GERMANY: IG Metall, Germany’s biggest industrial union said today it will seek a 7 per cent pay increase for millions of workers in negotiations starting later this year.

The union said they were demanding the rise for 3.9 million workers because companies including car-makers and machinery manufacturers are in a position to afford it because of well-filled order books.

RUSSIA: President Vladimir Putin will arrive in North Korea tomorrow for a two-day visit, his first in 24 years, both countries announced.