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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...
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."
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.
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.
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...
Coalition partner opposes German minister's forced conscription plans
Ministers from German junior coalition partner the Free Democrats (FDP) have criticized a new conscription model, including requiring young men to register for potential military service, put forward by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. In a letter to Pistorius on Tuesday, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, both of the FDP, welcome the debate he has initiated on increasing military service. However, they do not consider general conscription or compulsory service to be realistic for financial, economic and legal reasons. Instead, the two politicians are in favour of increasing the attractiveness of the military profession and a stronger role for...
16 Palestinians killed, dozens more injured in several parts of Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are attacking targets in several areas in the Gaza Strip, it posted on the social media platform X on Tuesday. Sixteen Palestinians were killed and dozens were injured, WAFA Palestinian news agency reported. The report said the IDF announced that it was taking action against the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) targets in Gaza City, where the army has been deployed for several days. "So far, the forces have eliminated dozens of terrorists," the army said in a statement. Six people were killed in an Israeli attack on a building in the city, WAFA...
Driving a rental? Don't set off without looking at the touchscreen
The days of switches and buttons in cars are over. In modern cars everything from the navigation system and the radio to the air conditioning and the windshield wipers is controlled using a touchscreen. That brings convenience but also new controls to master. Unfamiliar traffic and road conditions can require a lot of attention, particularly when you’re driving in another country. Add in controls that you haven’t used before and the risk of an accident increases. For that reason, Dekra, a vehicle testing organisation in Germany, is calling on all anyone renting a car during a summer break to first get to...
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