Turkish steel in the black but EU rules rankle

Turkey’s steel industry has rebounded strongly from a weak 2023, despite facing new emissions standards and competition for important markets.

Crude steel output rose 25 percent year on year to 3.2 million tonnes in January, with domestic consumption of finished steel reaching 3.5 million tonnes, a…[Read more]

Turkey offers to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks as Erdogan hosts Zelenskyy

Turkey is ready to host a summit between Ukraine and Russia to end the war, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul.

Speaking after their meeting on Friday, Erdogan, who has balanced relations with…[Read more]

Far-left group claims attack on Tesla factory in Germany

Tesla has halted production at its German factory after power lines supplying the plant were set on fire in an act of “sabotage” claimed by a far-left group.

Emergency services were called early on Tuesday after reports of a burning electricity pylon southeast of Berlin close to the Tes…[Read more]

Strikes cripple air and rail travel across Germany

Massive industrial action has paralysed air and rail travel across Germany as striking workers walked off the job to demand better pay to cope with the rising cost of living.

Thursday’s walkouts by the train drivers coincided with a strike by ground staff at national airline Lufthansa that led t…[Read more]

Will a four-day work week solve Germany’s labour shortage?

Germany, Europe’s industrial powerhouse, is struggling with a critical labour shortage. By some estimates, two million jobs across the economy are vacant, and half of the country’s companies are unable to find enough workers.

Faced with this crisis, dozens of firms are testing a strat…[Read more]

Germany Looks to Stop the Far Right From Assuming Power

For Germany — a country that knows something about how extremists can hijack a government — the surging popularity of the far right has forced an awkward question.

How far should a democracy go in restricting a party that many believe is bent on undermining it?

It is a quandary that pol…[Read more]

Far-right firebrand Geert Wilders to forgo Dutch PM job

FRANKFURT, March 13 (Reuters) – Germany supports Thailand’s bid to become a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday with Thai Premier Srettha Thavisin at his side.
Scholz, speaking with Srettha to reporters…[Read more]

Germany promises to cut down paper bureaucracy

Germany’s government promised to slash the country’s notorious thicket of bureaucracy on Wednesday.

The cabinet agreed to draft a new law after a public campaign to cut red tape for German businesses, municipalities and citizens.

Under the changes, hotels would no longer be obliged to register…[Read more]

Australia: One dead, 29 rescued after gold mine collapse

One man has died and another has been seriously injured after rocks collapsed at a gold mine in Ballarat, Australia, on Thursday.

Authorities were called to the Ballarat Gold Mine, around 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Melbourne, on Wednesday night after reports of a rockfall.

“Two…[Read more]

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz defends his refusal to send Ukraine Taurus missiles

The German government has been humiliated by a recent leaked recording of senior officers contradicting the chancellor’s public arguments.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended his refusal to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, telling German lawmakers on…[Read more]

Frankfurt, Heathrow, Schiphol: Climate activists plan days of actions at European airports

Campaigners are making a noise ahead of a meeting with France’s transport minister about flight caps on Friday.

Activists are kicking off two days of action at Europe’s biggest airports today, demanding a limit to the number of climate-wrecking fli…[Read more]

Seven reported missing after severe weather hits southeast France

Seven people have been reported missing after severe weather hit a large part of southeastern France overnight Saturday.

Several people have been reported missing after violent storms hit a large area of southeastern France late on Saturday night, authorities said on Sunday.

Five…[Read more]

The French government says it’s being targeted by unusually intense cyberattacks

The French government said Monday that several of its services have been targeted by cyberattacks of “unprecedented intensity,” and a special crisis center was activated to restore online services.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s office said in a statement that th…[Read more]

France’s Macron pushes on with assisted-dying bill

President Emmanuel Macron has said that he will propose a bill legalising “aid in dying” for terminally ill people.

In an interview published on Monday, the French president said that the bill, which he plans to present to the National Assembly in May, would strictly apply to adults suffe…[Read more]

French cinema has its #MeToo moment, sparking growing need for intimacy coordinators

A cascade of sexual violence allegations has rocked the French film industry in recent months, with actor Judith Godrèche leading the charge for a reckoning about gender-based abuse. Calls to safeguard actors on set are growing, as is the need for intimacy…[Read more]

Bankwest staff pressured to send customers online ahead of widespread closures, union says

Bank staff are under pressure to direct customers away from branches, the union representing financial services workers says.

Last week Bankwest announced it would close 60 branches in Western Australia by the end of the year, leaving some regional…[Read more]

Complaint filed to Human Rights Commission against WA child protection department

A law firm has lodged a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) against Western Australia’s Department of Communities over the allegedly discriminatory removal of First Nations children from their families.

It is the second of four complaints…[Read more]

Drizzle breaks Adelaide’s 46-day dry spell

Adelaide went 46 days without a single drop of rain until a light shower this morning broke the streak.
The city’s official weather station on West Terrace recorded 0.4mm about 8.30am, which broke the dry spell according to Weatherzone.
By midday about 1.2mm had fallen in the city and the Adelaide H…[Read more]

Australia marks national day that stokes patriotism and anger

“Australia Day is Dead!” Indigenous activist Gwenda Stanley chants into the loudspeaker, as a crowd of thousands breaks into applause.

It’s Australia’s national day, but the crowd in central Sydney seethes in anger and cheers in solidarity with Indigenous Australians, many of whom vi…[Read more]

Australia unveils plan for largest navy buildup since World War II

Australia on Tuesday announced plans to build its largest navy since World War II, allocating more than $35 billion for the defense project over the next 10 years, in a move analysts said pointed to heightened tensions with China in the Indo-Pacific.

According to a government…[Read more]