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Tag: Berlin

  • Zelensky arrives in Berlin to discuss security deal

    Zelensky arrives in Berlin to discuss security deal

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Berlin for only his third visit to Germany since Russia’s all-out invasion of his country nearly two years ago.

    Zelensky was welcomed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in front of the Chancellery building, where the two leaders shook hands and briefly posed for photographers.

    Zelensky was expected to sign bilateral security agreements with Germany and France on Friday.

    Following his meeting in Berlin, Zelensky was due to travel on to Paris.

    Zelensky would attend the Munich Security Conference on Saturday to rally Western political and defence leaders for more military support.

    “I am starting two important days. Meetings with partners in Germany and France, new agreements, and the Munich Security Conference,” he wrote on X, previously Twitter.

    He said he was working towards a “new security architecture for Ukraine, as well as new opportunities.”

  • G20 Conference: President Tinubu departs Abuja for Berlin

    G20 Conference: President Tinubu departs Abuja for Berlin

    President Bola Tinubu has departed Abuja for Berlin, Germany to attend the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) Conference.

    The president was seen off by some top government officials led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator George Akume.

    Tinubu was accompanied to Germany by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar; the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite; and the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu.

    The Nigerian president will be joining other Heads of State and Governments of CwA member countries, bilateral partners, as well as Heads of International organizations to deliberate on the immediate enhancement of economic and business cooperation with a view to outlining concrete measures to boost investments in critical areas such as energy, trade, infrastructure, and new technologies, among others.

    The G20 CwA Conference will be taking place alongside the Fourth G20 Investment Summit, co-hosted by the German government and German business associations.

    President Tinubu will return to the country following the conclusion of the conference.

  • Ex-nurse gets 15-year sentence for murder of 4 PLWD

    Ex-nurse gets 15-year sentence for murder of 4 PLWD

    A former nurse has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing four residents of a residential home for persons living with disability in Potsdam, just outside Berlin.

    In addition, the Potsdam Regional Court on Wednesday ordered that the accused to be placed in a psychiatric hospital.

    The accused was found guilty on four counts of murder and several counts of attempted murder, as well as abuse of a ward, the First Criminal Division ruled, the judgment is not yet final.

    Presiding Judge Theodor Horstkoetter said the convict urgently needed medical help because of her mental condition.

    He held that if the 52-year-old had gone to the doctor on the day of the attack, as this would have been the right thing to do the victims could still be alive and would not have died “in such a cruel way”.

    According to a psychiatric report, the woman suffers from a severe personality disorder and had committed the acts in a state of significantly reduced culpability.

    The court considered it proven that, on the evening of April 28, the woman had attacked and fatally injured four residents aged between 31 and 56 in their rooms in the dormitory of the social welfare organisation Oberlinhaus.

    A 43-year-old resident survived the attack after emergency surgery.

    Meanwhile,in her closing statement, the accused apologised to the relatives of the victims and said that she was sorry.

  • Russian diplomat found dead outside Embassy in Berlin

    Russian diplomat found dead outside Embassy in Berlin

    A Russian diplomat was found dead in October outside the country’s embassy in Berlin, it emerged Friday.

    The man, whose lifeless body was recovered on October 19 on the pavement by police, had apparently fallen to his death from the embassy complex, according to the Spiegel weekly which first reported the case.

    A German foreign ministry spokesman said the case was “known to the ministry” but would not provide further details.

    Confirming the death, the Russian embassy called it a “tragic accident”.

    “All the procedures related to repatriating the diplomat’s body back to the homeland were promptly settled with responsible German law-enforcement and medical authorities in accordance with current practices,” said the embassy in a statement.

    Russia’s mission however said it “considers speculations which have appeared in a number of Western media” over the diplomat’s death “to be absolutely incorrect”.

    The diplomat was identified as a 35-year-old second secretary at the embassy by Spiegel.

    But the magazine said German authorities believe he was also an agent of the Russian secret service FSB.

    He is also reportedly related to a high-ranking official of the FSB’s second directorate — a unit that Western secret services say was involved in the killing of a Georgian national in central Berlin in 2019.

    Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, the 40-year-old Georgian, was shot twice in the head at close range in Kleiner Tiergarten park on August 23, 2019, allegedly by a Russian man who was arrested shortly afterwards.

    The Russian suspect, 55-year-old Vadim Krasikov, alias Vadim Sokolov, is on trial over the murder, which German prosecutors say was ordered by Moscow.

     

  • Navalny leaves Berlin on flight to Moscow despite threat of arrest

    Navalny leaves Berlin on flight to Moscow despite threat of arrest

    Russian dissident Alexei Navalny on Sunday left Berlin on a flight to Moscow, where authorities have threatened to arrest him upon arrival.

