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☆ Germany's Scholz discusses Ukraine with Russia's Putin in first such call in 2 years
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-15 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin leader’s first publicly announced conversation with the sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years. Scholz urged Putin to be open to negotiations with Ukraine, his office said. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said Scholz urged Putin in the hour-long call to withdraw his troops and end the full-scale invasion launched in February 2022. The new communication between Scholz and Putin — their first since December 2022 — comes at a time of widespread speculation about what the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump will mean for Ukraine. The U.S., South Korea and Ukraine say North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Vladimir Putin, Scholz, Putin, Steffen Hebestreit, Alexei Navalny’s, Yulia, “, ” Hebestreit, —, Donald Trump, Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ” Zelenskyy, ” Scholz, ” Putin, Dmitry Peskov Organizations: Kremlin leader’s, Kyiv, NATO, Ukraine, Kremlin, Russian Federation Locations: BERLIN, Ukraine, Russian, Berlin, Russia, Washington, Moscow, U.S, South Korea, North Korea, Germany, ”, East

Biden spoke to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Air Force One en route to Berlin. Earlier this week, Biden announced more than $400 million in a new round of aid to Ukraine. “I deeply appreciate your partnership and the many times you’ve forsaken an easy choice to make the right choice, Biden told Scholz. “I am overwhelmed,” Biden spoke softly just moments after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier lavished him with praise and awarded Biden his country’s highest honor. In my view, we must keep going, until Ukraine wins a just and durable peace,” Biden continued, “until once again, human dignity prevails.”

Persons: Joe Biden, Olaf Scholz, Yahya Sinwar, ” Biden, Scholz, Biden, Antony Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu “ let’s, ” Scholz, Sinwar, Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s, didn’t, “, you’ve, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Frank, Walter Steinmeier lavished, Steinmeier, ”, ” Steinmeier Organizations: BERLIN, Israel, Air Force, British, Wall Street, NATO, Ukraine Locations: United States, Berlin, Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Russia, U.S, Russian, Germany, Europe

BERLIN — President Joe Biden is leaving Washington for Germany on Thursday morning in what will be one of the last opportunities to outline his vision for foreign policy before the election next month. After landing in Berlin, Biden will be greeted with full military honors Friday before receiving the country's highest Order of Merit from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, his office said. After years of refusing U.S. prodding to trade the Russian, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris separately convinced Scholz earlier this year. On Wednesday, Biden announced a $425 million aid package for Ukraine that includes air-to-ground munitions and armored vehicles, and promised more defense systems and supplies in the months to come. The White House said Biden will now travel to Angola in early December.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Frank, Walter Steinmeier, ”, Olaf Scholz, Scholz, Evan Gershkovich, Marine Paul Whelan, Kamala Harris, Hurricane Milton Organizations: BERLIN, Merit, Marine, White, Ukraine, Russia, Wednesday Locations: Washington, Germany, Berlin, U.S, Russia, Russian, France, Britain, Ukraine, Angola, Hurricane

BERLIN — German prosecutors have issued a first arrest warrant in their investigation into the undersea explosions in 2022 that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany, according to a media report Wednesday. Swedish and Danish authorities closed their investigations in February, leaving the German prosecutors’ case as the sole probe. The blasts happened as Europe attempted to wean itself off Russian energy sources following the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. They ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which was Russia’s main natural gas supply route to Germany until Russia cut off supplies at the end of August 2022. They also damaged the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which never entered service because Germany suspended its certification process shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February of that year.

Organizations: ARD, Zeitung, Zeit, U.S Locations: BERLIN, Russia, Germany, Ukrainian, Poland, Baltic, Ukraine, wean, Europe, Washington

☆ Berlin Was a Beacon of Artistic Freedom. Gaza Changed Everything.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Jason Farago | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

She lived for a time in West Berlin. Fitting, then, that she would accept a prestigious guest professorship this year at a German art school. Rather than distill her thoughts about “this unbelievably tragic war” into the kind of public statement they seemed to want, she withdrew. “It did teach me that I didn’t really want to have that kind of sponsorship,” she concluded. The arts scene in Germany — and especially Berlin — has been turned upside down by Hamas’s attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, and the siege and bombardment of Gaza.

