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In 2022, Rheinmetall made some 60,000 to 70,000 rounds each of tank and artillery shells, according to Papperger, who said production could be boosted immediately. A few days before the meeting with the new defence minister, Papperger pushed for an increase of Germany's defence budget. "The 51 billion euros in the defence budget will not suffice to purchase everything that is needed. Even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Germany was 20 billion euros short of reaching NATO's target for ammunitions stockpiling, according to a defence source. To plug the munitions gap alone, Papperger estimates the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) would need to invest three to four billion euros per year.

"We have the ambition to become a profitable company in 2023," Laege said, adding the group had also secured long-term regasification capacity at the planned Hanseatic Energy Hub terminal in Stade, Germany. Laege said that Sefe, formerly called Gazprom Germania, was successful in sourcing LNG mainly from the United States, both short-term deals and for longer periods. The company, whose name is short for Securing Energy for Europe, had already unloaded a first cargo at Dunkirk, he said. However, next winter and beyond could be tight again if cold periods and a fast recovery of Asian LNG demand coincide. Reporting by Vera Eckert, Christoph Steitz, Tom Kaeckenhoff, editing by Kirsti Knolle and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

☆ Pro-Putin operatives in Germany work to turn Berlin against Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +17 min

Now the main Russian Cossack organisations are loyal to Putin, and they are fighting alongside Russia’s forces in Ukraine. He is regularly pictured on his and other social media pages at Cossack gatherings, often wearing Cossack military uniform. Felk has worked as a security guard and has run a logistics firm, according to posts on Felk’s OK social media account. Photos shared by Kharkovsky on social media show him and other participants standing in front of a Great Don Army flag. Eremenko confirmed to Reuters that he worked for Russian military intelligence, the GRU.

☆ Uniper says working with UAE's Masdar on hydrogen project
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Dec 22 (Reuters) - German utility Uniper (UN01.DE) on Thursday said it was involved in a project with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) clean energy company Masdar to produce green hydrogen, confirming a report on Bloomberg. A spokesperson for the Duesseldorf-based firm said Uniper is actively involved in large-scale hydrogen projects in the Middle East, with a view to exporting hydrogen to Europe and Asian markets. "The project in UAE with MASDAR has already seen impressive public support," the spokesperson said, adding Uniper declined to provide further detail at this stage. The Bloomberg report said that Masdar and Uniper will build a 1.3 gigawatt (GW) solar plant from which they expect to produce clean hydrogen via electrolysis from 2026, citing an interview with Masdar's executive director for clean energy, Mohammad Abdelqadar El Ramahi. ($1 = 0.9439 euros)Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Rachel More and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) was once Uniper's biggest supplier of gas, but a big drop in deliveries after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine forced the German gas importer to buy gas elsewhere at much higher prices to honour its contracts. Uniper's investors voted in favour of the two main measures at Monday's meeting, an 8 billion euro capital injection by the German state and allowing a further injection of up to 25 billion euros by Berlin. Maubach said Uniper currently had access to around 2.5 billion euros of funds. As part of the bailout, the German government will end up owning just below 99% of Uniper, Germany's largest gas trader, following two share issues. The loss of Russian gas, Moscow's retaliation for Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, triggered a 40 billion euro net loss for the importer, which provides around a third of Germany's gas, the largest loss in German corporate history.

☆ Back bailout or risk losing it all, Uniper boss tells shareholders
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Uniper SE FollowBERLIN, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The CEO of Uniper (UN01.DE) has asked shareholders to approve a planned bailout by Berlin that will cost more than 50 billion euros ($52.91 billion), warning that the stricken German gas trader will otherwise have to consider filing for insolvency. Gazprom was once its biggest supplier, but a big drop in deliveries after the Russia's invasion of Ukraine forced Uniper to buy gas elsewhere at much higher prices to meet existing contracts. "(The measures) are indispensable for this company’s future," Maubach is expected to say in a speech at Monday's shareholder meeting, the text of which was published on Uniper's website on Sunday. "If approval is not granted, we would have to review very critically the so-called going concern forecast for our company," he added. "In the Management Board’s view, a possible insolvency could lead to a complete loss for shareholders."

Uniper (UN01.DE) has already booked billions of euros of losses on derivatives, exacerbating a crisis as it rushed to plug the gap left after Russia turned off the taps. Like other energy firms, Uniper uses derivatives, such as securing an option to sell gas at a set price in the future, to guard against energy price swings. "In total, we have derivative positions of about 216 billion euros as of September 30 2022," a spokesperson for Uniper said, adding that the riskier part of this was small. According to its accounts, Uniper held around 198 billion euros of receivables from derivative instruments as assets. It is also more than the 131 billion euros Germany's RWE (RWEG.DE) had at the end of June, public data shows.

