Category Archives: Germany

Alexei Navalny ordered to be detained on return to Russia, say officials

Posted on by

Opposition politician has been in Germany since August following suspected poisoning by FSB

Russia’s prison service says it has orders to detain Alexei Navalny, a statement made days before the opposition politician is due to return to Russia after recuperating abroad from a suspected FSB poisoning.

Navalny could face prison time when he gets off the plane in Moscow on Sunday. Officials said they would take him into custody for failing to appear for parole reviews after he was attacked with a novichok-style poison in August.

Continue reading...

Berlin airport’s baggage handlers suffer electric shocks in latest mishap

Posted on by

About 60 cases recorded of workers being hurt recorded at airport, which has been plagued with problems

Baggage handlers at Berlin’s new airport have reported receiving electric shocks from scanners in yet another problem to befall the troubled project, which is widely seen as an engineering catastrophe.

About 60 incidents of electric shocks have been reported since the airport opened its doors on 31 October last year, nine years behind schedule and more than €4bn (£3.6bn) over budget, according to the trade union Verdi. Affected workers have complained of significant pain, dizziness and numbness, and ambulances have been called on four occasions this month.

Continue reading...

German CDU on verge of electing divisive figure to replace Angela Merkel

Posted on by

Millionaire lawyer Friedrich Merz is favourite to take centre-right into federal elections

When Angela Merkel steps down as chancellor this September, she will leave behind a conservative party that has been a practically unchallenged political force in Germany for 16 years and currently leads political polls by a towering 15 percentage points.

And yet the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) may thank her this Saturday by electing as its new leader one of her longest-standing political rivals, a man who represents a return to the pre-Merkel past not just in terms of ideological values but also style of leadership.

Continue reading...

Ginger root and meteorite dust: the Steiner ‘Covid cures’ offered in Germany

Posted on by

The movement best known for its schools is firmly entrenched within the German health sector

In a pandemic where global leaders have peddled quack treatments and miracle cures, Germany has often stood out as a shining beacon for science.

It is the country that developed the first diagnostic test to detect the coronavirus, and the first vaccine approved in the west to shield people against the disease. It is a country whose physicist chancellor told parliament she passionately believes “there are scientific findings that are real and should be followed.”

Continue reading...

Change in the weather: German storm names to be more diverse

Posted on by

Symbolic #WeatherCorrection is part of campaign for inclusivity in society

Move over, Siegfried. Ahmet is on the way.

A journalists’ group has named a low pressure system bringing low temperatures, dark clouds and snow to Germany after the boy’s name of Turkish origin in an effort to increase the visibility of the country’s increasingly diverse population.

Continue reading...

As parts of UK enter third Covid lockdown, how does rest of Europe compare?

Posted on by

Rules vary from country to country but many European nations face severe restrictions

After a brief and partial relaxation of the rules over Christmas and New Year, many continental European countries have returned to the tough anti-Covid regimes that were imposed this autumn – with some tightening measures further.

According to the latest update from the World Health Organization, in the final week of 2020 the UK had a 14-day new-case notification rate of 720 for every 100,000 people, more than double that in France, Germany, Italy and Spain but lower than the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark.

Continue reading...

‘He’s a risk-taker’: Germans divided over Elon Musk’s new GigaFactory

Posted on by

The Tesla project will put Grünheide on the map, but some say it is doing ‘irreversible’ harm to the environment

For the past 10 months, Silas Heineken has been flying a drone over one of Germany’s biggest building sites and posting the images on YouTube.

The 14-year-old self-named “Tesla Kid” has built a significant following, as tens of thousands tune in each week to see the latest developments in Elon Musk’s GigaFactory as it emerges at speed from the sandy ground of Brandenburg, south-east of Berlin.

Continue reading...

BioNTech criticises EU failure to order enough Covid vaccine

Posted on by

Firm races to fill potential gap left by bloc’s gamble on several vaccines being approved

BioNtech has criticised the EU’s failure to order more doses of its coronavirus vaccine, saying it is now racing with its US partner, Pfizer, to boost production amid fears of a European “gap” left by the lack of other approved vaccines.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was the first to be approved by the bloc late last month, after being accepted by the UK, Canada and the US. They and other countries have also since approved the Moderna or Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, leaving the EU trailing behind.

Continue reading...

Home firework displays lead to fires, injuries and death in Germany and Italy

Posted on by

Boy, 13, killed in Italy and fires across Berlin as people respond to public fireworks bans by letting them off at home

Banned from setting off fireworks in much of their city, some Berliners instead tried to launch them from their homes on New Year’s Eve, leading to dozens of fires across the German capital.

By six minutes after midnight, the Berlin fire service had been called to 18 fires, with more following. No one was initially reported seriously injured.

Continue reading...

World takes in muted New Year’s Eve under Covid shadow

Posted on by

Lockdowns and curfews curtail celebrations, with limited exceptions, after year most would prefer to forget

In Sydney the fireworks soared into the sky above the Opera House, but the harbour below was empty. In New York, Times Square will be mostly deserted. No light show illuminated Beijing from the top of the TV tower.