Persons: Laurie Anderson, —, “, ”, Anderson, Lou Reed, Berliner, fulminated, Berlin — Organizations: Germany — Locations: Germany, West Berlin, Israel, Palestinian, Berlin, Gaza

☆ The NATO Welcoming Sweden Is Larger, More Determined
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Steven Erlanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN — Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago was an enormous shock to Europeans. Used to 30 years of post-Cold War peace, they had imagined European security would be built alongside a more democratic Russia, not reconstructed against a revisionist imperial war machine. There was no bigger shock than in Finland, with its long border and historical tension with Russia, and in Sweden, which had dismantled 90 percent of its army and 70 percent of its air force and navy in the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. After the decision by Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, to try to destroy a sovereign neighbor, both Finland and Sweden rapidly decided to apply to join the NATO alliance, the only clear guarantee of collective defense against a newly aggressive and reckless Russia. With Finland having joined last year, and the Hungarian Parliament finally approving Sweden’s application on Monday, Mr. Putin now finds himself faced with an enlarged and motivated NATO, one that is no longer dreaming of a permanent peace.

Persons: BERLIN, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Soviet Union, NATO, Finland Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Soviet, Hungarian

The U.N. aid agency serving Palestinians in Gaza faced more funding cuts Monday amid accusations that 12 of its employees were involved in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. The allegations over the weekend triggered a wave of funding cuts by major donors, including the U.S., Britain and France. UNRWA employs roughly 13,000 Palestinians in Gaza and says it will be forced to halt operations within weeks if funding isn’t restored. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the boy was killed near the Israeli settlement of Tekoa. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said that Israeli forces opened fire after clashing with Palestinians from the area.

Persons: Austria, — Biden, Jordan — Israel, Washington, Sebastian Fischer, Jordan, ” Fischer, Wafa, —, ’, Israel, “, Bassem, Awadi, Magen David Adom, ”, Austria “, Israel ” Organizations: The Associated Press, UNRWA, Ministry, US, UN, JORDAN BERLIN —, Foreign, U.S, BANK, West Bank —, West Bank, Palestinian Health Ministry, EU, BRUSSELS, The European Union, European Commission, BAGHDAD, Government, Hamas, JERUSALEM, BERLIN —, Foreign Ministry, Japanese Foreign Ministry Locations: Gaza, Israel, U.S, Britain, France, Hamas, Iran, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, israel, GERMANY, JORDAN BERLIN — Germany, Tehran, BANK RAMALLAH, West, Tekoa, West Bank, Dura, Hebron, Silwad, Yamoun, Jenin, IRAQ, Syrian, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Haifa, Tel Aviv, AUSTRIA, BERLIN — Austria, Vienna, Austria, JAPAN, GAZA TOKYO, Japan

☆ People who moved to Europe's priciest cities say it's worth it for a relaxed life with shorter work days and cheap childcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

European cities have some of the most expensive rents in the world, a new study found. We list the cost of living in 13 cities from Helsinki to Berlin — and what locals say about living there. AdvertisementIt's true: Large European cities are expensive. Copenhagen — along with London, Paris, Dublin, and more — ranked high on a new list of European cities with priciest rents, according to vacation-rental site Deluxe Homes . Still, several Americans who recently moved to Europe's highest-rent cities have told BI they feel their journeys have been worth it.

Persons: —, Ellie Owens, they've, Owens, Read Organizations: Berlin —, Service, Business Locations: Europe, Helsinki, Berlin, Connecticut, Copenhagen, Denmark's, London, Paris, Dublin, Oslo, Vienna

Thirty-three Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived early Tuesday in east Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Ramallah. Political Cartoons View All 1267 ImagesCurrently:— Israel and Hamas extend their truce, but it seems only a matter of time before the war resumes. So far, Hamas has released 69 hostages, including 51 Israelis, and Israel has released 150 Palestinian prisoners. Fifty Israeli hostages have been freed under the terms of an initial four-day truce, which has been extended to Wednesday. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released.

