Germany

Germany's Lufthansa to sell catering business LSG Group to Aurelius

German airline Lufthansa said on Wednesday that it has agreed to sell the remainder of its catering business to European private equity group Aurelius for an undisclosed sum. Lufthansa said selling the rest of its LSG Group business, which follows the sale of European LSG Sky Chefs activities to Gategroup in 2019, is part of its strategy to focus more on its core airline activities. The sale involves all classic catering, onboard retail and food commerce activities and brands of the LSG Group, plus all 131 LSG Sky Chefs customer service centers in the U.S., Latin America, Asia-Pacific and emerging markets; Europe-based onboard retail unit Retail InMotion and SCIS Air Security Services in the US, Lufthansa said in a statement. LSG Group has about 19,000 employees and 36 joint ventures worldwide. Lufthansa chief financial officer Remco Steenbergen said the deal enables us to focus even more on further improving the profitability and capital returns of the Lufthansa Group core ...

Covid-19 disease was spreading in Germany in December 2019: Study

In France, RT-PCR was performed retrospectively on stored respiratory samples from December 2019. In one case dated 27 December 2019, the diagnosis of Covid-19 was confirmed

Germany 'takes note' of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha

Amidst an ongoing face-off between the Congress and the BJP over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha, Germany has 'taken note' of the issue, triggering a fresh political slugfest here on Thursday with the ruling party accusing the opposition party of "inviting foreign powers" to interfere in internal matters. The BJP attack came after senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh thanked the German foreign ministry and Richard Walker, Chief International Editor of Deutsche Welle, for "taking note of how Democracy is being compromised in India through the persecution of Rahul Gandhi". The Congress alleged that the BJP was attempting to divert attention from the Adani issue. Singh tagged a tweet by Walker in which the senior journalist had posted a video of a German foreign ministry spokesperson reacting to Gandhi's disqualification. At a press briefing, Germany's foreign ministry spokesperson said,"we have taken note of the verdict of first instance against Indian opposition ...

India won't tolerate foreign intervention: Anurag Thakur on Germany tweet

Anurag Thakur slammed senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh over his tweet thanking Germany for taking note of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha

BJP accuses Cong of inviting external interference into India's matters

The BJP on Thursday seized on Congress leader Digvijay Singh's thanks to Germany for reacting to Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha to accuse the opposition party of "inviting foreign powers for interference into India's internal matters", and termed him and his party "disgrace to nation". Senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers Anurag Thakur and Kiren Rijiju, slammed the German reaction, asserting that India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership will not tolerate any foreign intervention. Their attack came after Congress leader Singh thanked the German foreign ministry and Richard Walker, Chief International Editor of Deutsche Welle, for "taking note of how Democracy is being compromised in India through the persecution of Rahul Gandhi". Singh tagged a tweet by Walker in which the senior journalist had posted a video of a German foreign ministry spokesperson reacting to Gandhi's disqualification. At a press briefing, Germany's foreign ministry spokesper

Here's what German foreign ministry said on Rahul Gandhi's disqualification

They said they have taken note of the verdict and expect the standard of "judicial independence" and "democratic principles" to be followed

European Union takes key step toward ending era of combustion-engine cars

The last-minute deal is a concession to high-end sports car brands like Germany's Porsche, but is expected to have little effect on the plans of most major manufacturers.

Ukraine gets first batch of Leopard 2 tanks from Germany, says report

Ukraine received the first batch of Leopard 2 tanks from Germany, media outlets reported

Russia's security chief blasts German minister, dangles nuclear threats

A top Russian security official warned on Thursday about the rising threat of a nuclear war and blasted a German minister for threatening Russian President Vladimir Putin with arrest, saying that such action would amount to a declaration of war and trigger a Russian strike on Germany. Dmitry Medvedev, the 57-year-old deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council chaired by Putin, said in video remarks to reporters that Russia's relations with the West have hit an all-time bottom. Asked whether the threat of a nuclear conflict has eased, Medvedev responded: No, it hasn't decreased, it has grown. Every day when they provide Ukraine with foreign weapons brings the nuclear apocalypse closer. Medvedev has issued a barrage of such strongly-worded statements in the past, blasting the US and its NATO allies for what he described as their efforts to break up and destroy Russia. In Thursday's comments, Medvedev denounced the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant

2014 World Cup winner German footballer Mesut Ozil retires at 34

Former Germany midfielder Mesut zil, who won the World Cup in 2014, retired from soccer on Wednesday at the age of 34. zil said injuries played a role in his decision. "I've had the privilege to be a professional football player for almost 17 years now and I feel incredibly thankful for the opportunity," zil wrote on social media. "But in recent weeks and months, having also suffered some injuries, it's become more and more clear that it's time to leave the big stage of football." His immediate retirement brings an early end to his season with Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir, where he made only seven appearances for the team. zil won the Spanish league title with Real Madrid in 2012 and the FA Cup four times with Arsenal. His international career ended abruptly in 2018 when he quit the Germany squad citing "racism and disrespect." That followed anti-Turkish comments from German politicians and abuse from some fans toward zil, who has Turkish heritage, amid criticism of his decis

German group sues Facebook owner Meta over death threats on social network

A prominent German environmental group said Wednesday that it's suing Facebook's parent company Meta over persistent death threats posted on the social network against its staff. Environmental Action Germany, known by its German acronym DUH, says Meta has been unwilling to stop the threats of violence regularly directed at DUH director Juergen Resch and others in a Facebook group with more than 50,000 members. DUH has conducted high-profile campaigns demanding that German cities enforce air quality rules by banning certain heavily polluting vehicles. Meta didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. German lawmaker Renate Kuenast won a case against Facebook last year forcing the company to remove fake quotes attributed to her from its site and pay damages. Facebook is appealing the ruling.

