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BERLIN (Reuters) -Fifteen climate activists glued themselves to the asphalt of motorways in Germany, causing rush hour traffic jams on Monday, in the latest protests demanding a law against food waste and cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. A total of 252 protesters have taken part in a series of road blockades over the past two weeks, 69 of them fusing themselves to the asphalt to make it harder to remove them, according to German climate activist group “Last Generation”. A Reuters video showed frustrated motorists held up on the capital Berlin’s main A100 motorway on Monday getting out...

SAN ANTONIO — SpaceX is having engine trouble. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk warned employees of a “Raptor production crisis” for the engines needed to launch the massive Starship spacecraft from South Texas. SpaceX is aiming to launch Starship into orbit for the first time in early 2022 and then run a series of test flights as steps toward carrying cargo and humans to the moon and Mars. But Musk on Friday warned that delays in production of Raptor engines could hamper that progress and lead to significant financial problems. “We face genuine risk of...

Maybe as a vaguely religious Jew, I’ve got the wrong end of the stick when I look at Christianity, but I’ve long understood Christianity to be a faith that gives comfort and relief to the afflicted. SNIP. . . The Archdiocese of Berlin will effectively segregate vaccinated and unvaccinated faithful during Advent and Christmastime. The archdiocese issued the harsh restrictions in a communiqué published Friday on its official website, announcing that from November 27 onward, the so-called 2G rule will apply to most Masses and church services of the diocese throughout Advent and Christmastime. The 2G rule allows only people...

Germany is preparing a return to working from home under draft legislation seen by AFP on Sunday, as the country tries to tackle an unprecedented wave of coronavirus cases. The reintroduction of the rule, which was lifted at the beginning of July, comes as Germany faces a growing fourth wave of the virus. Infections and deaths have been climbing steeply since mid-October, in an outbreak blamed on Germany's vaccination rate of just over 67% - still leaving a large share of people more vulnerable to infection and severe disease. At 289 cases per 100,000 people, the recorded incidence of the...

BERLIN (AP) — The Austrian government ordered a nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated people starting midnight Sunday to slow the fast spread of the coronavirus in the country. The move prohibits unvaccinated individuals older than age 12 from leaving their homes except for basic activities such as working, grocery shopping, going for a walk — or getting vaccinated. Authorities are concerned about rising deaths and that hospital staff will no longer be able to handle the growing influx of COVID-19 patients. “It’s our job as the government of Austria to protect the people,” Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg told reporters in Vienna on...

A 36-year-old man was brutally beaten in Berlin Monday evening by a group of men who had demanded that he shout the phrase “Free Palestine”. The incident took place around 10:35 p.m. in the area of Spandau in the German capital, and saw the three men approach the 36-year-old while demanding he shout “Free Palestine!” When the man refused to yell the phrase, the three set upon and viciously beat him, kicking him and leaving him with serious head injuries, according to police. The victim, a German citizen, lost consciousness as the three men fled the scene, newspaper Die Welt...

Chaotic scenes and embarrassing irregularities at Berlin’s ballot stations at last month’s general election have shaken confidence in Germany’s election system, while providing ammunition for the many people who question the German capital’s bureaucratic efficiency. On Thursday, October 14, final election results will be published, giving the green light for what is expected to be several legal challenges.On September 26, Berlin held elections at federal, state and local council levels, as well as a referendum on socializing major housing companies. This saw many voters in the German capital waiting for hours at voting stations as election volunteers ran out of...

Fully vaccinated people are much less likely to die with Covid-19 than those who aren't, or have had only one dose, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. Out of more than 51,000 Covid deaths in England between January and July 2021, only 256 occurred after two doses. They were mostly people at very high risk from illness from Covid-19. The figures show the high degree of protection from the vaccines against illness and death, the ONS said.

Jan Nikolai Nelles and Nora Al-Badri, two artists, made headlines last month for announcing that they had sneaked into the Neues Museum in Berlin. They did not make the headlines for just sneaking into the museum. They had with them a hacked Kinect Sensor with which they performed an unauthorized 3D scan of the bust of Queen Nefertiti. If you have never heard about the iconic bust of Queen Nefertiti, you probably should read this. It is the most iconic artifact of the Egyptian Museum in Berlin. It is 3,300 years old and is made of limestone and painted and...

Another climate activist on hunger strike in Berlin has been taken to the hospital after fainting. Six activists calling themselves "the last generation" have not eaten since the end of August. A 19-year-old climate activist on a weeks-long hunger strike outside the German parliament was taken to the hospital on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Charite hospital said. The spokeswoman said it was unclear if the teen intended to continue her hunger strike. Six climate activists began an open-ended hunger strike in front of the Reichstag building, home to the German lower house of parliament, on August 30. They said...

