Category Archives: Germany

AfD ally wins mayoral election in east Germany

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Result in Pirna is party’s second mayoral win in east in six months and first time it has taken a lord mayor post

The far-right populist Alternative für Deutschland had another electoral success at the weekend when its candidate was elected as mayor of a town in east Germany, securing the party its second top municipal position in six months.

Tim Lochner, who is not a member of the AfD but ran with the party’s backing, in effect as its representative, secured 38.5% of the vote in the second round of a three-way runoff in the Saxon town of Pirna, near Dresden and close to the Czech border.

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CDU seeks to win back German voters with its own Rwanda asylum plan

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Official says party favours sending refugees to third countries such as Rwanda for application processing

Germany’s opposition conservatives are seeking to win back voters with a sweeping change to the country’s immigration and asylum policy, including plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Jens Spahn, a leading member of the Christian Democrats (CDU), said at the weekend that his party was in favour of the transportation of future refugees to third countries for processing of asylum applications such Ghana and Rwanda in Africa, or to non-EU European countries such as Moldova and Georgia.

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UK terror threat level under close review after foiled alleged attack plot in Europe

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Arrests in Germany and the Netherlands increase fears that Jewish institutions in the UK could be targeted by Hamas

Britain’s terror threat level is being kept under “very close” review amid concerns that extremist groups could target Jewish institutions in the UK, a day after German prosecutors said they had foiled a Hamas attack plot by making four arrests.

MI5 and counter-terror police indicated they were focused on whether the war in the Middle East could galvanise extremists into taking violent action, as Israel’s intense bombing of Gaza extends to its third month.

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Four arrested in Europe over alleged cross-border Hamas terrorism plot

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Three held in Germany and one in Netherlands over plans for possible attacks on Jewish institutions, prosecutor says

Four people have been arrested in Germany and the Netherlands on suspicion of being part of a cross-border Hamas terror plot that German prosecutors said aimed to obtain weapons to target Jewish institutions in Europe.

Three others were arrested in Denmark on separate terrorism offences, and the country’s politicians indicated they were also Hamas related, while the prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said the threat was “as serious as it gets”.

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German prosecutors charge 27 over alleged far-right plot

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Group linked to conspiracy theories accused of planning to storm Berlin parliament and topple government

German prosecutors have filed terrorism charges against 27 people, including a self-styled prince and a former far-right lawmaker, in connection with an alleged plot to topple the government that came to light with a slew of arrests a year ago.

An indictment against 10 suspects, including the most prominent figures, was filed on Monday at the state court in Frankfurt. Under the German legal system, the court must decide whether and when the case will go to trial.

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Berlin to Paris night train runs for first time in almost a decade

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‘Berlin link’ journey hailed as milestone moment in rise of cleaner alternatives to air travel in Europe

The first night train from Berlin to Paris in almost a decade pulled into Paris Gare de l’Est at 10.24am on Tuesday morning, hailed as a milestone moment in the renaissance of cleaner alternatives to air travel in Europe.

The maiden journey of the new “Berlin link” left the German capital at 8.18pm on Monday night, fully booked and carrying the French transport minister, Clément Beaune, who had hugged his German counterpart, Volker Wissing, before departing.

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‘I no longer feel at home here’: German Muslims frustrated by Israel backing

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Many say Germany’s historical responsibility for Nazi crimes makes it hard for people to criticise Gaza strategy

Lobna Shammout was initially only vaguely aware of the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October, because she had been celebrating her 40th birthday. “The breaking news was crashing my phone, I thought ‘please, not today’,” the Palestinian-German said. “When I finally checked … each newsflash was worse than the one before.”

In the following weeks, as Israel launched an all-out assault on Gaza in retaliation for the attacks, which killed 1,200 people, Shammout has waited anxiously for news of her relatives and friends in Gaza. Some have been killed, among the estimated 15,000 Palestinians who the Hamas-run health ministry says have lost their lives.

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Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall wins best film at European Film Awards

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Drama also claims the prizes for best director, best screenwriter and best actress for Sandra Hüller

An arthouse whodunit about sexual jealousy and simmering creative rivalry between two married writers was everyone’s envy at Saturday night’s European Film Awards (EFA) in Berlin, with Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall beating her competitors to take home four of the five major awards.

Centred around a deadly fall from the top floor of a chalet in the French Alps, Triet’s drama scooped the European equivalent of the Oscars’ coveted prizes for best film, best director and best screenwriter, as well as a best actress award for the film’s lead, Sandra Hüller.

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Visualised: how all of G20 is missing climate goals — but some nations are closer than others

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As world leaders gather at Cop28, these charts show how far away the major economies are from their targets

Not a single G20 country has policies in place that are consistent with the Paris agreement’s goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C and meeting their “fair share” of emissions reduction.

The assessment, based on data up to 5 December provided by the Climate Action Tracker, comes as leaders gather in Dubai for the Cop28 conference.

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Heavy snow brings chaos to southern Germany as Munich suspends flights

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Winter weather also disrupts train traffic and causes Bayern Munich v Union Berlin match to be called off

Heavy snowfall has brought chaos to parts of southern Germany, with air and rail traffic blocked in the Bavarian state capital of Munich.

