Russia orders retaliatory economic measures against Turkey over jet

Russia is preparing a raft of retaliatory economic measures against Turkey after Ankara downed one of its warplanes, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Nov. 26.

  

"The government has been ordered to work out a system of response measures to this act of aggression in the economic and humanitarian spheres," Medvedev told a cabinet meeting in televised comments.

                                            

Turkish police detain 11 ISIL suspects in three provinces

Turkish police detained 11 people on suspicions of being members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in simultaneous raids in three provinces across the country on Nov. 23.

                                             

4-year-old Syrian migrant girl found dead off Turkey’s Bodrum coast

Turkish fishermen found the dead body of a 4-year-old Syrian migrant girl off Turkey’s Bodrum coast on Nov. 22, four days after a migrant dinghy capsized. The girl's fate was reminiscent of that of Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi, whose lifeless body washed up on the shore of Bodrum in September, triggering worldwide outrage. 

                                                               

Lufthansa faces new strikes from Thursday

The troubled airline Lufthansa is facing a new round of strikes, after air crew union UFO told its members to head for the pickets on Thursday and Friday.

The strike is set to carry on into Monday of the following week if Lufthansa fails to appropriately respond to the union's demands, said UFO chief Nicoley Baublies in Frankfurt on Monday.

                                         

Denmark considers lowering legal driving age

As part of a 100-point ‘growth package’ presented on Monday, the Venstre government has proposed letting 17-year-olds drive.

The government is proposing a trial programme that would drop the legal driving age in Denmark from 18 to 17. Under the plan, 17-year-olds would be able to drive as long as they are accompanied by an experienced driver. 

                                                                                   

Growing number of people in Sweden care for relatives abroad

According to a study by the National Board of Health and Welfare, 1.3 million people living in Sweden regularly provide care for a relative.

This could be someone who provides care for a partner who is chronically ill, a parent with dementia or a parent providing care for a disabled child.      

Stop sinking migrant boats: Turkish admiral warns Greece

A Turkish admiral has shown footage of a migrant boat being sunk on the Aegean Sea by a Greek Coast Guard boat to a Greek Coast Guard commander, urging them to refrain from such acts, daily Hürriyet reported on Nov. 19.

                                      

                           

Russia sanctions extended by 6 months

Western leaders who met on the margins of last week's Group of 20 summit in Turkey agreed to extend sanctions imposed on Russia for its intervention in Ukraine by six months until July of next year, a senior European diplomat told Reuters.

                        

Multi-million Russian Tax evader to be extradited

A Russian man accused of evading taxes worth 310 million rubles (€4.5 million) will be extradited from Austria to Russia after a court ruling on Friday.

According to a report from news agency RIA Novosti, Eduard Sherbina and his alleged accomplices embezzled the money from the Russian tax authorities by providing them with false information.

                                      

Swedish king calls for ban on bathtubs to cut emissions

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has called for a ban on bathtubs to help cut emissions in an interview ahead of UN climate talks in Paris.

 “All bathtubs should be banned. Just imagine it!”, he exclaimed in an interview published in the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper on Saturday.

Carl XVI Gustaf said that the idea had come to him the day before the interview, as he was going through his morning routine and was forced to run a bath, because the room in which he was staying lacked a shower.