Germany

German Police: Men attack pro-democracy vigil near Iranian embassy

BERLIN (AP) — German police are investigating an attack on a pro-democracy vigil outside the Iranian embassy in Berlin in which three people were injured early Sunday morning.

Police said an officer guarding the embassy saw three men with face coverings tear down banners and flags from a recreational vehicle parked near the building. Despite calls by the officer for them to stop, the assailants opened the door to the RV and attacked the four men inside, police said.

Three of occupants were injured in the ensuing fight, it said. The assailants fled by car.

German authorities looking into reports of illegal Chinese police in Frankfurt

BERLIN, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Authorities in Germany are investigating whether China maintains an illegal extraterritorial police station in Frankfurt, a spokesperson said, a week before Chancellor Olaf Scholz heads on an already contested visit to the economic giant.

The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

'No room for old dreams', German president says of Russia ties

BERLIN, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused an "epochal break" in Germany's ties with Moscow and the war has shattered former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev's dream of a "common European home", President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday.

Steinmeier, who hails from a wing of Germany's Social Democrats that long argued for closer economic ties to Moscow, said Russia's invasion of Ukraine had brought a change in era.

Europe sees fastest pace of rate hikes since euro launched

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank piled on another outsized interest rate hike aimed at squelching out-of-control inflation, increasing rates at the fastest pace in the euro currency’s history and underscoring the bank’s determination to control prices despite the threat of recession.

Germany to legalize cannabis use for recreational purposes

BERLIN, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Germany on Wednesday set out plans to legalise cannabis, in a move promised by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government that would make it one of the first countries in Europe to make weed legal.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach presented a cornerstone paper on planned legislation to regulate the controlled distribution and consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes among adults.

Acquiring and possessing up to 20 to 30 grams of recreational cannabis for personal consumption would also be made legal.

Gas crunch eases in Europe — but the respite might not last

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Natural gas and electricity prices in Europe have plunged from summer peaks thanks to mild weather and a monthslong scramble to fill gas storage ahead of winter and replace Russian supplies during the war in Ukraine. It’s a welcome respite after Russia slashed natural gas flows, triggering an energy crisis that has fueled record inflation and a looming recession.

Germany: West is going to provide support for Ukraine for decades to come — Scholz

BERLIN, October 25. /TASS/: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that the West intends to provide assistance to Ukraine "for decades" to come, noting that a "Marshall Plan of the 21st century" was on the agenda. He was speaking at the opening of an international conference on the restoration of Ukraine in Berlin on Tuesday.

2 German soldiers convicted over plot to form terrorist group in Yemen

25 October 2022; MEMO: Two former German soldiers have been convicted of trying to form a terrorist organisation to intervene in the war in Yemen.

The Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart found the pair guilty of trying to establish a mercenary force consisting of former and current Bundeswehr soldiers.

Germany: Frankfurt Book Fair concludes with 90,000 trade visitors

FRANKFURT, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The 74th Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest of its kind in the world, concluded on Sunday on the Frankfurt exhibition grounds.

This year's book fair attracted around 90,000 trade visitors from over 100 countries and regions, surpassing expectations, according to Juergen Boos, president and CEO of the Frankfurt Book Fair. He expects further progress in the coming year with a diverse literary landscape.

Thousands protest in Germany demanding solidarity in energy relief

BERLIN/DUESSELDORF, Oct 22 - Tens of thousands of protesters in six German cities gathered on Saturday to demand a more just distribution of government funds to deal with rising energy prices and living costs and a faster transition away from fossil fuels.

Protesters marched in Berlin, Duesseldorf, Hannover, Stuttgart, Dresden and Frankfurt-am-Main, holding signs bearing slogans on everything from lowering inflation to switching off nuclear power and more energy price subsidies for the poor.

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