After first suspending flights until noon on Saturday (1100 GMT), Munich airport later said it would remain closed until 6am on Sunday.

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‘Alone you are weak’: top German politician calls for closer links between UK and EU

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Martin Schulz, former leader of Germany’s ruling SPD, says the Brexit divide is harming efforts to solve international crises

A leading figure in Germany’s ruling Social Democratic party (SPD) has called for far closer links between the UK and the European Union, amid rising concerns the Brexit divide is harming efforts to solve international crises, including mass migration.

Martin Schulz, a former SPD leader and candidate to be chancellor of Germany, said it was vital that regular meetings, known in EU jargon as “structured dialogue”, be set up to bind the UK closer to the EU – and Germany – once again.

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Fear and anger rise in Germany over handling of budget crisis

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Der Spiegel accuses Scholz of ‘leading country into chaos’ as MPs scramble to plug €60bn shortfall

The German government is struggling to find a way out of a billion euro budget crisis that risks stifling its vision for environmental and industrial transformation and plunging the country into years of economic stagnation.

More immediately, the consequences of a ruling by the country’s highest court – which stunned economists and policy-makers by deeming that the government’s 2024 budget broke fiscal rules enshrined in the constitution – risks toppling the already embattled two year coalition under Olaf Scholz.

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Central banks ‘risk tipping UK and other developed countries into recession’

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Stance on inflation poses threat to ‘soft landing’ forecast for global economy, says OECD

Continued tough action by central banks to tackle stubborn inflation risks tipping Britain and other developed countries into recession next year, the west’s leading economic thinktank has warned.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said the chances of policymakers getting it wrong were “pretty high” and posed a threat to its central “soft landing” forecast for the global economy.

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Free speech groups criticise German ban on Russian journalists’ book

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Russian businessman claims book defamed him, while authors say aim is to destroy their reputation

A Russian businessman has successfully taken legal action to ban a book in Germany about the Kremlin and its spy agencies, in a case that freedom of speech groups have described as an alarming attack on public interest reporting.

Two London-based Russian journalists, Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, say they interviewed the businessman, Alexey Kozlov, for their 2019 book The Compatriots because of his family’s historical connections to Soviet intelligence. He has now won a court injunction against the book’s publisher.

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WW2 bomber crew’s remains identified 80 years after plane shot down over Netherlands

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Burials can go ahead of men who never returned from bombing mission over Germany in 1943

Eighty years after they were shot down by the Germans over Dutch waters, British airmen Arthur Smart, Raymond Moore and Charles Sprack can be laid to rest after the Dutch defence ministry confirmed their remains had been identified.

Two silver-plated cigarette cases were found with the initials of the 27-year-old flight engineer Smart and 21-year-old wireless operator Moore.

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Geert Wilders’ victory confirms upward trajectory of far right in Europe

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Dutch general election results show how populist and far-right parties are advancing into political mainstream

Geert Wilders’ shock victory in the Dutch general election confirms the upward trajectory of Europe’s populist and far-right parties, which – with the occasional setback – are continuing their steady march into the mainstream.

There is no guarantee that Wilders, whose anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) won 37 seats in Wednesday’s ballot – more than twice its 2021 total – will be able to form a government with a majority in the Netherlands’ 150-seat parliament.

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Israel-Hamas war opens up German debate over meaning of ‘Never again’

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Intellectuals clash over country’s traditional commitment to defence of Israel amid bloodshed in Gaza

The phrase “Never again” has been the central tenet of Germany’s political identity since the horrors of the Nazi-led Holocaust of Europe’s Jewish population. But the war between Israel and Hamas has opened up a fiercely fought debate about the phrase’s true meaning,dividing opinion among followers of the dominant German intellectual tradition.

A letter published in the Guardian pits several prominent German and international figures influenced by the Frankfurt School of neo-Marxist “critical theory” against its most prominent living member, Jürgen Habermas. They argue that “Never again” must also mean staying alert to the possibility that what is unfolding in Gaza could amount to genocide.

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Argentinian ex-officer who was charged over 23 murders dies in Berlin

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Luis Kyburg was alleged commander of Argentinian navy unit believed responsible for deaths of at least 150 people

An Argentinian former military officer has died of natural causes in Berlin just weeks before he was charged over the murder of 23 members of leftwing groups during the country’s military dictatorship.

The 75-year-old ex-navy officer was suspected in the abduction, disappearance, torture and murder of 23 young people in 1976 and 1977, Berlin prosecutors said.

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German publisher halts sale of top author’s books after leak reveals he received €600,000 from Putin ally

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Broadcaster NDR launches investigation after Hubert Seipel admits receiving support for work on two books on Russian leader

A German publisher has announced a stop to the sale of books authored by a leading journalist and Russia expert after an investigation showed he had received at least €600,000 (£522,000) in undisclosed offshore payments from companies linked to an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin.

Hubert Seipel, an award-winning film-maker and author, admitted receiving support for his work on two books charting the Russian leader’s rise to power and offering portrayals described as sympathetic to him.

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