Persons: Israel, — Israel, — Freed, — Blinken, Israel —, “, Israel — Kfir Bibas, Ariel, Eylon, Kfir’s, ”, William Burns, David Barnea, Burns, Barnea, Isabel Debre, Jon Gambrell, Eli Cohen, Parnpree, Thais, ” Parnpree, Cohen, GAZA WASHINGTON —, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Constantinos Letymbiotis, Nikos Christodoulides, Christodoulides, Qatar’s, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Catherine Colonna, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, ” Israel, ” Elad Levy, Levy’s, Roni Eshel, ” Levy, Antony Blinken, John Kirby, Jason J, Eaton, General Merrick Garland Organizations: Hamas, West Bank, Health Ministry, —, TEL, CIA, DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Officials, U.S, The Washington Post, Shamir, Thais, GERMANY BERLIN, White, Israeli Defense Forces, Cyprus ’, Cypriot, AP, UNIT, Gaza Health Ministry, Shifa, World Health Organization, PARIS, Foreign, RTL, UN, UNITED NATIONS, United Nations, Palestinian, of Solidarity, AS US, FIRE BRUSSELS, State Department, NATO, Organization for Peace, Security, National Security, MEN, UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT, BURLINGTON , Vermont —, University of Vermont, U.S . Department of Justice Locations: Israel, Gaza, Jerusalem, Ramallah, East, israel, ISRAEL, TEL AVIV, Israeli, Tel Aviv, QATAR, United Arab, Qatar, Egypt, ___, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, JERUSALEM, GERMANY, Germany, Berlin, GAZA WASHINGTON, CYPRUS, GAZA NICOSIA, Cyprus, CAIRO, Shifa, Europe, France, CANBERRA, Australia, Australia’s, Canberra, Ukraine, Brussels, Skopje, North Macedonia, UNIVERSITY, BURLINGTON , Vermont, Vermont, Burlington

An agreement has been reached to extend the Israel-Hamas truce for another two days, the spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said Monday. In turn, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners. Political Cartoons View All 1265 ImagesIsrael has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. Here’s what's happening in the war:QATAR SAYS ISRAEL AND HAMAS AGREE TO EXTEND TRUCE FOR TWO MORE DAYSQatar’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that an agreement has been reached to extend the Israel-Hamas truce for another two days. Hamas has released some hostages during a truce that began Friday in return for Israeli releases of Palestinian prisoners.

Persons: —, Benjamin Netanyahu, — Elon, Majid Al Ansary, Elma Avraham, wasn’t, Tzachi Slotsky, Beer Sheba, Avraham’s, Tali Amano, Avraham, Amano, “, ”, Cross, Jason Straziuso, ELON, Elon Musk, who’s, Isaac Herzog, Musk, ” Musk, Eylon Levy, Shlomo Karhi, ” Karhi, Riad, Malki, JERUSALEM, ” Yelena Magid, Roni Krivoi, ” Magid, UNRWA's, Morris Tidball, Alice Jill Edwards, Wang Yi, Wang Wenbin, ” Wang Wenbin, Frank, Walter Steinmeier, ” Steinmeier, “ Beeri, Hassan Fadlallah, Fadlallah, Islam, France’s, Samuel Paty, Charlie Hebdo, Jason J, Eaton Organizations: Qatar’s Foreign, Hamas, Sunday, Israel, Health Ministry, —, Navy, Qatari Foreign, Soroka Medical, International Committee, ICRC Media, The Associated Press, Twitter, Israeli Ministry of Communications, Palestinian Foreign Affairs, European Union, Union for, Associated Press, United Nations, ISRAEL, BEIJING, Security, Chinese Foreign Ministry, ISRAEL BERLIN —, Beeri, Hezbollah, GO, PARIS —, MEN, UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT Police, University of Vermont, Burlington Police Department, Burlington Locations: Israel, Qatar, Egypt, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Barcelona, — U.S, israel, QATAR, ISRAEL, Beer, BARCELONA, Spain, Africa, HANOUN, Beit Hanoun, Geneva, New York, China, GERMANY, ISRAEL BERLIN — Germany, Beeri, BEIRUT, Iran, Lebanon, Aita, Paris, UNIVERSITY, Burlington

The upheaval at Documenta is just one example of how Europe’s art world is being torn by debates about Israel and Gaza, as some institutions have moved to postpone the shows of artists who have criticized Israel. Documenta was initially staged in 1955 as the first large-scale exhibition in West Germany of the art of the European avant-garde. It was a direct response to the Degenerate Art Show, the denunciatory exhibition of modern art staged by the Nazis in Munich in 1937. Although the mural was taken down, it set off a monthslong debate in Germany’s art world about antisemitism, Palestinian activism and Germany’s relationship to formerly colonized countries. Hoskote said Documenta was one of the art world’s greatest events, partly because it had always been a forum for new ideas.

