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Heat caused over 47,000 deaths in Europe during 2023, study finds
Experts estimate that more than 47,000 people died as a result of high temperatures in Europe in 2023, the world's warmest year since records began. The figure is revealed in a modelling study, led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, published in the journal Nature Medicine on Monday. However, the international research group also reports that society appears to have adapted to the heat. The team used mortality data from the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) on 96 million deaths to estimate the heat-related mortality burden in 2023 for 823 regions in 35 European countries. According to these estimates, there were 47,690 heat-related deaths...
Further demolition work needed after deadly German hotel collapse
Investigators trying to establish why a hotel in the western German town of Kröv collapsed have asked for a further section of the building to be demolished. Further demolition work would take place on Monday, a police spokesman said. He confirmed that the debris will also continue to be sifted through, which he said "will take quite some time." The police spokesman also said that it would not be possible to say what caused the building to collapse until the release of an expert report into the accident. An entire floor of the hotel collapsed late Tuesday last week. A 64-year-old woman and the 59-year-old hotel operator were killed, and seven other people were trapped in the rubble for several hours. A Dutchman severely injured in the accident was transferred to his home country on Monday for further treatment, his wife wrote in a post on social media. The 26-year-old father is one of the seven injured people who were rescued from the wreckage after the accident. His wife and their 2-year-old son were also rescued hours later, suffering only minor injuries. The wife asked for people to pray for her husband.
Putin orders Russian army to drive Ukrainians from Kursk region
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday called on his country's armed forces to push back Ukrainian units after their surprise offensive deep into the southern Kursk Region. "The main task of the Ministry of Defence is now to drive the enemy out of our territories and ensure reliable border security," Putin said when opening a meeting on the crisis, Russian news agencies reported. The 71-year-old president added that "with the help of its Western masters," the leadership in Kiev wanted to strengthen its future negotiating position with the attack into Russian territory. However, he ruled out any talks about ending the war that...
Olympic organizers: Games in Paris 'couldn't have gone better'
Paris 2024 organizing committee chief Tony Estanguet said he's extremely satisfied with the Games in the French capital. "I think it couldn't have gone better," he told the France Inter radio on Monday, a day after the Olympics closing ceremony. He said he was relieved, happy and proud and that the Games exceeded all expectations, especially because of the fervour of the fans. "All international spectators said: This is the most beautiful Games in history," Estanguet said. "It was a marathon of holding out against pessimists and all those who predicted disaster," he added. Estanguet said that the end of the Games made him feel...
Accident repairs more expensive for electrics, German study finds
Electric cars might cheaper to maintain, but repair costs after an accident are considerably more expensive than for models with a combustion engine, according to a report by an association of German insurers. EV repair claims are accelerating as the number of electrics on the road rises, yet the vehicles are still rare enough to prevent the repair industry from gaining easy access to an adequate supply of parts. This pushes the cost of a repair higher to between 25 and 30%, according to the German Insurance Association (GDV). The costs often outweigh the maintenance savings of electrics, which unlike ICEs do not...
Strong winds hamper crews battling huge wildfire near Athens
Emergency services in Greece were battling the country's biggest wildfire of the year on Monday, with multiple flash points burning across some 200 square kilometres of woodland north-east of the capital Athens. Thirteen people with respiratory problems were taken to hospitals due to the dense smoke, and homes in several villages were evacuated. One firefighter suffered serious burns and another was slightly injured as the wind continued to blow strongly and spark new conflagrations. By midday, 40 new fires had broken out, according to the fire service. Strong winds continued to fuel the flames along a nearly 30-kilometre-long fire front, Climate Crisis and...
Dortmund's Süle: Mentally struggled to 'do right things' last season
Borussia Dortmund defender Niklas Süle said that he mentally struggled to "do the right things" in the past season as he aims to be in his best form for the new football year. "Mentally, I just didn't manage to do the right things. I was no longer able to motivate myself. I wanted to, but couldn't," he told broadcasters Sport1 in an interview published on Monday. Süle had a difficult season and also had physical problems. Due to his lack of form, he wasn't included in Germany's squad for the Euro 2024 this summer. But he said that he had "a lot of...
Geneva Conventions mark 75 anniversary with concern, not celebration
The Geneva Conventions, which aim to protect the human rights of civilians caught up in war, were signed 75 years ago, but the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sees little cause for celebration. "International humanitarian law is under strain, disregarded undermined," the ICRC's president, Mirjana Spoljaric, said in Geneva on Monday. She is deeply concerned and warned that parties to conflicts were increasingly pushing the boundaries of what they considered to be permissible in war. This, she said, weakens the protective effect of the Geneva Conventions. The strictly neutral organization is supposed to monitor compliance with the conventions worldwide. The four...
