Author: DW

It’s now almost impossible to imagine the Saudi economy without the thriving startup scene and its female entrepreneurs. Less than a decade ago, the situation was largely different. “There was literally no ecosystem for startup companies,” Maha Shirah, one of the first female Saudi entrepreneurs in Riyadh, told DW. For women, starting a business was particularly tough. In 2014, when Shirah opened the country’s first workspace for women, laws still restricted the participation of women in many industries. Ten years on, the Saudi Ministry of Commerce haspublished a comprehensive list of workspaces for women, and the local startup landscape is not…

A volcano in Iceland erupted on Saturday for the fourth time since December after previous eruptions destroyed roads and forced a town to evacuate.Livestreams from the area showed fountains of molten rock soaring from fissures in the ground. Authorities had warned for weeks that an eruption was imminent on the Reykjanes peninsula, just south of Iceland’s capital Reykjavik.The Icelandic Meteorological Office confirmed a volcanic eruption started between Stora Skogfell and Hagafell on Saturday.In nearby Grindavik, where some of the town’s 4,000 residents had returned following earlier outbreaks, evacuations were again taking place, public broadcaster RUV reported. The popular Blue Lagoon…

Skip next section Russian Foreign Ministry accuses Ukraine of election ‘terrorism’03/16/2024March 16, 2024Russian Foreign Ministry accuses Ukraine of election ‘terrorism’Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday accused Ukraine of engaging in terror attacks to drum up Western support for more arms. In a statement published on X, formerly Twitter, the ministry claimed, “It is obvious that the corrupt regime in Kyiv has intensified its terrorist activities in connection with the ongoing presidential elections in Russia in order to demonstrate its activity to its Western handlers and to beg for even more financial assistance and lethal weapons.”   Ukraine has reportedly intensified…

Visitors crowd around the works of Cheryl McIntosh in Ernst Moritz Arndt House, a branch of Bonn City Museum. Those who want to view all of the installations and collages need to be patient — her exhibition Counter Thoughts, Counter Images has been attracting a lot of interest. McIntosh, who was born in Jamaica, uses her art to address colonial history. The exhibition is part of the German city of Bonn’s Culture(s) of Remembrance project that highlights themes of colonialism, racism, resistance and recognition. McIntosh expresses colonial exploitation in a floor installation that portrays cotton, sugar and coffee next to an apparently enslaved figureImage: Emanuel Spieske Germany’s forgotten history In an…

Boxing great Roberto Duran is receiving medical care for a heart problem, his family have said.The former undisputed world champion, 72, “has suffered a health complication due to an atrioventricular blockade”, they said in a statement. His family added they are waiting for results before they provide more information on his health.”We thank our relatives, friends and all of his supporters who are praying for him.”One of the greatest lightweight boxers of all time, Panamanian Duran held world championships in four weight classes. He made his professional debut at the age of 16 and later in his career reigned as…

The election authority of India announced on Saturday that the country will start a phased voting process beginning on April 19 to select a new parliament. “Date of polling would be 19th of April” for the first phase of the vote, which is staged over several weeks, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said. The election will be held in seven phases over six weeks, with different states voting at different times.  Voting in the final phase will take place on June 1, and nationwide ballots will be counted on June 4. Results are normally announced on the same day.  It is…

When Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014, tens of thousands of people fled the southern peninsula. Some of these exiles joined Ukraine’s armed forces in the fight against Russia, including Isa Akayev and Iryna Holosna.  Akayev, whose real name is Nariman Bilyalov, is the commander of Ukraine’s Crimea battalion, which he founded together with other Crimeans. The small unit is dominated by Crimean Tatars, the Muslim Turkic group indigenous to the region. Today, the battalion forms a special unit within Ukraine’s military intelligence service. Akayev sees parallels between Russia’s 2014 occupation of Crimea and the time when Soviet…

India is to elect a new parliament in what is the largest democratic exercise with 970 million registered voters.The Indian Election Commission said on Saturday that the elections will take place in seven phases from 19 April to 1 June, stretched over 44 days. The gigantic exercise will be conducted by a 15 million-strong army of polling officials and security personnel.They will aim to oversee a free and fair election at over a million polling stations with the help of 5.5 million electronic voting machines.Electoral rules say there must be a polling station within two kilometres (1.2 miles) of every…

Sixteen soldiers were killed during a mission to halt clashes between two communities in Nigeria’s southern state of Delta, an army spokesman said Saturday. The attack in the oil-rich region happened in the Bomadi council area Thursday when the soldiers, deployed to keep the peace, “were surrounded by some community youths and killed,” Defense Headquarters spokesman Brigadier General Tukur Gusau said in a statement. Among the dead were a commanding officer, two majors, one captain and 12 soldiers, Gusau added. He said the soldiers, from the 181 Amphibious Battalion, had “responded to a distress call” following trouble between the Okuama and Okoloba communities.School abductions spotlight Nigeria’s kidnapping…

An Indian navy warship on Saturday captured a bulk carrier off the coast of Somalia, rescuing the crew and ending a three-month hijacking. The Maltese-flagged MV Ruen was hijacked by Somali pirates in December near the Yemeni island of Socotra, around 240 kilometers (150 miles) off Somalia.  Announcing the capture, the Indian navy posted on X, formerly Twitter, that one of its warships had “in the last 40 hours, through concerted actions successfully cornered and coerced all 35 Pirates to surrender & ensured safe evacuation of 17 crew members … from the pirate vessel without any injury.” On Friday, the pirates had opened fire…