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]

Former Australian bishop charged with historical sex offenses

A senior Australian Catholic clergyman has been charged with historical sex offenses allegedly committed while he was serving as the bishop of Broome, a remote diocese in Western Australia.

Emeritus Bishop Christopher Saunders was arrested on Wednesday at his home in Broome, where…[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]

French journalist detained in Ethiopia released after a week

Antoine Galindo was “freed after a week in prison and was able to leave Addis Ababa to return to Paris,” Paul Deutschmann, an editor-in-chief at the publication, told AFP.

Galindo, who heads the publication’s East Africa section, had travelled to Ethiopia to cover the African Union…[Read more]

French police arrest activists after break-in at ‘forever chemicals’ plant

Around 300 people from the Extinction Rebellion and Youth for Climate groups cut through fences to reach the Arkema site at Pierre-Benite factory near Lyon in southeast France, a spokesman for the organisers said.

Once inside they deployed banners and spray-painted…[Read more]