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☆ Seeking Western Support, Zelenskiy Voices World War Risk
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy voiced the danger of the Ukraine conflict escalating into World War Three, as he pressed his case for support from nations from Germany to the United States in an interview with German state broadcaster ARD on Sunday. "It seems to me that the Chancellor (Olaf Scholz) is aware of this risk," Zelenskiy said, adding that if Russia hit a NATO country, it would be "the beginning of the Third World War." "It's not just about Olaf Scholz," he said. "It concerns European leaders and the U.S."In the U.S., Zelenskiy said Ukraine has support from across the political divide. "There are individual Republicans who do not support Ukraine, but the vast majority of Democrats and Republicans support Ukraine," he said.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Olaf Scholz, Zelenskiy, It's, Donald Trump, Maria Martinez, Barbara Lewis Organizations: BERLIN, ARD, NATO, Taurus, Republicans Locations: Ukraine, Germany, United States, Russia, Crimea, U.S

☆ German Train Drivers Ramp up Pressure With Longest Strike Yet
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN (Reuters) - German train drivers walked off the job again on Wednesday in what is set to be Germany's longest-ever rail strike, spelling more headaches for commuters with scant signs of a return to the negotiating table on the horizon. A spokesperson for the national rail operator spoke of renewed "massive restrictions" across the country. That is the only way," the spokesperson told reporters, pointing to the six-day strike's "massive impact on the economy". Drivers in rail freight are holding a simultaneous strike. "We have to strike longer and harder because the railway management is resistant to advice," he said.

Persons: Claus Weselsky, didn't, Rachel More Organizations: BERLIN, Deutsche Bahn, ARD, Deutsche

☆ Maker of Wegovy, Ozempic showers money on U.S. obesity doctors
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +23 min

Novo spent at least $25.8 million over the past decade on U.S. medical professionals to promote its two obesity drugs, Wegovy and Saxenda, the analysis found. Jastreboff has also worked on clinical trials of obesity drugs for Eli Lilly, which markets a Wegovy competitor. Some doctors said Novo’s payments exemplify how the flood of industry money can dominate decision-making about care and coverage. Government pharmacy officer Solaru said her agency concluded that the new obesity drugs could be cost-effective by preventing other weight-related diseases and boosting workplace productivity. In January, the personnel office told its health plans they must cover at least one GLP-1 obesity drug for 8 million workers, retirees and family members.

Persons: Lee Kaplan, Kaplan, ”, gastroenterologist, He’s, Novo, Donna Ryan, Ryan, “, ” Kaplan, ” Novo, Robert Lustig, “ I’m, Lustig, They’re, Ania, ” Jastreboff, Jastreboff, Eli Lilly, Lilly’s Zepbound, Lilly, ” Lilly, Novo’s, Ayana, Sanders, Arthur Kellermann, ” Kellermann, mouthpieces, ’ ”, “ I'm, Jamy Ard, Ard, Dele, ” Solaru, ” Ryan, Scott Kahan, Kahan, Solaru, Christine Gallagher, Wegovy, Rebekah Carl, Carl, Jen Wexler, gaunt, Wexler Organizations: Novo Nordisk, Dartmouth, Nutrition Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Reuters, Cambridge, Obesity Society, U.S ., Management, Reuters . Pharmaceutical, ”, U.S, United, National Health Service, University of California, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Doctors, Wegovy’s, BMI, Yale University’s Center, Weight Management, Wall Street, American Medical Association, Rutgers University’s School of Public Health, Affordable, . Pharmaceutical, Companies, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Wake Forest University, Wake Forest Baptist Health Weight Management, Obesity, Pennington Biomedical Research, U.S . National Institutes of Health, Personnel Management, Coalition, STOP, George Washington University, Novo Locations: CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Boston, U.S, Novo, Danish, United States, Louisiana, San Francisco, Wegovy, Pennington, Baton Rouge , Louisiana, Government, New Columbia , Pennsylvania, Florida

☆ Fact Check: Ireland’s McDonald did not expel Israeli ambassador
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The X user made the same claim, though misidentified McDonald as Ireland’s president. McDonald said (archived) the attacks on Gaza amounted to war crimes and called on the Irish government to refer Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC), as well as to “send the Israeli ambassador home”. McDonald is the president of Sinn Fein, Ireland’s main opposition party. “The Ambassador of Israel to Ireland has not been expelled,” a spokesperson for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs told Reuters in an email on Nov. 21. Israel’s ambassador to Ireland has not been expelled as of Nov. 23, 2023.

