Face mask Piracy: Germany accuses USA for diverting face masks intended for Berlin to USA

Germany has accused USA, saying 200,000 protective face masks destined for Berlin have been allegedly intercepted at a Thailand airport and diverted instead to the US, reports Daily Mail.

The dispute came after the White House condemned 3M for producing face masks for overseas countries instead of focusing solely on the US.

The United States has not only angered Germany but France as well for seizing millions of masks which were set to be shipped to the European nations amid the coronavirus crisis. 

'We consider that an act of modern piracy,' Berlin's interior minister Andreas Geisel has been reported as saying.

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Intense heat wave grips Northern Europe

An intense heat wave has begun to grip Europe this week and Germany, France and Belgium have already started to experience extreme temperatures that are set to continue in the coming days. 

It is predicted that temperatures are expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in Germany on Wednesday, topping the country's previous June record of 38.2 degrees Celsius, set in Frankfurt in 1947. 

Fire fighters have been placed on alert as Forest fires are of particular concern for authorities in Germany, especially in the northeast. 

As a precautionary measure, residents were asked to keep windows and doors closed in Lieberoser Heide — southeast of Berlin

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Pakistan to issue special coins in Dr Ruth Pfau’s honour

Pakistan government has directed its State Bank to issue special coins in Dr Ruth Pfau’s honour.

The State Bank of Pakistan will issue 50,000 coins worth Rs. 50 in recognition of Dr Pfau who dedicated her life to fighting leprosy in the country.

It may be recalled that Dr Ruth came to Pakistan in the early 1960s and decided to adopt Pakistan as her home and dedicating her life to taking care of leprosy patients. 

She was granted Pakistani citizenship in 1988 and received numerous accolades for her services, including the country’s top civilian awards Hilal-i-Imtiaz and Hilal-i-Pakistan.

She passed away on August 10, 2017 at the age of 87.  Dr Pfau is the second person to be accorded a state funeral in 29 years. The previous state funeral was offered for late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi in 2016.

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You may also like to read more about Dr Ruth and her services to Pakistan at JahoJalal
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Tornado batters northern Germany

Buetzow, near Rostock in northern Germany has been badly damaged by a tornado that was triggered by violent storms which have left at least one person dead.

Witnesses say that cars were hurled 70 m (230 ft) and roof tiles blown off buildings, including the local hospital. In the city of Hamburg, a man was killed and his pregnant girlfriend hurt when flying debris hit their car.

German media had reported wind speeds of up to 119km/h (74mph) in Geilenkirchen north of Aachen, and officials said at least 30 people across the region had been hurt by flying debris.

The storm came after a spell of unusually warm weather across northern Germany. Met officials forecast more rain, thunder and lightning on Thursday.

Read details at BBC

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France and Germany furious over claims US bugged EU offices

Ex-CIA analyst Edward Snowden is said to be the source of the leaks

France and Germany have reacted very sharply to news that US has been bugging EU offices and are urging the United States to come clean over claims that its intelligence services have been spying on key EU offices.

The reaction comes after a report published in Germany's Der Spiegel magazine said European Union offices in the US and Europe had been bugged.

Other "targets" included the French, Italian and Greek embassies in the US, according to leaked documents later mentioned by the Guardian newspaper.

Fugitive ex-CIA analyst Edward Snowden is said to be the source of the leaks.

Read more about it at: BBC
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Legalising prostitution has turned Germany into Europe's biggest brothel

When the sex trade laws were radically liberalized by the German government back in 2002, no one knew one day this relaxation will turn Germany into Europe's biggest brothel.

And that is what the fact is today as documentary-makers in Germany have claimed that legalizing prostitution has turned the country's capital Berlin into 'Europe's biggest brothel.'

The documentary aired on the German equivalent of the BBC, called Sex - Made In Germany, has estimated that as many as one million men now pay for sex every day. The film was based on two years of research captured using hidden cameras and explores Berlin's world of 'flat-rate' brothels where customers pay 49 Euros (£42) for as much sex as they want.

It may be added that Red light districts have also become much more prominent in Germany's major cities - there are between 3,000 and 3,500 established brothels in Germany and the trade is now big business.

