World
- Businessdpa international
German aviation association expects air travel costs to rise
Ticket prices for air travel in Germany are expected to rise, according to Jens Bischof, president of the German Aviation Association (BDL). "Arrivals and departures in Germany will become significantly more expensive," Bischof told the newspapers of the Funke Media Group in a story published on Tuesday. Although the higher aviation tax introduced in May is already reflected in ticket prices, Bischof said from January, the fee cap for airport security checks will increase from €10 ($10.50) to €1
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Former Italian prime minister Draghi sees leadership vacuum in Europe
The former head of both the European Central Bank and the Italian government lamented on Monday over the "leadership vacuum" stemming from weakened leadership in France and Germany. "The Franco-German leadership is weakened," Mario Draghi said at an awards ceremony in Milan. "But I see no other leadership capable of leading Europe into a common future. There is a leadership vacuum, but we must be patient and await the results of the elections in Germany." Draghi was referring to the dissolution
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Netanyahu says Israel is 'transforming the face of the Middle East'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said his country is "transforming the face of the Middle East" following the overthrow of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad. Speaking at an evening press briefing, Netanyahu said Israel was defeating its enemies "step by step" in what he called an "existential war that has been imposed upon us." Netanyahu referred to al-Assad's regime as a "central element of Iran's axis of evil," accusing Syria of promoting hatred against Israel, attacking during t
1 min read - WorldBBC
Germany to tighten people-smuggling law in UK deal
The Joint Action Plan sees Germany commit to making it easier to prosecute those facilitating people-smuggling to the UK.
4 min read - WorldBBC
Israel carries out dozens of air strikes across Syria, reports say
Israel says it is acting to stop weapons falling "into the hands of extremists" following the end of Assad's regime.
6 min read - WorldAFP
Old military event picture falsely portrayed as night of S.Korea martial law
South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late on December 3 before he was forced into a U-turn after lawmakers faced down soldiers at parliament and voted to overturn the measure as thousands protested outside. But a picture that ricocheted across social media worldwide does not show tanks rolling into the capital Seoul after Yoon's shock announcement. The photo dates back to news reports from January 2024 about a military exercise in the city.
2 min read - WorldINSIDER
Ukraine's changing up its Black Sea attacks on Russia with drone boats armed with machine guns and flying exploding drones
Ukraine has continued to innovate with its naval drones, including by outfitting them with rocket launchers and missiles.
3 min read - WorldBBC
Comeback victory confirmed for Ghana's John Mahama
The man who led Ghana from 2012 to 2017 is once again elected president, official results show.
3 min read - WorldBBC
Syrian asylum seekers in limbo as countries stop applications
Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Greece have all said they will suspend asylum decisions for now.
3 min read - BusinessThe Independent
Air Canada’s new baggage fees spark government backlash
Canada’s transport minister said she is ‘not very happy’ with the decision
2 min read - WorldAFP
India plane crash footage misrepresented as Assad fleeing Syria
As Islamist-led rebels swept into Damascus and Bashar al-Assad fled, some social media users claimed a video showed the ousted Syrian president's plane downed and in flames. But the clip is unrelated to the December 2024 offensive ; the depicted aircraft crashed in India months earlier after a technical issue forced the pilot to eject .
2 min read - WorldBBC
UK sanctions Kenyan businessman over illicit gold trade
Pattni has been accused of smuggling gold and exploiting natural resources in Africa for decades.
2 min read - WorldPC Mag
NATO Considers Aquatic Drones to Protect Undersea Internet Cables
NATO is preparing the robot fleet after a Chinese commercial ship may have deliberately damaged two undersea fiber cables.
1 min read - WorldSemafor
Most of globe has become more arid, UN finds, as COP16 talks continue in Riyadh
The UN report comes as world leaders meet in Saudi Arabia for the agency's COP16 conference on land desertification.
