Author: DW

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…

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…