The Model Y is Tesla’s newest available vehicle and also the company’s most popular car in several markets, including the United States...In February, Tesla officially filed to have the spring structure made permanent by filing with the City of Fremont to add a 64,000 square foot expansion to the factory. In July, Tesla officially started making GA 4.5 a permanent part of the company’s production facility by adding underground sewer connections for plumbing and creating foundational work for the spring structure to sit on...Tesla has been making tremendous strides toward improving GA 4.5, especially as demand for the company’s vehicles...

A 29-year-old Afghan man in Germany repeatedly stabbed a 58-year-old landscape gardener who was working in a park in Berlin, allegedly because he didn't like the fact that as a woman she was working, police said Sunday. The man stabbed the woman in the neck several times in the city's Wilmersdorf district on Saturday afternoon. A 66-year-old man who saw the attack unfold rushed to help the woman but was also stabbed in the neck by the suspect.

Marinated soy strips in curry and vegetarian dumplings are some of the meals that will be introduced during the new semester at Berlin universities in October 2021. The 34 student canteens in Berlin, which are run by student support group Studierendenwerk, have revised their menu to now offer 68% vegan and 28% vegetarian meals while only 4% containing meat or fish. The canteens cater to the students of 20 universities. Daniela Kummle of Studierendenwerk told DW that they have used the last one and a half years of the pandemic to revise the menu in the canteens so that their...

Former President Donald Trump was booed by his own supporters during a rally in Cullman, Alabama Saturday night after he encouraged the crowd to get vaccinated against COVID-19. "I believe totally in your freedoms, I do, you gotta do what you gotta do, but I recommend take the vaccines. I did it. It's good," he said, drawing loud boos from the crowd of supporters. "That's okay, that's alright," Trump continued, brushing off the disapproval. "But I happen to take the vaccine. If it doesn't work, you'll be the first to know. But it is working. You do have your freedoms,...

East Germany, formally known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), wanted to be a paradise for the common folk. It called itself a “workers’ and peasants’ state.” Its anthem, “Risen from Ruins,” brought to mind a phoenix rising gloriously from the ashes of World War II. From cradle to grave, the East German government cared for its citizens, providing childcare, housing, and job assignments. Even now, shops peddling goods from the GDR years dot the former East. They appeal to those afflicted with Ostalgie, nostalgia for life under the bygone socialist regime. But despite the modern, sanitized images of East...

Anti-lockdown protesters scuffled with Berlin police on Sunday, as hundreds of people defied a court ban on demonstrations. Police said some protesters had “harassed and attacked” officers in the German capital’s Charlottenburg district while ignoring roadblocks. Around 2,000 officers in riot gear attempted to quell the unrest. […] The demonstration was called by the “Querdenker” (Lateral Thinkers) movement, which has emerged as the loudest voice against Germany’s COVID-19 restrictions. …

ROME – On Friday the U.S. State Department confirmed a European tour for United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken next week that will include stops in Italy and the Vatican, where he is expected to meet with top Holy See officials. According to the State Department’s June 18 communique, Blinken’s tour will last from June 22-29. He will first visit Berlin and Paris before coming to Italy, making stops in Rome, the Vatican, Bari, and Matera. While in Rome, he will co-chair a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS alongside Italian Foreign Minister Luigi De Maio, and...

Perhaps President’s Ronald Reagan’s most famous and influential speeches was his “Berlin Wall speech” at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany 34 years ago today on June 12, 1987. It was in this speech (at about 12:00 in the video above) that Reagan made his famous and history-changing demand “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” That statement and speech helped changed the course of history, and there’s even an entire Wikipedia entry for “Tear down this wall” (in addition to an extensive page for Berlin Wall). According to the Wikipedia entry, “The speech was also a source of considerable controversy...

Berlin police launched an investigation on Boxing Day, Saturday, after several people were shot in a city district overnight. Four people were injured by gunfire in the early hours of Saturday morning, with three men seriously injured, including one who was shot into the leg and who had to be pulled out of the city canal by passing workmen. It is claimed he jumped into the canal to escape further injury. No fatalities have been reported. ....the shooting took place in the “immediate vicinity” of the party headquarters of the Social Democrats (SPD), the left-wing coalition partners keeping the center-right...

The Scene At An Anti-Covid Lockdown Protest In Berlin, Germany https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1329215716738936833