Letter from Nikkei Asia’s editor: Panasonic’s EV battery comeback plan

Hello from Tokyo. Last week, the people of Taiwan elected as their next president Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which Beijing brands as separatist. The vote focused mainly on how to deal with China, but so far both sides have shown restraint, and it…[Read more]

Gender pay gap in Germany: Women earn 18% less than men

Women in Germany earned 18% less on average than men in 2023, the country’s Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) said on Thursday. On an adjusted basis, the gap was 6%, it added.

The report showed that women, on average, earned €20.84 ($22.7) per hour last year, compared with €25.3 for men…[Read more]

German farmers’ anger overshadows agriculture fair

Chickens strut and cluck, piglets play under heat lamps, a huge bull is led by a nose ring into a box lined with fresh straw. At Berlin’s Green Week in, the world’s largest agricultural and food trade fair, farmers want to show their best side.

But at this year’s fair, the mood is not entirely…[Read more]

Germany’s parliament votes on easing dual citizenship

Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, was on Friday set to vote on easing the law on naturalization and widening access to dual citizenship.

The German government says the law should help make Germany more attractive to skilled workers internationally, helping to ease stifling…[Read more]

Germany seeks Cologne Cathedral attack suspect’s deportation

German police said Saturday that they are pressing forward with deportation proceedings for a young man accused of planning a New Year’s Eve terror attack on Cologne Cathedral.

The Dortmund District Court had granted a deportation warrant for the 25-year-old man on Friday, according…[Read more]

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]

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]

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]