Tag: Germany

German political parties and political actors are currently exposed to a particularly high number of cyberattacks, according to the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). "Particularly in light of the upcoming European elections, it can be assumed that there is currently an increased number of attacks," a spokeswoman for the authority told dpa. The BSI and the domestic intelligence service have...

The partial legalization of cannabis for personal use, which was championed by the centre-left government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, took effect in Germany on Monday, publishes DPA news agency. The Bundesrat, or upper house of parliament, let the long-debated bill pass last month after it was approved by the lower house, the Bundestag. Shortly after midnight, several hundred people gathered in...

Members of the Last Generation climate activism group daubed orange paint onto the façade of the German chancellery on Saturday morning, publishes DPA News Agency. A photo published by the group shows the phrase "Help! Your children" written in large letters, and numerous handprints. Several activists can be seen sitting or lying down on the ground in front of the...

A two-day public transport strike began in numerous German states on Thursday morning, publishes DPA. Passengers can expect considerable disruption, as buses, trams and underground trains ceased operating in many places. The trade union Verdi had called for the two-day strike, lasting until Friday. Cities and states which are affected include Berlin, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. Demonstrations...

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has categorically ruled out the deployment of ground troops from NATO states to Ukraine in its war against Russia, publishes DPA news agency. The chancellor opposed French President Emmanuel Macron's earlier comments that nothing was off the table to make sure Kiev wins the war, including the deployment of French troops. At a Ukraine aid conference on...

Several thousand people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin early on Saturday afternoon to commemorate the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine exactly two years ago, publishes German news agency dpa. Many participants in the rally carried Ukrainian flags. Others displayed their views on the war on banners and posters with slogans like "Russia always lies" or "The...

Four pupils at a school in the western German city of Wuppertal were injured, at least two of them seriously, in an attack on Thursday, according to police and officials. The suspected attacker, who is in custody, is believed to be a 17-year-old male pupil at the school, said Herbert Reul, the interior minister of the state of North Rhine...

Film fans in the German capital forked out funds for nearly 78,000 tickets to the Berlinale, the city's famous film festival, slightly higher than the 77,599 sold on the first day of sales last year, publlishes DPA news agency. There were actually 77,757 tickets sold since sales opened on Monday, a Berlinale spokeswoman announced on Tuesday - "almost identical to...

Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser plans to set up an "early detection unit" for foreign manipulation and influence campaigns as part of government efforts to fight right-wing extremism, publishes DPA news agency. The plan is part of a package of 13 measures which Faeser presented in Berlin on Tuesday together with the head of the domestic intelligence services, Thomas Haldenwang,...

Around half a million people demonstrated against right-wing extremism across Germany at the weekend, according to preliminary data from the Interior Ministry, German agency DPA published. The ministry spoke of 457,000 people at 128 events. Due to the lack of figures from the states of Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saarland, this is a provisional figure, a spokesman emphasized. According to the police,...

The north-western German city of Bremen saw thousands of people fill its streets on Sunday to demonstrate against right-wing extremism, as weeks of nationwide protests continued at the weekend. The police estimated the number of participants at around 16,500, while the organizers put it higher at 25,000. The rally was organized by a new alliance in Bremen of left-wing and...

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius warned that the war between Russia and Ukraine could expand beyond the neighbouring countries, publishes dpa news agency. "We hear threats from the Kremlin almost every day - most recently again against our friends in the Baltic states," Pistorius told the Tagesspiegel newspaper in an article published on Friday. With regard to the Bundeswehr, the minister...

Hundreds of flights at Frankfurt Airport in Germany have been cancelled on Thursday, a day after a winter storm forced the airport to suspend take-offs and landings for several hours, publishes DPA news agency. Heavy snowfall in Frankfurt and throughout western Germany, meanwhile, left some motorways impassable overnight and led to further transport chaos in parts of the country. Hundreds...

Farming industry leaders met top lawmakers from all three political parties in Germany's governing coalition on Monday amid mass protests by farmers in Berlin over subsidy cuts, German Agency DPA published. Parliamentary leaders from the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) last week invited officials from eight agricultural industry groups for talks. In addition to financial burdens facing...

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has harshly denounced plans by far-right extremists for the repatriation of immigrants, saying no one deserves to be judged on where they come from or the colour of their skin, writes German news agency DPA. "Learning from history is not just lip service. Democrats must stand together," the chancellor wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday,...

The German train drivers' strike brought passenger rail services across Germany to a near stand-still on Wednesday morning, writes German news agency DPA. Numerous employees started their industrial action at 2 am (0100 GMT), German rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) announced. In freight transport, the strike started on Tuesday evening at 6 pm. The industrial action is to continue until...

The German capital Berlin will have to rerun part of its botched 2021 elections for the national parliament, the country's Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday, writes German news agency DPA. The election will have to be repeated in 455 electoral districts and the corresponding postal voting districts, presiding judge Doris König said. This would amount to about a fifth of...

In 2023, meteorologists recorded the warmest September in the Alps since weather records began, writes German news agency DPA. This was reported by the German Weather Service (DWD), GeoSphere Austria and MeteoSwiss in the current issue of their joint publication series Bulletin Alpine Climate. At the beginning of August, record precipitation fell in southern Austria and the neighbouring Alpine regions of...

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her Slovenian counterpart Tanja Fajon want to work together to boost the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union, they said at talks in Ljubljana on Tuesday, writes German news agency DPA. "It is our common goal to promote the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the EU," Baerbock said. Both...

Germany is extending temporary border controls with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland until December 15, the county's Interior Ministry announced on Monday, writes German news agency DPA. There are normally no regular border controls or document checks along any of Germany's borders since all of the country's neighbours are in the visa-free Schengen Area. But Germany has reimposed border checks...