☆ Lawmakers tell Live Nation CEO they want answers on the Taylor Swift Ticketmaster fiasco
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Taylor Swift accepts an award onstage during the MTV Europe Music Awards 2022 held at PSD Bank Dome on November 13, 2022 in Duesseldorf, Germany. Lawmakers have some questions for Live Nation's CEO after Ticketmaster bungled the recent sale of Taylor Swift tour tickets. Ticketmaster was supposed to open up sales for 1.5 million verified Taylor Swift fans last month ahead of general public ticket sales. Ultimately, 2 million tickets were sold during the presale and the general public sale was canceled, company representatives said. Eras tour tickets were priced from $49 to $450, with VIP packages starting at $199 and reaching $899.

☆ Analysis: ‘Welcome to Chippendales’ strips down a true crime origin story
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

So in the coming weeks, we shall be switching things up and putting a little meat on the bone. Three things to watch‘Welcome to Chippendales’Kumail Nanjiani in a scene from Hulu's "Welcome to Chippendales." This new limited series, starring Kumail Nanjiani and Murray Bartlett, among others, also doubles as a true crime tale. Let me grab my dollar bills now, because the first two episodes of “Welcome to Chippendales” are streaming now. Grime is a British genre of hip-hop/electronic music, and Stormzy is one of its best-known stars.

☆ Live Nation, Ticketmaster may need breakup, some senators say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Taylor Swift poses on the red carpet for the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) at the PSD Bank Dome in Duesseldorf, Germany, November 13, 2022. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Ticketmaster and owner Live Nation Entertainment, the events ticketing giant behind the recently botched sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets, should be broken up by the Department of Justice if any misconduct is found in an ongoing investigation, Democratic senators said Monday. "This may be the only way to truly protect consumers, artists, and venue operators and to restore competition in the ticketing market." Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010 after a DOJ-brokered settlement that officials said would encourage competition and send ticket prices down. Instead, "across all genres and venues, Ticketmaster prices have more than tripled in the past 20 years," the senators wrote.

[1/3] Taylor Swift poses on the red carpet for the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) at the PSD Bank Dome in Duesseldorf, Germany, November 13, 2022. The company said it is working to shore up its technology "for the new bar that has been set by demand for the Taylor Swift's Eras Tour". Chaos around the Swift tour prompted calls for the U.S. government to break up the company. For those who did not get tickets to the Eras tour, Swift said her hope was to provide "more opportunities for us to all get together and sing these songs." She has promised hits from albums spanning her career on the Eras tour.

☆ Taylor Swift public ticket sale on Friday is canceled, Ticketmaster says. But the secondary market can be 'buyer beware'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Kevin Mazur | Wireimage | Getty ImagesDeals for hot tickets, you're virtually not going to find one. Why concert tickets are a 'buyer beware' marketSome Taylor Swift fans who bought seemingly legitimate tickets have already discovered they were duped. Buying tickets on the "secondary market" poses an elevated risk of fraud and/or exorbitant prices for consumers, entertainment-industry experts warned. "There are almost so many [secondary sellers] that you just can't keep up," Cobb said. Of course, this isn't to say secondary sellers are grifters in all circumstances.

☆ Friday's public ticket sale for Taylor Swift Eras Tour canceled after extreme demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Taylor Swift poses with her awards during the MTV Europe Music Awards 2022 held at PSD Bank Dome on November 13, 2022 in Duesseldorf, Germany. Tickets for Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour will no longer be put on sale Friday, after Ticketmaster said there is an insufficient ticket inventory to meet high demand. This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

☆ Taylor Swift tour ticket fiasco leads to calls for Ticketmaster and Live Nation to break up
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Taylor Swift accepts an award onstage during the MTV Europe Music Awards 2022 held at PSD Bank Dome on November 13, 2022 in Duesseldorf, Germany. Live Nation, which merged with Ticketmaster in 2010, has faced longstanding criticisms about its size and power in the entertainment industry. People amplified their complaints this week when tickets for Swift tickets went on presale on Ticketmaster's website. "Eras" tour tickets are priced from $49 to $450, with VIP packages starting at $199 and reaching $899. "The [Taylor Swift] portal is not going well for many Swifties," Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., wrote in a tweet Tuesday.

☆ Ticketmaster extends presale period for Taylor Swift 'Eras' tour to deal with 'unprecedented demand'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ticketmaster has extended presales for tickets to Swift's upcoming "Eras" tour after fans flocked to the site, causing site disruptions and slow queues. The ticket seller took to social media to update fans about the intermittent issues its site was currently facing. "There has been historically unprecedented demand with millions showing up to buy tickets for the TaylorSwiftTix Presale," the company said. "Eras" tour tickets are priced from $49 to $450, with VIP packages starting at $199 and reaching $899. Ticketmaster has rescheduled a number of ticket queues in order to deal with demand, including West Coast venues and Capital One onsale.

