Traffic lights with Marx portrait in Germany

Berlin: To celebrate the 200th birthday of Karl Marx, which falls on May 5, traffic lights showing the head portrait of the German communist philosopher were installed in his hometown Trier, media reported. Karl Marx was born in Trier on May 5, 1818. The city is now preparing a series of big events to celebrate the 200th birthday of its most famous son. IANS

Canadian Robert Langlands wins Abel Prize 

Oslo: Canadian mathematician Robert Langlands has been named as the winner of the Abel Prize for 2018 “for his visionary programme connecting representation theory to number theory”, the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters said on Tuesday. The 81-year-old would receive the award of $776,000 on May 22. The Abel prize has been awarded annually since 2003 in memory of the Norwegian mathematics genius Niels Henrik Abel. IANS

China pips Japan to be No. 2 filer of patents 

Geneva: The UN’s World Intellectual Property Organisation says China has eclipsed Japan in the No. 2 rank among countries filing international patent applications and is on track to surpass the US in the top spot within three years. Inventors worldwide filed 243,500 applications in 2017. The US accounted for just over 23 pc of those. China nudged past Japan, both accounting for about one in five filings. PTI