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Germany announces €65bn package to curb soaring energy costs

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In an effort to lessen the prospect of rising energy prices as Europe struggles with limited supplies in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany has unveiled a €65 billion (£56.2 billion) package of measures.

The package, which is substantially larger than the two before it, will include one-time payments to the most vulnerable people and tax benefits for companies that use a lot of energy. Energy prices have soared since the February invasion, and Europe is trying to wean itself off Russian energy.

Ukraine encouraged Europe to maintain its resolve. Russia is attempting to disrupt every European citizen’s ability to lead a normal life, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. On Saturday, he stated in his nightly speech that Russia was preparing a “decisive energy attack on all Europeans” and that only cooperation among European nations would provide safety.

There are already hints of unhappiness, with demonstrators marching to the streets of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, on Sunday to demonstrate against rising energy prices and demand the lifting of sanctions against Russia. According to police, there were roughly 70,000 attendees, primarily from far-right and far-left organisations.

Meanwhile, several hundred demonstrators gathered in Lubmin, the Russian gas pipeline’s terminal in northeastern Germany.

They demanded that Nord Stream 2, a new pipeline that was set to be put into operation but was stopped by the German government during the invasion, be put into service.

Russia announced two days ago that it would permanently halt gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which is currently in use.

The stand-off with Russia has forced countries like Germany to find supplies elsewhere, and its stores have increased from less than half full in June to 84% full today.

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Munich Olympics massacre compensation deal struck

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Israel and Germany have reached a settlement over compensation for Israelis killed at the Munich Olympics in 1972. After being held as hostages by members of a Palestinian militant group, eleven Israeli athletes were killed.

Days before the tragedy’s 50th anniversary, an agreement of €28 million (£24 million) was reached. Earlier this month, families vowed to boycott the tragedy’s remembrances because the compensation they received was insufficient. Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel, praised the agreement as a “important step by the German government” and expressed his approval.

One of the deadliest episodes in Olympic history is the Munich tragedy, which happened on September 5, 1972. Palestinian gunmen from the Black September organisation kidnapped Israeli athletes within the Olympic village.

While the militants attempted to flee the country, two were shot dead almost immediately, and the other two died during a gunfight with West German police at an adjacent airfield.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Mr. Herzog expressed their “happiness and relief” at reaching a consensus on historical clarity in a joint statement.

Germany has also said that it will make records about the hostage-taking and the failed rescue attempt public.The families of the victims have long accused German authorities of not doing enough to safeguard athletes and being secretive about their security flaws.

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Cats in  German town will be released from a special lockdown

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When the authorities release a particular lockdown in one German town, cat owners will be able to let their cats out for the first time in three months. To safeguard an endangered bird, residents of Walldorf in the southwest were instructed to confine their cats inside in May.

Cats were only permitted to go outside if a leash no more than two metres (six feet) in length was used to control them. But starting at 00:01 local time on Monday, the animals will once more be free to wander. Owners were instructed to phone a special hotline, locate, and imprison the offending cat if one escaped while the lockdown was in effect.

Any violation would incur a fine. An owner who caused harm to or death to one of the protected birds was subject to a fine of up to €50,000 (£42,000). Because the crested lark is an endangered species in the German state of Baden-Württemberg and throughout the country, authorities have been working to safeguard the local population.

Only three breeding pairs were said to be left in Walldorf proper. While underlining their support for measures to protect the larks, activists criticised the limits, claiming they would be detrimental to the wellbeing of the cats.

According to Britain’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, many millions of birds die naturally each year, and there is no proof that cat assaults in gardens are to blame for the population drop (RSPB).

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Oder river: Mystery surrounds thousands of fish deaths

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Officials from Poland and Germany are attempting to determine what is causing a large-scale fish die-off in the Oder river, which divides the two nations. Since late last month, hundreds of kilometres of the river have been covered in thousands of dead fish.

Although tests have been conducted, it is believed that a harmful substance entered the water. However, the precise chemical is yet unclear. The German government has issued warnings about an impending environmental catastrophe and has advised people to stay away from the river.

However, activists have accused the government of both nations of neglecting to cooperate in order to promptly respond to the tragedy and protect people. Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister of Poland, fired two environmental officials on Friday for how they handled the situation.

German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke demanded a thorough inquiry into the incident and stated that investigators were working “full out” to determine its cause. Following the first complaints of a problem from Polish fishermen and anglers as early as July 28, tonnes of dead fish are alleged to have been pulled from the river.