Persons: Documenta’s, — Simon Njami, Gong Yan, Kathrin, Inés Rodríguez, —, ”, Bracha Lichtenberg Ettinger, Ranjit Hoskote, Anaïs Duplan, Ai Weiwei, ” Ai, Ai, Galerie Max Hetzler, Lisson’s, Claudia Roth, Documenta, Hoskote Organizations: Venice Biennale, Folkwang, Israel, Art Newspaper, Galerie Max, Berlin, Die Locations: Israel, Kassel, Germany, Gaza, Venice, India, Essen, Haitian, United States, B.D.S, London, Lisson, New York, Paris, West Germany, Munich, Nazi, Indonesia

☆ Continental layoffs: German car parts maker plans thousands of job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Berlin — German car parts manufacturer Continental will cut thousands of jobs worldwide as part of a plan to save €400 million ($428 million) a year from 2025, it said Monday. The cuts, in the company’s Automotive division, which produces software, safety features and autonomous driving technology, will amount to the “mid-four-digit range,” Continental said. The group’s main businesses are making tires; the Automotive division; and a third division making digital technologies for autos and other sectors called ContiTech. The number of business areas within the Automotive division will be reduced from six to five. Last week the company reported that the Automotive business returned to profit in the third quarter and predicted a strong quarter ahead.

Persons: Nikolai Setzer Organizations: Continental, company’s Automotive, Automotive, Reuters Locations: Berlin, Germany

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says Berlin has shown “a lot of interest” in hosting a game as the league plans to extend its agreement to play in Germany beyond 2025. “Düsseldorf, Berlin — there’s been a lot of interest there — so I think they’re all possibilities, yes,” Goodell said Saturday. The NFL’s current deal calls for one game next season — it’s scheduled for Munich — and another in 2025, likely in Frankfurt. “We have every intention to continue to play here,” Goodell told the mostly German audience at a downtown hotel. In August 1990, the Chiefs played a preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams at Olympic Stadium in West Berlin after the Berlin Wall fell and just before reunification.

Persons: Roger Goodell, Berlin, “ Düsseldorf, there’s, ” Goodell, —, Goodell, “ You’ve, you’ve, ”, “, Brett Gosper, Berlin ”, they've, ___ Organizations: — NFL, Frankfurt, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Deutsche Bank, Munich —, NFL, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Deutsche Bank Park, soccer, Eintracht Frankfurt, London, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks, Allianz Arena, of, Associated Press, Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Olympic, Media, Jacksonville Jaguars Locations: FRANKFURT, Germany, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Europe, Spain, Brazil, West Berlin, London

☆ Ukraine ally Poland is moving to the political center. And that's bad news for Russia's Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

It has taken in more than a million refugees from its close ally Ukraine since the start of the war, with many more millions passing through it. Its relations with Ukraine have soured in recent months, partly because of a dispute over the impact of Ukrainian grain imports on local farmers. Tian also expects the result to "reposition Poland as a staunch supporter of Ukraine" and for Tusk to push for EU accession for Ukraine. "The big thing to bear in mind when looking at Poland and Ukraine is they have an overarching strategic common interest [challenging Russian aggression], and this supersedes everything. So it will be difficult to restore relations to how they were in the first 18 months of the war, regardless of what Poland does."

Persons: Donald Tusk, Donald Tusk —, —, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Tusk, Tian, Aleks Szczerbiak, Szczerbiak Organizations: Civic, Getty, EU, Justice, CNBC, NATO, World Trade Organization, Law, Nurphoto, European, Economist Intelligence Unit, University of Sussex, Confederation, Soviet, Russia Locations: Warsaw, Moscow, Ukraine, Europe, Russia, China, India, Poland, Warsaw's, Krakow, Central Europe, Hungary, Slovakia, Berlin

No decision on a ground offensive has been announced, although Israel has been massing troops along the Gaza border 3. Israeli military spokesman Read Adm. Daniel Hagari said Saturday Israel had so far identified 126 captives. GERMANY TO START EVACUATING CITIZENS FROM ISRAELBERLIN — The German army will start evacuating its citizens from Israel with military airplanes. Hezbollah said its fighters struck several Israeli military positions in the disputed Chebaa Farms and Kfar Chouba hills in the afternoon. ISRAELI MILITARY ANNOUNCES IT IS PREPARED FOR ‘COORDINATED’ OFFENSIVEJERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it has prepared a “coordinated” offensive in the Gaza Strip involving air, ground and naval forces.