Islamist terror threat 'persistently high' in Germany, minister says
Germany faces a "persistently high" threat from Islamist terrorism, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Monday, in comments made just days after Taylor Swift's shows in Vienna were cancelled due to an alleged attack plot. Faeser said security authorities in neighbouring Austria had confronted a "serious Islamist threat situation" when they thwarted a plan to attack Swift's shows last week. "Our country is also the focus of jihadist organizations," Faeser said, singling out for mention the Islamic State group and one of its off-shoots, Islamic State - Khorasan Province (ISKP). "Islamist terrorist organizations, but also individual Islamist perpetrators who often get radicalized largely on their own, are a danger that exists at all times," the minister said. Faeser spoke after visiting the Cologne headquarters of Germany's BfV domestic intelligence agency.
Geneva Conventions mark 75 anniversary with concern, not celebration
The Geneva Conventions, which aim to protect the human rights of civilians caught up in war, were signed 75 years ago, but the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sees little cause for celebration. "International humanitarian law is under strain, disregarded undermined," the ICRC's president, Mirjana Spoljaric, said in Geneva on Monday. She is deeply concerned and warned that parties to conflicts were increasingly pushing the boundaries of what they considered to be permissible in war. This, she said, weakens the protective effect of the Geneva Conventions. The strictly neutral organization is supposed to monitor compliance with the conventions worldwide. The four...
German Greens urge EU commission to stop Berlin's border checks
German Green Party politicians have aired their complaints about border checks imposed by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser in an open letter to the European Commission, in another case of bickering among the fractious three-way governing coalition in Berlin. The letter published on Monday, which is addressed to the European Commission and its president, Ursula von der Leyen, expresses concerns regarding the stationary controls introduced at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland. The Green Party members argue that Germany, like seven other EU member states, is not acting in accordance with the rules that regulate movement in Europe's passport-free...
Olympic champion Ogunleye to participate in athletics event in Berlin
Women's shot put Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye of Germany will participate in the ISTAF Berlin track and field athletics meeting, organizers said on Monday. "The athletes have inspired us in Paris. Together with the ISTAF fans, we want to celebrate them in style on September 1 at the Olympic Stadium and put on a fantastic athletics party for everyone in Berlin. We are delighted that Yemisi Ogunleye will now also be there," ISTAF director Martin Seeber said. In addition to Ogunleye, women's long jump silver medallist Malaika Mihambo as well as the starters of Germany's 4x100-metres relay, who won women's bronze in Paris, will also be taking part. Decathlon silver medallist Leo Neugebauer will also compete in the event. The event takes place on September 1 at Berlin's Olympic stadium.
German government: Kiev's cross-border attack conducted in 'secrecy'
The German government was not informed in advance about the details of Ukraine's incursion into Russian territory, the deputy government spokesman said on Monday. Kiev apparently prepared the cross-border offensive into Russia's Kursk region "in great secrecy and without feedback" from partners, Wolfgang Büchner said. "Everything so far looks like a spatially limited operation," he added. Nearly a week into the surprise attack by Ukraine, Büchner said it would be "unwise" to make public statements about the military operation since the situation was still very fluid. "This also applies to the use of specific weapons systems," said Büchner, who was asked about suggestions that German weapons may be in use in Kursk. Büchner said that Berlin and Kiev are in close communication. The German Defence Ministry separately explained that there are no fundamental objections to Ukraine's use of weapons supplied by Germany to fight Russian forces in Russia. A ministry spokesman said international law stipulates that a defending state may defend itself on the territory of the aggressor, adding that Ukraine had so far been in compliance with the law.
Olympic organizers: Games in Paris 'couldn't have gone better'
Paris 2024 organizing committee chief Tony Estanguet said he's extremely satisfied with the Games in the French capital. "I think it couldn't have gone better," he told the France Inter radio on Monday, a day after the Olympics closing ceremony. He said he was relieved, happy and proud and that the Games exceeded all expectations, especially because of the fervour of the fans. "All international spectators said: This is the most beautiful Games in history," Estanguet said. "It was a marathon of holding out against pessimists and all those who predicted disaster," he added. Estanguet said that the end of the Games made him feel a bit melancholic. "It feels weird when you thing that it's done, the the Olympic Games are now in the past," he said. The Paris Games officially started on July 26 with the opening ceremony on the Seine and ended with a lavish and futuristic closing ceremony on Sunday and the handover to the 2028 hosts Los Angeles.
Lufthansa suspends flights to the Middle East for another week
The Lufthansa Group is extending its flight cancellations to the Middle East for another week. All flights to and from Tel Aviv, Tehran, Beirut, Amman and Erbil will be suspended up to and including August 21, the company announced in Frankfurt on Monday. The group's companies will also not be using the airspace over Iraq and Iran. The previous flight suspension was in place until Tuesday. The suspension is in response to the continuing tensions between Israel and Iran, which have given rise to fears of war in the region spreading far beyond the Gaza Strip. Lufthansa is offering free cancellations to travellers with tickets up to and including August 31. The flight suspension applies to all of the group's airlines including Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, and to cargo and passenger aircraft alike.
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