Germany

German shares lose 0.74 pct at start of trading on Friday

BERLIN, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- German shares went off to a bad start on Friday, with the benchmark DAX index losing 116.43 points, or 0.74 percent, opening at 15,579.9 points.

The biggest winner among Germany's 40 largest listed companies was carmaker Daimler, increasing by 1.79 percent, followed by aircraft engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines with 1.79 percent and building materials company HeidelbergCement with 1.30 percent.

UEFA sanctions Union Berlin for antisemitic abuse

BERLIN (AP) — UEFA sanctioned German soccer club Union Berlin on Friday with a partial stadium closure for the antisemitic behavior of some of its fans toward supporters of Israeli team Maccabi Haifa.

UEFA said it had concluded its disciplinary proceedings against Union “for the racist behavior of its supporters” during the Europa Conference League game against Haifa at Berlin’s Olympiastadion on Sept. 30.

It was the first soccer game involving an Israeli team played at the stadium built for the 1936 Olympics hosted by Nazi Germany.

German would-be coalition backs ending COVID state of emergency

BERLIN, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Germany's pandemic-related state of emergency looks set to expire next month after the three political parties in talks to form the next government said on Wednesday they did not support extending it.

The state of emergency that enabled the federal and state government to impose measures like lockdowns and curfews without a parliamentary vote is set to lapse on Nov. 25 unless parliament agrees to extend it.

German President presents Angela Merkel with resignation papers

BERLIN, October 26. /TASS/: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier presented Chancellor Angela Merkel and members of her cabinet with official resignation papers; the outgoing Chancellor and her cabinet will continue to act as interim government until the new cabinet is established. The presentation ceremony was aired by NTV.

"A lot happened during the last four years. To say that the previous legislative period was difficult, considering the tasks that had to be solved, does not nearly reflect the real state of affairs," the German President noted.

Germany’s newly elected parliament to convene for first time

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s newly elected parliament is set to hold its first meeting on Tuesday. The 736-member lower house, or Bundestag, is expected to elect as its new speaker Baerbel Bas of the center-left Social Democrats, which emerged from last month’s election as the strongest party.

UN: Net zero pledges on climate give hope, but still vague

BERLIN (AP) — The United Nations reported Tuesday that fresh pledges by governments to cut greenhouse gas emissions raise hopes but aren’t strict enough to avoid catastrophic global warming.

A report by the U.N. Environment Programme found recent announcements by dozens of countries to aim for “net-zero” emissions by 2050 could limit a global temperature rise to 2.2 degrees Celsius (4 F) by the end of the century.

German court sentences IS woman to 10 years in prison

BERLIN (AP) — A German convert to Islam was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday on charges that, as a member of the extremist Islamic State group in Iraq, she allowed a 5-year-old Yazidi girl she and her husband kept as a slave to die of thirst in the hot sun.

The Higher Regional Court in Munich convicted the 30-year-old, identified only as Jennifer W. in line with privacy rules, of — among other things — membership of a terrorist organization abroad, aiding and abetting attempted murder, attempted war crimes and crimes against humanity, German news agency dpa reported.

German police stop far-right vigilantes patrolling Polish border

BERLIN, Oct 24 (Reuters) - German police said on Sunday they had stopped more than 50 far-right vigilantes armed with pepper spray, a bayonet, a machete and batons who were trying to patrol the Polish border to stop migrants from entering the country.

The vigilantes were following a call by the Third Way, a far right-party with suspected links to neo-Nazi groups, for its members to stop illegal crossings near the town of Guben on the German-Polish border.

Existing capacity for gas supply to Europe from Russia are used — German Economy Ministry

BERLIN, October 22. /TASS/: All the available capacities for natural gas supplies from Russia to Europe are used, spokesperson of the German Ministry of Economy Beate Baron said on Friday.

"According to my data, pipeline capacities are used properly," she said. "You need to check with market players how high capacities are," Baron added.

"Various routes [of gas supplies] to Germany exist. There are two lines of the Nord Stream, supplies over Yamal (the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline - TASS). Volumes are available on the market," she said.

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