Persons: Ireland’s, Sinn, Mary Lou McDonald, …, McDonald, Sinn Fein Ard Fheis, ”, Sinn Fein, Michael Higgins, Leo Varadkar, Verona Ní Bhroinn, “, Read Organizations: Facebook, “, Sinn, Palestinian, Hamas, International Criminal Court, ICC, Verona, Oireachtas Service, Reuters, Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, Irish Government, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Ireland

☆ Germany set to double Ukraine military aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivers a speech on the day of the opening of an electrolysis gigafactory in Berlin, Germany November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsFRANKFURT, Nov 11 (Reuters) - German chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition has agreed in principle to double the country's military aid for Ukraine next year to 8 billion euros ($8.5 billion), a political source in Berlin said on Sunday. Defence minister Boris Pistorius, interviewed by broadcaster ARD, referred to the planned doubling of military aid to Ukraine. "Doubling the military spending is both the right thing to do and important," it quoted member of parliament Andreas Schwarz, who acts as an SPD military budget official, as saying. A European Union plan to spend up to 20 billion euros ($21 billion) on military aid for Ukraine is meeting with resistance from EU countries, diplomats said this week.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Annegret, Olaf Scholz's, Boris Pistorius, Andreas Schwarz, Gursimran Kaur, Holger Hansen, Vera Eckert, David Gregorio, Kirsten Donovan, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Atlantic Treaty Organization, Scholz's Social Democrats, Free Democrats, Green, Bundestag, Bloomberg News, Germany's Ministry of Defence, ARD, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, Ukraine, Bengaluru, Frankfurt

[1/3] Noopar Pansa-ard, 63, prays for her son, Somkuan Pansa-ard, 39, a Thai labour who was killed in Israel in the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at a temple in Kalasin province, Thailand, October 11, 2023. "I told him - don't talk like that ... My heart will shatter if you don't return," Noopar said. A day later, her son Somkuan Pansa-ard, 39, was killed during an attack by Hamas militants on Israel, where he had gone to work in a fruit plantation to send money back to help his family repay a loan. It was not clear where in Israel Somkuan had been killed. So far, 20 Thai nationals have been killed and 14 taken hostage in the conflict, the Thai foreign ministry says.

Persons: Somkuan, Thomas Suen, Noopar Pansa, Noopar, Somkuan Pansa, Israel Somkuan, Khraboan Pansa, Khraboan, Chayut Setboonsarng, Miral Organizations: ard, Hamas, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Thai, Israel, Palestinian, Kalasin province, Thailand, Somkuan's

☆ Germany's conservatives set to win state elections with far-right making gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Photo: Arne Dedert/dpa (Photo by Arne Dedert/picture alliance via Getty Images)Germany's conservative opposition was slated to win two state elections while the far-right gained ground on Sunday, exit polls showed, halfway into the government of social democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The two states were led by the main opposition Union alliance that reunites the Christian Social Union party and the Christian Democratic Union. In Hesse, theBoris Rhein's CDU had led as part of a coalition with the Greens — and was set to win 35.5% of votes, exit polls showed. Here, too, AfD strengthened its presence, from 13.1% of votes previously to 16% on Sunday. The ruling Social Democratic Party is expected to gain 16% in Hesse and 8.5% in Bavaria.

