Category Archives: Germany

Biden lays bare Nato divide over Russian aggression against Ukraine

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Analysis: Greatest tension is between US and Germany over arms sale and energy dependency

Joe Biden confirmed at his press conference on Wednesday what has been apparent for weeks – Nato remains divided over how to respond to Russian aggression against Ukraine.

His admission of a split was overshadowed by his passing remark that a minor incursion would be treated differently to a full-scale invasion. The White House afterwards clarified that a minor incursion meant cyber-attacks, as opposed to a movement of Russian troops into Ukraine sovereign territory.

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The modernist marvel that Hamburg took to its heart: ‘Elphi’ turns five

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As the €866m Elbphilharmonie celebrates its fifth anniversary, what could have been a costly mistake has become a symbol of the German city. London, take note

Five years ago the world felt a very different place. Pandemics belonged to disaster movies; the UK was reeling from the divisive Brexit vote but, with Theresa May newly installed as prime minister, the hope was that she might succeed in a soft Brexit and, in London; Simon Rattle’s imminent arrival as the London Symphony Orchestra’s chief conductor was eagerly anticipated and along with it the city’s transformative new Centre for Music.

Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie opened in January 2017 with a glittering gala attended by celebrities and dignitaries. The spectacular concert hall was praised for its bold design, its superb acoustics and its “exceptionally exceptional exceptionalness”. But in London the hope – back then – was that the city’s own new concert hall would one day also be a world-leading arts venue to compete with Hamburg’s.

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£576,000 office renovations will save taxpayers money, EU official insists

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German MEP Rainer Wieland spent £20,000 on a light fitting and the same amount on bespoke doors

A vice-president of the European parliament is facing questions after it was revealed he had spent nearly €690,000 (£576,000) on lavish office renovations.

Rainer Wieland, a Christian Democrat MEP from Germany, spent €486,011 on a state-of-the-art office and €134,774 “showroom” next door, both built from scratch on the 15th floor of the European parliament in Brussels, according to a leaked report seen by the Guardian.

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Syrian survivors cling to hope Raslan case will mark end of regime’s impunity

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Analysis: sentencing of former colonel to life by German court may not be last chink in Assad’s armour

It was a moment thought nearly impossible after a decade of impunity: a senior Syrian intelligence officer jailed for life for helping direct the horrors of one of modern history’s most brutal wars.

But as Anwar Raslan, a former colonel in Bashar al-Assad’s forces, bowed to his fate, survivors of the barbarous regime of torture that he helped run finally had something to cling to.

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Covid live: Germany recommends boosters for 12-17-year-olds; Hungary offers fourth jab and cuts quarantine

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Germany one of first countries in the world to recommend boosters for teenagers; Hungary to make fourth Covid jab available to people who ask for it

Daily coronavirus cases in Japan have exceeded 13,000 for the first time in more than four months, as the country confronts a sixth wave of infections driven by the Omicron variant.

It reported 13,244 new cases on Wednesday, including 2,198 in Tokyo and 1,711 in Osaka. The number of new infections in the Japanese capital was more than double that recorded the previous day and a fivefold increase from the same day the previous week.

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Jailing of Syrian intelligence officer ‘step towards justice’ say former detainees

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Anwar Raslan’s conviction in Germany sends signal that Assad regime systematically uses torture, say detention system survivors

For survivors of Syria’s brutal detention system, the landmark conviction of a former Syrian intelligence official for crimes against humanity represents a vital step towards justice.

“We initially hoped for a trial at the international criminal court, but nevertheless this is an important step,” said Hussein Ghrer, one of 24 former detainees of Branch 251, a military intelligence unit with its own prison in Damascus, who testified against Anwar Raslan.

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German court jails former Syrian intelligence officer for life

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Anwar Raslan found to have overseen murder of at least 27 people and torture of at least 4,000 at Damascus prison

A German court has sentenced a Syrian former intelligence officer to life in prison in a case the UN rights chief said could lead to accountability for other perpetrators of the war’s “unspeakable crimes”.

Anwar Raslan, a former colonel loyal to the regime who later defected and gained asylum in Germany, was deemed by the judge at Koblenz higher regional court to have verifiably overseen the murder of at least 27 and torture of at least 4,000 prisoners at a detention facility in Damascus.

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German court expected to accuse Assad regime in Syria of torture

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Ex-Syrian intelligence official Anwar Raslan is charged with crimes against humanity, rape and murder

A German court is expected to issue a verdict against a former Syrian intelligence official accused of overseeing the murder of 58 people and the torture of thousands of others, in a landmark case expected to declare the actions of the Assad regime over the last decade a crime against humanity for the first time.

The verdict against Anwar Raslan, a former colonel loyal to the regime who later defected and fled Syria, is both a highly symbolic moment for the Syrian opposition in exile and a potential risk for those seeking to bring more war criminals to justice in the future, some of whom say a harsh sentence could discourage other defectors from talking openly to authorities.

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Covid live: Record numbers admitted to US hospitals with coronavirus; Sweden to introduce stricter curbs

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Over 132,000 patients currently on US wards with Covid; Swedish measures include work from home mandate

Two of New Zealand’s most prominent Covid-19 experts have warned that the country is unprepared to prevent the health system from being overloaded by an Omicron outbreak, with likely fatal consequences.

Otago University’s Dr Nick Wilson and Dr Michael Baker also said it was only a “matter of weeks” before the highly transmissible variant seeped into the community due to border failures.

