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☆ Police clear first buildings in abandoned German coal village
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Christian MangLUETZERATH, Germany, Jan 12 (Reuters) - German police were trying to clear hundreds of climate protesters holed up in an abandoned village in western Germany for a second day on Thursday, in a continuing standoff over the expansion of a coal mine. For over two years demonstrators have occupied Luetzerath, a village in the brown-coal district of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, to stop the expansion of the Garzweiler lignite coal mine, run by energy firm RWE (RWEG.DE). Protesters have formed human chains, staged sit-ins and occupied deserted buildings which will be razed to make way for the mine's expansion. The company has said it supports both energy transition and a temporary increase in the use of lignite-fired plants to tide Germany through the energy crisis. Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Wolfgang Rattay, editing by Rachel More and Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ German police clash with activists in showdown over coal mine expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Many Greens oppose the mine's expansion, but Economy Minister Robert Habeck of the Greens party has fronted the government's decision. Some activists dumped 250 kg (551 lb) worth of coal blocks in front of a local Greens party headquarters, German media reported. Some of the activists have built treehouses in Luetzerath, believing these would make it harder for police to force them to leave. The move echoes a similar protest in 2013 in the Hambach forest, which delayed an RWE coal mining project for years and became a symbol of anti-coal demonstrations. Those include firing up mothballed coal power plants and extending the lifespan of nuclear power stations after Russia cut gas deliveries to Europe in an energy standoff that sent prices soaring.

☆ German police detain Iranian suspected of chemical attack plot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

German police have taken into custody a 32-year-old Iranian citizen suspected of having procured deadly poisons cyanide and ricin to commit an “Islamist-motivated” attack, authorities in western Germany said on Sunday. “The suspect is suspected of having prepared a serious act of violence endangering the state by allegedly procuring cyanide and ricin to commit an Islamist-motivated attack,” the statement said. Police seized electronic storage devices but found neither cyanide nor ricin during the search, Holger Heming of the Duesseldorf public prosecutor’s office told Reuters TV. The authorities are now investigating at full speed.”Heming said the tip came from a security agency of a “friendly state”, without elaborating. News about Sunday’s searches also comes a month after German authorities arrested 25 members and supporters of a far-right group that the prosecutor’s office said was preparing a violent overthrow of the state.

[1/3] TV cameras are set up in front of a building where German police have taken a 32-year-old Iranian citizen into custody, suspected of having procured deadly poisons cyanide and ricin to commit an "Islamist-motivated" attack, in Castrop-Rauxel, Germany, January 8, 2023. REUTERS/Stephane NitschkeCASTROP-RAUXEL, Germany, Jan 8 (Reuters) - German police have taken into custody a 32-year-old Iranian citizen suspected of having procured deadly poisons cyanide and ricin to commit an "Islamist-motivated" attack, authorities in western Germany said on Sunday. Police said the Iranian was suspected of having planned a "serious act of violence endangering the state" by allegedly procuring cyanide and ricin to commit an Islamist-motivated attack. Islamist-motivated lone perpetrators are another considerable danger," German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said following news of the investigation. "Our security authorities therefore expect preparations for an attack at any time," she said, adding that since 2000 German security authorities had prevented 21 Islamist attacks in Germany.

☆ After New Year's Eve violence, German police union calls for action
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Germany’s biggest police union called Tuesday for concerted action to prevent a repeat of the violent excesses seen in Berlin and other cities during the New Year’s celebrations, in which officers, firefighters and medical personnel were attacked with fireworks. Police in the capital recorded dozens of attacks and said 41 officers were injured. Online videos showing people firing rockets and throwing firecrackers at police cars and rescue vehicles drew widespread condemnation from German authorities. Some conservative and far-right politicians have noted that some of the attacks took place in areas of Berlin with large immigrant communities. Experts say the absence of such a ban may have contributed to the scale of violence and large number of fireworks injuries — including at least one death — seen this year.

☆ Tesla driver found sleeping at the wheel as car reached 70 mph on highway, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A driver fell asleep while his Tesla car was using its autopilot assistance system on a German highway. Police tried to stop the driver as the car reached up to 70 mph, The Times of London reported. The car reached close to 70 mph on the highway in Bavaria, Germany, while the 45-year-old driver continued to snooze, the newspaper reported. Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, has championed the car company's Autopilot assistance system. Insider previously reported that vehicles using Tesla's Autopilot software were involved in 273 crashes in the US from July 2021 to May 2022.

☆ A bizarre far-right coup plot uncovered in Germany hints at a much more sinister trend
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Alexander Clarkson | World Politics Review | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

In early December, German police uncovered a plot by far-right conspirators to mount a coup. It is widely acknowledged that the electoral appeal of the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, to about 10% of German voters is a matter of great concern. This image of political stability, though not unjustified, caused many observers to downplay the revelation in early December that German police had uncovered an organized plot by a network of far-right conspirators to mount a coup. German police and intelligence services had to take the threat this network represented seriously. This complacency gave the East German Stasi and other Soviet-bloc intelligence services opportunities to reach out to emerging radical networks willing to destabilize the Federal Republic at the time.

☆ German police recover bulk of booty from $120 million Dresden diamonds heist
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Most of the jewels stolen from a historic Dresden art collection in 2019 in a $120 million heist have been recovered, German police and prosecutors said on Saturday. The 31 pieces, including a breast star of the Polish Order of the White Eagle and an ornate diamond head-dress, had been secured by investigators in Berlin, authorities said. In all, the pieces stolen from one of Europe's greatest art collections contained more than 4,300 diamonds with an estimated value of more than 113 million euros ($120 million). The returned pieces will be examined by specialists "to confirm their authenticity and intactness," authorities said. Pieces still missing include an epaulette on which a precious stone known as the Dresden White Diamond was mounted.

