitched cry you go running. when i create my own special way she doesn't always get the message. well i come home and he runs to greet me walk with i pick a matter of get a little kiss when i put him down he gets annoyed. that could mean not now or could mean pick me up i mean let's get back to this later it depends.

she needs an interpreter. but he gets it. you can tell from my. look she's enjoying it too. this is not her ng has a completely different acoustic structure it's nothing like meowing for example you mainly hear it when you stroking your cats or when your cat rubs against your leg. but it can be employed in other contexts like begging for food or hide photos every cat is different they all have their own personality like magic also a bit like humans in that respect they have different behavioral profiles and different voices. i was about to give gabby a feline dictionary but it seems you need a new one for every single cat. even if every

cat is an individual they all have one thing in common people just can't seem to get enough of them either at home or online on facebook we asked you to share your experiences with your pets and not surprisingly got lots of responses. chris nate told us about his furry friend ronnie who seems to be in charge. according to. cats are totally convinced that they're the most heroes some of the ones that really caught our eye. this seems to have got the knack of it. the first time i heard a little bit on the tight side. maybe of the day. time to leave behind a cat filled homes to head out into the great beyond this week's viewer question comes from zambia.

why is it dark in outer space. there are more than one hundred billion stars in our milky way and it's just one of the countless galaxies and the universe sensitive instruments like the hubble space telescope have revealed that there are ten times more galaxies out there than we thought just a few decades ago and these gigantic swarms of stars are distributed quite uniformly throughout space so we should see light shining at us from every direction right. just like we see trees in every direction when standing in the midst of a huge forest but the night sky is mostly dark this apparent contradiction was first described by astronomer hines they should hand around two hundred years ago that's why it's called paradox. today we believe the

universe formed fourteen billion years ago in what's called the big bang since then says the theory the universe has been expanding at an ever increasing rate. here on earth we can see just one small sliver of the universe many stars are so far away that their light hasn't arrived here yet after all it takes two and a half million years for light to make the journey from our nearest collector neighbor andromeda to the earth. and because the universe is expanding radiation from distant galaxies is also stretched into wavelengths that are no longer visible to the human eye but they are visible to the hubble telescope it can also observe radiation and those parts of the spectrum and even reveal stars hidden behind clouds of cosmic dust that block radiation in the visible spectrum the light. and that's why at least to our

eyes the night sky is dark. if outlook is red white but only if it. to you have a science question that you've always wanted oncet we're happy to help out and send it to us as a video text over a smell if we answer it on the show we'll send you a little surprise as a thank you cannot just ask. you'll find us online and it d.w. dot com slash science and of course on twitter and facebook so get in touch. since the very first automobile hit the road in eight hundred eighty five cars have changed the laws. countless millions of them have rolled off the tree feel the most important things speed and looks environmental friendliness didn't play a big role until now economists could help us achieve the dream of

a cleaner greener future but the batteries in them rely on lithium in germany plans to mine the meshal are ramping up. the alps can pick a mountains are situated on the border between germany and the czech republic here near the town is invite is a treasure worth an estimated one hundred fourteen billion euro europe's largest lithium deposit a group of researchers from the fightback university of mining are descending eighty metres beneath the surface to examine the reserves the valuable natural resource is hidden in this glittering rock called lithium mica or is involved i. don't look right here in this area as nearly one hundred percent is involved so it's a very lithium rich zone. for nearly five hundred years this was an active mine that yielded mainly ten people knew there was let in here but they had no real use for

it the high back researchers have assessed the size of the deposit. in the. foreign positing a compass has some ninety thousand tonnes of lithium out of but that's just a third of the overall deposit there's twice that over on the chucks side so if we add it all up incorporating some of the older calculations we arrive at an estimate of at least two hundred fifty thousand tonnes of metallic lithium compared to other deposits around the world for example those in australia this is certainly an important deposit and of course. for years the lithium in this mine remained virtually untouched there was no way to extract it on a commercial scale now that's changed the freiburg researchers have developed a new process to extract lithium carbonate friends in. lithium it seems to make batteries for cell phone cameras and laptops. it's also a key material in the production of storage shelves for solar and wind energy. and

as electronic ability takes off demand will continue to soar so this raw material that play such a critical role in the transition to cleaner energy. it's green creasing lee valuable. given. the price of lithium has nearly doubled over the last year and a half and it's been turned over lithium carbonate in the form in which are traded now costs around thirteen thousand dollars. on the chinese spot market itself for around twenty two or twenty three thousand dollars a tonne along. the process used to extract the lithium from or it's relatively simple there or is first crushed and is involved it is removed using magnets it's then heated to one thousand degrees celsius which causes the chemical bonds in the material to break down making the various elements in a single day easier to separate. the fluoride aluminum and irene which

used to get in the way of lithium extraction can also be refined and used. you can already say that the process is very environmentally friendly you could even call it a form of green mining because it doesn't produce any waste. the crucial step is just carbon dioxide and water as a leeching medium. with the help of electric dialysis pressure and heat the carbon dioxide escapes leaving the lithium carbonate behind once that's filtered and dried it can be sold commercially. because it's cream i'm fucked up it's very simple that's important otherwise it might not be economically viable the amount of lithium in sin well diet isn't very high the extraction process has to be easy and inexpensive otherwise it wouldn't be worth it talks that he takes. what's more the same process can be used to extract lithium from old battery.

