Germany

BERLIN, Sept 20 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday said he was "very irritated" about Turkey's attempts to join a Central Asian security body dominated by Russia and China.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday he was targeting membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation for Turkey, which is also a member of the NATO defense alliance.

"This is not an organization that is delivering an important contribution to a good global coexistence," Scholz said at the U.N. General Assembly in New York after meeting with Erdogan.

BERLIN, Sept 19 (Reuters) - E.ON (EONGn.DE) has informed the German government of a leak at the Isar 2 nuclear power plant which has not compromised security but could complicate the government's winter energy plan, the environment ministry said on Monday.

Isar 2, in the southern state of Bavaria, had been scheduled to go offline at the end of the year under Germany's plan to phase out nuclear power.

BERLIN/LISBON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Germany was pressing on Monday to secure liquefied natural gas contracts with Gulf producers and other European states outlined measures to conserve energy, with Russian flows running at severely reduced levels as winter approaches.

Berlin said it aimed to sign LNG contracts in the United Arab Emirates to supply terminals it is building, now that the vital Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline from Russia is shut, while Spain, France others outlined contingency planning to try to avoid power cuts. 

MUNICH, GERMANY, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Oktoberfest, the largest folk festival in Germany, started Saturday here in Munich, Bavaria, after a two-year COVID-induced break.

Covering an area of 34.5 hectares, the festival is expected to receive millions of visitors from all over the world with special Oktoberfest beers and hearty specialties like fried sausages and pork knuckles.

At noon, the Mayor of Munich Dieter Reiter tapped the first Oktoberfest beer barrel, marking the opening of the Munich Oktoberfest, which will last until Oct. 3.

Berlin, Sep 15 (PTI) Even a single exposure to alcohol may permanently change the shape of nerve cells and lead to addiction, according to a study conducted in animals.

Neurons or nerve cells are the fundamental units of the brain and nervous system responsible for receiving sensory input from the external world.

The researchers found that, in particular, alcohol affects the structure of the synapses as well as the dynamics of the mitochondria, the cell's powerhouses.

16 Sep 2022; MEMO: Directors and artists have condemned the decision to suppress the viewing of pro-Palestine films during Documenta 15, a contemporary art exhibition held in Kassel, Germany. The festival, which runs through the summer and is expected to close at the end of this month, has been engulfed by a row over the censorship of pro-Palestine movies.

BERLIN, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Russia has suffered significant troop and equipment losses in Ukraine and the impact of Kyiv's latest counter-offensive may reveal Moscow's military reserves to be smaller than assumed, Germany's defence minister told Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to comment publicly on the setback suffered by his forces this month. Ukrainian officials say 9,000 sq km (3,400 sq miles) have been retaken, territory about the size of the island of Cyprus.

13 Sep 2022; MEMO: A Jewish group in Germany has filed criminal charges against Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Defence Minister Benny Gantz for alleged war crimes committed in the besieged Gaza Strip in August.

BERLIN, Sept 13 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Tuesday to find a diplomatic solution for the conflict in Ukraine based on a ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Russian troops as soon as possible, a German government spokesperson said.

In the 90-minute call, Scholz emphasized the need to ensure the safety of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine and appealed to Putin to continue to fully implement the United Nations-backed grain agreement, spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit added.

BERLIN, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Germany's economy minister said on Tuesday the government was working on a new trade policy with China to reduce dependence on Chinese raw materials, batteries and semiconductors, promising "no more naivety" in trade dealings with Beijing.

Sources told Reuters last week the economy ministry was considering a raft of new measures to make business with China less attractive. This is the first time the minister has made clear the tougher line was being translated into policy measures.