NEWS FROM BERLIN

1,200 cases of Monkeypox in Berlin

The risk of contracting so-called monkeypox is particularly high in Europe and has prompted the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency of international scope. With more than 1,200 cases, Berlin is the lone frontrunner in Germany – about half of all infections in Germany were registered in the capital. When the first cases became known in the country, the warnings were mainly directed at men who have sexual intercourse with other men. But the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) emphasizes the risk is not limited to this group but refers in general to people whose sexual partners change often. Source: morgenpost

Lederer demands new Corona rules from the federal government

Berlin’s culture senator Klaus Lederer (“die Linke”) calls for new Corona rules for Autumn and Winter. Lederer hopes that cultural institutions will not have to close completely again. He can also imagine an extensive extension of the nine-euro ticket. The politician also commented on the possible energy shortage in Winter. He said that here, too, it was important to hear from the federal government what was being planned. In his opinion, a gas price cap was conceivable. Massive support measures would probably be necessary in all areas. The state of Berlin might have to take out additional loans or pass a supplementary budget. Source: rbb

Square in Kreuzberg to be named after left wing musician

The musician Rio Reiser (“König von Deutschland”, “Alles Lüge”), who died almost 26 years ago, will have a square named after him in the heart of SO 36, as the district is also called by many after the old postal delivery area 1000 Berlin 36. The plans of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg´s office were published in the official gazette in April last year. The decision was controversial, for example because the notoriously male-heavy list of streets and squares is already short of women’s names. The district also expects Minister of Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) to attend the inauguration ceremony on 21 August. Source: Berlin.de

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Gas shortage and planned protests

In July, the AfD parliamentary group leader in the House of Representatives, Kristin Brinker, already demanded “direct aid for electricity and heating costs for citizens”. It is certainly not an easy time. After two years of COVID-19, other issues such as Ukraine, inflation, among others, could be taken up in protests in autumn at the latest “especially from the right-wing extremist and Reichsbürger scene”. Recent surveys by the Insa polling institute made it clear the energy issue could tempt even more people to protest. The far-right “Free Saxons” are already calling for a “wave of energy protests” in the Free State. Source: Berliner Zeitung

Lower Saxony: coal returning to electricity market?

The first reserve coal-fired power plant in Germany has returned to the electricity market. It is the Mehrum power plant in Hohenhameln (Peine district) in Lower Saxony, between Hanover and Braunschweig, which belongs to the Czech energy company EPH. It is the only “market return” of a power plant that has been reported to the Federal Network Agency so far. According to the operator, the Mehrum power plant has been in reserve since the beginning of December 2021. The power plant has been back on the grid since Sunday noon, and it will now be in operation for at least 14 days to stabilise the grid. Source: jW

Lufthansa pilots ready to strike

A strike by pilots at Germany’s largest airline is moving another step closer. Just recently, ground staff paralysed Lufthansa for a whole day. In a ballot, the voting members of the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union voted in favour of industrial action with a very clear majority: 97.6 per cent of Lufthansa pilots and 99.3 per cent of Lufthansa Cargo pilots voted in favour of industrial action, as a union spokesman explained. According to the union, the turnout was over 93 per cent in both flight operations. However, no motion for strike action has been filed, so far. Source: DW

Important medicines are missing in Germany

The Arcaden pharmacy in a shopping centre in Berlin is busy as usual, but some of its medicines are not available. This is not an isolated case: the supply bottlenecks affect the whole of Germany. The Federal Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers mentions that, beyond this, other explanations are given such as “delivery delays by various active ingredient manufacturers”. Probably the most important reason, however, is a financial one. Some medicines, such as painkillers for children, are not profitable enough. But other drugs, as the breast cancer drug Tamoxifen, were not available at the beginning of the year. According to the industry, this was also because of its costs. Source: DW

Dream of violent overthrow

Marvin E., who is being led in handcuffs into Room II of the court building in Frankfurt am Main on Tuesday, is a linnet. Small, inconspicuous, and looking much younger than the 20-year-old he is. But he is alleged to have been willing to murder to spark a “race and civil war” for “white supremacy” in the world. This is what the indictment says. The man, who was still running on the list of the local CDU in the Hessian local elections in spring 2021, built at least 15 large explosive devices, intended to use them for attacks in line with the DWS ideology. Source: nd

Left wing Internet platform cleared of accusations of criminality

The public prosecutor office in Karlsruhe has dropped preliminary proceedings for the formation of a criminal organisation against alleged operators of the internet platform “Indymedia linksunten”. According to a post by Antifa Freiburg, the decision was made last week due to lack of evidence. To justify the classification of the platform as a criminal organization, the Federal Ministry of the Interior insinuated in 2017 that the independent internet platform was pursuing purposes contrary to criminal law and was therefore anti-constitutional. This was shortly before the federal election and after the protests against the Hamburg G20 summit. Source: jW

NEWS FROM BERLIN

Rising rents in Berlin, 150 years ago

Complaining against rising rents is something well-known in Berlin. In 1872, the city was going through another episode of its more or less permanent housing crisis. Berlin had just become the capital of the German Empire, and the year before, 130,000 people moved to the city. Families lived with up to ten people in a single room, and unhoused Berliners set up shacks outside the city gates. Then came the Blumenstraßenkrawalle (Flower Street Riots), in Friedrichshain, where workers laid barricades across the cobblestone streets to stop police horses. What strikes most in this story is how recent it sounds. Source; ExBerliner

CSD: employee with Nazi tattoo?

