Author: DW

Joe Biden has declared freedom and democracy are “under attack” both in the US and abroad as he delivered one of the most important speeches of his presidency.In his State of the Union address, the US president appealed to Congress to continue supporting Ukraine in its war effort against Russia, as he said: “History is watching.” He warned of the potency of Russian President Vladimir Putin and “assured” the Kremlin would not stop at just attacking Ukraine.Mr Biden said: “If the United States walks away now, it will put Ukraine at risk. Europe at risk. The free world at risk…

Women across Europe started to fight for equal rights towards the end of the 18th century. They participated in revolutionary activities, especially in France, after the French Revolution of 1789 paved the way for human rights, equal representation and gender equality. It took half a century until the feminist spirit finally reached Germany as well. Germany’s pioneering activist: Louise Otto-Peters In 1843, an outspoken woman named Louise Otto-Peters, aged 24, started advocating the idea that the participation of women in public matters “wasn’t a right, but a duty.” The young woman had started fending for herself as a teenager, after the death…

What is F1 Academy? It’s a female-only race series designed to provide a platform for women drivers to progress through to higher levels of competition. When it was launched in November 2022, organizers said they wished to “give more access to track time, racing and testing, as well as support with technical, physical, and mental preparations.” Unlike Formula One, this series has two races at each venue, which means the drivers will compete at just seven tracks but complete fourteen races. The 15 drivers are split among five teams: Rodin Motorsport, MP Motorsport, Campos Racing, ART Grand Prix and Prema Racing. Spain’s Marta Garcia won the…

Skip next section Poll: 61% of Germans oppose sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine03/07/2024March 7, 2024Poll: 61% of Germans oppose sending Taurus missiles to UkraineAccording to the “Deutschlandtrend” poll conducted by public broadcaster ARD, 61% of those surveyed were against Germany supplying Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles. German Chancellor Olaf Sholz has maintained for months that sending the longer-range missiles was not currently an option, and the topic was thrust back into the forefront this week after Russia leaked a German military conversation about it.  The poll found that only 29% were in favor of such a weapons delivery. The disapproval broadly crossed party lines, although tiny majorities…

President Macky Sall’s announcement should get the stalled election process in Senegal back on track. On Thursday, the country’s Constitutional Council said it agreed with the new date, which was in line with the president’s suggestion. The Constitutional Council had previously ruled that the election must be held before April 2, when Sall’s term in office expires. According to a document seen by AFP news agency on Wednesday, the committee rejected an alternative date in June. The document also stated that the list of 19 presidential candidates already approved may not be revised.Protests against Senegal’s election delay turned violentImage: John Wessels/AFP Keeping up with the election timetable  For governance…

Iraq’s president has said he is “extremely disappointed” with the UK government’s response to the war in Gaza – accusing it of “ignoring” the suffering of Palestinians.”The Palestinian problem has become an international problem,” President Abdul Latif Rashid told Sky News.”And, recently, the suffering of the Palestinian people and the attacks on Gaza, especially on civilians and children, is beyond anything which human rights can accept, and I think it is the duty of the international community to put an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people.”The president was speaking to Sky News from the Presidential Palace in the…

People are facing famine and starvation on the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory, which has been the focus of the Israel-Hama war. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, has described “severe levels of malnutrition” which have led to the deaths of at least 10 children. The Palestinian Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, said meanwhile that 15 children had died of malnutrition and dehydration. In northern Gaza, an estimated 300,000 people are living with food and clean water shortages. Prolonged hunger is an extreme burden for the body. But our evolution has trained the human…

Locals in the southwestern Syrian city of Sweida have been demonstrating against their government since mid-August last year and up until last week, the protests had been peaceful. They had included art exhibitions and cultural shows. Demonstrators regularly cleaned up afterwards and even served food to local police. And despite the fact that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons on its own people, detained and tortured thousands, and is seen as responsible for nearly half a million dead and millions more Syrians displaced, government security forces had not acted against Sweida’s protesters. But last week, after security forces fired their…

A jury convicted armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed on Wednesday of involuntary manslaughter relating to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust” in 2021. Actor Alec Baldwin, a producer and actor on the film, was holding a Colt .45 during rehearsals for the low-budget Western in New Mexico when it discharged a live round, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Gutierrez-Reed was supposed to load Baldwin’s revolver with dummy rounds, but one round was live. The involuntary manslaughter charge against Gutierrez-Reed carries a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Gutierrez-Reed cleared of evidence tampering…

Ireland will hold a referendum on Friday – International Women’s Day – to delete references to a woman’s “duties in the home” from its constitution.After years of pressure, the government agreed to hold two referendums, with the other seeking to expand the constitutional definition of a family from being based on marriage to “durable relationships” instead. Article 41.2 of the Irish constitution, which dates from 1937, reads: “The state recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the state a support without which the common good cannot be achieved.”The state shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers…