Author: DW

Japanese comic creator Akira Toriyama has died, his studio said Friday, aged 68. Creator of the best-selling “Dragon Ball” series and other popular anime, Toriyama’s genre-defining artwork enchanted millions around the world and helped propel the genre beyond Japan and into international markets. In just six hours, some 2.5 million messages were posted on social media website X (formerly Twitter), paying tribute to Toriyama. Among them was French President Emmanuel Macron, who wrote: “To Akira Toriyama and the millions of fans who grew up with him,” sharing one of his images. Global hit The “Dragon Ball” manga series was first serialized in 1984, with millions of copies sold worldwide. It was…

After much speculation and plenty of recriminations following a failed World Cup campaign in 2023, the German Football Association (DFB) picked International Women’s Day to announce Christian Wück as their new permanent coach. The 50-year-old said it will be “an honor” to take over once interim coach Horst Hrubesch departs after the upcoming Olympics in Paris.  “When the request came, I didn’t hesitate for long: coaching this team, further developing the existing individual quality of the players and thus making the team fit for success in the future is one of the most exciting and responsible tasks in German soccer,” he said. Cultivating youth key task…

Authorities in Ukraine on Friday said that four people had been killed in a wave of overnight attacks. Governor of Kharkov, Oleh Synegubov, said a multiple rocket launcher attack killed two people in Kupiansk, which was recaptured by Ukrainian forces in late 2022. “Houses and cars were damaged. A 36-year-old man was rescued from the rubble. A 64-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man died,” he wrote on Telegram. Synegubov also said that a guided aerial bomb killed a woman in Vovchansk, which lies seven kilometres (four miles) from the Russian border.   In separate strike in the Chernihiv region, north of Kyiv,…

Bitcoin hit a record high of over $69,000 (€63,000) this week before falling slightly, stunning investors with a remarkable recovery following the cryptocurrency’s plunge in 2022 amidst market turmoil. Bitcoin’s price has surged by over 300% compared with November 2022, when it had dipped below $20,000. The cryptocurrency’s market capitalization also hit a record high of nearly $1.35 trillion. The combined value of the total crypto market currently stands at around $2.5 trillion, its highest level since November 2021 and just 10% below its all-time high of $2.8 trillion.New ways to invest in Bitcoin and the prospect of lower interest rates…

A UN fact-finding mission looking at the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in Iran in 2022 and the subsequent protests and crackdown in the country said both that physical trauma suffered in detention contributed to Amini’s death and that Iran employed “unnecessary and disproportionate use of lethal force” to quell the protests that followed. The 22-year-old Iranian Kurd died in the custody of the so-called “morality police,” having been detained for not covering her hair in accordance with Iran’s religious laws. Her death prompted rare, widespread protests against the authoritarian regime. Iran has always denied being responsible for Amini’s death and said…

Ferrari Formula One driver Carlos Sainz will be replaced by British teenager Oliver Bearman at this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the team has confirmed.Sainz, 29, has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will “require surgery”, Ferrari said in a statement on Friday. He missed media rounds in Jeddah on Thursday but participated in two practice sessions later in the day.Confirming he was out for the rest of the weekend, Ferrari said: “As from FP3 and for the rest of this weekend, he will be replaced by reserve driver Oliver Bearman. Oliver will therefore take no further part in this round…

Members of Gambia’s National Assembly have proposed legislation to repeal a national law prohibiting female genital mutilation (FGM). The tiny West African nation explicitly criminalized FGM, also called cutting or female circumcision, in 2015. The law states that: “A person shall not engage in female circumcision. … A person who engages in female circumcision commits an offence.” FGM involves partial or totally cutting of the female external genitalia. It often involves the removal of the clitoris or labia. It has no health benefits and harms girls and women in many ways. In The Gambia, carrying out the procedure is punishable…

Ignorance to women’s health and its potential to dramatically enhance sporting performance is holding back women’s sport, according to a leading sports scientist. Dr. Emma Ross, who helped devise health and fitness plans for the British Team in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, told DW that health inequalities are even more acute in sports than in society. “Sport is this perfect storm, because you’ve got women who don’t understand their bodies and are normalizing a lot of things that aren’t normal; you’ve got a lot of men who don’t even have the experience and perspective, however well-intentioned they are; and then you’ve got a…

The EU on Thursday said it would look into an ongoing dispute between tech giant Apple and Epic Games, the developer of the popular Fortnite video game franchise.  Epic Games has accused Apple of shutting down its efforts to establish its own game store on iOS devices in Europe. The developer says this breaches the new Digital Markets Act (DMA) EU regulation, which came into force on Thursday.  “Under the DMA, there is no room for threats by gatekeepers to silence developers, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton wrote on X. “I have asked our services to look into…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged an accelerated transition to a more inclusive government in Haiti during a phone call with the Caribbean country’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry. The Haitian government, meanwhile, has extended the state of emergency around Port-au-Prince by one month. He has yet to return to the capital since intensified gang violence and an attack on Port-au-Prince’s biggest prison first prompted a state of emergency on Sunday. He landed in Puerto Rico on Tuesday. Blinken also spoke to Guyana’s president Irfaan Ali, who currently chairs the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) regional bloc. “Secretary Blinken spoke with President Ali and with Prime Minister…