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ECONOMICS MINISTRY REVISES GERMAN 2025 GROWTH FORECAST UP TO 0.2% FROM 0% FORECAST LAST YEAR – SOURCE FAMILIAR WITH FORECAST

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* Plan for support staff numbers to be cut by about 15% * Human resources, finance and marketing jobs targeted * Renault says considering cost cuts, no comment on jobs PARIS, Oct 4 (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault plans to cut 3,000 jobs through a voluntary redundancy offer for staff in support functions, French newsletter L'Informe reported on Saturday. Under a cost savings plan dubbed "Arrow", Renault wants to cut staff numbers in support services such as human resources, finance and marketing by 15%, which is expected to lead to about 3,000 job cuts at the carmaker's headquarters in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and other locations worldwide. The newsletter quoted a source familiar with the matter as saying that a final decision should be made by the end of the year. Renault confirmed it is considering cost cuts, but that at this stage it has no figures to report as no decisions have been made. "Given the uncertainties in the automotive market and the extremely competitive environment, we confirm that we are considering ways to simplify our operations, speed up execution, and optimize our fixed costs," a Renault spokesperson said. At the end of 2024 Renault employed 98,636 staff worldwide. Renault reported in July a 11.2 billion euro ($13 billion) first-half net loss, including a 9.3 billion euro write-down on partner Nissan. Excluding the write-down, net income plunged to 461 million euros, less than a third of the year-earlier level, due to a weaker van market, costs associated with electric vehicles and commercial pressures in a more competitive environment. New CEO Francois Provost – appointed in July after Luca de Meo left for Gucci-owner Kering – needs to restore margins, get Renault's credit rating back to investment grade, and find ways for the relatively small carmaker to deal with the impact of U.S. tariffs and intense competition from Chinese carmakers, analysts say. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Susan Fenton)

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* Takaichi set to become Japan's first female leader * She pledged to raise women in cabinet on par with Nordics * Japan's gender gap widest among G7 countries * Previous efforts to tackle gender equality have struggled * Takaichi's conservatism undermines women's support By Kantaro Komiya TOKYO, Oct 4 (Reuters) – In her campaign to become Japan's first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi made a bold promise to narrow the country's wide gender gap in politics and lift the number of women in cabinet to a par with socially progressive Nordic countries. Now that she has shattered the glass ceiling to be chosen leader of the ruling party on Saturday – setting her on course to emulate her hero Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female premier – Takaichi must try to deliver on promises her party has struggled to keep. "The emergence of a single female leader alone may not drastically improve women's standing in politics," said Tohko Tanaka, a gender studies professor at the University of Tokyo, noting it was 26 years after Thatcher's premiership before Britain had its second female leader, Theresa May. FEW WOMEN LAWMAKERS FOR TAKAICHI CABINET Japan's next prime minister "must tackle gender issues with a long-term perspective, amid severe labour shortages and the alarmingly inadequate inclusion of women," Tanaka said. Japan ranked 118 out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum's latest Global Gender Gap Report, the lowest among the Group of Seven industrial powers. While gender equality was not a top issue in the Liberal Democratic Party's election campaign that focused on tackling inflation and rule-breaking foreigners, Takaichi's promises to form a cabinet with women's representation "not particularly lower than Nordic countries" stood out. "I wouldn't appoint women just because they're women," she told a party rally last week. "But the plan is to pick far more women who are capable and willing to serve the nation." Just 10% of outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's 20 cabinet members are women, while its highest female representation was just above a quarter. Nordic governments range from Denmark's 36% to Finland's 61% female ministers. To fill her cabinet, Takaichi has a relatively small pool of female lawmakers to draw from, although non-politicians are allowed to head government ministries. Only 13% of the LDP's lawmakers across both houses are women, well short of the party's target of 30% by 2033 – a goal already trailing a government target. PROMISES UNFULFILLED Past initiatives to close Japan's gender gap have delivered mixed results. Former premier Shinzo Abe, Takaichi's mentor, pulled more women into the workforce through his "womenomics" initiatives, but critics say progress has been too slow, especially for executive roles. In 2020, the government pushed back its deadline of having women in at least 30% of leadership posts across society by a decade to 2030. Takaichi also proposes measures such as establishing women's health centres nationwide, but her broader conservative policies have damaged her support among some women, polls show. For example, she has defended legal restrictions that married couples must use a single surname, which in practice means wives overwhelmingly take their husbands' names and which critics say disproportionately affects women's careers. Conservatives regard the current law as indispensable to family unity. The centre-right LDP faces a challenge from Sanseito, an upstart far-right party whose leader has criticised gender equality policies for contributing to Japan's record-low birthrate, a claim resonating in some anti-establishment movements globally. (Reporting by Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Louise Rasmussen in Copenhagen; Editing by John Geddie and William Mallard)

