Volkswacht Bodensee - News from Lake Constance, St. Gallen, Thurgau, Schaffhausen, Switzerland, Europe and the whole world

Pope Francis spent a peaceful night in hospital, the Vatican said Friday, a day after it noted improvement in his clinical condition for a second straight day.

Two Russian divers were found dead, one in the jaws of a shark, after a strong current separated them from their group in a popular Philippine scuba spot, a coast guard official said Friday.

Authorities will provide on Friday an update about their investigation into the deaths of Oscar-winning cinema giant Gene Hackman and his wife, who were found dead in their home in circumstances police are calling "suspicious."

Lydia Ko surged up a tight leaderboard with a five-under-par 67 in scorching Singapore on Friday to trail South Korea's Kim A-lim by one shot after the second round of the HSBC Women's World Championship.

China missed a key climate target in 2024 and emissions in the world's second-largest economy rose slightly as coal remained dominant despite record renewable additions, official data showed Friday.

Asian markets tumbled on Friday as US President Donald Trump's volley of tariff measures sparked fresh fears about a global trade war that could hammer struggling economies.

Patterned poop bags, frilly dog dresses and exotic animals including wombats and meerkats were on display at a bustling pet expo in Beijing, where the industry continues to thrive despite a sluggish economy.

Nigeria's economic crisis is hitting renters in Lagos hard as landlords pass down the costs of spiralling inflation -- pushing residents further out, upending children's education and adding to workers' already infamous commutes.

China on Friday vowed to take "all necessary countermeasures" after US President Donald Trump said he would impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports.

Residents of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion were ordered Friday to stay indoors as a cyclone bore down that authorities said could bring gusts of 200 kilometres per hour (125 mph) and sea swells more than eight metres (26 feet) high.

Five-year-old Shado is one of dozens of children being rushed to a health center in the US state of Texas to get the measles vaccine, after the recent death in the area of a child who was not immunized against the highly contagious virus.

Tokyo's Skytree soars 634 metres (2,080 feet) upwards, giving spectacular views of the Japanese megalopolis and -- on a clear day -- the majestic Mount Fuji.

A week ago Donald Trump branded Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator. On Friday he will host the Ukrainian president at the White House and sign a deal granting Washington access to Ukraine's rare minerals.

Six-time world champion Marc Marquez fired a warning heading into the first race weekend of the MotoGP season by going fastest in opening practice at Buriram in Thailand on Friday.

Real Betis face Real Madrid on Saturday with playmaker Isco returning to his best ahead of the reunion with his former team in La Liga, while explosive winger Antony has been cleared to play after his red card was overturned.

France full-back Leo Barre said he wants to transfer his impressive Six Nations form to Stade Francais as the Parisian club, who host La Rochelle on Saturday, fight for their French Top 14 survival.

Paris Saint-Germain face Lille on Saturday in a clash of France's remaining Champions League hopefuls before a potentially season-defining showdown with Liverpool in the last 16.

US President Donald Trump's abrupt pivot to Russia will remould Moscow's ties with China but is unlikely to prise apart its flourishing partnership with Beijing, analysts say.

Talks resume in Cairo Friday on a second phase of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire that mediators hope will bring a lasting end to the Gaza conflict, a day after Israel's military acknowledged its "complete failure" to prevent the 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war.

Andrew Tate, a right-wing influencer charged with rape and human trafficking in Romania, arrived in the United States on Thursday -- the first time he has been out of the eastern European country since his 2022 arrest.

Senior Vietnamese official Nguyen Linh believes he has much more to give in the job he has worked his whole life but will soon retire as part of a radical government cost-cutting drive approved last week.

Stand-in skipper Steph Catley says World Cup semi-finalists Australia will "fight back" from an alarming slump in form, but the return of star striker Sam Kerr cannot come soon enough.

Asian markets tracked losses across the world Friday as US President Donald Trump's volley of tariff measures sparked fresh fears about a global trade war that could hammer struggling economies.

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof's "The Seed of the Sacred Fig" won a special prize at the Cannes film festival last year and is hoping to go one better at the Oscars on Sunday.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr travel to Iran in the Asian Champions League next week with his side one of three from Saudi Arabia in the last 16 of the region's top club competition.

US president Andrew Jackson famously reacted to an unfavorable ruling by the Supreme Court chief justice with the defiant rejoinder: "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it."

The international success of "Flow", an animated Latvian film about a cat's quest to escape rising waters, has taken its director by surprise.

Greece is expected to come to a standstill Friday with sweeping strikes and protests to mark the second anniversary of the country's worst rail tragedy, that left 57 dead in 2023.

China's leadership convenes next week for closed-door meetings to hammer out plans to shield the ailing economy from tariffs and trade threats from US President Donald Trump.

Manchester City's hopes of a trophy this season now rest solely on the FA Cup ahead of Saturday's visit of second-tier Plymouth, while holders Manchester United also desperately need silverware to rescue a miserable campaign.

In Kibbutz Nirim, hard by the Gaza border, the sound of hammers cuts through the silence that has settled on this small Israeli farming community since a ceasefire took effect on January 19.

The two films could hardly be more different: a raucous, rip-roaring indie about a sex worker, and an elegant, big-studio drama set in the Vatican.