HAMBURG: Hosts Germany will face Scotland in the opening match of Euro 2024 in Munich following the draw on Saturday. The Germans, three-times winners, will kick off the one-month tournament in Munich on June 14, with the final on July 14 in Berlin’s Olympic stadium. The draw was held at the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in
MUNICH: Heavy snowfall brought chaos to parts of southern Germany on Saturday, with air and rail traffic blocked in the Bavarian state capital of Munich. The heavy snowfall prompted an all-day cancellation of flights and long-distance trains out of Munich, with Christmas markets closed, some ski lifts unable to run and a football match called
KARACHI: The German Consul General in Karachi, Dr Rudiger Lotz, affirmed Germany’s support for Pakistan in dealing with climate change challenges. Speaking at a ceremony marking German Unity Day held at the German Consulate, Karachi, Dr Lotz highlighted the 75-year history of relations between Germany and Pakistan and the ongoing cooperation across education, business, and
PARIS: France intends to complete a bilateral security guarantee accord with Ukraine by the start 2024, its foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday. G7 countries in June unveiled an international framework for the long-term security of Ukraine to boost its finances and defences against Russia with a view to deterring Moscow from future aggression, officials
PARIS: France said on Wednesday that the European Union should consider sanctions on Israeli settlers who have targeted Palestinians in the West Bank as an option and that talks at the EU to impose sanctions on Hamas commanders were progressing. U.N. figures show that daily settler attacks have more than doubled since Hamas’ surprise attack
PARIS: The Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh won the right to host the Expo 2030 world fair, vote results showed on Tuesday, in another diplomatic victory for a Gulf country after last year's soccer World Cup in Qatar. South Korea's port city of Busan and Rome in Italy were also in the running to host the
PARIS: French authorities on Tuesday arrested 41 people in raids against a controversial yoga sect, including its leader, the guru Gregorian Bivolaru, a source close to the case said. The sect is accused of numerous abuses under Bivolaru, who has been repeatedly in the crosshairs of judicial authorities in Romania, Sweden and France in the
BARCELONA: Qatar, Egypt, the United States, the European Union and Spain are working to extend the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister said on Monday. After calling for a lasting ceasefire to avoid an increase in civilian deaths, Riyad Al-Maliki said the current truce could be
MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Sunday defended comments he made about the Israeli offensive in Gaza which angered Israel, saying “it was a question of being humane”. Visiting the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Friday with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Sanchez said the “indiscriminate killings of innocent civilians”
MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Sunday defended comments he made about the Israeli offensive in Gaza which angered Israel, saying "it was a question of being humane". Visiting the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Friday with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Sanchez said the "indiscriminate killings of innocent civilians"
Fresh off losing to Novak Djokovic in the ATP Finals title match last Sunday, Jannik Sinner of Italy defeated the Serbian star 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 on Saturday, then beat Djokovic in a doubles match to send Italy to its first Davis Cup final in 25 years. In the singles victory, Sinner saved three match points
FRANKFURT: Germany’s intensifying budget crisis is hitting Europe’s top economy where it hurts most: its reputation as a reliable partner for industry, some of which now fears that Berlin may not stand by its pledges to fund green and other projects. As well as tearing a 60 billion euro ($65 billion) hole in the government’s
ROME: Like many young people growing up in Sardinia, Davide Sanna loved Italian cuisine and wanted to have a succesful career as a chef. But to do so, he had to move to New York. Sanna had worked in kitchens on the Mediterranean island and in northern Italy for four years, starting when he was
NICE: French police on Friday detained Algerian international Youcef Atal, who plays for Ligue 1 football side Nice, in a probe into suspected “justification of terrorism” after he published a social media post on the Israel-Hamas war, prosecutors said. Last month the 27-year-old defender was banned for seven matches over the post, which he quickly
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday denounced what he called the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians in Gaza, drawing an angry response from Israel which said the remarks gave terrorism a boost. Speaking on a visit to Gaza’s Rafah border with his Belgian counterpart Alexander De Croo, Sanchez also called for a lasting humanitarian ceasefire
BEIJING: China will temporarily exempt citizens from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia from needing visas when visiting the world’s second-largest economy in a fresh move to spur post-pandemic tourism. From Dec. 1 this year to Nov. 30, 2024, citizens from those countries entering China for business, tourism, sightseeing, visiting relatives and friends
BEIJING: France is hoping Beijing will be “vigilant” against any Chinese support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, Paris’s top diplomat said Friday following a day of talks with Chinese officials. “We are counting on the vigilance of the Chinese authorities so that no structure in China… contributes directly or indirectly to Russia’s illegal war effort,”
PARIS: Italy, France, and Spain must do more to tackle rising debt and deficit levels, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva told European media, flagging “very modest” European growth in the post-Covid climate. “These three countries have seen their debt-to-GDP ratios jump significantly,” she said in an interview with several newspapers, according to a transcript published Thursday
FRANKFURT: Germany on Thursday said raids were underway in four regions on the homes of members and supporters of alleged Hamas and another Palestinian organisation which are banned in the country. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement that they are carrying out action “by banning Hamas and Samidoun in Germany”. The statement added
BERLIN: German Finance Minister Christian Lindner will propose a supplementary budget for this year which includes the suspension of limits on new borrowing, as he tries to ease a budgetary crisis caused by a court ruling last week. The German government has in the last week scrambled to find a way to accommodate a constitutional