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☆ Aldi is turning off lights in its UK stores to try to save customers money
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Aldi UK will be turning off lights across all of its store locations this month. The move follows a trial earlier this year, in which the discount retailer tried turning off some lights in four stores, according to The Telegraph. Initially founded in West Germany, Aldi has since expanded outside of its founding country to the tune of more than 12,000 stores across the US, UK, France, and Australia. Cutting down on energy costs is not exactly new in Europe, as energy prices have risen due to the war in Ukraine. Update: June 13, 2023 — This story was updated to clarify the lights aren't being turned off in Aldi's US stores.

Persons: — Organizations: Aldi, Service, . Discount, Telegraph, The Telegraph, Aldi UK, European Central Bank Locations: West Germany, France, Australia, Europe, Ukraine, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Denmark

☆ Aldi is turning off lights in its stores to try to save customers money
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Aldi will be turning off lights across all of its store locations this month. The move follows a trial earlier this year, in which the discount retailer tried turning off some lights in four stores, according to The Telegraph. Initially founded in West Germany, Aldi has since expanded outside of its founding country to the tune of more than 12,000 stores across the US, UK, France, and Australia. Cutting down on energy costs is not exactly new in Europe, as energy prices have risen due to the war in Ukraine. Around 800 bakeries in Germany went dark in September 2022, while still serving customers, to protest rising power cost.

Persons: — Organizations: Aldi, Service, Telegraph, The Telegraph, European Central Bank Locations: West Germany, France, Australia, Europe, Ukraine, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Denmark

☆ Vladimir Putin was never the Soviet super spy he'd like us to believe. He was merely a KGB 'errand boy,' report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been portrayed as an elite KGB intelligence officer in the 1980s. But a new report from Der Spiegel suggests he was never the super spy he was thought to be. Horst Jehmlich, a former Stasi officer who also worked in Dresden, told Der Spiegel that Putin was nothing more than an "errand boy." Putin worked for the KGB, the Soviet Union's intelligence service, for nearly two decades. Officially he retired from active KGB service with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Der Spiegel, —, Spiegel, Der, Putin, Horst Jehmlich, Oleg Kalugin Organizations: Service, Red Army, Dresden University, KGB, RFE Locations: Soviet, West Germany, Dresden, East Germany, Germany, Russia

☆ Japan Is America’s Most Essential Ally - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Jennifer Lind | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ever since World War II ended, Japan has been passing the buck. Sheltered by the postwar U.S. security alliance, Japan provided bases for American forces but kept its own military spending remarkably low for a country of its size and wealth, resisting American urging to share more of the burden. But Japan is the linchpin of today’s paramount geopolitical competition — China’s push for regional dominance of East Asia — and it is America’s most essential ally. for decades), and a Japanese public still traumatized by defeat in World War II. It also reassured Asian nations that Japan would not again embark on overseas aggression.

☆ Ukraine's Zelenskyy thanks Germany for support in visit to Berlin
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (left) says goodbye to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (right), as he departs the Bellevue Palace on May 14, 2023, in Berlin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Germany for its support as he met with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday in his first visit to the country since Russia's invasion. Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin from Rome, where he met separately on Saturday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis. Zelenskyy last visited Germany for the Munich Security Council in February last year just before the war broke out. Germany was constrained in its support for Ukraine at that time both by its energy dependence on Russia and a pacifism rooted in its bloody 20th century history.

BERLIN, May 14 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Germany for its support as he met with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday in his first visit to the country since Russia's invasion. Zelenskiy arrived in Berlin from Rome, where he met separately on Saturday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis. "In the most challenging time in the modern history of Ukraine, Germany proud to be our true friend and reliable ally," Zelenskiy wrote in the guest book of the German presidency. Zelenskiy last visited Germany for the Munich Security Council in February last year just before the war broke out. Germany was constrained in its support for Ukraine at that time both by its energy dependence on Russia and a pacifism rooted in its bloody 20th century history.

☆ Weird and wonderful trains that break the rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Ben Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Here’s a selection of unusual railways that break the rules in order to reach the places other trains can’t roll. The single rails carrying the trains are supported by a series of 486 steel portals weighing almost 20,000 tonnes in total. It is the oldest continuously operating pier railway in the world. Six miles of the route are along a rural railway line, with the rest in bus mode. Katoomba Scenic Railway, AustraliaNot far from the wonderful city of Sydney is a railway experience unlike anything else in the world.

