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Foreign minister says investigation found Fancy Bear group was behind attack that took down several websitesGermany has said it has evidence that Russian state-sponsored hackers were behind an “intolerable” cyber-attack last year in which several websites were knocked off line in apparent response to Berlin’s decision to send tanks to Ukraine.The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said a federal government investigation into the 2023...

Planned memorial aims at ‘dignified remembrance’ of women of St Pauli detained as perverts under the NazisSex workers in Hamburg’s historic red-light district who were persecuted under Adolf Hitler are to get their own memorial at Herbertstraße, a notorious street in Germany’s second city still blocked off to all but sex workers and their clients.Few people, even residents, know that it was the Nazis...

Ex-soldier, conspiracy theorist, astrologer and anti-vaxxer among the first of 27 people on trial for trying to violently topple the German government – led by Heinrich XIII Prince ReussOne of the largest legal proceedings in German history is due to start on Monday with the first of three trials of a group of far-right conspiracists who planned to violently overthrow the country’s parliament.So sprawling...

Man worked as assistant to Maximilian Krah, top candidate in European parliament elections, say prosecutorsAn aide to a German far-right politician standing in the European elections in June has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, German prosecutors have said.The man, named only as Jian G, was accused of sharing information about negotiations at the European parliament with a Chinese intelligence service and...

Prosecutors say trio are accused of passing on technical military knowledge and export of a laser without permissionsThree German citizens, a married couple from Düsseldorf and a man from Bad Homburg, have been arrested on suspicion of spying on behalf of China, prosecutors have said, in the second high-profile alleged espionage case reported in the country in days.The three are accused of passing on...

Prosecutors claim influential AfD leader Björn Höcke used Nazi slogan ‘Everything for Germany!’ in speechOne of the most prominent figures in the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party has arrived in court for his trial on charges of using a Nazi slogan, months before a regional election in which he is running to become his state’s governor.Björn Höcke, 52, is the leader of the regional...

Prosecutors accuse suspects of working with Russian secret service in attempt to undermine support for UkraineEurope live – latest news updatesTwo Russian nationals have been arrested in southern Germany suspected of plotting sabotage attacks on US military facilities, German prosecutors announced on Thursday.The men, named as Dieter S and Alexander J, are suspected of operating as Russian spies on behalf of the Kremlin, according...

Markus Pieper resigns from €17k-a-month role hours before he was due to start amid claims of favouritismEurope live – latest updatesA row threatening to overshadow Ursula von der Leyen’s campaign for a second term as European Commission president has ended after a German colleague in her Christian Democratic Union party quit his new role as her special envoy for small businesses.Markus Pieper resigned from...

Most cases of abortion are illegal in Germany, which report is expected to say is not compatible with international standardsAbortions in Germany should be legalised within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a government-appointed commission is expected to recommend on Monday.While abortion is rarely punished, it remains illegal in Germany, except for specific circumstances including when a woman’s life is in danger, or she...

Staff member put work on display at Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne ‘in hope of achieving his breakthrough’Europe live – latest updatesAccording to a quote commonly – if wrongly – attributed to the artist Andy Warhol, everyone will have their 15 minutes of fame. At Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne museum earlier this year, one technician and aspiring artist got to bask in the limelight for...

Over-18s can now to carry up to 25 grams of dried cannabis and cultivate up to three marijuana plants at homeSmoking cannabis is now legal for over-18s in Germany, after new laws for personal possession came into effect.As of 1 April, adults in Germany are allowed to carry up to 25g of dried cannabis on them and cultivate up to three marijuana plants at...

The 62-year-old, from Germany said he had the large number of vaccines for ‘private reasons’, researchers saidA “hypervaccinated” German man who reportedly received 217 Covid jabs in 29 months showed “no signs” of ever being infected with the virus that causes Covid-19 and had not reported any vaccine-related side-effects, according to a study published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.The 62-year-old, from Magdeburg, Germany...