    Russian security forces detained several of Navalny’s supporters at the Vnukovo airport near Moscow ahead of his arrival, according to a dpa reporter on the scene.

    Those detained include a close collaborator of Navalny, lawyer Lyubov Sobol, and several activists.

    Uniformed officers pushed back people who came to the airport to welcome Navalny.

    He was expected to arrive at 7:20 pm (1620 GMT) together with his wife Yulia Navalnaya, his staff, and other activists, though the flight could be delayed due to a late start in Berlin.

    Security was tightened at Vnukovo airport in the hours before his arrival.

    OMON, the anti-terrorism special police, took position at the airport with several prisoner transport vehicles.

    Navalny called on his supporters to meet him at Vnukovo, despite the Moscow public prosecutor’s office warning against unauthorised rallies on the premises and the threat of consequences for those who go ahead and do so anyway.

    In St Petersburg, the head of Navalny’s staff there, Irina Fatyanova, said she and two other activists were taken off a train to Moscow and detained by police for three hours.

    The authorities provided no reason for their actions.

    Other activists said they were detained at Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg or stopped in vehicles on the street.

    Russian authorities have signalled they plan to arrest Navalny, 44, immediately upon return to his home country, accusing him of breaking the terms of a suspended sentence and probation.

    The Kremlin critic is flying home after spending five months in Germany, where he received emergency medical treatment following his poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok.

    Navalny said he never considered staying outside Russia as he had never left his homeland of his own free will, and had “arrived in Germany in a resuscitation box.”

    Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics, fell violently ill on a Russian flight on Aug. 20.

    Two days later he was medically evacuated to Germany.

    The Charite hospital in Berlin announced on Sept. 23 that Navalny had been discharged after his condition “improved sufficiently.”

    Laboratories in Germany, France,p and Sweden have determined that Navalny was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok.

    Navalny has blamed the poisoning on the FSB, the Russian secret service, under Putin’s orders.

    Putin has dismissed the allegations.

    Russian officials initially refused to accept that he had been poisoned at all.

    On Sunday, Russia said information submitted by Germany on the Navalny case was not helpful, after Germany replied to four letters of request from the Russian government, including protocols of Navalny’s questionings.

    Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Sakharova said Germany’s replies “did not contain anything of substance regarding our questions.”

    Russian authorities have increased the pressure on Navalny, revealing on Tuesday that he could face further jail time for violating the rules of his probation, arising from a conviction in 2014.

    A legal application had been submitted to a Moscow court. Navalny maintains that the probation conditions became invalid on Dec. 30 and dismisses the new legal threats as politically motivated.

    Navalny gained renown during a wave of protests from 2011 to 2013, fuelled by contentious elections for Putin, the parliament and the capital city’s mayor.

    Navalny came in second in Moscow’s 2013 mayoral race.

    Navalny, who holds degrees in law and finance, initially gained popularity as a blogger exposing evidence of corruption, including the luxurious assets of high-ranking officials whose official salaries were incomparably modest.

    He is married with two children.

  • Nigerian film ”Eyimofe” set to premiere at Berlin International Film Festival

    Nigerian film ”Eyimofe” set to premiere at Berlin International Film Festival

    ‘Eyimofe’ Nigerian movie will be premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival slated for February.

    The film, written by Chuko Esiri and produced by Melissa Adeyemo alongside stars, Jude Akuwudike, Tomiwa Edun, Temi Ami-Williams, Cynthia Ebijie, and Jacob Alexander.

    The film festival, which starts in February would pay accolades to the Nigerian movie industry, which has become one of the most talked-about worldwide.

    The movie emerged 2018 Purple List Award winner which has been a remarkable project alongside one of the 10 projects chosen for last year’s Independent Film Project (IFP) Narrative Lab in New York.

    It has also displayed Nigeria’s impressive record at the Berlin International Film Festival, considered one of the “Big Three” alongside Cannes and Venice festivals.

    “Eyimofe” feature film tells the story of two Lagosians desperate for a better life in Europe.

    It is an alternate migrant tale because it offers a new perspective, one that focuses on the people caught in raids and rescued from the sea.

    The movie features both local and international actors like, Goodness Emmanuel, among others.

  • Berlin launches ‘World’s longest beer garden’

    Berlin launches ‘World’s longest beer garden’

    As Berlin experiences sustained summer temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius, the City on Friday launched a weekend of beer-drinking at the International Beer Festival at the Central boulevard.

    The “world’s longest beer garden,’’ as the organisers dub it, stretches along the Karl Marx Allee between Strausberger Platz and Frankfurter Tor and runs until Sunday.

    A total of 2,400 beers from 350 breweries from around the world including focus country New Zealand, hence this year’s motto “Beers from the other side of the world’’ will be on offer, the organisers said.