Persons: Arne Dedert, Olaf Scholz, —, theBoris Rhein's, Friedrich Merz, Hesse, Robert Lambrou Organizations: Getty, Union, Christian Social Union, Christian Democratic Union, ARD, CSU —, Free, Greens, Google, Social Democratic Party, CNBC Locations: Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany, Bavaria, Munich

☆ Hesse, Bavaria votes highlight discontent with Scholz's government, exit polls show
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Hesse State Premier Boris Rhein of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party gestures after the first exit polls for the Hesse state elections were published, in Wiesbaden, Germany, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Germany's opposition conservatives were on track to win state elections in Hesse and Bavaria on Sunday, according to exit polls by state broadcaster ARD, highlighting discontent with the Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left federal government. In Hesse, the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) looked set to take 35.5% of the vote compared to 16% for Scholz's Social Democrats, dealing a personal blow to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser who ran as the SPD's lead candidate in the state. The SPD, which is traditionally weak in Bavaria, trailed with 8.5% of the vote. Meanwhile the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) made gains, rising to 16% in Hesse and 15% in Bavaria compared to 13.1% and 11.6% respectively in 2018.

Persons: Hesse State Premier Boris Rhein, Kai Pfaffenbach, Olaf Scholz's, Nancy Faeser, CDU's, Sarah Marsh, Thomas Escritt Organizations: Hesse State Premier, Christian Democratic Union, CDU, REUTERS, Rights, ARD, Christian Democrats, Scholz's Social Democrats, Christian Social Union, CSU, Free Voters, SPD, Greens, Free Democrats, Thomson Locations: Hesse, Wiesbaden, Germany, Bavaria

BERLIN, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Germany's opposition conservatives are expected to win another term in the Hesse and Bavaria state elections on Sunday, seen dealing a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left coalition and attesting to the rise of the far-right. So too has frustration with infighting in Scholz's heterogeneous three-way coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) mid-way through its term. "The coalition is suffering the mid-term blues and must reckon with losses," said Stefan Marschall, political scientist at the University of Duesseldorf. "The FDP in particular must reckon with falling out of both state parliaments which could bring greater tensions into the coalition. More striking is the fact the populist Free Voters (FW) party, which governs Bavaria in coalition with the CSU, has seen a bump in poll support of several percentage points to 15% since being swept up in an anti-semitic scandal.

Persons: Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Stefan Marschall, Nancy Faeser, Sarah Marsh, Nick Macfie 私 Organizations: Social Democrats, Greens, Free Democrats, University of Duesseldorf, Christian Social Union, CSU, Christian Democrats, CDU, Free Voters, FW, SPD, ARD Locations: Hesse, Bavaria, Germany, Bavarian

The FDP looked on track to fail to reach the 5% threshold to enter parliament in Bavaria, and possibly Hesse too. They and the AfD were the only parties to make gains in the Bavaria election. Still, coalition parties were likely to continue to follow increasingly separate paths to focus on issues relevant to their core electorate in response to the bad results, he said, while all taking a tougher stance on migration. "We must in the future better communicate SPD projects and be more visible," SPD lawmaker Sebastian Roloff told German outlet Handelsblatt. Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Nick Macfie, Ros Russell and Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Scholz, Thomas Kemmerich, Jens Spahn, Spahn, Nancy Faeser, Markus Soeder, Philipp Koeker, Sebastian Roloff, Sarah Marsh, Nick Macfie, Ros Russell, Mark Porter Organizations: Social Democrats, Greens, Free Democrats, Christian Democrats, CDU, ARD, Christian Social Union, CSU, DRUBBING, Free Voters, University of Hanover, Thomson Locations: Hesse, Bavaria, BERLIN, Germany, Ukraine, Frankfurt

☆ Voters in Hesse, Bavaria Seen Dealing Mid-Term Blow to Scholz's Coalition
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Sarah MarshBERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's opposition conservatives are expected to win another term in the Hesse and Bavaria state elections on Sunday, seen dealing a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left coalition and attesting to the rise of the far-right. So too has frustration with infighting in Scholz's heterogeneous three-way coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) mid-way through its term. "The coalition is suffering the mid-term blues and must reckon with losses," said Stefan Marschall, political scientist at the University of Duesseldorf. "The FDP in particular must reckon with falling out of both state parliaments which could bring greater tensions into the coalition. More striking is the fact the populist Free Voters (FW) party, which governs Bavaria in coalition with the CSU, has seen a bump in poll support of several percentage points to 15% since being swept up in an anti-semitic scandal.

