Germany

BERLIN (AP) — A large fire broke out in one of Berlin’s biggest city forests on Thursday, morning triggered by several explosions that took place at an ammunition dump inside the forest on what is forecast to be one of the hottest days of the year.

Around 100 firefighters were battling the blaze in the German capital’s Grunewald forest in the west of the city, German news agency dpa reported.

BERLIN/ZURICH, Aug 3 (Reuters) - The Swiss government imposed further sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine on Wednesday, in line with the European Union's latest measures on gold and gold products, the cabinet said.

The government said that it had made two new exceptions with respect to transactions related to agricultural products and oil supplies to third countries, which the EU has as well, in order to avoid any disruptions in payment channels.

BERLIN (AP) — Rising concern over the impact of a potential Russian gas cutoff is fueling the debate in Germany over whether the country should switch off its last three nuclear power plants as planned at the end of this year.

The door to some kind of extension appeared to open a crack after the Economy Ministry in mid-July announced a new “stress test” on the security of electricity supplies. It’s supposed to take into account a tougher scenario than a previous test, concluded in May, that found supplies were assured.

BERLIN, July 29. /TASS/: Germany still needs Russian gas and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has been completed, but not yet certified, can be used in the absence of other options, Head of the Bundestag’s [the German parliament - TASS] Committee on Climate Action and Energy Klaus Ernst told TASS on Friday.

29 July 2022; MEMO: Palestine's Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, met Germany's Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office Tobias Lindner in Ramallah on Thursday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Shtayyeh urged Germany to recognise the State of Palestine in line with Berlin's "belief in the option of the two-state solution and the importance of preserving it," according to a statement by the Premier's office.

FRANKFURT/LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Russia delivered less gas to Europe on Wednesday in a further escalation of an energy stand-off between Moscow and the European Union that will make it harder, and costlier, for the bloc to fill up storage ahead of the winter heating season.

The cut in supplies, flagged by Gazprom (GAZP.MM) earlier this week, has reduced the capacity of Nord Stream 1 pipeline - the major delivery route to Europe for Russian gas - to a mere fifth of its total capacity.

Nord Stream 1 accounts for around a third of all Russian gas exports to Europe.

BERLIN (AP) — The German government plans to reduce incentive payments for buyers of electric cars and end subsidies for buying plug-in hybrids at the end of this year.

The government had announced shortly after taking office in December that, starting in 2023, it would only provide payments for electric vehicles that “demonstrably have a positive climate-protection effect.” It unveiled details of the new system late Tuesday.

BERLIN, July 25. /TASS/: Europe should prepare for a complete stop of Russian gas supplies in conditions when they are declining, President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen said in an interview with DPA news agency.

"Russia is supplying in part or do not supply gas at all to 12 [EU] member-states at present," von der Leyen said. "Therefore, Europe must be prepared for the worst option: the complete halt of gas supplies sooner or later," she said.

BERLIN (AP) — A German union has called on Lufthansa ground staff to walk out on a one-day strike Wednesday in a dispute over pay.

The ver.di service workers’ union said Monday that the call applies to all Lufthansa locations in Germany. It comes amid negotiations on pay for about 20,000 employees of logistical, technical and cargo subsidiaries of the airline.

The strike was set to start at 3:45 a.m. (0145 GMT) Wednesday and end at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) on Thursday.

BERLIN, July 23 (Reuters) - Germany should contribute towards the costs of France's nuclear arsenal as the threat of nuclear war with Russia looms over Europe, German political veteran Wolfgang Schaeuble said in an interview published on Saturday.

"Now that Putin's accomplices are threatening a nuclear strike every day, one thing is clear to me: we need nuclear deterrence at the European level as well," Schaeuble, a former finance minister who has served as a member of the German parliament for five decades, told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.