    In addition to the beer, live music at 19 stages along the route is expected to draw more than 800,000 visitors to the festival, which has no entry fee.

    The temperatures have prompted doctors to urge caution. “Alcohol enters the bloodstream more quickly in the heat,’’ Peter Sefrin, an emergency doctor with the German Red Cross, said.

    The more alcohol a drink contains, the more striking the effect; alcohol also reaches the brain more quickly in the heat, affecting concentration and allowing euphoria to take hold.

    “A typical consequence is impaired self-awareness. This often leads to an overestimation of one’s abilities and arrogance: People often do things they would never do otherwise,’’ Sefrin said.

    “We don’t want to take away people’s enjoyment of a refreshing beer,’’ Hannes Dietrich of the health insurance company Kaufmaennische Krankenkasse said, but he added that drinking too much alcohol in hot weather can lead to dizziness and even a loss of consciousness.

    dpa/ NAN

  • Bomb disposal experts defuse World War II bomb in Berlin

    Bomb disposal experts have defused a 500-kilogram World War II British bomb in the centre of Berlin, police have said.

    Experts were able within a short space of time to remove the fuse from the bomb and make it safe, a police spokesman said on Friday.

    Before they could start, 10,000 people had to be cleared from a 800-metre-radius exclusion zone near the capital’s central rail station, which was completely closed during the operation.

    Rail operator Deutsche Bahn said 300,000 passengers use the station daily and 1,300 people who work there had to leave their posts. “We have never had a comparable situation to this degree,” a spokesman said.

    Several government ministries, the German Intelligence Service, a courthouse and the Museum for Contemporary Art fall within the zone and were closed. Two hospitals had to be partially cleared.

    Police went through the streets with loudhailers, knocked on doors and rung bells, urging people to evacuate.

    Police later told local residents they could return to their homes.

    The operation was peaceful and harmonious, a police spokeswoman said. Via Twitter, the police thanked all public transport passengers for their understanding and wished them “a good onward journey hopefully soon.”

    Public transport in the area had been completely shut down while the bomb was disposed of. Deutsche Bahn said local services could return to normal quite quickly, but it would take some time for long-distance trains to get back on schedule.

    Flights were not disrupted, but public transport to the airport was.

    Undetonated World War II bombs are frequently discovered in Germany, especially during construction projects, prompting disposal operations that often involve large-scale evacuations.

    Until the end of the war in 1945, there were 380 air raids by the US, British and Russian air forces on Berlin. Historians estimate that 45,000 tons of explosives were dropped on the capital.

    The city administration estimates there are still some 3,000 bombs, grenades and ammunition remnants buried under the city.

    dpa

  • Blue Apron put IPO plans on hold to focus on financials

    Meal-kit delivery company Blue Apron Inc. has put preparations for an initial public offering on hold, people familiar with the matter said, delaying selecting bankers while it focuses on improving its financial metrics.

    After starting to interview banks in September to advise on the IPO, Blue Apron has pushed back formally hiring underwriters until some time next year, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public.

    Even with more than $800 million in annual revenue this year, the company has struggled to improve profit margins as much as management wanted in the face of more competition, the people said. A stronger performance is needed to support the $3 billion valuation that the company was targeting in an IPO.

    Blue Apron is trying to reduce the cost of acquiring customers, and get that number into better alignment with the lifetime value of its subscribers, one of the people said. Delaying the IPO process gives it more time to work on this, the person said.

    A representative for Blue Apron declined to comment.

    Sign-Up Discounts

    Founded in 2012, Blue Apron sends boxes of pre-portioned ingredients and instructions for customers to cook meals at home. The $59.94 box includes enough for three meals that feed two people, including recipes such as sesame chicken and cod en papillote.

    Like many of its subscription-based rivals, Blue Apron offers generous sign-up discounts to new customers. It’s harder to get them to stick around when the markdowns end. While the New York-based company was one of the first to create such a service, new entrants to the market have given subscribers plenty of other options.

    This month, Blue Apron competitor HelloFresh AG took a haircut on its private valuation when raising new cash. The Berlin-based company is now valued at about 2.09 billion euros ($2.18 billion) including new money raised — about 20 percent less than 15 months ago. Plated, a smaller rival, is worth less than $200 million, one of the people said. Those valuations will be on investors’ minds when evaluating a potential Blue Apron IPO, the people said.

    Newer entrant Sun Basket Inc. has a similar model, promising organic and non-GMO ingredients and plans catered to paleo, gluten-free and vegetarian diets. While slightly more expensive — $9 more than Blue Apron’s two-person, three-meal box — it’s another rival that could make it more difficult for Blue Apron to keep subscribers, one of the people said.