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ANKARA, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Thirty-six Turkish nationals aboard vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was seized by Israeli forces, are expected to return to Turkey on a special flight on Saturday afternoon, the Turkish foreign ministry said. Citizens of other countries are also expected to be on board the flight, it added. "The final number has not yet been confirmed," the ministry said in a statement. The plane, operated by Turkish Airlines, is expected to land at Istanbul Airport sometime after 1430 local time (1130 GMT), the ministry said. Work was also under way to complete procedures for remaining Turkish citizens as soon as possible, it said. Israel faced international condemnation on Thursday after its military intercepted almost all of about 40 boats in a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza and took captive more than 450 foreign activists. The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza where Israel has been waging an offensive since Hamas’ October 2023 attack. Israeli officials have repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt. The Israeli foreign ministry had said the flotilla was previously warned that it was approaching an active combat zone and violating a "lawful naval blockade," and asked organisers to change course. In 2010, 10 Turkish activists were killed by Israeli commandos who raided the Mavi Marmara ship leading an aid flotilla towards Gaza. (Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Susan Fenton)

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* Former Prime Minister Babis aims to return to power * Babis may need fringe allies to form majority * Babis opposes EU's climate, migration policies * Babis would scale back Czech support for Ukraine * Voting ends at 2 p.m. (1200 GMT) (Adds voter in paragraphs 14-15) By Radovan Stoklasa and Jan Lopatka PRAGUE, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Czechs voted on Saturday in the final day of an election likely to return populist billionaire Andrej Babis to power on pledges to raise wages and lift growth, while reducing aid for Ukraine. The change from the current centre-right cabinet would boost Europe's populist, anti-immigration camp and could harden opposition to the European Union's climate goals. Czechs endured surges in inflation after the global pandemic and Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and have only slowly recovered from one of Europe's worst drops in real incomes. That, as well as several corruption scandals, damaged Prime Minister Petr Fiala's Spolu coalition and its liberal government allies, who focused on a gradual reduction of the budget deficit. Babis, whose ANO party held double-digit leads in most opinion polls, is an ally of Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament. Babis, who was previously prime minister from 2017-21, has taken an ambivalent line on aid to Ukraine – a departure from Fiala's government which has supported Kyiv throughout the war with Russia. Under Fiala, Prague set up the "Czech initiative" pulling together traders and defence officials to find millions of artillery rounds around the world for Ukraine with financing from Western countries. Babis, 71, has pledged to end the ammunition project, saying it is overpriced. ANO wants NATO and the EU to handle aid for Ukraine, and has abstained in some European Parliament votes supporting Kyiv and its bid for EU membership, which Babis publicly opposed in the past. Voting in the election started on Friday and ends at 2 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Saturday. Results are expected on Saturday afternoon. BABIS NEEDS ALLIES Opinion polls pointed to Babis's ANO party winning more than 30% of the vote, about 10 points more than Fiala's coalition but still well short of a majority. Given its poor relations with Spolu and its allies, ANO may need support from anti-EU and anti-NATO fringe parties – the far-right SPD and the far-left Stacilo! – for its preferred one-party cabinet. Babis has rejected steps towards an exit from the EU or NATO, including calls for referendums, countering accusations by the current government that he would drag the country off its democratic pro-Western course. Prague resident Petr Jirabek, 53, who works in international trade and voted for Spolu, said the election was all about democracy. "There are a lot of extremist parties here that could come to power, which is pretty dangerous, so it’s really important to vote." His ANO has promised faster growth, offering higher wages and pensions, and lower taxes and tax discounts for students and young families to draw supporters. Babis must overcome other hurdles to become prime minister, including conflict-of-interest laws as owner of a chemicals and food empire as well as long-running fraud charges related to drawing an EU subsidy over 15 years ago. He denies wrongdoing. If some smaller parties fall below the 5% threshold to get into parliament, that could favour the government parties. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Radovan Stoklasa; editing by Mark Heinrich, Alexandra Hudson)

