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

Russia's central bank kept interest rates at 21 percent on Friday despite surging inflation, a surprise decision that follows criticism from the country's political and business elite over the effects of higher borrowing costs on the economy.

European stock markets slid for a second session running Friday and the dollar dropped as investors grow concerned about the economic outlook for next year.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot says he is a fan of Ange Postecoglou's gung-ho approach to football and hopes he wins a trophy -- just not the League Cup -- after the teams were paired together in the semi-finals.

Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was a surprise guest at the final gig of former band-mate Paul McCartney's London tour, with the pair reuniting to play some of the Fab Four's greatest hits.

President Emmanuel Macron faced accusations of racism Friday over an alleged comment on problems in French hospitals which the Elysee strongly denies he made.

Switzerland's financial regulator was ineffective in tackling the scandals at Credit Suisse, where executive mismanagement scuppered the bank and nearly triggered a global financial crisis, a Swiss inquiry concluded Friday.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was defiant Friday as he arrived for the verdict in his long-running trial for blocking a migrant rescue ship at sea, for which he risks six years in jail.

Malaysia announced on Friday it has agreed to launch a new search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared 10 years ago in one of aviation's greatest enduring mysteries.

Equities fell Friday while the dollar maintained gains against its peers as investors assessed the fallout from the Federal Reserve's revised outlook for interest rate cuts and prepared for a second Donald Trump presidency.

China has lifted a ban on imports of Australian live rock lobsters, Canberra said Friday, demolishing the final barrier in a broader, multibillion-dollar trade war between the countries.

Equities mostly fell Friday while the dollar maintained gains against its peers as investors assessed the fallout from the Federal Reserve's revised outlook for interest rate cuts and prepared for a second Donald Trump presidency.

Outside the school of one of Greece's smallest inhabited islands, Sikinos, two massive trucks have braved an eight-hour sea voyage to bring residents much-needed medical expertise in the depths of winter.

Taiwanese lawmakers tackled and doused each other with water on Friday as President Lai Ching-te's party tried to block the passage of bills they say could harm the self-ruled island's "democratic system".

Lyubov Voronova still remembers a time before the war when the Oskil river flowing by her east Ukraine home was an idyll where families would swim, picnic and make memories.

From great leaps in artificial intelligence to the heroic defendant in a mass rape trial that shocked France, here are the stories of five people who made their mark on 2024:

From Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to British actress Maggie Smith and US music titan Quincy Jones, here are some of 2024's most notable deaths.

US diplomats have arrived in Syria to speak directly to the new Islamist-led rulers, hoping to encourage a moderate, inclusive path and to find clues on missing Americans, the State Department said Friday.

As one of Europe's biggest suppliers of electricity, Sweden is seeing red over Germany's energy policy, which it says ends up punishing Swedish consumers.

Sitting by the fireplace in her house in the south of England, Jackie Bennett recalls the shock she felt when she received out-of-the-blue an eviction notice giving her just two months to move out.

Salt cod has long been a national staple in Portugal, where it is said there are as many recipes for this humble fish as there are days in the year.

La Rochelle host Clermont in the French Top 14 on Saturday with an Australian feel to both clubs' hefty second rows.

Workers at Starbucks will walk off the job Friday in three US cities in a strike their union threatened could spread around the country in the busy run-up to Christmas.

Opener Nathan McSweeney was dropped from Australia's squad for the fourth Test against India on Friday, with teenager Sam Konstas getting his first call-up.

In Pakistan's largest city, cars inch forward in bumper-to-bumper traffic. But some seamlessly carve through the jam: SUVs flanked by Toyota Hilux pickup trucks.

Australia said Friday it has agreed to boost Solomon Islands' police force with a finance and training package for the Pacific nation, which has fostered close ties with China.

French President Emmanuel Macron extended his visit to cyclone-devastated Mayotte on Friday after angry residents vented exasperation and despair over the scale of the disaster.

French President Emmanuel Macron extended his visit to cyclone-devastated Mayotte on Friday after angry residents vented exasperation and despair over the scale of the disaster.

Rescuers say they have expanded a search for survivors in quake-rocked Vanuatu to "numerous places of collapse" beyond the stricken capital, as the reported death toll climbed to 10.

Tactical timeouts will be allowed in mixed-doubles matches at the ATP-WTA season-opening United Cup, organisers said Friday, calling it a world first for tennis.

Equities fluctuated Friday and the dollar maintained its gains against its peers as investors assessed the fallout from the Federal Reserve's outlook for interest rate cuts and possible impact of Donald Trump's presidency on the economy.

Investigators probing suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over his foiled martial law bid on Friday ordered him to appear before the country's corruption watchdog on Christmas Day -- after he snubbed a previous summons this week.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday presided over the inauguration of new Macau leader Sam Hou-fai, capping off a three-day visit as the former Portuguese colony marks 25 years since being returned to China.