German man convicted of spying on parliament for Russians

A German man was handed a two-year suspended sentence yesterday for passing on floor plans of parliament buildings to Russian secret services while employed by a security company.
28 October 2021

European states call on Israel to halt settler project

A group of 12 European countries yesterday urged Israel to scrap plans for the construction of more than 3,000 settler homes in the occupied
28 October 2021

Luxembourg PM admits plagiarising university dissertation

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel on Wednesday admitted he should have acted "differently" after accusations he plagiarised swathes of his university thesis.
28 October 2021

World set for 2.7C rise in temperature

Current commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions put the planet on track for an average 2.7 degrees Celsius temperature rise this century, a United Nations report said on Tuesday, in another stark warning ahead of crunch climate talks.
27 October 2021

Less than 1pc fund assets Paris climate goal compliant

Only 158 investment funds with just 0.5 percent of assets under management are currently in line with Paris accord goals of limiting the increase
27 October 2021

Quote of the day

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
27 October 2021

Germany cuts 2021 GDP growth forecast

The German government has cut its economic growth forecast for this year to 2.6 per cent, but lifted its estimate for next year to 4.1  per cent as supply problems are delaying the recovery in Europe’s largest economy, two sources familiar with the decision said on Tuesday.
26 October 2021

$100b target can be reached in 2023

A decade-old target for rich countries to contribute $100 billion a year to help poorer ones fight climate change should be attainable in 2023, ministers said yesterday ahead of the COP26 summit.
25 October 2021

World ‘way off track’

Greenhouse gas concentrations hit a new record in 2020, the UN weather agency said yesterday, warning that the world was “way off track” to reach its goals for capping rising temperatures.
25 October 2021

This day in history

1951 - Winston Churchill was appointed British prime minister for a second time after his Conservative party narrowly won an election.
25 October 2021

Man asks cops to jail him to escape wife

For some people, going to prison can feel like escaping to freedom. 
24 October 2021

Facebook boss ‘not willing to protect public from harm’

The Facebook whistleblower whose revelations have tipped the social media giant into crisis has launched a stinging new criticism of Mark Zuckerberg, saying he has not shown any readiness to protect the public from the harm his company is causing.
24 October 2021

German anti-migrant far-right vigilantes stopped at Polish border from patrolling

German police said on Sunday they had stopped more than 50 far-right vigilantes armed with pepper spray, a bayonet, a machete and batons who were trying to patrol the Polish border to stop migrants from entering the country.
24 October 2021

Erdogan says he ordered to declare 10 Western countries' envoys unwanted

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday he had ordered the foreign ministry to declare 10 ambassadors from Western countries 'persona non grata' for calling for the release of philanthropist Osman Kavala.
23 October 2021

Ukraine posts record Covid deaths and cases for second day

Ukraine’s capital on Friday reimposed restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus as the ex-Soviet nation reported record Covid-19 deaths and cases for the second day in a row. 
23 October 2021

Russia reports new death record as Covid-19 surge continues

Russia is reporting a record high number of coronavirus infections and Covid-19 deaths as the country approaches a week of nonworking days aimed at stemming the sharp surge in cases.
23 October 2021

‘Very worried’

UN chief Antonio Guterres said Thursday that the current climate situation was “a one-way ticket for disaster” and stressed the need to “avoid a failure” at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.
22 October 2021

Amnesty presses Italy on Covid probe as parliament stalls

Italy should urgently launch a public inquiry into its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Amnesty International rights group said yesterday, as lawmakers in Rome dithered over the issue.
22 October 2021

Fire kills 15 at Russian explosives factory

Fifteen people died and one person was missing after a fire broke out at a Russian explosives factory southeast of Moscow yesterday,
22 October 2021

‘Europe will miss her’

European leaders heaped praise on German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday as she attended what is likely her last EU summit after a 16-year reign heavily influencing the bloc through major ups and downs. 
22 October 2021