until now became i and batteries collected for recycling have been fed into a high temperature furnace that yields an alley from which cobalt nickel and copper can be recovered. to recycle the lithium it would need to be extracted from the flat before it's melted. the lithium is contained in what's called the black mass substance layered on the cathode by adding carbon dioxide and water and heating the mass to at least fifty degrees celsius the other components of the black mass are melted out leaving behind a white deposit that the i'm carbonate. the opposite also we are able to extract nearly all the lithium from first generation batteries. it's a bit more difficult with the more modern batteries but we've been able to extract seventy five or eighty percent of it already with no real problem song but i'm all

for life. in the future recycling all the valuable raw materials and lithium ion batteries will become ever more important the freiburg process looks very promising . the lithium that lies slumbering and outs kubica mountains has now become a valuable resource. and the old mine here may soon be cropped back to life. that wraps it up for this week but join us again next time when we'll look at how researchers are trying to harness out official intelligence to decode hieroglyphs faster than ever before. graphics in the video game assassin's creed origins all based on emotion egyptian sources. but machine learning played a key role during design. in the project experts from the field of egyptology

worked closely with game developers the past meets the future next time until march today see you then. move. on.

from. fostering integration and keeping residents safe how can. cities make the case that. the belgian city of michelin understood consing germany have achieved the extraordinary. residents feel included in the local community and. cultural and social integration with. fifteen minutes. of. the finest pencil's life in the digital shift as the lowdown on the web showing new developments and providing useful information the wittiest finds and interviews with the makers and users. in forty five

minutes. i'm not laughing at them well i guess sometimes i am but i stand up and whip it up and think deep into the general culture of looking at the stereotypes the question but if you think the future of the country guy now i'm. going to say we've taken his grandmother they are the new boss it's all about who they know i'm right joe join me to meet the gentleman from d.w. post. we make up oh but we want tons of off of that and head to five we are the civil service or. the want to shape the continent's future

to. be part of enjoy numbered in youngsters because they share their stories their dreams and their challenges. the seventy seven percent. platform for africa during. which a video coming. during link to new school africa. the moral story link to exceptional stories and discussions on the news as easy as i want with safety deputed comes here to join us on facebook at g.w. for god. i was issued when i arrived here i slept with six people in a room and. it was hard as. i even got white hair and. this keeps me. going to interact it's the same if you want to know their story the

lights are fighting and reliable information for migrants. coming and. people around the world have been celebrating the new year sydney welcome twenty nineteen in spectacular style and portland revelers rang in the new year at the brandenburg gate. in london large crowds gathered at the james to watch europe's biggest fireworks display. bangladesh's prime minister shaker siena has rejected calls for a new election after she secured a record fourth term in office the concerns are mounting over voter intimidation in the poll. a seen as a why me league party won nearly all the seats in parliament. north korean

leader kim jong un says his country could take a different path if washington continues to demand you don't lateral action from pyongyang and pushes ahead with sanctions kim said he's ready to continue peace talks with donald trump and called on south korea to completely stop joint military drills with the u.s. . u.s. senator elizabeth warren has taken a key step. toward challenging president donald trump in two thousand and twenty the democrat has formed an exploratory committee which will allow her to raise money for her campaign her agenda includes giving workers more rights and stepping up consumer protections. and unsettling year comes to an end for the global economy the financial markets managed to look up on the last day of trading u.s. president donald trump says he's made big progress in great talks with china.

is the moneybags turns off the spigot so will the eurozone get along without the massive stimulus program that's kept afloat since twenty fifteen. and a city tackles conflicting priorities cyclists at the lighted but retailers in madrid are up in arms about fewer cars on the main drag. amid physical and let's do business share prices are higher around the world on the last day of the year as the u.s. president and self-proclaimed deal maker reckoned a deal was in the making to end his trade war with china trumpet going after the country earlier this year for its trade imbalance with the united states he started to dispute that led to charge some cars electronics agricultural products and other goods worth billions of dollars over the weekend trump wrote on twitter that he has been talking to china's xi jinping about a deal that would be very comprehensive adding big progress being made.

