Grain prices in Germany posted the highest increase in March since 2011 due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, official data showed on Friday.

According to a statement from Destatis, Germany's statistical office, import prices of grain rose 53.6% on a yearly basis in March.

"A higher change rate was last recorded in May 2011 (+74.0% on May 2010)," it said.

The federal statistical department underlined that the price increase was recorded for all types of grain.

"The prices of wheat increased by 65.3% in March 2022 on a year earlier, prices of barley, rye and oats by 65.3%, too, and maize prices by 37.4%," it detailed./aa

Thousands of Palestinians on Friday participated in the funeral ceremony of Al Jazeera's veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in occupied East Jerusalem.
The funeral started from the St Louis French Hospital in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood till reaching the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Virgin where the funeral service was held.
Meanwhile, the “Israeli” police attacked the funeral in the French hospital and prevented Palestinians from holding posters or Palestine flags in the ceremony.
The Israeli police used stun grenade, tear gas and batons in assaulting the Palestinians, which left dozens injured, according to a statement by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.
Eyewitnesses reported that Abu Akleh's casket was about to fall on the ground due to the “Israeli” assault on the Palestinians who were carrying it.
Foreign diplomats, including those of Qatar and the US, joined the funeral procession of the slain journalist.
Abu Akleh was buried next to her parents in the Mount Zion Protestant Cemetery in Jerusalem's Old City.
The veteran journalist was covering an “Israeli” military raid near the Jenin refugee camp in occupied West Bank when she was shot dead on Wednesday. Palestinian officials and the Doha-based Al Jazeera network said she was targeted by “Israeli” forces./aa

The annual inflation rate of Russia hit 17.83% in April, the highest level since January 2002, official data revealed on Friday.

According to Rosstat, Russia's statistics agency, food prices increased 20.5% year-on-year in April.

The prices rose 20.2% for non-food products and 10.9% for services.

According to the Russian central bank's expectation, the annual inflation rate is projected between 18% and 23% over the year of 2022./aa

A top Irish Cabinet minister on Friday declared himself “shocked” Friday by images of violence emerging from the funeral procession of slain Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

Video clips from her funeral procession showed “Israeli” riot police clashing with mourners and firing tear gas as people carried her coffin outside a Jeruselum hospital.

“We were all shocked after seeing the images of the funeral, which seemed extraordinary in terms of the policing of the funeral today,” Irish Defense and Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told a press conference in Madrid.

“Every country has the obligation to protect journalists, particularly in conflict zones,” he added.

Both the Spanish and Irish foreign ministers firmly condemned the death of the Al Jazeera journalist and called for an in-depth investigation into the cause of her death.

During the bilateral meeting, the two also said they discussed the need for “new ideas to avoid a new cycle of violence” in Israel, with Coveney insisting that the “international community should be more proactive” in the region.

Abu Akleh died from a shot to the head while she was covering an “Israeli” raid in the West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp.

Al Jazeera and Palestinian authorities say she was shot by “Israeli” forces./aa

One person was killed and over a dozen injured in an explosion in Pakistan's commercial capital Karachi on Thursday night, police and health officials said. 

An improvised explosive device (IED) which was planted in a motorbike went off on a crowded street in the city's downtown Saddar area, Asad Raza, a senior police official, told reporters.

Four of the 13 injured are in critical condition, said Dr. Shahid Rasool, head of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center.

Several vehicles and motorbikes parked at the site were also damaged in the blast.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion.

Footage aired on local broadcaster Dawn News showed panicked pedestrians taking cover on adjoining streets soon after the blast as several vehicles caught fire.

Honking ambulances were seen arriving on the scene to transport the injured to the hospital.

The blast occurred a couple of weeks after a suicide bombing at the University of Karachi that killed four people, including three Chinese nationals.

The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, which has been fighting for the succession of mineral-rich Balochistan province, claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack./aa

Sympathizers of the PKK terrorist organization attacked Turkiye's Consulate General in Paris on Thursday, according to diplomatic sources. 