The recording of call involving military officers included a discussion of weapons for Ukraine and a potential strike by Kyiv on a bridge in CrimeaGermany’s defence minister has accused Russia of conducting an “information war” aimed at creating divisions within the country, in his first comments after the publication of an audio recording of a meeting of senior German military officials.Russian media on Friday...

Over 100 officers joined operation, which will continue despite setback, as part of hunt for Ernst-Volker Staub and Burkhard Garweg in GermanyThe renewed German police hunt for two alleged members of the Red Army Faction, previously known as the far-left militant Baader-Meinhof gang, who have been on the run for more than 30 years, will continue after an operation in Berlin failed to find...

Two groups are striking for better working conditions and investment in Germany’s underfunded public transportAt first sight, the gathering in an office complex in east Berlin resembles a self-help group. But the public transport workers and climate protesters sitting in a semi-circle introducing themselves have been thrown together, they say, to fight for a common cause.“Hello, my name is Erdogan. I’m a bus driver...

Suspected explosives found after arrest of Daniela Klette, the last living female member of the terror groupPolice in Berlin have ordered the evacuation of the apartment block in which a fugitive from the Red Army Faction (RAF) was arrested on Monday, telling the residents they had found suspected explosives in the building.Already reeling from the arrest of Daniela Klette, the last living female member...

Defendant, 31, met two US women on path in Marienbrücke and pushed them down ravine, prosecutors sayAn American man has admitted to charges of murder and rape after he allegedly pushed two US women down a ravine, fatally injuring one of them, near Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany last year.The 31-year-old defendant admitted to the charges during the start of his trial, the German news...

Demonstrators from Berlin to Vilnius, London to Rome chant slogans against Russian president and demand accountability over deathWestern leaders point finger at Putin after Navalny’s death in jailLong opposed to exile, Navalny dies in dark and dangerous RussiaHundreds of protesters, many of them Russian émigrés, gathered in cities across Europe and beyond on Friday to express their outrage over the death of Kremlin critic...

Shareholders in Europe’s biggest travel operator prepare to vote on LSE delisting in favour of GermanyTui reported a surprise profit and record revenues in the Christmas quarter, as investors in Europe’s biggest travel operator prepare to vote on plans to delist the company from the London Stock Exchange.The executive and supervisory board of Tui, which is listed on the FTSE 250 and in Frankfurt,...

Structure stretches for almost a kilometre off coast of Germany and may have once stood by a lakeA stone age wall discovered beneath the waves off Germany’s Baltic coast may be the oldest known megastructure built by humans in Europe, researchers say.The wall, which stretches for nearly a kilometre along the seafloor in the Bay of Mecklenburg, was spotted by accident when scientists operated...

Chemicals producer says audits revealed no wrongdoing but recent media reports crossed red lineThe German chemicals producer BASF has said it will withdraw from its two joint ventures in Xinjiang, after media reports about alleged human rights abuses relating to its partner company, which BASF’s CEO said crossed a red line.In a statement on Friday, BASF said that while “regular due diligence measures including...

Chancellor says protests are ‘strong sign in favour of democracy’ as demonstrators gather in Berlin, Dresden, Hanover and other citiesAbout 200,000 people have taken to the streets of Germany in further protests against the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD).Protests on Saturday also took place in Dresden, Mainz and Hanover in a sign of growing alarm at strong public support for AfD. Continue reading...

District runoff in Thuringia closely watched to gauge whether huge protests against party have dented supportThe far-right populist Alternative für Deutschland party has been narrowly beaten in its first electoral test since revelations came to light of its involvement in a plan for the mass deportation of foreigners that has sparked huge protests across Germany. Its candidate lost against a conservative rival in a...

Images taken secretly some 80 years ago are being published for the first time to mark International Holocaust Remembrance DayA remarkable series of photographs of Jewish families being forced to leave their homes in Germany in the middle of the second world war has been published for the first time, following a chance discovery.The images are a striking new testament to the sudden upheaval...