a chinese foreign ministry spokesman says beijing stands ready to work with washington well let's go over two years quote who's standing by at the new york stock exchange for us to get some analysis on this story yes what's the likelihood of this tweet of trumps leading to a breakthrough. well i mean the trade dispute would test been one of plenty concerned that triggered the reason to sell off here on wall street and investors took good to buy into the stock market at this point but actually opinions differ if progress is really as big as the u.s. president claims one thing is sure the deadline is approaching fast the deal should be reached by march first and there are quite a few skeptics year on wall street who are not really certain if it's going to be easy to reach a deal by that was no surprise there are

a few skeptics still twenty eight was the worst year of wall street since two thousand and eight so much for that bump from trump the everyone was expecting although we did experience earlier in the year for a short period of time at least. now certainly are some of the policies of the current administration actually might backfire if we think about the tax cuts for example which are increasing the debt load of the united states quite a bit but also the whole trade dispute of course is quite some uncertainty but on the other side we also shouldn't forget so on the year blue chips are down by about six percent so that it's not a disaster if we consider how long we saw stocks rising and still since election day two years ago blue chips are up by around five thousand points so clearly the big hype that we saw especially in twenty seven is not here

anymore briefly will twenty nineteen be more of the same or is this going to be the year of the crash. what traders do expect that the volatility might stay with us meaning that those big jumps and also drops that we've seen recently they could continue one of the reason being that the market has changed self has changed quite a bit in the past couple of years you have algorithms so meeting computers dominating trading and it can escalate and the ups and downs i'm on the market if overall wall street will do better really depends on what's going to happen with the trade dispute want to step in in was the global economy and also what's happening to corporate profits so a lot of unknowns also for the new year and many on wall street for us. have been released parliament has approved its revised budget for next year after

the european union rejected its original spending plan the move means rome will avoid fines brussels threaten to impose as a punishment for breaking the blocks fiscal rules italy's populist government had promised to increase spending on the poor and to lower the retirement age the e.u. said the original budget would have raised the country's public debt beyond acceptable levels. the eurozone could see its first interest rate hike in the new year the first since two thousand and eleven that is but it probably won't happen until much later in the meantime the european central bank is weaning the block off stimulus winding down its most controversial measure its massive bond buying scheme proponents said it helps stabilize financial markets critics called it market manipulation. b.c.b. president mario draghi made the announcement with december the european central bank won't buy bonds on the financial markets start in january. regarding known standard monetary policy measures. net purchases under the us it purchase program

will end in december two thousand and eighteen the e.c.b. has been buying government bonds as part of its quantitative easing program which was later expanded to include corporate bonds to make financing cheaper for companies the e.c.b. has spent a staggering two thousand six hundred fifty billion euros on bonds which it will be holding onto for now. the its it be food side who would those at the moment the c.b.c. has been fulfilling the mandate that it has for the whole eurozone well financed. it is now pulling back from financial relief for southern europe to fulfill its monday at both northern and southern european countries not likely c.b. has proceeded with caution allowing the markets time to adapt to more expensive financing for now the main question is whether the e.c.b. will raise the interest rate next year. a major challenge facing germany in the new

year is catching up with digitisation from high speed internet to the digital classroom europe's most powerful economy is struggling to adapt to the digital age unlike a star a small the e.u. member state in the baltics has become a major digital hub. in a still in the coding has been part of the national curriculum for years these children are learning how to program their own music software and games. high speed wife eye is ubiquitous in the country in fact the government declared internet access our rice as far back as the year two thousand. here in germany on the other hand universal high speed internet still feels like a distant dream especially in rural areas. germany is largely covered by forests some twenty percent in fact. so before

we start delivering foxes and birds with high speed internet we need to do our homework and locate the villages and rural areas that don't have sufficient coverage that would be the next step. and next step that critics say has been far too long in coming they say germany's lack of digital infrastructure could prove that a major barrier to business in the future. all major european cities are struggling to meet new e.u. automotive emissions standards here in germany policymakers to comply with the stricter pollution rules in the spanish capital of madrid politicians have been more proactive. cameras at the ready to ensure red lines aren't crossed electric vehicles can still pass through here but drivers of older diesels and petrol cars will soon face fines if they do the same behind the push for cleaner air in downtown madrid is this woman. she wants to reduce traffic in the

city by a third. and this four hundred sixty hector area there are major restrictions in place on the most polluting cars. they're no longer allowed to pass through this but may get us out. until the end of february drivers of older diesels will be issued with a warning if they enter the restricted area after that they'll face a ninety year old fine authorities say the ban is already making a difference madrid's ground via is less congested than before freeing up space for cyclists in particular. people are already reacting an increasing number are traveling in this area by bus traffic overall is down. but not everyone supports the ban retailers and delivery companies are especially critical some even calling it a disaster isabel garcia runs

a furniture store and says she depends on customers being able to return by car she points to a survey commissioned by critics of the. airport the seven percent of those polled say they no longer want to come into the city center to shop. the ban means she'll also need to replace her van. the problem is we need a van that meets our needs while also adhering to the city's rules we visited multiple dealers but to find nothing else off with another port in the met gala malloy critics like garcia to city authorities have gone too far officials say they're open to tweaks but are asking for patience similar anti pollution measures have been in place in other areas of madrid for some years now here is how one restaurant owner described the transition. was that. change is always difficult at the beginning it was.