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KYIV, Oct 4 (Reuters) – A Russian strike hit a passenger train in Ukraine's northern Sumy region causing casualties among the passengers, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov said on Saturday. Hryhorov said the Russian attack had targeted a railway station, and that a train heading to Kyiv had been hit. No figure was given for the number of casualties, but the governor posted a picture of a burning passenger carriage and said medics and rescuers were working on the scene. Moscow has stepped up its air strike campaign on Ukraine's railway infrastructure, hitting it almost every day over the last two months. (Reporting by Max Hunder; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

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* Hamas signals readiness to release hostages * Residents plead for end to 'bombardment, death, starvation' * Fears persist Netanyahu may block peace deal By Mahmoud Issa and Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million. Hamas' declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump's plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins. "It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive," said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas' response and Trump's intervention. "This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing." GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES 'WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS' Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: "We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive. "Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat. Israel launched its Gaza offensive, which has killed more than 66,000 people, after Hamas militants staged a cross border attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage. Israel says 48 hostages remain, 20 of whom are alive. "God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars," said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live. The assault has destroyed much of the enclave, while aid restrictions have helped trigger a famine in parts of Gaza. A U.N. Commission of Inquiry and numerous human rights experts have concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. Netanyahu's government denies this, saying it has been acting in self-defence. "We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too," said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip. After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; "I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump's seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time." RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL 'SABOTAGE' DEAL Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a "dangerous combat zone." Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and U.S. mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on. "Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now," said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. She added: "Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began." (Reporting by Mahmoud Issa in Gaza and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo, Editing by William Maclean)

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(Adds quotes from captains) Oct 4 (Reuters) – India cruised to victory over West Indies by an innings and 140 runs within three days of the opening test in Ahmedabad on Saturday to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. The hosts were always in the ascendancy after bundling out West Indies for 162 in the their first innings at the Narendra Modi Stadium. India racked up 448-5 before declaring their first innings, riding hundreds by opener KL Rahul and middle order batters Dhruv Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja (4-54) then led India's superb bowling, aided by a catching masterclass, as they skittled out West Indies for 146 to secure a comfortable win ahead of the second in New Delhi from October 10. Jadeja was adjudged player-of-the-match while seamer Mohammed Siraj finished with seven wickets in the match. SPIN OPTIONS Captain Shubman Gill said with Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar at his disposal, he was spoilt for choice. "When you've got quality spinners like them, it's difficult to rotate them," he said. "It's good to have too many options rather than not having options…That's the fun of playing in India." "You know there will always be someone who will be out there, ready to get the job done for the team. The entire team and the young team came out with flying colours." Earlier, India decided a lead of 286 was good enough and declared on their overnight score. For the second time in the match, the West Indies top order wilted almost against India's incisive bowling backed by their sharp catching. Nitish Kumar Reddy, manning square leg, flew to his left to take a stunning catch after Tagnarine Chanderpaul had pulled Siraj. Jadeja then dealt back-to-back blows to rattle the touring side. John Campbell lunged forward and guided a delivery into Sai Sudharsan's hands at short leg, while Brandon King perished when KL Rahul took a smart, low catch at slip. Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep uprooted rival captain Roston Chase's off-stump to reduce West Indies to 35-4. Jadeja picked up his third wicket when Yashasvi Jaiswal dived forward at backward point to take a good catch to send back Shai Hope. Jayden Seales (22) produced an entertaining cameo but it was not enough for West Indies to avoid an innings defeat. "When you win the toss and get bowled out for 160-odd it is tough to come back from that," Chase said. "Not the performance we were looking for. We have to bat better especially in India. "You have to put a big first-innings total on the board especially with the ball spinning, and pitch deteriorating…I think that's something we need to look at." (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Ed Osmond)

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ASHGABAT, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Turkmenistan's economic growth stood at 6.3% in January-September, in line with the previous year, the Altyn Asyr state TV channel reported, citing a government meeting. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank expect Turkmenistan's GDP to grow by 6.3% in 2025, as in 2024, while the IMF forecasts growth of 2.3%. (Reporting by Marat Gurt; writing by Marina Bobrova; editing by Alexandra Hudson)

