Woman rolled to safety but boy, eight, was struck by high-speed train, say police in Frankfurt
An eight-year-old boy has died after he and his mother were deliberately pushed on to train tracks at Frankfurt’s main railway station, German police have said.
The boy was hit by a high-speed ICE train and killed instantly. His mother was able to roll into a safe gap between two platforms and escaped injury.
Continue reading...Extra police called in to restore order after disturbance at party in Bavarian town
Fifty school-leavers in Germany had to be restrained by police on Thursday night after they stormed a police station in an attempt to free a friend.
The 15-year-old boy had been placed in a cell after he was aggressive towards police who arrested him after an end-of-term party in the Bavarian lakeside town of Starnberg turned violent. The teenager had allegedly previously asked a security guard for drugs and had gone on the rampage.
Continue reading...Highs in Germany, Netherlands and Belgium exceeded for second time in 24 hours
Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium have recorded all-time national temperature highs for the second day running and Paris has had its hottest day ever as the second dangerous heatwave of the summer sears western Europe.
The extreme temperatures follow a similar heatwave last month that made it the hottest June on record. Scientists say the climate crisis is making summer heatwaves five times more likely and significantly more intense.
Continue reading...New PM has pledged to help EU citizens in the UK after Brexit – but not the 1.3 million British folk in the EU
Campaigners for British citizens in Europe say they are being treated as nonentities by Boris Johnson in his race to get Brexit over the line.
They say they have been completely forgotten by the new prime minister, who instead went out of his way to pledge that he would look after EU citizens in the UK in his maiden speech in Downing Street.
Continue reading...German chancellor also says she feels solidarity with targets of Donald Trump’s racism
Angela Merkel has sought to assuage concerns about her health after a spate of shaking bouts at public events, saying she is feeling fine and looking forward to a healthy life when she steps down in two years.
“I understand questions about my health, and I have already given an answer to this,” said the German chancellor, who recently turned 65. “It is important that I commit myself to the responsibility of acting as head of government. I just would say you have known me for some time and I can perform this role.”
Continue reading...Exclusive: newly elected EU chief suggests there could be emergency help for Ireland
The European commission’s new president has said a hard Brexit would have “massively negative consequences” for both Britain and the EU, and said Brussels could provide emergency help for nations such as Ireland that bear the brunt of such an outcome.
In her first interview since narrowly being approved for the post by the European parliament on Tuesday, Ursula von der Leyen said the withdrawal deal concluded between Theresa May and the commission’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michael Barnier, would remain the basis of any future talks.
Continue reading...Critics question judgment of Georg Maaßen for spreading ‘lies and extremist agitation’
When he was in charge of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, Hans-Georg Maaßen warned of how easy it was for people to be led astray by “disinformation” and “clumsy fake reports” on the internet.
But since his dismissal from office last September, the former spy chief’s behaviour on social media has raised questions over his own ability to distinguish conspiracy theories from truthful reporting, and sparked a debate about the neutrality of the powerful intelligence agency during a period in which a resurgent far right marched over several days in the city of Chemnitz.
Continue reading...When someone is confronted by illness, we can’t resist being intrusive and speculative
This month my dear friend died from cancer, leaving behind a young family. A continent apart, we talked about her illness and what it meant. She told me that she wasn’t afraid of dying and I believed her because she knew the rich legacy she had created. But in the aftermath of her death a post her daughter released tore me asunder. In it, my friend recalls the reaction of strangers to her illness.
“How could you contract this disgusting illness?” one wailed. “You could easily have another five years,” shrugged another. (She just made it past one.) An acquaintance was angry at not having been told sooner. Another was perplexed by her equanimity, leading to an ambush at the elevator: “You know this is terminal, right?” Someone wanted to know the exact site of cancer. Another recalled the relative of a relative who died of exactly that kind of cancer not so long ago.
Continue reading...Hohenzollerns want property and artworks lost after two world wars and Soviet occupation
The heirs of the former Prussian monarchy are seeking the return of thousands of artworks, memorabilia and other historical artefacts from the German state, the country’s culture ministry has said.
Negotiations have been ongoing “for several years” between the Hohenzollern family, the federal government and the states of Berlin and Brandenburg over the aristocrats’ demand for restitution.
Continue reading...German chancellor reportedly requests change of protocol after third bout of trembling
Angela Merkel sat through the German and Danish national anthems during a ceremony welcoming Denmark’s prime minister to Berlin. The German chancellor reportedly requested the change in protocol a day after she was seen shaking in public for the third time in as many weeks.
Merkel appeared calm as she and the new Danish leader, Mette Frederiksen, took seats on white upholstered chairs on the red carpet during military honours outside the chancellery in Berlin. The chancellor remained still throughout the hymns, moving only to smile and nod at her visitor.