3 min read - WorldAssociated Press
Ghana's ex-leader is declared the presidential election winner and pledges 'reset' in a bad economy
Ghana’s former leader John Dramani Mahama was declared the winner of the presidential election on Monday and pledged a “a life of limitless opportunity” for citizens after voters vented their anger over the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. Previously president of the West African nation between 2012 and 2017, the 65-year-old Mahama received 56.5% of votes cast, or 6.3 million votes, the electoral commission said. Mahama had promised to “reset” the country on various front
3 min read - Worlddpa international
Hamas welcomes fall of al-Assad in Syria
The Islamist group Hamas - which has been fighting against Israeli forces in Gaza - on Monday congratulated the Syrian people on toppling the Syrian regime and ousting Bashar al-Assad. "The Hamas Islamic resistance movement congratulates the brotherly Syrian people on their success in fulfilling their struggle for freedom and justice," it said. It also called on Syria to keep supporting the Palestinian people. Iran supports Hamas and also backed al-Assad's regime in its conflict with rebel group
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Man killed in Palestinian Authority operation in West Bank
A man was killed and a youth injured when Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces conducted an operation against members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the West Bank, the WAFA news agency reported. The PA said it had moved against "lawless" elements in a days-long operation aimed at restoring law and order in Jenin in the north of the West Bank. The man killed was 19, and the youth, who suffered a serious head injury, was 16, the report said. Jenin has long been seen as an Is
1 min read - Worlddpa international
WWF: 2024 Amazon forest fire season burns area roughly size of Italy
Tens of thousands of fires swept through the Brazilian Amazon during the recently concluded forest fire season, with the environmental organization WWF reporting on Monday that the blazes destroyed an area about the size of Italy. From the beginning of the year to the end of November, around 135,000 fires were registered, according to recent data released by the Institute for Space Research (Inpe), which is responsible for satellite monitoring. This was about 44% more than in the same period las
1 min read - Worlddpa international
NATO: Russian and Iran responsible too for Syrian people's suffering
Russia and Iran share responsibility for the crimes committed against the Syrian people by Bashar al-Assad's regime, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday. Moscow and Tehran were Assad's main supporters, Rutte said in a statement. "They also proved to be unreliable partners, abandoning Assad when he ceased to be of use to them,” he added. Rutte described the sudden overthrow of former Syrian ruler al-Assad by Islamist rebels as "a moment of joy but also uncertainty for the people of S
1 min read - BusinessOffshore Technology
Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leasing programme advances
The programme includes three Gulf of Mexico (GOM) oil and gas lease sales over five years, balancing energy security and climate goals.
2 min read - WorldSemafor
How to brand Africa
As a result of negative coverage of the continent Africa pays an additional £3.2 billion ($4.1 billion) for interest on their sovereign debt.
2 min read - BusinessJust Food
Nestlé cereal JV explores options for France factory
Cereal Partners France said there has been a “structural decline” in Europe’s breakfast-cereals market since the end of the 2010s.
2 min read - Worlddpa international
Too soon to speculate on Syrian refugees from Germany, minister says
German politicians already speculating about whether Syrian refugees will go home following the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad are speaking prematurely, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Monday. "The end of the brutal tyranny of the Syrian dictator Assad is a great relief for many people who have suffered torture, murder and terror," Faeser said while visiting London. Many Syrian refugees in Germany now finally have hope of returning home and rebuilding their country, she said. "Howev
1 min read - WorldHowStuffWorks
Nile Crocodile: Giant, Vicious and Surprisingly Social
Found across Africa, these aquatic giants are known for their incredible hunting abilities, remarkable parenting instincts. To be honest, their ability to make us glad we're not in their neighborhood!
5 min read - WorldAFP
Photos show Lesotho minimarket owner, not a corner shop in South Africa
The deaths of 23 children around Johannesburg this year from suspected food poisoning has ignited anger in South Africa against foreign nationals who run small corner shops known as spazas. Amid the backlash, authorities in November gave spaza owners 21 days to register their businesses or risk closure. As tensions rose, anti-immigrant accounts on social media shared photos of a young woman inside a store, claiming she was a South African trader who had opened a spaza shop -- the implication bei
4 min read - BusinessClinical Trials Arena
Supply chains too often “last cog” implemented in clinical trials
A panel highlighted the importance of supply chain prioritisation at the Outsourcing in Clinical Trials and Clinical Trial Supply East Asia conference in Seoul.