[1/2] Taylor Swift receives the award for the Best Longform Video during the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) at the PSD Bank Dome in Duesseldorf, Germany, November 13, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang RattayDUESSELDORF, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Taylor Swift walked away with four prizes at MTV's Europe Music Awards on Sunday, including best video for her 10-minute "All Too Well". Double-award winners included Nicki Minaj for best song and best hip-hop, and the French DJ and record producer David Guetta won the best electronic award and best collaboration. The U.S. pop singer Swift, wearing a dress of bejewelled mesh, won best artist, best pop, best video and best long form video. British pop star Harry Styles won in the "best live" category and the Thai-born Lalisa 'Lisa' Manoban won best K-pop.

Apart from generating and selling electricity, RWE also operates a large desk that trades in electricity, gas and CO2 certificates as well as other commodities, which can lead to bumper profits in times of significant price swings. "We have a very fundamental understanding of how markets work," Chief Financial Officer Michael Mueller told reporters on Thursday. Stifel Research, keeping a "buy" rating on RWE shares, said trading results were driven by so-called contango, where the futures price of a commodity is higher than spot levels. Nine-month adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to 4.1 billion euros ($4.1 billion), up from 2.4 billion a year earlier. Apart from the strong performance in trading, where profits were up 59%, results also benefited from higher electricity wholesale prices for gas and biomass, Mueller said.

[1/2] Logo of Uniper is pictured at the company's headquarters in Duesseldorf, Germany, September 21, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang RattayFRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Soon-to-be-nationalised gas importer Uniper (UN01.DE) unveiled a record 40 billion euro ($39.3 billion) net loss, among the biggest in German corporate history, reflecting expected future losses in the wake of Russia's move to stop supplies. Uniper said the net loss factored in 10 billion euros of realised losses the company incurred by replacing Russian gas volumes on the spot market at much higher prices as well as 31 billion euros of future losses related to this problem. "We are also working intensively to restructure our gas portfolio in order to minimise risks and to end by 2024 the losses resulting from suspended Russian gas deliveries," Tuomela said. Among the group's top priorities remains the planned exit from the Russian market, where it owns a 83.7% stake in Unipro (UPRO.MM), it said.

☆ Uniper shuts down 50% of headquarters to save gas
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Oct 24 (Reuters) - German utility Uniper is shutting half the office space in its headquarters and lowering temperatures in areas remaining open to save gas, it told Rheinische Post on Monday, as it struggles to stay afloat even after being nationalised. The company has switched off all devices and lamps in 50% of its office space in Duesseldorf, stopped cleaning and lowered the temperature to 14 degrees, the lowest it can be without damaging the building, the spokesperson told Rheinische Post. In offices where people are working, temperatures were being lowered to 20 degrees, the report said. The Rheinische Post report said E.ON (EON.UL) was also taking steps to reduce energy consumption in its buildings by at least 20% through measures like switching off lighting of logos and turning off hot water where possible. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Thousands protest in Germany demanding solidarity in energy relief
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Demonstrators take part in a protest to promote energy independence from Russia, amid skyrocketing energy prices, in Berlin, Germany, October 22, 2022. Police said about 1,800 protesters gathered in Berlin. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"We want to show that we urgently need financial relief for citizens that is socially balanced. Germany's parliament on Friday approved the government's 200 billion euro ($195 billion) rescue package which aims to protect companies and households from the impact of soaring energy prices. German inflation in September hit its highest level in more than a quarter of a century at 10.9%, driven up by higher energy costs.

☆ Eurowings pilots begin strike over workload
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Pilots at Lufthansa's (LHAG.DE) Eurowings began a three-day strike on Monday over working hours, their union said, confirming action that could affect thousands of the budget airline's passengers. And so far there is no new offer," sais a spokesperson for the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots' union. The union wants the carrier to ease pilot workloads through measures such as increased rest periods, but Eurowings warned over the weekend that the demands put jobs at risk. It expects to cancel a similar number of flights on Tuesday and Wednesday. The walkout is due to end at 11.59 pm local time (2159 GMT) on Wednesday.

☆ Rocketing energy costs are savaging German industry
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“We don’t need a crystal ball to see a further weakening of German industry in the coming months. The full impact of higher energy prices will only be felt in the last months of the year,” he said. Energy prices started rising last fall, and then shot even higher when Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, sparking an energy standoff between Europe and Moscow. Energy costs at Prysmian’s six German factories are expected to soar to €20 million ($20 million) this year from just €5 million ($5 million) in 2021. “German industry, the so-called ‘Mittlestand’, the small and medium [sized] companies, are quite resilient and adaptable,” he said.

☆ Germany's largest landlord maintains right to evict even as energy bills explode
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The new headquarters of German real estate company Vonovia is pictured in Bochum, Germany, April 24, 2018. Vonovia Chief Executive Rolf Buch has said that he expects rising energy prices to cost tenants up to two months' rental fees per year. "If a tenant has problems and contacts us, we will find a solution," said Buch, adding that Vonovia supported an eviction moratorium that is under discussion. Vonovia, Germany's largest residential landlord with around 490,000 apartments, has 55% of its heating system supplied by gas. The company said in July that it would reduce heating in many of its apartments at night to save gas.

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