Germany

German terrorist deliberately drives car at foreign pedestrians

02 Jan 2019; DW: A man has driven a car at groups of pedestrians in the cities of Bottrop and Essen, injuring eight, including foreign nationals. Police say there are signs that the driver is mentally ill and holds xenophobic views.

A man drove a car into pedestrians in two neighboring German cities overnight to New Year's Day, injuring five people in what police say could be attacks motivated by the xenophobic attitude of the driver.

Drugged driver forces car onto German airport tarmac

BERLIN (AP) — A man forced open a locked gate on the security perimeter of Hannover Airport in northern Germany and drove a car onto the airfield Saturday before coming to a halt underneath an airliner and being detained, police said.

No one was hurt in the incident, but flights were suspended for more than four hours.

Police said a test suggested that the driver, who told them he was a 21-year-old from Poland, was under the influence of drugs and there were no indications that his actions were terror-related.

Germany mulls introducing 'mosque tax' for Muslims

27 Dec 2018; DW: The idea, similar to Germany's church tax, would aim to make mosques independent of foreign donors. Germany's government and progressive Muslim leaders have supported the idea.

Lawmakers from Germany's grand coalition government said on Wednesday that they were considering introducing a "mosque tax" for German Muslims, similar to the church taxes that German Christians pay.

Top German diplomat opposes deployment of US medium-range missiles in Europe

BERLIN, December 26. /TASS/. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has spoken out against the deployment of US medium-range missiles with nuclear warheads in Europe in the event of Washington’s withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

"Europe should not turn into a platform for discussions on arms buildup under any circumstances," the minister said in an interview with the DPA news agency published on Wednesday.

"The deployment of new medium-range missiles in Germany would encounter huge dissatisfaction."

Germany to ban Iran's Mahan Air flights under U.S. pressures

TEHRAN, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Germany will ban flights of Iran's Mahan Air to its cities under the U.S. pressures, Tasnim news agency reported Saturday.

The German government has decided to stop Mahan Air from operating its flights to Dusseldorf and Munich after intensive deliberations on U.S. demands, according to the report.

Currently, Mahan Air operates flights to EU cities of Milan, Athens, Dusseldorf and Munich as well as countries such as Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and several other destinations in the Middle East and Asia.

Neo-Nazi network within the Frankfurt police force

17 Dec 2018; DW: A lawyer who represented victims of far-right violence had her daughter threatened, possibly by extremist police. The resulting investigation has revealed a neo-Nazi network within the Frankfurt police force.

State criminal police (LKA) are investigating an alleged right-wing extremist network in the Frankfurt police force, respected German newspaper Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported Sunday.

Germany shores up lithium supply with landmark Bolivia deal

13 Dec 2018; DW: As carmakers wrestle for the emerging electric car market, a German company sealed a key deal to mine a massive lithium deposit under a salt flat in Bolivia. The metal is crucial for making car battery cells.

Lithium deposits hidden below Bolivia's Uyuni salt flat are believed to be the largest in the world. On Wednesday, Germany's privately owned ACI Systems agreed to a partnership with Bolivian state company YLB to exploit the element.

German rail strikes cause widespread delays

German rail workers went on a nationwide four-hour strike on Monday to protest for higher wage increases. Two of Germany's biggest rail unions plan to return to negotiations with Deutsche Bahn (DB) on Tuesday.

Long-distance rail travel came to a halt across Germany on Monday morning, with regional trains also heavily affected, especially in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and the southwestern cities of Karlsruhe and Mannheim. There were also cancellations in Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania, Hamburg and Lower Saxony.

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