3 min read - Businessdpa international
Strikes hit Volkswagen plants across Germany in showdown over cuts
Rolling strikes hit nine of auto giant Volkswagen's plants across Germany for the second time this month, as the Volkswagen workforce protests painful proposed cuts at Europe's largest carmaker. Monday's strikes ratchet up the pressure on management on the same day that the fourth round of collective bargaining negotiations over pay cuts and threatened factory closures got under way on Monday in Wolfsburg, VW's headquarters. VW executives say that high labour costs in Germany are contributing to
3 min read - Worlddpa international
Scholz urges EU action to boost steel industry
Action is needed at the EU level to strengthen the struggling steel industry, a spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday following a steel industry summit in Berlin. Scholz hosted labour leaders and executives from Germany's steel industry to discuss possible efforts to prop up the sector, which for years has struggled against lower-cost competition from Asia and a fluctuating market. The German government has urged the European Commission to keep important relief measures for
2 min read - BusinessBenzinga
EXCLUSIVE: Crown And 529 Capital To Co-Build and Co-Own Reverse Osmosis Plant in Mexico
On Monday, Crown Electrokinetics Corp (NASDAQ:CRKN) announced that its Water Solutions division plans to construct and co-own a reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment plant in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to desalinate water collected from its proprietary design slant wells. The company and 529 Capital, a real estate development firm in the Baja Peninsula, will co-build and co-own the new RO plant. Together, they will provide the region with a new, reliable supply of clean, safe drinking water. Also Re
2 min read - Worlddpa international
Germany pauses all pending Syrian asylum cases after al-Assad ouster
Germany has halted decisions on asylum applications from Syrian citizens following the ouster of former Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, a spokesman for the Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) told dpa on Monday. The decision comes after rapidly advancing Syrian rebel groups seized control of the capital Damascus following more than a decade of bloody civil war in the country, with al-Assad himself leaving for Russia. The halt applies to more than 47,000 asylum applications from Syrians in Ger
4 min read - WorldINSIDER
Russia fired 4 times as many drones and missiles at Ukraine in the past 3 months as it did a year earlier: report
Russia launched more than 6,000 drones and missiles against Ukraine during September, October, and November, according to The Wall Street Journal.
2 min read - BusinessInteresting Engineering
China completes world’s largest 700 MWh vanadium flow battery storage project
The Xinhua Ushi ESS vanadium flow battery project - termed the world's largest - is located in Ushi, China.
3 min read - Worlddpa international
With al-Assad gone, German opposition raises return of Syria refugees
A day after Syrian rebel groups seized control of the capital Damascus, senior leaders of Germany's conservative CDU/CSU bloc suggested encouraging refugees to return to the country. Bashar al-Assad, Syria's strongman president, fled to Russia after a coalition of rebel groups, including Islamist extremist fighters, swept through formerly government-held areas of the country in a rapid offensive. Germany should now charter aircraft to send Syrians who had fled from al-Assad's regime back to thei
2 min read - Worlddpa international
President Yoon banned from leaving South Korea
South Korea's Ministry of Justice has banned President Yoon Suk Yeol from leaving the country, as the country's political crisis deepens. The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on Monday that the reason for the travel ban is the ongoing investigation against Yoon on suspicion of high treason. Yoon unexpectedly imposed martial law on his country last Tuesday night and hours later, after massive political resistance, repealed the order. On Saturday evening, a motion by the opposition to impe
1 min read - Worlddpa international
How a rising film star in Iran strives to carefully break barriers
"What if I were you?" Fereshte Hosseini's voice carries an urgency as if she poses the question to herself while also addressing the world. Born to Afghan immigrants in Iran, Hosseini has risen to prominence in the country's film industry, all while challenging the societal expectations placed on women in Iran. "I wanted to earn respect," she says. Her words testify to a lifelong battle for recognition — an arduous journey to rise above the poverty that shaped her upbringing and to confront the
5 min read - Worlddpa international
Russia requests UN Security Council meeting on Syria
The UN Security Council is to convene for an emergency session on Monday after Syrian rebels declared president Bashar al-Assad's ouster and seized control of Damascus on Sunday. The meeting, requested by Russia, will take place behind closed doors, diplomatic sources told dpa. Syrians were facing a new political reality on Sunday after rebels took the capital Damascus, ending the two-decade regime of al-Assad, who was reported to have fled the country for Moscow. A rebel alliance led by the Isl
1 min read - Businessdpa international
Volkswagen braces for fresh strikes as salary cut talks resume
Workers at Europe's largest carmaker, Volkswagen, are set to launch rolling strikes at nine plants in Germany for the second time in a week on Monday. The strikes ratchet up the pressure on management on the same day that the fourth round of negotiations over pay cuts and factory closures gets under way. IG Metall, the union representing most Volkswagen workers, is rejecting the company's call for employees to accept a 10% reduction in salaries in order to help the carmaker remain competitive. T
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Police say Australian synagogue arson a 'likely' terrorist attack
Australian police on Monday said that an arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne is being treated as a terrorist incident. Emergency services were called to a fire in the Adass Israel Synagogue, located in the Ripponlea area in south-east Melbourne, in the early hours of Friday. Witnesses told police they had seen people inside the premises pour liquid on the floor. The fire caused significant damage to the building, but firefighters quickly contained the blaze. Victoria Police Chief Commission
2 min read - WorldBBC
Welsh sailor's heroic role in grisly shipwreck
Twm Pen-Stryd was one of three survivors from the Cospatrick, which shipwrecked off Africa in 1874.
