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

Spanish lawmakers on Thursday voted through a transgender law letting anyone 16 and over change gender on their ID card even as similar measures elsewhere have sparked division over the complexities of the issue.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says he went to sleep on the eve of February 24, 2022 knowing full well the carnage that would be unleashed coming within hours.

China was Germany's biggest trading partner in 2022 for the seventh year in a row, figures published Thursday showed, as policymakers worry about economic over-reliance on Beijing.

Since the earthquake destroyed her home, Syrian teacher Suzanne Abdallah has lived in a small truck crammed with her family members, just a stone's throw from where their house stood.

At least 69 Rohingya refugees, many of them women and children, landed on Indonesia's west coast Thursday in a wooden boat, an official with the United Nations refugee agency said.

Beyond piled-up tyres and barbed wire, a Ukrainian flag flutters across from Belarusian border guards patrolling an increasingly tense frontier.

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte is set for another spell away from the touchline to recover from gallbladder surgery.

The resignation of a pope should not become the norm within the Catholic Church, and that prospect is not "on my agenda", Pope Francis said in an interview published Thursday.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday defended a currency swap that sparked protests and cash shortages, but ordered old, small denomination 200 naira notes to remain in circulation in a bid to ease scarcities.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) on Thursday faced calls to postpone a special conference aimed at reviving its troubled push for independence, after the surprise resignation of leader Nicola Sturgeon.

The main road through the northern German village of Upahl is lined with wooden placards, their bright letters standing out against the grey sky and muddy fields.

England Test captain Ben Stokes has been retained by the Northern Superchargers for this year's edition of The Hundred after missing last year's event due to a heavy workload.

Dozens of angry demonstrators attacked several banks in Beirut on Thursday after the Lebanese pound hit a record low, AFP journalists said, amid a deepening economic crisis.

The Paris stock market hit an-all time high Thursday after London's record-breaking run on economic recovery hopes as inflation eases away from sky-high levels.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will join Hollywood actor Sean Penn by video link on Thursday at the opening of the Berlinale, Europe's first major film festival of the year, as it spotlights the fight for freedom in Ukraine and Iran.

Spanish lawmakers were set to adopt Thursday a contentious bill allowing anyone over 16 to change gender on their ID card, even as similar measures elsewhere have struggled with divisions over the complexities of the issue.

Turkish rescuers on Thursday pulled a 17-year-girl from the rubble of last week's devastating earthquake, as hopes fade of finding more survivors.

The head of Russia's mercenary outfit Wagner said it could take months to capture the embattled Ukraine city of Bakhmut and slammed Moscow's "monstrous bureaucracy" for slowing military gains.

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen arrived in Kyiv on Thursday for the first visit to Ukraine by an Israeli minister since the Russian invasion nearly a year ago, his office said.

Prospective new owners of Manchester United have until Friday to reveal their interest in buying one of the world's biggest clubs, with the British press reporting a bid from Qatar which, if successul, will send shockwaves through European football.

Calls mounted within the Scottish National Party (SNP) on Thursday to postpone a special conference aimed at reviving its push for independence, after the surprise resignation of leader Nicola Sturgeon.

Mikaela Shiffrin put the split with her long-time coach behind her as she set the fastest time in the opening run of the women's giant slalom at the World Ski Championships in Meribel on Thursday.

A Turkish volunteer runs down a pile of rubble, dragging a Syrian man with a bloodied face as last week's catastrophic earthquake whips migrant tensions.

The authorities in Mali have begun a crackdown on hookah smoking after giving a grace period to shisha bars to adjust to a ban.

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said on Thursday profits soared to a record level in 2022 despite supply chain problems limiting its ability to raise production.

Nigeria's Afrobeats resonates all over Africa, and in the West, where young people sing and dance to the rhythms of Burna Boy, Wizkid and Tems.

High-octane batting and a precocious day-one declaration put England in control of the first Test against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui on Thursday.

They were long derided as old-fashioned symbols of grinding poverty, but mud and straw houses are making a comeback in Hungary as a low-cost, eco-friendly alternative to concrete.

Asian and European markets rose Thursday, extending gains in New York, as a forecast-busting US retail sales report showed American consumers remained confident despite elevated inflation and the prospect of more interest rate hikes.

Swiss food giant Nestle said on Thursday sales rose last year but inflation nibbled at its margins, while net profits plunged due to asset disposals in 2021.

As Spain prepares to adopt a law simplifying the process for self-identifying as transgender, other early adopters are applying the brakes over the complexities involved in this highly sensitive issue.

Australia skipper Pat Cummins brushed off concerns Thursday over David Warner's batting form and said he was certain the opener would play in this week's second Test against India.