☆ Factbox: Jehovah's Witnesses: some facts about their history and community in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, March 10 (Reuters) - Here are some facts about the Jehovah's Witnesses and their community in Germany, shaken by a mass shooting at a Jehovah's Witness hall in Hamburg on Thursday. - The first German branch was founded in 1902 in Elberfeld in west Germany - before the "Watch Tower Society" was renamed Jehovah's Witnesses. - Jehovah's Witnesses have struggled to have their beliefs and practices accepted in some parts of the world. - Jehovah's Witnesses were persecuted in Nazi Germany for their refusal to swear allegiance to the Nazi regime or join the military. On Dec. 25, 2022, a couple attempted arson with explosives at a Jehovah's Witness' Kingdom Hall in Thornton in the U.S. state of Colorado.

☆ Putin's KGB past is key to grasping what he might do next in his failing Ukraine war, ex-spies say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Putin's time in the KGB helps explain his worldview and brutal approach to warfare, ex-spies say. As Western intelligence agencies vie to stay two steps ahead of the Russian leader and get inside his head, peering into Putin's KGB past may offer clues on what he's thinking. "Putin's KGB background tells us a lot about how he thinks and how he sees the war. He is a creation of the KGB, and the KGB was a terrorist organization," John Sipher, a former CIA officer who served in Russia, told Insider. The Ukraine war has seen Putin and his propagandists make a series of assertions — ranging from plausible to preposterous — to justify Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Even a weak Russia is a problem for Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

TINOS, Greece, Feb 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Almost a year after Russia invaded Ukraine it is hard to see Vladimir Putin winning his war. After all, that would involve either Ukraine surrendering land, which it cannot accept, or Russia giving up all the territory it has occupied including Crimea, which Putin won’t do. Radoslaw Sikorski, a former Polish foreign minister who is now a member of the European Parliament, says Russia only reforms itself after military defeats like the Crimean War, the Russo-Japanese War, World War One and the Cold War. Europe, which was late to appreciate the danger posed by Putin, won’t quickly forget the lesson even if he goes. Yet even a Russia weakened by a year of war and sanctions remains a problem for Europe.

☆ East Germany's last Communist premier dies aged 95
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz/File PhotoBERLIN, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Hans Modrow, who as the last Communist prime minister of East Germany oversaw democratic reforms that opened the way to German reunification, has died at age 95, Germany's hard-left Die Linke party said on Saturday. With this, our party loses an important personality," the party, successor to the East German Communist Party, said in a statement. Modrow saw himself as a reformer who had wanted to change the communist party from the inside and make it more democratic. He also served in the East German parliament for more than three decades. Modrow became East Germany's de facto leader after Egon Krenz resigned as SED leader on Dec. 5, 1990, leaving Modrow holding the highest state post.

☆ Soccer-In year of drama, World Cup shines spotlight on growth in the sport
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Manasi Pathak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Dec 20 (Reuters) - Lionel Messi's World Cup fairytale lit up the year in soccer as heroics and heartbreak at the finals captivated fans and highlighted the growth of the world's most popular sport despite the criticism of host country Qatar's human rights record. With matches played in air-conditioned stadiums to cope with the heat of the desert state and no beer on tap in stadiums, spectators experienced a World Cup like never before. Playing in a fifth World Cup for Argentina, the incomparable Messi once again left everyone in awe of his magical powers on the field as he smashed records and delivered on the hopes of a nation, bringing the World Cup home after 36 years. The South American giants were handed a shock defeat by Saudi Arabia in their first group game, which statisticians Gracenote credited as the biggest upset in World Cup history. With every continent represented in the World Cup last 16, the most diverse knockout stage in the tournament's history was evidence of the sport's expanding reach.

