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VW beefs up its ID Buzz electric minibuses with more range and power
Volkswagen has boosted the model range of its electric ID Buzz minibus with a long-wheelbase version and the four-wheel drive ID Buzz GTX which is the most powerful edition to date. The manufacturer says sales will start in a few weeks. European prices for the XL version start at €62,719, around €2,000 more than the standard Buzz. VW has not yet announced a price for the GTX. With the long wheelbase, the axles are 25 cm farther apart, stretching the electric saloon to 4.96 metres in length. This creates space inside for three rows of seats with six or seven seats or...
Efforts to form new government in France drag on after snap election
The search for a potential government coalition in France continues after parliamentary elections that dealt a serious blow to President Emmanuel Macron's centrist camp and failed to deliver a clear parliamentary majority. The victorious left-wing New Popular Front alliance, which fell far short of an outright majority, is continuing to sound out who from its own ranks could become prime minister if a government is formed. The quickly formed alliance of Socialists, Communists and Greens went into the election without a lead candidate, and are now wrangling over who should be put forward as a potential leader. Meanwhile, Macron's second-place centrist Ensemble (Together)...
German computer scientist wins European Inventor Award for AI work
The German computer scientist Cordelia Schmid was awarded the European Inventor Award at a ceremony in Malta on Tuesday. Schmid, who was honoured in the Research category, received the prize for her work in helping computers understand and interpret data from images. The organization behind the awards, the European Patent Office, said Schmid's work contributes to machines being able to see images in such detail that it comes very close to humans. This opens up a wider range of applications for artificial intelligence (AI), for example with robots that can support elderly people, or recognize when they have had a fall. The 56-year-old scientist was born in Mainz, studied in Karlsruhe and Grenoble and has been working at the French Research Institute for Computer Science and Automation (INRIA) near Paris since 1997. Accepting the award, Schmid said that, if developed responsibly, "artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionize our society in the same way that the steam engine and electricity did in the past." From healthcare to sustainability, AI could help tackle some of the world's most pressing problems, she said.
Paris prosecutors probing Marine Le Pen's 2022 campaign finances
Prosecutors in Paris are investigating the far-right nationalist politician Marine Le Pen's 2022 presidential election campaign on suspicion of illegal campaign financing, authorities confirmed on Tuesday. French media previously reported that authorities suspect there may be evidence of fraud, forgery and misappropriation of assets by persons holding public office. Allegations in connection with the acceptance of a loan by a candidate are also being investigated. It is not yet known exactly what is involved. An investigating judge has now been leading the further investigations for around a week. According to the public prosecutor's office, the investigation stems from a 2023 report from France's National Commission for Campaign Accounts and Political Financing. In France, campaign spending is capped in order to create more equal opportunities between candidates, and parties and candidates are required to account for campaign finances. Alleged violations of the rules have regularly led to complaints from the relevant authorities. Le Pen and her far-right nationalist National Rally (RN) again lost her bid for the presidency in 2022 against the current incumbent Emmanuel Macron. In the final parliamentary election held last Sunday, the RN surprisingly only placed third despite strong showings in the earlier first round of voting, but achieved its strongest result to date.
Monaco hangs Turner paintings in dialogue with modern art world stars
Glittering and shining like a disco ball, the artwork is covered with thousands of small mirrors, each of them depicting the image of a solar eclipse. This room-filling work is in a dialogue with another work, painted around two centuries years earlier, by William Turner (1775-1851), one of England's most important and influential painters. What does Katie Paterson's solar eclipse sphere have to do with 19th century moonlight paintings, you ask? One of the most significant exhibitions in the microstate of Monaco seeks to tease out the fascination in natural phenomena, shared by both artists. It's only one of dozens of candid juxtapositions...
Austrian Olympic team to wear lederhosen at opening ceremony
Austria's Olympic athletes will wear traditional lederhosen and leather skirts at the Olympic opening ceremony in Paris on July 26. The team was kitted out at an event in Vienna on Tuesday. "I'm not a lederhosen person in my private life, but it fits great and looks good," said trampoline jumper Benny Wizani. "The stuff you get is cool and it's great fun to see all the other people too." The unprecedented opening ceremony is set to take place on board boats travelling down the River Seine, unless security concerns make it impossible.
Hungary's Orban justifies Moscow visit in leaked letter to EU leaders
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán justified his unannounced trip to Russia by citing the economic impact of the Ukraine war on the European Union, in a letter obtained by dpa on Tuesday. "The negative economic effects of the war place a great burden on the everyday lives of our citizens and on the competitiveness of the EU," Orbán said in the report, dated July 5, and addressed to European Council President Charles Michel and EU leaders. Orbán visited Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately after his first visit to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. Hungary is viewed...
