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

The US trade deficit more than halved in April, government data showed Thursday, pulling back from a record as imports on a plunge in imports as President Donald Trump's global tariffs kicked in.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Thursday that NATO allies were close to agreeing a deal on spending ahead of a summit later this month, in a bid to satisfy US President Donald Trump's demand that it reach five percent of GDP.

The European Central Bank's easing cycle reached the one-year mark Thursday when policymakers delivered another interest rate cut as concerns mount about the struggling eurozone economy and global trade tensions.

Decades of pollution and climate change have caused fish to disappear from the Baltic Sea at an alarming rate, with the European Union on Thursday vowing to make the sea an "urgent priority".

South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus on Thursday named a 54-player squad for the June 28 fixture against the Barbarians, followed by Tests against Italy and Georgia.

Afghan women working for the United Nations in Kabul have been threatened by unidentified men because of their jobs, the organisation and several women told AFP on Thursday.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru said Thursday they stood "united" with fans as the Indian Premier League champions announced financial aid to families of those crushed to death during their title celebrations.

The first Birkin bag that was designed by French luxury brand Hermes for actress Jane Birkin in 1984, will be auctioned in Paris on July 10, auction house Sotheby's said Thursday.

Rangers head coach Russell Martin said Thursday his "whole career has been based on proving people wrong" after he was unveiled as the new man in the Ibrox hot seat.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Thursday NATO allies were close to agreeing a deal on spending ahead of a summit later this month, in a bid to satisfy US President Donald Trump's demand for five percent of GDP.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Thursday to "finalise" an EU trade deal with four South American countries, which Paris has so far rejected.

A Japanese startup will attempt a tricky lunar touchdown on Friday with an unmanned lander named Resilience, two years after its first try which crashed onto the Moon's surface.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and world number three Jessica Pegula have pulled out of the new women's tournament at Queen's Club.

Muslim worshippers prayed on Mount Arafat in the high point of the hajj pilgrimage Thursday as authorities urged them to avoid the hottest hours of the day after tragedy struck last year.

Investment in clean energy technologies is set to strike a record this year despite global economic uncertainty, double the spending on fossil fuels that will dip for the first time since 2020, the International Energy Agency said Thursday.

Coca-Cola produces 120 billion throwaway plastic bottles a year, Greenpeace Africa said at a protest in South Africa Thursday, urging the soda maker to use glass and tin packaging to cut back on plastic pollution.

Iga Swiatek puts her bid for a fourth straight French Open title on the line against world number one Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday, before surprise French hero Lois Boisson aims to continue her fairytale run against Coco Gauff in the second semi-final.

Eurozone stock markets climbed Thursday as the European Central Bank prepared to announce another cut to interest rates in the face of US tariffs.

A year out from kick-off, Iranian football fans are watching their World Cup dream slip away after a US travel ban barred them from entering the land of "Great Satan" to cheer on their team.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said Thursday that security anxiety over China was partly driving deepening ties with Indonesia in a region riven by rivalry between Beijing and Washington.

For several months, Halyna Muliar watched Poland's presidential campaign from home in Poznan, worried as candidates swerved further to the right and increasingly aimed nationalist slogans at Poland's 1.5 million Ukrainians -- war refugees and economic migrants.

Jamie Overton was on Thursday handed a surprise recall to the England squad for the first Test against India while Jacob Bethell's return creates a top-order selection headache.

New Zealand's parliament on Thursday handed record-long suspensions to three Indigenous Maori lawmakers who last year staged a protest haka on the debating floor.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, hoping to build a personal relationship despite discord over Ukraine and the threat of a trade war.

Scottish Premiership club Rangers on Thursday confirmed the appointment of former Southampton boss Russell Martin as their new head coach on a three-year deal.

A Russian drone slammed into a residential house in central Ukraine overnight Thursday, killing three members of one family, including a one-year-old baby, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies goes on trial in Paris on Thursday over allegations of misleading climate claims, an unprecedented "greenwashing" case against a fossil fuel firm in France.

Shares enjoyed a healthy run Thursday after soft US economic data boosted expectations the Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates and put the focus on key jobs figures coming at the end of the week.

After Vietnam removed its two-child limit, pharmacy worker Nguyen Thi Nguyet Nga says she still has no plans to have more kids, since she barely has time to see her daughters or the money to provide them a good life.

Namibia's Gerswin Mouton has experienced a path less trodden by most professional rugby players, but that will count for nothing as he aims to help fire Grenoble to the French Top 14 on Saturday.

The Indonesian government is allowing environmental damage including deforestation and violations against Indigenous people to go unchecked around a multi-billion dollar industrial park on a once-pristine eastern island, a report said Thursday.

In Permet, deep in the spectacular Vjosa Valley of southern Albania, roses rule supreme, whether used to make perfumes, flavoured water or the Turkish delights sought out by thousands of sweet-toothed tourists.