Persons: Sarah Marsh BERLIN, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Stefan Marschall, Nancy Faeser, Sarah Marsh, Nick Macfie Organizations: Social Democrats, Greens, Free Democrats, University of Duesseldorf, Christian Social Union, CSU, Christian Democrats, CDU, Free Voters, FW, SPD, ARD Locations: Hesse, Bavaria, Germany, Bavarian

☆ Hesse, Bavaria Votes Highlight Discontent With Scholz's Government Exit Polls
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's opposition conservatives were on track to win state elections in Hesse and Bavaria on Sunday, according to exit polls by state broadcaster ARD, highlighting discontent with the Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left federal government. In Hesse, the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) looked set to take 35.5% of the vote compared to 16% for Scholz's Social Democrats, dealing a personal blow to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser who ran as the SPD's lead candidate in the state. In Bavaria, CDU's sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) looked set to take 37% of the vote - its worst result since 1950 albeit likely enough to continue its coalition with the populist Free Voters on 14%. The SPD, which is traditionally weak in Bavaria, trailed with 8.5% of the vote. Meanwhile the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) made gains, rising to 16% in Hesse and 15% in Bavaria compared to 13.1% and 11.6% respectively in 2018.

Persons: Olaf Scholz's, Nancy Faeser, CDU's, Sarah Marsh, Thomas Escritt Organizations: BERLIN, ARD, Christian Democrats, CDU, Scholz's Social Democrats, Christian Social Union, CSU, Free Voters, SPD, Greens, Free Democrats Locations: Hesse, Bavaria, Germany

☆ Germany says it will keep taking in migrants from Italy after all
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A view of shadows of migrants boarding a ship to be transferred to the mainland, on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Yara Nardi Acquire Licensing RightsFRANKFURT, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Germany has decided to keep taking in migrants and refugees arriving in Italy, the interior minister said late on Friday, two days after it announced the suspension of a voluntary agreement with Rome to receive new arrivals. Under an European Union solidarity scheme, Germany had pledged to help member states such as Italy that are particularly overwhelmed by migrants by taking in 3,500 people, but it announced the suspension of the accord on Wednesday. But interior minister Nancy Faeser said the recent arrival of thousand of migrants in the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa meant Germany would take in people after all. The Italian Coast Guard found a newborn baby dead on a boat carrying migrants to the island during a rescue operation, ANSA news agency reported on Saturday.

Persons: Yara, Nancy Faeser, Faeser, Giorgia Meloni, Ludwig Burger, Helen Popper Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, ARD, Italian, EU, Italian Coast Guard, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, Germany, Rome, Union, Dublin, EU, German, North Africa

CNN —As Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) grows ever popular, the country’s once dominant Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party finds itself at a crossroads. The center-right CDU was in power for much of Germany’s post-war era and oversaw the reunification of East and West Germany. Max Schwarz/ReutersBerlin’s CDU mayor, Kai Wegner, took to X to write: “What cooperation is there to be had? Populist parties as ‘lightning rods’The CDU’s Michael Kretschmer, state premier of Saxony, believes a shift in policy is the best approach for democratic parties to stop the rise of the far-right. Opinion polls in his state, one of the five that make up Germany’s former east, put the AfD in the lead; Saxony has long been a stronghold for the far-right party.

Persons: Angela Merkel, Friedrich Merz, shockwaves, Merz, Merz backpedaled, ”, Robert Sesselmann, Max Schwarz, Kai Wegner, Jörg, “, ” “, Kühne, ” Tino Chrupalla, John MacDougall, Merkel, it’s, sadi, Michael Kretschmer, Kretschmer Organizations: CNN, Christian Democratic Union, CDU, East, Social, Green Party and Free Democrats, ZDF, Reuters Berlin’s CDU, INSA, New, SPD, Greens, ARD, Bundestag, Getty, Federal Criminal Police, UN, UNHCR, “, Citizens Locations: Germany, West Germany, Sonneberg, Thuringia, Germany’s, Saxony, Leipzig, West, East Germany, East Germans, West Germans, Saxony Anhalt, Ukraine, Poland, Syria