According to the news agency AFP, the Oder is a river that is typically regarded as clean and serves as a habitat for 40 domestic fish species. However, a representative of the Brandenburg state in eastern Germany claimed test findings indicated elevated oxygen levels in the water, suggesting the presence of an alien material.

According to Katarzyna Kojzar, a journalist for the Polish investigative website OKO.press, beavers, birds, and ducks have also been impacted.

However, a heatwave and record low water levels on the Oder meant that fish were already in trouble, according to Christian Wolter of the Leibniz Institute.

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Cold showers as the German city of Hanover reacts to Russian gas crisis

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Due to the Russian gas crisis, the German city of Hanover has turned off the heating and switched to cold showers in all public buildings. After Russia significantly reduced Germany’s gas supplies, it is the first major city to turn off the hot water.

Germans have been warned to prepare for significant gas conservation efforts as well as increased energy bill costs. Additionally, the EU has decided to reduce its need for Russian gas by 15% this winter. Hanover, a city in northern Germany, has decided that hot water would no longer be offered for hand washing in public buildings or in showers at swimming pools, sports arenas, and gyms in an effort to conserve energy.

To save energy, public fountains are also being turned off, and there won’t be any nighttime lighting on significant structures like the town hall and museums.

In response to a “imminent gas scarcity,” which posed a substantial problem for large cities, Mayor Belit Onay stated that the objective was to lower the city’s energy use by 15%.

The same regulations apply to heating. Room temperatures in public buildings are regulated to a maximum of 20C for the remainder of the year, with some exceptions, and are prohibited from being heated from April through the end of September each year.

Additionally, the city has banned portable heaters, air conditioners, and radiators.

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EU agrees to cut gas use over Russia supply fears

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EU energy ministers have decided that countries will reduce their gas use if Russia stops supplying them. The EU countries have now agreed to a voluntary 15 percent between August and March after being locked in negotiations since the notion was floated last week.

The Czech Republic, which is currently in charge of rotating the EU chair, tweeted, “This was not a Mission Impossible!”. Documents obtained by the BBC, however, indicate that the agreement had been weakened and that certain nations may now request exemptions. The EU warned that Russia was “constantly using energy supplies as a weapon” and that the goal was to save money before winter.

If supplies run out, the voluntary agreement would become obligatory. The EU said that some nations, including Ireland, Malta, and Cyprus, which are not connected to the EU’s gas pipelines, would be exempt from any mandatory gas reduction orders since they would not be able to seek alternative supplies.

In order to reduce the possibility of a crisis in the supply of power, the Baltic nations, who are not connected to the European electricity grid and heavily rely on gas for electricity production, are also exempt from mandatory targets.

Initial calculations showed that even if all exemptions were used, the EU would still lower demand to a level “that would get us safely through an average winter,” according to Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy.

She also discussed efforts to increase the supply of alternative gas from nations such as Azerbaijan, the United States, Canada, Norway, Egypt, and Israel.

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German Documenta art fair chief quits in anti-Semitism row

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In an argument about a piece of art that was deemed to be anti-Semitic, the director of a well-known German art exhibition resigned. In Kassel, the Documenta 15 exhibition momentarily included a mural portraying a soldier holding a Star of David and a pig’s head.

A character with fangs, sidelocks in the Jewish Orthodox fashion, and a “SS” hat was also shown on the painting. A group of Indonesian artists created it. Soon after the episode debuted last month, there was a commotion. Sabine Schormann, the director, has since resigned.

She has apologised for failing to recognise the anti-Semitism in the painting. Since the art fair won’t end until September 25th, a temporary replacement will need to be chosen.

The scandal is particularly painful in Germany because of the Holocaust, a 20th-century atrocity committed by Nazi Germany against the Jewish people. Every five years in Kassel, Documenta is regarded as a premier exhibition of contemporary art, comparable to the Venice Biennale.

The Documenta supervisory board voiced “deep dismay” that “obviously anti-Semitic motifs were on display” during the opening weekend.

The Taring Padi art collective created the offensive mural, which they titled “People’s Justice.” After the argument broke out last month, it was first covered up and then removed. The mural “obviously crossed a line and consequently caused severe injury to Documenta,” according to the board’s statement.

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Germany, Nigeria to sign accord on returning Benin Bronzes

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In order to facilitate the return of significant sculptures known as the Benin Bronzes that were stolen from Africa in the late 19th century, Germany is scheduled to sign an agreement in Nigeria on Friday.