☆ Huge aquarium that housed 1,500 tropical fish bursts in Berlin
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A huge aquarium in the center of Berlin burst Friday, causing a wave of devastation in and around the Sea Life tourist attraction, German police said Friday. A police officer walks in front of debris after the huge aquarium burst through the hotel lobby. Witness Gwendolin Szyszkowitz told German news channel n-tv that she heard a loud bang and initially feared a bomb had exploded. Operators say the aquarium has the biggest cylindrical tank in the world and contained 1,500 tropical fish of 80 different species before the incident. The aquarium, which was last modernized in 2020, is a major tourist magnet in Berlin.

☆ Germany to tighten gun laws after suspected coup plot, interior minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerBERLIN, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Germany plans to tighten its gun laws in the wake of a suspected plot by a far-right group to violently overthrow the government and install a minor royal as national leader, its interior minister said in an interview published on Sunday. German police last week arrested 25 people suspected of involvement in the plot, which has shocked many in one of Europe's most stable democracies. "These are not harmless crazy people but suspected terrorists who are now sitting in pre-trial detention," Faeser was quoted as saying. "We need all authorities to exert maximum pressure" to remove their weapons, Faeser was quoted as saying, which was why the government would "shortly further tighten gun laws". Prior to the raids, authorities had already confiscated weapons from more than 1,000 Reichsbuerger members.

☆ German police give all-clear after hostage-taking in Dresden
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, Dec 10 (Reuters) - German police gave the all-clear after a hostage-taking that had prompted it to evacuate a shopping mall in the historic city centre of Dresden and shut the famous Striezelmarkt Christmas market on Saturday. "All-clear! The hostage situation in #Dresden is over!" police said on Twitter, adding that two people who appeared to be unharmed were in its care. Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Sarah MarshOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Far-right attacks, scandals in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Following are some of the far-right attacks and scandals that have shaken Germany in recent years:Jan. 2021 - Far-right sympathiser Stephan Ernst is handed a life sentence for shooting dead pro-immigration conservative politician Walter Luebcke who was found lying in a pool of blood outside his home in western Germany in 2019. Luebcke had been an outspoken supporter of former Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision in 2015 to let in refugees. June 2020 - German defence minister disbands company of its elite KSK special forces after a scandal over its links to far-right radicals. The attacker, a 27-year-old German, fatally shoots a woman outside the synagogue and a man inside a nearby kebab shop. An official report later says police had "massively underestimated" the risk of far-right violence and that missteps had allowed the cell to go undetected.

☆ Watch: German Police Stop QAnon-Inspired Terrorist Group Plotting Coup
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Watch: U.S. Unveils New Stealth Bomber B-21 Raider The Pentagon on Friday revealed the B-21 Raider, a long-range jet intended as a central element in Washington’s effort to keep China in check. The B-21 is the U.S. military’s first new bomber in more than 30 years. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

☆ Germany warns its delegation of Egyptian spies at COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Comments last week by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about Egypt's human rights record provoked the threat of surveillance, that person said. Two other officials in Germany confirmed the existence of the warning, though they declined to elaborate on its specific wording. Three German attendees at COP27, from non-governmental organizations and industry, said they had received verbal warnings from other attendees and delegations of possible surveillance. "To this end, we are in continuous exchange with the Egyptian side," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "A decision needs to be taken, a release has to be made possible, so that it doesn't come to it that the hunger striker dies," Scholz told reporters.

☆ German police investigating Russian billionaire Usmanov search yacht
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov walks out of a voting booth at a polling station during the presidential election in Moscow, Russia March 18, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovBERLIN, Sept 27 (Reuters) - German police investigating money laundering accusations against Russian billionaire businessman Alisher Usmanov have searched a motor yacht in northern Germany, prosecutors said on Tuesday. Prosecutors did not identify the yacht or its owner but described him as a 69-year-old Russian businessman and said he was the target of the same investigation as last week, when police raided a lakeside villa registered to Usmanov. Usmanov's representatives were not immediately available to comment on Tuesday's yacht raid. The federal criminal police office has said it is worth half a billion euros.

☆ German police storm estate of Russian oligarch Usmanov - media reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterRussian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Russian businessman and founder of USM Holdings Alisher Usmanov during an awarding ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia November 27, 2018. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS/File PhotoBERLIN, Sept 21 (Reuters) - German police conducted raids targeting a Russian citizen over suspected sanctions violations on Wednesday morning, with German media reporting that the operation centred on oligarch Alisher Usmanov. The Munich state prosecutor said comprehensive raids had taken place at the residence of a Russian citizen and four other suspects. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterGerman broadcasters BR and MDR reported that one of the locations targeted was Usmanov's villa on Tegernsee lake in the southern state. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWriting by Rachel More; Editing by Paul Carrel and Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Streetfighters, Hooligans and Nazis: Inside Sweden's Most Notorious Underground Fight Club
▼ + stars: | 2019-11-24 | by ( Karim Zidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

Few outsiders have ever attended a KOTS fight in person. "The most notorious fight club, the one and only place for the unwanted ones, delivering the most stressed out and fucked up environment you can find. Back in 2019, the fight club started live streaming its events and charging around $14 per fight. In the exchange, a fan asked why the fight club allows anti-fascists to compete. "This is the most raw form of fighting," Hooi, who is not affiliated with any far-right groups, wrote during our interview.

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