Anti-Semitic threats and insults directed at French writer Alain Finkielkraut by “gilets jaunes” demonstrators in Paris at the weekend have triggered fierce condemnation from President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders already concerned about a surge in violence aimed at Jews. Marchers on the Boulevard du Montparnasse on Saturday could... Read more

Paris and Berlin will this week join forces on efforts to defend Europe’s “technological sovereignty”, Germany’s economy minister has said, in a bid to fight off encroachment from global rivals and shore up EU industry in the wake of the failed Franco-German rail merger between Alstom and Siemens. Peter... Read more

I swim out into the mist, the steam rising up off the hot water making this 450-square-metre outdoor pool seem infinite. The salinity of the thermal spring makes floating on my back, gazing up through tendrils of steam at the wintry sky, effortless. It’s Boxing Day at the Thermalbad... Read more

Australia’s trade minister has said his country is ready to sign a fast-tracked trade agreement with the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit, but poured cold water on Britain’s ambition to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership regional bloc. Simon Birmingham said Canberra was preparing for all eventualities in... Read more

China is closely tracking the locations of almost 2.6m people in its north-west region of Xinjiang, where Uighurs and other Muslim minorities are under a police lockdown, a data leak has revealed. A facial-recognition company and police contractor called SenseNets collected nearly 6.7m GPS co-ordinates in one database in... Read more

Nigerians were left to wonder on Saturday how the country’s last-minute decision to delay its election would affect the race and the integrity of the ballot, as the electoral commission outlined its plan to ensure a successful poll next Saturday. The Independent National Electoral Commission announced its decision to... Read more