☆ France's Mbappe second player to score a hat-trick in World Cup final
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Rohith Nair | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LUSAIL, Qatar, Dec 18 (Reuters) - France forward Kylian Mbappe became the second player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final as he dragged his team back from the brink of defeat against Argentina in extra time on Sunday, leaving both teams tied at 3-3 before going to penalties. England's Geoff Hurst was the first player to score three goals in a final when they beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time in 1966. Reporting by Rohith Nair in Lusail, Qatar; Editing by Andrew CawthorneOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ France's Deschamps on cusp of World Cup history but happy to shun limelight
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Rohith Nair | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Of course, I'm proud and we all know there's a chance now to defend our title in the final," Deschamps said. Having captained France's 'golden generation' that won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship, the 54-year-old has now nurtured another golden generation over the past decade. "He's just an amazing manager and he's so humble... For me he's the greatest French manager by miles!" ADAPTABILITYWhat has made Deschamps successful in tournaments, especially at the World Cup since 2018, is not sticking to a particular identity or philosophy which is often the defining feature of big teams. "Didier Deschamps has shown he's the best head coach in the world in the last 10 years."

☆ Morocco rewrite Africa's World Cup history
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Mark Gleeson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Cameroon upset holders Argentina in the opening match of the 1990 World Cup in Italy and went on to the quarter-finals while Senegal did the same to France when they began the defence of their title in 2002. Of the 160 matches played by African sides at the World Cup, only 37 have been won for a success rate below 25%. Most of Africa was still under colonial rule when the World Cup resumed after the Second World War but as countries gained independence, so CAF membership increased and Africa began to flex some muscle. HANDBALLThat achievement held out the promise that Africa would not take long to produce a World Cup winner, but only Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010 were able to make the last eight. It got even worse in Russia in 2018 when no African teams made it to the last 16, sparking serious reflection about the direction of the game on the continent.

☆ Giroud earns France win over England as Kane misses late penalty
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Mitch Phillips | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"It's extraordinary, we worked a lot in defence and in the end we managed to threaten," 36-year-old Giroud said. "We knew the potential of this young England team. England played with purpose for long periods and after Kane brought them level from the spot early in the second half they looked the more likely winners. "You've got to give credit to France, they're a good team, but I think I felt it was there for us to win tonight." "We played a superb England team who are strong technically and physically.

☆ Argentina had toughest route to World Cup final in 1990 - Gracenote study
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

But France did have the second-most difficult route in 2006 (8%), followed by West Germany in 1986 (11%), with both teams losing in the final. "Argentina (2014) and Croatia (2018) were the only runners-up with a more favourable route to the World Cup final than their opponents (Germany and France respectively). In both cases, they were the underdogs in the final," Gracenote said. "According to Gracenote, Argentina (1986) are the only underdogs in the last nine World Cup finals to go home with the trophy and their chance of 49% to win was the highest of those nine underdogs." Morocco have already won one game in Qatar as underdogs in the last 16 when they beat Spain on penalties.

☆ Why are there so many shock results at this World Cup?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

We’ve seen plenty of World Cup shocks over the years, but this year’s edition has seen more than most. Lionel Hahn/Getty ImagesA World Cup like no otherThis World Cup is a first for many reasons. The World Cup’s natureGiven the nature of the World Cup – teams thrown together in a tournament setting from across the globe – fans often see clashes which they’re not accustomed to. This concoction has, over the 90 years of the World Cup, regularly led to shock results. From the US beating England in 1950 and North Korea upsetting Italy in 1966 to Senegal beating defending champion France in 2002 and Algeria – in its World Cup debut – beating West Germany in 1982, World Cup history is littered with surprises.

☆ German architect von Gerkan, who designed Berlin airport, dies at 87
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Meinhard von Gerkan, one of Germany's most famous architects who designed Berlin's Tegel Airport and the capital's main railway station, has died at age 87, his office said on Thursday. A year after graduating from his architecture studies in 1964, von Gerkan founded a partnership with Volkwin Marg, which survives under the name "von Gerkan, Marg und Partner" (gmp). Von Gerkan also designed Berlin's main railway station, which is near the chancellery and within sight of the Reichstag parliament's glass cupola, though he fell out with rail operator Deutsche Bahn, which he said mutilated his design. Von Gerkan said Deutsche Bahn had made the underground hall look like a supermarket when it should have been an undulating, cathedral-like space. In 2008, Bahn and von Gerkan settled their dispute, with the rail operator paying an undisclosed sum to a foundation set up by the architect's office.

