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]

Kishida questioned over scantily clad dancers at LDP party

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was grilled by lawmakers on Wednesday about a gathering of ruling party members at which scantily clad female dancers were reportedly told to use their mouths to receive cash tips.

Footage leaked from the event in November organized by a regional…[Read more]

Man arrested for cutting high school girl’s skirt with scissors while on bus

Police in Fukuoka City have arrested a 42-year-old man on suspicion of property destruction after he cut a high school girl’s skirt with a pair of scissors while they were aboard a bus last November.

Police said Daisuke Iwamoto, a company employee, is accused of sni…[Read more]

IAEA chief reassures residents that treated wastewater discharged from Fukushima nuclear plant is safe

The head of the U.N. atomic agency observed firsthand the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s ongoing radioactive wastewater discharges for the first time since the contentious program began months ago and called it an “encouraging…[Read more]

U.S., Japanese forces to resume Osprey flights in Japan following fatal crash

The U.S. and Japanese militaries will resume flights of Osprey aircraft in Japan after completing necessary maintenance and training following a fatal crash in southern Japan last November, officials said Wednesday.

The Osprey aircraft, which can take off like a…[Read more]

Court orders gov’t to hand over Aum founder remains to daughter

A Japanese court ordered the government on Wednesday to hand over the hair and cremated remains of the executed Aum Shinrikyo cult founder Shoko Asahara to his second daughter after a top court ruled in 2021 that she can take them into her possession.

The government had urged during…[Read more]

Japanese solid-fuelled rocket explodes shortly after launch

The 18-metre (60 feet), four-stage solid-fuel rocket called Kairos exploded into pieces seconds after liftoff at 1…[Read more]

Man’s 18-year sentence upheld for 2017 Japan highway road rage deaths

A Japanese high court upheld Monday a sentence of 18 years in prison for a man convicted of a 2017 road rage incident that killed a couple and injured their two children and caused an outcry that led to tougher punishment of dangerous driving.

The Tokyo High Court rejected the…[Read more]

Nikkei ends at all-time high for 2nd day in a row

The Nikkei stock index closed at an all-time high Monday for the second consecutive trading day, as buying momentum was supported by expectations for robust corporate performance.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 135.03 points, or 0.35 percent, from Thursday at 39,233.71. The broader…[Read more]

Noto earthquake hypothermia deaths spark public awareness drive

Exposure to extreme cold temperatures caught many elderly people unawares in the wake of the Noto Peninsula earthquake that struck on New Year’s Day, and their experiences have led medical experts to warn against the dangers of developing hypothermia — even inside the…[Read more]

Japan Moon lander survives lunar night

Japan’s Moon lander has survived the harsh lunar night, the sunless and freezing equivalent to two Earth weeks.

“Last night, a command was sent to #SLIM and a response received,” national space agency Jaxa said on X.

The craft was put into sleep mode after an awkward landing in January left its solar…[Read more]

How does Germany compare to other EU countries?

If Germany passes the cannabis bill, it would join the growing ranks of European countries that have either legalized the drug or decriminalized its usage.

The Netherlands is, perhaps, the best-known example of a cannabis-tolerant country due to the proliferation of coffee shops since the…[Read more]

Germany’s Bundestag votes for cannabis legalization

New legislation put forward by Germany’s ruling coalition will allow limited possession and cultivation of the drug. The conservative Christian Democratic Union opposed the government’s proposal

Bundestag votes in favor of legalizing cannabis consumption
German lawmakers have approved the…[Read more]

Namibia, Gaza and German hypocrisy on genocide

On January 12, Germany said it will intervene on Israel’s behalf in the genocide case brought against it by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its war on Gaza.

“The German government firmly and explicitly rejects the accusation of genocide that has now been made aga…[Read more]