British, German fighter jets intercept Russian plane near Estonia airspace

British and German air force fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian aircraft flying close to Estonian airspace, the U.K. defence ministry said Wednesday, amid mounting concerns about confrontation in the skies near Russia and Ukraine. The U.K. and Germany are conducting joint air policing missions in Estonia as part of NATO efforts to bolster its eastern flank in response to Russia. Britain's defence ministry said the Typhoon jets responded Tuesday after a Russian air-to-air refuelling aircraft failed to communicate with Estonian air traffic control. The Russian plane didn't enter the airspace of Estonia, a NATO member. UK and German planes are patrolling together as part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission until the end of April. Wing Commander Scott Maccoll, Commander of the RAF's 140 Expeditionary Air Wing, said it was great to see the UK and German elements operate as one team. U.K. armed forces minister James Heappey said this joint UK and German deployment i

SVB's German branch ordered to halt transactions amid crisis, says BaFin

The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has ordered the US-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) to halt the operations of its Germany branch

Church shooting in Germany's Hamburg leaves several dead, wounded

Shots were fired inside a building used by Jehovah's Witnesses in the northern German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening, and several people were killed or wounded, police said. The shooting took place in the Gross Borstel district, a few kilometers north of the downtown area of Germany's second-biggest city. "We only know that several people died here; several people are wounded, they were taken to hospitals," police spokesman Holger Vehren said. He said he had no information on the severity of the injuries suffered by the wounded. The scene of the shooting was the Jehovah's Witnesses' Kingdom Hall, a modern and boxy three-story building next door to an auto repair shop. Vehren said police were alerted to the shooting about 9.15 pm local time and were on the scene quickly. He said that after officers arrived and found people with apparent gunshot wounds on the ground floor, they heard a shot from an upper floor and found a fatally wounded person upstairs who may have been a sho

Germany ramps up funding for UN women in 2023 for gender equality

Germany has pledged 26 million euros ($27.6 million) to UN Women in 2023, the country's Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) said

Germany's Olaf Scholz warns of 'consequences' if China sends arms to Russia

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says there would be "consequences" if China sent weapons to Russia for Moscow's war in Ukraine, but he is fairly optimistic that Beijing will refrain from doing so. Scholz's comments came in an interview with CNN that aired on Sunday, two days after he met US President Joe Biden in Washington. US officials have warned recently that China could step off the sidelines and begin providing arms and ammunition to Moscow. Ahead of his trip, Scholz had urged Beijing to refrain from sending weapons and instead use its influence to press Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. Asked by CNN if he could imagine sanctioning China if it did aid Russia, Scholz replied: "I think it would have consequences, but we are now in a stage where we are making clear that this should not happen, and I am relatively optimistic that we will be successful with our request in this case, but we will have to look at (it) and we have to be very, very cautious." He did not elabora

Germany's flag carrier Lufthansa registers profits after Covid slump

After two consecutive years of losses, Germany's flag carrier Lufthansa said that it had once again made a profit in 2022, as international air traffic recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic.

US, Germany in 'lockstep' on Russia Ukraine war: Joe Biden and Olaf Scholz

US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met privately in the Oval Office for more than an hour on Friday after declaring themselves in "lockstep" on maintaining pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Even their top advisers were left out of the conversation. When the meeting ended, Biden and Scholz walked across the hall to the Roosevelt Room, where the American and German officials had been mingling. Biden joked that the two leaders had solved all the world's problems by themselves, according to a senior administration official, who requested anonymity to describe the closed-door discussions. If any agreements were reached or plans made, the White House was not saying. The official readout of the meeting provided little additional detail, except to say the two leaders discussed the war and "exchanged perspectives on other global issues". The conversation came at a delicate moment in the conflict. Ukraine and Russia are preparing for spring offensives, ...

EU postpones vote on combustion engine ban amid opposition from Germany

The adoption by European Union member countries of new carbon dioxide emission standards for cars and vans has been postponed amid opposition from Germany and conservative lawmakers, the Swedish presidency of the EU ministers' council said Friday. The vote initially scheduled for next week will take place at a later council meeting on a date yet to be announced, according to the Swedish presidency of the Council of the European Union. Germany's transportation minister said last week that his country would not back a proposed EU ban on the sale of new cars with combustion engines from 2035. He wanted assurances from the bloc's executive arm that there would be an exemption for synthetic fuels. The conservative European People's Party group, which is the largest bloc in the European Parliament, is also opposing the ban and called on member countries to do the same. The ban prevents innovation and doesn't reduce additional CO2 emissions, the group said Friday. "The EPP Group is convin

German Chancellor interacts with India's best business minds in Bengaluru

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has interacted with "inspiring talents" of SAP India, German ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann stated in a tweet. Scholz witnessed "India's modern face" at Bengaluru and met with young Indians on their way to Germany.Philipp Ackermann tweeted, "Bangalore showed India's modern face to @Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz & us! We changed batteries for scooters @Sun_Mobility & met inspiring talents @SAPIndia. Chancellor also talked to young Indians on their way to Germany & visited Royal Challengers - end of a successful visit!"Olaf Scholz was on an official visit to India from February 25-26. He was accompanied by senior officials and a high-powered business delegation.Meanwhile, IPL Cricket team Royal Challengers Banglore on Sunday tweeted, "We had the extreme honour and privilege of hosting the Hon'ble Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany at Namma Chinnaswamy Stadium. His Excellency called on RCB's WPL camp today."On Saturday, the German ...