Almaty implements artificial intelligence in smart city development
Almaty in Kazakhstan is making confident strides in digital transformation by building a comprehensive "smart city" infrastructure powered by artifici...
Germany edged out of recession with 0.2 % growth in the first quarter, but the recovery looked shaky as unemployment climbed to its highest level since the pandemic and looming U.S. tariffs threatened to stall momentum.
Germany’s economy eked out 0.2 % growth in the first quarter, breaking a run of two straight contractions, but fresh labour-market data and looming U.S. tariffs highlight the fragility of the upturn.
Preliminary figures from the statistics office on Wednesday showed GDP rising exactly as forecast, buoyed by consumer spending and stronger investment after a 0.2 % slide at the end of 2024. “Any positive number is welcome, but the increase is far too small to end Germany’s long stagnation,” said ING economist Carsten Brzeski.
Headline inflation eased to 2.2 % in April, near expectations and adding weight to calls for further European Central Bank rate cuts after June’s trim to 2.25 %. Core inflation, however, quickened to 2.9 % from 2.6 %, underscoring sticky domestic price pressures.
Despite the GDP uptick, the number of jobless Germans rose again in April and the unemployment rate hit its highest level since the pandemic. Deutsche Bank economist Marc Schattenberg blamed tariff uncertainty for sapping hiring, especially in export-focused manufacturing.
Economists fear the rebound could fizzle as higher U.S. duties on EU goods dampen orders later this year. The Ifo Institute warns output may shrink again by summer; JP Morgan says continued weakness could mark a third consecutive year of contraction—unprecedented for a G7 economy.
Retail sales, which had looked brighter earlier in the quarter, slipped 0.2 % in March, while import prices climbed, hinting at renewed inflation pressures. Corporate sentiment is also under strain: Mercedes-Benz withdrew its earnings outlook and Volkswagen flagged profits at the lower end of its guidance.
A centre-right coalition due to take office next week faces an urgent task: reviving Europe’s largest economy by restoring business confidence and unlocking consumer spending.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
Multiple people are dead and several others are unaccounted for after a blast on Friday morning in Tennessee at a military explosives company, according to law enforcement.
Peru's lawmakers swore in Congress chief Jose Jeri as the country's new president less than an hour after unanimously voting to remove President Dina Boluarte, as anger mounted over rising crime and accusations of corruption.
South Korea on Friday summoned Cambodia’s ambassador to lodge a protest over the death of a South Korean student in the country and raised its travel advisory for Phnom Penh amid a surge in online scam cases targeting Korean nationals.
Leaders of CIS member states signed an agreement establishing the new ‘CIS Plus’ format at a summit in Dushanbe, expanding the organisation’s framework for cooperation with other states and regional bodies.
Large parts of Kyiv were plunged into darkness in the early hours of Friday after Russian drones and missiles struck Ukrainian energy facilities, cutting power and water to homes and halting a key metro link across the Dnipro river.
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