Read more about it at: Mail Online
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Poor to eat horsemeat-tainted food: German Minister

Once a queen advised people to eat cake when they were protesting against non-availability of the bread.

Now here comes a German minister who suggests that the horse-meat tainted food must be fed to the poor.

Dirk Niebel said he supported the proposal by a member of the governing CDU party, and concluded: "We can't just throw away good food."

The opposition dismissed the idea, but a priest said it should be considered.

Prelate Bernhard Felmberg, the senior representative of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), has backed the proposal.

"We as a Church find the throw-away mentality in our society concerning. How and whether to distribute the products in question would have to be examined."

Earlier Saturday, another 'prominent member' of Germany's governing CDU party, Hartwig Fischer, also told Bild newspaper that products tainted with horse-meat should be distributed to the poor.

Read more about it at: BBC News Europe
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Twitter Bans Neo-Nazi Handle

Twitter has blocked access to a neo-Nazi account at the request of the German government. The tweets will no longer be visible to users in Germany although the rest of the world will be able to view them.

It is the first time the social networking site has implemented its local censorship policy, which came into force in January.

That policy allows it to block content in specific countries if tweets violate local laws.

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Announcing the decision, Twitter's general counsel Alex Macgillivray said: "Never want to withhold content; good to have tools to do it narrowly and transparently."

Read details: BBC News

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Venezuelan tribe angry at stealing of 'Grandmother' by Germany

A 'sacred stone' from Venezuela that has been taken to Berlin, Germany and turned into sculpture has strained Germany - Venezuela relations as Germany is in a fix whether to return the stone to Venezuela or not.

The Grandmother [Photo: The Express Tribune / Reuters]

Wolfgang von Schwarzenfeld’s sculptures in a Berlin park were meant to promote world peace, but the 79-year-old German now finds himself at war with a Venezuelan tribe which accuses him of stealing a sacred pink stone known to them as “Grandmother”.

The Venezuelan government is championing the Pemon Indians of the “Gran Sabana” region by demanding the return of the polished stone from Berlin’s Tiergarten park – putting the German government in something of a dilemma.

With Caracas calling it robbery, and the sculptor arguing that the stone was a legal gift, the monolith is emitting more negative energy than its esoteric fans in Berlin are used to.

The Venezuelan tribe has accused that stone’s removal is bringing misfortune on the tribe, like drought and the disappearance of the ants they eat in spicy sauce.

read more: The Express Tribune

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Merkel faces election loss

A bad European week for Chancellor Angela Merkel looks likely to end with more electoral woes — this time, the likely re-election of a center-left government in Germany’s most populous state, which Merkel has sought to portray as irresponsibly addicted to debt.

But despite the prospect of an embarrassing loss for her conservatives, Merkel still looks unlikely to join French ally Nicolas Sarkozy any time soon in the parade of European leaders booted out by voters weary of Berlin-backed austerity. Merkel’s stance is widely shared by German voters nationally.

Merkel’s national center-right coalition has become notorious for infighting over issues ranging from tax cuts to planned benefits for stay-at-home parents since it took power in late 2009. It has performed badly in several state elections over the past year.

Read more: Washington Post

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China has no intention of 'Buying Europe'

China’s premier pledged to help Europe fight its debt crisis during a meeting Friday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel but a ruling party newspaper criticized sanctions on Iran and a human rights lawyer was blocked from meeting Merkel.

China is “willing to cooperate with Europe to fight the current crisis,” said Premier Wen Jiabao at a meeting with Merkel and German business people in the southern business center of Guangzhou. “Some people say this means China wants to buy Europe,” Wen said. “China doesn't have this intention and doesn't have this ability.”

Read more: France 24

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Sarkozy, Merkel meet to discuss eurozone game plan

[ via France24 ] 9 Jan

The German and French leaders meet on Monday to discuss ways to boost growth in euro zone states struggling to overcome the sovereign debt crisis and rising unemployment, and finalise a deal to increase fiscal coordination within the currency union.

They may also discuss a financial transaction tax, the “Tobin tax”, being promoted by France but resisted by Britain unless adopted on a global scale, which could split the European Union at a summit at the end of the month.

