Aliaa Elmahdy became an icon of the Arab spring when she posted nude photographs of her online. Now, she is all set to wipe her past and begin her new life in Europe. Angela Merkel is set for four more years as the German Chancellor. This will be her third term. Samina Baig and her brother Mirza Ali conquer the Mount Aconcagua peak in Argentina. Read more on women who made it to the headlines.Egyptian Aliaa Elmahdy became an icon of the Arab Spring after she posted a nude photo of herself online. Then she fled to Sweden after receiving death threats from Islamist extremists. What and whom did her statement serve? Read more here.

As Merkel takes her place ahead of her new coalition government with the Social Democrats, she can look forward to new challenges for her cautious style of government. Read more here.

Samina Baig gave her fellow countrymen another reason to celebrate when she and her brother held the Pakistan flag high on top of the highest peak of South America. Read more here. Read her interview with Women Talk Online here.

Horrendous factory fires and other disasters have alerted the public worldwide to the labor exploitation of garment workers in Bangladesh. But even with improvements on a new focus in Bangladesh to make factory buildings more safe, it’s not time to let up on public pressure under and industry that has too often shown little regard for women who work in the textile industries. Read more here.

An Indonesian woman working for the Jakarta office of a US advertising agency reportedly died at the weekend from being overworked, renewing debates about work conditions in the country. Read more here.

Amidst outrage expressed by members in Parliament, India on Wednesday asserted that it will intervene “effectively and specifically” to ensure the return and restoration of dignity of its Deputy Consul General in New York who has been arrested on charges of visa rules violation. Read more here.