Who’s in the running to be Japan’s next prime minister?

Japan’s governing party is choosing a new leader in a race analysts say is more unpredictable than usual.

Japan’s governing party will choose a new leader on Friday to replace Fumio Kishida who announced his resignation in August.

The winner of the contest for leadership of the Liberal…[Read more]

Japan’s Ex-Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba Set To Become PM Next Week

The 67-year-old train lover beat arch-nationalist Sanae Takaichi — who would have been the country’s first-ever woman leader — 215 votes to 194 in a run-off.

Former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba will become Japan’s prime minister next week after winning the conservative…[Read more]

Greece to continue to seek better ties with Türkiye: Mitsotakis

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has reaffirmed Athens’ commitment to exploring new avenues for improving bilateral relations with Türkiye, urging for greater collaboration on shared challenges between the two nations.

Reflecting on the unresolved continental shelf and e…[Read more]

Turkey detains 30 in crackdown on Kurdish language institutions

Turkey arrests 30 people, including Kurdish language educators, in Diyarbakır (Amed). Lawyers and activists say the arrests aim to suppress Kurdish language and demand their immediate release. PEN Norway describes the raids as “a serious violation of the Kurdish people’s li…[Read more]

ILO supports technical exchanges between Türkiye and France on eliminating child labour in agriculture

Key stakeholders met in Paris to discuss strategies for formalizing the agricultural labour force and eliminating child labour.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for Türkiye, in partnership with the ILO Office for France, o…[Read more]

Turkey’s President Erdogan says UN and Western values are ‘dying’ in Gaza

The Turkish president called on the UN General Assembly to take coercive measures against Israel.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lashed out at the United Nations for inaction on Gaza and accused Israel of turning the Palestinian territory into the “world’…[Read more]

Australian police infiltrate encrypted messaging app Ghost and arrest dozens

Australian police said Wednesday they have infiltrated Ghost, an encrypted global communications app developed for criminals, leading to dozens of arrests.

The app’s alleged administrator, Jay Je Yoon Jung, 32, appeared in a Sydney court Wednesday on charges including s…[Read more]

Student who confronted Woolworths CEO over prices slams ‘disgusting’ response

The student who confronted Woolworths CEO Amanda Bardwell over price gouging allegations wanted to express “the frustration and anger a lot of working class people are facing”.
Struggling university student Megan Guy and a friend approached Bardwell at Woolworths W…[Read more]

Australia: Inflation falls within the target range

The headline inflation rate has fallen within the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) target range for the first time since October 2021. We do not think this merits an immediate re-think of the rate outlook. There are a lot of moving parts to this set of data, any one of which could reverse in t…[Read more]

80 years on, French lake still polluted by World War II bombs

A French environmental group has found artillery shells dating back to World Wars I and II and even the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 in a lake in eastern France. Water samples from Gerardmer in the Vosges mountains show high levels of TNT explosive as well as metals like iron, titanium…[Read more]

Murder of Paris student fuels anger at failed deportation

The murder of a 19 year-old female student in an exclusive neighbourhood of Paris is fuelling new calls from the French right for tougher action on immigration.

The body of the young woman, named only as Philippine, was found on Saturday, half-buried in the Bois de Boulogne park on the…[Read more]

Charity cyclists find battlefield route quite tough

Cyclists travelling through France are facing an emotional test of endurance, as they pay their respects to thousands of men killed in World War One.

Team Blind Dave, led by West Bromwich fundraiser Dave Heeley, have completed four days of their seven-day challenge to cycle 1,000km (600 miles)…[Read more]

French champagne makers aim to protect grape harvesters from abuse

Champagne vineyards are taking steps to better protect seasonal workers from abuse, hoping to restore the iconic bubbly’s damaged reputation after reports emerged last year of migrant workers living in appalling conditions and other labour violations.

French champagne producers…[Read more]

Shinkansen makes emergency stop when cars uncouple en route to Tokyo

A shinkansen made an emergency stop between northeastern Japan and Tokyo on Thursday after its two linked trains uncoupled, railway operator JR East said, but no injuries were reported among the some 320 people aboard.

The incident involving the Komachi and Hayabusa high-speed…[Read more]

BOJ keeps interest rates unchanged, weighs July hike impact

The Bank of Japan left its key interest rate steady at around 0.25 percent as widely expected at the end of a two-day policy meeting Friday, as it continued to assess the impact of its previous rate hike two months ago.

The central bank stood pat after it raised the target for the…[Read more]

Child dies after stabbing near Japanese school in China

Japan condemns ‘despicable act’ committed against the 10-year-old boy who was on his way to the Shenzhen Japanese School.

A 10-year-old boy enrolled in a Japanese school in China’s Shenzhen city has died after being stabbed by a 44-year-old man, according to officials in both count…[Read more]

Japan faces labor shortages and demographic crisis as elderly population hits record high

Japan commemorated its “Respect for the Aged Day” earlier this week, with the national holiday underscoring a somewhat problematic fact — the country has a record number of elderly citizens to celebrate.

Government data released ahead of the event showe…[Read more]

Australia’s population reaches 27 million with growth largely driven by overseas migration

Australia is now home to more than 27 million people but policies over the last decade have failed to deliver the housing needed, an expert warns.

New data issued by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the national population grew by 2.3 per cent to…[Read more]

Delays to Southwest Metro will cost taxpayers $3.6 million a day until resolution with Rail union, Minister says

The construction of Sydney’s Southwest Metro train line will be delayed after the union and government could not reach a bargaining agreement, costing taxpayers $3.6 million a day until it’s resolved.
The conversion of the T3 B…[Read more]

China pulls handbrake on Australian lobster imports

Negotiations to resume Australia’s lobster trade with China are proceeding at a crawling pace as Beijing makes more demands of the industry.

China alleged Australian lobsters were contaminated – which Canberra denied – and the hurdle remains a point of contention within the trading relat…[Read more]