In Europe and North America, ownership issues over items that were plundered during colonial periods have become a growing concern for governments and museums. The bas-relief Bronzes were among many other priceless artefacts that were taken from the Kingdom of Benin’s royal palace in 1897 by a British colonial force.

Many of Berlin’s institutions are governed by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which declared last year that it was starting official talks to restore items to its collection. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Culture Minister Claudia Roth, and their respective Ministers of State for Foreign Affairs Zubairo Dada and Lai Mohammed will all sign the agreement of understanding in Berlin.

Although the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation hopes to maintain some of the Bronzes on loan from Nigeria, the final details of the restitution have not yet been disclosed. Ten pieces of Benin Bronze were taken off display at the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., last year, and the Smithsonian promised to return them to Nigeria. Talks on returning the items have already started in other museums.

Many of the items are still housed in the British Museum, which has defied requests to give them back.

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Germany accuses Russian gas giant Gazprom of inflating energy prices.

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Germany has accused Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas company, of seeking to raise energy prices by drastically cutting supplies. Gazprom said it will limit gas exports to Germany to less than 70 million cubic metres per day, which is less than half the current rate.

It cited the need to service equipment in the Nord Stream pipeline as the reason. However, Germany’s economy minister, Robert Habeck, stated that it was a “political choice” rather than a technical one. “Clearly, it’s a plan to agitate the market and drive up prices.” On Tuesday, Gazprom said that the Nord Stream 1 gas flow would be reduced from 167 million to 100 million cubic metres per day, but on Wednesday, it was further reduced to 67 million cubic metres per day.

According to energy firm ENI, Gazprom cut its gas supplies to Italy by roughly 15% on Wednesday. Italy, like Germany, is significantly reliant on Russian gas, with 40 percent of its imports coming from Russia.

The action comes just two weeks after European Union leaders agreed to halt most Russian oil imports by the end of 2022 as retaliation for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

After refusing a demand that “unfriendly countries” pay in Russian roubles, Russian natural gas supply to Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands were already halted.

The payment demand was interpreted as an attempt by Russia to bolster the rouble after it was battered by Western sanctions. Demand for roubles was projected to rise as foreign exchange demand increased, pushing up the currency’s value.

Mr. Habeck stated that Russia’s actions demonstrated that European countries must urgently eliminate their reliance on fossil fuels. Germany halted the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in February, just as Russia began its conflict in Ukraine. The minister said he would wait to see how the decision affected the European and German gas markets, but that suppliers had always been able to get gas elsewhere.

He added, “We don’t have a supply problem in Germany either.” “Gas will almost certainly be kept indefinitely.” In the last several days and weeks, we’ve made significant progress in this area.

“However, we’ll have to wait at least two or three days to obtain a complete picture of how things are progressing right now.”

On Wednesday, the EU and Israel and Egypt inked a framework deal aimed at increasing the amount of Israeli natural gas delivered to European countries.

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Berlin: One dead and others hurt as car drives into pedestrians

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A car slammed into a crowd on a busy Berlin street, killing at least one person and injuring eight others. It’s unclear whether the incident, which occurred around 10:30 a.m. local time (08:30 a.m. GMT), was intentional or unintentional, according to emergency officials.

The driver was arrested at the scene, according to a police spokesperson. The incident occurred in western Berlin, on one of the city’s busiest shopping streets. According to reports, the vehicle veered off the road and climbed the sidewalk before crashing into a storefront.

A silver Renault Clio crashed through a display window in a cosmetics store, according to images from the scene. There are also photos of what appears to be a body in the middle of the road, covered in blankets.

According to Berlin police, around 130 emergency workers are on the scene. Mayor Franziska Giffey of Berlin said on Twitter that she was “deeply affected” by the incident and that “police are working flat out to clarify the matter.”

“Throughout the day, I’ll get a sense of the situation on the ground. I’d like to express my gratitude to the more than 130 emergency services who responded quickly and provided care to those who were affected “she continued.

The actor John Barrowman tweeted that he was nearby when the incident occurred, and that the car had repeatedly mounted the footpath before crashing into the storefront, according to a video posted from the scene.

“The police presence is astounding. They’re removing the debris from the area “”, said the actor. “Right now, helicopters are flying in to airlift people.” The incident occurred near the busy intersection of Rankestrasse and Tauentzienstrasse in west Berlin.

The area is directly across from Breitscheidplatz, where a truck driver deliberately drove his lorry into a crowd of people at a Christmas market, killing 12 people.

The attack, which was carried out by an unsuccessful asylum seeker, was later claimed by IS. Italian police shot and killed the assailant later.

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