Turkey and GCC to create $2.4trn free trade area

Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will begin negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA), to create one of the world’s largest free trade areas worth $2.4 trillion.

GCC secretary general Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi and Turkish trade minister Omer Bolat signed a pact to proceed with the t…[Read more]

Egypt and Turkey turn a corner but Lebanon flounders

The countries of the Eastern Mediterranean have faced significant and ongoing economic, financial and political crises.

But while Turkey and Egypt may have turned a corner, Lebanon’s economic recovery will be more protracted.

Following a $35 billion investment deal with UAE sovereign w…[Read more]

Turkish operator to invest in Saudi airport expansion

Turkish airport operator TAV Airports will invest $71.5 million as part of the $275 million expansion plan for Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport, better known as Madinah Airport, in Saudi Arabia, according to a media report.

The new investment will increase Madinah…[Read more]

Turkish steel in the black but EU rules rankle

Turkey’s steel industry has rebounded strongly from a weak 2023, despite facing new emissions standards and competition for important markets.

Crude steel output rose 25 percent year on year to 3.2 million tonnes in January, with domestic consumption of finished steel reaching 3.5 million tonnes, a…[Read more]

Turkey offers to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks as Erdogan hosts Zelenskyy

Turkey is ready to host a summit between Ukraine and Russia to end the war, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul.

Speaking after their meeting on Friday, Erdogan, who has balanced relations with…[Read more]

Far-left group claims attack on Tesla factory in Germany

Tesla has halted production at its German factory after power lines supplying the plant were set on fire in an act of “sabotage” claimed by a far-left group.

Emergency services were called early on Tuesday after reports of a burning electricity pylon southeast of Berlin close to the Tes…[Read more]

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]