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* 'Abenomics' proponent picked to lead ruling party * Investors wary of spending designed to win back voters * Nationalistic positions may rile neighbours like China * Takaichi, 64, defeated moderate Koizumi, a political scion * Read Reuters Live coverage here (Adds South Korea comment in paragraph 16, supporter quote in paragraphs 22-23, background on Takaichi's policies in paragraphs 24-26, Sanseito comment in paragraph 27) By Tim Kelly, John Geddie and Satoshi Sugiyama TOKYO, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Japan's ruling party picked hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi as its head on Saturday, putting her on course to become the country's first female prime minister in a move set to jolt investors and neighbours. The Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan for almost all of the postwar era, elected Takaichi, 64, to regain trust from a public angered by rising prices and drawn to opposition groups promising stimulus and clampdowns on migrants. A vote in parliament to choose a replacement for outgoing Shigeru Ishiba is expected on October 15. Takaichi is favoured as the ruling coalition has the largest number of seats. INHERITS PARTY IN CRISIS Takaichi, the only woman among the five LDP candidates, beat a challenge from the more moderate Shinjiro Koizumi, 44, who was bidding to become the youngest modern leader. A former economic security and internal affairs minister with an expansionary fiscal agenda for the world's fourth-largest economy, Takaichi takes over a party in crisis. Various other parties, including the expansionist Democratic Party for the People and the anti-immigration Sanseito, have been steadily luring voters, especially younger ones, away from the LDP. The LDP and its coalition partner lost their majorities in both houses under Ishiba over the past year, triggering his resignation. "Recently, I have heard harsh voices from across the country saying we don’t know what the LDP stands for anymore," Takaichi said in a speech before the second-round vote. "That sense of urgency drove me. I wanted to turn people’s anxieties about their daily lives and the future into hope." Takaichi, who says her hero is Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female prime minister, offers a starker vision for change than Koizumi and is potentially more disruptive. An advocate of late premier Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" strategy to boost the economy with aggressive spending and easy monetary policy, she has previously criticised the Bank of Japan's interest rate increases. Such a spending shift could spook investors worried about one of the world's biggest debt loads. Naoya Hasegawa, chief bond strategist at Okasan Securities in Tokyo, said Takaichi's election had weakened the chances of the BOJ raising rates this month, which markets had priced at around a 60% chance before the vote. DISCUSSED REDOING TRUMP TRADE DEAL Takaichi has also raised the possibility of redoing an investment deal with U.S. President Donald Trump that lowered his punishing tariffs in return for Japanese taxpayer-backed investment. The U.S. ambassador to Japan, George Glass, congratulated Takaichi, posting on X that he looked forward to strengthening the Japan-U.S. partnership "on every front". But her nationalistic positions – such as her regular visits to the Yasukuni shrine to Japan's war dead, viewed by some Asian countries as a symbol of its past militarism – may rile neighbours like South Korea and China. South Korea will seek to "cooperate to maintain the positive momentum in South Korea-Japan relations", President Lee Jae Myung's office said in a statement. Takaichi also favours revising Japan's pacifist postwar constitution and suggested this year that Japan could form a "quasi-security alliance" with Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by China. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te welcomed her election, saying she was a "steadfast friend of Taiwan". "It is hoped that under the leadership of the new (LDP) President Takaichi, Taiwan and Japan can deepen their partnership in areas such as economic trade, security, and technological cooperation," he said in a statement. If elected prime minister, Takaichi said she would travel overseas more regularly than her predecessor to spread the word that "Japan is Back!" "I have thrown away my own work-life balance and I will work, work, work," Takaichi said in her victory speech. WARNINGS FOR FOREIGNERS Some of her supporters viewed her selection as a watershed in Japan's male-dominated politics, though opinion polls suggest her socially conservative positions are favoured more by men than women. "The fact that a woman was chosen might be seen positively. I think it shows that Japan is truly starting to change and that message is getting across," 30-year-old company worker Misato Kikuchi said outside Tokyo's Shimbashi station. Takaichi must also seek to blunt the rise of Sanseito, which broke into the political mainstream in a July election, appealing to conservative voters disillusioned with the LDP. Echoing Sanseito's warnings about foreigners, she kicked off her first official campaign speech with an anecdote about tourists reportedly kicking sacred deer in her hometown of Nara. Takaichi, whose mother was a police officer, promised to clamp down on rule-breaking visitors and immigrants, who have come to Japan in record numbers in recent years. "We hope she will … steer Japanese politics in an 'anti-globalism' direction to protect national interests and help the people regain prosperity and hope," Sanseito said in a statement. (Reporting by Tim Kelly, John Geddie, Chang-Ran Kim, Satoshi Sugiyama, Makiko Yamazaki and Joseph Campbell; Editing by William Mallard)

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