Persons: Israel, Lloyd Austin, “, Israel —, ”, Yifat Zailer, Zailer, Read, Daniel Hagari, Hezbollah’s, Ali Youssef Alaaeddine, Alaaeddine, ERDOGAN'S, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Bilal Erdogan, Suleyman Soylu, Mustafa Sentop, ” Erdogan, Sentop, Khalil Hachem, Rabad Akoum, ” Israel, Ismail Haniyeh, ” Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Mohammad Abu Selim, Medhat Abbas, Hakan Fidan, Sameh Shoukry, IT'S, ROME —, “ We’ve, Antonio Tajani, Tajani, —, ” Tajani, TT, Tobias Billström, Elina Valtonen, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Saleh Arouri, Ziad Nakhaleh, Amirabdollahian Organizations: United Nations, Gaza, United States Defense, TEL, ISRAEL BERLIN —, Hamas, Lufthansa, BEIRUT —, Associated Press, AP, Ministry, Sunday, South, MEDIA, BEIRUT, National News Agency, OFFICIAL, EGYPT BEIRUT —, OF, Gaza —, Shifa, Health Ministry, FROM, Romania — Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel, NORDIC, FROM ISRAEL HELSINKI, Nordic, Helsinki Airport, Iran’s, Manar, Islamic, Hezbollah Locations: Gaza City, Israel, Gaza, Egypt, Israeli, Lebanon, ISRAEL, SYRIA, TEL AVIV, Syria, Golan, GERMANY, Germany, Jordan, BEIRUT, Palestinian, ISTANBUL ISTANBUL, Istanbul, United States, Tel Aviv, Dubai, South, Lebanese, Chebaa, Kfar Chouba, JERUSALEM, EGYPT BEIRUT, GAZA, Shifa, FROM ISRAEL, TURKEY, ISTANBUL, Turkish, Embassy, Turkey, BUCHAREST, Romania, Romanian Embassy, ITALY, ROME, Italian, Rome, FINNS, Finland, Sweden, Helsinki, Stockholm, Swedish, Stockholm’s Arlanda, Beirut, Hezbollah’s, Amirabdollahian, Iran, Iraq, Jihad

RUSSIAN DEATH TOLL IN HAMAS ATTACKS RISES TO 4MOSCOW — Russia’s embassy in Israel said the number of Russian citizens killed in the latest Israel-Palestinian war has risen to four. Previously, two Russian citizens were believed to have been killed and four were missing, according to Anatoly Viktorov, Russian Ambassador to Israel. 2 RUSSIAN CITIZENS WERE KILLED IN HAMAS ATTACKS IN ISRAELMOSCOW — Russia’s ambassador to Israel said that two Russian citizens have been killed in of the latest Israel-Palestinian war. Viktorov said that four other Russian citizens remain missing. He said the embassy has no information confirming Hamas’ claim that several Russian citizens were among the hostages it has taken.

