Outgoing ATO boss says getting rid of work-related tax deductions would be a ‘big step’

New Zealand banned work-related expense deductions while also implementing tax cuts, and if Australia did the same that could simplify the tax system, according to outgoing tax commissioner Chris Jordan.

But Mr Jordan noted that “Australians love their…[Read more]

France launches anti-corruption push ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics

Andy Spalding, an academic and author who studies corruption in sporting “mega-events” such as the Olympics or the football World Cup, believes French authorities are showing they are serious about delivering a clean Games.

Three preliminary investigations are into possible…[Read more]

How France became the target of Azerbaijan’s smear campaign

Azerbaijan’s February 7 presidential election, which handed President Ilham Aliyev an unsurprising and unopposed victory with 92% of the vote and a fifth term in office, provided the backdrop for the latest illustration of deteriorating Franco-Azerbaijani relations.

For the first time i…[Read more]

French PM Attal promises new law on prices to appease angry farmers

Attal promised to elevate agriculture “to the status of a fundamental national interest”, outlining an agriculture bill designed to address farmers’ grievances.

Already last month, farmers had staged crippling nationwide protests before their unions called for them to be…[Read more]

Germany hopes to boost military and deterrence

German politicians and some sections of the media have reacted to Donald Trump’s latest remarks about NATO by demanding that Germany radically boost its defense spending and even consider breaking its taboo on nuclear weapons.

Speaking at a campaign rally in South Carolina on Saturday, the former US…[Read more]

Singer Isaak to represent Germany at Eurovision 2024

German singer Isaak Guderian will represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.

The annual cultural extravaganza, watched by millions of people, will be held inMalmö, Sweden, this year, after Swedish singer Loreen won the contest last year.

Isaak beat eight others
Isaak beat out…[Read more]

Germany: Hamburg begins issuing Visa cash cards for refugees

Hamburg has become the first German state to introduce payment cards for asylum seekers. The cards will initially be issued to new arrivals in initial reception facilities, the city’s social welfare authority announced Thursday.

This is a pilot project for the nationwide introduction…[Read more]

Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza stage roadblock in Tel Aviv

Families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza closed a major street in Tel Aviv on Thursday to urge the government to negotiate with Hamas for their release, local media reported.

According to Israel’s Channel 12, “dozens of families of the hostages and Israeli protesters blocked the m…[Read more]

Türkiye, S. Arabia look to deepen ties with new cooperation avenues

Türkiye and Saudi Arabia stressed what they say is the complementary nature of their economies at a major gathering on Friday, expressing commitment to further enhance ties and explore concrete avenues for collaboration.

Senior officials from both nations demonstrated e…[Read more]

Earthquake fever grips Turkey’s Istanbul amid fears of ‘the big one’

Earthquake fever has gripped Istanbul since last year’s disaster in southern Turkey, as residents in Europe’s most populous city fear they could face similar devastation.

The city lies near the North Anatolia faultline, a geological danger that has seen Istanbul hit by at lea…[Read more]

Paris court halves ex-French president Sarkozy’s 2012 campaign financing sentence

But while lighter than the original sentence, Wednesday’s ruling was still harsher than the one-year suspended sentence that prosecutors called for.

The Paris court of appeal confirmed a lower court’s guilty verdict for Sarkozy, who was convicted of hiding illegal…[Read more]

French skipper Clarisse Crémer denies cheating in Vendée Globe solo race

“We never cheated,” Clarisse Crémer insisted on Thursday in a joint statement with her husband Tanguy Le Turquais.

They were responding to an anonymous e-mail sent to the French Sailing Federation (FFVoile) last Sunday.

In it Crémer was accused of using information rel…[Read more]

‘Wind of revolt’ sweeps French cinema in belated #MeToo reckoning

French cinema’s #MeToo breakthrough has been heralded, and pushed back, often enough to warrant caution – but there are signs the ground is finally shifting, more than six years after cinema’s feminist revolution kicked off across the Atlantic.

In 2017, at the dawn of the #MeTo…[Read more]

Unusually warm weather in northern Japan puts damper on winter events

Unseasonably warm weather in northern parts of Japan have caused iconic winter sights to melt away this week, causing ice deposits on trees to no longer appear so monster-like, and snow huts to be capped with blue sheets.

While Hokkaido and the northeastern Japan regions will…[Read more]

Japan to boost child allowances to tackle falling birthrate

The Cabinet on Friday approved a bill to expand the coverage of monthly child allowances to high school-age children as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida aims to stem the sharp drop in Japan’s birthrate.

Under the plan, the existing income limit for households receiving the benefits will be…[Read more]

Japan announces successful launch of next-generation H3 rocket

Japan’s space agency announced the successful launch of its new flagship rocket on Saturday, making it third time lucky for the H3 after years of delays and two previous failed attempts.

The H3 rocket, billed as flexible and cost-effective by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency…[Read more]

Japan’s ‘Moon Sniper’ wakes up and shares new images of the lunar surface

Japan’s “Moon Sniper” robotic explorer is back in action after a power issue forced the spacecraft to shut down hours after landing on the moon 10 days ago, the country’s space agency said Monday.

The explorer executed a precise landing just after 10:20 a.m. ET on January…[Read more]

Japanese castle town invites travelers to live a day in the life of a feudal lord

The careful placement of the traditional “kabuto” helmet and the adjustment of the cord chin strap complete the transformation.

Simon Celestine arrived at Odawara castle as a tourist from France but he is now lord of one of the most impressive feudal-era for…[Read more]

Linda Burney attacks Closing the Gap with new $707m remote jobs program

The federal government will invest $707m in a new jobs program for remote Australia that it says will deliver 3000 jobs and better living conditions for Indigenous Australians over the next three years.

The program replaces the former government’s Community Development P…[Read more]

‘Didn’t want the public to see’: James Paterson says govt was forced to ‘cough up’ documents on freed immigration detainees

Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson says the government has been forced to “cough up” documentation it “didn’t want the public to see” following controversy surrounding the release of 149 detainees into the c…[Read more]