☆ Fact Check-Video of German weather forecast digitally altered to include flames
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A clip of a weather forecast aired by a German TV station was digitally altered to include graphics of flames and siren noises and shared online alongside remarks suggesting that the station was being alarmist about hot weather. One of the posts with the altered video included the comment: “Meanwhile, in Germany, they’ve got flames on the screen for temperatures barely touching 30°C. The clip was altered from the original, which aired without the flames or the added audio on the German ARD network’s news show Tagesthemen (tinyurl.com/yd3mbtr3). Reuters has previously addressed similar altered content involving weather forecasts or maps (here), (here). The video has been digitally altered to include graphics of flames and siren noises.

Persons: they’ve, bonkers, Read Organizations: ARD, Reuters Locations: Germany

☆ Germany's Scholz watching France unrest with concern
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, July 2 (Reuters) - Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday that Germany was watching the unrest in France "with concern". French President Emmanuel Macron postponed a state visit to Germany that was set to begin Sunday because of turmoil on French streets in the wake of the police shooting of a teenager of North African descent. Scholz, in an interview with Germany's ARD television, said that, while watching with concern, he was confident that Macron would successfully calm the situation. "I don't expect that France will become unstable, even if the images of course are very distressing," he said. Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Tom Sims Editing by David Goodman and Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron, Scholz, Macron, Andreas Rinke, Tom Sims, David Goodman, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Germany's ARD, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Germany, France, North

☆ Dutch intelligence warned CIA about alleged Ukrainian plot to attack Nord Stream pipelines, Netherlands’ public broadcaster reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Mick Krever Alex Marquardt Sarah Dean Sugam Pokharel | Mick Krever | Alex Marquardt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Dutch military intelligence warned the American intelligence service, CIA, last year about an alleged Ukrainian plan to blow up the Nord Stream pipelines three months before they were hit, Dutch public broadcaster NOS reported on Tuesday without specifying a source. The United States received intelligence from a European ally last year that the Ukrainian military was planning an attack on the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines, CNN reported last week based on information from three US officials. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Tuesday that the CIA warned Ukraine last year to not attack the Nord Stream gas pipelines after receiving information about an alleged Ukrainian plan, citing officials familiar with the exchange. The CIA received the tip from Dutch military intelligence, the officials told the WSJ. Netherlands’s public broadcaster in its report said that the Dutch military intelligence service, MIVD, was able at an early stage to gather detailed information about alleged Ukrainian plot to blow up the pipelines.

Persons: hasn’t, Volodymyr Zelensky, ’ ” Mykhailo Podolyak Organizations: CNN, CIA, NOS, ARD, United, Street, European Union, Twitter Locations: United States, Western, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Nord, Russia, Baltic, Europe

of revealing secret information about a settlement agreement between them, including how much Apple paid, during Arendi's separate infringement trial against Alphabet's Google LLC (GOOGL.O). Apple asked a Delaware federal judge to impose monetary sanctions against Arendi and its law firm Susman Godfrey one day after Google defeated Arendi's $45.5 million lawsuit at the trial, which did not involve Apple. Arendi's attorneys and representatives for Apple and Susman Godfrey did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. Apple's Wednesday filing said it attended the Google trial because it feared Arendi would misuse its confidential business information during the proceedings. Susman Godfrey previously represented Arendi in other patent lawsuits against companies including Apple, Samsung and LG.

☆ Fact Check-Video shows German politician using snuff tobacco, not cocaine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A clip being shared online shows German politician Jens Maier using snuff tobacco, not a member of the European Parliament using cocaine, as online posts claim. Maier is not visible in a list of members of the European Parliament (here)The clip appears in a video posted on YouTube by German public broadcaster ARD at the 4:54 mark (here). This higher definition version of the clip clearly shows dark brown coloured tobacco snuff on his left hand, not cocaine, which is white in color (here), (www.dea.gov/factsheets/cocaine). The Bundestag’s Press Office said they were not able to comment as Maier was no longer a member of the parliament. The video does not show a European Parliament member using cocaine.