Gaza talks to resume in Doha on Wednesday, Egyptian media report
Negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza will take place in Doha on Wednesday, Egypt's state-linked Al-Qahera News TV quotes an Egyptian high-level source as saying. The Egyptian security delegation heads to Doha on Wednesday "to bring views closer between Hamas and Israel to reach a ceasefire deal as soon as possible," the source said. Afterwards, negotiations will resume in Cairo on Thursday. "There is agreement on many points," the source added.
Shell to invest in Manatee gas field in Trinidad and Tobago
Shell Trinidad and Tobago Ltd, a subsidiary of Shell Plc, announced on Tuesday that it has taken the final investment decision on the Manatee project, an undeveloped gas field in the East Coast Marine Area or ECMA in Trinidad and Tobago. The Manatee gas field will provide backfill for the country's Atlantic Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility. Shell noted that increasing utilization at existing LNG plants is an important lever to maximize potential from its existing assets. Zoe Yujnovich, Shell's Integrated Gas and Upstream Director, said: "This project will help meet the increasing demand for natural gas globally while also addressing the energy needs of our customers domestically in Trinidad and Tobago. The investment bolsters our world-leading LNG portfolio." Manatee, slated to start production in 2027, is expected to reach peak production of around 104,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. As announced earlier, Shell plans to grow its LNG business by 20% to 30% by 2030, compared with 2022, while LNG liquefaction volumes are planned to grow by 25% to 30% relative to 2022. The ECMA is currently home to Shell's largest gas-producing fields in the country including Dolphin, Starfish, Bounty and Endeavour.
Kroos praises Germany's Nagelsmann for changing culture despite exit
Tony Kroos, who retired from all football after Germany's Euro 2024 exit, has praised coach Julian Nagelsmann for the way in which he banished the country's memory of poor performances at major tournaments. Germany went out of their home tournament with a 2-1 extra-time defeat by Spain in the quater-finals on Friday, having otherwise impressed during the extravaganza. It contrasted markedly with meek group-stage exits at the last two World Cups. Kroos, 34, told his podcast "Einfach mal Luppen" with his brother and now fellw ex-footballer Felix that the squad showed itself to be "a group of good guys" and "not just...
Man killed in explosion at German refugee centre was from Ethiopia
Police say the person who died in a fire at a refugee centre in northern Germany on Monday was a 28-year-old man from Ethiopia. The man's body was found in a room at the facility in the town of Buchholz in the state of Lower Saxony on Monday after an explosion caused a fire. Investigators believe he probably caused the explosion himself, the police said in a statement on Tuesday. A decision on whether to carry out a post-mortem examination would be taken after consultations with the public prosecutor's office, the statement said. The investigation is currently focusing on the motive and background to the incident. Twenty people were injured in the fire, including a police officer. His life is not in danger, but he is suffering from severe burns and is in intensive care, the police statement said. The other injured people, including residents of the temporary housing units, were treated on site, and some were then taken to hospital.
German chancellor gives 'Turning Point' defence speech to museum
A speech given by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is to be displayed in a museum. Scholz handed the speech, in which he spoke of a "Zeitenwende" (Turning Point) in German defence policy, over to the Haus der Geschichte historical museum, the foundation announced in Bonn on Tuesday. The pages of text - in a dark cover with a golden German federal eagle - will not be on display in the planned new permanent exhibition until the end of 2025, according to a foundation spokeswoman. On February 27, 2022, Scholz gave his famous speech in parliament, in which he emphasized that "February 24, 2022, marks a turning point in the history of our continent." Russian President Vladimir Putin had "cold-bloodedly launched a war of aggression" on that day, the chancellor told lawmakers. The Society for the German Language had named "Zeitenwende" as the word of the year in 2022. In response to Russia's attack on Ukraine, Scholz also announced that Germany's defence spending should be massively increased. He said at the time that significantly more would have to be invested in security, which would mean a "major national effort."
Child's body retrieved from Kiev building destroyed in Russian attack
The body of a missing boy was retrieved from the rubble of an apartment block in Kiev that was destroyed in a Russian missile attack, as many expressed outrage at the brutality of the strike. At least 27 people died in devastating Russian airstrikes on Kiev on Monday, including four children, and 117 people were injured, the city's civil defence department said on Tuesday. There were further casualties in the Dnipropetrovsk region in the south. In total, Ukraine has suffered at least 38 deaths and 190 injuries as a result of the recent attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on the social media platform...
