Latest news with #BERNAMA-dpa
New Straits Times
11-07-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
German upper house to vote on corporate tax cuts and rent relief
BERLIN: Germany's upper house of parliament is set to vote on Friday on multibillion-euro tax breaks to support companies and boost investment, as well as on an extension of rent controls to alleviate the country's strained housing market, reported German news agency dpa. The tax relief package, already approved by the lower house of parliament, includes more options for businesses to account for the depreciation in the value of their machinery, in a move designed to encourage companies to increase investments. It also promises to gradually reduce the corporate tax rate from the current 15 per cent to 10 per cent by 2032. In addition, tax incentives for electric car purchases are planned. The package is estimated to cost the federal government, states and local authorities around €48 billion (US$56 billion) in tax revenue. To support Germany's states, some of which are heavily indebted, the federal government has agreed to cover their tax losses for a limited period until 2029 through the distribution of VAT revenues. The upper house, or Bundesrat, is also due to decide whether to extend rent controls in popular residential areas until the end of 2029. The rules, introduced in 2015, limit new rents to tenants in these areas to 10 per cent above the local average. Both measures were agreed as part of the government's coalition agreement between Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives and the Social Democrats. Merz's government, which took office in May, vowed to turn the country's struggling economy around through investment and deregulation for businesses, as well as to ease the burden on tenants in the country's overheated housing market. — BERNAMA-dpa
Malaysian Reserve
30-06-2025
- Malaysian Reserve
Interpol warns of surge in human trafficking linked to online fraud
PARIS — An increasing number of countries are being affected by human trafficking linked to forced labour in professionally run online scam centres, Interpol said on Monday, according to German news agency (dpa). The international police organisation said that victims come from 66 countries and all continents. Interpol, headquartered in Lyon, France, described the situation as a 'global crisis' involving hundreds of thousands of victims. The scam centres were originally located in a few Southeast Asian countries. Interpol analysis suggests that three out of four victims have been trafficked into this region over the past five years. However, investigators have also increasingly come across fraud centres in West Africa, Central America and the Middle East. Interpol says victims are usually lured in by fake job offers. They are then held captive in camps, where they are often blackmailed over alleged debts, subjected to beatings, sexual exploitation and in some cases even torture or rape. Inside the centres, victims are forced to carry out online scams, primarily aimed at stealing money from others. Interpol warns that this form of organised crime is spreading rapidly and calls for a globally coordinated response. Authorities must strengthen information-sharing between affected countries and work more closely with organisations that support victims. With 196 member states, Interpol is the world's largest police organisation and coordinates international police cooperation. — BERNAMA-dpa
New Straits Times
22-06-2025
- New Straits Times
Police shoot giant catfish which injured five in lake
MUNICH: An aggressive catfish measuring over two metres and weighing around 90 kilogrammes injured at least five swimmers at Lake Brombach in the southern German state of Bavaria, police said on Saturday. Police said an officer eventually shot the huge fish with his service weapon, reported German news agency dpa. The incidents occurred late Friday afternoon near a floating island, where the giant fish had been lingering and repeatedly attacking people in the water. Paramedics from the Red Cross treated bite wounds on the swimmers at the scene. As the fish showed no signs of moving away and continued to pose a threat, the local water rescue service called in the police. Officers cordoned off the swimming area to prevent further incidents. With the fish considered a danger to swimmers, emergency services decided to kill the animal. Two anglers later retrieved the 90-kilogramme catfish by boat. Catfish of this size are not uncommon in Germany and have occasionally caused alarm. More than 20 years ago, a giant catfish nicknamed "Kuno the killer" gained international media attention after reports it had swallowed a small dog in a German lake near the Polish border. When a large dead catfish was discovered in a pond in the western German city of Mönchengladbach in 2003, it was believed to be Kuno. The fish was later stuffed and put on display in a museum. –BERNAMA-dpa
New Straits Times
01-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Airbus posts higher first quarter profits
AMSTERDAM: The European aviation company, Airbus, said on Wednesday that its first quarter net income rose to €793 million (US$899 million) or €1.01 per share, up from €595 million or €0.76 per share last year, the German news agency (dpa) reported. Adjusted Earnings Before Interest and Taxes or EBIT rose by 8 per cent to €624 million from €577 million last year. Reported EBIT dropped by 22 per cent to €473 million from €609 million. Consolidated revenues for the first quarter rose 6 per cent to €13.542 billion from €12.83 billion last year. A total of 136 commercial aircraft were delivered compared to 142 aircraft in the prior year. The deliveries comprise of 17 A220s, 106 A320 Family, four A330s and nine A350s. -- BERNAMA-dpa
New Straits Times
28-04-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Putin declares unilateral three-day truce in Ukraine in May
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine from May 8 to May 10, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, German Press Agency (dpa) reported. "During this period, all hostilities will cease," a Kremlin statement said, adding Putin made the decision on "humanitarian grounds." "Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example," the statement continued. Kyiv has yet to publicly respond. The move comes as US President Donald Trump, has sought a swift end to the three-year-old war.– BERNAMA-dpa