Persons: Israel pummeled, Elon Musk, Musk, Marina Ryazanova, Anatoly Viktorov, Abdel Fattah el, JERUSALEM —, Cross, Fabrizio Carboni, we’ve, ” Carboni, “, Volker Türk, Türk, ”, ” PUTIN, Vladimir Putin, Mohammed Al, Sudani, Putin, regrettably hasn’t, ” Putin, Leo, Khan Younis, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, INDIA'S MODI, Narendra Modi, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Modi, Modi, ISRAEL MOSCOW —, Israel, Anatoly Viktorov didn’t, hasn’t, Viktorov, MACRON, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Macron, Muqtada al, National Security Iyad, Bazm, Dmitry Peskov, Mahmoud Abbas, Peskov, it’s, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s, Tarik Jazarevic, HAVE Organizations: ‘, Twitter, Tass, International Committee, ICRC, Associated Press, HUMAN RIGHTS, The United Nations, Palestinian, Tuesday, Iraqi, MSF, Shifa Hospital, Nasser Hospital, ISRAEL BERLIN, German Foreign Ministry, Indian, Israel’s, Israel, ISRAEL MOSCOW, Hamas, Ministry of Interior, National Security, Kremlin, WHO, The United, World Health Organization, United Nations, UNRWA, PARIS — France’s Locations: Israel, Gaza, U.N, ISRAEL, MOSCOW, Russian, Egypt, Palestinian, Geneva, GAZA, U.S, GAZA CAIRO, Gaza City, Khan, Shalom, GERMANY, Israeli, Germany, DELHI, India, FRANCE, MACRON HAMBURG, Iran, Hamburg, France, IRAQ, GAZA BAGHDAD, Sadr, Najaf, Iraq, RAFAH, Rafah, RUSSIA, Moscow, GAZA GENEVA, The United Nations, UN, BEIRUT

☆ Opinion: My 12-year-old son is cutting school… and I couldn’t be prouder
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Opinion Paul Hockenos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Berlin CNN —My 12-year-old son is cutting school on September 15 — an act of non-violent civil disobedience that his mother and I approve of entirely. Then-15-year-old Swedish student Greta Thunberg leads a school strike in Stockholm, 2018. Irish schools students demand immediate action on climate change during the "Global School Strike for Climate Action" march from St Stephen's Green to Leinster House in 2019. An array of climate activist groups surged in the slipstream of the global climate strikes, and now campaign on their own and together with it. The majority must mobilize and the global climate marches are one, high-profile, legitimate way to do it.

Persons: Paul Hockenos, ”, Paul Hockenos Hayyan, Greta Thunberg, Michael Campanella, Essien, ” They’ve, Stephen's Green, Artur Widak, — Organizations: CNN, Berlin CNN, Leinster House, Deal, Biden, Future, Entrepreneurs for Future, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Berlin, Europe, New Berlin, Stockholm, Sweden, Montana, Stephen's, Germany, California, Greece

☆ Carrie Mae Weems and George C. Wolfe on Defiance and Claiming Space
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Jenny Comita | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

George C. Wolfe can pinpoint the exact moment that sparked his career as a director and dramatist. “We were supposed to sing this song,” recalls Wolfe, 68. “Here was this monumental human being who changed history, and then history forgot him,” says Wolfe, himself a gay man, who has lived in New York City since 1979. Though contemporaries in adjacent disciplines, Wolfe and Weems had never had a real conversation before meeting on a steamy July day in a downtown Manhattan studio. Here, the two discuss their childhoods, art as activism and what they feel is still left to accomplish.

Persons: George C, Wolfe, “, ”, Tony Kushner’s, —, ’, he’s, Henrietta, Ma, “ Rustin, Barack, Michelle Obama’s, Bayard Rustin, Martin Luther King Jr, Rustin, Carrie Mae Weems, Julie Mehretu, Lyle Ashton Harris, Weems Organizations: Broadway, Public Theater, York Shakespeare, Netflix, Manhattan’s Guggenheim Museum, Tate Locations: Kentucky, America, York, Washington, New York City, Portland, Brooklyn, Syracuse, N.Y, London, Pergamon, Berlin —, Manhattan

☆ I left Germany and moved to the US for work. Here are the 5 things that shocked me the most about American culture.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Emma Brooke | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Emma Brooke moved from Berlin to New York City in 2022 after working throughout Europe and Japan. After a decade of working all over Europe and in Japan, I moved my job to New York City from Berlin in 2022. But in some ways, the differences have been just as hard to navigate as when I moved to Tokyo. Here are some of the biggest culture shocks I've encountered and how I survived them. Work-life balanceEurope's work culture is the stuff of legend — 30 days of vacation, two-hour lunches, and no emails after 5 p.m.

