Free Republic

German luxury auto manufacturer Audi said it is considering moving car production to the United States to avoid tariffs from the Trump administration. Volkswagen’s subsidiary Audi brand said this week that it is examining various long-term strategies, including potentially shifting production to America, to deal with President Donald Trump’s restrictions on foreign imports. Audi CEO Gernot Döllner said that the company is “currently assessing various scenarios for additional localization in North America – among other things, to be closer to the needs of local customers and to make ourselves more resilient to global economic uncertainties.”

"I was crying," says Alya, when she saw news of last week's Munich attack that left a toddler and her mother dead. "Why should someone do something like that? Why? I can't understand it." An Afghan man's in custody after what was the latest in a series of attacks in German cities where the suspect has been an asylum seeker. Last Thursday it was a mother and daughter in Munich; last month another child and an adult were killed in Aschaffenburg. Alya came here a decade ago from Syria with her baby son. Now 10, he and his mother welcome...

BMW’s conservative approach to EV adoption, investing in platforms that can accommodate internal-combustion, hybrid, and electric powertrains, is now paying off as the company navigates the uncertain transition to electric vehicles. Inside EVs reports that as the automotive industry grapples with the challenges of transitioning to electric vehicles, BMW’s strategic decision to invest in flexible platforms is proving to be a wise move. Unlike some of its rivals, such as Mercedes and Audi, who have focused heavily on dedicated EV platforms, BMW has taken a more measured approach by developing architectures that can support multiple powertrains, including internal-combustion engines (ICE),...

The head of a church body representing 20 million Protestants in Germany has resigned following allegations she neglected to take action against a man who was accused of abuse more than two decades ago. Annette Kurschus, the leader of the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD), Germany's umbrella organization for Protestant churches, resigned on Monday, according to an announcement. She was accused of inadequately responding to the allegations against a colleague. Kurschus denied knowledge of the abuse but announced her resignation after it was revealed the former church worker is currently under criminal investigation. "[I]n the last few days, events have...

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were reportedly trapped inside a Malaga hotel by anti-separatist protesters on Friday night. Sánchez, the country's acting Prime Minister, is set to remain in power after striking a deal with a Catalan separatist party. It would secure his party another four years in power. Spain's Popular Party won the July elections but were unable to successfully form a majority. The deal with separatists now means the Socialists and Sánchez would have the required numbers. It has sparked anger from the right leading to anti-separatist protests breaking out in Madrid and...

Hansi Flick said German football will "head into a different direction, and very soon" after the four-time world champions suffered a second successive World Cup group stage elimination, described as an "absolute catastrophe" by forward Thomas Muller. Despite a 4-2 win against Costa Rica at Al Bayt Stadium, Japan's 2-1 victory against Spain in Doha ended Germany's hopes of qualifying from Group E. A 2-1 defeat against Japan in their opening game at Qatar 2022 ultimately proved costly for Germany, who are due to host Euro 2024 in just over 18 months. And with that tournament looming large, Flick, who...

... Russia supplied around 40% of all the gas consumed in the EU in 2021. Germany is especially reliant on this supply of cheap gas. Gas only generates about 15% of the country’s electricity but many rely on it for heating and it is vital to heavy industries such as petrochemicals that use a lot of energy. Drastic measures are now necessary to secure alternative supplies, reduce gas demand and prepare for the possibility of shortages this winter. The EU’s Save Gas for a Safe Winter program aims to reduce overall gas demand by 15% across the bloc this winter...

German Federal Economy Minister Robert Habeck expressed concern over the looming energy crisis this winter, telling German media that the situation was extremely tense and there is a possibility that Germany may run out of gas. Habeck spoke on Friday, appealing to Germans to reduce their consumption of natural gas ahead of this winter a day after the German government launched a new price break programme to help Germans with the rising costs of energy.

BERLIN - The main natural gas pipeline between Russia and Germany shut down for scheduled maintenance Monday, raising concerns that Moscow could use the repairs as a pretext for a longer shutdown as it wields energy supplies as leverage in the Ukraine war.European ministers warned that it was unclear whether Moscow would turn the taps on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline back on after the 10 days of scheduled work. Germany's economy minister, Robert Habeck, said Berlin was concerned about a "nightmare scenario" this winter if Russia decides against doing so."Everything is possible, everything can happen," he told Deutschlandfunk radio...

BERLIN (AP) – Two German state election defeats have put the spotlight on chances of a government without Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bloc after September’s national vote. A possible contender to succeed her said Monday that the center-right needs to raise its game to keep the country’s top job. Final results showed that Merkel´s Christian Democratic Union was handily defeated in Sunday´s elections by two popular incumbent state governors: the Green party´s Winfried Kretschmann in Baden-Wuerttemberg and the center-left Social Democrats´ Malu Dreyer in Rhineland-Palatinate.