Unidentified individuals attacked the Consulate General around 02.30 a.m. local time (1230 GMT) on May 12 with firework-type explosives, according to information obtained by Anadolu Agency from the sources.

The attack caused material damage to a window and the exterior wall of the Consulate General building.

French authorities have launched an investigation into the attack.

PKK-affiliated formations reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, sources said.

The administrative department of the Hauts-de-Seine region in the northwest of the French capital condemned the attack on Twitter and conveyed a message of solidarity with the Turkish Consul General and consular staff./aa

US intelligence indicates North Korea could conduct another nuclear test as early as this month, the White House said on Thursday. 

"Our intelligence assessment is consistent with the DPRK's recent public statements and destabilizing actions, including the test launch of multiple intercontinental ballistic missiles," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, using an acronym that refers to North Korea.

The US has shared the relevant intelligence with its allies in the region "and is closely coordinating with them," she added. Should Pyongyang carry out the nuclear test it would mark its seventh such trial. The last was in 2017.

Biden is slated to departed for South Korea, and Japan next week in a regional tour in which he will sit down with newly-sworn-in South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

In Japan, Biden will also participate in a leader-level meeting of the regional group known as the Quad, which includes the US, Japan, Australia and India.

Earlier on Thursday, Japan and South Korea separately announced North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan.

It was the second missile launch since Saturday when Pyongyang fired a suspected submarine-launched ballistic missile toward its eastern waters. With the latest launch, North Korea has reportedly fired 16 missiles since the beginning of the year.

Pyongyang is prohibited from conducting ballistic missile and nuclear tests by successive UN Security Council resolutions./aa

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday was confirmed by the US Senate to lead the central bank for a second term.

In an 80-19 vote, the Senate approved President Joe Biden's pick to head the Fed for a second four-year tenure.

Powell took the central bank's helm in February 2018 after being nominated by former President Donald Trump, succeeding current Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

He faced two major hurdles during his first four-year term -- the coronavirus pandemic and record-high inflation that still puts pressure on US consumers.

Although Powell repeatedly said last year that inflation is "transitory," consumer prices soared to 8.5% in March -- the highest annual rise in more than 40 years.

Fed last week raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to tame inflation, while Powell indicated that more rate hikes are on the table in the coming months./aa

 Two Twitter executives are leaving the social media firm as business magnate Elon Musk prepares to take over the company in a $44 billion deal.

"I wanted to take a moment to thank all the teams and partners I’ve been lucky enough to work with during the past 5 years. Building and running these businesses is a team sport," Bruce Falck, the general manager of revenue and head of product, wrote on his Twitter account.

"When all is said and done, it's the work that matters," he said, as he thanked all engineers and coworkers in a series of tweets.

Falck also wrote "unemployed" on his Twitter account.

"I’m leaving the company after over 7 years," wrote Kayvon Beykpour on his Twitter account, who is the general manager of consumer responsible for leading design, research, product, engineering and customer service.

Twitter announced on April 25 that it has accepted Musk's offer to be purchased for $44 billion.

Musk has secured last week $7.1 billion in funding from a number of investors to buy the company, which include tech firm Oracle's co-founder Larry Ellison, Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, and Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency marketplace by trading volume.

Qatar on Thursday demanded that those who killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh should be held accountable.

The veteran journalist was covering Israeli military raids near Jenin refugee camp in occupied West Bank when she was shot dead. Palestinian officials and the Doha-based network say she was targeted by Israeli forces.

Speaking to Al Jazeera TV, Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said the Palestinian Authority is conducting its investigation on her killing and will share its outcomes.

"We want those who committed the crime to be held accountable and we hope that the international community adopts fairer approach on it," he said.

In a separate tweet, the foreign minister expressed condolences to Abu Akleh's family, her colleagues and the media community.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry also condemned the killing, saying it considers the act "a heinous crime and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law" and a "blatant infringement on freedom of media and expression and the right of peoples to access information."

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani has also said that those responsible for the killing must be brought to the book./aa