☆ Germans spending less as soaring power, food costs gnaw finances
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Mathis Richtmann | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

REUTERS/Thomas PeterSummary Germans consuming less as inflation bitesMore worried about personal finances than FrenchState support arriving, but will it work? But this year he took the dish off the menu because rising costs all along the supply chain would have doubled its price compared to last year. That would be beyond the budgets of Germans looking to cut back on non-essentials amid a cost of living crisis fuelled by rising energy prices. At some point in 2023, he and hundreds of thousands of others will receive a bill for his 2022 heating to recover additional costs from rising prices. Discount retailer Primark said in November it was looking to reduce its presence in Germany as it grappled with weak sales and rising costs.

☆ How the Brazil side of the 1982 World Cup became one of the most beloved in history
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

He was also captain of the Brazil team at the 1982 World Cup, long before cable television and streaming made every football match and player compilation readily available. Socrates in action vs. Argentina during 1982 World Cup. Despite losing to host Uruguay in the Gold Cup final, Brazil beat West Germany – one of the favorites for the 1982 World Cup and eventual losing finalist – 4-1 in the group stages. So, it all came down to Brazil vs. Italy on July 5 for a place in the 1982 World Cup semifinal. Melchert/picture alliance/Getty ImagesMacpherson described the result as “a huge anti-climax” for the neutrals watching at the World Cup.

☆ Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal: 'I'm waiting for someone to wake me up,' says Saudi sports minister after remarkable win over Argentina
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Zeena Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A day after Saudi Arabia’s historic win against Argentina at the Qatar World Cup, the Kingdom’s sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal says he’s “waiting for someone to wake me up.”“It’s been an unbelievable result. Saudi Arabia's victory is the most famous in the Arab world, alongside Algeria's victory over West Germany in 1982. People that don’t know Saudi Arabia, have never been to Saudi Arabia, go out and talk about it as if they’ve lived there for 30 years, 40 years. In honor of the team’s historic win, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ordered a national public holiday for a day on Wednesday. Asked if Saudi Arabia would put in a bid, similar to its takeover of Newcastle United last year, Prince Abdulaziz didn’t confirm nor deny.

☆ Wounded Argentina must put Saudi trauma behind them
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Andrew Cawthorne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Nov 22, 2022; Lusail, Qatar; Argentina forward Lionel Messi (10) plays the ball against Saudi Arabia during a group stage match during the 2022 World Cup at Lusail Stadium. Yet he and his disconsolate team might take heart from 32 years ago when Argentina began the World Cup in Italy with a shock loss to Cameroon but still went on to reach the final. Of course," said former Argentina defender Pablo Zabaleta, citing the 1990 run, although the South Americans were to lose that final to West Germany. 'DO IT FOR MESSI, MARADONA'Coach Lionel Scaloni sent out the same signal. Scaloni must quickly reinstill the meanness and steel that had served Argentina so well on their remarkable unbeaten run since mid-2019.

☆ Saudi Arabia’s victory over Argentina is the greatest upset in World Cup history, says data company
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Alasdair Howorth | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

According to sports data group Gracenote, Argentina’s 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia in their Group C match is the biggest upset in World Cup history. All the pre-match talk focused on Messi, one of the world’s greatest ever players who is likely playing his last World Cup. According to Gracenote, the previous most surprising World Cup win was USA’s victory against England in 1950, in which the American team had a 9.5% chance of victory. David Cannon/Getty ImagesDiego Maradona had taken the world by storm at the 1986 World Cup, delivering a succession of spectacular individual performances as Argentina claimed its secondd title. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesAhead of the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, football had been fully professional in England for decades, though this was the English team’s first appearance at a World Cup having chosen not to appear in the previous three tournaments.

☆ Saudi Arabia win is statistically biggest World Cup shock, say Gracenote
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Mitch Phillips | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Appearing for the first time, England were favourites to win the 1950 World Cup in Brazil while the Americans were a semi-professional squad. England, featuring future World Cup winning manager Alf Ramsey in defence, dominated but lost to Joey Gaetjens' first-half header. It would be another 44 years before the U.S. would win another match at the World Cup. A Czech team who had reached the 2004 European Championship final were expected to go deep in the World Cup and opened with a 3-0 demolition of the United States, while Ghana, making their World Cup debut, had already lost to Italy. Wales did not appear in the World Cup again until Monday's 1-1 draw with the United States.

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