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German police dogs sent off duty after ban on ‘pulling collars’

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Method used to control dogs while making arrests illegal under new animal rights law

Berlin police dogs trained to attack perpetrators have been put on an enforced break, along with their handlers, over contradictions between the methods used to control them and a new law to prevent cruelty to dogs.

The use of pulling collars to channel a police dog’s aggression towards an agitator or potential criminal contravenes the law, introduced by the former agriculture minister, which came into force on 1 January.

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Masks for school students mandatory in several EU countries

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Analysis: Amid a backlash in England over the rule change, we look at the rules in place in other countries

The return of a requirement in England for secondary pupils to wear face masks in class has sparked a backlash at the start of the new term, but several EU countries have already adopted the measure even for primary school children.

Some Conservative MPs and parents’ groups have objected to the move, warning of a long-term impact of masks on children’s mental health and arguing that they they will have a longer-term effect on people’s ability to learn and socialise.

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Retrieved after decades: the painting supposedly ‘bought’ by the Nazis

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A new book recounts one woman’s struggle to find looted art – and then convince a major museum to give it back

Fresh proof that the Nazis set up fake auctions and phoney paperwork to disguise their looting of art and valuable possessions has been uncovered by an amateur sleuth researching her own family mystery.

French writer Pauline Baer de Perignon’s investigation has revealed the fate of a missing collection of art that included work by Monet, Renoir and Degas and also exposed the reluctance of Europe’s leading museums to accept evidence of the deceit.

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Exploding New Year’s Eve fireworks kill two in Germany and Austria

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Several more injured in separate incidents despite Germany introducing ban this year on sale of fireworks for personal use

Exploding fireworks killed two men on New Year’s Eve, one in Germany and the other in Austria, according to local media.

A 37-year-old man died in Hennef, near Germany’s western city of Bonn. A 39-year-old was severely injured in the same incident and taken to hospital.

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German optimism over Omicron as Europe dampens new year revelry

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Covid expert hopeful for ‘relatively normal’ winter 2022 but prevalence limits celebrations across continent

Germany’s leading coronavirus expert has expressed optimism that his country could expect a “relatively normal” winter in 2022 as Europe prepared to ring in the new year in muted fashion, with many countries limiting celebrations.

As the highly transmissible Omicron variant fuels a record-breaking surge in Covid infections across the continent, many governments have curtailed mass public gatherings and either closed or imposed curfews on nightclubs.

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‘Waste colonialism’: world grapples with west’s unwanted plastic

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Germany and UK are big exporters of plastic, much of which lies rotting in ports in Turkey, Vietnam and other countries

One hundred and 41 containers filled with rotting plastic waste have been on a journey for more than a year. Scattered between Turkey, Greece and Vietnam, far from their origins in Germany, the containers’ voyage sheds light on the hidden global trade in plastic waste.

Arriving in Turkey in late 2020, shortly before a ban on mixed plastic waste imports came into force, the containers quickly became the centre of a battle between traders, a shipping line, multiple governments and environmental campaigners demanding their return.

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Germans flock to Poland to buy fireworks in defiance of ban

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Firework sales prohibited in Germany for second year in a row owing to Covid, resulting in growing stockpile

Germans seeking to defy a government ban on the domestic selling of fireworks before new year celebrations are heading in their droves across the border to Polish shops and factories.

A ban was announced this month for a second year in a row in an attempt to prevent large gatherings during the pandemic and to ease the burden on hospitals, which regularly have to treat serious injuries such as burns and lacerated limbs resulting from pyrotechnic accidents.

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French daily Covid cases above 200,000 as Italy introduces stricter green pass

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France sets European record, as Italy tightens measures against the unvaccinated

France has registered a national and European record for new coronavirus infections as the Omicron variant fuels a surge in cases across the continent, with multiple countries hitting new highs.

France on Wednesday reported 208,000 cases in the previous 24 hours, up from its previous record of almost 180,000 set the day before.

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German court rules disabled people must be protected in Covid triage cases

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Country’s highest court calls for legally binding guidelines if hospitals are forced to choose which patients need treatment

Germany’s highest court has ruled that disabled people must be protected by legally binding guidelines in case hospitals are forced to introduce a triage system as the country braces itself for a new, more infectious wave of coronavirus.

The constitutional court announced its decision on Tuesday, ordering legislators to create a legal framework that would prevent disabled people from being unfairly treated.

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Germany toughens Covid restrictions as Omicron variant takes hold

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Indoor and outdoor gatherings restricted in size with leisure facilities closing in several states

Germans across large parts of the country face a tightening of rules governing both private and public spaces in an effort to slow down a wave of coronavirus infections triggered by the Omicron variant.

Gatherings both indoors and outdoors are to be restricted in size from Monday, with leisure facilities – from gyms to swimming pools and nightclubs to cinemas – shutting in several states and restaurants facing earlier closing times.

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Pfizer/BioNTech tax windfall brings Mainz an early Christmas present

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German city where early Covid vaccine was developed uses its new-found wealth to slash debt and attract other biotech firms

The Pfizer/BioNTech jab is having an unexpected side-effect on the German municipality where scientists first developed it: for the first time in three decades the city of Mainz expects to become debt-free thanks to the tax revenues generated by the company’s global success.

Mainz’s decision to use its financial windfall to also slash corporate tax rates in the hope of attracting industry, especially biotech companies, however, is drawing criticism from neighbouring cities and economists.

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