Seine decision? German swim coach frustrated by Olympic uncertainty
German swimming coach Bernd Berkhahn has expressed concern over the uncertainty over where the Olympic open water swimming events will take place in three weeks in Paris. The open/marathon swimming is supposed to be held in the river Seine along with the swimming portion of the triathlon. However, due to high levels of bacteria in the Seine at present, the Olympic rowing canal may be used instead. Germany's Florian Wellbrock, the 10-kilometre open water champion from Tokyo, will again start as favourite but the build-up is far from ideal. "It is a bit frustrating for the athletes and the staff, who are supposed to prepare for this," Berkhahn told a news conference on Tuesday, adding that it was always a big risk to try to hold the events in the river. "It would be so different on the rowing course. There the water temperature is about 25 degrees Celsius, whereas the Seine will remain at 21, 22 degrees. The rowing course would therefore be more pleasant." France has spent around €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) to improve the water quality in the river but experts are regularly checking the bacterial content and it remains too high. The Paris Games run from July 26-August 11.
Scholz reaffirms support for Ukraine ahead of NATO summit
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has once more assured Ukraine of his long-term support against Russia's war of aggression. Speaking before his departure for the NATO summit in Washington, Scholz said he was glad of the opportunity to restate the very clear message that "we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes." He referred to arms deliveries and the joint initiative recently agreed by the G7. At its summit in Italy, the group of major industrialized democracies agreed to finance a loan package totalling around $50 billion with the help of interest from frozen Russian state assets. Scholz said that this was a clear sign of solidarity, but also a message to Moscow. He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not rely on "sitting out this war, so to speak, and waiting until support for Ukraine wanes."
Germany women's coach Hrubesch expects to retire next year
Horst Hrubesch, Germany's interim women's coach, assumes he will quit football coaching next year. The 73-year-old told reporters on Tuesday: "I've got to begin to recognize that I am no longer 25, 30 or 50, but that I am slowly approaching 75, more precisely 74." It was always clear that Hrubesch would step down from the women's job after the Olympic Games in Paris (July 26-August 11). His successor will be German men's under-17 world and European champion Christian Wück. Hrubesch, who won the Euros in 1980 with Germany as a player, has a contract as a youth-team coach at second tier SV Hamburg until 2025. "I will continue with youth coaching, definitely until next year," he said. "Then it will slowly come to an end." Hrubesch and Germany still have the European Championship qualification matches on Friday in Reykjavik against Iceland and next Tuesday in Hanover against Austria before the Summer Olympics. In his last home game in Hanover, Hrubesch will have an official goodbye ceremony. He was previously men's Olympic coach, winning silver in 2016. As a player, the forward lifted the European Cup with Hamburg in 1983 as well as three Bundesliga titles.
Workers at German ports go on strike over wage dispute
Workers at Germany's largest port in Hamburg in the north of the country started a two-day strike on Tuesday to demand higher wages, with workers from the port in Bremerhaven to the west of Hamburg to join the industrial action on Tuesday afternoon. "The strike has started as planned with the early shift at 6:30 am [0430 GMT]," said a spokesman for the verdi trade union. The employees are initially striking on a decentralized basis in front of their workplaces, and there will be a demonstration on Wednesday, the union said. Verdi said it wanted to increase the pressure on employers in the...
UN slams Russian attack on children's hospital in Kiev
Preliminary investigations by the UN Human Rights Office have found that the children's hospital destroyed in Kiev was hit directly by a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile, according to Danielle Bell, head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine on Tuesday. She said specialists had reached this conclusion after analyzing video footage and directly examining damage on site. She called it "one of most egregious attacks we have seen since the onset of the invasion." Staff brought young patients to safety in the bunker shortly before the attack on Monday, she said. Otherwise, the number of victims would have been significantly...
Negotiations ongoing in Cairo, as al-Sissi meets CIA chief
Negotiations to reach a ceasefire in Gaza are continuing in Cairo, a state-linked media reported on Tuesday, as Egypt's president met US foreign intelligence agency CIA chief William Burns. Negotiations are continuing as the Egyptian security delegation works intensively to bring the views of all parties closer together, al-Qahera News TV, citing a high-level source, reported. Burns held a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi on Tuesday where they discussed joint efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. Al-Sissi reiterated Egypt's position rejecting the continuation of military operations in the coastal strip. Sources at Cairo airport said Burns left towards Qatar, while White House Middle East Coordinator Brett McGurk left Egypt heading to Israel. Israeli media have reported that a meeting is scheduled in Doha between the intelligence chiefs of the United States, Israel and Egypt and the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman. So far, there has been no official confirmation of the meeting. Qatar, the United States and Egypt have been mediating for months to achieve a ceasefire-for-hostages deal between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. The indirect talks have been at a standstill for weeks.
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