Author: DW

French lawmakers have convened in a special session and voted to amend the Constitution, making France a pioneer in enshrining the freedom to undergo abortion. It’s the first country in the world to include the right to abortion in the constitution. The special gathering follows a pivotal move by the French Senate, which voted on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, to guarantee access to the procedure constitutionally. However, the journey leading to this moment stretches far back in time. It marks the culmination of a parliamentary process initiated on November 24, 2022, when the National Assembly, or the lower house of the French Parliament,…

Singapore’s deal to ensure Taylor Swift doesn’t perform anywhere else in southeast Asia is not a hostile act, the city-state’s prime minister has said.Swift is part-way through six sold-out shows at the 55,000-seat National Stadium and she won’t be making any further stops in the region thanks to an exclusive deal with Singapore. The Singaporean government has not disclosed the details behind the deal, but Thailand’s prime minister claimed last month Swift was offered up to £2.4m per show in exchange for exclusivity.Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday an “arrangement” was agreed for Swift to make the…

Australian football star Sam Kerr pleaded not guilty to a “racially aggravated offense” relating to an incident in the United Kingdom. The 30-year-old striker, who plays her club football for Chelsea, was allegedly involved in a dispute with a police officer in January 2023, London’s Metropolitan Police said. What do we know about the incident? The alleged offense occurred while a police officer was responding to a “complaint involving a taxi fare.” According to a statement from police Kerr pleaded not guilty at Kingston Crown Court on Monday after being charged in January. She is only due back in court next…

Four former top Twitter executives, including former CEO Parag Agrawal, have sued Elon Musk in a bid to recover more than $128 million (around €118 million) in unpaid severance. In a lawsuit filed on Monday in San Francisco federal court, they allege Musk has not paid the severance since he bought the social media company, now called X, more than a year ago. “Musk doesn’t pay his bills, believes the rules don’t apply to him, and uses his wealth and power to run roughshod over anyone who disagrees with him,” they said in the lawsuit. Dismissals occurred within hours of Musk…

An hours-long stand-off inside a hospital in Aachen in western Germany came to an end late Monday when police overpowered a 65-year-old woman who had barricaded herself in a room. “As the woman did not respond when spoken to, the police officers used their firearms to put an end to the dangerous situation,” a police statement said. The was seriously wound and wheeled out of the facility on a stretcher. Police said that no other people at the hospital were believed to have suffered injuries. Smoke detected at hospital Police dispatched special forces to the site after the woman, who was from the nearby…

A female police officer hailed a hero for protecting a woman from an angry mob has told Sky News the case has made Pakistani society question itself.Syeda Shehrbano, an assistant superintendent in Lahore, stepped in to save the woman from a crowd of 200 men, some of whom were calling for her to be beheaded. The crowd had mistaken the print on the woman’s dress for verses from the Koran – it was only later confirmed by clerics and scholars to be Arabic script for the word “beautiful”.Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan and there have been many cases…

The United States called for its citizens to leave Haiti “as soon as possible” after violence escalated over the weekend in the wake of a deadly attack on a prison, prompting a state of emergency in the country. The US, which is home to over a million Haitians, said its embassy would be providing limited operations on Monday while Canada said it would temporarily close its embassy. “We’re monitoring Haiti’s rapidly deteriorating security situation with great concern,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a call. The UN also commented on the ongoing violence, calling for “urgent action…

A 65-year-old woman barricaded herself inside a clinic in Aachen in western Germany on Monday, prompting a major police operation. The woman entered the hospital on Monday afternoon. Later, smoke was noticed in the area, according to local police. Police have dispatched special forces to the site while the surrounding area was evacuated. “A larger police operation is currently taking place in the vicinity of the Luisenhospital,” local police posted on X. “There will be road closures and rail traffic restrictions. Avoid the area as much as possible.” More to follow… jsi/xx (dpa) Source link

A 22-year-old guardsman has pleaded guilty to leaking military secrets – including relating to Russia’s war in Ukraine – in one of the most serious US national security breaches in years.Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, signed a plea agreement on Monday that calls for prosecutors to recommend a prison sentence between 11 and 16 years and eight months. He was charged with six counts of wilful retention and transmission of national defence information under the Espionage Act. The agreement spares Teixeira a sentence of up to 60 years in prison.He smiled at his father before being…

It’s a daily struggle to find even the most basic food in Gaza City.  “Sometimes we resort to looting abandoned or bombed-out houses just to survive,” Abu Ahmad told DW by phone from Gaza City. The father of six remained in Gaza City with two of his sons after the Israeli military ordered residents to move south in late October. The rest of his family is scattered across Gaza.  “Two days ago, we started to see flour appearing in the market at prices that were somewhat affordable,” the 48-year-old said. On Saturday, he said, they received a small box of…