Read more: France24

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The economy hums in Germany - the euro crisis seems elsewhere

[ via Business Insider ] 

If Berlin's Alexa shopping center is any indication, Germany is having a very good crisis.

While the rest of Europe enacts crippling austerity measures to soothe nervous creditors and bring down dangerously high interest rates, shoppers continue to pour out of Alexa's doors with bags full of presents to sip mulled wine in the cheery Christmas market outside.

Fenja Kothe, a social worker juggling three shopping bags, said she and her countrymen felt no need to cut back on their purchases this holiday season.

"Germany seems to be in a much better position than a lot of other European countries," Kothe said, "so we don't worry about the crisis."

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German Chancellor Merkel says Britain a key EU partner

[ via BBC Europe ] 14 Dec

Chancellor Angela Merkel has told German MPs that the UK will remain a strong EU partner, despite its decision not to sign up to an EU summit deal.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressing the Bundestag 

Addressing the Bundestag (parliament), she said she very much regretted that UK PM David Cameron had been "unable to join us" on the path to fiscal union.

Last week 26 of the 27 members of the European Union backed new fiscal rules, with only the UK abstaining.

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Germany bids for a repeat Battle of Britain

[ via Mail Online ] 13 Dec

Germany is alleged by the Britons of "plotting to take control of the skies over Britain" by buying the British air traffic control service.

This reminds the Brits of the days of the WW-II, when the German Luftwaffe tried to control the skies over Britain, but could never achieve its target, thanks to the heroism of the few.

Details of the audacious swoop by Germany’s state-owned air traffic service Deutsche Flugsicherung emerged yesterday as it admitted it is planning a bid for a stake in its British counterpart, National Air Traffic Services. 

Read full story for details.

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A new EU in the making - with Germany in charge

[ The New York Times ] 10 Dec

Europe’s worst financial crisis in generations is forging a new European Union, pushing Britain to the sidelines and creating a more integrated, fiscally disciplined core of nations under the auspices of a resurgent Germany.

New EU - less England

German Chancellor Angela Merkel persuaded every current member of the union except Britain to endorse a new agreement calling for tighter regional oversight of government spending. The accord, approved at a summit meeting in Brussels early on Friday, would allow the European Court of Justice to strike down a member’s laws if they violate fiscal discipline.

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3G iPads and iPhone Imports Could Be Banned In Germany, Motorola Wins Injunction Against Apple

[ via Chip Hazard ] 

Apple seems to be in trouble as Motorola has won an injunction against the Cupertino company in Germany which could lead iPhone and 3G iPad imports to be banned in the country.

Apple has been accused of violating a patent related to the GPRS data service used over cellular network. Apple had argued in the case that the GPRS was an essential standard which should be licensed under FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) terms, but the court ruled in Motorola’s favor.

Read details here.

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France vows powerful summit deal

[ Reuters ] 7 Dec

The leaders of France and Germany will not leave this week's EU summit until a "powerful" deal is reached on the euro zone debt crisis, the French government said on Wednesday while Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urged bold steps.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will lay out their plan at Friday's EU summit to impose mandatory penalties on euro states that exceed deficit targets, with the aim of restoring market trust and preventing the region's deepening debt crisis spiraling out of control.

Read full story for details Here.

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The euro zone crisis: Same bed, different dreams

[ Reuters ] 6 Dec

Since the inception of the euro, France and Germany have pursued divergent visions of European economic and monetary union. In two decades, the French have become a little more German, the Germans a little more French. But the gulf remains, says Reuters.

With the fate of the 17-nation single currency at stake at a summit this week, 20 years almost to the day since the Maastricht summit at which European leaders agreed to merge their monies, the same battles are still being fought out.

Read full story for details

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City being evacuated for WWII bomb removal from Rhine

[ BBC Europe ] 3 Dec

About 45,000 residents of the German city of Koblenz are being evacuated as work begins to defuse a World War II bomb found in the River Rhine. Everyone living within a 2km (1.25 mile) radius of the bomb site has been ordered to leave the area.

WW-II bomb in Rhine (Photo: BBC)

The 1.8 tonne bomb - dropped by the Royal Air Force (RAF) - was uncovered after water levels in the Rhine fell significantly as a result of a prolonged dry spell.

Experts will defuse the bomb on Sunday.

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