<p>"There's some cross-information about what happened and where," an intelligence official with expertise in cyber operations told Just the News. "Verified reports about one incident probably got conflated with speculation about another."</p><p>The "verified reports" involve a July raid on a German server that hosted sensitive, hacked files from U.S. law enforcement agencies, authorities said. The files reportedly were accessed over the summer, in the course of a Houston data breach.</p>

For several months the German police have been sporadically raiding the homes of people suspected of criticizing immigration on social media. Today the crackdown intensified considerably: sixty residences were raided. Note that Bavaria was once again the focus of police action — it must really be a hotbed of resistance against the Bundesrepublik’s policy on “refugees”. Many thanks to Nash Montana for translating this article from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and to Egri Nök for the hat tip: Germany: First nationwide raid against hate posts on the internet Because hate on the Internet is rising, the BKA (Bundeskriminalamt, Federal Criminal Police...

BELEAGUERED Angela Merkel is facing calls for a referendum to free German people of "EU slavery" in the wake of Britain's sensational decision to cut ties with Brussels. Far right figures in Alternative for Germany have promised to call their own vote if they clutch power in country's general election in autumn next year. A party spokesman branded Brussels a "bureaucracy monster", before adding: "Next year the AfD will enter the German parliament and Dexit will be top on our agenda". They called the vote a Dexit as it stands for a Deutschland exit from the EU. Eurosceptism has swept...

Germany's unemployment rate fell to a record low in May, while the jobless rate across the eurozone fell to 10.2% in April. The unadjusted rate in Germany declined to 6% from 6.3% in April, the Federal Labour Office said. That was the lowest level since German reunification in 1990.

Francis laments that world powers did nothing to save Jewish, Christian, gays from Nazi death camps.ROME — Pope Francis on Sunday denounced what he called the “great powers” of the world for failing to act when there was intelligence indicating Jews, Christians, homosexuals and others were being transported to death camps in Europe during World War II. He also decried the deaths of Christians in concentration camps in Russia under the Stalin dictatorship, which followed the war....

Flanked by 120 law enforcement officers, 300 pro-life demonstrators marched the streets of Salzburg, Austria in peaceful solidarity. Several protesters were detained by police as the marchers carried white crosses, a symbol of the 1,000 human beings massacred every day through legalized abortion in Austria and Germany. austriaBanners reading “1000 Ungeborene Jeden Tag” (“1,000 Unborn Every Day”) “commemorates the tragedy of unborn human beings who are denied life every day,” said Johannes Bucher, director of HLI-Europe. In partnership with other pro-life organizations including Europrolife and Lifecenters, Bucher plans to organize additional marches to defend life for the voiceless. The march,...

Quote: homeland.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-hearing-jihadist-use-social-media-how-prevent-terrorism-and-preserve-innovation Subcommittee Hearing: Jihadist Use of Social Media - How to Prevent Terrorism and Preserve Innovation Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence | 311 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 | Dec 6, 2011 2:00pm On Tuesday, December 6, 2011 the Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence will hold a hearing entitled "Jihadist Use of Social Media - How to Prevent Terrorism and Preserve Innovation." The Committee will meet at 2:00 p.m. in 311 Cannon House Office Building. Witnesses Mr. Evan F. Kohlmann Flashpoint Global Partners Mr. William McCants Analyst Analyst for the Center for Naval...

In his address before the German parliament, Benedict XVI offers ways to renew politics and social life for the world. Positivism is limiting because it marginalises the ethics and culture of politics and society. Berlin (AsiaNews) – “A German pope in the German capital” is the greeting that welcomed Pope Benedict XVI in his first state visit to his native land (the third of his pontificate). The visit began this morning in Berlin and will continue until Sunday, bringing the Pontiff to Erfurt and Freiburg. However, in his addresses the German pope speaks to the entire world and what he...

To all those who question the usefulness of self-defense courses, I give you this alarming headline, from a report on sueddeutsche.de: Joggerin nimmt Reh in den Schwitzkasten To all those who question the usefulness of German classes: See above.Okay, okay. Because I'm in a generous mood, here is that headline as rendered in English via Google Translate: jogger taking deer in a headlock All right, I can see you're still a bit puzzled. So here's the gist of the story from the English language German news site thelocal.de: A jogger fought off a crazed, attacking deer by putting it in...

Give Easter a break already.. Dang.