Continue reading...French envoy visits Tehran as Rouhani warns UK tanker seizure will have repercussions
Iran has told Europe it will not reverse its decision to increase uranium enrichment beyond the limits set by the 2015 nuclear accord until it achieves its “full rights” to an economic relationship with the EU under the deal.
Ali Shamkhani, a senior security official and representative of Iran’s supreme leader, made his remarks as he met a senior French diplomat sent to Tehran by the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
Continue reading...German chancellor began trembling at reception for Finnish prime minister
Angela Merkel has insisted she is in good health after experiencing a third bout of shaking in as many weeks at a public event in Berlin.
The German chancellor was seen trembling during military honours for Finland’s prime minister, Antti Rinne, in the forecourt of her chancellery on Wednesday morning.
Continue reading...Hundreds of applicants turned down by the government are now looking for answers
A group of more than 100 descendants of Jewish refugees who fled the Nazi regime are challenging the German government’s rejection of their applications to restore their citizenship.
Anyone who was deprived of their German citizenship during the 12 years of Nazi dictatorship on political, racial or religious grounds – as well as their descendants – is potentially eligible for its restoration, according to a clause enshrined in the country’s constitution.
Continue reading...Mayor of German capital considering €365 annual ticket to reduce traffic and pollution
Berliners could pay as little as €1 a day to use public transport for a year under plans to wean the German capital off its cars and reduce air pollution, its mayor has announced.
“Step by step I want to follow the goal of introducing an annual public transport ticket for €365,” Michael Müller told Neue Zürcher Zeitung. An annual ticket normally costs €761.
Continue reading...Some staff in London reported to be in tears after hearing their jobs have gone
Deutsche Bank started slashing thousands of jobs in the City of London and in New York only hours after announcing a drastic plan to reduce its global workforce by 18,000.
Germany’s biggest lender employs almost 8,000 people in the UK, with 7,000 in London, which is one of the main hubs for its global investment bank, where the bulk of the job losses will be focused. The jobs being cut make up about a fifth of Deutsche’s global workforce of 91,500.
Continue reading...James Simon Gallery, Berlin
Twenty years in the making, this dazzling synthesis of the classical and modern takes Museum Island to new heights
Friedrich Wilhelm IV described his vision for Berlin’s Museum Island as a “cultural acropolis”; a sacred sanctuary for the arts and sciences that would cement the Prussian capital as the Athens of the north. Almost two centuries later, the kaiser’s classical aspirations have been fulfilled by British architect David Chipperfield, in the form of a dazzling white temple. Opening this weekend, after 20 years of planning, the James Simon Gallery stands as a €134m (£120m) Parthenon-on-Spree, forming a handsome new entrance to one of the world’s most important repositories of cultural treasures.
“We were quite nervous,” says Chipperfield, standing in the lofty new ticketing lobby, where stripes of sunlight flood in between the row of slender white columns outside. “The challenge was how to create something that was of its context and also of our time, in this incredibly sensitive location.”
Continue reading...Money will go towards paying Carola Rackete’s legal fees if charges are brought
Two online campaigns to help the German captain of a rescue ship under house arrest in Italy have between them raised more than €1m.
Carola Rackete’s arrest on Saturday, after she forced her way into port in Lampedusa carrying migrants and refugees she had rescued off Libya, prompted a fundraising appeal by two prominent German TV stars that by Tuesday morning had raised €917,195 from more than 33,000 donors.
Continue reading...Focus is on averting further breaches and UK says it remains committed to 2015 deal
European leaders have resisted calls to start reimposing sanctions on Iran after the country said it had for the first time broken the terms of the nuclear deal it signed with foreign powers in 2015.
Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said on Monday it had allowed its stockpile of low-enriched uranium to exceed 300kg. The move is a carefully calibrated and reversible step intended to put pressure on Europe to do more to help mitigate the effect of crippling US sanctions.
Continue reading...Activists linked to military and police suspected of preparing terror attack, reports say
A group of German rightwing extremists compiled a “death list” of leftwing and pro-refugee targets by accessing police records, then stockpiled weapons and ordered body bags and quicklime to kill and dispose of their victims, German media have reported, citing intelligence sources.
Germany’s general prosecutor had been investigating Nordkreuz (Northern Cross) since August 2017 on the suspicion the group was preparing a terrorist attack.
Continue reading...EU countries sending growing numbers back to country of arrival in bloc
The number of asylum seekers returned to Italy from elsewhere in Europe under a controversial EU regulation has almost tripled in five years, amid concern over their treatment in Italy and Germany.
Under the terms of the Dublin regulation, member states can send people back to their country of arrival in the EU – usually Italy or Greece.
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