
-
Trump tariffs spark fears for Asian jobs, exporting sectors
-
Stocks and dollar sink, havens rally as Trump tariffs fan trade war
-
Runners fly to North Korea for first post-Covid Pyongyang Marathon
-
Hamilton rubbishes claims he's lost faith in Ferrari
-
Nintendo Switch 2 sparks excitement despite high price
-
Sri Lanka's crackdown on dogs for India PM's visit sparks protest
-
S Korea police raise security levels ahead of impeachment verdict
-
China vows 'countermeasures' to sweeping new US tariffs
-
Trump jolts allies, foes and markets with tariff blitz
-
France says EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs
-
Tsunoda vows to bring 'something different' after Red Bull promotion
-
Verstappen not happy with Tsunoda-Lawson Red Bull swap
-
Experts accuse 54 top Nicaragua officials of grave abuses
-
Remains of 30th victim of Los Angeles fires found
-
EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs: France
-
How Trump's 'liberation day' tariffs will impact China
-
Malaysia suspends search for long-missing flight MH370
-
Search for long-missing flight MH370 suspended: Malaysia minister
-
Europe hits out at Trump tariffs, keeps door open for talks
-
Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit as quake toll surpasses 3,000
-
Lawson vows to prove he belongs in F1 after shock of Red Bull axing
-
Australia sweats through hottest 12 months on record: official data
-
Livestock theft is central to jihadist economy in west Africa
-
South African artist champions hyenas in 'eco-queer' quest
-
Danish PM in 'unity' Greenland visit amid US takeover threats
-
Taiwan says US tariffs 'highly unreasonable'
-
Lawson says ruthless Red Bull axing was 'tough to hear'
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Thunder roll on
-
Trump escalates trade war with sweeping global tariffs
-
Japan says US tariffs 'extremely regrettable', may break WTO rules
-
South Koreans anxious, angry as court to rule on impeached president
-
Juve at in-form Roma with Champions League in the balance
-
Injuries put undermanned Bayern's title bid to the test
-
Ovechkin scores 892nd goal -- three away from Gretzky's NHL record
-
Australian former rugby star Petaia signs for NFL's Chargers
-
China says opposes new US tariffs, vows 'countermeasures'
-
Athletics world watching as 'Grand Slam Track' prepares for launch
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Cavs top Knicks
-
Quake-hit Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit
-
New Spielberg, Nolan films teased at CinemaCon
-
Shaken NATO allies to meet Trump's top diplomat
-
Israel's Netanyahu arrives in Hungary, defying ICC warrant
-
Shiny and deadly, unexploded munitions a threat to Gaza children
-
Stocks tank, havens rally as Trump tariffs fan trade war
-
Altomare hangs on to tie defending champ Korda at LPGA Match Play
-
Paraguay gold rush leaves tea producers bitter
-
Health concerns swirl as Bolivian city drowns in rubbish
-
Syria says deadly Israeli strikes a 'blatant violation'
-
Financial markets tumble after Trump tariff announcement
-
Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuits weeks after $50mn ruling

German govt loses key case on debt rules at top court
Germany's top court ruled Wednesday against the government in a case centred on whether it had broken debt rules, wiping 60 billion euros from a key climate fund and further testing the unity of the ruling coalition.
The Federal Constitutional Court had been examining accusations from the main opposition CDU party that Chancellor Olaf Scholz's ruling coalition has acted in contravention of the "debt brake".
This key commitment to balanced budgets caps Germany's new borrowing to 0.35 percent of gross domestic product.
The brake was suspended from 2020-2022 to deal with shocks from the coronavirus pandemic and energy crisis, as is permitted during emergencies, but came back into force this year.
The court case centred on a change to accounting rules for funds outside the main budget that was implemented last year by the centre-left-led coalition, giving it more room for deficit spending outside times of crisis.
In particular, it looked at a decision to transfer 60 billion euros ($65 billion) of loan authorisations that had been part of pandemic support programmes to a fund aimed mainly at fighting climate change.
The court in Karlsruhe, southwest Germany, found this move was "incompatible" with the constitution and overturned it, ruling in favour of a legal complaint lodged by the CDU.
"The court's decision means that the volume of the 'climate and transformation fund' is reduced by 60 billion euros," it said in a statement.
If the state "has entered into obligations that it can no longer service as a result of this reduction," it must be compensated for "through other means".
The court underlined that the "de facto unlimited use of emergency borrowing authorisations in subsequent fiscal years" without accounting for them in those years and instead counting them in the previous fiscal year is "impermissible".
The ruling, which essentially outlaws the rolling over of funds for other uses, could have implications for other "off-budget funds" set up by the government, analysts have said.
The decision is also likely to further strain ties within Scholz's three-party coalition, particularly with the pro-market FDP, which pushed to ensure the debt brake was reinstated and is seeking to rein in spending.
- Debt debate -
The climate fund -- worth 212 billion euros before the ruling -- is aimed in large part at speeding up Germany's shift to an emissions-free economy, with measures such as helping cover the cost of replacing gas boilers with more climate-friendly heat pumps.
The coalition argued the fund was not part of the main budget, and thus not relevant in calculating whether the debt brake was being respected.
But law professor Hanno Kube, who advised the plaintiffs, told AFP that "the purpose of the fund is not an emergency situation... but a long-term challenge, the fight against climate change".
In court hearings in June, the government argued the climate fund also addressed long-running consequences of the pandemic.
But Kube dismissed this, saying the green transition was not "at all linked to overcoming the economic crisis linked to the coronavirus".
The court's ruling, which comes after nearly five months of deliberations, will likely further fuel ongoing debates around whether the debt brake needs to be relaxed.
While the FDP has pushed for it to be kept in place, Economy Minister Robert Habeck of the Green party called last month for the rules to be redesigned for times of crisis.
A strict spending limit had been designed in an era of benign "globalisation, friendly coexistence and cheap Russian gas", which had now come to an end, Habeck said.
Y.Nakamura--AMWN