6 min read - Worlddpa international
Palestinian president Abbas calls for Syrian territorial unity
After the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for Syria's territorial unity to be upheld. "We reaffirm the need to respect the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic," reads a statement from his office in Ramallah in the West Bank, distributed by the official news agency Wafa. "The state of Palestine and its people stand by the side of the brotherly Syrian people," Abbas' statement added. Al-Assad's government had
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Syrians across Germany rejoice at demise of despised leader al-Assad
Germany's Syrian migrant community took to the streets in their thousands over the weekend to celebrate the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad, whose brutal attacks on civilians drove hundreds of thousands towards Europe in search of safety. At the height of the country's civil war in 2015, Germany admitted some 890,000 Syrian refugees into the country under the so-called Willkommenskultur ("welcoming culture") immigration policy spearheaded by then chancellor Angela Merkel. Almost a decade la
4 min read - USModern Car Collector
13-Year-Old Totals Lamborghini Huracan in Rainy Vancouver
A 13-year-old driver's joyride in a Lamborghini Huracan turned into a nightmare on Vancouver's rainy streets. The vivid orange supercar, a symbol of automotive opulence, met a tragic fate on March 25 when it veered off the Trans Canada Highway and landed in a ditch, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Responding to the scene, officers from the West Vancouver Police Department were met with a scene of devastation, with the Arancio Xanto-colored Huracan lying totaled in the ditch. Despite
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Israel terminates 1974 agreement with Syria on separation of forces
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday declared the 1974 separation of forces agreement between Israel and Syria effectively terminated as he visited the Golan Heights in the company of Defence Minister Israel Katz. Referring to the agreement, Netanyahu said: "Last night it collapsed. The Syrian army abandoned its positions. We gave the Israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel." He added that
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Monitor: Israel unleashes a series of strikes in Syria
Israel mounted a series of airstrikes in Syria on Sunday, including the capital Damascus, the first since rebels ended Bashar al-Assad's rule and forced him to flee, a monitoring group reported. Israeli warplanes targeted military depots in the vicinity of a scientific centre near Damascus and an army outpost in the countryside of the capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Earlier on Sunday, Israeli aerial bombardment targeted the area of the Mezzeh military airport in Damascus a
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Netanyahu says al-Assad's fall opens 'opportunity' for Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the end of Bashar al-Assad's rule in Syria means important "opportunity" as well as risks for Israel. Netanyahu said Israel is interested in "neighbourly relations" with Syria, but also in making sure "that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel." During a visit to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights accompanied by Defence Minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu said this "historic day" for the Middle East was a "direct result
1 min read - Worlddpa international
EU foreign policy head Kallas welcomes end of al-Assad in Syria
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has welcomed the toppling of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. "The end of Assad's dictatorship is a positive and long-awaited development. It also shows the weakness of Assad's backers, Russia and Iran," Kallas posted on X. "Our priority is to ensure security in the region. I will work with all the constructive partners, in Syria and in the region," she added.
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Moscow appeals for Syrian parties to refrain from using force
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued an appeal on Sunday for all parties involved in the toppling of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to refrain from the use of force. Al-Assad had abandoned his post and left Syria, the ministry said, without providing any information on the location of its former ally. Russia was in contact with groups in Syria, it said. Moscow had provided military support to al-Assad's regime since 2015. The ministry said Assad had ordered a peaceful transfer of power. "Russia ha
2 min read - Worlddpa international
Scholz welcomes end of al-Assad's rule in Syria
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has welcomed the end of President Bashar al-Assad's rule in Syria. Scholz said on Sunday that al-Assad had brutally oppressed his people and had countless deaths on his conscience. He stated that al-Assad had driven many people to flee Syria, with many of them arriving in Germany. "The Syrian people have suffered terrible hardships. The end of Assad's rule over Syria is therefore good news." Now it is important for law and order to be swiftly restored in Syria, he s
1 min read - Worlddpa international
France welcomes the overthrow of al-Assad in Syria
France has welcomed the end of President Bashar al-Assad's rule in Syria. After 13 years of extremely violent oppression of his own people, he is leaving behind a country that is largely emptied of its population — either because they have gone into exile, or were massacred, tortured, and bombarded with chemical weapons by the regime and its allies, the Foreign Ministry said in Paris on Sunday. The Syrians have suffered too much, the statement continued. At the same time, the ministry called for
1 min read - Worlddpa international
Joy in Germany at end of al-Assad dynasty rule in Syria
Syrian exiles in Germany expressed euphoria on Sunday at the toppling of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad as they followed news of the rapid developments in their home country. "Let us reconstruct our Syria together," human rights lawyer Michal Shammas wrote on his Facebook page. Hassan al-Aswad of the Syrian Democratic Alliance called on Syrians to forgive those who had been part of the old system but who had not committed serious crimes. The lawyer from the south-western Syrian city of
2 min read
