Germany’s last major department store chain files for insolvency protection for third time

Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is seeking a new owner, whose real estate group has made several insolvency filings.

Germany’s last remaining major department store chain has filed for insolvency protection, its third filing in less than four years, after its…[Read more]

What are the biggest challenges facing the German economy in 2024?

As we enter 2024, Europe’s largest economy is expected to continue to deal with the fallout of its recent economic crisis. Euronews Business highlights five key challenges for the German economy in 2024.

Germany is facing an uphill economic battle in 2024.

Its GDP growth is…[Read more]

Turkish Cyprus set to open doors of its biggest mosque

The biggest mosque in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), with 62 domes and six minarets, the Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque, will open its door to worshippers on Thursday.

Representatives from many Islamic countries, especially from Türkiye and the TRNC, will attend the opening c…[Read more]

Turkish aid agency restores orphanages in NW Afghanistan

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) renovated and provided equipment support to the Bibi Halime Orphanage affiliated with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in Badghis, northwestern Afghanistan.

According to the statement made by the TİKA Herat Office, the…[Read more]

Japan current account logs record surplus for second month

Japan logged its largest current account surplus for the second consecutive month in November, as the trade deficit narrowed while its service balance turned surplus due to increased inbound tourism after pandemic controls were lifted last year.

The current account data should offer…[Read more]

Japan lifts operational ban on world’s biggest nuclear plant

Japan’s nuclear power regulator on Wednesday lifted an operational ban imposed on Tokyo Electric Power’s (9501.T) Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant two years ago, allowing it to work towards gaining local permission to restart.

Tepco has been eager to bring the world’s largest…[Read more]

French booze-free January falls flat with Macron government

France’s President Emmanuel Macron has been accused of caving in to the wine lobby by failing to lend his weight to an alcohol-free “Dry January”.

Fifty specialists on addiction wrote an open letter this week, lamenting the lack of government support for the post-festivity no-drinks…[Read more]

France drops renewables targets, prioritises nuclear in new energy bill

like other EU countries, aims to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050.

The proposed text, which is slated to go before the cabinet early next month and then be submitted to lawmakers, reaffirms France’s commitment to nuclear power to ensure “energy sovereignty”.

The count…[Read more]

Plummeting temperatures plague Ishikawa quake relief effort

lummeting temperatures, rain and continued aftershocks continued to plague relief efforts in earthquake-hit Ishikawa Prefecture on Wednesday as the death toll rose to 206, nine days after a massive temblor rocked the Noto Peninsula area.
The hard-hit cities of Suzu and Wajima accounted…[Read more]

Trash into treasure: Can fishing net waste be the future of fashion?

KUJUKURI, CHIBA PREF. – In 2021, Kotaro Seki was unsatisfied with his work at a major travel agency. He was good at his job, but he felt like something was missing.
Anyone could do the job he was doing at the agency, he thought. And few were bothered — as he was — by the fact…[Read more]

Japan should aim to maintain population of 80 million by 2100: panel

Amid concerns over rapid depopulation, a private panel has proposed that Japan should aim to have a stable population of 80 million by 2100 in order to maintain economic growth.
Last April, the government released an estimate that the population would be reduced by half to about…[Read more]

Gabriel Attal becomes France’s youngest and first openly gay premier

“The president of the republic appointed Mr. Gabriel Attal prime minister and tasked him with forming a government,” read a presidential statement issued on Tuesday.

Gabriel Attal rose to prominence as the government spokesman and education minister. He is France’s first o…[Read more]

France’s new PM Attal to choose cabinet as Macron eyes political reset

French President Emmanuel Macron and his new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal worked on Wednesday to pull together a cabinet, a day after Macron appointed the 34-year-old media-savvy loyalist to breathe new life into his second term.

Attal has promised to be bold and fast to help…[Read more]

US diplomat Blinken meets Turkey’s Erdogan, kicking off Gaza diplomacy tour

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken met senior Turkish officials in Istanbul before heading to Greece, his first stops on a week-long trip aimed at calming tensions that have spiked across the Middle East since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October.

In his…[Read more]

Turkey Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia called off amid Ataturk T-shirt row

The Turkish Super Cup final between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce scheduled to be played in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh was called off over an apparent disagreement about the players’ jerseys.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) and the two teams – who returned to Istan…[Read more]

Turkey arrests dozens suspected of spying for Israel

Turkey has reportedly detained 33 people suspected of spying on behalf of Israel.

The authorities are still searching for 13 other people believed to have links to Israel’s Mossad security service, the Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday. Ankara has previously warned that it will not allow I…[Read more]

Turkey arrests dozens suspected of spying for Israel

Turkey has reportedly detained 33 people suspected of spying on behalf of Israel.

The authorities are still searching for 13 other people believed to have links to Israel’s Mossad security service, the Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday. Ankara has previously warned that it will not allow I…[Read more]

Why are German farmers so angry?

Tractors rumbling down the streets of the capital and jamming highway interchanges — scenes that are more familiar in neighboring France. But Germany’s farmers have been flexing their muscles again over the last few weeks.

Protesters began taking to the streets in late December after the center-left government a…[Read more]

Germany resumes weapons deliveries to Saudi Arabia

It was Germany’s conservative-led government under Chancellor Angela Merkel that restricted German weapons exports to Saudi Arabia in October 2018. This was in response to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the war in…[Read more]

Germany: Police find missing woman’s body in woods

Police in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia say they have found the body of a woman reported missing on December 21, 2023.

Police and the Münster State Prosecutor’s Office said her body was found wrapped in a plastic bag near the Dutch border on Tuesday.

An autopsy will be performed…[Read more]