Stewards with neo-Nazi tattoos were apparently hired for the Christopher Street Day (CSD) parade last Saturday. A tattoo of the Black Sun, which is considered an alternative for the banned swastika, could be seen on the forearm of a steward. Various Instagram and Twitter posts also show photos of the steward in question wearing the Black Sun on his forearm. He is said to have been on the road for a security company. He is not said to have been the only one. The Gay Advice Berlin and the association Bunte Vielfalt e. V., the operators of the two affected trucks, also expressed shock. Source: Berliner Zeitung

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Charge of “Proximity to BDS”

The journalist Emily Dische-Becker has been accused of being close to anti-Semites. But no-one has explained exactly what her guilt is supposed to consist of. She has been criticised, among other things, for a video in which she prepares documenta guides for discussions on the topic of anti-Semitism; she is criticised for organising the conference “Hijacking Memory”, which had as its theme exactly what is happening now: right-wing propaganda instrumentalizing the accusation of anti-Semitism; she is criticised for a great deal, especially when one considers that she has no institutional role whatsoever – this is someone being singled out, entirely in media troll fashion. Source: taz

The trees of Buchenwald

266,000 people from all European countries were imprisoned in Buchenwald concentration camp, and the death toll is estimated at around 56,000. Recent attacks on the memorial are an international affront. Trees planted on the site of one of the largest and most notorious Nazi camps have been sawed or broken off by neo-Nazi cowards at night, including a tree for the murdered Buchenwald children. It is not “only” trees that have been defaced by the perpetrators. And this just in the days when the construction of the camp had begun 85 years ago. These attacks are not stupid boy pranks. This is political vandalism. Source: nd

Nord Stream: Concern about gas from the East

Gas is flowing again through the most important gas pipeline to Germany. But it is just as little as before the maintenance work: only 40 percent of normal capacity. Whether it will stay that way is unclear. A statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin shows where Nord Stream 1 could be heading: due to “slow progress in maintenance”, the delivery volume could be further reduced, he said during his visit to Tehran. Since private households, social institutions and consumers of district heating are protected by law, it is mainly industry that would be affected by a supply stop. Source: dw

Flat rate should stay

The 9-Euro-Ticket needs to continue until the end of the year, says a broad-based initiative which has launched an appeal to put pressure on the federal government. In addition to extending the flat rate, the initiative “9-Euro-Ticket weiterfahren” demands more investment in the expansion of public transport as well as in more staff and better working conditions. Signatures are to be collected at stops, in regional trains and on the internet. The initiative is also planning a nationwide day of action on 27 August. The 9-Euro project ends on the following Wednesday. The appeal is supported by poverty researcher Christoph Butterwegge, and activist Carola Rackete, among others. Source: taz

NEWS FROM BERLIN

Increased number of homophobic and transphobic offences

The Tagesspiegel reports that there were more homophobic and transphobic offences last year than in a long time. There were 645 cases of so-called hate crimes based on sexual identity or orientation. 64 suspects were sentenced. Most cases involved personal injury, insults and incitement. This Saturday, half a million people are expected to take part in the CSD parade and 43 other events in Berlin. Source: Berliner Zeitung

NEWS FROM GERMANY

AbL advises farmers to distance themselves from right-wing agitation

For weeks, farmers in the Netherlands have been protesting against drastic tightening of environmental regulations by the government. A third of the farms fear they will go out of business. In Germany, too, there is support for these actions in many places. Moreover, according to Georg Janßen, national director of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft (AbL) e.V., right-wing populist parties and extreme right-wing organisations are already trying to hijack the protest movements and unhinge democracy at the same time. Nevertheless, in his opinion, “mere defensive struggles” are not enough. Farmers should act more proactively towards politicians and civil society. Source: Wochenblatt

Federal government expects five floating liquefied natural gas terminals

The German government is pushing ahead with the construction of liquefied natural gas terminals on the German coast. In addition to the floating terminals in Brunsbüttel and Wilhelmshaven, two more are to be built in Stade and Lubmin, the Ministry of Economics announced. An additional, privately financed terminal is to be built in Lubmin. The floating terminals are essentially liquefied gas tankers, but they can return the fuel to its gas state themselves. This means that no complete port is needed, but primarily only a connection from the ship to the pipeline on land. The government has rented a total of four of those special ships. Source: jW