☆ As weight-loss drugs hit the U.S. market, doctors debate how to use them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Patrick Wingrove | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] The American Medical Association logo is seen at their office in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/March 30 (Reuters) - As powerful new obesity drugs enter the U.S. market, medical associations are keen to advise their members on how to best use them for patients. "These new compounds are game changers, there's no doubt about it," said Anthony Comuzzie, chief executive of The Obesity Society. The group last provided obesity treatment guidelines in 2013 alongside the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. OBESITY AS A DISEASEThe American Medical Association, the nation’s largest medical group, recognized obesity as a disease in 2013.

☆ Germany must tackle expenditure problem, says finance minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 12 (Reuters) - Germany Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Sunday he wanted to tackle expenditure in the 2024 budget to fix the country's structural deficit that had resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis. "We have a massive expenditure problem," he told broadcaster ARD on Sunday. Lindner, of the pro-business Free Democrats, and Economy Minister Robert Habeck of the Greens last month clashed over plans for next year's budget, according to an exchange of letters seen by Reuters. His ministry recently said the draft budget should be ready by June despite the growing tensions. Reporting by Christian Kraemer; Writing by Sarah Marsh, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Denmark investigates yacht linked to Nord Stream blasts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Nikolaj Skydsgaard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CHRISTIANSÖ in the Baltic Sea, Denmark March 9 (Reuters) - Danish police have searched for a yacht on a tiny Baltic Sea island near the Nord Stream pipeline blast sites, the local administrator said on Thursday. German authorities confirmed on Wednesday they had raided a ship in January that may have been used to transport explosives used to blow up the pipelines. Authorities in Sweden, Germany and Denmark, who are currently investigating the blasts, say the explosions were deliberate but have not said who might be responsible. Christiansö is part of a small archipelago about 18 km northeast of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm. The archipelago with just 98 inhabitants is a former naval fortress but remains under administration of the Danish defence ministry.

☆ Tiny Baltic island finds itself 'a pawn' in Nord Stream gas drama
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Nikolaj Skydsgaard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Tom LittleCHRISTIANSÖ in the Baltic Sea, Denmark, March 9 (Reuters) - Inhabitants of the tiny island of Christiansö in the Baltic Sea found themselves in the glare of global media attention this week after reports alleging a boat moored off the rocky outcrop was used to blow up the Nord Stream gas pipelines. I got calls from 87 different people," island caretaker Soren Thiim Andersen, the highest authority on the island that is Denmark's easternmost point, told Reuters. Andersen told Reuters the Danish police had interviewed local people for information about boats that moored on Christiansö on Sept. 16-18. That our small island could be a pawn in such a big political game. Christiansö is part of a small archipelago about 18 km northeast of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm.

Investigations are ongoing as to what caused the Nord Stream pipelines, supplying Russian energy to Europe, to rupture and spew bubbles of natural gas into the Baltic Sea last September. "We have to make a clear distinction whether it was a Ukrainian group, whether it may have happened at Ukrainian orders, or a pro-Ukrainian group (acting) without knowledge of the government. Pistorius said earlier the likelihood was "equally high" that it could have been a "false flag operation staged to blame Ukraine". UKRAINE PLAYS DOWN CONCERNSThe New York Times said there was no evidence that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy or other Ukrainian government officials had played any role in the attacks. U.S. officials said no American or British nationals were involved," according to the New York Times report.

☆ Germany to place order for backfilling howitzers months earlier than planned
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, Feb 26 (Reuters) - German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday he expected the contracts for the backfilling of howitzers that Berlin rushed to Ukraine last year to be signed by the end of March, months earlier than originally planned. "If everything works out, the contracts for the new howitzers will be signed by the end of the coming month," he told German public broadcaster ARD. Pistorius, who took office in January, did not specify the number of weapons to be reordered, but the German military last year handed over 14 self-propelled howitzers produced by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann to Kyiv. Pistorius' predecessor had planned to present the order for new howitzers to parliament for approval in mid-2023, according to a defence source. Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Editing by Tom SimsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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