NEWS FROM BERLIN
Charges against Berlin politician Kalayci
Charges have been brought against former Berlin health senator Dilek Kalayci (SPD). The Berlin public prosecutor’s office has accused the politician of bribery. She has emphatically rejected the accusations levelled against her. According to the investigation, Kalayci and a man from an advertising agency allegedly agreed in spring 2019 that the agency would take over the planning and organisation of Kalayci’s wedding, the costs of which (12,000 euros) were never invoiced. This same firm later received a contract for 270 thousand euros for a campaign for the health ministry. However, as explained by her lawyer, the politician ‘assumed that the advertising agency’s services had been properly invoiced and paid for in full.’ Source: t-online
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Far-right demo broken up near Leipzig Pride event
Neo-Nazis and far-right extremists staged a demonstration in the vacinity of a Pride event in Leipzig last Saturday. Police said around 300-400 people took part in the rally. These supporters of extreme right wing politics gathered at the city’s main railway station under the banner: “Proud, German, National.” Several crimes and violations of Germany’s assembly law were reported by Saxony’s police on X. Several hundred participants were detained temporarily. Earlier this month, nearly 700 far-right protesters arranged a march during a Pride rally in Bautzen, again in Saxony, sparking a large police presence. Source: dw
Four airports in Germany blocked by climate activists
“Letzte Generation” climate activists demonstrated at several German airports last week. The Cologne/Bonn airport announced that it was suspending flights after an “unauthorized intrusion.” Police has reported that a hole had been cut in the perimeter fence. Later that same day, Nuremberg also confirmed it was pausing operations due to a protest. In Berlin and Stuttgart, police said that activists were arrested without disrupting traffic. “The stakes right now are billions of human lives. Climate collapse is already a reality for many people,” the activists wrote on social media site X. Source: dw
Minister urges residents to move to German countryside
Housing Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) has urged residents to move to the countryside where “almost 2 million houses are empty” to avoid the rising cost of renting and buying a house in major German cities. Despite Geywitz’s advice, there is evidence that these rent rises have been spilling into towns and villages, particularly since the outbreak of coronavirus, as well as the possibility of home office. The minister has a plan for increasing urban to rural migration in Germany, saying that the government is working with municipalities to increase rural pull factors. Further details ar to follow in November. Source: iamexpat
Sabotage fears prompt water scare near German base
Ten thousand people living near a military base close to Bonn were told to stop using tap water on Thursday night, as authorities investigated a case of possible sabotage at a water supply site. Meanwhile, Nato reported an attempted trespass at its base at Geilenkirchen close to the Dutch border. The extent of sabotage in each of the three incidents remains unclear although Germany’s armed forces, the Bundeswehr, have been on heightened alert due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. No one has yet been detained for any of the three alleged sabotage incidents. Source: bbc
Traffic lights are ‘practically no longer fit for government’ for Merz
CDU leader Friedrich Merz believes the coalition government has failed. He made these comments in reaction to the description by Green Party leader Omid Nouripour as a ‘transitional government’. Merz said that this is an ‘admission that this coalition no longer has anything to say’ and is ‘basically now really at the end’ . ‘The fourth largest economy in the world is practically no longer capable of governing and that is not good for any of us.’ Meanwhile, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is ‘living in a different world’ and making light of the situation, said the CDU leader in the same interview. Source: welt
Court rejects appeal by concentration camp secretary
The former concentration camp secretary Irmgard Furchner was has been convicted of aiding and abetting murder in over 10,000 cases. This is the decision reached by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in a landmark judgement on Tuesday. The case has been contraversal as Furchner is now 99 years old. From 1943 to 1945, she was a typist at the Stutthof concentration camp near Gdansk. ‘Should a criminal offence be prosecuted at all after such a long time?’ asked presiding judge Gabriele Cirener right at the beginning of the verdict, picking up on the public debate. ‘The answer of the law is quite clear,’ Cirener then said, ’murder is not time-barred.’ Source: taz