With revelry around the world curtailed by lockdowns and curfews imposed to stem the spread of Covid-19, the lions of London’s Trafalgar Square will be barricaded off, and there will be no crowds in St Peter’s Square and no one diving into the Tiber in Rome.

Continue reading...

Global report: India finds six cases of new UK variant; South Africa bans alcohol sales

Posted on by

Germany says infectious variant has been present since November; Spain sets up Covid vaccine register

India has found six cases of a more infectious variant of the coronavirus in people arriving from Britain, while South Africa reimposed a ban on alcohol sales and ordered the closure of all bars as it battles a resurgence of the virus, including another new variant.

All six of the infected people in India are in isolation and their fellow travellers are being traced, the health ministry said.

Continue reading...

Swan song: German firefighters remove ‘mourning’ bird blocking railway line

Posted on by

At least 20 trains cancelled after swan stopped at site of another’s death near Fuldatal

Police and firefighters in Germany were forced to intervene to move an apparently “mourning” swan that was blocking a high-speed railway line, according to a statement released by the rescuers on Monday.

The swan was pictured blocking the line near Fuldatal, causing at least 20 trains to be cancelled, after a second swan was killed when it flew into the overhead line above the tracks.

Continue reading...

BioNTech vaccine ‘highly likely’ to work against new Covid variant, says chief executive – video

Posted on by

The chief executive of the German pharmaceutical company BioNTech said he was confident its coronavirus vaccine worked against the new UK variant, but that further studies were needed to be certain. 'Scientifically, it is highly likely that the immune response by this vaccine also can deal with the new virus variants,' Uğur Şahin said. If the vaccine needs to be adjusted for the new variant, the company could do that in about six weeks, he added

Continue reading...

EU foreign ministers pave way for revival of Iran nuclear deal

Posted on by

Step would allow Tehran to come back into compliance with deal, so long as US sanctions were lifted

EU foreign ministers have agreed not to set fresh preconditions on a revival of the Iran nuclear deal, believing Tehran and Washington should be able to come back into full compliance with the agreement without at this stage needing to accept to extend or strengthen it.

The step removes one of the potential roadblocks to Iran coming back into compliance with the existing deal, so long as the US lifts its sanctions and complies with UN resolutions.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: Boris Johnson to hold crisis meeting as India joins countries banning flights from UK

Posted on by

India joins France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Bulgaria in flight bans over new strain; US aid bill should have votes to pass

That’s all from me, Caroline Davies. Thank you for your time. Handing over now to my colleague Aamna Mohdin.

The chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, Ken Marsh, has said there is “no way” officers will be knocking on the doors of “normal” households in London to check coronavirus restrictions were being followed now the city is in Tier 4.

“We won’t be knocking on people’s doors at all, unless there is a large group and noise, ie a party or something like that.

Continue reading...

Italy likely to follow Germany with Covid Christmas lockdown

Posted on by

Netherlands also set to announce more restrictions amid mounting fears of surge in infections

Italy and the Netherlands are set to impose tough new anti-coronavirus measures before the holidays as Germany, already facing a hard Christmas lockdown, warned its restrictions were unlikely to ease early in the new year.

Italian media reported that the government could place the whole country under so-called “red-zone” lockdown from Christmas Eve until at least 2 January amid mounting fears of a possible surge in infections over the festive period.

Continue reading...

Germany to close shops and schools in Covid Christmas lockdown

Posted on by

Angela Merkel says urgent action is needed as daily cases and deaths hit record highs

Germany will close most shops from Wednesday until 10 January as it tightens coronavirus restrictions and tries to rein in the spread of the disease, the country’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, has said.

Schools will also be shut during the period, and employers will be asked to close operations or have employees work from home. The sale of fireworks will be banned ahead of New Year’s Eve.

Continue reading...

Germany heads for national lockdown as Covid cases rise sharply

Posted on by

Experts warn that delaying measures until after Christmas could cost tens of thousands of lives

Germany is heading for a major new nationwide lockdown to stem the rapid spread of the coronavirus after health experts said that to wait until after Christmas to wind the country down could cost tens of thousands of lives and overwhelm hospitals.

The country recorded almost 23,000 new cases on Wednesday morning, and 598 deaths, both rates higher than at any time since the start of the pandemic.

Continue reading...

Berlin: Staatsballett’s first black female dancer accuses it of racism

Posted on by

Chloé Lopes Gomes claims she was repeatedly told she did not fit in because of her skin colour

The first black female dancer at Berlin’s principal ballet company has accused the institution of racial harassment, claiming she was repeatedly told she did not fit in because of her skin colour.

Chloé Lopes Gomes, a French citizen, who joined the Staatsballett as a corps de ballet member in 2018, said she had faced recurrent racial abuse from her ballet mistress. In an interview with the Guardian she also accuses the company of institutional racism after managers failed to act even after various incidents were brought to their attention.

Continue reading...