Persons: Emma Brooke, I've, —, Brooke, Emma Brooke In, I, It's, wasn't, Slack, I'd, Lauryn Haas Organizations: Service, lhaas Locations: Berlin, New York City, Europe, Japan, Wall, Silicon, Tokyo, New York, Emma Brooke In Paris, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Paris

☆ Opinion | Germany Is Learning a Lesson
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Anna Sauerbrey | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

For the first time in the postwar period, Germany is paying proper attention to the rest of the world. This starts with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has made a point of projecting Germany beyond its usual European boundaries. But the new reality, ushered in by the war in Ukraine, is challenging the country to go outside its comfort zone. Why, many asked, was Russia the prime focus of Germany’s indemnification efforts for post-Soviet states? Without access to Russian gas and in a profoundly changed global environment, Germany has begun to look for new partners, allies and markets.

Persons: BERLIN, It’s, Chancellor Olaf Scholz Locations: Germany, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Ugly Fight Over Climate Bill Exposes Cracks in German Coalition
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Erika Solomon | Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN — Germany’s coalition government was always an awkward trio of center-left Social Democrats, climate-conscious Greens and pro-business Free Democrats. Yet in the heady days after their election victory in 2021, the parties vowed to stick to a tradition of consensus-driven politics, keeping the drama behind closed doors. While the stakes would seem relatively minor, the level of vitriol has been anything but, reflecting a new era in which Germany’s once-staid politics have turned more fractious. No one is predicting a collapse of the coalition. But the public sparring has raised questions over how Germany will meet commitments to Europe’s climate goals — as well as Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ability to maintain effective stewardship of Europe’s most powerful economy.

☆ Discreetly, Berlin Confronts Russian Spies Hiding in Plain Sight
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Erika Solomon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN — Every day as he settles into his desk, Erhard Grundl, a German lawmaker, looks outside his office window into the embassy he knows may be spying on him. “I come into the office, and on a windy day, I see the Russian flag waving. It feels a bit like Psalm 23: ‘You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies,’” he said, chuckling. For years, a silent espionage struggle played out here along the city’s iconic Under den Linden avenue. Members of Parliament like Mr. Grundl were warned by intelligence offices to protect themselves — to turn computer screens away from the window, stop using wireless devices that were easier to tap, and close the window blinds for meetings.

☆ Germany Deems Branch of Far-Right Party an Extremist Group
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Erika Solomon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN — Germany’s domestic intelligence agency on Wednesday classified the youth wing of a prominent far right nationalist party as an extremist group that threatens the constitution, dealing another blow to an organization that has come under increasing scrutiny over concerns of radicalization. The spy agency reclassified the “Young Alternative” unit of the party after monitoring it for four years. The government also labeled two other far-right institutions as right wing extremists on Wednesday — the Institute for State Policy and the One Percent group. Once a group is classified as extremist, its members could lose employment opportunities in the public sector and the ability to obtain or maintain weapons licenses. Domestic intelligence services, who already had the groups under surveillance, will also more quickly receive authority to tap or surveil group members.

☆ Germany Names Panel to Investigate 1972 Attack at Munich Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Erika Solomon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN — Germany named an international panel of experts on Friday to review the 1972 Munich Olympics attack by Palestinian militants that killed 11 Israeli athletes, completing the last step in a deal with the victims’ families to assess and apologize for the failures of the German authorities to prevent the bloody assault. A panel of eight historians, made up largely of academics from Israel and Germany, as well as experts from the United States and United Kingdom, has been commissioned to create a “comprehensive scholarly account and assessment of the events,” Germany’s Interior Ministry said. In September 1972, a group of Palestinian militants called Black September broke into the Olympic Village for athletes in Munich, killed two Israeli athletes and kidnapped nine others. The kidnappers were seeking the release of more than 200 Palestinians held by Israel and two imprisoned German left-wing extremists. An attempt by the German police to rescue the hostages ended in a bloody shootout that led to the deaths of all 11 Israeli athletes being held hostage.

☆ Germany is overhauling its immigration rules to bolster a rapidly shrinking workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Currently, only people with EU passports, or those who have one parent from Germany, are eligible to hold German citizenship. Immigration reforms based on Canada's points system, meanwhile, will make it easier for skilled workers to enter the country without having professional qualifications recognized in Germany. A January survey showed that more than half of German companies are struggling to fill vacancies due to a lack of skilled workers. The number of people who can come and set up businesses will be huge and a huge benefit for the country. "The number of people who can come and set up businesses will be huge and a huge benefit for the country."

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