Bayern and the digitalisation of state

The CSU and the Free Voters are giving to Bavaria its “first digital law”. It is supposed to comprehensively regulate the digitalisation of state, economy and society. The question is if this will become a model for the entire republic. It seems Even the traffic-light-coalition shows no objections to the basic idea. Up to now, digitisation in this country has been regulated, if at all, in many individual laws that are hard to keep track of. The agenda for the bill covers 15 areas, which sounds self-evident in the year 2022. Source: süddeutsche

Climate crisis costs 6.6 billion euros annually

Man-made climate change has caused damages averaging 6.6 billion euros every year in Germany since 2000. This is the conclusion of a project commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection on the costs of climate change impacts in Germany. According to the study, heat, drought, and floods caused by the climate crisis will have cost at least 145 billion euros by 2021. The two heat summers in 2018 and 2019 alone, as well as the floods in 2021, would have cost more than 80 billion euros. Besides, some of the costs cannot even be quantified. Source; tagesschau

Airlines profit from deportations

In 2021, the federal government commissioned 206 mass deportations via charter flights with the support of the EU border agency Frontex. The costs amounted to 21 million euros. The federal government has not revealed which airlines earned money from this, saying that rhe companies should not be “exposed to public criticism”. One possible consequence would be that no airline would accept the deportation orders any more. Deportation Alarm, a working group of the No Border Assembly initiative, took it into its own hands to out the airlines responsible. This will be published on the website www.deportationalarm.com. Source: nd

NEWS FROM BERLIN

New blockades cause traffic jams in Berlin

Demonstrators calling for more climate protection blocked several exits of the A 100 city motorway in Berlin again on last Tuesday. According to the police, groups of around seven to ten people blocked the exits at a time. There was a traffic jam on the motorway during rush hour. Only on Monday, there happened brief blockades of motorway exits at numerous locations. The initiative Letzte Generation (Last Generation) plans daily interruptions of road traffic in Berlin in the future – until Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) credibly declares that there will be no oil drilling in the North Sea. Source: rbb.

Population figures in Berlin and Brandenburg rise again

The number of residents in Berlin and Brandenburg rose last year compared to 2020. At the end of 2021, around 13,400 more people lived in the federal capital than a year earlier – a total of around 3.68 million people. In Brandenburg, there was an increase of around 6,800 inhabitants, with a total of around 2.54 million people living in the federal state, as the Federal Statistical Office averaged on Monday. Berlin thus recorded a plus of 0.4 per cent and, together with Schleswig-Holstein, had the highest increase in Germany. In absolute numbers, however, the population in Bavaria increased the most. Source: rbb.

Massive criticism of Giffey’s prestige project

The “Alliance for New Housing Construction and Affordable Housing”, an agreement between the Senate, districts, real estate groups, cooperatives, state-owned housing companies and others was signed on Monday afternoon in Berlin’s “Rotes Rathaus”. However, some stakeholders have not signed. Among them, the Berlin Tenants’ Association, which has withdrawn from the staging shortly before the signing because, among other things, it felt the agreement lacked “binding statements with broad impact” on tenant protection. The German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB) and the IG BAU union also refused to join the alliance. Asked about the critics, Franziska Giffey (SPD) answered: “For me, the glass is half full, always”. Source: nd.

NEWS FROM GERMANY

 “Germany as a leading power”

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil calls for more of Germany’s influence in the EU. “Germany must claim to be a leading power. After almost 80 years of restraint, Germany now has a new role in the international system of coordinates,” he said on last Wednesday at the event “Zeitenwende – der Beginn einer neuen Ära” of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) also emphasized: “We must think beyond Nato”. Besides, the representation of large states like Germany and smaller countries, which are favoured in the EU Parliament, has long been contested, too. For instance, Germany did not receive any vacant seats in the EU Parliament after Brexit. Source: taz.

Against hate on the net

Police officers in 15 federal states searched the homes of 75 suspects accused of hate speech on the internet on last Monday. A total of 150 suspects are being investigated in 172 cases of criminally relevant statements, Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Minister Roger Lewentz (SPD) said in Mainz, “When words are used like weapons, consistent state action is required.” The investigation is being conducted by the “Hate Speech” investigation group at the Rhineland-Palatinate LKA, which was set up after the killing of two police officers on 31 January in the West Palatinate district of Kusel. Source: Augsburger Allgemeine.

Palestinian author disinvited

The Palestinian human rights activist, writer and journalist Mohammed El-Kurd was supposed to speak at Kampnagel in Hamburg this week. “Beyond the Lone Offender – Dynamics of the Global Right” was the title of the forum, hosted by the Goethe-Institut. But the Institut disinvited him from the event. The reason: “He had repeatedly expressed himself in social media posts about Israel in a form that the Goethe-Institut does not find acceptable.” Mohammed El-Kurd was considered by Time magazine one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021. Other participants have shown solidarity. Source: nd.