NEWS FROM BERLIN
Demo in Kreuzberg ends ahead of time
Hundreds of police officers accompanied demonstrations in Berlin on Sunday. A pro-Palestinian demonstration ended prematurely in the evening. The march, with around 3,500 participants, started in the afternoon at Kottbusser Tor and was originally supposed to head to Sonnenallee. However, the police refused access to the street due to concerns about rioting. The rally was ended at 6.18 pm because of“unruliness,” according to the police. Several people were arrested in an atmosphere described as “emotional.” In Mitte, many came together to grieve for the victims of 7 October: around 500 people demanded the release of the Israeli hostages. The demonstration via Unter den Linden ended in the afternoon without incident. Source: rbb24
Greta Thunberg at October 7 demonstration
A demo on Monday also ended as feared: scuffles with the police, arrests, bottles thrown and people injured. Around 400 people gathered at Südstern in Berlin on the evening of October 7 to officially demonstrate in “Solidarity with Palestine.” The demonstration, which took place on the first anniversary of the Hamas massacres in Israel, was advertised under the slogan “Glory to the resistance.” The most prominent participant was climate movement icon Greta Thunberg. The demonstration was called by the Trotskyist group Arbeiterinnenmacht as well as the Communist Organisation, the Alliance of Internationalist Feminists, Palestine Speaks, and Jewish Voices for a Just Peace in the Middle East, among others. Source: taz
Prosecution in Berlin seeks 12 years in Stasi murder trial
An 80-year-old from Leipzig who worked for East Germany’s secret police, Stasi, is accused of murdering a Polish man, Czesław Kukuczka, who was trying to flee west in 1974. Prosecutors called for a 12-year sentence in closing arguments. At the Polish Embassy in East Berlin, Kukuczka had threatened to be carrying a bomb, which it later transpired was a bluff. He was trying to flee to join relatives in the US. The trial only became possible with the emergence of new evidence. Prosecutors say information found by historians in the Stasi archives in 2016 first linked the defendant to the killing. A verdict is expected on October 14. Source: dw
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Federal government anticipates recession in Germany
The German government has revised its economic forecast downwards and now expects 2024 to be the second year of recession in a row. The Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs Robert Habeck (Greens) now assumes that the economy will shrink by 0.2% this year, as reported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Leading research institutes have already lowered their forecast for the German economy this year. In a recently published autumn report for the government, economists assume that GDP will fall by 0.1% in 2024, marking the second consecutive year of contraction. The official announcement of the current estimate is planned for next Wednesday. Source: tagesschau
“Key figure” in Cologne explosions arrested
Investigators believe that an arrested 22-year-old is a “key figure” in a suspected drug deal that was behind the series of explosions that have rocked Cologne and other places in recent months. The suspect was picked up at the Roissy Airport in Paris. The public prosecutor’s office in Cologne has initiated extradition proceedings and is in close contact with the French judicial authorities. The theft of a large quantity of cannabis from a warehouse in Hürth is believed to have triggered a spiral of violence in Cologne and several other places. Source: dw
FDP wants hardship for migrants
The FDP wants to push through a tougher course on migration policy. According to information from the German Press Agency, the parliamentary group’s executive committee decided on a nine-point paper. “There is now an opportunity for tangible changes in migration policy,” says the FDP paper. The nine-point paper specifically calls for an examination of “safe countries of origin,” which means that asylum applications from people from such countries can be rejected more easily than others. Coalition partner SPD reacted sceptically. The ongoing talks on the so-called security package must wait, said deputy parliamentary group leader Dirk Wiese to Die Welt. Source: taz
